The San Francisco call., 1896-03-15
They Should First Make Care.
full Study Of Their Special
Vocation.
SUCCESS IS SURE TO FOLLOW,
Too Many Fail Because They Attempt
to Do That for Which They
Are Unified.


wages paid to women and whether they
really earn them or not. do not know
why this ola question has been brought
up, because fully believe that wherever
civilization exists the woman whose work
is on par with mans gets mans salary.
But-you see that will come-l do not be-
iieEe that, under many circumstances,
women do more work for the same money
that men do, because it is the nature of a
woman to busy herself about that which
her hand fndeth to do. A business man
engages woman typewriter; four days
after her arrival she is not only
doing all the work involved under
the head of stenography and type
writing, but ten to one she is keeping
the Office in order-I don't mean sweeping
1t, but making it neat-running the letter
book, and doing the hundred and one
things that are required, but which man
stenographer would scorn to do. I don't
know but that he is right. He is hired as
stenographer and private secretary, not as
man Of all work; but women-well, my
badly when they work for it that they are
willing to give helping hand wherever it
is needed, and forget that by so doing they
lessen the value of their services.
Do you think 1 Iam wrong? No, I am not.
The wise woman will do that which she is
hired to do, do it we'll, and, except in the
case Of an emergency, let the work of 9TH
ers alone. agree with the learned maya
zine in one respect: Women will never be,
physically, fit to compete with men. Their
nerves are finer strung on more sensi-
tive chord, and, being women. they throw
heart and body into whatever they may
may be doing, with the result that, while
1t Is well done. the woman herself is worn
out and fitted only for rest. There have
been articles written on how women
should work, how they should live, how
they should eat, and how they should have
their being, until one would think that
the average woman was so drunk with adj
vice she found standing on her feet with
frmness somewhat difficult. Of course,
that women have to work outside the home
is a misfortune. But that they do is fact.
They can starve, bat 1t is not pleasant
mode of death, and most of them have a
strange fancy for clinging to life, poor as
it is, that is wonderful.
Mrs. Tom Brown, who last year was as
merry as grig, did not think there was
trouble in life and believed that Tom
Brown was the greatest man on earth, to-
day faces problem. Tom Brown has
failed, and instead of being man enough
to go out and look for work of any kind.
means and worries and blames his trouble
on everybody but his own short-sighted
self. In the meantime, food, coal and
wood are needed. Poverty has, if anything,
increased the appetltes of the children, and
Mrs. Tom Brown SAYS to herself. being a
loving woman, "Poor Tom, he can't help
it; but III try and get something to do"
Mistake number one. The chances are
that if Tom Brown had seen his wife
ana children hungry and cold, and real
lied that they would starve or freeze unless
he worked for them. it might have made
man of him, and he would have started
out and done something; or tried to. AS
it is, he says: IL can't do anything; the
world is against me; if she wants to, let
Mary try."
And Mary does try. Poor, foolish Mary
She has read of the immense amount of
money made by Mrs. Humphry Ward, of
the great sums earned by Mrs. Burnett,
and she sits down and writes story.
And while she is writing the story the
Brown family 60 in debt to the grocer and
the butcher and the milkman and the
baker. And the story comes back to Mary,
and she concludes that the editor of that
back from another, and she concludes that
the editor of that magazine is influenced
by other women not to take the work of
other women. Then that poor story comes
back from another magazine, and then
Mary does what she ought to have done
in the first place-puts the story in the fire
and warns the children by it. Do under
rate Marys ability? No. But the woman
who can write good original story is not
treated as Mary is, and, in addition, she
forgot that success of the pen comes to the
few, for, after all, my friend, the women
who make much money with their pens
are few-very few.
What would I advise her to do? Put all
the children to bed and think awhile.
Think and think until she knows what she
can do best. If her talent lies in the bak-
ing of cakes and the making of bread and
the concoction of dainty dishes, and this is
a great talent, then, if Mary is wise, she
will go to those neighbors whose cooks are
poor, who have no knowledge of the great
art of cooking themselves, and she will let
them know that she will make for
proper price whatever they may need in
this special line. The deviled eggs for
Sunday evenings tea; the light lady
cake, that is a Joy to the taste, a pleasure
to the eyes and not an insult to the stom-
ach; the meat salads that the men like or
the dainty puddings that the whole family
enjoy, Mary can make to order. Now, if
Mary has a talent for cooking and man
ages properly, she can, in her own little
town, make an income that ought to
Sname LON, Out Wnlcn doesn't, tnOuG0 IL
will keep that awful wolf, Debt, from the
door.
Possibly Mary's talent is with her needle.
She can take the finest cambria needles,
very cobweb Of thread and hemstitch the
daintiest of linens. Oh, no, she needa't
embroider center pieces or doylies or tea
clothes; the world is full of them. Instead
she can go to little Mrs. Matron across the
way. who is young and happy, and who is
hoping for a greater happiness, and she
can offer to make for her all the tiny little
dresses, the pretty petticoats, the funny
little caps that are to be worn by the most
wonderful baby in all the world. And do
ing this work and doing it we'll will cause
Mary's reputation to spread, and it is pos
sible that she may have to teach her oldest
girl to help her when the orders are many.
And Tom? Oh, we'll, Tom is a man, and
he will let Mary earn the money while he
tells the men how when fellow is married
he ought to be master in his house. And
Mary will continue to love him. For such
is the nature of woman.
Or else it may be that whenever Mary
sticks flower in the ground it blossoms
L = 49, L ~