Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-08-18

does possess certain knack in
money matters. The family notices
that Martha always gets full value
for every penny she lays out; that
she has a certain Midas-touch which
turns everything she handles into
gold. And that, although the rest of
them may be fiat broke, Martha is
never without dollar in her pocket.
But does the family stint itself
and go on short rations in order that
this valuable faculty of Martha's
may be fostered and developed? Not
once in ten thousand times. That
sort of encouragement and support
is reserved for Clotildas; the Mar
thas must trust to accident and luck
for their chance of a career.
How many women, forced to take
charge of affairs, through the death
or incapacity of n husband, father
or brother, have demonstrated
marked business ability and have
brought to success enterprises which
their male relatives were driving on
the rocks of bankruptcy
More often than not, too, these
women were utterly without pre-
vious commercial experience or
training, the very shibboleth of
business terms so much Greek to
them; brought up like most Ameri-
can girls, ignorant of even the rudi-
ments of finance.
There is q woman who is the di-
recting head of a large manufactur-
ing plant. Less than ten years ago
her husband who had been conduct
ing a little two-by-four shop of the
same sort-it would be fiattery to
call it a factory-died, leaving his af-
fairs in a muddle. The widows
friends and advisers urged her to
turn over the place to the creditors
in order to settle the debts and then
look about for some employment
plain sewing, or canvassing, or
something of the sort-in order to
support herself and her children.
But she refused to listen to this
advice. She knew that at plain
sewing or canvassing she would be
a sorry failure. To her mind that
little shop of her husbands offered
her the one hope of escape from
the poor house, and she set herself
desperately to mastering the details
of it's operation.
A plan suggested itself to her
whereby she might not only in
crease her output, but at the same
time considerably reduce her run
ming expenses. Her foreman scoffed
at the idea when she presented it to
him.
But she refused to be discouraged,
and on the strength of her calcu-
lations she staked the money that
she had received, from her hus-
bands life insurance and which was
every penny in the world she could
lay her hands on.
Her faith and determination were
not destined to fail. Her business is
to-day one of the most important of
its kind in the country, and it has
been built up to it's present proper
tions solely by her foresight, initia-
tive and executive spirit.
There is another woman who is
one of the most successful farmers
in the Middle West, yet the acres
from which she supports herself in
luxury, are the same which her
father never could make pay. That
is, they are the same acres accord
ing to the location and survey lines;
but what a difference between their
past and their present management!
Yet why multiply instances? We
all know cases where women, under
stress of adverse circumstances.
have taken hold of undertakings
which their men had mismanaged
and impaired and have brought or
der, system and profit out of shoes,
confusion and loss. Business capabil-
ity is not rare quality among wo-
men. The intuitive faculty, a spirit of
to which she gave her approval"
tail are natural to them, the very
things that stand out as the guidons