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REFORMER
By CHARLES M. SHELDON,
Anita 1 of "h lib Slips," "Robert Hardy's Sms Osy^-lfc.
OupvrftfM, uxn. by Charta H, BMbm
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At tbc end Of the week Gordon bod
reached some conclusions.
"What can be done about bettering
cond)t!on»? The people In the tene
ment* are victim* to n large degree of
condition* that they nro unable to liet-
ter. The owner* of the property!
There'* the vital point, llow to reach
them?"/
For answer Mis* Andrew* took down
from the house library n volume con
taining a list of property owner* In
Hope Houle neighborhood. Ilefore giv
ing It to Gordon »ho wild widly: "You
mu*t not let this Hat disturb your gen
eral purpose. Of course It will not dc
that. I tut 1 utu sure you want all the
fact*.”
“That I* just what I want," said
Gordon, wondering n little ut Ml** An.
drew*’ gravity, although she was al
ways cnltuly serious.
She quietly, but with the same man
ner of doubtful hesitation, put the book
In hi* hands and went Into the hall to
answer a summons.
John Gordon opened the volume and
begun to run down the names in the
lint. He was alone at the time, and In
thinking bafck over the 'experience he
was able to recall the strange sensa
tion he had or Isolation from every
-friend, even Barton, whom lie had not
•eon for several days. This feeling of
Isolation was so unusually strong that
ho had to light ngulnst the falsehood
that there was no tie of friendship In
bl* work, that he stood alone III tlio
struggle for humanity.
Nurac after name of agepts or flrni*
or companies having control of tb*
property around Mope llouso laid been
read by him, and he laid not reached
V
tho block he had been studying, for hi*
Interest deepened every moment a* he
recognized famlliur names, familiar In
the commercial nnd social world.
He turned over a page nnd came tet
the section marked "Waterside." nnd
the second name tie rend wan "Rufus
Gordon," with numbers Indicating
ownership of several of the worst
* houses In the block. He read the name
wjth heightening color nnd went on.
nud near the top of the opposite pngc
he saw the name of I’liilo II. Marsh
nnd numbers crediting him with own
ing half a dnr.cn tenements. Glancing
at the bottom of the pngc, Gordon
noted the same name ngaln as the own
er of property which, by reference to
the map of the appendix, he Identified,
by comparison with bis own draft of
the block, ns saloon and vaudeville
property,
"Lnella'a father!" The Idea that for
years the woman to whom lie had given
this Directions had hi led In the luxury
■of -her home, kept In the possession of
ttbe sort on ay things of social luxury
by-mrah* of money that had the taint
of human misery and shame nnd sin
on It. caused hint to rovolt against tha
whole cruel social Indifference of thnt
part of the social world represented
i by the facts In the book lieforo him.
"Luelln's father nnd mine also"’ be
i.nddod. lie leaned Ids head on bis
I hadd.-ntid Ids face grew stern. Miss
'Andrews, coming back to the library,
•panned in the doorway anil stood then
i ■ moment looking Intently at him.
CHAPTER IV.
"Why should It be?" Miss Andrew*
questioned calmly. “Business In many
of Its regular methods la not noted for
a refined nnd lovlr.g expression of the
Golden Rule. Most of the names In thnt
list are names of men who fare sump',
tuously every day and are counted
ampng the best citizens."
"I've made up iny mind what to do,''
John Gordon said Irrelevantly. “I am
going to see my father, and"—
"And what?"
“I won't promise until I have seen
him. But you know better than I do
that the city ordinances are violated n
dozen times In tho Whterslde district
The overcrowding, the plumbing, the
absence of lighting, are all In direct f lo-
lntlon of every ordinance on the sub
ject. Scores of the tenant* complained
that their landlords refused to do any
thing."
Miss Andrews said nothing, but she
eyed John Gordon with her customary
calmness. It was the ealmm-ss of one
who has been through the entire hell
of |wllt!cnl apathy nnd mutijli-lpal In-
competency amt criminal neglect nnd
still preserves Its equanimity.
"Let me know the result of your In
terview. please." she finally said ns
John Gordon lapsed Into a silent brood
big.
He went Into the business city next
day and entered the bank of which
Rufus Gordon was president with u
feeling Hint he strove to subdue and
the prayer thnt he might not be pro
voked Into saying some things thnt
burned la his heurt. At the same time
when lie was once In Ills father's pres
ence he began to doubt his ubllity to
discuss the facts calmly.
Mr. Rufus Gordon shown! no em
prise at the sight of his son. although
the two hnd not met since thnt event
ful day when John Gordon had taken
suinewlmt formal leave of his home.
- "Will you take n seat?" Rufus Gor
don spoke with the cold polltcuess he
might have shown any man who had
In all probability come to negotiate fat.
a loan.
John Gordon remained standing and
came at once to the point of bl* er-.
rand. *
"Kilther. we have decided each to go
his own way. but that docs not mean
that we are never to have anything
more to do with each other, does It?"
"When you ure tired of your present
foollshuesa, you can come back." There
was the faintest suggestion In Rufus
Gordon's manlier of relenting III Ills
tone and attitude. The lips trembled
slightly, nnd the eyes rested for Just
an Instant on the sod's face before
cumlng back to the apparently Indiffer
ent gnze that hud been directed at the
table. v
"I have not come to talk of that,
father. It Is luqiossllile for me to
change my purpose. What I have come
to see you about Is this: You control
some teuniit property In Waterside dis
trict, Bowen street, two blocks south
of Hope House. Do you kuuw from
personal knowledge the coudltlou of
tbut property?"
Instantly over Rufus Gordon's face
swept nn angry wave of color.
“It Is none of your business! This Is
part of your contemptible meddling ns
a reformer In other is-ople's affairs!"
"But It Is my business: It Is the
business of every man. Father, do
you know the horrible condition of that
property and the awful condition of
the people living there?”
Rufus Gordou made no answer, but
the anger was cvideutly deepening In
him. Jobu Gordou waited a moment.
All his accumulated passion growing
out of what he bad seen and heard dur-
lug that one short week hi Hope House
was In danger of rlslug like a torrent
against his own father. But when he
spoke It was with an earnestness that
revealed his attempt at selt mastery.
"Nos. IT and IP, owned by jou.
INS ANDREWS bad
come Into the room
nud up to the table
before John Gordon
raised his bead. j
"These names"—
“You found them. Of course I In-
tended you should. I am sorry for
you.” Mil * Andrews spoke sadly. {
"Sorry tor me! Sorry for them. Miss
Andrews! I am not altogether sur-
,prised to find my father’s name bets.
But Mr. Marsh"— ^
Uc was silent a moment
"Mr. Marsh?" Ml** Andrews asked, \
"--and John Genian, who had |jeen wop-
.-dertng If he could tell Miss Andrews;
-anything about I.uelht, realized that;
ah* was in total Ignorance of‘Loclla 1
• and Iter father.
“Mr. Marsh is senior member of tho
Ann of Marsh. Lyon A Humber, elec-
• tricUos. He 1* an oM friend of my
-father. I have known him since I was
-a.boy and always respected him. It,
was a- gnat surprise to me to Hnd his *
.“SSJW*-,
window space equal 'to at Twist one-
tenth or Its Door area. These rdorns
not only do not hare one-tentb wlnflow
‘space, hut they do iiot have any at all.
They are simply dark rooms, the only
Ught/und nir that Over enter them be
ing What ran get In through the door,
which In many rases opens on n middle
room, which in turn has uo light or
air except what can (Inter through a
shaft between the front uud rear tene
ments on'.y six feet wide and Into
which the tenants throw their garbage
because the boxes In front are broken
and overflowing, l-'nthcr. these human
beings are ratting In these Inhuman
surroundings, and no language can
convey the awful horror of. Child IIto.
the cruel torture of mother life com
pelled to give -birth to children, to
nurse sick babies, to prepare, meals, to
endeavor to obtain sleep or reft. In
the lu-nrt of overpowering odors, nil In
less space and with lens light and air
tlinn a human being would grant to n
suffering dumb animal. Father, the
property owners of tenement building.*
in this city are paying less attention to
Immortal creatures made In God's Im
age than they pay to Kick cats or Im-
poi-tcd toy bogs or blooded race horses.
And. oh. father, for the sake of all
this tortilred life, of these children
horn without playgrounds, of these
mothers who struggle to keep decent
nnd these girls who go down to ruin
under the stress of.the Inhuuinsi crowd
ing, will you iiot'do something? You
can do It The old buildings ran he
destroyed. They never can lie repaired.
They ore nlmply alive with verm.'n
and disease. But new buildings, cov
ering the legal space-on the fbt, could
he put up nnd he made- to pay better
than tlit- old ones. You could save the
lives of children for the future. You
could”—
“Are you lecturing at me?" Rufus
Gordon suddenly Interrupted. Ills fat
flabby face white with passion. “I
know my own business, nnd I will at
tend to It!"
John Gordon took a step nearer and
gaznl with painful Intentness Into his
father's face.
“Then do yon mean to say. rather,
that you will not raise a linger to right
these great wrongs? Will you not”—
"I will attend to my affairs as I
think best and without any meddling
from any one."’
“But. father, nil this tins nothing to
do with onr difference of opinion as to
my eliqlee of n career. It Is simply an
appeal In the name of a common hu
manity. Will you not do t tlils much at
least? Will you go down to Bowen
street and see thlngsfor yourself?"
"I will not! kjy ngont attends to all
the business."
“Have you ever been there? Have
you ever looked nj tlie misery with your
own or pm?”
own eyes
“It Is none of your buslnes*!"' Rufus
Gordon started up In Ills ebnlr nnd
confronted Ills son. This thue the man’s
checks hnd n deep red epot on them,
and Ills fingers twitched nervously. The
stoop of his shoulders, the wrinkles
about Ids eyes, the whole pose nnd atti
tude. revealed to John Gordou even
more than during that memorable ln ;
tonlcw when his father bad refused
to.givc bis sanction to Ills son’s choice
the aging of vital forces that ouce bad
scciiiud Incapable of weakness.
John Gofdon clinched Ills hand and
repressed the words thnt trembled on
Ills Tips. If he spoke, he kuew he would
say too much. After all, was he bis
father's Judge? Yet If the property
owners refused to act what redress,
what hope for the future? It tfns a
horrible commercial system that per
mitted, with the mnnlcipnl authorities’
sanction or Indifference, the brutal vlo-
lotion of ordinniK-e* that were on the
statute hooks. Iiut never executed, spit
upon by otticer* nnd cltlxcns alike, a
mockery to nil decent government
For a minute fnther nnd son faced
each other silently. Then John Gordon
turned nnd without another word went
nwny. but ns be walked down the
steps of the mnaslre stone building bis
heart was sore within hint.
“My own father! My own fnther!"
be repented over nnd over, and tears
dimmed his eyes nnd ooba choked his
throat ns he said the words.
Nevertheless, with that fixity of pur
pose which nhvnys Ignored private
feelings In the face of public duty, he
considered hi* mornlug task only Just
begun. He must see Mr. Marsh, nnd
he walked straightway to bis office,
which was near by.
fntln-r, contain seventeen families.
They are, us 1 suppose you kuow, front
ami rear tenements. They nro both
horribly out of n-iiutr and absolutely
unlit fot human Imbibition. Take the
ease of the plumbing. There nre no
rOvcnl* to any of the pipes, nnd ouly
Cue waste pipe has a trap. Tliat Is of
Uo value because of the condition of
the catch gugfux, which are lielow
ground and hare simply l.»-ioim- so
clogged with grease that they are cess-
pools that overflow the court nud even
run over Into the basement, where two
families arc living. Back of No.
IP on the alley Is a stable la which
a vegetable dealer keeps two hors--*
apd a cow. These an- directly under
a room which lias licen added.to the
old brick liakcry. that Is lu a terrible
state of decay and threatens to full
down. If it docs, us It ly liable to do
at nuy time. It,will certainly result In
the death or Injury of the tenants. All
the plumbing Is tu direct violation of a
distinct diy onltuance which mal.es It
au offense to put In piping without
traps, rereuts aud catch basins to ac
cumulate material that clogs the sewer
connections. The overcrowding Is sim
ply indescribable.
- “la both these tenements that you
own and control there Is less than 200
sqyare feet of floor Area for families
of ifrom Ore to seven, living In three
si-.d two rooms. There are six bed
rooms In- No. 17 that ore absolutely
dark slid that In spits of tb# ordinance
which provides that every room of a
tenement or lodging hocse mostly
GREATLY REDUeEO PRISES
Take a glance at a few BARGAINS we mention and
you will realize that we mean to sell if BARGAINS are
what you want.
Two Hundred Pieces Fast-color Calicoes, worth Sc., Our price 4 l-2c.
per yard. \Best Quality Calicoes, worih 6c., Our price 4 i-2c. per yard.'
Nice Muslins at 3c. per yard. Yard-wide Bleaching^ 4 7-8c. per yard. Extra
Good Quality Yard-wide Bleaching, worth 10c., Our price 7 i-2c. per yard;
Yard-wide Percales, 6 3-4c. per yard. One Hundred Pieces' White Lawn—
the 10c. quality—our price 6 l-2c. 15c. Quality, our price 10c. per yard.
Good Ginghams 5c. per yard. Dress Chambras, All Colors, the 15 l-2c.
Quality, our price 8 1 -2c. Dress Ginghams, the 10c. quality, our price 7.I-2C.
Double-Width Cashmere, worth from 15 to 30c. Our price 10c. per yard.
Mr. Marsh bad Just come, and when
Jobu Gordon appeared at the door of
Ids private office he greeted his visitor
heartily, saying as he motioned Gor
don to a chair: "Glad to %-e you.
Where have you bceu In ly? Been on
the point of dropping you a note ask
ing you to come and dine. You aud
l.uvlla haven't quarreled, have you?
Curne to thing of IL she's looked rather
sotier lately.”
Mr. Marsh was a large, handsome
man of fifty-two. Ills manner was
hearty,- bl* whole licnrlng confident,
with the air of one who ha* succeeded
In every business enterprise he ever
undertook. A* a man of large wealth,
of university training nnd some degree
of culture, of which perhaps he was
unduly conscious, he was reckoned
among the solid business men df the
city sud was olwnys proud to see Its
name used In that connection.
“lAlptla lias not told you. then?"
John Gordon asked In s low tone.
“Told me what?"
“She refuse* to marry me.”
."Refuses to marry you?" Mr. Marsh
spoke In astonlshmenL
“Why—why—why, bow la that, Gor
don? Yon are old enough to know your
own minds."
"I thought *0, sir." John Gordon re
plied almost bitterly, "but, Luclla
thinks' otherwise. She will never ha
my wife."
WE ARE MAKING LARGE REDUCTIONS ON TABLE LINENS, TABLE-
CLO'IH, DOYLIES, LINEN TOWELS„ COTTON TOWELS AND
TOWELING, FANCY TABLE COVERS'AND SCARFS.
Our stock of Silks Jn Chinas, Taffetas, Mowries, Peaudcssue and Pcaudcssyne is notv Com
plete, and >
We Offer You Great Bargains.
EL 0 OR OIL CL 0 TH, Beautiful Designs.
LINOLEUMS, Beql Grade, Guaranteed..
.... 82 l-2c. per yard.
88c. per yard.
We also offer you SPECIAL BARGAINS in Matting.
Carpets, Art Squares and Rugs.
Our line of LACE CURTAINS, CHENIEL CURTAINS and
TAPESTRY CURTAIN GOODS, by the yard, is Complete.
You can buy at Very LOW PRICES.
Our Line of EMBROIDERY is Complete; from the CHEAPEST
to the BEST, and we are offering them CHEAPER
than Other Merchants buy them.
mi
LADIES' ALL-LEATHER SLIPPERS, worth $1.00. Our price 75c.
A NICE PARASOL for. > 85o.
ROYS' NICE SUMMER SUITS. 98c.
NICE SUSPENDERS for Boys ! 70, ^
NICE SUSPENDERS fpr Men.. lOe.
MEN'S SHIRTS, the 75c. quality 40c.
MEN'S SHIRTS, the $1.00 quality 83c.
A NICE LINE 01 MEN'$ WHITE VESTS 75c. to $5.50. ,
A NICE LINE of Boyd Shirts and Knee'Pants, worth 40c. caeh. Our price. .20c. each.
*♦♦♦♦*♦♦««♦♦♦»
The Greatest Bargains on Earth
Can be bought in Ladies’ Trimmed Hats,-Hack and Ready-to-wear Hats, Hat Trimmings,
Flowers and Ribbons, Be sure to inspect our line. Our prices are also reduced on Ladies’
Skirts. We have them from 75c. to $15. ' / '
Men’s All-wool Suits, Black and Blue, $4.98.
WE ARE SELLING OUR LINE OF MEN’S AND BOYS’ CLOTHING 6DD PANTS
FOR bJENAND BOYS AT GREAT BARGAINS. EVERYTHING IN OUR STORE IS
OFERED YOU AT GREAT BARGAINS./ COME TO SEE US AND BE CONVINCED. ",
Yours for Bargains,
A. ROOBIN & BROs,