The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-10-24
GIRLS DESERVING
PARIS MODISTES
Stenography Lures Many as
Affording Easier Way to
Marriage.

Special Cable TO THE NEW YonK HERALD.
Copyright, 1890, By THE New YORK HERALD.
New York Herald Bureau,
Paris, Oct. 23.S
The smart and luxurious dress
making establishments. the very heart
OF Pariss reputation as the arbiter of
the worlds styles and whims. are fac
ing a serious situation because thou
sands of former midinettes have for
saken the monotonous silence of the.
needle room for the clatter and gossip
of the stenographers' rooms In large
business houses
Unless something can be done to In
duce them to return to their work.
benches or induce youngsters still in
their classrooms to take a greater inter-
est In needlework. 1t is feared that scores
of modistes will have to close their
doors.
1T is impossible to find capable
girls" said the proprietor of one of the
largest houses in the Rue de la Paix to
a NEW YORK HERALD correspondent
81 had forty we'll trained workers when
the war commenced; now / have only
twenty and some OF them are talking
OF deserving me and taking a course In
Prices May Soar.
''The only feasible solution is to import
seamstresses from England, but these
do not appreciate the finesse of French
work. Besides. they would have to be
paid more. and that would mean that
your American mothers and wives. when
they come TO France for their robes. will!
find that the prices are higher than
they expected-even with the exchange
in their favor.
The attraction of the business office
Is difficult to understand" continued the
informant. Some complain that they
can no longer stand the strain of making
beautiful silky garments for wealthy
patrons: they know they cannot afford
such robes for themselves, and prefer to
work in a world where they are not
constantly reminded of their comparative
poverty. This. OF course. is a sort OF
mental Bolshevism, the aftermath OF a
war wherein rich and poor were thrown
together In efforts toward a patriotic
aim.
THE majority of those Who choose les
bureaus, however, do so because they
SEQ therein greater opportunity for
marriage as we'll as higher wages and
shorter hours than are to be found in
the dressmaking ateliers. After all the
French girl. despite what her foreign
critics may say OF her fickleness of heart
and lightness OF fancy, Is much the same
as any other. She intends to be married
II possible. and with the male popula-
ton of France terribly reduced II Is not
surprising that thousands of our best
workers decide TO display their charms
and ability where there Is greater chance
OF appreciation than IN our workrooms."
Schools Reap tho Harvest.
While the modistes are alarmed over
the prospect the managers of Partisan
shorthand schools are frankly elated and
are filling their Golfers as a result Of the
unprecedented increase OF students. One
school only had 500 graduates in 1914:
this year more thap $500 girls have
completed the courses The students
are able TO ind positions paying from
300 TO 400 francs a month, regardless OF
their inability In many cases to write
an ordinary business letter without glar-
ing errors in spelling. The shorthand
teachers say, however. that their schools
are not being filled by "ex-midinettes''
only, but that women who have served
az street car conductors, street sweep
ers. munition workers and even wet
nurses have decided that the business
world has advantages which are not to
a