The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-11-03
IDEAS tor dNomen


Woman i~ssinvading mechanical art. This
is probably due to her higher education
in mathematics to a large extent, whlie
it is not wholly separate from her IN
stincts as a housewife. h is in draft
ing and designing. There have been a
number who have been employed by civil
engineers In their drafting rooms, but this
number has been exceedingly small. 1t is
In the business of designing artistic
homes that woman shines as a drafts
man. or, rather, drafswoman. The work
is thoroughly congenial to her, for every
woman has thought more or less about
her own home and how it might be made
more convenient, and the planning OF a
home is more fascinating to her. Inc
mechanical part of it comes easy enough
TO one who is at all practical ana mas a
good head for mathematics. Her geome-
try, trigonometry, perspective and me-
chanical drawing at school nave prepared
her somewhat, so that If she has a taste
for this class of study she will md that
the designing of homes is an easy mat
ter.
For one who has progressed thus far
in the work of an architect there is
suficient interest and pleasure In the re-
suits gained to urge the close study OF
materials. etc, that the specifications
may be made also by the designer. 1t
does not take many months to become
thoroughly familiar with this part OF the
work as it consists for the most part of
nae1norizing. A thorough knowledge OF
dimensions in all kinds Of lumber, stone,
brick and terra Gotta, as well as the
teehaical parts of electric lighting, wiz
ast-- -,,,abi,n ir naaacgary TO a
fun understanding of the subject in or
der saat the specifications may cover
every part of the building which has been
designed
This knowledge is easily acquired from
the fact that it is all SO interesting to
a woman: She knows h is needed
about a house most pre-eminently. She
knows how to have everything arranged
so that as a Who'll it is as convenient as
it is possible to make it. The gas fixture
is not placed in some back corner behind
a door, where nobody would ever him
OF looking. for or wanting a light; the
wall lines are not so broken up with
doors. windows, etc. that there Is no
room for the necessary furniture; the
doors are not hung in such an awkward
manner that they must swing against the
windows or gas fixtures; the space for
rh,e dresser is not left on the side of the
room farthest from the light; the closets
ara not like dark. pockets in a basement,
but arranged to be well ventilated as Of
ten as needed; the dining room is made
large enough so that it will contain a
stdeboard as we'll as the table and chairs,
and it will not be necessary for all to
rise from one side of the table in order
that the waitress may pass to the other
side. or else hand things across the table,
as occurred lately in an apartment build
ing designed by a man; the mirrors Will
not face the light; the pantry will have a
window and will not be placed in the CEN
tire of the house; the registers or radia-
tors will not occupy the only wall space
large enough for the bedstead or the sofa
or the sideboard; the doors will be wide
enough to admit of any article of furni-
ture made, and the halls will be large
enough to turn them around in sufficient
" 10 wheel them from one room into an
other.
Many of the present houses in this
city are so small in these respects that
a box sofa or folding bed or swell front
sidehoard must be taken fnsat the win
low, and If hey are wanted up stairs
the whole window sash must be lifted
out in order to get them inside. Once IN
they must stay there until removed in the
same way. the housekeeping being only
q partial dab at 1t. The rear staircase
is not a steep TUNE into inky
with several sharp curves, but in sec
lions, with square landings and a window
at or near each turn. There is an attic
or store room in Zach house, if a woman
has anything to say about 1t, but that
fact does not eliminate the closets, as
was lone in a fiat building built recently
by a man. This man built an elegant
fiat building with every thing in the way
of recent Improvements in it, but with
one solitary closet in each fiat of six
or eight rooms. No woman would be
guilty of such a stupid thing. OF course,
1t was expected that people would have
wardrobes, but this is an imposition on
the people who have a right to find
closets.
New York is congratulating itself over
the very bright young woman who re-
Gently planned a tenement house for that
city on twenty-five feet of ground, each
apartment containing a conveniently ar
ranged suite of rooms, all OF good size,
and we'll arranged for convenience of the
occupants. They seem much surprised
that a woman could be SO clever. 1t does
not seem so strange to a woman, for
there is no wonder that a woman should
know how to plan a suite Of rooms sue
cessfully, for she is the one who stays
at home and has the care of the home
aa3 knows what is needed. 1t is merely
an i~nl0vation for her to come out in pub
tic and say SO.
4 great many more women might find
this a constant field of labor. 1t is not
already overrun either, and SO the wages
are high. The lowest wage paid for an
accurate designer of craftsman is SIS to
s25 per week, and many have received
much more, according to their ability and
originality.
AT present many girls who look for
ward to earning their own living expect
to become stenographers, typewriters,
-bookkeepers, cashiers or clerks. In none
OF these can q woman command the sail
airy that a draftswoman can. One who
has her time TO prepare for some life
work and has a good level head for
studies which tend IN this direction
should consider this matter. There is
plenty of room for her In this profession.
she can earn an excellent living by It,
IL is more of a profession than a trade,