The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-02-11
TIE MILL OR THE STORE.
One Gb1's Story of Why She Prefers the
City with Less Pay and Freedom.

One CHS Story of Why She Prefers the
City with Less Pay and Freedom.
Here, Cash No III" The writer had
| Just entered one of the large dry goods
stores of Boston during the holiday sales,
when he heard the above cry, and turning
to look at the speaker, a young lady of 10
/ years, the recognition was mutual. Less
| than a year before she was sewing in
wooden mill in one of the many mill towns
| of New England, in which the writer had
been employed. She was good sewer and
was paid sl.25 per day, and although she
was an orphan she had good home, and
| paid but s.. 50 per week for board, which
/ left her s. every week clear.
| Now the question came to my mind,
How came she heres And having desire
| TO near her story, and there being no chance
| 10 hold long conversation with her at
| that time, she made date with me for the
next afternoon, which was Sunday, to call
at the house where she was rooming. l
called, and met there two other girls, whom
| she introduced to me as her "chums."
After conversing for some time upon diff
| ferent subjects | asked her how it was that
/ found her working here in a store in Bos-
| ton, or if she liked it and if she got more
pay than she got in the mill She told me
the following story, and l have no doubt
that it is the story of hundreds of store
girls in all the large cities. She had visited
the city a short time after had left the
mill, and while in one of the large stores
she got the idea she would like to be sales
lady, the work seemed to be so easy and
they all dressed so nice.
So, after going back TO the mill, she could
not keep her mind on her work Her mind
was in the city as a saleslady, and at last
she could stand it no longer So she left
her position in the mill, left her nice home,
and came into the city. She applied for a
position as saleslady, and was offered 81
per week.
Why, how was she going to live on that,
She could not get any kind of board for
less than $3.50 week. Where were cloth
ing and shoes and other things necessary
for her to have coming froms Not out Of
the other fifty cents that was left. Oh,
that was none of their business, and if she
proved competent after three months they
would give her S. per week. She had a
little money saved, and had enough of cloth
ing for the present, so she would take it
rather than go back to the mill.
To the question of which was the harder
work, the mill or the store, her answer left
no doubt in my mind which was the harder.
In the mill she was treated respectfully,
while in the store she had to put up with
all kinds of cheap talk" from many Gus
toners, some of whom were those cheap
kind of dudes" To the question of why
she did not go back to the mill, she said she
could not, she had got so used to the city
that the quiet life of the mill would not do
for her now, but she wished that she had
remained in the mill, where she was happy,
instead of coming to the city, and her adj
vice to all mill girls who thought that the
mill life was hard, if they wished for
harder one, come to the city as saleslady.