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March 4th, 1935..

ir.verhill, Mass.


To the IT. R. A. Labor Dept.

Dear Sir:-


I do. nc t.1--0- lw to stcrt t. is letter but first of ".11 I' .1 a sweat-
anop worker but none as tragic a.s this. So please listen and help the
children of .a.verhill. For you are the only ones that can do it. I
sa.y this is a tragic letter. Yes tragic. I do not know what your
idea of tragic is but I dc think that the most tragic thing to do is
for fathers to go out and enjoy themselves, not work mind you., while
their children work and swert till after midnight. That' s what the
fathers of Haverhill do, es-ecial.lly thi.e best of fathers. They force
their little children from t.Le a.-o of 9 to 12 to work from 6 o'clock
in the morning till after midnight. An'! on wv.it. Those handweaved
bass, that is the specil.lt:, of T.averhill. They are weaved all the way
through. They make not in the shops in ;-averhill, but instead in the
houses. All the children wor': nights trying to make those bags till
1 or 2 after mridniZht. Then thie next day they do to school all in,
unable to do their lessons. T e teachers complain all the time.
Lately we got word that t---e IT.2-.A. will nct allow them to be made-in
the houses but in the shops .and the poor kids were overwhelmed with
joy. But the fathers were .all angry. And the children are afraid to
say anything. And now they don't know what to do. They made their
children work while they the fathers went to the coffee houses and
beer joints and enjoyed themselves, on their children's sweat money.
While their wives and children sla.ved themselves. ;7hen they should
get sleep insteLd. That' s Vwh, there is so many sicknesses in Haverhill
the germs from that leather brought sickness in all the homes. Do
you think that's right? Wculd you let a thing like tha,.t continue?
You that have the power. Well to continue, 'the fathers kind of liked
loafing like that. But now there all fla.rinr; up because those hand
bags cannot be made in the houses. They got lazy. They are afraid
to go back to work. You nmuast stop those bags from being made into the
houses completely. Give the kids a break. Because I didn't get mine.
I did them ever since I was 14, and I'm now 18 years old. And I'm a
<,irl ad I'm sick and tired of watcnin.j little kids losing fun. Make
the fathers go to work, that'.- their duty, not their little kids.
The manufacturers of Phoinix 3Tovelty Co., United Ba6 Co. and Essex
are using all their power to have made in the homes because they are
in the money and are afraid to lose n chance like that if we got paid
properly I wouldn't mind, but to do a whole bag through we get 8-
an. it tak es mostt 2 hirs. for it. So sto,, them please. Don't give
them a chance to pull it throug.i. Give th:e kids a break, if you
want them to growv and be real Anerican citizens and not turn their
faces against America. Like they almost made me. So please use all
your force to stop hand ba:,s from bein- made in the houses but instead
in the shops where they belong.
 Very truly yours,
 A. Sweatworker


9811


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