The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1903-02-21

! ment stores tof the country. III have
number OF girls ITO Z DEMONSTRATED Iii
the different. stores Of New York. Phil
adelphia, Boston and other cities. This
| gives me an opportunity of studying
the working life of the saleswomen at
| close range. ... -
1t is heart-breaking study. I find
overwork, small wages and! the con-
slant fear of dismissal. Worse than
all I find the constant pressure upon
| the girls to push them down to a life
| of dishonOr.
! Think Of what it means to work fer
six, five or even four dollars a week,
and out of that slender sum to have to
pay for car fare, board and lodging
and clothing! Is it any wonder girls
| often go wrong? Especially when they
are told that friend. will help them
| out, and the FRIEND" as is often the
| case is on hand, in the person Of a
| floor walker or superintendent of d
! department. That SO many escape is
| an honor to the natural purity of GU:
American girls.
| The worst time of the whole year for
| the department. store girl is during the
| holiday season. People are so intent
on celebrating the season Of good will.
| and loving kindness that the shop girl
| is almost killed in the rush. All day
long, and until late at night those poor
! girls work, and work with feverish
intensity, as if their very lives depend
ed on haste. Everybody rushes and
brushes; everybody cries Hurry!
Hurry!''
The buyers are impatient and the
f1oorwalker forever watching. Between
them the salesgirl is almost driven
mad; almost-quite, at times. One girl
knew last Christmas suddenly broke
down and was sent home raving.. For
weeks she was delirious and cried pit
eously Yes, yes; in a moment! I'm
hurrying all I can. Don't you see I
ann? over and over again.. Since
then she has been nervous wreck
Another girl taxed in the Christ
mas rush of a big Boston store, died
| on Christmas eve of heart failure.
l knew one girl that was so exhaust
ed that she lay down under the counter
to rest few moments among the
papers. She fell asleep and ~awoke in
the night to find herself alone in the
great store. She was very much fright
ened but had. no. choice but to remain
where she was till morning. She HAD
been so. utterly: worn out that all the
! noise and hustle of closing had not
awakened her.
one of the worst features of this life
is that the girls have no certainty OF
holding their places. At any moment
they may receive little slip telling
them they are no longer wanted Even
long service and faithfulness give no
| guarantee of permanence. In one, Of
the greatest stores into which my BUSH
| ness takes me, I have seen girls who
! have been six or seven years with the
firm turned off with a moments notice,
and without a reason. =.
1T is really dangerous to work for
the interests of the house. and BRO
| noted 81 said one girl to ME; 'sas soon
as you get any kind of wages, out you
| go to make room for a. green hand who
gets less pay Less las we'll The
store to succeed must please the pub
lie and the public will not shop in
reasonable hours. The women who buy
seem to have no sympathy, no sense Of
slsterhood for the women who sell.
Even when merchants try to close early
! they are met with the bitter complaints
| or women who want to buy "just Il
pair OF Gloves or s'only one thing
more.' 1t is almost impossible to get
them out of the stores, even in the
deadly dreadful rush season.-Mrs.
Hardy in the Cry for Justice
Not enough attention has been. paid
to the Organization Of women. It as
necessary that women should be organ
lied as it is for men. Why do not the
lady clerks, bookkeepers, dressmakers
seamstresses, etc. organize? If the
men act selfishly and do not assist the
working women they may be expected
to be supplamted in every position
! which a woman can fill. Equal paw
for equal work is what we need and
1t is only through the most thorough
systematic and intelligent organizations
that this can be accomplished If we
have the women heartily enlisted in our
cause it will not be long before the
curse of child labor, which is generation
after generatio reducing us to a.. race
of weakly warfs, will be: abolished:
and too much: attention cannot be given
to this branch. ~. :..~,
I kenw two women, one is chaste =.
And cold as the snow on winter
! waste, ..
Stainless ever in act and thought
CAS- man born dumb in his speech
l.: errs not.) 49,
But she has malice toward her kind.
A cruel tongue and jealous mind.
| Void of pity and full Of greed, =: -
She judges the world by her narrow
l. creed:
! A brewer of quarrels. a breeder Of
hate
Yet she holds the key to 'Society'sn
! Gate .. ".1 -.
The other woman, with heart of flame.
Went mad for love that married her
name: :. rs .
And out of the grave of her murdered
| . faith
She rose like 4 soul that has passed
l. : through death. l..
Her aims are noble, her pity so: broad
1t covers the world like the mercy of:
God.
A soother of discord, a healer Of woes
Peace follows her foot steps wherever