The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1884-03-08


saw statement of Miss Kate Field
the other day, in " hich she said thai
''women are not wanted in newspaper
offices, either because of prejudice OF
their own foolishness or incapacity,'
writes Boston correspondent of the
Graphic Now, there are large mum.
Der of women doing newspaper work
in Boston, and | bethought me TO find
out what men journalists think about
it. DR.. Mary j. Stafford once said tc
me. Boston is the paradise for single
women" She spoke the truth, for in
general in no other city are women as
free to do as they please and 20 where
they wish without masculine protection
as they are in Boston. doubt, too, il
there is another city in which women
have entered journalism in as large
numbers as they have here. There is not
daily paper in the city, and not week
ly of importance, that has not at least
one woman, and in several cases two
or three women, on the staff as repor-
tiers, editorial writer's, critics, or "spe-
cial writer's" SO | thought Boston
newspaper men ought to know some
thing about that debatable being-wo-
man in journalism. The first one asked
if what Miss Field says is true, replied:
Il think it is, think the reason is
because of their own foolishncss. Wo-
men have an exaggerated idea about
the necessity of always eXerting a NOR
nj influence. Whenever II woman is
associated in work with a number OF
men she considers her first duty to be
not to do her work well. but to act as a
great moral rcformatorv and elevate
the tone of the Office. The consequence
is that about the time she has got her
moral machinery agoing she has also
got herself thoroughly disliked by her
associates, has lost all the influence
she might otherwise have had, and has
created prejudice in the office against
her sex. Women would get along bet
ter in business in general and in jour
nalsm in particular if they would de-
vote themselves solely to their work
and not try so nard to take care of
other peoples morals"
Another thought that among the wo-
men who attempt TO enter journalism
q smaller number are fitted for the
work, either naturally or by training,
than there are men, and therefore there
are proportionally more failures among
women. He also said that women do
not succeed as well as men, because
they have not equal capacity for con-
tinued plodding. They will work all
day or night most assduously ON the
thing in hand, but when it comes to
this continued plodding, day after day,
in routine work, they are very liable to
get discouraged, and they very seldom
90 through with it successfully. Still
another said that woman's lack of sue
cess is due principally to her desire to
make long strides in the work. She
wants to do important work before she
has taken the preliminary training. A
city editor, fair specimen of his spe-
ces, which always looks upon life
and all the things of life from the
standpoint OF good local exclusive
and judges human nature by the ability
to write up good story" declared
emphatically that a woman in a news
paper is nuisance unless she has an
unusual amount of tact and good sense.
As routine reporters he did not think
them success, but as reporters in
special lines OF work he said they were
quite necessary in an Office. In "sight
work, >" writing up street and store
scenes and incidents, getting hold of
curious bits of information, and work
ing up interesting local matter, a field
which he said woman have done al
most nothing in, he thought they would
be successful and do valuable work.