Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-25
WOMEN As BILL POSTERS
Parisians Discover New Occupation
for Them.
OCCUPATION NOT ovERCRowDED
Men in Same Field Not Jealous aud
Assist women In BccOming
Initiatcd-CrowdS Are
AppreciRtiNc

4 HhANAh 'NAH -N' ,A.'''' $3.50 $780,
days ago the French woman made her lat
est aud most sensational invasion into the
domain Of masculine activities. She sp-
pcared on the boUleyards. dressed i'm "a
coarse linen blouse with glue pot slung
over one shoulder and a Canvas bag fun
Of hand bills strapped to her waist-in
brief, she made her debut as a professional
bill poster.
When the crowd Of curiosity seekers ami
oilers thlnned around the pioneer 'colleusa
d'affiches' she deigued to turn an attentive
car to the group OF obscquiuus Partisan re-
rorters around her.
But. mcssiaurs, you are keeping me
from my work. she exclaimed. If yoJ
want TO hear me talk you must hold tine
glue pot FOR me and hand me thcsc''-shr
unstrapped her sack and pointed to the
mauy-hued posters within. "Ah, mes
sieurs, 70 she went on, you may laugh, but
[ shan't tell you why l became first col
leuse' for nothing.
Field Not OycrcrowdCd.
Let me say first that ! am well pleased
with my new professionally work, life in
the open air-ald the public seems to APP
preciate my talents as much as II l were
tho favorite toe dancer OF the Folies Ber-
gere. 1 can't complain OF an uucveutful
career. Best Of all, the field isn't over
crowded-at least not yet. There is no
tiresomc red tape to go through with be-
fore you are given the right to draw 81 tor
your services.
You may well believe that when / mon
ton red tape / know what l am talking
about. once it was the dream of my life
to work i'm the postoffices. What fun /
would have handing out letters marked
"Mademoiselle NJ, General Delivery to
girls who had been making rendezvous on
the quiet with the friends their mammas
didn't approve OF. But, helas! after l
had porcd many months over Biographies,
histories and spelling books l failed on
my examination. Then [ tried for the
telephone service, thinking how happy /
should be with my $50 a day and a Sc
cure pension ahead. l passed, but when
1 went up for my place 1 was told that /
was one centimctre under regulation height.
l replied that l didn't see why the adj
ministration required giantesses for their
telephone girls when the army admitted
such pigmies. The real reason for my re-
fUsal was that the places were filled mostly
by daughters of retired officers and gov
eminent officials who, of course, had the
prior right-the right of pull Then was
indeed in despair. When I saw Wanted
Woman bill poster in the paper | lost no
time in presenting myself. 1 am well
pleased, but the patron wouldn't be If he
caught me frivoling my time like this. Au
revoir, messieurs.' And she gathered to-
gether her bills and marched off with her
ladder.
woman Holds Her own.
This self-sufficient young woman is not
the only one of her novel profession who
has com down in the world. Another had
- H. - r.. MI
but in her case also the field was over
crowded, so she was glad to adopt this
humber occupation. Out of the $50 APP
plicants from Paris and the provinces only
five were accepted. The most impervious
to the jibcs and ridicule of the passersby
Is a stalwart, middle-aged woman Madame
Bouy. who lived ten years in New York.
The nl-natured critics OF the street have
learned to leave her in peace. for she has
been known to fling her glue pot at her
tormentors
The men bill posters have never been
jealous OF their feminine rivals" said NJ.
GabeTt, the head Of the advertising agency
which employs the "colleuses d'affiches."
Indeed, they even offered to teach them
the ways OF the t~rade-quite different tao
tics from those employed by the cabbies
in their dealings with the 'cocheres.' The
women only DO the llghter work. They
never climb up on buildings and they anlv
carry the lightest of ladders. That is why
they receive 81 a day and the men $50.
The woman bill poster has come to stay
in France. She isn't merely a temporary
advertising scheme. When 1t is time for
the elections / shall put on as many
women as men in the various wards. Now
the women bill posters can take their place
in the ranks Of emancipated FrenChwomen
and it IS a good place, too. The pay is
better than that of the factory girl and
the life more agreeable. ! have always
been an advocate OF feminine emancipa-
ton. l believe that women work more
seriously than men when they once learn
how. Our firm was the first TO employ
women as solicitors for advertisements in
France. These earn SLIGO a day.
Now that our Innovation has succeeded
so we'll" concluded NJ. Gabert, "other
agencies will undoubtedly adopt IT. Al
ready several theatrical managers want me
to send them women bill posters rather
than men. Wei. unfortunately. we can't
patent or copyright an entire profession. %