Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-11
|scOFF At THE CHARGE
EnqIiShWomen Resent ACcuSa-
ton by Bank Stakeholder.
ABILITY TO KEEP SECRET
Hanover Square Dressmaker Defends
Her Employees.
LOYAL TO HER, SHE ASSERTS
Discusses the General Practice in
America of Giving Responsible
Positions to Women.
ABILITY TO KEEP SECRET
LOYAL TO HER, SHE ASSERTS
Foreign Correspondence Of The Star.

Foreign Correspondence Of The Star.
LONDON, October 1. 1909.
There are thousands Of woman clerks
In London who are scoffing at Bank of
England shareholders objection to the
employment Of woman clerks on the
ground that they cannot keep a secret.
No one knows how many woman clerks
there are in London, but they are to be
found in most large offices, and they are
employed in the savings bank department
of the post office as we'll as in other gov
eminent departments.
One of the most convincing answers to
the objection is provided by the famous
dressmaking business of Lady Duff-Gor-
don, the Mime Lucille" of Hanover
square. With the exception of the man.
ager and one or two assistants and a
few cutters, the business Of Nine. Lucille
is carried on by women and girls. Lady
DurGordon writes as follows:
II should be very sorry to say that the
girls In my businessman there are 300 OF
them-cannot keep business secret.
invent all my own fashions, and they are
the secret of the business for the time;
but do not imagine that any of my girls
would give them to another house. al
though we women are chatterboxes and
II think girls are more apt to chatter
about business at home than men are
and how can you prevent any girl from
chattering about new dress? But that
is a different matter altogether from
giving business secrets away. We have
a number of girl clerks, as we'll as the
500 other women and girls. AS for Civ
ing them all up and having men instead
why. we couldn't go on for day.
II think women are what you make
Hyfo m
them. If a man treats a woman as a
doll, she is apt to regard herself as
doll. If he treats her as an intelligent.
reliable person she develops better quail
ties.
Look at America! If you go through
the departments in Washington you will
nee as many women as men taking part In
the government business 1t Is the same
all over America. Every millionaire has
a woman secretary, who knows every
thing that is going on.
There is certainly difference IN
America. for there the consciousness or
sex disappears and women are treated on
equal terms with men. They are better
educated than English women. as rule
although the sense OF sex disappears
in America there Is no country were
woman is treated with greater courtesy
and dignity. The result Is seen In the
independence of character and the SELF
an women. ! don't wish to say anything
against English girls. They are certain
ly more adaptable and reader to grasp
an idea than most men,"
Statistics show that there Is great
and growing demand for women to fill
responsible positions in the large bust
ness houses Of London. and the large
provincial cities. The majority of them
undergo a special training to fit them for
their work. and there are several educa-
tional establishments which make a fea-
ture Of this branch of work.