The Washington herald., 1917-05-23
A Crumb of Comfort for the UsIy DuckIine
By DOROTHY DIX,
The Worlds Highest Paid Woman Writer.

From time irnmemorial II has been held
that beauty Is Gods best gift 70 a woman.
painted IL It is the theme Of every novel
sSov. tSe eTSsy Ssy 0ssr SsE S n Sasy ssf osSs Sss
asked the fairies 10 bestow good looks
upon her child. no matter what else
they denied her. The first question that
woman for the first time is whether she
is pretty or not.
This eternal insistencs on feminine pull
chritude has led US to believe that for
girl to be. born with a peaches and
cream complexion and q willow ngure
gives her the world in a sling and that
ling.
We have clung TO the cheerful theory
that she who was a perfect thirty-Eix
could not fail to make a brilliant mar
riage, or II she didn't. that the beauty
that laun shed A thousand ships" could
not fan TO pull down a good job In any
office that she designed to grace with
her effulgent presence.
For this reason, Just because we are
so lmbued with the old tradition that
good looks is a woman's one best bet,
we nave encouraged girls TO devote more
time to marcelling their hair than TO
cultivating their brains, and have taught
them that a pair. Of large, melting, violet
along in the world than any amount OF
intelligence. and energy and efficiency
II appears, however, that we have bet n
pinning our faith 70 false doctrine; at
concerned. and that when a girl goes
forth to seek a situation whereby she
may earn her bread and butter. beauty
is handicap instead OF an asset to her.
1t is true that. left TO their own taste
and inclination, men might possibly like
to fill up their offices with maidens who
were houris OF loveliness, but there are
other consioerations-eh-er- for eN-
ample, that make IL eIpedient TO choose
female employees who would not even
take pink ribbon in a beauty contest
This Is the experience OF the head Of
the employment depa pa-tment af the Work
ing Girls Home, who says that a girl
with carroty hair and a snub nose and
figure that looks like q bundle that
a chance to get a Job as little Golden
locks, who looks like fashion plate.
The same authority also says that mid
die age beats youth TO a Job. and that
thirty and forty-five need be ashamed
OF her birthdays Is in business office.
The reason Of thts is obvious. The
married msn dare not have too good
looking and -iainty a little stenographer
because Of the perpetual necessity OF
combating his wife's Jealous suspicious,
the very practical reason that he is try
ing TO keep from leading himself into
In addition. experience has shown
every DlSlntbs lndl n llNltN plANNi
In the office lowers the efficiency OF
the whole place. II is not in masculine
nature 10 forget that any pretty woman
IS a We man. or TO refrain from making
eyes at her, or indulginE in passing gal
lantries
"I had to let Miss Blank 60" said
an employer when asked what had be-
come Of a certain peachy little secre-
tary he had had. "I hated to DO IL,
because she was competent and as nice a
little girl as you ever saw, but she was
so good looking that there was never
minute that half the men in the office
weren't loooped over her desk, and the
ether half ErouchinE away in green-eyed
jealousy because they weren't After
this. me for the homely sister that no
man will look twice upon"
Another employer. who ran a shop
much patroniZed by men, explained his
preference for plain-faced girl clerks by
saying that customers wasted too much
time trying to hirt with pretty girl Cm-
ployes when q man buys a thing Of
a honely girl, he takes his package
and goes" said this merchant. but II
he is waited upon by a young woman
who looks like an understudy Of Lillian