The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-03-05
EVENING STORY
Sylvia and Slang.
BY GERALD ST. ETTIENNE<

thoughts and philosophy. tho it must
be confessed right here that altho
Sylvia's tastes lay that way, her mind
was not equal to it. She just under
stood such things partly-not that Syl-
via was stupid, she was really one of
the clevereSt and most conscientious
stenographerS in the employ OF Ellis
&. Co. and was fair to look upon: but
that is all thai could be said of her
offhand.
Madge was very different type of
girl. New thought was farthest
from her mind most of the time, and
as for beautiful thoughts and the art
of living in perfect harmony with
everything and everybody, well, she
Just didn't think of life in that way.
Get all the enjoyment out of every
body and everything and give every
body and everything all the enjoyment
of yourself as far as it is within your
power, was the code that Madge lived
up to unconsciously. =
She was the life of the office and
popular with everybody but Sylvia.
Sylvia could not make Madge out at
all. At times she seemed good-heart-
ed, and. on unexpected occasions.
came out with real philosophy that
astounded the other girl, but whatever
good impression that made on Sylvia
was quickly banished by Madge's use
of slang.
That was the bugbear of poor Syl-
Was life. She would just sit back and
gasp and hold her head when Madge
let loose some of her new versions of
ry,'' Have a heart "I'll say that it
is" and such horrible expressions were
mild to some of the crimes against
Webster that floated SO easily from
Madge's pretty, laughing lips.
The others said Madge was original,
but Sylvia could see no other inter
probation of such a manner of speech
but commences and utter lack of
propriety. ..-
1t would not have been SO bad, Syl-
her slang to use among her associates,
but when she persisted in using it
even in the presence of the manager
and the president of the firm that
about capped the climax as far as Syl-
via was concerned. What did it mat
ter if Madge could express herself bet
ter than any other girl in the office by
resorting to slang? Even when Madge
was the means of securing an extra
twenty dollar bonus for the staff. Syl-
via could find no excuse for her. The
incident is worth relating:
For two weeks every Stenographer
in the employ of Ellis & Co. worked
nights to finish some special work. OF
course a promised bonus was looked
forward to-anywhere from thirty to
a hundred dollars was figured on by
each girl. Picture their disappoint-
ment when the bonus turned out to be
a paltry ten dollars each. Every girl
Sylvia includeO, excepting Madge, got
together and mumbled to themselves
about the unfairnesS of the thing.
Not SO Madge. The minute she dis
covered the extra ten dollars in her
pay envelope she was back to the
| cashier and said, in a tone loud
enough for the manager and the pres
ident to hear:
well, some people are so mean
they would sing thru their nose to
save the wear and tear on their false
teeth. Now. Mr.. Ventilator," the
Madge had persisted in nicknaming
him from the. first, do you think
this a fair bonus ?'' OR" she added.
perhaps the firm is giving US our
bonus in instal1ments."
Madge was never mpudent. Slang
from her lips to the ears of anybody
but Sylvia sounded perfectly all right.
She was gifted with a personality that
could ALMOST have put. across pro-
family
Before Mr.. Vanslater could volun-
! teer an answer to her surprising ques-
ton the manager had come from his
office.
You are quite right Miss Wilson,"
he apologized. There was a mistake
this week. An additional twenty dol
| lars will be included in the envelopes
next payday"
How eucyliptis of you." 1t was a
senseiess expression. but isn't all slang
senseless, and then the way Madge.
said it, it expressed a whole lot.
Sylvia just gasped while the others
longed to applaud. Every one of
them knew that such an outburst
from any one of them would have won
instant dismissal, but with the excep-
, ton of Sylvia they realized that
Madge's personality counted more
with the firm, and somehow her slang
seemed to make up part of, that per-
sopality -: $50 Issss.
Poor Sylvia. 1t was bad enough to
have to WORK with a girl that used
slang in about every fifth sentence
without having a man who used slang
in love with her. Dick Levery's slang
was not originate was just ordinary
gosh-dingb lished slang that did more
| to irritate the object of his affections
than all the boxes of candy and con-
| LESSONS of devotion could ever do to
pacify her.
At first Sylvia believed she cared for
Dick, but finally when she found ali
her admonitions against the use of
common and, to her, vulgar express
| sions were in vain, she refused to have
anything further to do with him.
| Madge she blamed for the whole thing.
| Dick worked in the office and thought
Madge was too wonderful for any
| thing. 1t was from her he caught his
| habit of using slang, Sylvia felt sure.
! That was another reason for dislik-
/ ing the girl. One who disliked the
| favorite of the office could not hope to
| be popular. so Sylvia had to content
| herself with reading the books of J.
| Lincoln Treathway on philosophical
subjects. OF sourse, she did not I'M
derstand them, but there was some
consolation in dreaming about J. Lin
/ coin and admiring his handsome face
as it was pictured on the flyleaf. There
was real mana man who found the
| fine things of life and who loathed the
| low and the barbarous.
| How her heart beat one day as she
was in the private office of the mana
| ger taking dictation and she realized
that the visitor who entered was no
| other than J. Lincoln Treathway.
! Unmindful of her the mana ger
| jumped from his chair and ran for
ward with hand of welcome ex-
/ I'D