The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-09-03
True Stories of Successful Women
Sarah Robins. twenty-one-year-old
BY Edith Moriarty

odIdn hoOlnS, twenty-one-year-old
general manager of a large foreign
American shipping corporation, in ad-
dit1on to being the youngest traffic
manager, is the only women in the
business.
Sarah came to this country from
Russia when she was seven years old.
She was born with an almost unpro-
nounceable surname which the family
dropped as soon as they arrived in
this country because they did not want
to be called foreigners.
Sarah has been taking care of her
self since she was twelve years old.
She went through the grammar
school and then earned her own way
through commercial high school in
an eastern city by doing stenography
for the professors at the university in
the town and by coaching backward
students.
She thinks it was her ever present
desire to be better than anyone else
at anything she did which brought
success to her so early in life. For
a while she wanted to be the worlds
champion typist and she did manage
to become champion at her school.
1t was but three short years ago
that she answered an advertisement
which the shipping company ran in
daily paper. A woman of executive
ability to take charge of an Office"
were the requirements.
Was Too Young
The man who interviewed Sarah
told her she was too young, but after
he talked with her he hired her for
s12 week. She thought that if she
were to be engaged in foreign trade
chn n II tho do
And so she studied up at home on
home and foreign traffic and routing
as well as deeper things like insur-
ance, banking and shipping legislation.
Today she has beneath the glossy hair
on her young head an encyclopedia
of facts and figures about marine in
surance. foreign credits, interstate
commerce laws, risks and banking.
She works from o'clock in the
morning until her work is done, which
may be almost any time UP to or
9 at night.
She claims that although much of
the work is difficult the greatest
handicap for her has been her youth
full appearance. She found it hard
to gain the confidence of many of the
men in the business.
Once when she was attending to the
leasing Of a new Office building for the
firm the agent refused to talk business
to such kid" but she changed his
mind about it after receiving tele-
gram from the head Office.
1t was not very long ago that Miss
Robins sat through all the sessions
of the National Industrial Traffic
clubs convention and she was the only
woman present and she made speeches
along with white-haired men twice her
age.
Miss Robins is a modest, dainty lit
tie person, dark-eyed, round-cheeked,
looking for all the world like stylish
young boarding school miss. 1t Is
readily seen why some of the older
men are loath to trust to her judg-
ment
Although she can do mans work
getting shipments onto railroads and
steamships and protecting them from
point Of origin to point of destination,
there is one thing she can not do. She
can not become a member of one Of
the largest traffic clubs in the country
because she is woman.
Had to Support Self.
She did not enter the business world
as so many girls do just to tide over
what they consider a space of time I'M
III luey Iluu HuSDduuS one Adu W
support herself and she intended to
do it by becoming expert in whatever
she did.
She entered a business which was
new to women and she studied it from
every angle and is still studying it.
Because she feels that America has
been neglecting her opportunities in
South America she has been studying
Spanish so that she will be prepared
when activities and negotiations are
begun down there or so that she may
aid her company to be one of the first
to enter the field.
She argues that just as the war end
ed local geographic boundaries until
there are no trade limits for America
except economic ones so the only
thing which limits an American girl in
business is her ambition.
She herself is a good proof of the
truth Of her argument, for while she
was only earning twelve dollars a
week three years ago, today she is but
'twenty-One and she is drawing a sal
airy Of $500 a year, owns an interest
in the business, is a director in the
company, manager Of the office in
New York city and creator of sensa-
tons at traffic mems conventions
where she gets up and talks in meet
ing about foreign trade. the future OF
the merchant marine, breakage, leak
age. insurance, and such things before