The Washington herald., 1914-04-26

1
| 1t was an old battered typewriter that
! inspired Mrs Paul Thompson with the
desire to become a wage Garner. 1t had
been left behind by her sister. Mrs. Inez
| Haynes Gilmore. who had been visiting
| her, and she decided one lonely afternoon
| to master the mystery of its keys.
| No lofty ambition to initiate her clever
1 sister in weaving fiction was hers. She
did not seek to create plays as many OF
her friends did. Those things she felt
| beyond her. But there was one thing
| which she was sure she could do. and
that was supply the demand for an in
telligent, careful COpyist which she knew
was sadly needed by the many eminent
authors who were among her acquaint-
ances.
Whereas l had a faint idea OF the use
l would make of my knowledge OF type
writing, l had no visions of making more
than a little extra pin money" said Mrs.
Thompson. 1T wasn't merely for the
sake of money itself either. for | had
everything l wanted. but | had never
earned any money IN my life. and there
was a great fascination for me in really
doing something which would have a
commercial value.
Il praCticed faithfully. using a per-
feet sample of typewriting from a large
publishing house as my model. and in
of my newly acquired accomplishment 10
some friends. and one author asked me
If / would undertake to typewrite his
latest novel ! gladly accepted the work.
He had composed the novel on his type
writer himself, but in polishing il he had
scored and interlined so that il was quite
an intricate job for a beginner. How
ever. / plugged away at it. l was slow.
perhaps, but l was steady and sure.
he 7
me with indescribable enthusiasm, and.
besides, the practice had given me great
confidence in myself. This author was
very well satisfied and told others how
well l had done the work. Now. you
might think that with the thousands OF
typists who are making a business Of the
work there would be little enough chance
for an outsider. but really authors are
very particular about their creations and
are willing to pay very well for the work
IL ii is done TO suit them. This appar-
emily many had been unable to do. and
so in time I had a number OF large or
ders.
I'm time authors began to send me
their work from all over the country
They learned TO trust me to get out the
work perfectly and to send it TO their
agents or publishers without their hav-
ing to reread it This is a big asset OF
work very hard. for authors are keen to
get their work on the market as soon as
it is written. CnCe, l remember, when
had an order to copy very impor-
tant article. the author came to my
house and literally grabbed the pages /.
out of the machine. That time | work /
ed for twenty-four hours in success /
sion. just stoppin' '~- rugh to eat
in order to finish the work
Euh
and even from China authors send me |
their work. knowing that it will be sent
to the publisher in proper shape Nat
urally for this accommodation they pay |
me well. and as the work comes in
patches. as a rule, I can work hard
for several weeks. and then there comes
a hiatus. when I have all day to my
self AS l am my own mistress, I can
accommodate my working hours to my |
social duties. and I always try to have
my evenings free.
Many of my friends are making good l
money by working at home without inter-
fering with their social duties. One was /
an artist for an advertising firm before
her marriage. and after five years actu-
ally longed for her old profession; but
did not want to leave her home and go
into the omce again. An interview with Il
the manager of the firm brought her all |
home. Another is clever home deco
rator. Her friends have great reliance
on her taste, and she charges them moth
ing. the firms from which she buys the
paying her a very satisfactory
In fact, when I look over my list of
all of them seem to be busy in
some way. and the majority are making
good incomes from their activities. Mrs.
S. is a lecturer on everyday subjects
and she is greatly sought after by phil
anthropic societies. which remunerate
her well. Mrs. J. designs gowns for a
arge clientele. and Mrs L. every year
,uts up enough preserves from the fruit
which grows on her own farm to bring
Ter in enough money TO dress beauti-
ully for the whole year.
Every woman can do something ex-
well. What most of them
ack is the initiative to introduce their
Ibility to those who need it. The fact
hat a woman is married and has a fam
ly is no reason why she should give up
very ambition to do something for her
elf and sigh for the commercial VIC
ories won by her single sisters II she
eally wants to emulate her successful
riends she can do it. But many married
women, l hear, are too indOlent to ac-
omplish much. They may have really