New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
Middle Aged Woman
Has Part i'm Business
IL S he w ants 1t
Mrs. VIM. A. Campbell Finds
Hers i'm Selling Bonds;
Likes 1t Better Than Being
Grandma i'm White Curls

There ought to be Middle Aged
Woman's Club" said Mrs. William A.
Campbell, bond salesman for Bonbright
d Co., as she briskly ran over some
letters on her desk, cleared away mat
ters that needed her attention, and
swung around in her swivel chair to be
interviewed
"a Middle Aged Woman's Club" she
repeated, "where we grandmothers
could get together and learn how to
keep alive mentally"
The reporter. nodded complete ac-
quiescence, noted the intricate little
patterns the braiding made in her ex-
tremely modish frock, wondered where
she had CHANGED upon the chic hat that
combined blue and buff so admirably,
and mentally decided that a woman
who looked as she did could sell any
thing. Also, she had an inimitable
Southern drawl and a smile that could
make you forget that your shoes
needed a shine. Then the echo of her
sentence brought back the word
Grandmother!
Grandchildren Her Reason
"Yes, l am a grandmother" she
insisted, "and it was the grand
children who sent me into bust
ness. / knew I'd have to be extreme
ly alert to keep up with them when
they began to get to the question age
Until I came here / had never done
anything except grow up as an old
fashioned daughter of the South
should, surrounded by a lot of foolish
traditions which barred all girls who
went into anything SO unladylike as an
Office. So | stayed at home, exercised
few polite accomplishments, married
and lived happily ever after.
THAT is, | lived happily until l
lost my husband, and my children
married. First MY son, and then five
years ago my daughter, married and
took her own home. I moved into an
apartment just as near her as posi-
bly, could be without getting under
foot and being that general nuisance
"a perpetually present mother in law
The Boards and Clubs
II tried clubs, and indulged in all
sorts of ridiculous meetings, and met
hundreds and hundreds of women Just
like myself-some mothers and some
grandmothers who were perfectly
good, had all their teeth and appar
emily all their faculties yet didn't
know what to do with themselves.
'Actually, that was it. They just
didn't know what to do with them
selves. They had comfortably or un-
comfortably, decided upon lazy, use
less old age, and pitied themselves
tremendously
Don't laugh, either. Wait until you
get there, young woman!
But | was in worse fix than
you'll ever be. l had never tackled
business, and I'd heard all sorts of
terrible things about what girl en-
,,-l,o f-l
| fully believed them all.
81 didn't like settling down into in
active oldl ladydom, and l didn't want
to get fat. SO | determined to try
business. Also, I thought if ! could
make a success of it l could give all
those other middle aged friends, who
thought they'd never be good for any
thing again, something definite to
think about. In other words, if
succeeded, without any previous bust
ness training, they couldn't say-'No-
body wants middle aged woman.
They just want the young girls
Her Opportunity Appears
$50 l began looking around for an
opportunity. I resolved not to use
my friends. OF their influence. Of
course my family were Mortified. My
daughter looked at me in speechless
establishment. She was thinking of her
baby, and l knew she had a mental
picture of what a grandmother ought
to look llke-nice white curls, black
silk dress, and a white cap with vio
let ribbons. Then she pictured busi
ness, and desks, and men who smoked
cigars, and me pursuing them for
money.
"The last Liberty Loan gave me my
chance. | had charge of campaigning
in the schools. They said I must raise
100000. That was my quota. We fl
nally got $3,5O0,O00. Of course | met
several bankers and brokers during
my work with the loan committee, and
when one of them said, why not try
bond selling, Mrs. Campbell?' p | swal-
lowed tradition and consented.
Then | began an intensive course.
I studied all 1 could find in books
about stocks and bonds, and the basic
principles of investments. | took the
ployes, and graduated full-ffedged
salesman with nothing further to do
but prove my worth. | breathed one
last goodby to the oldfas shioned
grandmother and went ahead.
First Thought Is Who
what did l do first? Well, my first
earth wants to buy bond, and where
do I find them?
"Then l counted ten, gathered my
panicky wits together and made list
of all the tea rooms in the city. After
that I went to call on them, and met
with immediate success. I've met with
the greatest courtesy and considera-
tion wherever | have gone. And |
speedily learned that the traditions
about the horrible experiences a wom-
an meets with in business are a pure
hoax and bugaboo.
My one object since beginning as
bond salesman has been to get hold of
the small investor who has been misled
in her investments, and show her how
she can place her money in way that
will yield her safety and a good return.
Before the war | had never been an
ardent anything, except mother. I'd
not been particularly interested in suf-
fragc. or modern movements. or c;yics
But when New York gave me the right
to vote ! found l wanted to do it. II
became then an obligation of citizen
ship, and saw it was privilege as
well.
New View of Men
"I find that it is an absolute jov to
man to be able to talk with woman
who can understand him and talk intelli-
gently on matters of finance, business
and current affairs. | am convinced
that if women would develop their
mental faculties with as much persist
ence as they develop their physical
charms there would be fewer divorces.
Also women should stop thinking
that an employer chooses a woman en-
ploye because she has pretty face