The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-10-04
THEY ARE BAD SPOILERS.
Some Charges Connected with the Ed
%ucatiOn of Girls.
Philadelphia Press.

Women spell badly-the majority of them.
They write ludicrous business letters. One
hears this sentiment on every hand among
business men, and especially, too, among
the different class of women who have in
hand the examination of young girls aspir-
ing to a professionally that Of a profess
sional nurse, librarian, etc.
And in this age, when we hear so much
and SO often about the rattllng pace win
domain, its truth or its falsity is rather i'm
portant. For what will it avail a woman if
she knows the ms and outs of ~esoteric Bud
dhism and is not familiar with the gentle
art of the pocket dictionary?
But to come down to statistics. When a
few months ago l went among the best
known and most successful nurses, con-
corning the question, What qualities are
was met on all hands by the following
notifying information, worded more or
less SIMILARLY:
yes. We have hundreds of girls come
to us each year in order to pass hospital
examinations for the nur~sehood-bright
country girls as nice as we could ask. But
an examination in common school rudi-
ments is necessary. This much knowledge
of elementary, studies should be possessed
before the girl arrives at the hospital. But
in so many cases it is just the opposite.
You would be surprised to see the spelling
and phrasing of those intelliSent-looking
girls. It is awful, to say the least. Not
one-half. nor nearly one-half, of the young
women who turn up here and want to be
admitted to our training school can write
a short letter through without a couple of
photographed errors
OIi NJ ms ~ o. III
charge the examinations for entrance to
the library course in some of the. large
lamentably the same. Hundreds of girls
fail with us. of course, on account of their
the name for it. You see we are not here
for the purpose of teaching young women
the ndi i'm qds Of spelling Tbd4 They don't
work. 1t is understood that they know
enough of other things to begin to grasp
our branch of labor. Yes. I wish I could
show you some of the letters which our
young aspirants write and think they are
really spelling"
Inqniring among business men who have
occasion to employ young girls, as. for in
smile. DO girls spell badly? l should
say so. Whether it is worse thar the av-
the young boys and men whom I examine
are paragons in that direction, but only
don't know the most ordinary rules and
laws. Or they don't put them in practice"
In almost every case the examiners
young girl setting out to fail in this vital
particular. 1t looks so ignorant. don't
you know said one of these authorities.
Il suppose in many cases a girl spells in
correctly because she doesn't think. But
then it is TO her own interest to think.
To think carefully and constantly. We
are business enterprises-not kindergar-
And even in this end of the nineteenth
century that episode which many women
call a business letter is a severe parody
upon III StA- ' In - u oilG Will ION
der of gossip than the average man. This
fact is true in spite of what song and jest
and story and tradition may contain to the
contrary. But why will women-why will
they?-say everything but what is impor-
tant upon the tapis? Everything but ex-
actly what you really ought to hear2 Every
thing but what they sat down TO write?
And then call the result a business letter.
She rides a wheel. She drives a tandem.
orders a dinner. She makes a railroad
journey. She packs a valise. She swims.
She shoots. She goes a fishing. She does
all these with the sangfroid and knack of
an .soId hand" But few-few and far be-
tween-are the women who can write a
good. short. crisp, up-to-the-point business
letter.
Yes. If the new women wants to be really
progressive she must learn to double her
final consonant at the proper time and sea-
SON. She must be mistress of the myste-
ries of foreign piurals and of the lie and Ell.
And before she can actually pat herself well
upon the back she must be competent To
write a good business letterr