Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-10-30
VIEWS or STORE GIRLS.
Why They Prefer Work BEHIND
Counters 20 Service with Families.


The Sun recently published an article
Growing that. because OF the scarcity OF
such help. there is a great demand IN
Baltimore for good cooks and household
assistants. Inquiry yesterday among fore
women Of large stores and among the
sbopgirls developed the seasons why
young women prefer to work behind COM
ters than IN domestic situations
In q Iexington-street store young
girl who had been there three years sald:
IL is all very well to talk about preJu-
dice against domestic service, but the
whole thing is just this; working IN
store is business: in kitchen 1t Is drudy-
erv. In a store a girl has some chance
to do something for herself. She is put
behind counter and told TO sell GOODS
and she knows if she does il well or better
than the others about her she is likely 10
get her salary raised or get better posl
tion I'm the store. If a girl has plenty Oh
| ambition and really IS good salesWomah'
| after n time she may become buyer LOT
the house, or even lady drummer. Even
Q if she is not smart enough to get heISelI
/ advanced the mere fact that she might
/ be gives n girl something to- look forward
~ and makes her put some life IN her
work. What has a girl in Kitchen 10
/ look for? If she is a fine cook, they won
make her mistress Of the house VIII they
/ No. indeed. you can bet she VIII Just stay
! cook as long as she stays with the nanny
| and when she gets out and wants another
/ ioh she has TO start in as cook again.
ONLY ONE PERSON TO PLEASE
another thing is that the girl IN
store is responsible for her work 10 the
! manager of her department ana 10 hopouy
I else The girl in a kitchen has 10 please
the wife. husband, children, aunt and any
| number of visitors who come around, ana
/ IN rlease half dozen people OF different
/ tastes is not an easy thing. HOW uoes
] a ,,irl know what kind of people she would
/ have the luck 90 be with in FAMILY (!
She might get a place where eVerythlis
was lovely, and where the entire famlly
was pleased with her and treated her
finely. on the other hand' she stdiiuS
a ereat deal better chance of getting with
% tronan who would nag her until she
/ was ten times more miserable thah she
could possibly be in a store. Suppose she
has 10 get ND to get breakfast at O'CLOCK
i'm the morning, so as to have IL ready py
half-past o'clock for the father OF the
family. Then, after he has gone ABOUT
8 o'clock. the children will come down
for school and she VIII have 10 get an
other breakfast, and later, the mistress
of the house comes down, about half-past
d k
store sometimes does not get more thah
50 or 50 a week, but / would rather work
for that in a store. where | could see
something ahead of me. than take po-
sition as cook I'm the best family in Bal
timore. People may say that is pride IL
they want to. but l do not believe 1t.
LEISURE HOURS DESIRED.
Another girl, forewoman in a large
store said: mo. indeed; I do not want
domestic service. / want my evenings on
like ANYBODY else. A girl does not wish
10 he stuck down in a kitchen every eve
ming except once week. why. girls II,
this store belong TO musical CLUBS anu
soci9ls by the dozen. and there is not one
who would change to go into anybodys
home Not that store life Is so easy pul
II IS better than being in a kitchen Be
sides that. all girls like company. guess
!, and If there is any prejudice about the
matter Il is with the young men VINO
come 10 see the girls. You won't find
many fellows who would go to see girl
who was a kitchen mechanic. for that
is what they call them. There Is no rea-
son why a girl in a store cannot nave as
much company as she pleases, as her
work does not unfit her for 1t. but II she
starts 10 cook or take any other sltua-
lion in a house she VIII very sooh hno
maj there are reasons enough why no
Young men viii come to see her.
In the same store another girl express
Cd herself upon the subject by saying
mat n girl never has chance 10 learn
ANYTHING by going into idtchen, ana
falls behind the times mot That she
has such awful hard work TO do she
said "but IL is strung out all day long
and into the night We store-girls are
off every evening at o'clock, except Sat
rrday. when we stay later A girl, TOT
! not reason. has a chance TO read ana
study IN the evenings, or 10 go out ana
enioy herself in other ways. She can JON
clubs or societies and generally brisa'en
4 horeelf M for the next days work.
WHAT 1T COSTS TO DRESS.
Incidentally. the question arose as 10
whether the average store-girl earned suf-
| Gcient money 10 pay her board and to
dress wei. Those Intercepted said they
did This brought up the question as 10
how much it cost young woman year
cor dress. In Boston. II has been esd
I mated II can be done for 800 In New
YORK IL is said that 1t will cost little
more than that A well-known depart
ment store proprietor declared that any
girl can dress well in Baltimore for 80