The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1924-05-22
Competent
to Hold Down
the Job
By ELLA
20. 1924. Western Newspaper Union.

MISS PHILPoT stared in dismay
AVA at the notice on her desk. Dis
charged. After twenty-seven years
service. She had given all the best
years of her life to the Bracket COM
pany. This was her reward.
She was a gray-haired woman Of
rather majestic aspect. True, she had
never risen very high, but she did IN
derstand the work of the accountancy
department. She had worked faithful
ly under Jennings for fifteen years.
Jennings was said to be leaving, too.
Suddenly it occurred to her that 1t
would be strange not coming down to
the office every day and seeing him.
Jennings came Over to her. He laid
his hand upon her shoulder. "Why,
Miss Philpot!" he exclaimed, as she
thrust out the notice and burst into
tears.
The cause of Miss Philpot's being
fred was a general shake-up in the
personnel. The old manager had re-
tired. The new one, Bates, was run
ming through the personnel.
"There's Miss Philpot-is she really
needed?" he asked Sanderson, the as
sistant manager.
Sanderson scratched his head.
"Well, I suppose we could do without
her" he began.
'Thirty-five a week? We could prob
ably get the work done just as eff
GENTLY by a young chap Of twenty
five for ten to fifteen dollars less.
Mark her off !"
That was how Miss Philpot came to
receive her notice. CHANGING up at the
central desk, over which Bates pre-
sided, she saw him still engaged in
conversation with Sanderson. They
had got farther down the list by now.
Miss Philpot was forgotten. Miss
Philpot was all the time aware of Mr..
jennings clumsy efforts to console
her.
"You mustn't take 1t that way, Miss
Philpot," he was saying. "I'm leav-
ing, too, to take a position with
Crompton's, and"
Mr.. Jennings was stroking her hand
-covertly, under the protection of the
edge of the desk. And what was that
he was saying now? Miss Philpot
turned her eyes upon him incredu-
Up at the desk S%anderson and Bates
were having a conversation with Jen-
nings. They seemed quite staggered
when he had gone.
81 had no idea Jennings was going"
said Sanderson. who'll we get for
the work."
BLAMED If L know" said Bates.
'It's up to you, Sanderson."
"Why couldn't we get Miss Phil
pot?"
"a woman head?"
well, you spoke of retrenching, and
a woman will work for less than a
man. Now Jennings was getting a
hundred, and Miss Philpot has worked
under him for years. She was work
for him when 1 came into this
place. It seems to me she ought to be
competent to hold down the job"
"Well we might try her. How much
you suppose she'd work for?
S~eventy-hve?'
mo, sixty. She'll jump at it, you
see if she doesn't"
"All right. I'll tell her-no!" He
beckoned to his stenographer. "Please
take this letter:
"Dear Miss Philpot: The notifca-
ton sent to you this forenoon is here
by cancelled. You are instead pro-
to fill Mr.. Jennings position at
a salary Of sixty dollars per week,
dating from the first pr0x. It is hoped
that you will find yourself fully COM
petent to fulfill the duties heretofore
fulfilled by'-no, scratch out that sec
ond fulfilled, Miss Clarkson-'hereto-
fore carried out by Mr.. Jennings.
truly Thank you, Miss Clark
He turned to Sanderson. "AlI right,
that's finished" he said. sWhat
comes next on the program?"
Miss Philpot, receiving the second