The Washington herald., 1918-06-21

New York. June 2o.-Women are
responding nobly in New York to
the places made vacant by men
called to the service. In the garages
they are working at night cleaning
automobiles for the next days use.
It is hard work and unpleasant, but
the women do not seem to mind.
Fifteen women are running the
elevators in the Waldorf They are
driving taxi-cabs. running street
cars, acting as bell girls in hotels
and doing many other services here
tofore done by men.
There is only one place where ap-
parently women have failed and that
is in the pawnshops as clerks. In
no other line of human endeavor.
cathedrals along a fighting front.
wrought such havoc as II has with
the kindly uncles who throw life
preservers to the broke.
The women who are clerking in
the pawnshops, II is claimed. have
too much sympathy. See nothing.
hear nothing, say nothing" are the
three mystic maNims of the guild
of three ball clerks. Being a sphinx
is the first requisite OF a good clerk
for a generous uncle.
The women clerks had no inten-
sive training in silence. 1t followed
that one whole neighborhood on
Tenth avenue became possessed OF
the information that one woman had
pawned her shoes, another her false
hair and another her band of sor-
row. the same being the pawn
brokers' designation for a wedding
ring.
The women want to bring charity
into the pawnbroking business.
which. as everybody knows. is like
trying to make matches in a smoke
less powder mill. The sociable fes-
ture of the woman pawnbroker. who
probably is entitled by traditional
relationship to be called an aunt.
is an added difficulty.
The uncles are satisfied that
women will never do for the DELI
cate and confidential work of cater
ing to a busted community. They
are now trying to make some plan
by which boys under IS can be
hired.
On the Bowery-where at night
bells ring in front of pawnshops to
guide those of unsteady feet-the
clerks are a husky lot. They have
TO be for almost every day one of
them is slugged and robbed.
1t was on a subway train and on
one side was a welI-dressed fat man.
who had looked upon the wNe when
it was cerise. Opposite was a dis
Notwithstanding lady with a lorg-
nette and everything. and she was in
dustriously knitting q rose-colored
! sweater.
The corpulent passenger watched
her through half-closed eyes, and
every now and then he snorted in dis
gust. At length he could not contain
himself further and he called out:
| Excuse me, madam, but don't you
lsnow there amt no soldier going 10
! wear that damn thing? a soldier in
a rose-colored sweater would be
drummed out OF camp. This is a
he-war-" and then. apparently re-
membering hmself. he bowed apollo
getically and numbered or the car
unsteadiIy.
The passengers laughed. and the
woman. white-faced. continued her
knitting.
ovr on Fulton street, in Brook
lyn. there Is q sign in front OF sign
painters establishment which reads:
I'VE made signs long before We could
talk"
Again they are talking about the
tipping evil and a cure for the hat
pirates. The cure is simple. Let the
public refuse to tip. That is all there
is to It. There is no other way. The
public started it by a spaghetti-legged
policy. and now it is up to the pub
lie to stop It. 1t is no more than
right that hotels and restaurants
should take care Of hats and wraps
without exacting a gouge.