The Parker post., 1914-11-07
INCONSIOERATE men
BY RAY MAGlLL.


the inner office called sharply for the
little stenographer.
You can all wait until I'm good
and ready" announced the little stem
ographer, decidedly, to the world in
general
After this declaration of indepen.
dence she hastily answered the phone,
then grabbed book and pencil and hur-
ried into the inner office, pausing an
instant on the way to let the owner
Of the impatient voice know that she
was engaged.
II tell you," she remarked to the
bookkeeper when she returned, Il get
SO exasperated sometimes that | al
most explode! These men make me
awfully tired! Here I've been work
ing all the years that they've been
having good time getting educated.
Then they come into the office, and,
after selecting the lightest window
and the most comfortable chair they
think they're busy
Here / am-With my desk piled
high with real work! And what do
you suppose that young Mr.. Babcock
wanted? He calmly asked me to take
a few letters-personal thank you let
ters--to friends of his who entertain.
ed him on his trip! And in each one
he excused himself for using a steno-
grapher on the ground that he was so
pressed for time! Pressed for time!
Why, he doesn't know how to fill in
hours
DO you know what Mr.. Brown was
so urgent about? He's been calling
out here for ten minutes, while l was
engaged, and | thought it couldn't be
anything less than drawing up con-
tract! But there he sat, looking over
his last months personal account, and
he was too lazy to think for himself!
He wanted me to stand there beside
him and go through the things with
him-because, as he said, two heads
are better than one! What he might
have said, If he'd been strictly truth
full, is that, my head is better than
his!
This morning Mr.. Gray came strol'
ling in an hour after things had begun,
and he sat down and read newspa-
per and smoked a cigar before he went
through his mail. Then he called me
in to take his letters, and though
purpOsely let him know how much
work I had piled up he gave me half
dozen phone numbers to call for
him! And he sat there looking out
of the window while got his numbers
on the telephone! Oh, it makes me
SO angry, I'd like to express myself
from public platform on the wrongs
of busy stenographers!"
The bookkeeper listened sympathet.
ically. Il must own," he said, that
they're an inconsiderate bunchl"
"Inconsiderate!" cried the little
stenographer. "They do it on pur.
pose They've got it into their thick
heads that they're business men, and
they can't be bothered with detail
and the little things. They're such big
men! Their time is awfully valuable
and mustn't be wasted!
do you know what I'm going to do
sometime? I'm going to accept pro-
posal of marriage. That'll make me
free to do as l please. Then I'm COM
ing down to the office, the same as
usual. When the buzzer buzzes I'll go
in, and I'll take the business letters,
but when a personal letter GENES I'll
simply say, I'm busy today Then,
when they ask me to get some phone
numbers, I'll say, I see you aren't at
all busy; would you mind getting
those numbers yourself? I've a great
deal of work to do!' Then I'll walk
out to my desk!
when Mr.. Brown calls me away
in the midst Of an important letter to
stand at his side while he leans back
in his swivel chair so that may help
him add up figures and straighten
out accounts I'll say, Mr.. Brown, I'm
very busy today, and If you've moth
ing Of Importance to say you'll have
to excuse mel
"Oh, but won't they be surprised!
The only trouble is that I've been a
slave for so long that I'm afraid I
won't have the courage to break up
traditions and precedents!"
"Then," said the bookkeeper, mus
ingly, you'll put on your hat and go
home, and the man who proposed to
you, so you could be free from this
daily grind will say, I want dinner
early tonight and you'll hurry to get
it, Between times you'll be mending
and darning and busting, to make him
comfortable; and hem call you, and
you'll come running to hear what he's
got to say. And you'll go on training
him to expect that sort of service, so
when he goes to his office he'll be
just like the rest of the men!"
The little stenographer listened, fas-
cinated. why, that's SOL" she ex-
claimed. She paused and thought it
over. "But l guess I'll try it any
way" she announced, because I'll
dare to say I WON'T for he can't fire
mel"