The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1906-03-16

no matter what sort Of place she takes
or how long she stays in it she can
never rise to be anything but stem
ographer. She may be very intelli-
gent aud capable woman, but no mat
ter how much she gets to know about
the business she will still have to sit
and take letters from the dictation
of some cigar smoking assistant man
ager who perhaps knows good deal
less about it than she.
Poorly Trained stenographers.
One hears constant complaints on
the part Of business men Of the care
lessness and unreliability Of stenog-
raphers, and, although there are in
New York thousands upon thousands
Of conscientious, hard working, cap
able girls, who earn great deal more
than they get, yet it is undoubtedly
a fact that there are thousands upon
thousands of stenographers who are
not worth their salt. But there>is no
telling what they might be if they
were properly educated and prepared
for their work, and then sufficiently
paid for their services and treated In
proper, business-like manner.
The trouble just at present seems to
be that a girl is forced out into the
world before she has any weapons
wherewith to fight it, or even defend
herself from it. She no sooner gets
through the public school which, good
ness knows. teaches her little enough
than she is sent to a busines college
for three or six months, and is then
considered fully equipped to earn her
living. Thereupon a business man,
who wants to get his work done for
next to nothing, engages her as steno-
grapher; and then he finds that the
work is done badly he feels himself
immensely injured and bitterly voices
his complaint from the housetop.
This sort of thing might be par
donable if it existed only among FAM
lies that really could not afford. to
give their daughters better a3Vant
ages; but such is not the case, [
know Of one man who is a college pro-
fessor drawing a good income; whose
daughter, aged II, is a stenographer
in a downtown office on a salary of
81 week. -.
Daughters Of the Well To Do Who
Work.
And such cases are not at all rare
the ranks of stenographers are not by
any means recruited exclusively from
poor families. It seems to be the ac-
cepted thing just now among all class
es, except the very rich, that as soon
as the daughters are equipped, be it
ever so poorly, to earn livelihood
they are sent out to do so, and the
fathers who brought. them into the
world, consider themselves thence
forth freed from all responsibility.
Girls, too, are impatient to get out
and "earn their own living,' for OF
course, the father and brothers are
earning much less than they would be
doing if there were no women IN the
! business world, and hence the glrl
feels that it is as much her duty as it.
is her brothers. to start out and sup
port herself. A person who does not
20 about among business officee@an
have no idea of the immense nus -l's
of women that are employed in them. =
know of one publishing house on
Twenty-third street that does a fairly
large publishing business. In the COM
bined departments Of this place, with
the exception of the shipping depart-'
ment, there are three males employed,
the publisher himself, the business
manager and the Office BOY. Inc rest
of the work is done by about forty
women, who work there day after
day for s., Sc, 81, s. and perhaps as
high as $12 week, and the two wo-
men who oversee them get $l5 each.
Woman's Rush Into Business.
do not intend to enlarge here upon
the great social problem that this
condition of affairs entails, nor on the
sort Of preparation. physical, mental
and moral, that it is giving to the VIC
men who are to be the wives Of this
generation and the mothers Of the
next. What have aimed to DO IN
a.; ,t;.lo - ,,,oro1v 70 an,1nara TO the