Dakota County herald. (Dakota City, Neb.) 1891-1965, May 25, 1916, Image 3

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    --r BH'!
DAKOTA COUNTY HERALD; DAKOTA CITY, NEBRASKA.
(
tv
?
i
IimeBOT
FIRES AND TOWN PLANNING
Many Instances May Be Cited Where
a Llttlo Foresight Would Have
Saved Much Money.
Paris, Tox., which recently Jumped
Into notice becauGo flro destroyed tho
greater part of tho town, Is busy with
plans for rebuilding according to a
systematic town plan. A town planner
has been Imported, and when Paris
rlse3 from Its ashes It will bo a better
built and more convenient town to get
around In than It ever was boforo, If
what is accomplished comes up to tho
expectation of tho people
Tho people of Paris show a remark
able spirit when thoy aro ablo to sur
vey their ruined town and still havo
mind and foresight loft to think of
town planning along tnodern lines; but
tho chalices of success would havo
been better If tho plan had been
evolved beforo tho flro, when Paris
had moro tlmo for deliberation and a
gradual upbuilding of public sentiment.
When tho village of Detroit was re
planned, moro than a century ago,
after a flro that burned every building
in tho placo, mistakes wore mado that
plaguo tho city to this day. San Fran
cisco Ignored its great opportunity a
decade ago. If Chicago had had a
town plan back in tho 'soventies Chi
cago's present planning problems
might not be half so formidable, and in
this country of big fires any city may
havo its melancholy chance to mako
now street lines or lay out now parks
over its ashes.
Tho remoteness of tho chanco that a
conflagration will visit any city may
seem to make this consideration but a
weak argument for town planning, but
it ia not necessary to burn a wholo
town down to givo tho well-matured
town plan a chanco. In Cleveland not
many years ago tho burning of a sln
glo building gave tho city an oppor
tunity to mako an extremely valuable
street extension in tho downtown dis
trict. If that particular extension had
not been in tho public mind for a long
"whllo tho chanco might havo been
overlooked and a heavy bill for a
wrecked building would havo been the
result when tho street was finally
opened. Chicago Herald.
OPEN GARDEN HOUSE
n I r
-
The garden house illustrated hero is
complete and needs vines only for em
bellishment. A skeleton roof of rafters
only, Ho sheeting or shingles, could
bo put up and covered with vines, mak
ing" an arbor rather than a house. Seats
may bo built in or movable benches or
chairs used.
URGED CULTIVATION OF TREES
Henry Ward Beecher, Fifty Years Ago,
Sought to Awaken New England
to Its Possibilities.
Henry Ward Beecher in "Norwood,"
60 years ago, said: "I havo often mar
veled that, in a time of such tasto and
liberality, so llttlo should bo dono
with trees. 'Now England might bo a
magnificent park, with but a slight ox
ponse, if only one dedicated himself to
doing good through the lovo of beauty.
Every great road, every by-road, con
necting towns and villages, or neigh
borhoods, If concert was secured,
might not only bo Judiciously plant
ed, but, by a llttlo study and caro In
tho selection, all tho fine trees might
In tlmo bo employed until every coun
ty would become an arboretum. Such
is tho spirit of emulation that if a
single town should perfect this work,
other towns would catch the inspira
tion, and tho work would go on with
onergy until all unclothed road would
becomo a roproach."
Roses for Oregon School Yards.
Many Oregon school yards that have
been without flowers will blossom
with roses in a year or two, and others
that havo not been altogether stran
gers to roses will have more of them,
if 3,500 hardy llttlo bushes that are
to bo sent out from the university gar
dens this spring manage to survlvo
tho trials of being transplanted. Each
spring at pruning tlmo thousands of
rose slips cut from the bushes on tho
unlvorslty campus aro planted for dls
tributlon tho following spring to high
schools of tho stato, to public build
ings, libraries, hospitals and other
suitable institutions. From twelvo to
twenty bushes are sent In each pack
age.
w
$L '
hai About ihc Flowers On Your
ummGr Hat,
Most artificial flowers are made by
children in disease-infested tenement
houses under very bad working
tions. Efforts made to stop th
4
dP
'ISP
F ALL tho artificial flowors mado In tho
United States 74 per cent aro made In
Now York city, says a government re
port. A report of tho Consumers' loaguo
of that city shows that a largo propor
tion of theso flowors nro mado in tene
ment houses and that most of tho work
ers aro children whoso ages rango from
cloven down to four. It would bo
shocking to some to seo with tholr own oyes how tho
beautiful flowers which adorn tholr hats aro mado
by tho tiny hands of young children, somo of them
mcro babies, who work from early morning until lato
at night and cam from ton to fifteen cents a day.
Yet tho purposo of this artlclo is not to shock any
one's sensibilities, but to lay baro facta and doscribo
conditions as they are, says Israel Zovin in tho Now
York Herald.
Somo ten or twelvo years ago a fow men and wom
en wero sitting in tho nssombly room of a settlement
houso listening to tho talk of a charity investigator,
who, among other things, told a story of hpw, on a
cold winter night, n poor fnmily wero sitting huddled
together round a small stove and burning up a pack
of old papers, which tho Jobless head of the family
had dug up In somo placo.
"That was tho only fuel they wero ablo to get," tho
investigator said. "Tho children wero clapping tholr
hands with Joy, feeling tho warmth of tho flames
penetrating tholr frail bodies.
"Suddenly ono of tho children, a thoughtful llttlo
girl, stopped for a moment and, becoming serious,
asked her mother: 'Mamma, dear, pleaso toll me, what
do those poor children who havo no old papers do
on a cold night llko this?"
Tho women and men
laughed; they thought It
was clever. But there wa3
ono man who did not laugh.
All night tho vision of
thoso pale, emaciated chil
dren sitting around tho
stovo haunted him, and for
a long timo ho was tor
tured by the heartacho ef
fect of tho grim Joko. He
is now ono of tho chief
workers of tho movement
to abolish child labor.
It is not pleasant, theso
facts relating to tho work
of childron. Somo of them
almost challenge credibil
ity. For how could any
mother allow her tiny
baby, threo or four years
old, who is oven too young
for tho kindergarten, to sit
Indoors all day long and work making imitations
of flowers tho child has never seen?
Some Startling Cases.
And yet I haVo seen children begin to learn to
mako artificial flowers when they wero only two
years 61d. I do not say that childron of that ago
arei compelled or coaxed by their mothers to work,
but it is this way.
Tho baby sits in a chair by tho table watching
mother and tho other children work. Tho baby
stretches out Its hands, grabbing a petal or a leaf
To satisfy his desire the mother gives tho baby
a fow petals, showing him how to pull them apart.
At threo or four tho child Is already an efficient
worker, ablo to earn about ten cents a day.
Hero aro some of tho facts:
A mother and two daughters, living and work
ing in a rear tenement, so dark that an oil lamp
must bo kept burning all day in order that thoy
may boo to work, mako forget-me-not wreaths.
They receive seven conts for ono dozen wreaths,
and can earn ?4.20 every 15 days.
A frail, dolicato mother of flvo children sits at a
tablo in their two-room flat from morning until
lato at night putting artificial berries on stems.
Sho earns from ten to fifteen conts a day.
In a four-room flat, whero threo childron have
died of tuberculosis and two others wore suffering
from it, a mother and an eleven-year-old girl mado
artificial roses at 15 cents a gross.
In ono homo on a Saturday morning four chil
dron, ten, nlno, six and four years old, wero found
sitting by a tablo near tho ono window making
chorrles. Thoy had beon there slnco six o'clock In
tho morning, and worked each day until eight
o'clock at night.
No child above four or flvo is considered too
young to work, Tho hours for all, whether chil
dren or adults, are determined not by law, not by
physical welfare, but by tho amount of work tho
factory gives out to bo dono. If thcro is an extra
amount of work tho wholo family work from half-
past flvo in tho morning until ton or cloven at
night, and sometimes even until ono or two o'clock
in tho morning, stopping only long enough to eat
their scanty meal of spaghetti, dry bread and cot
eo, on which thoy seem to subsist.
Breaking the Labor Law.
In tho 165 families studied by the investigator
for tho Consumers' leaguo 601 childron wero found.
Moro than 18 per cent of theso wero fourteen
years and over and wero contributing something
to tho family iacome; about 3G per cent wero flvo
yoars and under, too young to work, though In a
few cases children of this ago wore found holplng
with tho flowers. Out of tho remaining 4G per cent
between tho ages of six and fourteen who might be
found holplng 14 per cent wero busily at work at
tho timo of tho investigator's call. At least 14 per
cont, thon, of the children who wero ablo to do this
work wero violating tho child labor law of Now
York state.
How many moro could bo included in this list it
waB imposslhlo to ascertain. Many families wero
visited during tho morning, whon tho childron
wero at school, and It was oily through the word
of tho mother that wo wero ablo to dotermlno
whether or not tho children helped with the flow
ors aftor school hours. For tho most part only
cases of children who wero actually found at work
woro listed. Therefore the estimate la a vory con
servative one.
Madam; ?KfflvMfffilll
-Tj3dlv ZZI!-1" -Srl' 1 1 1 ; I 11 ill
d' iv Oui." rrt ,rsxy A III II
i miM.Lsrstfv F:-w n. i.-sxn
e evii ,m IT-W v.--. n
Tho tenement houses whero most of tho flowers
aro mado aro of tho worst typo, with dark and
shaky stairways. Tho crowded tenement houses
of tho "congested East side," of which so much
has been said in print, aro palaces in compari
son to thoso rickety old structures. And in them
tho children of sunny Italy spend their days and
nights. Ostonslbly it is their Inherent lovo for
flowers that Is drawing them to this work.
It is not an easy matter to get tho confldenco of
somo of tho women and to mako them answer
questions. Thoy aro alwayB suspicious that visi
tors aro from tho board of health with a mission
to mako trouble In somo houses no amount of
arguing or coaxing will bring results not oven
tho assuranco of tho children who return from
school and aro appealed to.
However, thoro aro somo who are qulto willing
to talk and to shed light on tho situation.
Thoy aro not greedy, biu thoy aro vory ambi
tious, and it is their ambition that impels them to
utillzez every possibility of making money.
Average $8 a Week.
Thy aro all honest, hard-working people. The
children aro orderly and respectful, and thcro waa
a world of lovo In tho mothers' eyes on seeing
them return from school and resumo their work
separating petals and pasting leaves on stems.
Tho earnings of heads of tho families woro found
to average eight dollars a week, which, according
to tho standard oMIving In that locality, is a fair
lncomo. A good many of tho men work In flower
factories and from them they take work homo.
Tho others aro mostly shoemakers, bootblacks and
pushcart peddlers.
Ono of tho places whero children were found at
work after school hours had a rostaurant and pool
room on tho ground floor of tho building In which
tho family lived. Whon thero nro no diners In tho
restaurant tho long dining tablo Is covered with
wreaths and bunchos of cherries and forgot-mo-nots,
a mother and her children working diligently
at them. Tho proprietor of this restaurant was
also in tho rag business.
In ono placo a young woman, Margarita Ros;zonl,
who looked qulto different from tho general typo
sho being blondo and having bluo oyes was at
work with her llttlo girl, who seemed to bo a will
ing and nmbitious helper. Llttlo Qlovanna, threo
years old, looked llko a mlniaturo of her mother
golden haired and oyes of tho color of violets. "I
don't want hor to help mo," tho inothor said, "but
sho insists on doing that." And sho accentuated
her words by bending over tho child and kissing
her with all tho fondness of a mother.
Tho childron ono moots hero In tho streets aro
all pretty, but thoir beauty fades boforo maturity.
Their physical dovolopmont Is stunted by long
hours of work and vory llttlo play. Their child
hood does not last long. A girl who Is married at
fourtoen is no raro caso. Hqro thoy mako tho
step from childhood right to manhood and woman
hood, skipping over tho period of youth and maid
enhood. Why Tony Sells Flowers.
Such a child was Tony, who at thirteen becamo
tho breadwinner for tho family, selling flowers
real flowers by day and helping his mothor mako
artificial flowors by night. Tony was never a boy;
ho never played In tho stroets with other childron,
novor throw a ball In tho air. Tony's father kopt a
fruit stand on a corner, whero ho also shlncd shoos
and roasted peanuts. You could sco him at thlt
stand in tho early morning boforo people wont ta
work and lato at night after thoy returned home
from tho theater. Ho waB thoro In all kinds ol
weather, and ho had boon on tho samo spot for 15
years. During this period his wlfo and later hli
children holped to swoll his bank account by mak
ing artificial flowers. Whon tho war began thore
was a run on tho bank whero Tony's fathor kopt
his savings. Tho bnnk was closed, and thon the
poor, man's reason gavo way. Ho was taken to an
insano asylum, and Tony, not bolng ablo to koop
up his father's business, took to selling flowerB na
his triulo.
And Tony is not tho only "man" at tho early ago
of thirteen.
Owners of flower factories find It moro profitable
to havo work done In tho'tencments by womou and
childron. Tho flower factories givo out parts oi
flowers petals, leaves, and stoms to bo mado up
into wholo flowors and wreaths by tho workers In
their homos. Usually tho oldest child in tho fam
ily calls for thoso parts, which sho carries homo In
a hugo pasteboard box. Whon tho flowers aro done
sho brings them back to tho factory and tho "bosB"
pays hor for tho work.
Tho potals, which usually como from tho factory
in bunches, must bo separated and then pasted to
gether with tho leaves and stoma. Somctlmos thero
nro as many as nlno pieces which must bo Joined
boforo tho flowors aro ready to bo returned to tho
factory. Buds nro mado by tying pieces of silk
over a round ball of cotton. Tho work, though
slow and tedious, is not hard and can bo dono with
vory llttlo skill and practice Wholo families woro
found busily working around a tablo in tho kitchen
or living room pasting and twisting and bunching
tho gayly colored flowers, which somotlmos give tho
only bright noto to an othorwlso dosporatoly dingy
home.
Worst Paid Work.
Tho prlco paid for tho work Is porhaps tho low
est in any trado. Prices vary from two centB u
gross for pasting leaves on stems to f 1.40 a gross
for making flower wreaths. Ono girl of ilftoon,
who had troublo with hor splno, was found at work
putting berries on tho ends of stems and receiving
for tho work only ono cent a gross. Bho told tho In
vestigator that sho mado usually ten cents a day.
"But whon my llttlo Bister helps mo," sho udded,
"I can mako fifteen conts a day."
It is theso conditions that tho Consumers' leaguo
is striving to abolish. And tho activities of tho
Consumers' league aro not limited to tho flower In
dustry. Tho members of tho leaguo aro working
hard to lmprovo conditions in other occupations in
which women and young childron aro oraployod,
and havo boon doing great work In educating tho
pooplo on tho dangers of woman and child labor
under unsanitary conditions
By pointing out tho dangers to tho consumer
through goods mado in dark and alrlcBs homes,
whero scarlot fover and other contagious diseases
wero found to oxlst, tho leaders of tho leaguo havo
already accomplished many good rosults. But
thoro is much work to bo dono. Fow rcallzo how
closely connected aro our own lives with tho llvos
of tho workors along certain Industrial lines. It
is not only tho health of tho workors that Is often
at stnko, but tho conditions aro a monaco to tho
consumers as well, znd tho dnngor to soclaty la
great.
FRECKLES
Now It the Tlntn to Oct Kid of Those
URiJ Spots.
There's no longer tho slightest need of
feellnr nshamed or your freckles, as the
prescription othlne double strength Is
guaranteed to remove these homely spots
Simply get an ounce of othlne double
etrength -from your druggist, and npply a
little of It night and morning and you
rhould soon see that oven tho worst freckles
have begun to disappear, while the lighter
ones have vanished entirely. It Is soldotn
that moro than one ounce Is needed to com
pletely clear tho skin and sain a boautlful
clear complexion.
lie euro to ask for the double strength
othlne, ns this Is sold under guarantee of
money back It It falls to remove freckles.
Adv.
Tho Easiest Way.
Tommy had a cold In his head,
which confined him to tho houso, so
ho was nllowod to invito his young
friend, Jack, to tea.
Aftorward tho two small boys com
menced playing hldo-and-sook, and
Tommy rushed into tho dining room
mid nsked his fathor to conceal him.
This fathor did, behind a big arm
chair. Presently In enmo Jnck, and instead
of boglnnlng his search, calmly throw
hlmsolf down on tho rug boforo tho
Dro.
"Conic, Jack," said Tommy's fathor,
"aren't you going to look 7"
"No fear," was tho small boy's calm
retort. "I'm waiting till ho sniffs!"
MORNING NOON NIGHT.
If you would havo nttractlvo tooth
you should uso "SPEARMINTO"
TOOTH PASTE. It la SAFE and
PURE, Contains tho only known harm
loss Ingredient thnt will prevent for
mation of TARTAR DEPOSITS. Na
ALCOHOL SOAP COLORING
GRIT or any other injurious Ingrodl
cuts. FORMULA of JOHN O. BUTLER.
D. D. S. Consult your DENTIST often
and uso "SPEARMINTO" dally. For
salo at DRUG STORES or by mall,
prepaid, 25c. Llboral samplo nnd
"DIRECTIONS FOR PROPER CARE
OF THE TEETH" by mall for 4c.
Start using "SPEARMINTO" today.
Address. THE SPEARMINTO CO.,
336 W. 03d St., Chicago, 111. Adv.
Regular Nightmare.
"Well, Bobby," snld young Llghtwlt.
ns tho small brother of tho only girl
entered tho grocory, "how aro all tho
folks nnd whnt can I do for you this
morning?"
"Oh, tho folks ain't got no kick com
In 'copt Maine. I hoard hor tcllln'
maw shu drcam'd about you again last
night."
"And whnt did your ma say?" In
quired Llghtwlt, bonding over tho
counter eagorly. ,
"Maw told her sho'd havo to cut out
mlnco pie nnd pickles boforo sho wont
to bod aftor this and I want n nick
el's worth of crackers and two conts
worth of milk," rojolned tho youngster.
Didn't Want Much.
Ono Saturday night a lady who pos
sessed a fruit and vogctnblo shop hur
ried to servo hor laBt customer,1 n
vory red-faced woman.
Sho asked for a pennyworth of vego
tablos, and wnntcd a ploco of ovory
thlng. Whon sho had boon given what oho
doslred, sho polltoly nsked If thoy
could bo wrapped In a ploco of paper
nnd tied with a string.
Tho Bhopkoopor turnod to hor, qulto
calm, and snld:
"Walt a nilnuto, and I will run
ncross to tho butchur'B for a bone, and
I think thnt will complete your Sun
day's dinner."
Vain Search.
Mr. Bacon Do you know, dear, I
havo only two suits of clothes to my
nnmo?
Mrs. Bacon Yes, John; I havo no
ticed thnt you have vory llttlo change
In your clothing. St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Fruit Farming In South Africa.,
Fruit farming Is making rapid prog
ress In South Africa. A good orchard
tractor is ono of the things needed.
Don't blame a girl for assuming a
striking attitude whon bIio'b trying to
make a hit.
"He who has health
has hope,
And he who has hope
has everything."
(Arabian Provcib)
Sound hqalth is largely
I a matter of proper food
which must include certain
mineral elements best de
rived from the field grains,
but lacking in many foods.
Grape-Nut'
made of whole wheat and
malted barley, supplies all
the rich nourishment ot
the grains, including their
vital mineral salts phos
phate of potash, etc., most
necessary for building and
energizing the mental and
physical forces.
"There's a Reason"
Sold by Grocers everywhere
9L
(
i
I
i
uvwuffis;
!3KSH!BVJKfttM-i