Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-08-23
A GIRL BROKER
Who Attends to Customs Business 70,
Importers.

From the Cincinnati Times star
modest-sppesring young lady came into
Appraiser Bardsars Office yesterday afternoon.
said something In a lev vsice, received On
answer, smiled her reply and went
| quietly away. Beyond an attractive face and
pretty ways her coming caused no comment.
especial to one bent on business. But when
Mr.. Burdsal said:
II have three or four calls a day from that
young lady" the case assumed phase of de-
cided interest
Thought she was your granddaughter
| NO. indeed! She's broker-whst 10 known
as custom-house broker. Does that surprise
| you! Well, that young lady is o brave one, and
she IS smart one, and she deserves world Of
credit. Her father WAS a custom-house broker
ana she has succeeded TO his business | be-
ileEe; anyway. she IL carrying ON the business
and al! by herself The business is a most diff
cult one and 1t would seem to me about the las,
! that young lady would think Of entering. But
! she Is great success. and is another proof OF
what women can do IN an equal chance with
men Though not this interesting
| young ladys grandfather. has
grandtatherly praise of her set the reporters
| face In her direction She was found ensconced
in neat little office in Pixies Opera House. on
the same door on which ex-Liov. Foraker's law
| Offices are located The young broker had Just
come in and still had on her big hat with the
broad, Happy brim. and was still carrying her
! little hand satchel. She looked more like re-
cent graduate from high school. one whose life
had been naught but one long summer. and she
| looked as though the most serious occupation
OF her life was going a-shopping. A pack Of
letter heads lay on the desk. and in one corner
was III. r. eraser. custom house broker"
And this was the young lady with the fappy
hat
d "Oh. yes. 1 have carried on this business for
some time" she said. with that same quiet
smile that she gave Grandpa Burdsal. MY
| father. Ernst @. eraser, carried on the bust
| ness. Then he took my sister in with him and
it was Z. VI. eraser. Father died and my
sister carried on the business for two wears her
self She thcn gave it up. Married Rep. !
No. did not succeed her. | was too young
| There was no custom house broker for some
time after that and good many OF the large
business houses got to doing their own custom
house business, having men who gave their en-
tire time to ii. My present competitor sue
ceeded 10 what renamed Of fathers and Sis
ter's business. When l commenced had to
commence entirely new"
| How did you manage it?'
| IL went among business men, importers and
| solicited their customs business called upon
| many Of my fathers old patrons. secured
| business from many of them and. OF course.
worked up new business. IL was very hard
| at first. Ii is hard now. There is much
| detail about il. NY sister gave me a great
| deal of help"
Mr.. Burdsal says you often have large i'm
portations consigned TO your
| ''Oh. yes. | attend 20 the entire business
for some houses These goods are consigned
TO me. figure up the duty, pay the same and
| deliver the goods to the proper parties. My
| inquiry this afternoon concerning some
goods of New York parties that were consigned
| to me-"
Brave little woman. II is business Of ex-
traordinary difficulty in detail. She must know
the different ratings she figures the duties on
| every manner of goods from every country
under the sun. The bills are made out in the
coin in the particular realm from which differ
| ent goods come. She must reduce that to
| United States currency; she must be posted
in all tariff laws and regulations. And a copy
| of the new Mckinley tariff bill and the new
administrative BILL that went in force August
/. were lying on her desk. The APP
praiser saws that her work is very
| correct. She gets invoice and fg-
ures out what the duties are. and then
she comes over and they are compared with
ours; she goes to the collectors and pays duty
and delivers the goods. And she is making q
not think that shorthand and the typewriter
and clerking are about all that woman can
! do. Here is girl who successfully does a
| business that many men can not do.
II am doing as well AS though had gone
| into the usual svocations of a woman" said
| Miss eraser
Are you not doing better?"
| swell. yes. with a smile.
Are you not doing as well as a man Nigh,
| be expected to do?"
Il guess So"
"Wil you tell how old you ars2"
| "Twenty-one in July last"
| And yet there some features pertaining t
her work that she can not do because she car
not vote. She spoke of it,