The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1908-06-23
THE JUNIOR
PARTNER.
BY Madeline Lewis.
Copyright, 1908. by Associated Lit

OF the thousands who read 1t and
the scores, If not hundreds, who an
swered by letter was Kitty Burnham,
daughter Of widow living in one of
the suburbs of the city. She had seen
and answered many such before.
There was grave need that the little
. income left by the father should be
eked out In some way.
She had little hope when the answer
was sent of In its blue envelope that
1t would be heard Of again. but to her
great surprise and almost to her con-
sternation she received curt message
asking her to call To make her way
to business Office, to be questioned BY
the abrupt manager, to be tested as to
her qualifications and perhaps told that
she wouldn't do at all-an this was a
nightmare to her. Then she must state
the salary wanted. That In itself
showed want of fairness on the part
Of the firm. 1t was taking advantage
Of the applicants.
Kitty spent an hour figuring, SO
much for street car fare daily, so much
for lunches, so much left at the end Of
the week out Of the sum she had made
up her mind to ask. 1t would be only
a pittance, and yet she must take 1t
and hope for advancement No man,
old or young, could put himself in the
place of girl of nineteen applying for
q situation for the first time In her life
and being ushered through an office
where a dozen men were at work into
the sanctum Of the manager. She ex-
pected to meet an ogre and to be shout
ed at She had only entered the door
when she would almost have given
her life to be flying down the street
Next moment the feeling disappeared.
There was no ogre. There was no
shouting. kindly faced man Of for
ty-fve looked up from a letter he was
writing and greeted her thus:
"Ah, Miss Burnham, / was expect
ing you. Please sit down. and viii be
through In a moment"
The kind words rallied her, and three
minutes later she was answering ques-
tons and saying to herself that the
man probably had a daughter Of his
own and was sparing her as much as
possible. She had heard over and over
again that there was no sentiment In
business and that the woman who took
a mans place In an office must expect
to be treated like man, but here SEEM
ed to be proof to the contrary.
my name is Mr.. Gray, and am the
junior partner in the irm," said the
man when he had finished his letter.
"As this will be your first place you
cannot expect the salary Of an expert
enced girl What figure do you think
win be right?"
FL had thought of So week." she
replied, "but II you-you think that is
too much I'll take &c." She didn't
want to run away now. She wanted
the place, and she didn't want the firm
to think her too grasping.
LET me see as to your stenography,"
said Mr.. Gray, with smile. "No need
to be a bit nervous. Just imagine that
you have been here for weeks"
He was not lightning dictator. He
did not tramp up and down the room
and interrupt himself every moment to
substitute words. In quiet, easy way
he dictated letter. and when 1t was
finished he nodded toward the type
writer In the corner, and the girl sat
down and transcribed her notes.
ut couldn't be better" he said as she
handed him the sheet To-day Is
Wednesday, but as l am bit hurried
you might come tomorrow instead Of
waiting till Monday. AS to the salary,
you Will be worth $40 a week to start
on. Good morning, Miss Burnham.
About 8:45 In the morning, pleaser'
Five minutes later she was on her
way home to tell her mother the good
news, and Eve minutes later Mr.. Gray
was saying to the head clerk I'm the
outer office:
'Mr Benson. have a new stenogra-
pher coming In the morning-Miss
Burnham."
Eyes, SIR"
'It is her first place."
Eyes. SIR"
''She is to be treated as lady. Please
see to 1t that there is no fishing for In
Productions by the young men. If she
does not bring her lunch with her she
Will go out alone. Should I encounter
her in the elevator or on the street
shall lift my hat to her."
81 understand, SIR"
Mr.. Benson returned to the outer
office and communicated the news.
The young men Of the bookkeeping
staff winked at each other and smiled
They were made up Of the average
young man. no better or no worse. One
of them went beyond winking and
smiling. He said to the mat at bis
elbow:
Listen to that, will youl The old
mans got a private stenog and a
good locker, and we must not even
wish her good morning. Got to just
raise our hats and look down at our
toes"
The ''old man" had come into the
house years and years before as hum
Bile employee and worked his way up
to Junior partnership. He had never
married, and so far as any one at the
store knew he had no near relatives.
His home had always been boarding
house or a hotel When he had come
into the firm 1t was predicted that he
would marry within a year, but he hat
made no change whatever. The boys
had winked and smiled over the mes
sage from the inner Office, but all Of
them knew that the junior partner had
q deep seated respect for womanhood,
and In turn they respected him for it.
For weeks and weeks after Kitty
Burnham had taken her place 1t might
have been said of the "old man. that
he hardly knew that she was In the
Office. The work was done quietly and
without mistakes. There was hardly
any conversation outside of business
matters. When the first month was up
he quietly informed her that her salary
was raised to $12 per week, and her
simple THANK you, sir" seemed to
cover the occasion. There were no in
Productions to the clerks and no invita-
lions to lunch In one case out OF
hundred the girl was being given a
fair show. She instinctively recognize
ed the fact and was grateful for it.
One night after a hard days work
the "old man" sat alone In his room
In a family hotel and INDUCED in a
reverie for the first time In years. He
found himself thinking of home, Of
wife and children, of some one to kiss
him goodby in the morning and well
come him home at night. And present
" there came creeping into that reverie
n face that startled him. 1t was the
face of his stenographer.
He rose like guilty man and waved
the vision away. with laugh. But 1t
would not depart for good He went !