Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1891-11-19
IN WOMAN.S BEHALF.
WHY WOMEN FAIL.
Reasons for Their Lack of Success In
Business or the Professions.

Business or the Professions.
Perhaps it would be well to put it
why people fail in business, since the
causes of failure in men and women
are practically the same.
There is one source of failure among
women, however, which is probably
more common than among men, and
that is the lack of special and patient
training. In her delightful talk before
the Chicago Womens club last year.
which the writer has commented on be-
fore, Harriet Hosmer spoke with en-
thusiasm of her sister-artist Rosa Bon
heur. She attributed part of her
wonderful success to genius, and the
rest to the long, faithful painstnking
labor which she expended in mastering
the technique of her art-even donning
mems clothing that She might visit the
abattoirs and study from nature in the
fields The great sculptor then OBJ
served that she thought therein existed
the one great difference between men
and women artists-women wished to
attain results without effort, and men
were willing to work diligently and to
wait patiently.
This is true of almost every other de-
partment of work where the skill of
women might be utilized. For some
inexplicable reason they have a mis-
taken idea that they can enter the
ranks of skilled workmen, and with no
training whatever, and frequently with
only average intelligence, compete sue.
cessfully with ability and experience.
The age is pre-eminently an age of
competition. The man or woman who
desires to make place and win recogni-
tion must have all the helps that teach
ing and doing can afford. 1t is hard,
even then, to keep up in the race, and
not faint and falter before the goal is
reached.
When the profession has been select
ed, fitness and education taken for
granted, it is the first business of the
aspirant to master all its difficulties,
and to leave no part Of it unlearned,
however irksome and disagreeable the
details may be-
Another fault is lack of professional
zeal There are a good many women
employed in various capacities who, in
| their inmost hearts, consider it grev-
ance that they must support them
selves. They do their work grudgingly
and repiningly, Indifferent as to the
quality of the service rendered, and
secretly elated if they are able to ''get
OUT of any portion of their task.
There are examples where women have
succeeded in work that is wholly dis
tasteful, but this is possible only where
there are tremendous will power and
proportionate conscieItiousness, and
such character is about as rare as
genius
In the first place, it is not a grievance
to be self-supporting, but it ought to be
source of comfort, strength and hap
piness. The realization that the living
which the world is supposed to owe
every human being has been honestly
earned should afford almost as much
moral support as the consolation of re-
~ bliuO OhO WI hOi 10 NV
dependent upon the brains and energy
of others, that she is not suppliant foi
succor unwillingly granted, and which
she does not need; that she can make
her way and straighten the rough
places for those that are to come after
her. In the second place the state o.
"being supported is misunderstood
The woman in the family must work
increasingly in the highest spirit of self
sacrifice. diligently and well She mus
look after the house that it may bt
clean and habitable; this involves, az
Ruskin has shown, part of the knowl
edge required in mastering a score o
professions. She is housekeeper, nurse
hostess, and, in our uncertain domestic
conditions, frequently cook and scrub
woman. In short, the skilled house
keeper must be ready for any emer
gency-illness, losses, misfortune, thC
detection Of servants, the sudder
sally of unexpected guests-all o
which demand tact amiability fore
thought, endurance and wisdom
II is true that, in return for her ser
( vices, she is housed. clothed and fed
supported as it is termed, but it is {
trite observation that she contributes
as much toward the family fortune al
the outward and visible money-earne
her husband But she frequently
has that which, to good woman, i
the highest of all earthly compensa
tions, the love and trust and fidelity 0
her acknowledgements and tende
mpanionship which is denied the un
married.
Last of all, there are many-.too man.
women who have no comprehension o
the value of time They are not a
their posts promptly, and are eager t.
leave before the work is finished-o
finished as it should be. They thinl
that nine o'clock means half-past nine
that noon comes in the after part of tn
day, and promises made, contingen
|, upon fixed dates, are not binding. TIL
woman who is most sincerely interest
ed in what she is doing is in her plac
when she is needed, and remains ther
| ntT WOIh 10 NOuC.s hOlC
takes no note of time, the task befor
her being the one thing of paramount
Importance. This applies peculiarly t
newspaper women, whose copy" mus
be handed in at stated seasons, an
who expect to become reliable an
valuable to their employers
To recapitulate, then, the leadin
causes of failure are lack of training
unwillingness to submit to training
e reluctance to work, desire to be SUI
ported, disregard of time, and lack {
professional pride. 1t has been sal
? already men, too, fail from all thes
e causes, so that women are not alone
G their transgressions, but there are prol
r ably more failures among women tina
b among men, who have learned wisdol
0 through experience.
In conclusion, it should be borne
4 mind that there is nothing to be dor
. that it is so insignificant that one ca
o afford to slight it. The sighting hab