The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1901-03-08
WOMEN IN BUSINESS.
THEY ARE SUCCESSFUL IF THE PROP
Err COURSE is TAKEN.

Miss Holly Points Out the Road-Men
Are COnsidernte and Appreciative
as 81 Rulc-Mistakcs Women Make
About Their Work.
In one of the New York publishing
houses there is young woman who
should deliver lectures upon How to Be
Happy, Though Self Supporting" She
contradicts all the ravens who croak
over the working girls woes and the
stenographers handicap. She would
drive a woman's suffrage convention to
tones and self distrust. She is so salts
fed with life and work that the air is
clear of pcssimism for a radius of so
feet around her, and the microbe of
feminine discomfort can't exist in the
same room with her.
Having stumbled upon that rare bird,
a woman with no grievance, no secret
sorrow, no grudge against her brother
man, Il reporter promptly interviewed
\ her
Were you born SOP" asked the re-
! porter grNvely.
Miss Holly laughed. She usually does
laugh. She cant help it. 1t isn't an
irritating gigglc; it's gay little laugh
of the escape valve variety.
81 was born happy. | achieved happi-
ness. had happiness thrust upon me-"
The reporter shook his head ptyingly.
Whom the gods wish to destroy they first
make mad.
"Why shouldn't a girl be happy when
she is well and has a chance to work
and opportunities for success are lying
around loose" Evidently she was mad
quite mad.
"But things are so hard for women"
said the reporter. "AIen hold them down.
They have no rights. They are under
paid and overworked and insulted and
stuff and nonsense" said the happy
woman. There may have been a time
when woman didn't have a chance. She's
way past that now. If a girl doesn't
succeed today, it's her own fault. 1t isn't
easy for her to make large fortune
but there's nothing to prevent her from
winning a responsible position and a good
salary"
Gas for the men-well, there are disa
! grceable men, | suppose, but | believe
that the average man gives girl Il per-
fectly fair show and likes to see her sue
coed if he finds she is reliable and ear
nest If woman demands the privileges
of her sex as we'll as it's rights, she must
expect to take its Disadvantages too. If
she makes her employer think of her as a
woman before he thinks of her as a vau-
able piece of business machinery, she is
counting trouble.
81 would infinitely rather work for men
than for women. | have found the men
fair, consderate and appreciatve, and
the most competent working women |
know say the same thing. The class of
stenographers and other working girls
who have hair raising experiences is the
class that doesn't inspire respect either
for quality of work or personality.
"After ALL it all comes back to the per
sonal equation. | have studied the girls
who fail, who drudge and complain, and
/ find that there is invariably good rea-
son in their own character for their lack
of success. One hears a lot about stenog-
raphers. No girl who is a really good
stenographer sticks at that work long.
She has thousand opportunities of max
ing herself valuable, of learning the bust
ness and her employers ideas and needs.
Stenography is only stepping stone for
her.
San opportunity comes for her to at
tempt something beyond her regular
work. She is ready for it. She knows the
ms and outs of things. She broadens her
field as much as possible. regardless of
the hard work. When a man finds that
woman has keen interest in the bust
ness. isn't afraid of work, is to be de-
pended upon in emergencies, he is prac
tically sure to advance her. and she can
rise as high as it is possible for a woman
to rise in that house.
"The trouble with most girls is that
they don't love their work. 1t bores them
They do it only in order to earn so much
week, and they look upon it merely as
makeshift to bridge over the time until
they marry. Now. what sort of attitude is
that and what sort Of work will it pro-
duce? That kind of thing makes me wild
I've worked in offices where all the girls
spent the last hour or two OF the day
watching the clock and dawdling. They
were always saying:
"'Oh, I'm so glad it's nearly g. I'm
tired to DEATH
"They moaned and groaned all day.
would have liked to bundle them out OF
the window. If girl wants to be n
slipshod stenographer or clerk on a small
salary all her days, that's the way to go
at it. IL work is worth doing at ALL
one can find interest in it, and the days
were never long enough for all / wanted
to crowd into them.
81 didn't like stenography. but there
was so much all around me to be learned
and l tore through my regular work in
order to have time to learn those other
things. Nine-tenths of the girls who
take shorthand are like automatons and
never have the faintest idea OF the mean.
ing Of the sentences they are writing.
They will write the same word or phrase
every day for year and never have the
curiosity to find out what it means.
"a big share Of them haven't intelli.