The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1886-06-25
Is SHE A MYTH?
In Other Words, the So.Called
Business Woman"

BUSINESS woman.
s'The more come in contact with til,
female representative of this day an,
generation, the more / am convinced
that she is curious and remarkabl,
phenomenon" which remark from /.
blonde young man who certainly coult
never have experienced any very harsf
treatment from the sex naturally became
q subject for investigation.
Don't get excited" continued he o.
the yellow mustache lazily lighting q
cigarette. ..you are not to be treated te
a confidence am considering lovely
woman at the present moment solely
from business point of view. My po
sition in the adjuster's department of a
fire insurance company affords me OPP
portunities to study the female char.
acter in variety of phase, and l repeat
that it is a complex and remarkable
thing.
ITO begin with, have learned there
is no such thing as a business woman.
The term is a misnomer. Some women
may possess degree more of business
knowledge than others, but the wisest
of them is tyro before the youngest
clerk in our office.
''But they don't think so; oh, no.
I'm real bizniss woman, said the thin
wife of fat Third avenue butcher to
me the other day. when went into her
ssitting-room. There had been a slight
fire, and hole about two feet square
had been burned in her carpet. I'm a
reel bizniss woman as soon as l babe
her good morning and told her my
-errand, and Iwant damages for this
carpet. It's no good any mora big
hole burned right out of the middle,
The floor was bare-the carpet rolled
up in one corner. l unrolled it and
looked it over. 1t was a common
tapestry carpet, fairly good, and it had
= considerable hole burned in one
breadth. You see, she began, when
had done, the carpets no good at all.
I'll have to get a new one, and it'll
take a good $50 to do it.
Il politely acquiesced and asked:
How long ought such carpet to
wear?'
..She fell into that little trap with
what you might call dull thud. Six
years at the very least, and I've only
had it three, she snapped out.
Again l acquiesce1: And such q
carpet costs about 81 Is per yard 1
went on.
".Yes. and it takes 10 yards for this
ROOM she broke in. Fifty dollars
assented. Then madam, by your own
the carpet at the time of last
weeks fire was half worn out, worth
accordingly $25.' There was silence.
but shortly the woman of .bizness' re-
covered herself. Well, if it was she
said; it did ME as much good as if it
was new, and now it's only fit for a
junk cart. faint worth anything to
me-
lit is to me- l interposed quietly.
Il will take the carpet and give you $25
for it.
.'But that wasn't what she wanted.
Her idea was to keep the carpet, which
she knew was perfectly good with lit
tie turning, and to get besides all the
money she could. In the end she took
just what she was entitled to-about
S."
lyon must strike your queer fish of all
sorts in your ine." suggested the re-
porter as the young man paused.
Lots of them," was the quick re-
Spouse. Nothing but queer fish it
seems to me sometimes, or else the bus
mess is peculiarly apt to develop the
queer side of human nature. Our Office
used to insure among the foreigners
over in the Hester and Essex street ten
ements. There's where Won run against
queer fish. Such places as they are.
Ugh, it fairly makes my nose ache to
think of them now! They are mostly
tailors and fur sewers and the like: they
are a prolific lot, and one room or two
at most answers for family of from
seven to ten to eat, sleep, and work in.
You may fancy the smells one would
strike. And the cat! No family over
there is complete without the cat. The
cat does all the mischief, too. The un-
failing reason for all the fires is, the cat
tipped over the lamp. It is an estab-
lished joke among the offices that take
these risks-this ubiquitous and peren-
nialiy mischievous cat of the East Side
''Then arson is a common crime in
that community" suggested the re-
porter.
carson improved, but not unques-
toned. Curious, too. for they get very
decent furnishings and excellent cloth
ing, and then damage them for the in
You insure any thing and every
thing. I suppose?"
.'Oh. yes-that is, if it is specified. AL
woman over in Paterson the other dav
showed me among the debris of her fire
2 dead canary bird in blackened cage.
She wanted compensation for its loss,
but the company would not grant it It
should have been covered by a special
policy, as they often are. Parrots are