The herald., 1895-08-11

police commissioners offices when q
sweet faced young girl in black Is now
found running the office in Commis-
sioner Roosevelt's absence are worth
seeing. Miss Kelly is pretty, with
sparkling black eyes, an especially rosy
mouth. rather large and indicating
ability, but with corners well drawn
in denoting a marked tendency to mind
ones own business and divulge nothing.
She has black hair. pared in MadonnA
fashion, and waved down to the ears.
And she bushes The rich blood comes
in and goes in great waves of crimson.
whenever she is spoken to, in spite OF
the fact that she is quite dignified and
self-contained and understands her
position fully. A wag said when he
saw this phenomenon, that those were
the first bushes police headquarters
had ever known.
Miss Kelly's selection by Mr.. Roose-
welt draws attention to the fact that
women are especially fitted to hold
positions as private secretary where
discretion, tact and an absolute fidelity
and secretiveness is Imperative.
1t Is within a few years that this idea
has taken hold on both men ana
women of prominence and the RECORDS
made by their women secretaries are
clean and unusually good without ex.
ception. Mrs. John Logan has had girl
secretary, Miss Edith Marshall, since
her husbands death, and Mrs. Logan
as every one knows, has most volumi-
nous correspondence beside many busi-
ness and charitable affairs In hand.
Miss Marshall even has entire charge
of Mrs Logan's bank books in her em-
ployer's absence from, WaSn1ngtOn.
Mrs. Potter Palmer's right hand dur
ing the preparations for the fair was q
lovely young girl whose tact and
efficiency thousands of people all
over the world came to know.
Miss Sanger whom President Harri-
son placed in the White House, never
showed anything but the closest fidelity
to the trust placed in her, and although
cultivated assiduously by newspaper
people not one of the entire Washings
ton force was ever able to secure any
news through her.
1t is this sort of faithfulness that Is
likely to make an increasing deman0
for discreet young women of god 1udg-
ment and business training in such
positions.
Miss Kelly is the fourth woman to
hold a private secretaryship of inn
portance in New York's city govern
ment One is now in the position ana
has proved. to have an executive abil-
ity that not one man in 500 has.
Miss Kelly's is quite the most inn
portant private secretaryShtp yet filled
by a woman. 1t is all the more i'm
portant because she is only nineteen
years old, the youngest woman by far
who has ever been given such RESPONSE
bility.
Miss Kelly is a New York girl, a
graduate of the public schools and not
the least bit of new woman in any
way. She doesn't ride the bicycle nor
aspire to boomers. She doesn't admire
the modern new woman style OF novel.
She does like the water and rows When
she has the chance. She prefers TO
stay at home and cultivate the ac-
uuaintance of her mother and sisters
She doesn't belong to any so called
womans clubs and doesn't go In for
Summing work, although she Is mem-
ber of all the church societies to Wh1ch
| Catholic girls always belong.
But she is great pedestrian ana
| likes to walk from the POLICE head
quarters to her home in Harlem, just
| for exercise.
| Miss Kelly believes that women are
| especially adapted to fill private secre-
| taryshps and when she studied stem
| ography it was always with the ampl-
/ ton and intention of using II IN
something beside routine dictation as
| Typewriter or mere clerk. The Kellys
| had known, Mr. Roosevelt's family for
some years and the offer of the position
| was made by Mr.. Roosevelt withoue
solicitation from Miss Kelly's family.
| When she first appeared In Mulberry
| street she was the curiosity OF the
| neighborhood Policemen looked at
her as if she was a new specie OF an
NAL and the residents about head
quarters decorated their windows with
| their heads as she went by. she mas
now been at headquarters two months.
long enough to find out that she likes
| it. that the work never ceases to be
interesting, and will become more so
as il grows more familiar. Miss Kelly
isn't a suffrage agitator nor a bit OF a
reformer, nor connected with any of the
! women's organizations that claim to
have helped in the reform government.
| she expects to vote if women have that
| privilege by the time she is old enough.
Just at present Miss Kelly shows a
| tendency to tend to Commissioners
! Roosevelt's work and mind her own
| affairs.
She hasn't shown any disposition to
| reform anybody nor correct any
abuses nor the slightest intention OF
attempting to run police headquarters.