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THE BREAKER BQYS ' ,
By Berton Braley. "
The miners blast away the coal, the hunkies shovel it,
The engineer he hoists the 'car that's put upon the cage,
But by and by it comes to us where all day long we sit
Within the shaking breaker-house, arid earn our little wage.
For we're the little breaker-boys who labor all thevday
To pickthe slate from out the coal and toss the stvff away. -
.Our cheeks are hollow; pale and wan, our,hair has lost itS'glow
(The breaker takes that all'away injust a little time)
Alongthe slide the dus'ty" coal must flow and flow and flow,
The breaker roars and crashei and the air is;fttll of grime
And we're the little br eker "boys r with faces dull and gray
Who pick the slate from out the coal -and toss the stuffraway,
.Our fathers toil as best they can,. hutfstUl .the cash they earn
Is not enough to keep us al and so we tfake-ourtrickjcf-
Putting our youth an4 gladness in the very coaljyour burn, -Cutting
our hands apcLfingers on the sharpedged slate we picle,
For we're the little breaker boys who leave our fun and play
To pick the slate from out the coal -and toss tle stuff away.
Our eyes have lost theirvtwjnkle and. o'ur'voicesjlost their;ring N
(The "breaker's dark and dingy and the noise. of it is great)
While other kMstare playing ball and having all their" fling'
We're sitting by a stream of coal and picking out. the slate,
For we're the little breaker boys whoheh the mines to, "pay,
Who pick the sla,te (rom out thccoal and toslTbur;liyes'away!
o -o . "" .
ANew Version. " " f spare, " ,
Plenty of leeway, youiyill swear j
But the darneS -oldf' warden
wouldnjtwait ' ,
And the doggone-pardon camq
H' too'jate. .
Russian ducks are how'brought
to.$ewT.of,k"in large quntities
and they, have- reduced prices six
-to ten cents a pounds They are
inearly as welcome as theRussian
fleet that came to vbrace up the
Union cause in war days.
The governor called an A. D..T.,'
"Here, take .thfs ."pardon, , boy,''
saicLhe; . j ,
"Go fast to the gallows"yard," he
' - said, , ' , '
"And save a horsethief 's precious
head."
The governor had four days , to
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