Huntsville gazette., 1892-08-20
THINGS GIRLS CAN DO.


An Expert on woman's Work Discusses
Different Trades.
Miss Alice Woodbridge, as secretary
of the Working Women's Society, is ac-
quainted with all sorts and conditions
of working women. In the interests Of
the labor bureau which the society has
recently put in operation she has in
vcstigated opportunities and wages in
great variety of women's occupations.
She considers the question of the best
trade for girls very difficult one.
Generally speaking" she said to a
reporter for the New York Press, ''girls,
as know them, give very little thought
to what they are to do for a living. A
sister or friend, perhaps brother, is
employed somewhere, a vacancy occurs,
and if one of the girls of the family is
fifteen or sixteen she is only too anxi.
Gus to take place and give as little work
as she can for as much wages as the
employer chooses to give. She rarely
feels any responsibility about the work.
1t never occurs to her that work that Is
worth doing at all is worth doing well,
and as for refusing to take smaller
wages than somebody else can afford
she may be in other ways the most con-
scientious creature in the world, but
she has absolutely no scruples in this
sort of selfishness.
Probably the factory worker is bet
ter paid than the saleswoman or stem
ographer. Girls employed in silk mills
receive the highest wages Of any of the
factory workers. They will average
six dollars or seven dollars a week.
That's really high average OF course
they make very much more in busy
times, but there are many full weeks
when they make less. The work re-
quires considerable skill
''The occupation of saleswoman has
very little to commend it to the girl
who has any choice at all in the matter.
There are, of course, few women
heads of departments who receive
twelve dollars to eighteen dollars a
week But | have in my mind a very
ambitious little woman who is employ
ed in big city store, who has been
working six years for the firm, who is
recognized as a faithful, trustworthy,
in every way satisfactory saleswoman,
and who receives six dollars a week
Outside of the financial reason for not
adopting the occupation of saleswoman,
there is the question of health. No
matter how unhealthful the factory
girls occupation, the saleswoman's is
worse. Women are untitled by nature
for constant standing
"Stenography and typewriting were
until few years ago the most lucrative
things a woman could take up. But
to-day / am sure l could hire a whole
army of them from three dollars week
up, some of them competent, too. The
average stenographer and typewriter
receives about five dollars a week, while
the girl who gets twelve dollars regards
herself as particular favorite of for
tune. Remarkably enough the great
reduction in the wages of this class of
wage-earners is due to a great extent
to the woman who is trying to build up
a little business of her own. She goes
around to the offices where work done
by stenographer or typewriter is
needed She offers to take the dicta-
ton and return the typewriter copy at
cheaper rates than the employer can
get it done by keeping stenographer
in his Office. If that does not persuade
him to give her the work she proceeds
to underbid herself, and being busi-
ness man he proceeds to let her do it
until she reaches rock bottom. know
a woman who rather than let a job OF
that sort go win take one dollar and a
half for work she ought to get five dol
lars for, and no amount of talk that
do seems to convince her that she is not
only doing herself an injustice but is
wronging a whole army of workers as
well.
The best occupation girl can adopt
is something new. If she can originate
a trade she can make good living SO
long as she can be alone in the field
sher competitors increase, the occu
patton is bound to be less and less desi
rable from the financial side of the
question.
The next best thing is to get into /;
field hitherto monopolized by men
Piano tuning seems to be one of these
talked few moments with pian'
manufacturer the other day about it
He seemed to think it an occupation
for which women's delicacy of toucl
peculiarly fitted them, and he offers I.
teach few women. The prices pal,
are high The wages earned depen,
upon the number of orders a tuner ca
get. This occupation, of course, woul
require quick ear and some knowledg
of music. Women have not entered tn
drugstore or the silversmith's shop, bot
(which seem peculiarly suited to then
Just at present the trained nurs
seems to be particularly well off in
financial way. 1t is fashionable ia
among rich women to have an attac
of NERVES" and to have the doctor pr
scribe sojourn at health resort an
a trained nurse.
THE occupation of the nurse is nt
yet cveycrowded- There is deman