The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1898-03-13
THE ONLY WOMAN PROMOTER
Her Unique Mission Is to "Drum"
for California

Her Unique Mission Is to ''Drum"
for California.
The one woman promoter of the United
States is Mrs. Janet Macdonald of Cal
ifoTnia. Sert out by the chamber of com
merce and the Half Million club of San
Francisco, she is making a tour of the
South and East. with the view of attract
ing emigrants and capital 10 California
Mrs. Macdonald is forcibIe speaker. and
her lectures describing the natural re-
sources and many advantages of her State
are profusely illustrated by kaleidoscope
pictures. all taken directly under her SUI
pervision.
When asked to talk about her work
and tell the secret of her success. Mrs
Macdonald laughed. AS TO my work YOU
see what I do and all my listeners know
my object I am well paid and my duties
are agreeable in the extreme, since moth
ing suits me so well as to talk about my
beautiful State
Il went to California when 1 was Il
years old. riding horseback all the way
from Council Bluffs with my father. who
was captain of the wagon train. We set
out on May 1, and arrived in Carson City.
where we made our first considerable
stop, September 10. Thirty years later I
came back, and on a solidIy vestibuIed
train, making the trip entirely across the
continent in five days The railroad fol-
lows for great part of the way the old
wagon trail. and as 1 travelled back I
could recognize many landmarks around
our old camping spots.
Il began 10 earn my own living a few
months before my twenty-first birthday.
a widow with three children TO support
and having had The advantage of six
months schooling. When my husband
died 1 realized I must earn my living
and raise my children. knew of but
three occupations open TO women in my
position, sewing. millinery and keeping
a boarding house. 1 selected millinery.
For six months | struggled and made
my one failure. I thought then. and 1
know now. that my friends bought my
goods only from sympathy so OF course
| did not have heavy sales. became
discouraged and one day when blue said
IN the presence of man friend that L
was willing to do anything by which I
could earn an honorable living for nv
children. He said, Why don't you can
vass for books. You could make money
hands up. for you are Just the woman for
the place
ITO make a long story short. I began
to canvass for books and in the first two
weeks made $50. So / gave I'D nv mil
inery store and devoted myself To can
VaSsiuS. My relatives were Mortified and
had L been a leper they could NOT have
avoided me more carefully. That treat
ment aroused my pride and I worked all
the harder. Many a day I have gotten
up with the sun. gone out after a light
breakfast and worked until black dark
without having time for dinner or lunch
OF course if 4 had not possessed an
iron constitution I would have died. so
1 would by all means advise women
against such extremes.
AS 1 Travelled about the country it &C.
CURED to me that | might make a good
/ thing by writing newspaper letters So
| in the morning | would canvass the
| towns for my books and in the afternoon
| drive out to different points of interest
| for my letters. In that way l made for
| many years 800 month. You may i'm
/ agine how I felt when. TO please nv
/ friends. l accepted position in the MINE
! at SO a month. After the first month
| l gave it up and went back 10 nv old
| profession How could I live and edu-
/ cate my children on SO a month. after
being accustomed to hundreds2
/ ''WeU, canvassinE for books. like MANY
/ other occupations. became less remunera-
/ tive as the facilities for travel increased.
so in time I was offered a position to
/ travel in the interest of several of the
/ largest hotels in San Francisco. Then the
railroads wanted me- and finally here 7
/ am sent out IN the interest of the State
/ itself.
/ illustrating with kaleidoscope pictures
! IS an idea of my own. 1t impressed me
i as the best way to make an audience
I realize the size of our big trees was to
/ show them a team passing through one
/ of them, or 10 let them see thirtv-six
J couples dancing on a stump To make
/ them understand the great amount of
work done by n Giant Harvester was to
/ show its progress from the time it en-
/ tered the field of growing grain until IL
1 left. the grain cut, threshed. sacked
weighed. measured, stamped. and piled
ready for shipment
Certainly it was difficult to get the
/ pictures. The first machine / took out
west for the purpose of making the pho
| tographs was faulty in come way and the
/ pictures proved a failure. so I had to
] come east again and so to the trouble and
/ expense of getting another. You may be
I sure 1 had it thoroughly tested before
going back. I failed as a milliuer. but I
was not going to fail as a scientific pho
tographer.
Now l have told YOU about my work
and the way l was educated for it, but.
| there are a few more words ] would like
TO say: have never. not one single time
worked for smaller wages than man
would have received for the same work
! have been approached. o. yes. often
But my answer has invariably been: IT
/ | can do the work we'll as a man then
am worth much money. II I cannot
do the work as well. then you had better
get man To do it, for what is worth
doing at all is worth doing we'll OF
course there have been occasions where
persons were not able 10 pay for first
class work IL | had the time and the
! inclination. / willingly undertook it. but
| always as Il favor, not 10 ] e pIid for.
will never lend my aid to cheaper wo-
mans work.