The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-06-19
THE GLASS THAT TEMPS.
MEASURES TAKEN TO EFFECT THH
REF0RMATION OF WOMEN.

Elevator Cars Made Nowadays without MIR
rors-snVinE OF Time ana Money Erected
Undergraduates OF Women In Elevators
TIA Make the Attendants Mourn.
Mirrors In elevators are responsible for q
great loss Of time. Indeed, In certain big dry
goods stores the managers arc having thom
taken out In order to savc time. II has even
been said that the newest elevators for hotels
and dry goods stores arc built without mirrors
for that very reason. AS usual woman 10
blamed. 1t Is alleged that she consumes so
much time in looking at herself when going up
and down that tho elevators capacity for use
fulncss is greatly diminished.
Manufacturers, huwcvcr. deny this and say
that IL Is II slam on the fair sex. When a repre-
sentative of one Of tho biggest concerns in the
country was Questioned about it he exclaimed
with Il twinkle in his eyes: '
How could any ono ever cast such a ref0e-
ton on tho womenl The very idea of their
wasting time looking at themselves as they are
being hoistod up and down ia lifoi No man
should consider any amount of time spent in
study of tho beautiful wasted. I'll giant you
that far Tower mirrors are being put in elevators
nowadays than ever before, but the reason is q
change in the most approved style of elevator
itself and not the habits of women. There was
n time, in the days of the wooden car. when
mirrors were considered n very important part
of the elevator They we're thought TO DO the
only suitable decoration, and then there was q
distinct demand for them from hotelmcn and dry
goods men and there is still to-day. Finally the
iron grillwork, tircproof elevator made its ap-
pcarance and was put into the big firoproof
office buildings, banks and so on. 1t was
built without mirrors, and hotel men and
big shop keepers saw it and wanted
it in their establishments, but invari.
ably they specified in their order that a mirror
must be put in the car to the
ladies. Very few elevators are built for apart
ment houses, hotels or dry goods stores without
mirrors, though the looking glass Is u very in
conspicuous feature of the tircproof cars"
The men who run the. elevators in the dry
had their way they would smash every mir
ror in every elevator in Greater Now York into
smtthereens. They declare tho elevator look
ing glass to be responsible for an immense
waste of time and temper. In II certain large
dry, goods store y big .erillworli iron elevator
new wing recently added to the building. Tho
man, who runs tlris car is considered to have u
ears with mirrors, and he is inclined to think
that way himself. When asked If he looked
upon mirrors in an elevator as an advantage
he answered in a tone of royal contempt:
What chor Eiyin usl l wouldn't run u car
again with u mirror for double the pay I'm
gettin' now. Folks say its u sin to waste time.
If that's so there ought to be a law against
hayin' lookin' glasses in lifts, because nine out
of ten women waste a sight o time plumin' 'em:
selves before the glass as we carry EN- up an
down. HoaNcn only knows how aggravatin'
an elevator mans life is. Didn't you ever take
note of ,women,s elevator ,mannors2 They're
somethin' terrible. Watch 'em in any elevator
t on the q i9 tTst tS6G lass ssd S fSs y s30rs car "a dSo emSpt5y
There is Il grand rush for the elevator. Well,
the passengers nearly break their necks irwin
TO get back next to the mirrors. Of course, all OF
EN- can't, and some have to stand near the door.
We'll, if the for'ard ones want to get out at say
tor'ard ones squeeze the life nearly out of the
others and you cant make en- get out til
'emselvcs a minute before that glass. They
st:aightcn their hats, pat their hair, and tx
their wells before they vamoose.
'Of course ali that takes up IL lot of time, but
the queer part of II all is that the passengers
hardly ever get mad with one another. All the
ladies seem to understand how it is and act as
If they'd do the same way. It's the elevator
man that does the gettin' mad. I've been that
with my passengers takin' W, SO much time
lookin' at themselves, that ;! feel like lettin'
the bloomin' old car drop from the steenth
story to the basement with the whole lot of 'em.
th nhaYi i "a a mi r r in a lift has one S SdyantaEe,
thheqbS ack of of the aa% enI. / have nl1 q To Wear 1h my la toesl TO
nearly out begin 'em to step back and make
room room in this hd new new car; They all want to st stand ID
bound for the top floor is just as eager to plank
herself as near in the door as she can get rs the
passenger who is going to get, out at the second
floor. Women Is queer folks
do you really make better time with this
car without mirrors than the men on the othoH
side Of the store do in their glass-walled carsi'
asked the interviewer.
phaticaliy. Il make three trips up and down
TO their ono easily without hurryin' the least
bit, and it's all because my passengers arc
eager to get out, while theirs like to linger n sec
2nd and take a look at 'emselves, as l explained.
Some days I've averaged five trips TO their one.
II you don t believe it, take a ride up with mo
in my car and then go and take a ride up in ono
Of the lookln' glass cars, an you will see that
that amt no lie, neither. Say, this car takes up
twenty passengers comfortably, You can, see
In n minute 1t would be delayed by havin' ff-
teen Of EN- stop before liEhtin' to look in the
glass, an tn ITS u low estimate. Excuse me
from engineerin' q car with mirrors. They are
a nuisance. If l owned a store | wouldn't have
a mirror in II single elevator. not II had a hun
dred. I'd have too much care for the saliva
ton Of the souls Of my elevator men. 1t takes
a pow'fui strong character to run an elevator
fun o mirrors year in an year out an then get
to heaven, too. In fact, ! don't believe 1t can
be done in a country where women folks arc
plentiful. Runnin' lifts with lOokin' glasses In
EN- is TOO slow IL business for me. l believe
the men who make EN- put the glasses in 50
that their sales will be better. or course, in
these big stores two lifts with glasses are
needed to do the work of one without"