Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1915-09-08
A New Yocation For Women.

A New Vocation For Women.
Waxing numbers Of educated woen.
/ who for reasons pocuniary or ethical
/ desire to be wholly or partially self
supporting, are by their very multiple
/ ity forcing solution OF the problem of
choice Of opportunity and service. Ger
( tain spheres OF labor, such as teach
I ing school. acting as private secreta-
ries. librarians, workers in social set
/ Elements and aids in administration Of
] charity and welfare work, are still be-
+ ing invaded: but the law OF competi-
Y tiou IS making itself felt and recourse
/ TO other openings Is q noticeable tact OF
/ the times.
/ Il is with this state Of affairs in view
+ that writer i'm the Atlantic Monthly
directs the attention OF young women
4 that know books and their uses to the
I opportunity awaiting them in the retail
book business. either as clerks in shops
owned by men on as proprietors of
/ their own shops I'm which they may also
vend periodicals, sheet music photo
graphs and other art products, and. by
their graces as conversaionalists and
eXemplars of tho art OF social inter
4 course. make their places of business
also serve as community Ccntors for
I the development of a fine type OF So
/ ciai life. That She process of creating
this sort of shop might take time and
require some resources of capital is
not overlooked by the champion of the
/ plan; hut he calls attention 20 the fact
/ that similar process OF creating de
mand for woman's service has been tho
/ lot of pioneers in many of the callngs
which women now adorn.
Fortunately The times are propitjoui
for experiment Both publishers OF
books and firms OF booksellers arc bent
upon increasing sllos through q better
process of distribution and higher
and more systematic sort ot training
of the reading public and of persons
who make sales 90 book hGyers In
several cities OF tho United states be-
ginnines have bccn made i'm special
schools here C}crNs and managers can
study branches OF knowledge which
win add 10 their effectiveness, aud IN q
few cases the public schools aud the
Young Meas Christian Association arc
cooperating with the plan Patron.
lied now b. men, there IS no reason
Why in the course of time whatever Is
to be had in this form ol vocational
training should not bc accessible TO
women with booNsl tastes who must
| be breadWimers.
AS for tho publishers. they not only
are kindly disposed toward anything
that viii increase The efficiency of such
bookshops as now exist but arc most
willing 20 aid amy project that will mul-
| tiply retail booksops OF the older type.
where patrons are drawn by tho Ger
| tainty that good talk about books and
| kindred topics may be carried on This
it is believed, the woman book
shop Keeper who Joined with the book
( trade tho sale OF music scores. photo
graphs, art products and other articles
/ In popular demand. such ass edible
goods, might do. The book buying
habits OF the average American com
munity are not so deeply rooted az
national pride may lead the unnform-
I ed person TO suppose.
Only one person IN 1900 buys a book
! the course Of a year. In Switzerland
/ It Is one in every 832 persons Good
authorities claim that the ration in the
United States is smaller than It was a
/ generation ago. At any rate the pub
fishers are federating 90 increase tho
ration through campaign OF cduca-
| ton; and they will not be found ad-
verse to helping on any enterprise that
woman may venture upon 10 utilize
their special endowments as intelligent
vendors Of books. For they have such
skill as the records OF some shops
which they serve or manage. show.