New-York tribune., 1912-02-11
Your Daughters Vocation
Welfare Workers Get Big Pay and Have Great
Opportunities for Usefulness.
BY Mary Marshall.

4 partment Whenever any trouble came up
| between employer and employe in her de-
partment she was Just the one to straight
en- It out. When the women workers band
ed together to have lunch club she was
the leader, and when they wanted to ask
their employer for the use Of room in
! the store for this club she was appointed
to act as their representative TO go to the
! employer. When any one Of her fellow
employees fell sick or got into legal dim
culties she always had time 10 visit her
and, If need were. to bring her case fairy
and squareIy before the proper authorities
: in the store.
! In the meantime the store was growing,
and other stores, catching the spirit ot
/ the times, were employing regular welfare
workers. This young woman read ABOUT
what these welfare workers were doing'
attended their meetings when they wohld
let her and finally went 10 her employers
and asked them to give her the position
| of welfare manager in the store.
"rry me three months and see If don
earn more that way than ! do selling
goods over the counter" she asked.
The employers, trusting more in her good
sense IEldu tHcy III AhC
adopting what they considered new
tangled notion of their competitors, gave
this woman the chance she wanted.
Within a month she had drawn up
list of the improvements she wanted 10
inaugurate for the welfare OF the emploSes
that fairly staggered the managers. sns
wanted we'll equipped reading and louns-
ing room for the women instead OF the
cramped locker room they occupied she
wanted lunchroom run by the mahse'-
ment, where the women could buy a soo'
lunch at cost. She wanted we'll equipped
emergency room, where the women VINO
were taken III az work could be deeenuy
cared for, and she wanted private once
of her own where she could manage net
end of the work. To back up her DE-
mands she had collected convincing testi-
monies from other department store EN-
ployers who had tried similar improve
ments and found them to be real money
and time savers. Before many months ESu
passed all her plans were under way
Marked results in more efficient VofNs''
and less trouble all around soon followed
and. incidentally, the welfare worker re-
ceived a generous raise in salary ana Tue
services OF an Office assistant
This welfare worker. as well as mshl
others Of similar experience, would teh
YOU that the best possible training tor
welfare worker is as a regular emploEs
in the store or factory where the Neiaif
work is to be done.
The welfare manager must DE ac'ue'
experience, know the local preJudlces' anu
sometimes racial prejudices,' too-the par
ticular problems of the particular store "
factory as an outsider could never Eno"
them. The women she works with must
feel that she Is one OF them or she cahho'
do any good" Such is the argument OF '"s
welfare worker who works her way UP
from the inside, and many employers fee'
the same way.
So much from the inside. There are other
welfare workers that would tell you thst
the best way into this interesting lire OF
work is from without, for in that way ony'
they say, can you get the right perspecu'F
on the problems that you will have to race.
BE an expert in some one specially ana
YOU can surely win success IN welaie
work." says one successful worker. sucn
is in many cases true. For instance, one
of the most cnterprising welfare WORKER
I'm the country is n trained nurse VINO nv
only attends to the physical needs OF mo
women in her charge, but has entire charge
o. the social club. loan association and an
tho other welfare problems in the factor!
where she is employed. Another wehA't
W orker studied domestic science-seNins
and cookins--in domestic science scho''
and took her first step In welfare work az
teacher and manager OF the club oi
gauized by the owner OF big mill Tor us
purpose of teaching the wives and dausw
tors Of his employees how to Keep nous
properly. Teaching her speciality was trop
the first small part of her duties. butt'N
fact that she could do this was what gu
her her position.
very often women arc referred TO posf
tions OF this sort through schools "hei,
spe ciaI courses are given in institution"
and philanthropic work; but most Nenste
workers agree that there is a Sreat desl
welfare work that one can never lc'rr I"
school.
copyright, 1912 ny Mary MARSHALL
--e