The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1908-06-20
THE JUNIOR
PARTNER.
By Madeline Lewis.
Copyright. 1908. by Associated Lit
erary Press.
By Madeline Lewis.


Young lady stenographer and typist
wanted in a business office. Must be
quick and accurate. State salary want
ed"
OF the thousands who read it 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 off in its blue envelope that
| it would be heard of again, but to her
great surprise and almost to her CON
Sternation she received a 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-aH this was
nightmare to her. Then she must state
the salary wanted. That in itself
| showed a 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
pittance, and yet she must take it
and hope for advancement. No man,
old or young, could put himself in the
place Of a girl of nineteen applying for
a 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. A kindly faced man Of for
ty-five looked up from a letter he was
writing and greeted her thus:
"Ah. Miss Burnham, / was expect
ing you. Please sit down, and will be
| through in a moment"
The kind words rallied her, and three
minutes later she was answering ques-
lions 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 a man, but here SEEM
ed to be proof to the contrary.
my name is Mr. Gray, and 1 am the
man when he had finished his letter.
CAS- this will be your first place you
cannot expect the salary Of an expert
enced girl. What figure do you think
will be right?"
IL had thought of So week." she
replied, ''but if 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 a smile mo need
to be bit nervous. Just imagine that
you have been here for weeks"
He was not a lightning dictator. He
did not tramp up and down the room
and interrupt himself every moment to
substitute words. In a quiet, easy way
he dictated letter, and when it was
finished he nodded toward the type
writer in the corner, and the girl sat
down and transcribed her notes.
1T couldn't be BETTER he said as she
handed him the sheet To-day is
Wednesday, but as 1 am a bit hurried
you might come tomorrow instead of
waiting till Monday AS to the salary,
you will be worth SO 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 five minutes later Mr.. Gray
was saying to the head clerk in the
outer office:
Mr.. Benson, have new stenogra-
pher coming in the morning Miss
Burnham."
Yes, SIR
at is her first place"
| Yes, SIR.
she is to be treated as a lady Please
see to it 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"
II understand, sir"
Mr.. Benson returned ito 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 his
| elbow
Listen to that, will you! The old
mans got a private stenog and
good locker, and we must not even
wish her good morning Got to inst