The Savannah morning news., 1904-02-07
WOMAN'S WORLD

ference between the status of the two
sexes in the working world. man
is proud of his occupation. A wom-
an is ashamed of hers. Meet a we'll
dressed man in the train who is
tailor by calling, and fall into CONVEX
sation with him, and in ten minutes he
will have told you about his shop, but
you might travel from Maine to Cali
fornia with a woman who,was a dress
maker without getting an inkling of
her profession. Wild horses could not
drag the fatal admission from her that
at home she made dresses for the rich
society women with whom she is so in
timately acquainted, and whose names
she reels off so glibly in her CONVEX
sation. No man resents being called
a business man, but upon the naughty
brow of the shop girl it is a, brand Of
disgrace. Mr.. Wannamaker and Mr..
Marshall Field have attended with
pleasure innumerable business mems
banquets and dinners, but you mustn't
insult the proud SO a week female who
stands behind their ribbon counters
by inviting her to a business women's
tea. She would scorn to demean her
self by thus tacitly admitting that
she was in trade. Feminine inconsis-
tency and idiocy can go no further.
1t is the limit, and the pity of it is
that it is also the financial limit to
woman's earning capacity.
This shame that women have of work,
runs from the highest to the lowest
grade of society. 1t is contended, in
all seriousness. that one of the chief
reasons that girls will not go in to do
nestle service is because they rebel at
being known as servants, and that the
great problem of getting some one to
ro meals SWPPn our floors,
and mind our children will never be
solved until every cook is called a
Demonstration of Culinary Science;
every housemaid, an Assistant
Household Manager. and every
nurse girl reioices in the eu-
phonious appellation of Kindergar-
tener. Some color of truth is given to
these theories from the advertisements
in the daily papers in which those VINO
desire the services of female clerks in
variably throw a sop to their pride
by calling them 'sales ladies'" Prob
ably if they advertised for shop girls
rot a mothers daughter would apply
for work, yet no man expects any such
silly attempt to be made to gloss over
his real occupation. You never near
of a "sales gentleman" or a type
writer gentleman" or a "hoorwalker
gentleman"
Plain clerk is a good enough title for
him. He is proud of his job. Proud OF
his work, He doesn't have to waste
any time on the salesgentleman as
sumption that he is d person or elegant
leisure who has taken to the dry goods
counter for amusement. He is sales
man first, and last and always, whlch
accounts for the fact that he so often
ceases to be a clerk, and becomes
proprietor, while a woman so seldom
does. She has to put in so much ener-
gy maintaining the spurious elegance
of the lady part of her title she has
none left to devote to the "sales" end
of it.
1t is impossible to lay too much stress
upon the truth that it is because
woman is ashamed Of her work that
she fails in it. Take the keeping OF
boarding houses, for instance, the one
profession that is virtually monopolized
by women, and which is without
doubt the most generally shiftlessly.
wastefully and unintelligently carried
on business on earth. Almost without
exception the woman who is at the
head of such an establishment is as
much ashamed of her occupation as if
she were a chicken thief or sheep
killing dog. When you apply for board
she sizes you up and if you have an
innocent and credulous look she will
fb to YOU about taking boarders for
company. If you appear old and world
Nv wise, she will content herself with
a long apology for engaging in the
business, the gist of which is that she
wasn't born TO it, and never expected