The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-09-08
ONE WORD OF PROTEST.
A Pessimist Who Has Views on
the Business Womanis
Dilemma
The Chief Fault With Woman'e
Work. According to This
One Writer.
II IL Its Ellmsinsss and Insin eePity-How
the Dress Of Woman influences Aer
Success.

BY direct statement, written and ora
and by implication, I have been made t
feel guilty during the past seven days.
1t has been pointed out, gently but firmly
that even if one does not believe in til
capitalization of woman 1t is common pru
dence to pretend to do SO in order not t
lay ones self open to the charge of lack @
consideration for the sex.
In the humble opinion of a hardworkin!
woman, women would succeed better in al
branches of industry if less consideration
were extended to them.
About six years ago ! rejoiced in my frs
newspaper assignment" / was sent t,
interview a woman-she is now dead
whom for her character. talent and achieve
ments l had long worshiped afar Off. Thi
idol was about to entitle herself to q ney
pedestal. My paper wanted a pedestal ste
ry. The idol refused to give it to me. Sh
sent me away shamed, Inundated, that
should have dared to think a really, truly
absolutely genuine and no bargain counte
imitation idol would talk about her thron
seat or the chances of getting more an
higher steps to it.
l lay awake and adored the idol tina
night.
Next morning in my mail I found a checl
for money to pay for several hundred copie;
of the edition that should contain the story
the idol assumed l would have the com.
mon sense to write, she having taken 1t for
granted that I had the wisdom to see she
.r.- &,IIs>x. o.. - ...
not one word of the fine things about hat
ing newspaper publicity she had so glibly
ratified off to me.
This was a dash of cold water upon the
warm enthusiasm of q woman who had
begun newspaper work with the single pur-
pose of putting into print the progress Of
women.
Nevertheless l persevered. For four or
five years I know myself to have been the
most industrious collector in the city OF
items about women's work especially innew
lines. Ibelieve myself to have been the best
Informed woman in the city about women's
industries, not in detail in any one branch,
but in general, overlooking the whole field
l have substantial grounds for an opinion
when l say a second time that, always reck-
oning out exceptional individuals, WON
ans work in It's more conspicuous phases
is apt to be himsy-more show and news
paper paragraph than substance-and in its
obscurer lines its main characteristics are a
not more than average faithfulness and a
conspicuous lack of ambition.
This is not set down for any particular
love OF setting it down, but because il ia
time it was said.
Woman's work won't be good work and
can't be good work so long as woman
maintains the attitude of little Jack Hor-
ner, who put in his thumb and pulled out
plum and cried, "Oh, what a great boy
am l."
What are the exchanges for woman'
work doing? Trying to induce people to
buy pretty rubbish made by women who
don't know how to make anything that
people need.
What are the women's clubs doing? Civ
ing women a fine time, which is more than
all right. and inducing a peculiar belief in
the growing wisdom of the sex in general
and the club members in particular by "pa-
pers" and long winded discussions upon
nearly everything that is not of interest to
d wideawake nineteenth century human.
What are those women doing who pro-
pose through various committees to clean
up the city and regenerate it in various
ways, physically and morally?
Talking to themselves and to other peo-
pie who haven't SO much time.
What is the woman doing who has her
living to earn?
Fretting because she does not get a mans
wages and usually not earning them. If
she's of the Industrious sort, she's paving
1.-THE of mint, anise and cummin and neg
Letting the weightier matters of the claw
fussing over trifes where q man would be
mastering principles.
What's the reason hat saleswomen are
rude in dry goods stores, that girls behind
telegraph and soda counters firt when they
ought to be attending to your requests, that
Typewriter girls are weak on geography and
spelling, and chat factory girls faint in the
heat and have to go home?
It's partly clothes. Is there any HELM?
Not in sight at the present time.
Can you expect common sense of a won.
on whose street dresses trail? Can Won ey-
pect common sense of a woman whose street
dress doesn't trail?
In other words, can a woman be physical
ly sound Il wholesome who violates every
law of hygiene in tho dressing of her BODY?
Or can a woman be mentally sound and
wholesome who violates every law of Gus
tom in the dressing of her body2
The corset question is a good many hun
dred years old, but here is a little illustra-
ton of the difference it makes. A woman
who does not wear corsets and who does
upon occasion work IL hours per day tells
me that she bought some silk blouses a few
weeks ago, and it occurred to her that it
would not be seemly to appear in one of
them without a close fitting arrangement
under 1t. So she procured-save the mark
a dress reform" waist, with lust a few
wAalebones. She wen without her dinner
for two or three days before she discovered
what was the matter; then she went home
sick. In a day or two she pulled herself to-
gether without the bony garment-well.
She makes her choice, and she knows it.
between physical comfort with mental dis
comfort, and mental comfort with physical
discomfort. The two disagreeables it is i'm
possible to escape from at the same time,
us not wise to pretend to be n business
woman when you are outraping every bust
ness principle of digestion, and it's certain
ly rot wise to pretend to he a business
woman when you are outraging every con-
ventlonality upon which business success
very largely depends.
Is there any escape from the hornsof this
dilemma? do not know of any. Women
must be As robust as men if they are Ia
compete with men in the battle of life.
Women cannot be as robust as men if they
dress like women.
If women 30 into the fight, they are fool
ish not to go in with a will. If women 20
into the fight, they are foolish to unsex