Dear Aunt Bessie,

Thank you for giving me one million dollars, I have decided to give $600,000 to meatpacking, $300,000 to child labor, and $100,000 to conservation. We are both wealthy and do not understand the problems of the underside. The average American only makes less than $500 a year, people are working 60 hours a week, and child labor is widespread.

There is some work to be done and we are going to help.

I just read a book called The Jungle By Upton Sinclair describing meatpacking. He said. “There is meat stored in great piles in rooms; and the water  from the leaky roofs would drip over it, and thousands of rats would race about on it.” I even saw a picture of where the workers hang the meat, and it looks absolutely disgusting in there. The meat has flies, workers are getting all of their disgusting sweat on the meat, they were carrying the meat on very dirty wagons, and barrels.

I also read a report by Lewis Hine on child labor, and you’ll never guess what I found out. The boys working in the breaker are bent double, with little chance to relax. He also said, “The air at times dense with coal-dust which went so far into the passages of the lungs for long periods after the boy leaves the breaker, he continues to cough up the black coal dust.” The boy had cut up all their fingers with coal and slate. Who makes young boys work in such a place like that, and if you thought that was bad just listen to how much worse it can get. Two worker boys both at the age of 15 fell or were carried by coal by coal down into the car below. Then he said. “One of the boys was badly burned and while the other smothered to death. This was the Lee Breaker at Chauncy, Pennsylvania, January 6th 1911.” That is why I want to give $300,00 to child labor, That is just horrifying.

And the last thing I want to donate to is conservation. John Muir makes a very good point in his article about not having enough trees in our country. His thoughts are that every time we cut down a tree we should plant a new one so that we don’t run out of trees, because trees are way to useful to us. We use wood to build shelter and tools that we need in our daily lives. He also said, “Since Christ time and long before that God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand straining, leveling tempest and floods; but he cannot save them from fools only Uncle Sam can do that.” I hope that our $100,000 will be enough.

Thank you Aunt Bessie for your kindness in giving me 1 million dollars to help clean up our country. I know for a fact that we are helping make a better future for our beloved Uncle Sam. I hope that all these problems go away in the near future. It is our responsibility as citizens of this country to establish higher standards of living. I am impassioned by all of these problems in our country. Thank you so much Aunt Bessie.

       Sincerely,

                                                                Isabella J.