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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (July 24, 1904)
The Slum Child's Life a - ' LITTLE (Copyright, 1904, br Guy T. VJsknlskkt) AYBE you're one of these numer ous persona who, every time they hear these hot day of some youngster living In what they know a the alum, exclaim, "Poor little thing! He never gets a chance to have any childish fun!" If that la your view you are mightily mistaken. The fact la. the little folk of the tenements, despite the oppressive artificial handicap all about them, extract bout aa much healthy fun out of life aa the boys and glrla of any clean, wholesome resi dential aecUon. Often they get more, for they are connoisseurs In the art of making the beat of things. They do not quarrel With their surroundings, neither do they lament the fate that keepa them from own ing a velocipede, but they take their pleas ure aa they find It and enjoy It with all the abandonment of whole-hearted child hood. This is especially true In the sum mer time when they can escape from the four walla of their dingy homea Into the streets, filled though they are with all manner of objectionable things. The Idea that the little people of the tenements are strangers to the gayer Bide of childhood haa doubtless arisen In some such fashion as this: A group of men and women start on a "slumming" tour. They behold the pushcarts filling the streets, with shrewd bargainers around them. They see men and women Struggling along on the walks with great bundles of clothing on their backs. They View dirty Utile stores here and dark hallways there and they breathe In the hot, close air, and they say. "My, the poor chllldren!" even while the objects of their sympathy are romping before the Sightseers' very eyes. But then the visi tors have atarted in to see the worst side f the "other half," and the worst side of Ufa never deals with light-hearted boya and glrla. Llght-heartedness Is, Indeed, one of the cljtef characteristic of these children. If you don't believe It, then spend a day, or half a day, or an hour for that matter, watching a streetful of them; and it's ten to one that you will go back to your own haunts with a good deul lighter heart In yeur bosom than when you started out. For the ligbt-heartedness of the llttie (oik of the slums Is truly Infectious, And how do they get their funT' Well hello! From the other end of the Street there comes the aound of drum and eymala laboriously making the languorous dancing muslo of the east There Is a ruth from doorway and sheltering stoop, a scurrying of small feet from curb and be fore ioe cream stand; and when you fol low up to see what's the matter several hundred small bodies, none too amply clad, are surrounding a man who Is balancing a kitchen chair on the end of his noes, the while he thumps a tambourine, and his colleague, clad in a pair of patched trousers and an undershirt and wearing a battered brass helmet, surmounted with-a White waterfall plume, beats a drum held In one hand with the ether, and a stilt Linger drum upon his back with his foot by means of a mechanical contrivance. And the little people shout and dance about them until suddenly a dosen or more boys have secured pieces of wood from some where and with partial success are Imitat ing the Juggler, to the great delight of the rest and the wonderment of the girls. They sure adept mimics, these boys, and they spare not even their king, the cop, as he comes swinging In a lordly fashion down the lane between the rows of push-carts to see what all the rumpus Is about any way. Rattley-bnngl Boom-koom-boom! goes the drum and stop. The chair falls from the Juggler's nose, two dozen smaller pro bosoes are relieved of a similar strain, and their barefooted owners fall In behind the aan as he goes among the crowd, hat In r. ; c , GIRLS LINED UP FOR ADM ISSION TO 'a it ' jt ' V NURSING AND SEWINO PARTY IN THE SLUMS. hand, the youngsters holding out open palms and bowing and scraping over imag inary contributions every bit as grand lo quently as the Juggler when someone drops a cent Into his hat. Even before the last copper has been In veigled from the bystanders, a hurdy-guidy pulls up Into the gutter, the strains of "Mr. Dooley" fill tho air, and instantly, aa far as the muslo carries, girls fall into one another's arms, and in and out the crowd they dexterously go, past push-carts and wagons, baby carriages and garbage cans, their gliding feet carrying them gracerully hither and thither, the joy of the dance filling their little hearts and causing them to Utugh in pure delight. The boys hardly ever engage In round dancing when the hurdy-gurdy strikes up. Instead, to the time of the music, they stand on their heads, toes sticks In the air after the fashion of pompous drum majors, and,' If they dance at all, do a sort of fling all their own, that gives full license for every sort of boyish oddity and Is not hampered by any set rule of "one-two, one-two" time. Somehow the stirring effects of the hurdy-gurdy last a long time after Its swarthy player has trudged with it around the corner and out of hearing. One result Is that Invariably the boya let loose their pent-up selves of earlier morning, and he who Is not engaged In wrestling In the street, diligently shooting craps In a shel tered spot between two tenement stoops or chasing some fellow In and out among the street's obstructions, or playing cat, or delving In the garbage and waste cans as If they were gold mines. Is not to be found. This last occupation la a fascinating one. It Is not uncommon to see a half dosen boys grouped around one can Indus triously examining Its contents, with a boy every once In a while pulling out some "treasure" and announcing his good for tune with a whoop that Is a sure cure for the blues. Doubly Joyful Is the yell if the find hns pens to be the comic section of some news paper. Waste paper Is religiously searched dflly for discarded comics, and, one brought to light, the finder and his partner sit themselves down, gloat over every word and color and line for an unconscionably long time, and then pass It on to their playmates. The comio "sup" Is one of the chief latter-day Joys of the street young ster, and If you have beheld the mirth awakened In his face thereby you will not fail to bless the man who first lavenU4 It. Happy One ' - - J- ;- .r, p. 1 . , f, ONE OF TItB NEW TOR.K TREE BATHS. -f Blest Is the youngster who delves so suc cessfully In the waste paper, bag, but doubly blest is he who Is the possessor of a toy such as you do not expect to see In a quarter where the stress -of life is so great. Run across a youngster astride a velocipede held together with strings and you are face to face with an occupant of the seventh heaven. Rather, two, for there is always another who has got on behind, and whose smile Is every bit as broad as that of tho little fellow in the seat. Or it may be a bicycle. In that case, you are treated to trick riding, and the way the boys, who take turns on the dilapi dated machine, do their stunts make you wonder whether all the famous acrobats were recruited from Just . such material. Many of them are, by the way. Thus, while not a few of the boys are unconsciously working out their future careers, at the same time tUey are having their fun and making the street forget the harshness of poverty in its merriment over their antics, the little girls, from the tod dlers up, are enjoying themselves in a way that persons who picture every girl of the slums as a "little mother" could scarcely believe possible. Many a girl haa a dolly no matter what kind. It Is a doll and she croons it to sleep ' as she sways back and forth in a rocking chair Just her size. Turn where you will you cannot miss seeing a doll, or the child who has her eyes glued to some child's story book, while a hand mechanically moves back and forth a carriage contain ing a younger sister. And as for the sew ing party, xiierever there is an unfre quented stoop or a- closed basement door, . or an otherwise unoccupied space between protruding store windows, there you will find one. Sometimes there la an older girl Instruct ing a half dozen younger ones in tome particular knitting stitch. Or it may be a crechettlng party, with afghana aa the work; the glrla are very fond of making them. Fancy work of the more dedicate sort la popular; a group of four girls of about 12 years of age was seen evolving what to the masculine eye looked like dainty lace collar. Often the work in band la more practical, taking the form of alius for some member of the family; and for the girls of 6 and 7 the hours pasa rapidly, despite the heavy heat, as they laboriously, but none the lens entbus ait tcally. fashion a dress for dolly. Even mere man cannot help feeling an Interest In the work as he beholds a half dosen little girls, seated ou the hard pavement, measuring i- y v , ' .,T ' ' . Y . . ' ; . in Summer ' i f x ' - VI 1 ;'l - ""T-. f - l-;. f and fitting and sending the needles fiyln the while their voices not Infrequently hum snatches of songs picked up from passing? hurdy-gurdy or musical street shows. But let an Ice cream man heave In sight and half-finished afghan and doll dress and dolly herself are thrown aside and forgot ten In the lusty scramble for the wason. and more cents are brought to view and held up before the peddler's eyes than It would be possible for an equal number of girls In far more comfortable circumstances) to produce on the spur of the moment. Rare, Indeed, Is the girl of the tenements who does not start a summer's day with at least a penny for Ice cream; and the Joy she gets out of a bit of cream far tran scends that contained In a 40-cent order la some fashionable hotel, to Judge by the long drawn out smacking of the lips fol lowing every lick of the tongue over the) diminutive cold surface. Evidently Its de lights are comparable only to those con tained In a good ducking before a spout ing fire plug. Here Is joint bliss for boy and girl la .equal measure. They swoop dow'n upon at street cleaner whenever he puts In an ap pearance as If he were their fairy god father. They haunt the fire house in droves stand outside the chain and keep up their chorus of "Please, mister, won't you turn on the water?" until some big blue-trousered fellow gets out of his chair, makes believe he is ferociously charging his tor mentors, next moment does their bidding; and the moment after that finds himself Interestedly watching the antic of half a hundred or more youngsters as they get sopping wet from head to foot, accom plishing the feat to the accompaniment of yells that attract the attention of the en tire block, causing even the bargainers to pause In their wrangles with the sellers. With equal impartiality the ecstacy cf the) free bath falls to boy and girl. Of. tat e years the free bath has come to bo looked upon by the children as one of the great est summer treats in store for them. Let tho day roll around when a bath is open for girls, and an hour or more before the ap pointed time hundreds of them will put la an appearance, each with a little bundle of towels, and wait expectantly In line, their faces already illumined with thoughts of the foreshadowed treat. And aa they cling to the fence, their eyes every row and then peering anxiously forward to sea whether the doors are about to be swung open, and their gaily multi-colored silos relieving the dun of the surrounding, they present as picturesque and pleasing a eight as could be found among childhood In any portion of the cltv. In sharp contrast is the conduct of the waiting boy bathers. They give the police man forming the line plenty of trouble, and when they are not getting glee by worry ing him they stand on their heads, turn handsprings and otherwise pass away the time In truly healthy boy fashion, at last rushing Into the wide open doors with all the impetuosity associated with a cavalry charge. The paternal municipality has added much to the summer happiness of these little folk, but without baths and street flushing; and playgrounds they would still be far from the sorry lot so many people picture them to be. A little fellow was found delving In m waste paper bag. He was yelling gleefully at the top of his voice and dancing In his delight. "What are you so happy about. hoyT H .passerby asked him. The youngster looked at the questioner m moment. "Gee!" he said; "why notf That's Just it These small people of the atreeta are happy In summer In spite of their environment; and that's one reason why municipalities and fresh air societies and other kindred organizations should d everything they can te add to their plea Urea. OUT X. VISKNISKKi ,