SONG OF THE SHIRT
By DR. CHARLES STELZLE
Execvtivc Director, Good Neighbor
There are few descriptions of pov
erty which have stirred me so deeply
as the poem by Thomas Hood, entitled
“The Sonp of the Shirt,” which began
a revolution among the English peo
ple, over a century ago. This poem
is very real to me because when I was
a small boy, I lived with my mother
and three young sisters in two «m?l)
rooms in a rear tenement on the lower
Sidy New York, in a district
which might properly be called a
slum because of the poverty and
filth among the poor who were my
neighbors. i
In order to support her family, my
mother sewed wrappers for a nearby
sweatshop, for which she was paid
two dollars a dosen. It took her three
d?>X—and ni&ht»—to finish a dozen
of these garments, often working un
til 3 o clock in the morning. Needless
to say, we passed through all the suf
ferings encountered by the poor—
hunger, sickness, lade of proper dott
ing, and finally being dispossessed be
cause we could not pay even the three
dollars a month required for the rent.
Here are several stanzas of Hood’s
pom:
With fingers weary and worn,
With eyelids heavy and red,
A woman sat in unwomanly rags
plying her needle and thread.
Stitch—Stitch—Stitch,
In poverty, hunger and dirt.
And still with a voice of dolorous
pitch
She sings the Song of the Shirt.
Work—Work—Work,
Till the brain begins to swim;
Work—Work—Work,
Till the eyes are heavy and dim.
Seam and gusset and band,
Band and gusset and band,
Band and gusset and seam,
Til lover the buttons 1 fall asleep
And sew them on in a dream.
| Ah men with sisters dear,
Oh men with mothers and wives,
It is not linen you’re wearing out
But human creature’s lives.
Stitch—Stitch—Stitch,
In poverty, hunger and dirt,
FRI. - SAT.
GEORGE BRENT
ANITA LOUISE
">< CHARLES
WINNINGER
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Too FLOORS are an Important part of your homo and ft* appearance
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marred, stained and scratched floors. Scrubbing will chase away the
dirt, but no amount of scrubbing will srase die imperfections and
blemishes.
USE MOORE’S FLOOR
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112 West Fifth St. Dial 6148
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DeVONDE’S
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ANDREWS
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“EVERYTHING MUSICAL''
231 N. Try mi St.
Pender Stores
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Sewing at once with a double thread
A shroud aa well aa a shirt.
Oh, but for one short hour
A respite however brief,
No blessed leisure for Love or Hope
But only time for Grief.
A little weeping would ease my heart,
But in their briny bed
The tears must stop, for every drop
Hinders needle and thread.
Many years later I lived in that
rear tenement, I saw a great parade
of thousands of women—sweatshop
workers—who arose in their wrath
I
and marched up Fifth Avenue, head
ed by labor union leaders, in protest
against the conditions under which
they were working, because no one
seemed to care.
The women won out—and they have
been winning ever since through
their labor organizations. This is one
reason why I am for organised labor,
and why, for over 30 years, I have
been an active member of the Inter
national Association of Machinists,
after having served a regular five
year apprenticeship.
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McDonald neighborhood stores
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Budget Department in Each Store
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DIAL 2-1104
300 S. GRAHAM ST
Wage and Hour
BiU Settled By
Manufacturers
(WASHINGTON, D. C.—The Na
tional Association of Manufacturers
is* out to lick the proposed wage-hour
bgl, which the special session of Con
gress called by President Roosevelt
for November 15, will be asked to
enact.
Members and affiliated organiza
tions are being urged to get busy and
try to show by every possible means
that nature of “burdens” the propos
ed measure might impose on work
ers’ employment and in increased
production costs.
The attitude of the association,
voiced by its president, William B.
Warner, is held to be no surprise to
others, since it is contended the As
sociation usually opposes with cun
ning vigor any legislation designed to
benefit wage earners.
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NOTICE OF 8 EE VIC* BT PUBLICATION
State of North Carolina.
County of Meeklenbunr.
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT
Annie Mae Mason.
Plaintiff.
VS.
Charles Henry Mason.
Defendant. .
The defendant, abore named, will take notice
that an action entitled above have been com
menced in the Superior Court of Mecklenburir
County for an absolute divorce. And the de
fendant will further take notice that he i»_f«“
quired to appear before the Clerk of Superior
Court on the Srd day of January. 1M8, In the
aforesaid County and State, and answer or
demur to th eeomplaint of saHf action, or the
plaintiff will apply to the court for the relief
demanded in said Complaint.
This the 9th day of Nov. 1987. _
J. LESTER WOLFE.
, Clerk of the Superior Court.
MERCER BLANKENSHIP.
Attorney for the Plaintiff.
Nov. 11, 18. 2S; Dee. 1.
ROSCOE ATES
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Appearing At Food Show
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NOV. 15 ■ 16 -17
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