The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1892-09-07
Women in Chicago.
BY SARAH MORRIS.

The peculiar goodfellowship which
characterizes our own seminary students
at Montpelier is found even in Chicago.
Here the alumni of Ogontz Seminary
of Philadelphia and of Miss Kirkland's
School of Chicago have established
project better than alumni dinners.
Only one who has tried it knows the
monotony of eating cold lunch at noon
time, or walking into an ordinary
restaurant or clearinghouse, eating
the stereotyped fifteen.cent lunch or
twenty-fve-cent dinner off half-inch
crockery, and walking out with the re-
peated mental declaration, Its too
stupid to be endured"
About year ago body of Chicago
women, graduates of Ogontz, conceived
the idea of a lunch club-room for the
working woman who must count the
nickels. By generous annual fee of
ten to fifteen dollars, fund was raised,
two rooms hired in the center of the
printing district, and the outer door
on the thirteenth floor of the Pontiac
DuiuidS mai hOu OSOutZ hSSOCld-
ton" The reading room is furnished
with piano, easy chairs, books and mag
azines; the lunch room offers palata-
BILE food at slight cost, or a table where
member may eat her home prepared
lunch. Entrance to the luuch room is
dependent on two conditions: being
wage.earner and the payment of a
monthly fee of ten cents. Informal
entertainment, occasional lectures and
reading classes, are in order from time
to time and the club is already self-sup-
porting. The success of the Ogontz has
encouraged the formation of the Ursula
and the Wildwood Clubs in other locali-
ties. Both these are conducted in a
similar manner, with success which
has justified the adventure.
The Young Woman's Christian AS
ISOLATION is another organization backed
by large-hearted and large-pursed
women. Several buildings are in OPP
Grafton, the newest one far out on the
south side in the vicinity Of the Worlds
and women are welcomed while they
look for work, or during temporary
stay in the city. Sometimes one may
be kept even when no board money is
forthcoming. This may occasion pos
sibility of being imposed upon, but
pretty careful estimate of a newcomer
is made, and, if it is deemed wiser, she
is encouraged or urged to return to her
friends. A large city is not always a
paradise even for willing workers.
Heartache, loneliness and discourage
ment are natural outcome of repeated
failure in the effort to find the work
one is sure she is competent to do, but
which eludes her grasp
Another movement which the women
OF Chicago carry in hand, in common
with women of other cities, is the Ed
ucational and Industrial Union. Here
woman's handiwork-be it bread or
jellies, plain sewing or embroidery-is
on sale to a public not over eager to
patronize fine handiwork when it is set
over against lower priced machine
work. This will answer for a little
ent on the work of her hands for daily
bread, assured wages at something
which is perhaps less congenial lifts
more easily the weight of daily worry.
One enterprising woman is propri-
etor of a wholesale lace business. She
worked as clerk five years, and has COM
pleted her fifth year as owner. She
says she has now an assured position in
business life. The eight or ten en-
ployes are women; and her verdict of
women as clerks is that they are less
eXacting in character of work For in
stance, if the " bundle girl has no ex-
press package on hand, she is willing
to do something else, while the expert
ence with " bundle boys" had been
that they were ill-natured if asked to
do other than regular work. During
the recent intense heat, this business
woman showed her humanity by clos
ing an hour earlier than usual.
Business success and consequent
money in hand turn the women also to
real estate. Many suburban lots are in
the possession ofwomen. The Woman
Temple, headquarters of the Temper
ance Publishing Society, is owned
largely by women of the Woman's
Christian Temperance Union; women
are projecting booms, and establishing
stock associations; doubtless, also, they
will experience from time to time the
customary losses from the same. But
that will be only the tuition for their
schooling.