The times., 1897-04-25
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publications for young people, soIne time
ago, whose moral was positively immoral.
This does not mean that it was improper;
ON the contrary, the whole story was most
aggressively proper; but if morality in
the broad sense means doing ones duty
by ones fellow beings, then that story was
imrn oral.
1t was story Of three girls, all under
twenty, all gay, prosperous and well taken
care Of. One belonged to large andloving
family, not very rich in this worlds goods,
perhaps, but comfortably off, except that
the father of the family never laid up
anything for the needs of his family after
he was dead
This girl-no matter about her name in
the story-let us call her Bess. The set
ond, Marie, was the daughter of q million
aire: and the third, Alice, lived at home
with her mother, while her brother, who
had a flourisbiDg business, supported the
family.
There comes time in the life of most
girls in these days when they grow tired
of home and the routine thereof, and want
to get out into the world. The time had
come for these three girls in the story, and
the course they took was earnestly advo-
Gated by the author of the story. One
went to New York to study art, visiting
meanwhile at the house OF an old aunt and
uncle. That was Bess. She hoped, after
completing her education In art, To
earn her living thereby Marie went in-o
her fathers office, hearing that his phi
vate secretary had suddenly left, and in
quired If she couldn't do the work. If she
had been any other girl, without expert
ence or requirements, he would probably
have asked her If she was crazy. As 1t
was, after he got over his astonishment,
he asserted, and she thereafter held the
position, drew the pay, and studied steu-
ography, that she might fill the place as
well the young man or woman who
would otherwise have had it, The differ
ence between the work she did and that
which the previous incumbentof the office
had done was probably added to the task
OF somebody outside the private office, but
Of that the story does not tell.
The third girl Alice, was unable to leave
home being her mothers companion 1nd
having general command of the house
keeping She was quite doleful for time,
until the milliOnaiTes daughter suggested
that she start a greenhouse.
You have such exquisite taste, you
know Well all buy flowers of you, and
you will beat the other florist out Of town, ="
said she And it was done.
Now, the only thing Of which this story
takes cognizance is the desire Of woman
to he independent. But there is another
consideration, which every thoughtful
girl is bound to take into account at some
time OF other, and that Is, whether her
independence is going to drive somebody
else to the wall Quixotic IL may seem,
thisis one of thethings which women, much
more than men, are bound TO consider.
There is q great clamor that women are
pushing themselves into places which ought
70 be filled b men. part OF it is foolish,
and part OF il is wise, like most things n
this world.
Nobody ever grudges a woman her sue
cess IL she starts al the bottom of the
ladder and works her way up, as a boy
would do and usually has TO do. But
in the case OF these two girls this was
not done. The girl-who became her fathers S
stenographer did SO simply by virtue of
the fact that she was his daughter, and
she, who did not need the money, took
it from another person better fitted for
the place, who did need 1t. The girl who
made a success rather. a temporary sue
of it and gave 1t up-in the greenhouse
business did so because she had not only
her brothers. business sense To back her
up. but the support OF her friends in So
ciety to rely upon. They bought of her
because OF personal reasons, which did not
prove that her wares were any better than
those of the other florist in town, and
hurt his business Just the same as If it
Nna in al inn
These two cases are fair samples of the
kind o thing that starts the clamor against
women in business. 1t is charged that
they get places through favor and keep
them only until they marry. so that bus-
ness suffers ana the people who ought to
have the places suffer, because those who
do not need to work insist upon working.
There is something in all this, as have
said before, and it contains warning to
working girls. Girls, when you go into
business, see that you play fair. Don't try
to keep place by favor If you are not com
petent, and more than competent, to fill Ii.
Don't introduce into business, with its up
and-down rules, that mischievous thing
miscalled tact, which means getting by
hook or by crook what cannot be gotten
fairly. THERE'S a sense of honor for women
as we'll as men, and it is exactly the same
article in both cases.
AS for the third girl in this story, she
never earned her living at all. She married
before she was half through with her art
studies married an artist as poor as her
self and she was the only one of the three
who had the ghost of an excuse for leaving
home.
1t is not only from the economic point OF
view that the story i s faulty. This sort of
thing Is the very reason why girls who
are actually obliged to take oare of them
selves find 1t hard to make living. The
girls who nave no need to work at all, and
only use their wages for dress, are not so
very numerous, but there are enough of
them to lower wages very materially. Car
roll d. Wright in compiling labor statistics.
foun d that this class of women lowered the
rate of compensation for whole towns.
When the price of living for a single
womanis SO week and some woman who
lives at home and pays no board, offers
to do the same work for So, something has
to break somewhere. And if there are
only half o dozen $40 a week places.
and four of them are filled by women who
are relatives of somebody in high places,
there are four women who would other
wise get that work to do, who are kept
in the next lower grade.
1t may he said that all this is true of
men; but itisnot. to any great extent. The
fl ield is not so crowded, an there are more
occupations from which to choose. 1t is
for women to stand by each other, so far
as they can: and if they wish to do type
writing or teaching or building houses,
instead of housework, to pay some other
---e..,ar, a fair nrice to do the house work