The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1898-02-11
WOMEN OF THESOUTH
THEIR ENTRANCE INTO THE FIELD
OF HONEST LABOR.

Activity Among Ladies' In a Section
Where Work Was Once Considered
Unindylike = Competing With Men In
Now Channels of Employment.
Before the war there were literally no
avenues for self support open to ladies
i'll tho south. Teaching was tho only
conceivable line in which lady could
with proper family pride and dignity
support herself, and it was resorted to
only when all the male members of tho
house had passed away pnd the family
reduced TO positive need. 1t did not en-
ter into the minds of southern gentle
men to conceive such Il thing as the fact
that the women of their name could or
would be self sustaining. 1t is only
since tho war-and the encroachment
has been very gradual-that women have
entered the lists with men, and now
they compete with them i'll nearly every
field OF honest labor In the large dry
goods stores two-thirls of the clerks are
women and girls. Men still preside in
the heavy dress goods, carpet and linen
departments, and of course as floorwalk-
-
keeper is man, but his assistants and
cashiers are women. Cash girls arc rs
common as cash boys, and when en-
ployed III store arc employed exclusive
~. They are usually attired in neat
uniform, wearing long aprons on which
their numbers are marked. They range
from 10 to ID years of age, at which lat
ter age, II their capacity and term of
service warrant it, they are promoted to
be clerks.
Girls i'll stores i'll the south are al
lowed much moro freedom than in tho
large stores in New York and other
metropolitan places. Their hours arc
shorter, their work lighter, their wages
higher They all 1.-Two at homo or in
some reputable boarding houses lodg-
ing houses, and the hand to mouth dis
comfort of hurried cheap meals ut poor,
cheap restaurants do not enter into the
life OF the southern salcswoman TWEEN
ty or 30 years ago women and girl clerks
were few and far between; now they
can be seen i'll every good sized city,
hurrying i'll throngs to their work every
morning little before O'Clock.
~ largo proportion of the teachers in
the public schools are women. MANY of
the clerks i'll the postoflices are girls.
Every large business house, manufac
tory and lawyers Office has its woman
stcnographer and typewriter. 1t is only
III the railway Offices, managing editors
offices and the supreme and United
States courts that men arc employed as
stenographic reporters. The telephone
nDprnfnCs GIRLS II fl,,,
cics, like Bradstrect's, and the leading
insurance companies employ girl short
hand and type writer's. OF course thev
do not get as good salaries as men occu-
pying like positions. y case in point
Will bo of interest. A merchant doing "A
large business in southern CITY adycr-
tised i'll the New York papers for an ex-
pert stcnographcr. He had many an.
swers Finally ono suited him-so
short well worded, busincsslike, offering
such irreproachable references. The let
ter was signed willie --." Flo re.
piled at once, offering salary of 81, 200
per year and urging the applicant to
come without delay. In few days he
was surprised to have delicate, bright
faced girl Of about 20 years of age walk
iH'c 'iAo oiilSC all'l ttuliOQIltO upTSpll as
Willie -, ready for business. He
could not refuse her because the Uues-
ton OF sex had mover entered into the
contract, and she was Il proved expert.
but he did reduce her salary from the
very outset, saying "of course he could
not pay Il girl what II man was worth. -
Women printers are becoming general
III the southern newspaper and lob
printing offices, and they work also in
the binding, stitching and folding de-
partments. They do also the lighter
work i'll engraving and Photographic es
adjustments. Nearly all of the orna-
mental water color and china painting
and crayon drawing is done by women.
and they even teach dancing and phys-
lcal culture classes At all of the large
expositions they ;ac employed us booth
keepers and card distributors. They
work i'll the cotton, glass, box, paper,
match, shoe, ready made clothing pa
tent medicine and AL other factories.
Some Of the large factories provide coIl. .
Portable quarters for them
When one considers the newspaper
work i'll the south, it is there that WON
en- are seen at their best They write on
every subject, from Il leader to Il descrip-
ton of Il german. from "a sledge hammer
book review To an article on lace. Some
of the very best articles on the indus
trial development III the south in the
write ups" of the new mineral towns
are by women They interview mill
owners and furnace bosses, railway
kings and enthusiastic "hoor,crS' and