Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1893-09-16
SHOP GIRLS IN ENGLAND.
Their Position in Life Different From
That Of Their American Sister.

AhClA OSiilol III Lie DllcfenL From
That Of Their American Sister.
1t may be well before entering fur.
Their upon the subject to explain ex.
actly what is meant by shopkeeper,
says the New York Sun. The entire
business of the country is divided into
three classes and is conducted in ware
houses, which is the name given to
buildings devoted to wholesale trade;
offices, where goods are sold from sam
pies, and shops, which last is synOny-
nous with our retail store. A man
keeping either a warehouse or an Office
is a tradesman, but he is not a shop
keeper, though a shopkeeper is a trades
man, petty or otherwise. A shop
girl is not a factory hand, neither is
she a 'saleslady.' Her highest title
is that conferred upon her by act OF
parliament in recent enactments, shop
assistants" but she is advertised for
under various names, as witness the
following, clipped from a London paper
of recent date:
"Bakers-Shop woman. respectable
person about Is to assist in shop"
Corn tradc-Young woman wanted
for counter and to sell bread, etc
Some third-rate shopkeepers onca-
s%ionally advertise for young ladies'
but Che very phrase condemns them
and no irst-class shop assistant would
apply.
These young persons lead different
lives TO those in similar positions in
this country, In the first place, for the
most part they leave home and live in
the house of their employer. This is,
OF course. a survival Of the old appren-
tice system. Even in warehouses it is
quite common for those learning the
business to live Indoors and many
prosperous tradesmen have their homes
over their shops and offices, in rooms
fitted, not for family comfort, but with
the idea Of accommodating a small
army Of assistants.
The kitchens and larders of such
establishments resemble those Of our
hotels. When it is remembered that
the Trademarks wife has to superin-
tend such a household, the life Of an
American boarding housekeeper looms
up as elegant leisure in comparison
with her lot, not to mention that the
American I'M has the handling Of
money, whereas the tradesman's vile
receives no reward save the conscious
ness of having done her duty. Men
who have incomes ranging as high as
$4,000 a year do not employ house
keepers, but impose households Of -
or more strangers upon their wives
These young people have to be lodg-
ed, fed, and in many cases uniformed
and the mistress must see that no
waste takes place in any direction, mat
the health and morals Of her charges
are carefully guarded, and, If a con
scientious woman, she frequently per
forms the duties Of nurse in serious
illness for those who are far from home
or who have no home save that of their
employer.
1t would seem impossible with the
strict surveillance to which all those u
respectable houses are subjected Tor
serious evil to creep in, but there are
sad tragedies continually taking pace
in those vast households which Only
show that The gentle, redcheeked Eng
lish girl is stronger morally than PSI
American sister, who has more Iree
dom, but possibly no greater temps
ton. If the enthusiasts for co-educ"-
ton could but know the inner msloi5
Of young lives passed in English pusl.
ness houses their view might be essen
tally modified
Ppter McCnlInek was kicked % oeaA