The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-08-31
OF INTEREST TO WOMEN
THE "REDUCED GENTLEwOMAN" An
EvER-PREsENT
Art of Making Welsh hi
Women Look Young.

bureau which furnishes employment of
many kinds to women. says the New York
Tribune. The manager is herself of the
class which she finds so Encouraging. but is
the proverbial exception which proves the
rule" Until five or six years ago the
business-like. enthusiastic woman VINO sat
at the desk in the Office mentioned had her
coach and four a maid. and all that
goes with luxurious living.
MANY a day and many a night L shed
bitter tears" she said, when knew that
1 must face the world and carve my own
fortune. But no one knew that 1 hinched.
One thing, 1 think, saved me. 1 believed
always that a lady e~levates any position
she may hold, and so / was not ashamed
to work. Then, too, L had faith, and never
doubted that if l did my best all would
sooner or later be we'll with me. Fortunate
ly, 1 was not lacking in endurance and per-
severance, which are prime elements of
success, and was not wanting in a modi-
cum, at least, of tact and common sense.
When 1 received an offer of 50 a week L
actually cried for joy, because 1 knew it
was a Starter Ashamed of it! 1 was
as proud as Lucifer of that first hard
earned money.
its the gentlewomen who can do
mental work who furnish the knottiest
problems. Ones heart aches for them, be-
cause they. are so ignorant of the world
and because they so effectually block their
own way. They come here with long tales
of woe and with barely a. penny in the
world, and when we make practical sug-
gestions TO them they scorn work as mental
and a disgrace to their ancestors, and go
back TO bewail their fallen fortunes In
their furnished hall rooms over scanty
bakery fare. Ask one of this kind to take
a position such as we can find for a person
without training or experience in any line,
and, no matter how attractive the salary
offered, she rehearses for the ninth time
the grandeur and glory Of past genera
tons, and reminds us haughtily Of her fam
lily tree. They have even come with scrap
books from which we have been expected
TO read long accounts of their past social
iumph L have heard the changes rung
on these subjects until my head whirls
when 1 think of them. When 1 hear a
woman say that the position we offer is be-
meath her 1 know that either that woman
will learn some hard lessons, or that, never
learning them, she will be a fiat failure and
fnally come to dependence.
But, really, we hear some things that, If
one forgetS the serious side, are funny. In
nine cases out OF ten, and, to tell the truth,
l don't remember the tenth one now, the
kind of woman I've been talking about
want positions as companions. If they only
knew it, that position of all others requires
the most. 1t needs all the graces and ac-
complishments and a capacity to meet any
emergency. 1t means a woman of refine
ment and culture. who can be charming and
fascinating at all times; who is amiable,
sick or well; who is a skilled musician, and,
above all and beyond all, who has tact and
diplomacy at her finger ends. She is to
1 TQSnOn6 m var hin nnd nnn ~ - I@~
employer. For such women a half dozen
positions may be offered in a twelvemonth,
at salaries ranging from 800 TO $40 a
month.
but all sorts of fantastic stories are
afoat of companions who draw checks,
feed the birds and ride in the afternoon, or
who have nothing to do but sit with folded
hands and be affable and charming, while
they let liberal salaries fall into their laps.
Nothing to do and 5000 a year is. in fact.
the goal at which all of these women are
aiming. To a woman they want to travel,
and, of course, they prefer to go abroad.
The coronation this year stirred up this
class. L wish you could see The air with
which such an applicant tells. me when 1
offer her something reasonable at SIS a
month or so, That is not the kind of a po-
sitiOn l am looking for 1t never occurs
to her, poor soul, that a woman who has
lived TO middle age without acquiring
training or experience in anything practical
is fortunate to have a chance to earn SIS
a month at anything. The older, crankier
and more nervous the applicant the softer
the spot she expects.
Many a gentlewoman, however, is facing
the world bravely. Such a one found her
self four years ago with four children to
support and educate. With great good
sense she made practical use sof her in1u-
ence and education, and now holds a city
position that, while arduous and unsenti-
mental, pays her a reasonable salary.
Friends admire her pluck, have come to
the front and are helping to- educate her
children.
Another, an attractive young woman.
~ mr. To n f1n nd - l@-- = g e.
lily Importance. She bore, in fact. one OF
the best names of the South. 1 had a long
talk with her, in which 1 recounted some
of my own experiences and in which l ad-
vised her to seek a cheaper position than
we could offer. If she could get a years
experience as housekeeper l gave her rea-
thing better at the end of that period. She
went out, and l expected she WOULD disap-
pear, as most of them do. But in twelve
months exactly she was back with a good
reference. She now holds a profitable posi-
ton. The fact is that for an American girl,
with ambition and fair education, there are
a middle-aged woman, with practical COM
mon sense. there are many ways Of earn
ing a livelihood.
The reduced g-entlewoman who will
work has her trials. The average position
offered pays her $50 a month las mothers
help She is expected 10 rise early, be al
the beck and call of her employer. appear
like a lady and eat with the servants. One
can hardly Judge harshly the refined WON
an whose impractical training and wrong
views of life lead her to prefer indebted
ness and even charity to so humiliating a
position. The employer. on the other hand,
has her own hard problems to solve, not
the least of which Is retaining her serv.
ants. Every one knows the result Of ask
ing the cook to prepare a THIRD meal for
another person whom she classes as a serv-
ant. AS regards wrong philosophy. ii is a
pretty even thing between employer and
employed. Both have sadly warped ideals
places as companions are TO be had, but
they offer few of the Ctopian advantages
that are expected. For s15 a month a WON
an is expected TO talk entertainingly wher
her employer is in a mood TO be enter
tanned. and TO keep silence on, all other oc.
casions; TO ride out when her employer is
alone. 10 dress her hair and dD her sewing
She, too, eats at the servants: table.
such conditions as are presented by most
reduced gentlewomen should not be posi-
bic in a civilized land. No parent. how.
ever opulent or secure in his sor her socia'
position, has a right TO let the child grow
out of the home without a thorough enough
knowledge and training in soIne line to in
sure it a decent living if reverses should
come. We see here daily the awful results
wrought by such neglect"