The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-12-31
A WOMAN'S EXPERIENCE.
In Trying to Find Work in New Yorl

In Trying to Find Work in New York
 City.
 There Is a popular theory af1oat that
 any one who will may find work, and
 that she who is destitute and out of em-
 ployment, if in good health is sucering
 from self-imposed misery. In a city of
 so many and varied industries as New
 York says the Tribune, it is, perhaps,
 not surprising that this should be the
 consensus of opinion; but the theory is
 not always verified by facts, as the ex- perience of woman, told yesterday to
 a Tribune reporter, proves. She said:
 Circumstances made 1t necessary for me to leave my southern home and come to New York, and when I arrived had snug little sum in the bank an an assured yearly income of several hundred It never occurred to me that the wolf was even then creeping up to my door, and that I should be forced to ask, nay, to beg, for work in this great | city. But presto! the snug little sum and the assured income vanished into ! thin air! But who cared? Did I not have talents? I had not been in New | of such a disaster as loss of income, and so did not know that here money i is your best friend"
 1 And I still had my letters, too! Oh, those letters from high state and church digpitaries were sure to be telling things-were sure to bring me lots of friends and great influence. Armed with these couldn't fall to the ground T couldn't mail to secure position of some kindi In my own home I had passed for woman of more than or dinary intelligence-had gained a mod est reputation in a literary way-had written acceptacle stories and articles for different magazines and periodicals, and had been paid for them.
 Gathering up my letters I set out to call upon prominent clergyman. He read them, looked severely at me- and said sternly Now, what did you come to New York for?" As this was the first time I had ever been spoken to harshly by a man I felt more bewildered than hurt, and faltered out, Why why for the musical advantages, and and thinge!"
 "Leave me your address I'll do what can to introduce you to musical peo- pie. I can't help you otherwise"
 Nothing ever came of that.
 Another clergyman was visited. was courteously received, my letters read, and I confided to him that I had lost my bit of income and wanted work. A pained look came into his eyes. "Oh,'' he said. ''I have so many cases like yours brought to me. I am in de- epar''
 But he wrote me letter of introduc- ton to the head of an employment bu reau, who received me affably, and who said he would do his best to secure me place. I have never had an offer from him.
 I went to prominent magazine man and showed him some printed sketches and articles cut from the periodicals had written for, and told him that had had some experience in a. literary way and in newspaper work. "If you have done newspaper work a magazine office is no place for your wares" he answered roughly.
 I have answered countless advertise ments, walking sometimes miles in the snow and advertisements that seemed to apply to my needs. But | the majority of them proved to be | places as "book agents" with short | hours and big pay, if capable" The | salaries and commissions offered were | most generous-if you could earn them. | I tried-and failed. I was either inca | pable, or no one ever earned the sala- l ries. I come of a long line of fighting | ancestors, but I needed all the accumu- | lated courage of those ancestors in my l trial efforts to earn that generous sala- ry. I even tried to sell books in Jersey I City!
 Next applied for situation as clerk in a drysoods store, one of the largest in the city The day o applied there was a double line of sad-faced appli- cants, middle-aged men and women, young men and girls, negroes and Jap anese. Sorry, very sorry, but we have no room-absolutely no vacancies of l any kind for any one," said the man In charge. I sought church mission society and told them I must have work; that I was penniless. I didn't want charity, but work, work! Work 0f any kind-office work, writing, any kind of mission work, church visiting, 1h, anything. "I am very very sorry, my dear madam" the man kindly an- ;wered, "but we can't create vacancies, md we are now stralning every nerve o get the money to pay those already employed. I wish I could do something, |