JL2010

__//** Elizabeth Bentley **//__



 As a young child, I worked from five in the morning to nine at night. We were allowed 40 minutes at noon for meals, and we ate breakfast and drank as we could. Any time we were late to the factory, we were strapped and punished. My job was a weigher in the card-room. In the card-room, it was so dusty that I was unable to see anyone. Because of the dust and conditions, my health was affected severely. When I went to reach for a basket or another item, it felt like I was pulling my bones out of their places. Currently, I am living in the poor house and am incapable of working in factories. By working, I was able to support my mother for as long as I could and gave all I could from the earliest age I began working at.