The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1914-02-14
WORK AND EQUALITY
By GRACE HOGE.

ing to the elevator. Every 1ond pa
ront with preconceived ideas as to the
NOV to bring up family ought to
meet Viola's father!
"Viola is rather stylishly fixed up
for q business woman on Monday az
tarnoon. isn't she? Well, she's got a
right to be, for she's her papa's secre-
tarv and she's going to be married
and ia most sumptuously entertained
almost daily. Yes, I'll tell you about
her.
you know Mr. Gray, her father,
has been talking to me about his
danghtsr ever since l came to work
for this firm. He says l ought to feel
nroud of my place-my work Ia the
World. and so forth. Then he'd always
end I'D by declaring that Viola wasn't
"a he a parasite and that she was
child after his own heart. She be-
,;eved in woman's work and equality,
and all that, and when she'd finished
college she was going to do something
worth while:
"Finally Viola graduated. forget
how many years over and above the
first four it took her to get through,
hut her father called them post-gradu-
ate years, and no one else cared.
when Viola failed to find a pub
Usher for her novel, which it took her
a wear to write, and when she didn't
take to social settlement work or
woman's movements, papa got nerv-
GUS for her to get into something, but
none Of the ordinary pursuits, 1t
seemed. appealed to little Viola!
"Finally I told him that l thought
she'd make a good stenographer. l as
sured him that it took brains and ed
ucation and capacity to compete with
most of us, and it was such fruitful
fleld-so few in it! Well, he took it
all in-never suspected for a moment
that there was sarcasm in my sugges-
ton. So Viola took the training!
"Mr. Gray was in the clouds during
those months. He devoted four-f1fths
Of his time to telling me what new IA
cilities for high-grade Office work Viola
was going to bring when she arrived
for he would have her for his pri-
yate secretary They planned things
at home, he said.
well, got alarmed and began real
" to work to earn my salary, for l
didn't dare let Viola come into the Of
fee and prove more satisfactory than
II
Before Viola arrived to go to work.
not only l, but the whole Office force
knew Just how clever Viola was. We'd
all seen Viola when she had come to
call on papa, and Jimmy, the office
boy, who hadn't realized who she was,
discovered that he resembled nothing
else 30 much as just plain atmos-
pierre! She sailed past us all into
his inner office-and then a little later
she sailed right out again without
giancing around.
$50 when Mr.. Gray came In late
one morning with Viola and intro
duced her to us all before ushering
her into his private Office we were
prepared for the chilly reception we
got from her. We lost none OF our
curiosity to see what happened.
She relieved me of all her fathers
work, and / was rather glad, for he'd
been getting to be a misunderstanding
me there hours over one letter talking
about Viola.
Well, one night Jimmy called me
over and let me see a letter he was
sealing. 1t was sort of kid finished
Al over, from nearly every word hav-
ms been erased, and it was rather
q mussy affair for us to send out
Dut It had Violas initials and her IA
mers signature at the foot.
One morning Mr. Gray came down
Alone to the Office and he called me in
for dictation. He had a pile Of letters
loot high, and we just were buried
M work. There were letters a week
-important ones. Then / could
- the connection between Mr.. Gray,s
Mcfeasing crows feet and the light
aalls he had been getting out. Viola
Naant up to the work.
Things got worse and worse. Mr..
u1y got to calling me in for dictation
e.ltener and finally he confided to me
nat Viola hadn't found her vocation
~ But she was engaged to a nice
ssoang man, and he thought marriage
Nouid round her out and complete
.her life.
Then last week found him all
amped up at his desk when l an
efed his bell. I asked him what
49, me matter, and he couldn't con-
- = any more. It's VIOLA he said.
says she loves her work and she
going to let marriage separate |
- nom it. She's made the young
- promise that he'll let her stay |
nelp me. She knows what think
sss N0men's work in the world and she |