The Washington herald., 1912-10-13
Civ Life Not All Rose-F lued.
By ALICE MASON.

The close occupation for eight or nine hours
a day will show its evil effect in attacks OF
nerves" The unaccustomed roar and din
and working in i'll ventilated. overheated
rooms play havoc with your nerves and
energy.
You will have to give forth physical energy
all out Of proportion to what you can afford.
So you see you will require not only a strong
constitution to Offset these physical evils
but you will require courage and much Of It.
You will need courage to fight the depres-
sion that surely follows depletion Of strength.
And you will need courage to face the lone
illness Of a struggling girl in a big city.
wish l could make you realize the impor-
tance OF having a definite idea Of what you
are going TO do. Every normal girl has some
one thing she can do better than any other.
Find out what that one thing Is. Then go
ahead and get some experience in 1t before
you think Of coming to the city.
Hundreds Of girls have made failures Of
themselves through their mistake in coming
to the city with no idea Of what line Of work
to adopt. They take the first thing that
offers itself. The failures result from their
absolute unftness for the line adopted
4 =
Another mistake girls make - coming with
the idea that anybody can clerk " and any
body can get a Job in a department store.
The sales work that pays a living wage to-
day demands training and experience. At
rush season you might be taken on. but you
can count on 1t that you will have to pay the
price of inexperience in a wage that barely
covers your living expenses. There will be
nothing left for the occasional theater on
which you plan. And the anticipated pleas
ure OF liesurely rambling through the shops
will be considerably dulled when the land
ladys claim on your pay envelope makes you
stife your natural womanly longing for q
pretty bit Of neckwear.
II you feel you are fitted for sales work gain
some experience in the general store in your
town. 1t will accustom you to standing on
your feet all day. Also you will learn some
thing about handling customers.
II the stenosraphic field appeals to you
learn stenography before you leave home
Get some experience with your village lawyer
or county clerk. even though you net but a
couple Of dollars a week. Don't come with
the idea Of taking a night school course the
first year. After a long days work you will
nnd yourself at night utterly unfit for the
extra work.
Your village milliner can teach you how to
make rosettes. adjust bandeaux, and cover
frames. And the villas &c dressma ker can give
you the fundamental sowing principles even
though she may not have the Lines and
cut Of the city dressmaker But with the
fundamental knowledge and a little city ex-
perience you will readily acquire the desired
lines" and cut" Keep up with fashions
latest fads through the woman's pages in
newspapers and In wcmen's magazines.
II your special bent is OF the beaten path
Of clerkins. stenosraphy. dressmakins, or
millinery. learn the salary and other city con.
ditions of the work you adopt. II you cannot
gain experience in IT in your home town come
provided with enough funds to cover the n.
experience period.