e should fall on the poor."

"Why do they?" she asked.

"Because in this case," I said, "the dealers seem to have us where the
wool is short."

"How have they?" she insisted.

"We can't buy coal by the ton because we haven't any place to put it."
She thought a moment and then she said:

"We could take care of a fifth of a ton, Billy. That's only five
baskets."

"They won't sell five any cheaper than one."

"And every family in this house could take care of five," she went on.
"That would make a ton."

I began to see what she meant and as I thought of it I didn't see why
it wasn't a practical scheme.

"I believe that's a good idea," I said. "And if there were more women
like you in the world I don't believe there'd be any trusts at all."

"Nonsense," she said. "You leave it to me now and I'll see the other
women in the house. They are the ones who'll appreciate a good saving
like that."

She saw them and after a good deal of talk they agreed, so I told Ruth
to tell them to save out of next Saturday night's pay a dollar and a
half apiece. I was a bit afraid that if I didn't get the cash when the
coal was delivered I might get stuck on the deal. The next Monday I
ordered the coal and asked to have it delivered late in the day. When
I came home I found the wagon waiting and it created about as much
excitement on the street as an ambulance. I guess it was the first
time in the history of Little Italy that a coal team had ever stopped
before a tenement. The driver had brought baskets with him and I
filled up one and took it to a store nearby and weighed into it eighty
pounds of coal. With that for my guide I gathered the other men of the
families about me and made them carry the coal in while I measured it
out. The driver who at first was inclined to object to the whole
proceeding was content to let things go on when he found himself
relieved of all the carrying. We emptied the wagon in no time and the
other men insisted upon carrying up my coal for me. I collected every
cent of my money and incidentally established myself on a firm footing
with every family in the house. Several other tenements later adopted
the plan but the idea didn't take hold the way you'd have thought it
would. I guess it was because there weren't any more Ruths around
there to oversee the job. Then, too, while these people are
far-sighted in a good many ways, they are short-sighted in others.
Neither the wholesale nor co-operative plans