Part 36 (1/2)
”Now tell me about your home. You say you want to make an addition, add an ell or something.”
”Yes; we think by adding a wing we can double our capacity. But I have the plans of the new work, and a picture and plans of the present house.”
She brought a book of views with an architect's drawings of the new hoped-for wing, and the pictures and plans of the present house.
Drusilla drew her gla.s.ses from her bag and bent over the new plans; then she turned her attention to the house now in use.
”You say this is where they are at present? Which is the rooms you use for the mothers?”
The worker pointed them out.
”We have six beds in this room, and four beds in this, and five beds in this room. In this long room we can put about twelve cots for the children that do not have to be with their mothers during the night.
This is the dining-room; this the living-room.”
Drusilla caught sight of some rooms upstairs.
”What's these three rooms. Who're they for?”
”Those are for the workers who go out for the week-end.”
”What do you mean by the week-end?”
”From Sat.u.r.day to Monday.”
”You mean the women who work here like yourself go out there and spend Sat.u.r.day and Sunday?”
”Yes.”
”But why do you need three rooms?”
”Well, you see there are a great many workers here, and they take turns, and often three or four of them go out.”
”They each have a room to themselves?”
”Yes, you see they are in the noise here all the week, and they must have a place where they can rest and have quiet.”
Drusilla looked at her sharply.
”What do you do with the rooms the rest of the time?”
”They are vacant.”
”You don't put none of the mothers in 'em?”
”Certainly not. We could not use them if they had been occupied by the cla.s.s of people we send out.”
”Why don't you double up when you go out, and not take so much room?
You could put four beds in that room and all be together and use them other rooms for mothers.”
”That would be hard on our workers. They like their privacy. And then we would not like the mothers and their children so close to us.