New-York tribune., 1907-04-19
WORK OF THE W. c. A.
Friendship for the Country Girl !"
the Big City.

There are few things in life so pathetic as the
young country girl who starts out TO make her
way in big. strange city. lured by the VIII
o-the-wisp o Of ambition driven by that Gaunt
haE Necessity. The belief is firm in her unso-
phisticated mind that positions lie around I'm the
very streets. thick enough TO impede her progress
ITntutored In the ways of the world. ignorant OF
the cost OF living. confident that her small hoard
OF money s sufficient for all emergencies. she
comes TO try the new life. radiant and unafraid.
The awakening to real facts comes quickly and
cruelty She finds that she unskied woman's
chances as a worker are leEseniug every year; that
the life in the country town the farm has
not fitted her for the and untried fields. She
meets encouragement at every turn. and the ro-
seate dreams fade one by one. Modern progress
demands much of the people who serve and Is not
tolerant OF the untred ana the unframed The
girls money disappears like magic. while she
weariy tries place after place in the hope Of Sc
curing employment Loneliness and despair md
her a ready victim. and It Is little wonder that
when she has reached the depths Of disappointment
she too often turns 10 the glitter OF tho half
world and s lost 10 her people forever.
To meet the OF this girl. and OF the thou
sands Of other girls like her bands Of loyal. de-
voted working in each big city OF the
United States The Women's Christian assocla-
tions have taken the working girl and the business
woman to their hearts and helping them make
a fight for better opportunities and better living
Preaching and living the gospel OF helpfulness. the
women OF these associations loyal to their be
lief in the womanlness Of all women. and In proof
of It stand ready TO help them at all times
When the country girl comes into a big city
nowadays bewildercd by the unusual noises. the
cry Of cabmen. the rattle Of baggage trucks and
the Of passing trains. there Is invariably
kind hearted woman in the employ OF the Womans
Christian Association who Is waiting TO give her
advice to watch her and protect her II neces-
sary. II she has arranged for no place 20 go. this
matron will send her to the association home.
where she will be we'll cared for. This wise move
on the part OF the associations has saved many
girls from a pitifu fate. The depot matron. with
the police and the railroad officials supporting her
on either hand. has become a most powerful In
fuence in the suppression Of vice.
The Womens Christian Association Home in the
big city is a practical argument for work
like It. As a rule. II is for working girls who
have no homes Of their own. whose means
insufficient 20 live comfortably in boarding houses
who are working for small wages. or who have
no work AT all. In some cities provision is made
for women who travelling alone and transients
find these places like the shadow OF a rock in
weary land, for they offer protection and
fort and always at most reasonable figure. The
homes are made livable and attractive as pos
sibie. and include many club and school advan-
tases. Gymnhsiums and reading rooms espe-
cisI features. we'll as classes in domestic sci
ence English branches and business methods. that
allow the unskied and ignorant 10 prepare them
selves for paying positions.
The need for accommodations Of this kind is
so great IN cities that a girl who earns a
good salary cannot be taken in. and when some
inmates have been promoted to salaries OF a GER
tain figure they must pass into boarding houses
or private homes and so make room for other
girls who less fortunate in a financial sense.
In some places the entrance is governed by an
age limit. Women thirty-fve forty years old
are able to take care OF themselves and be their
own chaperons they asked TO leave the
homes and make room for young. unsophisticated
girls who need the protection these institutions
offer.
socIatIons have undertaken since their beginning
nearly fifty years ago. Originally spiritual inn
provement was the object of the coming together
Of the members: then. time advanced, the
necessity for as practical demonstration OF their
general Christian spirit arose. They were ready
and the spirit spread through colleges schools.
churches, factories, shops and mills One might
say OF the organization as Miss Jane Adams has
said Of settlement work: 'It is not for the rich
only nor for the poor only. but for all classes
the Lord mixes them: not only FOR those who toll.
but for those who suffer from idleness.'
Rescue homes have been important factor in
the work OF the women's Christian Association for
twenty years They have brought into these homes
women and girls who have been weak and un-
fortunate and have helped them 20 live better
cleaner lives. They have spent much time working
among the prisoners in tails and prisons and the
good done there is not 10 be lightly estimated. The
associations among college women do much for the
girls and women, welcoming the strange and home
sick. helping the ones who are working their way
through school, and az Christmas time making a
happiness so widespread In many poor families that
the faith OF the little ones In a Santa Claus is
justified.
In the yearbook Of the Young womsn's Christian