never changed their clothes until bed time,
didn't keep them clean or fresh at any time, and they lived in a
temperature of eighty-five with the air foul from many breaths and
tobacco smoke. Even the children had to breathe this. Then both men
and women went out from this into the cold air either over-dressed or
under-dressed. The result of such foolishness very naturally was
tuberculosis, pneumonia, typhoid and about everything else that
contributes to a high death rate. Not only this but one person
suffering from any of these things infected a whole family.

Such conditions were not due to a lack of money but to a lack of
education. The new generation was making some changes however. Often a
girl or boy in the public schools would come home and transform the
three or four rooms though always under protest from the elders. Clean
surroundings and fresh air troubled the old folks.

Ruth, too, was responsible for many changes for the better in the
lives of these people. Her very presence in a room was an inspiration
for cleanliness. Her clothes were no better than theirs but she stood
out among them like a vestal virgin. She came into their quarters and
made the women ashamed that the rooms were not better fitted to
receive so pure a being. You would scarcely have recognized Michele's
rooms at the end of the first year. The windows were cleaned, the
floors scrubbed, and even the bed linen was washed occasionally. The
baby gained in weight and Michele when he wanted to smoke either sat
outside on the door step or by an open window. But Michele was an
exception.

Ruth's efforts were not confined to our own building either. Her
influence spread down the street and through the whole district. The
district nurse was a frequent visitor and kept her informed of all her
cases. Wherever Ruth could do anything she did it. Her first object
was always to awaken the women to the value of cleanliness and after
that she tried her best to teach them little ways of preparing their
food more economically. Few of them knew the value of oatmeal for
instance though of course their macaroni and spaghetti was a pretty
good substitute. In fact Ruth picked up many new dishes of this sort
for herself from among them.

Some families spent as much for beer as for milk. Ruth couldn't change
that practice but she did make them more careful where they bought
their milk--especially when there was a baby in the house. Then, too,
she shared all her s