The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-10-25
w.snlNGToNs PEppLERs.
,,,... oeMaking a Living Presented

open 10 lnuubtElVu9 WVAhsA ~ Ws,-4A7
Incton which could have developed in
me other city, and which have gradually
handed as the number Of women em-
loved in the government service has
Increased. Women are doing office
work In all cities. 1t is true. but no-
where else can there be found 80 many
women in one building dolhs clerical
work as are found in every one Of the
d,partments OF the government service.
They range in age from twenty to
eighty. There Is supposed TO be an age
limit. but In practice there Is none,
hscause women on entering office are
ami 10 say they are years younger than
,nGsl OF them fall down In office harness
rom sheer exhaustion before they are
sst aside on the score OF having reach-
ID a certain age. Now, this army OF
women of all ages and all dispositions
has 10 be catered TO, and their needs
have been appreciated by other indus
trious women not In government ems
nloy, who become the purVeyors or
comforts and necessRrics to their otti-
Cill sisters,
there are strict rules that no one shall
he admitted during ONCE hours except
those on official business; but women
who want to get In to dispose of their
wares 10 the clerks know how to get In.
Women clerks haven't much time to
sew and they have less time to run
around to shops to buy the things with
which to sew, and the woman VINO
brings satchel full Of neat little par.
kSrIR n Mi n AktRf
braid. a spool OF SILK, hooks and eyes,
Tsady-made pocket TO insert in a skirt.
and loops ready-made to tack on for
hanging up skirts Is hailed with de-
light. her parcels are snapped up with
unofficial eagerness, and fair price Is
maid for them. Certain of these women
peddlcrs, us the doorkeepers call them,
get the cream of the trade, of course,
There is one old woman who has never
offered anything for sale but aprons
and sleeves, such as school children
wear and with which the clerks protect
their clean shlrtwaist cuffs In summer
and their cloth sleeves in winter. She
has white and black aprons and white
and black sleeves, and her basket pre-
senis n Eunereal aspect. She herself
dresses always in black and wears a
most distressed expression as though
It really hurts her to part with the
aprons she has made, but It Is currently
reported that she earns more in year
than most Of the clerks.
The desks OF clerks are supposed to
be busted and their belongings kept in
order by the official charwoman, but II
is mere suppositlon. AS a rule every
woman in ONCE takes pride In having
her desk look well, and her needs for
this purpose are met by cheerful lame
girl who brings for sale to the DEPART
ments the incest kind Of cheesecloth
busters with loops to hang them at the
back Of the desk when not in use. She
piles a lively trade in these busters, the
clerks buying them for home as well as
office use. This young girl has also
learned that old kid-glove wrists are
the best of all things on which to wipe
pens, and she gathers quantities OF
these together and sells them in little
packages, five in package, for ten
cents.
The shoulder brace woman Is also
well patroniEed. Constant leaning over
n desk develops round shoulders, and
government clerks have us much vanity
as other women. So when they discov-
err tendency to stoop they begin to
think OF braces. It would be trouble
some TO buy them in store. but 1t Is
no trouble to have "Shoulder-brace
Mary" as they call her come at noon
ard ft them on while they are eating
luncheon. Many fifty-cent piece is
exchanged for a pair of braces that
Mary guarantees to cure the worst
ease Of round shoulders and which she
makes herself according to her own
ideas OF anatomy.
The inner woman Is not forgotten by
the el.ice vendors either. At noontime
ctrtain favored small merchants come
hurryiEg la with their baskets OF good
tl.E..s. An old cOlored woman who
makes the best doughnuts ever tasted
by department clerks has her basket
cmp;Ied and her pocket filled with
MI * in the twlnkling Of an eye. A
sN : voiced woman brings delicious
ange. cake to those whose orders she
has taken the day previous, and her lit
tie order book Is always full. The fa'
Vorite fruit purveyors are two little
girls. one about twelve, the other ten
who can scarcely stagger along under
the, big baskets Of apples and pears
which are wiped and rubbed until they
shine allurlngly, and which quickly
find their way to the desks Of the clerk.
who take their luncheons to the office
Many Of the women clerks make tea
Tor lunc0eOn. 1Hty art Nv iull6Uh az
lowed to heat water on alcohol stoves
as Of old, several explosions having oc-
CURED, but they get plenty OF hot water
from the engine room Of the building
A moor woman who knew that the
clerks liked tea, also that they were
always in hurry and often forgot L
bring It from home, comes around daily
with neat little drawings OF tea don't
up In Japanese paper. The tea Is Of
excellent quality, and the clerks art
willing to pay fair price for i.
The homemade jams and tellies or
certain Nanny Jones are hought by
the clerks II II takes their last cent. M
living woman having tasted blackberry
Jam OF Nanny Jones's making can re-
sist buying a glass Of 1t whenever on'
portunity offers. Mnmmy's grandchila'
rem pick the berries and Nanny makes
gallons OF the Jam, whose fame Is
widespread in all the departments II
mldwInter nanny brings little oyster
pies for sale, and as the number Is Inn
tied, the rush Is suggestive OF FOOT
ball scrImmage. In summer she draws
the dimes with devilled crabs which
can't be eXcelled.
In short, any one who pitles a wo'
man government clerk because she mas
70 time to shop for small articles ant
because she can't go home to luncheon
can save sympathy for more deserving
objects. The clerks wants are looked
oftcr in most complete way. ana the
Industry OF the outside women who ca
ter to them is rewarded.
-.----1E.
Prof WOrccstGr's Report.