New-York tribune., 1912-01-21
SOCIAL DISABILITY
Doors That Are Closed to the
Girl Who Works.

mo matter how desirable her farr,,
connections" remarked the student !,
metropolitan conditions, 'the girl WIZ
emerges from the provinces to earn liv.rl
hood in the city suffers a handicap ,h,.
her brother can never know In the a..
place she has no home, merely an ana
ing place, where she keeps her trunk ana
spends her leisure hours. The sam. u
true of the young man who comes 10 ~.
city, but with him II makes no dlfYeren.'
A man is judged on his face value. ~ =.
acts like a gentleman, looks like a esn'
tleman and boasts dress suit to wear !,
evening parties, given a few seasonabIs
introductlons, there is no reason WHY ;.
should not penetrate the inner shrine !,
any Community. 1t is perfectly possihi.
for young man, even on the most rnod-
crate OF salaries, to be invited everywher.
and be regarded as a valuable social asss,
by the most fastidious Of hostesses. IL onIv
he has an attractive manner and dane.
well. He may live on the fourth noor
back OF any second rate boarding houxs.
no one will know and no one will car.
So long as the hostess knows his dow.
town telephone number as that Of a your,
man who can be depended upon TO An
fourth hand at bridge, even at the elev.
enth hour, a person who does not nes,s..
his dinner calls or other little amen,ts.
Of social life, SO long he will not lact
dinner invitations
But for his sister, equally well bred an.
equally charming, the path is welln,,A
impossible. Society-with a large s-is co,
Quoted upon the assumption that its wons,
| a NJ lot 1ttV toer tt, I,,y NH
who give evening parties and dances ~
not recruit their numbers from among the
young women who spend their daylirb,
hours among rolltop desks and swiv.I
chairs i'm Wall Street despite the fact ths,
such girl may be very delightful Young
person. capable Of gracing party frock.
quite as acceptably as her wealthy young
cousins who tramp Fifth avenue eye,v
pleasant afternoon, winding up with Gun
of tea or peep into the latest arr eY.
hibit. How is the girl who works going "a
maintain her end in case she meets socially
desirable women? She is never at liberty
during the hours they pay their calls; in.
vitatons for afternoon parties she would
be forced to decline. Moreover, she recalls
her attractive home whence she emf.
grated, and is loath to be associated hr
chance acqualntances with her present SUI,
roundings, a slatternly hall maid. the odo.
of onions emanating from the baseme,,
dining room. and the impossible boarding
house parlor, which is the only place, save
her hall bedroom, where she can receive
guests.
The girl who comes from the country
may be armed with letters OF introduc.
tion 10 people who intend TO be nice 10
her; but her tendency is 10 remain durinr
her stay in the city in the little groove
where fate has placed her. Her work
downtown takes the lions share OF her
strength and energies; at the end OF III.
day she is much more inclined to join her
next door neighbor of the boarding house
in Dutch treat theatre party family cir.
Gle seats than TO take long trip uptown
for the sake of calling on those rich cou.
sins OF her mothers. who may possibly, II
the matter does not slip their attention.
invite her to Sunday night supper month
after next She recalls the last occasion
she spent an evening with them and the
stupid time she had; all the other guests
knew one another intimately and discussed
matters in which perforce she was but
rank outsider.> She remembers, like a dash
Of cold water, that Cousin Flo asked her
as a favor not 10 mention the fact Of her
employment downtown. On her return TO
the boarding house she found that the
other people had been rioting with beer
and rarebit party. and several actually de-
pIored her absence. AS she crawled be-
tween the covers that night she reflected
that, although heterogeneous lot, her fell
low boarders were a pretty good sort.
The girl who comes to New York re-
solved TO associate with those persons and
those persons alone whose manners NOR
ais and antecedents her people at homs
would consider desirable. and, failing 10
make such acquaintances, TO do without
friends at all-Im sorry for the girl, for
I'm afraid she is going TO be very lone
some"