The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1890-10-11
TOO eRhspINe.
A Woman's Scheme for Making
Money.

Women have but an Indifferent
reputation for business ability. We
believe that this arises rather from
a want of opportunity to display
their business aptitude than from
any real lack of it. How often does
a woman who has been reduced to
widowhood support herself and
children on perhaps a quarter of
the income which the family en-
joyed while the husband was living /;
and very likely along with it all
pick up second husband worth a
dozen times as much as the first
one. A recent occurrence in New
ark brings to light remarkable
case of feminine business ability.
Two years ago Henry Jefferson
died in Newark, leaving only small
means of support for his family.
But Mrs. Jefferson was not a woman
to despair. She advertised furnished
rooms to let. She found that she
had ten rooms which were available
and soon had them all occupied.
She got SO per week for each room,
which gave her a total weekly in
come of $50. This was sufficient
for the support of her family, but
more was of course desirable. Mrs.
Jefferson began to think.
One day, q month after the death
of her husband, brilliant idea
flashed upon her. Her rooms were,
without exception, let to dry goods
clerks. They all arose at about
g.: 80 o'clock in the morning and
went away, never returning before
7 o'clock in the evening. Mrs. JEFF
ferson accordingly advertised quiet
rooms for night workers. The re-
suit was that within two weeks
time she had let her ten furnished
rooms to ten night telegraph oper-
ators, who never got in before 7:3O
O'Clock in the morning, and always
went away before 6 o'clock at night.
This doubled her income, with
practically no additional expense.
The hour between the departure of
one set of lodgers and the arrival
of the other lot, morning and night,
gave her ample time, with the aid
of a servant, to make the beds and
transfer the clothing, toilet articles,
trunks and things" in general, SO
! that when the clerk arrived at night
or the telegraphers in the morning
neither set found any evidence of
the occupancy of the other contin-
gent. Nothing happened to mar
the harmony for two years. But,
like many others, Mrs Jefferson be-
came too grasping.
A month ago both the clerk and
the operator who occupied the front
parlor on the first floor, and who,
of course, had never heard of each
others existence, left the city Mrs
Jefferson failed to find any more
clerks or operators who wanted
rooms, but III day or two she had
a call from young man who was
employed in an electric light works
and went on duty at midnight, go
ing to bed at 4 o'clock in the after
noon and getting up at 80. She
let him the front parlor. The next
day young man called who was a
railroad ticket agent and finished
his days work at midnight, retir-
ing a half hour later. He did not
seem to clash with the electric ex-
pert, so Mrs. Jefferson let him have
the front parlor. He proved light
sleeper, and was always out by 3 A.
NJ. 1t so fell out that week later
young doctor who was hunting
for an office came along. Mrs. JEFF
ferson ascertained that his office
hours were from 9 A. NJ. until noon,
and let him the front parlor. Ey-
erything went on smoothly for an
other week, when pale young man,
who works on a Newark morning
paper, came to Mrs. Jefferson to
get quiet room in which to write.
He was constructing a play for a
prominent pugilist and wished to
work on it afternoons before going
| to the office. Mrs. Jefferson found
that he purposed writing from half
past II until a little after 3, and
accordingly let him the front par
lor. Matters now moved like clock
work. The electric expert went to
bed at p. NJ. and got up a little
before midnight. Mrs. Jefferson
arose, removed his goods and chat
| tells and set the bed, if we may so
express it, for the ticket agent. This
gentleman arrived a few minutes
later, but went away at $3.50. Mrs.
Jefferson closed the folding bed, re-
moved his trunk and hung out the
doctors sign. The able practitioner
came at 8 O'Clock and stayed until
l12. Mrs. Jefferson then removed
his books, took in his sign and set
out the pale young mans pipe and
tobacco, shufiied his manuscript
and scattered it about on the table
He soon came and worked for three
hours, sometimes meeting the re-