The Kenna record. (Kenna, Roosevelt County, N.M.) 190?-1924, 1914-01-30
WORK AND EQUALITY
BY GRACE l1oeE.


way to bring up a family ought tt
meet Viola's father
Viola Is rather stylishly fixed uT
for business woman on Monday al
ternoon, isn't she? Well. she's got
right to be, for she's her papa's secre
tary, and she's going to be married
and Is most sumptuously entertained
almost daily! Yes, III tell you about
her
"You know Mr.. Gray, her father
has been talking to me about his
daughter ever since l came to work
for this firm. He says ought 10 feel
proud of my place-my work in the
world, and so forth Then he'd always
end up by declaring that Viola wasn't
to be a parasite and that she was
child after his own heart. She be-
lieved in woman's work and equality,
and an that, and when she'd finished
college she was going to do something
worth while!
Finally Viola graduated. l forget
how many years over and above the
first four it took her TO get through
but her father called them post-gradu-
ate years, and no one else cared.
'.When Viola failed to find pub
Usher for her novel, which it took her
a year to write and when she didn't
take to social settlement work or
woman's movements, papa got Eervr
Gus for her TO get into something, but
none of tho ordinary pursuits, 1t
seemed. appealed to little Viola!-
Finally 1 told him that l thought
, she'd make good stenographer. 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 moment
that there was sarcasm in my sugges-
ton. So Viola took the training!
MIR. Gray was in the clouds during
those months. He devoted four-fifths
of his time to telling me what new ia
cilities for high-grade Office work Viola
was going to bring when she arrived
for lie would have her for his pri'
vate secretary. They planned things
at home, he said.
"Well, / got alarmed and began real
ly to work to earn my salary for ]
didn't dare let Viola come into the Of
flee and prove more satisfactory than
L!
Before Viola arrived to go to work,
not only |. but the whole Office force
knew just how clever Viola Yves. Wed
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 so much as just plain atmos'
phere! She sailed past us all into
his inner ofTice-and then little later
she sailed right out again without
glancing around.
80 when Mr.. Gray came in late
one morning with Viola and intro
duced her to us all before usherine
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 father's
work, and | was rather glad, for he'd
been getting to be nulsance-keepine
me there hours over one letter talking
about Viola.
We'll, one night Jimmy called me
over and let me see a letter he was
sealing. 1t was sort Of kid finished
all over, from nearly every word hav-
ing been erased, and it was rather
mussy affair for us to send out
but it had Violas initials and her ia
thers 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
foot high, and we just were buried
in work. There were letters a week
old-important ones. Then l could
see the connection between Mr.. Cray's
increasing crows feet and the light
nails he had been getting out. Viola
wasn't up to the work.
"Things got worse and worse. Mr..
! Gray got to calling me in for dlctation
oftener, and finally he coRfided to me
that Viole hadn't found her vocation
yet. But she was engaged to a nice
young man, and he thought marriage
would round her out and complete
her life.
"Then last week l found him all
bumped up at his desk when l an
swered his bell. asked him what
was the matter. and he couldn't con