The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1909-08-15
PRETTY GIRL
NOT PREFERRED
Cleanliness, Intelligence and
Neatness Are Better Assets
Than Beauty
By MARY ASHE MILLER

DRETTY girls are preferred as opera
tors by the New York telephone
company, according to the statement
made by one of its departmental heads
a Few days since; but he spoiled the full
excitement and joy of the statement by
saying that any woman is pretty who
is healthy. bright and neat He said,
furthermore. that there being no fixed
standard for beauty any woman who -
bright must appear as pretty to an
educated person.
That man must have designs on the
diplomatic service, for such latitude in
regard to womens looks seldom ema-
mates from the ordinary outspoken in
dividual. The standard of beauty may
not be absolutely fixed. but 1t must
have vague anchorage of conformity
to some rule as to contour of feature
and form and coioring.
Cleverness, neatness and health will
go far to modify ugliness and to add to
beauty. but to most of the world other
attributes are necessary. If it were as
easy as that to qualify as a beauty the
state would become as valueless as a
paste gem.
Perhaps the New York man was
speaking while under the direct infiu-
enee OF that lobe of his brain devoted
to the business world, and the pretti-
ness which he defined was Judged from
the standpoint of stern man of af-
fairs.
interviews with employers of large
numbers of women show that somewhat
the same idea prevails here, although
they are not gallant enough to call
them pretty because they are prefer
able. The pretty girl has no advan-
tage over her palmer sisters in San
Francisco when 1T comes to business.
In fact, in several instances the beau
ties were frowned upon.
Miss Anderson. who employs all the
girls for the telephone company, says:
Looks count for nothing with me. 1
mean as to whether the girls are pretty
or not. Judge them by their intelli-
genee and neatness, and also by their
character and home surroundings.
of course, we have a great many
pretty faces among our employees. but
that is just chance In enga cling
them it has no effect upon me as to
whether they are beauties or not. Often
the plainest girls are the brightest and
neatest, and those are the ones 1 select. )"
The manager of Armand CaiIleau's
said: mo, 1 do not care for the pretty
ones to work here A particularly
pretty woman generally knows it so
well that it is hard for her to get down
to business. 1t is not the pfettiest
ones who make the success in bust
ness, and | generally try to keep away
from beauties The great essential in
girl is neatness. She must have a
pleasing address, too. We want a
woman who looks bright, one who puts
herself out to please We always say
that a woman who knows how to take
care of a customer knows how to take
cars of our business, and she must be
bright. An untidy woman has no place
here"
The manager of Prayers shared these
sentiments, and said: beauties are too
conspicuous in department stores, and
We prefer plain neat girls, but their
looks are really never taken into ac-
count in employing them. We Judge
them by their dress and capabilities.
To work for us a girl must be decent
and must dress neatly. We like intelli-
gence, but we take no account of
beauty, If a girl is very pretty she
knows it, and soon gets spoiled We
would sooner have a commonplace SEN
sible girl. She must be bright to sell
things, because she has to interest the
customers. and no dull girl could do
that"
At the Waldorf hair store it was de-
clared by the manager that she never
thought of the prettiness of girl.
"She must be clean and neat and
capable she said, land most women,
if they are capable. have enough pride
in themselves to keep themselves neat
and clean. l don't care two straws
whether a girl is pretty or not. We
have great many pretty girls working
for us, but that is a mere matter of
chance. They were chosen because they
looked clean and bright We lose a
great many of our girls through mar
riage, which speaks we'll for their at
tractiveness. We have had more than
40 weddings among our girls since the
fire.
The manager of OConnor, Moffatt &
Co. said: I'VE engage our girls ac-
cording to experience and ability, and
some of the plain girls are our best
saleswomen. 1t is an understood thing,
of course, that they must be neat and
tidy. We don't mind about their looks
otherwise. Generally, the pretty ones
don't last very long, as they get mar
ried.'
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