The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1922-03-17
CARL LEONARD, A LOCAL
COOK, CALLS ATTENTION
TO SUFFERERS AT
HOME
SOMEBODY'S SISTER


Considerable newspaper and mag
azine space has been devoted to spe-
cial pleas in behalf of men. women
and children of nearly all European
countries, who are either on the
verge of starvation or actually starv-
| ing Organizations have been Gre
atcd for the definite purpose of col
Letting funds for the purchase Of
food and clothing, to be shipped
overseas to the afflicted of other
lands. The government of the United
States, through congress. authorized
setting aside Of a goodly sum of
money so that the hungry and needy
of other lands might be saved from
untimely death.
Americans are generous in respond
ing to such appeals; the newspapers
Of America have recorded innumer
able events having to do with "send-
ing food and clothing and other nee
essaries to the unfOrtunates of other
lands" And while all of the appeals
have been generously cared for, we
have a very serious situation in this
land we call America-a situation
which appears to have been lost in
the shuttle, if not wholly ignored
We meet with these unfortunates
in every walk of life; we meet the
same poor. forgotten. starving unfor-
tunate 365 days in the year. and very
little is done to relieve the suffering
of these. One phase of that referred
to situation is so pertinently set
forth in an editorial printed in the
Los Angeles Record of January Is:
ONE MANS OPINION
Il wish | had a million dollars so
that when | saw a thing like this
am going to write about | could REM
edy it.
In one of those big. immaculate
restaurants. where eating is a fine
art, | saw. the other night. a slip of
girl who was on the edge of the
horrible.
she was shabby: her hat, her
dress, her shoes. told of pinched pen
mics, her face told of a sunless hall
bedroom-a child really. but old with
the desperate struggle to exist in the
city.
Under her arm was a pathetic
little bundle. her waitress uniform
Detected, pathetic, dropping lit
tie unfortunate, she paused a min
ute to speak to the ornate, fat, red
headed, base goddess who presided
at the cash register, and who evil
IDENTIFY held the fate of the waitress
in her flabby hands.
The girl was hungry for an hon
est word of cheer TO help her on her
hard path; the cashier was chiefly in
terested in getting rid of the pathetic
kid, standing dropping there in the
tiled grandeur.
The girl smiled, though her lower
lip quivered a bit; she made a des-
perate plucky fight to seem uncon-
cerned, but her big, bournful eyes
told the story; she had no job, and
she had no money, and she hadn't a
soul in the world who cared.
Did you ever look deep into the
brown eyes of collie when his mas
ter had abused him brutally? If you
nave, you know how the eyes of this
girl looked last night.
And then she slipped away into
| the night out onto needless Broad
way to what God only knows, and
sometimes we think maybe He
| doesn't, for there are a lot of spar
rows that fall to the ground in Los
Angeles
God, this sort of thing shouldn't
be. Doesn't it make your blood run
cold to think of it?
Men and boys can and will put up
fight-what chance has a poor kid
| in skirts?
Somebody's daughter. Somebody's
sister Maybe yours, who knows?
CARL LEONARD.
Secretary, Local No. 451. Cooks and
Mattresses.