Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1892-08-11
IN W0MANS BEHALF.
BEHIND THE oollNrER.

VINO hsiNN ndu RONu SCHOOL facilities, and |
many who have gone through normal |
colleges expecting TO teach, ana failed |
TO obtain positions, turn TO the stores
for employment They consider work;
ing in store higher grade oi employ
ment than working in factory They
forget that IL is harder work, and that |
the pay Is less, A few women ~ every
store are paid good wagcs, and some
are exceptionally paid But take an
entire store through, the average pny |
is less than that in a factory !, Is diff |
cult to average the wages of girls in
n factory II Is difficult TO average the |
wages ol girls in shops for the reason
that different places pay different rates
and the pay varies in the same place
Hundreds of cash girls sell notions and
fancy articles while they are still paid
ms cash girls, and get only from $3.50 to
So. 90 "A week. These may be employed
several years before their pay is in;
creased TO S400 week. After they
become good saleswpmen they are paid
90, and even more in some establish
mentS A fortunate few ere paid So. 90
week. but they are women who are
thoroughly familiar with the business,
having worked up from mitch lower POI
sitions, and are possessed of exceptional
ability, They are given charge of de-
purtment, or are buyers, or hold some
equally responsible position The
wages paid to these exceptions should
not be an incentive to Others lnoking
for situations, as there is fooin for but
n few in these important positions. "
is safe to say that women of correspond
ing ability make mora money in almost
any other employment than they doih
this. Even when they are heads " de-
partments, or buyers fof the big retail
stores women hfe paid much lower sal
aries than men who occupy similar po-
sitions. In some cases they receive one
third less. In many cases they ret only
half of what is paid to men, 1t is diff
cult to learn just what women in shops
IRE paid, MS they are not organized, and
are at the mercy of their employers,
and when asked what they receive, feel
ashamed of their low pay and are in
clined to exaggerate the sum.
Employment in stores is an unhealthy
occupation. The standing and the pool
ventilation make it thhe IN only few
of the better class of shops is the air
| good, This and the long hours make
the existence behind counters especial
| ly unhealthy. Ordinary hours are from
eight o'clock in the morning until six
O'Clock at night, through the week, and
until ten o'clock on Saturday hight
The stores are supposed 10 close Mt ten
o'clock, but it is considerably later than
this before the employees get their work
finished, and it is nearly midnight be-
fore they reach their homes. This
would be bad enough on any day of the
week, but it is particularly so on Satur-
day. The girls lie in bed until noon on
Sunday to get rested, and the only hol-
iday in the week is spoiled. II Is cruel
to keep girls standing from eight o'clock
in the morning until ten o'clock at
night as is done in the large stores
every Saturday and for two or three
weeks before Christmas every day In
the week. 81,
The long hours that are exacted of
salecwomen on Saturdays and at holt
day times are not accompanied by any
extra compensation, Some stores have
saleswomen IN The basement where the
| poor ventilation and the heat, caused
10y keeping the gas lighted all day,
combine to produce a most unhealthy
atmosphere. Girls who are required to
stand and sell goods all day In these
places are often overcome, and are car
ried out In d fainting condition: The
rules of many establishments are arb-
trary and unjust. Tie girls are fined
for lateness, which is not SO bad as the
other fines for talking, laughing; sing
ing, or failure to put away their aprons
! wnen the work of the day is ended
| Often at the end of the week girl who
is careless finds that nearly all of her
wages is used up in fines. In factories,
the law compels employers to give an
hour for dinner, but in stores the girls
are obliged to wait their turn before
going to the lunch room. In the busy
Season only a few are allowed to go at
time, and It is often four or five
o'clock before some of the girls get
chance to eat their midday meal. Eat
ing in the store is forbidden at all
times 1t is no wonder that the girls
faint, when they are compelled to stand
all day without eating. Some of the
better class of stores are more consid-
crate, and even give one or two weeks
vacation with pay to the girls In the
summer.
If the normal schools taught girls
bookkeeping, many of them could be-
come clerks and booll-keepers instead
of trying to get places as teachers, and
when they find no place open to them
turning to the stores and overcrowding
them. Girls have few opportunities to
prepare for positions that are remuner-
alive. The two or three occupations
which are considered genteel for women
are overcrowded, while there is often a
demand for girls as feather workers for
example. If trades such as the making
of jewelry, surgical instruments and
similar manufactures. were taught here
in technical and industrial schools like
those of Paris, girls would receive bet
ter wages than they do now Even now
girls of equal ability make more money
in factories than in stores, excepting
the few who have positions of trust,
Occupations like feather making are
not overcrowded. The only trouble is
in the dull season, when there is lack of
employment, but the wages when there
is work are sufficient to enable girl to
get along even if she is idle part OF
the time. Many provide for this by
learning two or three trades. On the
whole, the employment. of women in
mercantile pursuits is undesirable; it is
poorly paid; it is not regulated by law
as it should be; and while it is consid'
cred more genteel than at the light
trades, it is less remunerative. Ida NJ
Van Ellen, in Ladies' Home Journal