The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1919-09-06

A pretty, bright young girl who
me the other day:
II am going to change my line of
work and go into something else, but
the trouble Is / don't know what TO
choose. What would you advise me
to do"
whats the matter with this Job?"
I asked.
Nothing" she replied. IT like It..
and there Is good money In it--more
money, guess, than there Is In any
other work that a girl can do who
has had no special training. And It's
interesting. There's always some
thing doing, and enjoy seeing the
about their life stories from their
looks and the little bits Of talk !
hear.
"Why, there isn't day that a
dozen funny little things don't hap
pen, and It's nice to work where
everything Is bright and cheerful
and to listen to the music and watch
the women's pretty clothes; but I'll
quit, anyway"
"But why?" persisted. "Why give
give up good paying Job II you find
it congenial?
"Oh, 1t isn't genteel." she replied.
People look down on you II you are
q waitress, so l guess I'll stop and
study stenography; though. my good
ness" she added shrewdly, Il should
think that when the government gets
through with all the stenographers
it had there would be two stenogra-
piers apiece to every business man..
In vain argued with her, and told
her the life story of two OF the ricn-
est and most successful hotel men
in this country, one of whom started
life as a bellhop and the other as
bus boy, who cleaned away the soiled
dishes in a restaurant. In vain l
pointed out to her that she could
find success along exactly the same
lines, and could rise from being a
super-excellent waitress to a head
waitress and to having q restaurant
of her own if she had 1t In her to
climb the ladder of success, just the
way these men had done.
She was bound to follow some oc-
cupation that she considered genteel,
| even If there wasn't as good money
| in 1t nor as good q chance to rise,
nor IL she didn't like the work as
we'll.
And there you have the chief ,rea-
son why women do not succeed more
| often in business. They are snobs IN
labor. They are not willing to do the
things they are fitted to do, nor the
| thing towards which their natural in
| clinations call them. They want To
do something grandiose, something
| that they consider aristocratic and
romantic. If there were only women
| in the world there wouldn't be
single bricklayer nor carpenter nor
plumber. There would be nothing
but bank presidents and poets and
trust magnates.
| II ia this idea that they must fol-
low some profession that Is genteel
| that keeps thousands of girls from
going into domestic service. Many
girls are born cooks. Their inner
tied instinct takes them straight 70
the kitchen. Nothing else ever raises
the same thrill in their breasts as
| do shining rows of pots and pans
and they could fall on the face Of a
| gas range and kiss it for the love
of it.
These girls will always be aliens
who will never be at home in an Of
fice or a store Standing behind
counter is an abomination to them
and typewriters and fling cabinets a
WEAKNESS to the flesh, and theyl
never get much pay because they'll
| never learn much. But In a kitchen
they would find the work they love
and are fitted to do, and for which
they could get big pay. But they
prefer to starve in hall bedrooms
rather than have comfortable quar-
ters and good food, working at an
occupation that they do not consider
genteel.
In the course Of a year I get hun
dreds Of letters from girls telling me
Of their aspirations and asking how
they can get start at making money
and every one of them wants to be
writer, or an actress, or a moving
h MIXTURE star or an artist. or follow