The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1910-07-16
ALL ABOUT THE HELLO GIRLS
lie There is No Use for Short Girls That the Companies W ant
Girls Who Can Reach-Some Require Girls With
Calm, Clear Eye and Good Appetite

II you have any trouble in getting
-FOUR telephone calls through blame
Labor Commissioner Neill Of the De-
:.altment OF Commerce and Labor, and
probably you wont be far out OF the
way. Every hello girl in the country
will be busy trying to find out just what
ne Commissioner has said about her.
Only a few of them are aware that he
had dlssected and analyzed them in a
report 200 or 800 pages long for the
instruction of the United States Senate,
put these few have served notice that
tney will insist on seeing in cold type
JUS what he has found out about them.
The commissioner has left little for
the hello girl to find out about her
self
Look here, Cora" exclaimed one
Of the Washington telephone girls who
mad got hold OF an abstract Of the re-
porE. He says We gotta have calm.
clear eye and steady gaze. l know
| gotta clear eye, dear, but am l calm?
20 on, am |, really? hello, Hello.
Been waiting five minutes? Well, I
can't help that; wires busy. And
good appetite and healthy, rosy COM
plexlon. What you think of that.
Cora? Say, honest, l always wondered
now | got the job SO easy. But look
at this passage about the companies
handin' us men escorts to take us home
nights That hn
Joke; honest, it must be, doncha think
so?"
Complaints from hello girls that they
had to walk up too many flights Of
stairs to their work was chiefly respon-
slbie for starting the Commissioner on
his investigation. He fnds that the
telephone girls as a whole have no
ground for complaint on this score. He
nails them right down on this PROPOSE
ton, giving the exact number that
nave to climb stairs and the actual eff
fort that is expended Says the Com
missioner:
VI the seventy-three exchanges re-
ported upon by the agents Of the bu-
reau 1t was found that thirty-three.
which were located above the first
hoor, were not provided with elevators.
VI these exchanges fifteen We're located
on the second floor, requiring the
of one fight of stairs: ten
on the third floor, requiring the climb
ing OF three flights Of stairs The may
lmum number of operators affected by
such lack of elevators, therefore, being
required to climb one fight of stairs
was 60; those required to climb two !
flights of stairs 10S, while Is found 1t
necessary to climb three flights or
stairs
The Commissioner finds that there is
no use of short girls trying to become
telephone operators.
None OF the companies employ /
short girls; they want girls that can
reach,' he said. "The girl who is I'M
Ter five feet hasn't any show
The Commissioner finds that ver>
lew OF the companies take Girls with
'ut first subjecting them to a physi-
al examination. In some cities the
girls object to this, but these will he
surprised to learn that they we're ex-
lmined without knowing it.
I'm one city where the girls inter-
Viewed said that no physical examina
ion or test had been made" SAYS the
''it was ascertaiued that
he applicants are interviewed by a wo-
nan whose exact height is Ii1own. and
n talking to the applicants can By
Comparing the level of the ewes with
Ter own tell within a fraction Of \,
nch the height of the girl with
whom she is talking. Experts in r-r
ines interviewed the c::,-::cants ar,
scertained their exact paysica! cona.-
ion."
Some OF the companies. besides rs
uiring of their candidates calm. clear
We, good appetite and ROSY cont
lexion, demand that they Shall bav
steady hand and firm SCI jaw: also
hat they shall not be easily eycit3hIn
II 6152 applicants the Commissioner
ound that 2229 We're unable 70 oualifv (
"A being too small % too old. 4"s 700
Dung. II refusing to wor,: ca Jewish
olidays; declining to be vaccin7taa .
nd 1863 being lacking in personal an
earance.
The Commissioner figures that -,
verage working life at the 2vitca- t
GARD is only three years. He finds
nat in no other industry in tire Unitai
tates are so great precautions taken |
insure the health of the employees. $
70 has discovered that in the good oil s
lmmer time the hello girls, that is I
le few of them that are sick. suffer c
ON digestive complaints, probably t
70 much ice cream and candy. q
The girls of many exchanges eo1 +