The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-06-19
FOR GIRLS Who WORK.
An Organization Designed to Look After
Their Welfare.
Something About the Life of the Homeless
Working Woman in San Francisco-The
Dangers That Lurk in Her Path.


with each other ON subjects which interest
them most, singly and in pairs. sad-faced
women or quiet, earnest ones, with lines
about eyes and mouths telling Of care and
anxiety. For the woman who works is
usually a burden-bearer We have not
yet reached the point where they enter
upon a business life as men do, because II
is expected Of them. Most of them as they
hurry to work in the morning carry their
lunches with them, for the majority do not
earn enough to make them feel justified III
the extravaganza Of lunching at restau-
rant.
Despite the fact, however, our downtown
restaurants may be seen any day at the
noon hour thronged with working women
and girls. They are in shops and offices,
stores, mercantile establishments Of every
sort, working at the trades. soliciting, cot
lecting, almost every line OF human INDUS
try. in fact. and the number enrolled In the
great army is Increasing every year
WHERE SHALL THE GIRLS LIVE?
question that is beginning to press itself
seriously upon the minds Of the thoughtful
is, Where shall the girls live? What to 90
with our young men has long been the
problem in our cities, and now arises this
additional complication. so far as they can
the girls have endeavored to solve the prob
lem for themselves. great many live al
home, fact which employers know, ana
Lave taken advantage Of in arranging the
scale of wages, until il Is almost Impossible
for those who have 40 homes OF their own
to live at all. OF these there is a very large
contingent scattered about among the large
lOdging-h0useS OF our city. They live III
little hall bedrooms and get their meals at
the cheap restaurants. They board them
selves" cooking unwholesome and unsatls-
factory food upon oil LAMPS or over CRATES.
They club together IN an eldeayor 10
scratch some comfort from their mutual dis
comfort, or they live solitary, hiding their
poverty or loneliness under a gulse OF
pride. The writer once called on business
upon two sisters, and found them IN good
part of the city in & well-appearing house.
up three flights OF stairs, In large, almost
empty ROOM A mattress laid upon the floor
constituted their bed; Il large box was at
once table and cupboard; a broken rock
ing chair aud another box constituted
the only seats in the room. They
preferred TO pay SO month.for the empty
room ia a nice neighoorh0od rather than TO
90 into poorer quarter and have better
room They dressed neatly, attended
church regularly, belonged TO the literary
circle there and kept up an appearance"
outside, but they received no callers and
had no home life of any sort. There are
any number OF such girls In our city living
on 81 or s. week. If they eat at restaur-
ants, they seldom spend over 10 cents for
dinner, perhaps 10 for lunch ar supper,
and a cup Of coffee usually makes break
fast for them. If they board themselves,
tEey are pretty apt to rob their stomachs Tor
the sake of their backs. and always and
everywhere their solitary lives are beset by
temptations and hardshps OF which the
more fortunate know nothing.
AN EVERLASTING MONUMENT.
1t is an everlasting monument TO the
honor of womanhO0d that so small a proper
ton of these girls go wrong Why they do
not God only knows, aud generally speak
ing he alone cares that they do not No
young creature can live without some
amusement and relaxation from the dull
routine Of working life, yet, for the most
part, the enlOymentS that are accessible to
these friendless ones are such as lead to
evil. The restaurants frequented by them
are also frequeDted by men whose only OBJ
ject in going there is to meet and scrape
acquaintance with them. Many a girls
ruin is effected through these restaurant
acquaintanees, ana probably not one work
ing woman in a hundred who takes her
meals in them but has seen, among her
acquaintance, "the evil that men do"
through the opportunities thus offered.
Knowing these iactS, more than one band
Of earnest, lOyal-hearted women has set it.
self to find a remedy for this evil, and out
OF these efforts have arisen number of
girls. They have their agents at the boats
and their cards and advertisements in rail-
way trains and steamers, that all strangers
coming to the city for work may see them
and know where 10 90. AS compared to the
demand for them, however the number Of
these houses is ali too few and the most Of
them are connected with churches and other
religious bodies, a fact hicb, while 1t draws
some tends to keep others away from their
benefits.
One, however. that is not founded upon
any other creed or tenet than that of COM
mon human need does exist In this great
city, and during the past year has extended
its protection TO nearly 600 of these home
less girls. This establishment is more than
a clearinghouse 1t Is society IN which
the benehciarieS themselves are members.
The San Francisco Girls Uaion is the un-
assuming name it bears, but to many girl
that name stands for one of the most help
full and beneficial influences that has ever
come into her life. The boarding house of
the union on Taylor street. near Pine. is
but small part Of the unions field of use
fulneSs. 1t Is the headquarters for num-
Der of committees and working forces.
whose efforts during the past seven years
have reached between 1000 and 5000 girls and
women. Could these efforts but be heartily
seconded by the people OF San Francisco,
the record OF the next seven years would
show many times that number who reaped
TO HELP THE DESERVING.
Seven years ago the union was organized
for the purpose of furthering the attempts
of the self-dependent, self-respecting girls of
San Francisco 10 become useful and help
full members of society In a moral, social
and economic sense The membership con-
sists Of corporate members, men and women
of means and leisure, actudted by desire
TO be useful. and union members, working
girls and women, between the ages of 10
and 80 years The house committee has for
its function the providing Of a boarding
house, where the union members may find
pleasant home at prices within their means
This is not q charity. although for number
of years the rent Of the house in which the
home is located was paid by the board of
directors personally, but a self-supp0rtiDg
house, the running expenses of which
are entirely betrayed by the pro-
ceeds from the b0ardeTs. For the
present this house is located at 900 Taylor
street, where every room is now occupied
by industrious and cOntented girls. Re-
aliZing the desiTabiity of owning their own
home, however, the board of managers re-
Gently bargained for fine piece of property
in the same block. on which cash pay
ment of $3.50 has been made through the
lbeTality Of Mr.. William Bosworth and
Mrs. Hearst, supplemented by the boards
own prudence in saving and economical
management. An Indebtedness of $4,000 still
remains on the purchase. which the devoted
managers have assumed. trusting in provl-
dence and the generosity of the public, who
are beginning TO appreciate the value OF the
unions work, that future years will enable
them to meet it.
The union has an employment committee,
that, during the few years Of the OrganiZa-
TONS existence has found work for thou
sands Of girls aud women, and social COM
mittee, whose function it is to provide for
the entertainment of mem hers That Mime
Emelia Tojetti, the efficient secretary Of the
union, has charge OF this department OF the
sOciety's work speaks volumes for the
nature Of the entertainments that have been
provided for members during the past year
DIR. Laura Ballard, whose name is assO-
ciated with so many Of the practically bene-
fetal movements in this city. is the present