The Washington herald., 1916-09-04
Protecting Working Girls.
By JOHN ID. BARRY,

BY JOHN ID. BARRY.
We speaking, Murray and l, about the
kinds of work that particularly dangerous
for women, not only physically, but morally.
Have you thought about mattresses"
asked Murray.
Murray is police reporter. What he doesn't
know about everyday social conditions in this
part of the world hasn't been discovered. well,
feel sorry for Mattresses" he went on. "They
have long hours and hard work. Think of the
strain of lifting these heavy trays and keeping
up the pace when the rush is No wonder
some of them go to pieces. And naturally the
attractive ones are always exposed to tempts-
ton. Every man who patronizes the places
where they work speak to them without be-
ing introduced. And there always who
will take a mean advantage. OF course, if a
man becomes too familiar the mattresses can
complain. But it isn't easy for them to know
just where to draw the line. A certain amount
of disrespect they have to endure whether they
want to not And, in any case, they hate to
make trouble for fear of getting the proprietor
down on them. To the marvel is that so
many OF them resist temptation. Occasionally
one of them will get out and disguised
with her life and start on the flowery path.
In most cases it means that she goes to perd-
ton. But happen to know a case where girl
to being a waitress. The fact was that she didn't
find the flowery path so flowery, after all When
she realized that it meant late hours, drinking,
dangerous associations, not to mention other
horrors she had sense enough to quit"
How long do they last when they don't quit p
asked.
Murray shrugged his shoulders ooh, about
five years" he said. AT the end of that time
they are played out. Drink gets most Of them
and disease. few OF them marry. 1t would
amaze most people if they knew how many
men married of that sort. They often
make good wives too"
Then there the girls in the department
stores" Murray went on. Their condition is
improving But it's still bad enough. Getting
just enough to live isn't real living for any
girl But lawmakers aren't alive to that
fact yet. Even the employers have more sense
They are beginning to provide some of the other
things that needed little comforts and even
amusements Most of the big stores in the larger
cities are encouraging what they call welfare
work, to help the girls take care of themselves
Some Of the women that do this work are paid
high salaries and show a good deal of ability
and common sense and understanding. But l.
personally believe that the money that goes to
those women might be better spent in raising
the girls wages. However, that's matter Of
opinion. Anyway the welfare work is a sign
of the times. 1t shows the employer realizes
the need Of protecting girls and keeping them
in good mental and physical condition Some
of those welfare workers have helped many a
girl from going to the bad after she has turned
down the wrong street, so to speak"
How about stenographers?" I asked
There's big difference among EN-" Murray
promptly answered. as if used to dealing with
this subject. Most of EN- are hard workers and
earn fair pay. few earn big money Usually
though they the ones that have several other
girls working for them They're the cxDloiters
But the average intelligent stenographer that
knows how to do her work can earn pretty
good salary. If she's pretty she's almost certain
t. rect the advances of the fresh guys, and if
sfc'% shy on common sense she may >t into
r"@o'e She isn't looked after much unless she
q home and is on good terms with her
mrly She's about Independent as any of the
women workers and she works in pretty close
association with She's got to learn to take
care OF herself"
At this point Murray started off on a tangent
I'll tell you what's mighty dangerous in
tIucncc just now That's the dancing craze 1t
makes it easy for girls who work and have
certain amount Of freedom to get acquainted
with strange men and it throws them into very
quick kind of an intimacy. The girl that doesn't
know the new dances thinks that she's out of it
On the other hand, the dancing craze has provid-
ed good many girls with a very lucrative occu-
patton as dancing teachers"
wanted, if possible. to get at the philosophy
OF this practical student of life who relied less
on theory than on everyday observation What
do you think is the solution of the problem of
protecting girls that work for a living" I asked
There's no solution" he replied Except put
ting EN- in the way Of protecting themselves
And that way lies in treating them fairly in bust
ness Nowadays, in most lines of business, girls
arc paid less than men and most Of the men
are underpald Give both the men and the women
iair wages and lot of our sex problems will
clear up themselves"