Great Falls tribune., 1921-03-30

0Ol0reu girls III WdeuiA6IoA 1SAC3
|phone operators, ex-war workers, store
employees, government clerks-are TO
have a home where they will be able
to entertain company ina parlor and
where they will occupy rooms suffi-
ciently attractive to make them think
|of 'home' pleasantly. instead of re-
garding It merely as place to sleep.
These things are important to the
working girl in the city. Boarding
house keepers now find it expedlent to
rent the parlor as an extra bedroom.
Sometimes only transients are accom-
odated, the inference being that the
parlor is ordinarily open, but the par.
Ior seems to be perpetually in demand
and the girls have to choose between
the front steps and the park as set
ting for their evening engagements.
AS for the attractiveness of typical
boarding house rooms, there are all
degrees and variations of the bed
room set with chair. wastebasket,
and marble top table added to make
the room homelike, but generally the
leffect is not cheering.
| From these two evils. 200 Wash
nigton girls are to be delivered after
the following plan. The Salvation
Army, which has for its motto Meet
the need,' saw a need for more and
better rooms for working girls in
Washington. The government is still
running its dormitories for govern
ment clerks. But this is an emergency
war measure that may be legislated
out of existence at any time. Then,
too, the government dormitories are
for government employees, only.
The telephone company here had its
war dormitories, too. where its en-
ployees were housed. But these are
now being closed so that about 81
girls q week are having to find other
quarters. Then there are the other
girls who have not been eligible for
any Of the dormitories or who never
got off the waiting lists
Some of these girls have been sleep
ing on cots, three and four IN q
room, and this supposedly emergency
condition threatens to extend well
into peace times. Prices are still
on war basis and large rooms
are still held at rates that make il
necessary for three or more girls to
divide the expense.
| In this situation. the Salvatl on
Army saw need for home where at
least few Of the girls who wanted
home atmosphere could be taken in
The Dewey. a small hotel in a desira-
Il bic and conveient neighborhood, was
bought already furnished, and was
opened for business last week with
most of the 139 rooms taken.
Major J. G. McGee, who is in charge
Of Salvation Army work in Washing
ton. explains the plan for running il
as follows:
"Our whole idea is to establish =
home for these girls-not a home IL
| the sense of an institution. but OF
residence. SO we call it a residence
for young women. There are to be
practically no rules, because we fee
that long list Of typed rules hung W
everywhere is apt to antagonize people
so that they begin to think about tn
things that are forbidden and want to
do them. When the girls ask about
rules, we tell them that this is a
residence and they are to conduct
themselves just as they would in their
own homes.
Zone of the first inquiries of appll-
cants for rooms is invariably about
company, for that seems to have been
stumbling block at most Of the lodg-
ing places. We tell them that they
can entertain men in the parlors until
III o'clock, and they look relieved and
say. oh, that's all right. That's late
enough .....
I'VE have no regulations as to wher
| a girl must be in at night. Several o
the girls work until eight o'clock a
the telephone exchange. They get din
ner down town after that. and if the,
go to a moving picture show OCCASION
ally they might not get in before II
We would not want to take in CIR