The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1914-01-10
=; WORK AND EQUALITY
BY GRACE HooE.

Ihere goes V1ola! the little 6ten-
ographer whispered excitedly to her
visitor, as she watched girl hurry
ing to the elevator. Every fond pa.
rent with preconceived ideas as to the
way to bring up q family ought to
meet Viola's father!
Viola is rather stylishly fixed up
for business woman on Monday at
ternoon, isn't she? Well, she's got a
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. I'll tell you about
her.
"You know Mr.. Gray, her father,
has been talking to me about MS
daughter ever since l came to work
for this firm. He says ought to 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 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
but 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 year 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, II
seemed, appealed to little Viola.
FINALLY | told him that | thought
she'd make a coed stGnographer as
sured him that it took brains and ed
ucaticn aud capacity to compete With
most OF US, and it was such fruitful
feld--so few in it! Well, he took It
all 3-neyer suspected for a moment
.hat more WAS sarcasm in my snggos-
ton. So Viola took the training'
MT. Cray was In the clouds during
those months. lie devoted iour-liithS
OF his time to telling NE what new ia
cilities for high-grade office work Viola
Vas going to bring when she arrived
for he would have her for his mi
yata secretary They planned things
at home, he suid.
wei, | sot alarmed and began real
" to work to earn my salary, for
didn't dare let Viola come into the OF.
fee 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 was. Wee
all seen Viola when she had come tc
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 office-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 oul
curiosity to see what happened.
"She relieved NE of all her fathers
work, and l was rather glad, for he'd
been getting to be nuisance-keepine
me there hours over one letter talking
I about Viola.
WELL one night Jimmy called me
over and let me see q letter he was
sealing. It was sort Of kid finished
all over, from nearly every word hav
ing been erased, and 1t was rather
a mussy affair for US to send out
but 1t had Viola's initials and her ia
Z theirs signature at the foot.
Zone 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 week
old-important ones. Then I coult
see the connection between Mr.. Gray's
increasing crows feet and. the light
mails 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 dictation
oftener, and finally he conf1ded to me
that Viola 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 I found him all
bumped up at his desk when I an.
swered his bell. / asked him what
was the matter, and he couldn't con-
ceal 1t any more. It's Viola he said
She says she loves her work and she
isn't going to let marriage separate
her from It. She's made the young
man promise that he'll let her stay
and help me. She knows what think
of women's work in the world and she
refuses to disappoint me! All l can
say only makes her think that I'm try
ino ~ conrifoa nvcalf for bor-and