The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1896-08-15

WV glass and brass bars
of her snug Office is a
queen in her own way; the woman en-
ployed on the staff at regular salary, no
matter how much she does, and who is
usually deputed to write the fashion
columns, the society news or the items
for the housekeeper's department; the
woman who writes specials, generally
for the Sunday papers, and receives so
much per column for her worK-so
many inches of description, incident and
epigram for so many dollars; the re-
porter who has desk in a newspaper
Office and waits for assignments, receiv-
ing a certain amount for each.
Among newspaper women are some
of the brightest, wittiest, brainiest Of
the land-and some of the poorest and
most unhappy.
Here is a composite photograph CT
workers in this field, the mental as
well as physical appearance which we
will suppose to have been taken by some
rare, occult process:
She is q woman averaging in appear
ance any age from 23 to 80. Her face is
alive with intelligence, her movements
are decisive, her walk suggests breezy
independence. In dress she shows little
attention to the vanities peculiar to wo-
men with plenty of leisure, often giving
one the impression of clean boy. Her
clothes are made with view to useful
ness, all sorts of weather, the dust of
business streets, the CRIME of newspaper
l,n l.,
her head and her hair is arranged as neat
ly and simply as possible She knows
the world well. She knows all the sad
ness and littleness of life, its incongrui-
ties and humor. She knows men and
women. She knows her own status-in
fact, she is as mentally experienced aud
as knowing as metropolitan messenger
boy, that most disillusioned of small
persons, who could give worldly advice
to blase clubman.
Itwould be curious to hear from each
woman how she happened to drift into
newspaper work. She must have
mounting ambition to begin with,
conviction that she has ideas and knows
how to clothe them in words, natural
propensity for the rush and clamor of
the world.
"What do you say to a newcomer
among the ranks of women journalistic"
l asked an editor
81 tell her to go home, to do anything
rather than learn to hustle and know
what it means to be scavenger for
news" he said tersely as he drew blue
pencil through long paragraph writ.
ten i'll n feminine hand in the manu-
script before him.
That blue pencil, by the way, how it
figures in the life Of newspaper wom-
an-how she hates it! She writes de-
scription of some tea or reception she
has been sent to report, or she makes Il
story out of some street incident, and
when done she has compiled profitable
amount, phrases nicely turned and as
many words i'll sentence rs it can con-
sistently contain with good grammar,
but then comes the blue pencil of the
editor who reviews the copy, and words
go down before it like ripe hay before a
scythe, epigrams unnecessary to the
matter in hand are sent into oblivion
and the long column becomes small
one at proportionately less money.
"Why are you so pessimistic about
this profession for women" | asked.
"They have easy successes in the news
paper world, they write with more pith
than men on the topics particularly in
teresting to their sex and have been
their rivals often III the treatment OF
philosophical questions and social prob
lens.
eyes, l know a great many do this.
But look here. "
Drawing out basket, he plunged his
hand into a mass of folded manuscripts
which bore the mark Of rejection.
''These have come from Il horde Of
applicants from all over the country
and are all useless But what 90 they
teach? That women-for they are most
ly all from women-are restless, need
work, and there isn't enough TO go
around. More than this, they prove that
at some time or other in her life the
average woman is afflicted with desire
to write. l get reams and reams of
good English, and l can't use it. 1t
would be kindness to let the aspirant
for journalistic honors realize one thing,
that the world is filled with people who
can write good letter-pen phrases
prettily turned and without mistake.
But the same world is starving for ideas.
l sometimes feel I'd pay $50 for good
idea and with an easy conscience pay
lust 50 to the woman who wrote 1t up.
The woman who writes fashions has
N oo,,,Da IN valv aaSy time very often