The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1918-03-16
Brains VS..
Ernbonpoint
@<9
By JANE OSBORN
Copyright, 1918, by the Mcclure Newspa-
per SyndIcate.)

copyright, 1918, by the Mcclure Newspa-
per Syndicate)
When Ned Majers. promising young
er brother Of Stone Majers, head of the
dress manufacturing house Of Majers
& Clay, was put in charge Of the
"StOut Model" department of that large
concern, he announced his intention OF
having woman for his "right-hand
man." Stone Majers and the other
executives of the concern had always
held out against women in responsible
positions Even their stenogrnphers
were young men. Girls were well and
good at the telephone or to run err
rnnds, or something Of that sort, Stone
Majers told his brother, but when you
come to having them In your office
with you, you first get to noticing what
sort Of dresses they wear then you
start in making pretty speeches, and
the next thing you know your mind is
more on the girl than your business.
"When I get ready to marry" he
continued. I'm going to get some nice
young girl, fresh from boarding school.
I don't want some one that knows the
dress-manufacturing business better
than do, and that will serve US shop
talk at breakfast and dinner"
That's Just where I'm perfectly
safe" Net retorted. II couldn't posi-
bly, fall In love with the sort Of girl
Tn going to get. What want wom-
an for Is because In my end Of the
work the right sort Of woman can
fairly sell the models off her back. I'm
going to have Stout that's why she
will help sell the type Of dresses that
am going In for, and, moreover, TINT
is why there isn't any remote chance
of my falling in love with her. I could
like a stout girl lot and get along
with her beautifully, but I'm no Turk.
1 don't want fat wife. simply could
not think Of It,"
"Well, how are you going to get this
'right-hand man of yoursT
Advertise, Of course. 'Wanted-A
stout woman with brains and a knowl-
edge of the woman's dress business.
That ought to get ner.
So the advertisement was inserted In
the morning papers, and for an hour
or two the door that led to Ned Majer's
office was blocked with heavyweight
applicants, who considered themselves
qualified for the position. Apparently
they all did qualify as to embonpoint.
Ned's problem was simplified into tell
ing which of the f1fty-seven applicants
had the most brains. So important
did he consider this qualification, in
fact, that when Hilda Clark tipped the
scales only at 100 pounds-hardly one
of the others but had done better
Ned waived this slight discrepancy be-
cause Of her very obvious advantages
in the other considerations. He had
had a set of scales brought into his
office from the factory, so that he
might not trust to mere guesswork re-
gardng the weight Of his applicants.
"You look fat enough, anyway" he
said good-naturedly to her, as he
helped her step down from the weigh
ing platform. eat plenty Of butter
and potatoes and things. l guess you
are just the man I'm looking for
And as he showed her to the exit hall
he made his way to his brothers office.
"Well, I've got her." he said. "And
/ she's fat and all intellect. We're both
safe. / never could get sentimental
! over such heavyweight, and you
| couldn't stand the intellect. She's the
| kind Of girl that looks as If she knows
just what q buyer was going to order
as soon as he came into the place, and
it is all in her eyes-the brains,
mean"
So Hilda Clark was installed, and
before long Stone Majers had forgot
ten that he ever opposed his broth
or in taking on q woman assistant
With an amazing capacity for hard
work and q keen interest in all the
phases of her work that brought hel
active mind into contact with other
minds as shrewd as her own, or nearly
so, she soon had charge Of the selling
end of the business for both broth
/ eTS. J1tE ptISOllul lIluSIlSIlSli, ANllICi
than actual beauty, made every frOcl
she tried on take on new interest anC
distinction, and this, as Ned had fore
seen, had considerable effect on the
size Of buyers orders. No mere man
even with the same ability as Hilde
Clark, could ever have pushed the sell
ing Of the Majers & Clay "stout mod
els' as she did. So the work piled up
and evenings, when she was not stay
ing after hours Strengthening out {
tangle Of orders with Ned, she wa!
comforting with Stone. 1t was hare
work, but pleasant. 1t agreed will
her, but
"What's the matter with the las
modelY" was the blunt and peevishl!
put query Of one of the large buyer
one day some six months after Hide
had come to be Ned's "right-hant
man." "They are the dowdiest thing
ever saw. Say, honestly, just be
cause a fat woman's fat she doesn'
want to dress like her great-grand
mother"
That was the first Of the complaints
Others followed. The designer wa
blamed first, but she was apparently