The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-08-21
.ENCLISHWOMEN
TURN EYES TO
UNITED STATES
From Actress to Duchess,
They See Promise Of Ca
reers in America.
(New Yo.ss Times)

I've been thinking OF going to
America"-that is the rather indiffer-
ent sounding sentence that meets the
American woman visiting in England.
one detects, however, under the bored
quality Of the remark a really enthu-
siastic and vital interest in the land
across the seaa. And the reason for
this Is that to the Englishwoman
America looks like land of promise
as far-as opportunities for her life and
her work go. To be sure, she may be
wrong, and If she has the courage to
go there she may meet with bitter dis
appointment. Still, her point of view
remains.
The little slip Of a girl who runs the
lift in large apartment house sits in
the corner of her square car diligently
studying from a tiny book and now
and then making peculiar looking
marks upon a surreptitious looking
piece of paper. She is delving into
the intricacies of shorthand, and in
quiry shows that before she took upon
her shoulders the task of running a
lift she had served some ones meals
from some ones kitchen. Rise No.
reported when she took on this pres
ent job. But now ambition has her in
its grip and she would go on to inves-
tigate the mysteries of the places
where stenography is the open sesame
to larger things. After days of lift
ing" an American passenger up and
down she turns a wide-eyed, question
ing look in her direction and ven
lures: What chance would a girl like
me have in America" Ensues a
lively conversation and confession
of aspirations Americaward on the
part of the one on the verge Of being
a stenographer. She has had her day
made brighter by graphic descrip-
ton of the land of promise.
"Are Clothes Any Cheaper?"
Then in a little old house, erected
somewhere in William the Conquer
or's time, sits little old lady. sur
rounded by her goods and chattels Of
old family origin. She has been
robbed of half her income by the high
rate Of war taxes and the prices of all
the things she needs most have soar
ed to the sky. She is discouraged
about how her life is to proceed II
these conditions are not alleviated.
So. to the American caller, when the
time is quite auspiciously ripe, she
puts the same old question, dressed in
different form: do you think 1 could
live happily and at all within my
means if l were to move to America"
That is Il question rather harder to
answer than the query of the girl on
the lift.
All Euglishwcnan Of fashion, who
has sperr much Of her time in the
past IN America, collars the friend
lGtely arrived fron, America and,
drawing her in(0 a private corner, she
{r,l 7
Are clothes any cheaper in the
United State. than they are in Lon
DOM The truth will out--they are.
well, I say" muses. the English
woman. at would be a novel idea
buy ones wardrobe for the year and
That is rule which used to work in
exactly the opposite direction
A girl in a tailor shop-presser and
cleaner does an extremely fine job
on lot of American plaits in an
American skirt and then, when she de-
livers it back to its owner, her face
burning with excitement, she stops a
moment upon the threshold to STAN
mer the fast becoming familiar sen
tence: do you think one of my ability
could find work to do in America ??
She goes on to explain a little: you
see, all the men are coming back and
in our business men can do the jobs
just as we'll as We, and I'm sure | don't
want to go on living without making
any money for myself. There's my
husband, of course. He doesn't very
much like the idea of leaving England
but think if were to go over there
and find something to do he might
want to follow me after year or So
A fine reversal that of the old system
when papa used to seek the foreign
land to make a place for his wife and
family But this lure of America and
the ways of women there is too much
even for an English inbred system.
Artist, Actress and Maid.
Another one-an artist-had beer
in America during all the long wal
and at the first opportunity hac
rushed back to her beloved England
Oh, yes, she was willing to stay there
forever, for she loved her native lanC
and she was through with America
forever. That was in May. Early il
July she was seen to be haunting the
British customs, trying by hook OF
crook. to get permission to go back tC
America. She was questioned very
gently as to her Change OF ATTITUDE anC
mind. whereupon she admitted-a bi
Reluctantly that one could do Sc
much more with ones work, i
seemed. in New York than one coulc
in London. There wasn't more ap
probation. Oh, dear, no, but there
was more sale. Same way with al
actress. She had taken her way t.
the British Isles for the express pur
pose of marrying a British officer ant
of taking part in a production in Lon
don. But she wanted to get back
and she wanted it badly-much soon
err than the boat was to sail. She, too
was after the rate Of pay and. in he
case the appreciation of Americana!
(for she was an American) carried
much weight.
At a hotel a perfect English mait
such as is entirely extinct in Americ;
served breakfast to her American
patron regularly every morning. Sh'
was as fresh as any spring flower II
her bright pink frock and her frillet
apron, but a worm was eating at he
young heart, for after many days sh'
popped the fatal question: lf
should take service over to America
do you think l could find employment
after l got there?" Could she? l