The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-04-02
Wbat Tbe Social Secretary
 DoQs For TbQ Worki7q Girl.

Social secretary is a new term, and stands Lest 1t be confused with the title of the young woman who cases the fashionable matron of the task of answering personal letters and invtations, the broad meaning of the word "soctal must be kept in mind The social secretary serves as point or contact between employer and employe h the industrial world. So far there are ohly few women who are employed in this posi- tion New York has q large department store which employs woman answering 'o the new social secretary. Provioehco elh' ployed about the first, and Boston naa one who turned out to be something of failure
 In Pittsburg one of the largest factories finds a social secretary quite indispensable, and in the South large cotton mlll Is trying to And a reliable woman to Ill the position or social go-between.
 while the success of social secretaries now in the field Is due.to their natural adaptation to such work and not to special training Tor it it Is felt that n school is needed where women can be trained for this line of work,
 William H. Holman, secretary of the League for Social Service, is better informed than any one else on the duties and progress of the social secretary, as it was through his efforts and those of the League for Social Service that the first position of this kind was created, and satisfactorily filled.
 ''The superintendent of plant which em- ploys nearly 4,000 men, said pr. Tolman, asked me for suggestions on industrial bet terment. When l gave him several that were perfectly obvious he said, Why, we can't give the time to following up these points We are too busy; we must do our own work, and for that very reason you need some one on your staff whose sole business will be the planning and direction of move ments to improve industrial conditions; in other words, you need a social engineer or secretary
 Social secretary ship is new profession, and the question invariably asked is, Does 1t pay? The social secretary finds that 1t pays we'll, for the salaries earned so far have been good ones. and the employer finds that 1t pays handsomely.
 Tt Is my conviction that the trend of the new lndntralism Is creating new eco nomic and social environment, so that every firm will be obliged to bring Itself in line with this forward movement, and In a short time the social seeretaryship will be well recognized profession for women.
 We hope soon to have the colleges and the wealthy women of New York interested In this phase of industrial betterment. At present Mount Holyoke is considering the es- tablshing of course to give special prepara- tion to women who desire to become social secretaries. The course might be taken dur ing the last part of the college career for the first would not differ materially from an ordinary college education. If Mount Holyoke takes up the work 1t will not be long before other colleges see the benent of 1t, and though we may not have training schools devoted entirely to the education of the new secretary, there will be a tremen- dous advantage to have these women taught what Is being done for Industrial and social betterment in various countries"
 The social secretary, say, of a large de- pertinent store or factory is constantly in touch with the heads of the firm, and at the same time 1t is her business to know the em