Evening star., 1898-11-12

W III & men similarly sit
mi WITH uated in great cities
WI where the struggle
W for existence $
| vastly more keen
| than It is here. Washington women, in
| truth, have brarched out il a number of
occupations that have hitherto been un-
| thought of by their sisters in other and
| larger communities.
| For example. there is a woman black
| smith in this town. She is not just now
! working at the forge herself. although she
| was an actual shoer of horses before she
| came to Washington from small Virginia
| town. She doesn't have to work with a
| leather apron now, for, when the War De-
| partnent began to assemble thousands CT
| horses and mules in this ueighborhood at
| the beginning of the recent war she got
| from the government the contract TO keep
| large percentage Of the animals shod.
| She made a great deal of money under this
| contract and she now simply oversees the
| affairs of her well-a ppointed and largely
| patronized shop. She is a German woman
| with q mind of her own and physique 20
| enforce it when necessary.
A Clever Idea.
| A very pretty and amia BILE young woman
| of the District born and raised" in George
| town, held down fer seven years, and up 10
| the beginning of the present admiDistra-
| tion very comfortable departmental bill
| let. When she lost her place, more than a
year ago, she sat down and thought out
| schemes to earn a living. She had no trade
| -couldn't handle typewriter, knew moth
| ing about stenographic pothooks, hadn't
the least idea how to trim a hat or make a
dress. Her only proficiency consisted in her
| ability as clerk. and she didn't care to
| take 3 or A-a-week clerkship out of the
| governmental service. Finally she hit Upon
/ "A hn n ya
woman regards IL a considerable task to
| go TO the hairdressers to have her hair
| shampooed. So the young woman decided
| to become visiting hair shampooer She
| had scores of women friends, among whom
| she was very popular, and she sent each
! Of them neatly printed circular, contain
| ing the Information that she was about to
| embark in the business of shampooing
| Nomen's hair. After she sent out the cir
culars she went around and saw the women
| 10 whom she had sent the circulars. She
! was welcomed by all of them to-2 woIna n,
! with the greatest of cordiality, and she
| started on her rounds with her shampooing
outfit in a neat little satcnel. The business
| VAS go from the start, at the rate of "a
| cents per shampoo. From the very begin
! ming she has made more money than she
| did as government clerk, and just now
| zhe has more patrons than she can attend
| to. She keeps governmental hours and she
| averages ST 2 day. She has started a regu-
| lar system of bookkeeping according to the
calendar, and is expected to visit all of her
patrons every month or six weeks. She re-
JoiceS in the independence which the nature
| Of her occupation gives her, and has no
yearning whatever TO re-enter the employ
| of Uncle Sam.
Members and Shoppers.
Several women, most of them middle-aged
and of former excellent circumstances now
| engage in the occupation of mending and
caring for the clothes of Washington
bachelors. The woman mender has carte
nnf han Il
| bachelor clients at any time when they are
not around. She darns his seeks, takes up
rents in garments, sews on buttons and
keeps the creases in all of the bachelor >
trousers. The woman members get from 81
to So a month from their bachelor clients
for this work, according to the extent of
the wardrobes and The degree of labor ex-
pended and they make exceedingly com
Portable EvelihooCs at the business. 1t
cannot be said. however, that the nature uf
their occupation is liable to increase or ex-
tend the matrimonial idea hereabouts.
The professional shopper is said to have
originated in Washington. At any rate
there are half-dozen or more well-knoHn
professional shoppers in Washii. .gton. They
are mostly young women of great natural
taste and discernment in the selection of
womens apparel, and two of the best
known among them were formerly the
EeadS Of departments in Washington de-
partment stores. They make more money
as professional shoppers than they did as
saleswomen. Their clients are for the most
part wealthy women of languorous tenn
permanent, who dislike shopping, and who
are glad to avail themselves of the shop
ping services of young women of proven
Judgment in the selection of all manner OF
womanS gear. While the professional
shoppers of Washington have sufficient
local spirit to largely patronze the Wash
ington stores, they make frequent trips TO
Philadelphia and New York, and on these
trips they get their expenses from their
clients in addition their rppular IA
These salaries vary in accordance with the
wealth of their clients and the amount of
buying done. They range from 500 to $500
year, and some of the professional shop
pers have as many as dozen clients They
enjoy life a good deal, and, naturally
enough they are treated with the very
greatest consideration by the managers of
stores.
Value of Good Taste.
There is young woman ''suggestor'' in
Washington, who. while she does no actual
shopping herself, may be put under the
same head. This young woman has an ar
tistic eye, and her services are in demand
by wealthy women who want to be told just
what they ought to wear. The young wo-
man tells them, and tells them just right.
She has large number OF clients, and she
knows just exactly what each of them
should wear to appear at her best at all
seasons of the year. She does not confiue
herself to costumes, but knows Just what is
best suited to each of her clients in the
way of hats, shoes, gloves and other femi-
nine paraphernalia. She makes money.
Under the same heading comes a we'll
known young Washington woman whose
circumstances are not such that she needs
to be employed, but who has standing
commission from a number of wealthy
Washinstonians to purchase for them what
ever she likes, en- her numerous trips out
of Washington. in the way of pictures,
statuettes, medallions, antiques and espe-
cially old and hne pottery. She is an ex-
pert in ceramics. This young woman spent
a number of years as an art student in
Paris, slld she is known at all of the art
sales in this country discreet and
careful buyer ef~the very first quality of
judgment. She has bought hundreds of
the works of art of all sorts that adorn
the private collections of Washngtonians