Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 256, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 October 1915 — Pa’s Old Clothes [ARTICLE]

Pa’s Old Clothes

**Pa, I do wish you would look over your old clothes and see what I may give away," said Ma at the Sunday dinner table. "All right, Ma, I will some day. I suppose there are some old suits I don’t need, but I must keep some old things—they come in handy occasionally.” “Land sakes, Pa, you have more old clothes around than you will ever wear in the next ten years, and some one else may as well have the use of them. .There is that heavy gray suit that you haven’t w r orn for three years; it would make some poor man a good work suit." "Perhaps it would," Pa admitted, "but I don’t want to part with that suit Just yet. You see, I may go hunting up in Maine next fall, and that suit would be just the thing to wear." "Oh, Pa," exclaimed Jimmie, “will you bring me a little bear?” "I'll see about it, Jimmie, but I’m afraid all the bears will be grown up by the time I get there." "Yes, and have grandchildren,” observed Ma. “You have been saving suits for ten years for a hunting trip in Maine, and that is far as you ever got, except to bring home a lot of railroad literature every year. And in the meantime, thousands of poor men have shivered through cold winters, when your old clothes might have kept them warm.” "Gee, Ma, do you think 1 am Taft? I guess you’re partly right, though,” Pa added thoughtfully. "My old clothes might have kept at least a few of them warm, although it would bo depriving a large family of moths of the comforts to which they are accustomed. Let the old gray suit go If you want to.” “Then there is that horrible loud check suit,” Ma continued. "You would not wear that hunting." "It would scare all the game away,” Bob commented. "I don’t know as I will ever wear that suit again, but I had thought we might save it for Bob.” "Not on your checker board," protested Bob. “The fellows would guy the life out of me.” “Why, that was a dandy suit," contended Pa. “All the ladies in the office liked it, and I had thought of getting another of the same style this Bummer." "I didn’t know,” remarked Ma, with a January atmosphere, “that the ladies in the office took so much interest in your apparel. But if you are quite through with that wonderful creation, I will send it to some poor stableman at the race course.” “All right, all right, Ma,” said Pa, in a conciliatory tone. "If you object to my wearing anything that will indi cate lam alive, I will wear black all next summer.” “Don’t be foolish, but next time you buy a suit I should like to go along and sed that you get something appropriate. And then there are three other suits, or parts of suits, that some one could use.” “IJut I must have some old clothes to wear when I work in the garden,” Pa exclaimed. “I can’t give everything away.” “True, but as you have only one garden, I can’t see that you need threo old suits, unless you want one for morning, and one for evening wear. Anyway, you never wear a coat when you work in the garden; all you neqd is a pair of trousers.” “And possibly a shirt,” observed Pa softly. “You might also allow me a 1 belt." "Let’s go up after dinner and look them over,” suggested Ma, ignoring Pa’s frivolous remark. "Today?” exclaimed Pa. "I haven’t read the Sunday par r yet. There are a lot of good things in it, and some day soon, but not on Sunday." "Now, Pa,” said Ma seriously, "you know you will keep on putting it off until the moths eat the clothes, or they drop to pieces; and in the meantime, there are men walking he streets looking for work, and without sufficient- clothing to keep out the wind and rain. If there is anv virtue in helping the poor, then Sunday is just the day to do a little work.” "You know," suggested Mary shyly, “the pastor’s text this morning was, 'I was hungry, and ye fed me; naked, and ye clothed me.’ ” "I give in," said Pa. “We will go up and make a clean sweep of everything that would be of service to anyone. I’ll have plenty of time to read the paper afterward.” “Put in some of mine, too,” suggested Bob. “There are boys out of work as well as men. I have outgrown that blue suit and the brown one, and then there Is some underwear and a bathing suit.” “How do you think the unemployed would look going around the streets in a bathing suit?” asked Pa soberly. “Aw, well, you can send it out to L street anyway. Cleanliness is next to godliness, and you might as well make a thorough Sunday job of it,” “Really, Ma," said Pa, “I’m glad you thought about those old clothes. It will be a great satisfaction to know they are doing some good. I was just saying yesterday that 1 would like to do something for the men out of work but the little we could give would not amount to much.” “If every one ' waited to do something Mg, there would be little accomplished.” replied Ma wisely^—Boston Globe. j