St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-03-03
HELPING THE HELPLEss.

The GLOBES suggestion in last Sun
days issue relative to the establishment
OF free employment bureau has
already borne fruit. 1t attracted the
attention of the stonecutters' union,
and in addition to giving an unanimous
endorsement to the sentiments of our
article, that body adopted memorial
to be presented to the council at its
next meeting, asking that the resident
workingmen of the city be favored in
the letting of all city work. 1t is esti-
mated that S. 0,000 is sent out of the city
every year for stonecutting alone,
while the stonecutters of the city are
idle at least One-third of the time. The
petition represents that by having this
work done by resident workingmen, the
workingmen are not only benefited,
but the business community generally.
1t is true that all city work is let by
contract, but the stonecutterS are of
opinion that the city council can so
guard the letting that the contractors
will be compelled to favor residents.
Another equally important and prac-
ticable movement inspired by our sug-
gestiOns is the one described in another
column--that of an effort being made
by the White Shield league to establish
free help exchange for the bentit of
poor girls who desire employment. The
White Shield league is an organization
of noble women banded together for the
single purpose of helping women in all
conditions and circumstances. Their
work is OF the most unselfsh character,
and they have the broadcast OF all fields
for home mission work. There is no
one of their sex so low and abandoned
as to be beneath the attention and pro-
tecting care of the organization. The
rescuing hand is outreached to the out
cast and the hopeless ones, and the
word of sympathy and the act of kind
ness is ever springingup for the deserv
ing poor.
The movement the White Shield
league proposes to inaugurate in this
city for the benefit of unemployed
working girls is ole of those practical
charities that appeal to our better
Judgment. There are doubtless relia-
BILE intelligence offices in the city where
girls in search of employment are per-
fectly secure and will be fairly dealt
by; but in all large cities the in
telligence system is so awfully abused
by designing scoundrels, who use it as
a cover to lure innocent girls into a
life of shame, the honest and unsus-
pecting young woman in search of
work is always exposed to danger. 1t
is downright blessing, then, to have
these help exchanges established under
the auspices of pure organization, in
order that the working girls may be
afforded ample security. The girls who
are seeking work are thus not only pro-
vided with place to which they can
go to find it, but they are sure of being
recommended to an employer who will
respect their virtuous womanhood.
We hope to see the good work inau-
gurated by the women in this direction
initiated by the male portion of our
population in behalf of the men who
are out of employment. Encouraged
by the success that has already
crowned our efforts, the GLOBE renews
renews its appeal to our charitably
disposed people to give this subject
their earnest attention. There is work
enough here for all of our working
people, and in the name of all that is
good and just, give them an opportu-
nitV TO get TO work