The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-06-18
GIRLS AND DENTISTS.
A COMBINATION AGAINST MEN THAT
SEEMS HEARTLESS.

49, xr,.. Mar screarns-How Fair SAL
IL. Can Harden Feminine Nerves.
Dentists Assistants Look at Lie la .
Philosophical Way.
ofau the occupations that are open 70
youn0 women. from attending counter
In q dry goods store 10 manipulating "
.,,rov,riter in a bankers Office, II Is dlif-
c,It IN conceive Of one that at the nrst
bI,eb is less attractive than being an at-
tondant in a dentists office, and yet no
dentist. as a we'll known member Oh INC
,rofsssion told me the other day, can ad-
yertise for an assistant without receiving
anywhere from TO 200 answers.
have never passed through halfway
from which opened one OF these mooern
chambers Of the Inquisition ana hearu Inc
croans Of some poor victim in the dentises
chair without desire to stop my ears WIN
my fingers and fly Can one imagine any
thing worse than 10 be compelled to put IN
eigbt or ten hours a day in these torture
shops. among the nauseating door oil inc
ether and with the spectacle OF the terrified
and distorted features Of suffering human
itv constantly before ones eyess Never
tbeIess. if you will notice the dentists as
sistant she is usually n well dressed. hap
nv faced. contented and. on the whole.
stylish Young woman, who goes 20 her
work in the morning as cheerfully as girls
ever 90 10 their work, and who when even
ing comes is as ready for the theater, the
dance and the young man as any other
girl
If il were a fact, rs it is not, that the
majority of these girls like these positions,
with the purpose Of ultimately setting up
in business for themselves, as girls who
undergo the disagreeable scenes in hos
pitals hope TO do by becoming trained
nurses, the rush for employment IN den
lists Offices would be more readily ex-
planned.
The truth is, girls take these positions
inst as they take all others that offer,
simply because they must do something
for self support. The number of woman
dentists in the cityca be counted on ones
fingers, and not all Of these nave by any
means graduated from the position OF as
sistants." IL really doesn't appear 10 DE
profession in which women as a rule nave
anv desire TO enter. There has been but
one female graduate from dental college
in this state and she, though charming
in face and figure has, | fancy, a rather
uncommonly independent way OF looking
at things in general.
The salaries received by girls who assist
I'm dentists offices range from five TO fifteen
dollars per week, and the duties vary with
the prices paid for services. The girls are
expected to keep the Offices in order, the
instruments cleaned and 10 administer the
GAS in most cases. They receive the pa
tients and make appointments for the den
list when he is busy, keep the books and
hold themselves ready TO hand the dentist
whatever he may require when at work on
q patients tooth. Do they like ity Well,
have interviewed number, and the YER
dict is that its not bad when you get
used to it," The presence OF a young
woman in one Of these places OF torture
seems toput courage into the faint hearted.
A woman naturally looks to one of her own
sex for tenderness and sympathy when she
is i'm pain, and as for the men-well, you
know, "When mans afraid beautiful
maid is a cheering sight to see."
One thing | discovered in the course Of
my investigation, and that is that the
pretty girls in dentists shops are very
much less susceptible TO the Establishments
Of men than girls in subordinate positions
anywhere else. Men are such towards"
was the way a petite blond explained this
fact to me. "and can never see dandy
on the street all smiles and smirks for each
girl who passes by without saying 70 my
self How differently you'd look at me
now. my fine fellow, if you were seated
in a certain big red velvet armchair l
know Of l will do men the justice, how
ever. of saying that they invariably behave
with more bravery in our presence than
/ they do when clone with the doctor"
At a fashionable west side dentists the
Young "lady assistant" told me that she
/ had accepted the position because OF con-
slant Encouragement in finding more con-
genial employment. And now" she adj
ded. pm beginning TO like il. / like TO
see men suffer, because / have known so
many heartaches. IL does me good to
watch them walk in here with agony writ
ten on their faces. Pm only sorry when
the torture is all over, and they go away
free from pain" Fancy such a speech
from a delicate girl What do you sup
pose has sent such bitter thoughts into her
graceful little head?
Another young woman on the west side
said that she liked her position because the
parlors were mice and homelike TO spend
the day in, much nicer than any store. +"
As she spoke she idly turned the leaves Of
a novel she had been reading. This young
lady confessed that she ran out of the room
the first time she saw tooth extracted,
but now she minded it no more than the
doctor. you've no idea" she added
naively, chow easy it is to get used to pain
when it's somebody else's pain"
A girl sat before an open piano as
entered the parlor Of a dentist on the east
side. She was playing a new waltz for the
edication Of a young man who was await
ing his turn in the dentists chair. He had
come to have tooth filled and the girl,
finding him a poor conyersatiOnist, was
killing time for him in the interim.
left her still smiling sweetly at the I'M
happy youth when l withdrew. A mes
senger boy preceded me into an up town
dental Office and the pretty young assistant
came forward to relieve him Of a bunch OF
roses. do l like my position? Why
shouldn't l? Smell these" and she
brushed the fragrant roses under my nose
81 get lots of these little attentions from
our patients Besides, the salary receive
Is large enough to brighten the disagree.
able part Of the work. And, after all
what's the use of being nervous over other
/ neonle's main ANYWAY if a GIRLS got .