The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-03-29
TOLD OF TYPEWRITERs.
Conditions Influencing the Chances
Of Women in Search of Work.
somo Facts Which May DO of Service to
Those Contemplating Learning tho
Trade-Tho Kind of Women
That Is Wanted.

girls and women of mature age?" q New
York Sun reporter asked man who is
brought into daily relations with en-
| ployers and who has helped hundreds
OF women to secure places.
Generally speaking" was the
reply, when the same degree
of fitness is shown business men
| make little or no discrimination,
but there are scores of firms in
tho city who prefer mature women My
observation satisfies me that any wom-
an under forty who has ability, vivacity
and neatness of appearance stands on
precisely the same plane as the younger
sisters Of her profession. Too many.
women who follow this pursuit lose am
bition in their work when they reach
the age of thirty, because they sec all
about them host of girls fresh from
school earning perhaps the same pay as
those far more experienced. The rea-
| son an inexperienced girl receives this
consideration is that when first enter
ing upon office duties she takes great
pride in her work and her employer
feels that she can then be relied upon
and has no serious thoughts of marry
ing for at least few years.
"The age at which most young wom-
, en- commence the practice Of stcnogra-
ply and typewriting ranges from seven
teen to twenty-three years, and as COM
paratively few remain in offices longer
than five years, it is naturally inferred
that those who have reached mature
womanhood have long since passed the
period of their first business zeal, and
therefore cannot be counted on as per-
manent. 1t is found, too, that in mat
tiers of correspondence every business
man has his idiosyncrasies, be they i'm
| portant or otherwise, which his en-
| ployes must respect and a beginner is
apt to conform more closely to the
| specific methods and details required in
her work than one who for years has
| known other forms and customs from
which She finds it difficult to free her
| self. Despite this there are doubtless
| from three TO five hundred women in
this city above thirty years of age who
| pursue shorthand and typewriting for
q livelihood, though it is believed that
| not one in one thousand commences the
! study after she has reached this age
| The few who do nre oftentimcs women
who have been thrown by domestic cir
culnstances upon their own efforts and
who do not seek the profession either
J because of special adaptation or love of
| Che work"
The reporter was told, also, that some
men favor the employment of young
women because they arc less trouble
some than their elders in demanding
short hours and frequent holidays. At
the beginning of her career u girl has
not lns
the daily request: May go at three
this afternoon" or: "Do you mind if 1
leave this work till tomorrow" She
is content to do whatever is assigned
to her, is always alert and neatly ut
tired, and is rs yet ignorant of the
tricks of the trade. On the other hand
o woman with several years experience
is better able to judge the mood and
temperament of her employer, and
knows when to interrupt or offer q
suggestion. She is never flustcred and
seldom undertakes a task beyond her
power, and her superior capubility is
always shown in the finished docu-
ment.
1t is characteristic mistake of be-
| ginners to look upon their ability to
take dictation as the only essential con-
dition and to regard typewriting as of
secondary Importance. Their ideas also
of punctuation and the typographical
| appearance of letter arc often de-
fcctive; while the mature operator who
has been trained in her worl. knows
the Importance of this part of it and
realizes better that it is the typewrittcn
sheet that proves her competence, not
the pages of shorthand, about which
her employer knows or cares nothing.
Investigation indicates that personal
beauty i'll women is not essential to OBJ
tanning the place of stcnographcr or
| typewriter. In many places, particu-
larly in large Offices and banks, where
there are young men clerks, mature
women arc desired, and often those of
plain appearance. The books of On en-
ployment bureau show that when O.
woman's application is filed for refer
encc no noto whatever is kept Of her
personal appearance, but merely a
plain statement of her speed and ex-
perience and the salary expected. Il
IS none the less true, however, that
among stenographers and typewritcrs
good Judgment In matters of dress and
bearing goes long way toward giving
On impression of neatness and civility,
and often overweighs Shortcomings
which might otherwise be detrimental
to the applicant.
The women in this business who give
promise of being permanent employees
ore nearly always preferred, and one
who possesses proper qualifications and
sufficient determination need have no
difficulty in finding place where her
services will be well appreciated and
| paid for, whether she be twenty or