Evening star., 1932-12-20
The Unemployed Woman
$500 Apply for Work at Boston Y. W. c. H..
Majority "White Collar Gnls-Serions Problem
Presented as Misfortune Is Exploited.

hsve never been large Many have al
ways lived close to destitution.
BY an understanding with the city
the Family Welfare Society has this
year stood responsible for the case OF
the single woman who finds 1t harder
to apply to the city. The society Is
aiding about 300, but many OF these are
counted among the city's 1890: the
society is supplementing city aid. be-
cause illness or other circumstances
make it not enough. There Is debate
among social workers whether it Is ever
enough. The city welfare allowances
have been cut four times now as the
case load has grown. This has made
most private agencies feel their task
must be chiefly to supplement the in
sufficient city aid
The Family Welfare Society, through
its IA district offices, reaches out into
the lodging house districts. But 1t Is
limiting its work chiefly to middle aged
women.
The younger woman, under IS,
knocks at the door of the Young Wom-
ems Christian Association at the rate
of more than 800 a month. They ask
for work. but their immediate need Is
often food and a place to sleep. The
Y. w. c. A. can give bed and board to
That Is its immediate capacity. 1t
sends others to the Rutland Corners
House, which has roof for 80 girls at a
time. In both places accommodations
are temporary, to tide over until rela-
tives or a job can be found to help.
The Travellers Aid Society takes the
job of getting stranded girls home when
they have place to go. At the city'S
temporary home for women 81 women
can be put up for lodging and meals.
$500 Girls Seek Work.
The Y. W. c. A. has recorded more
than $500 girls seeking work this year.
Two-thirds are "white-collar" girls.
Four hundred have been through COL
lege. One-half have been through high
school. They have earned from Sl2 to
S65 week. Jobs found number 285, or
less than a tenth of the applications.
But they try not to let the applicants
get away without any tie-up. Many
disappear. but they hold hard to the
younger girls. The older women are
referred to the Family Welfare Society.
What sort Of women are they? Every
sort.
The Travellers Aid Society notes the
exceptional number of hotel workers
stranded between seasons. The Family
Welfare Society is impressed with the
number of SeamStreSSeS eliminated by
machines, with the unemployed nurses
and older office girls. The Trade Union
League saw store and Office girls in 10
per cent of their cases last Winter, but
now domestic servants predominate-
and mattresses.
The domestics are a bewildered group
The second girl. let go by retrench-
ments. is unframed in cooking or gen.
el al housework. Always sheltered. she
is unqualified for the competition for
jobs Now office girls are entering
housework They will take anything
Mothers helper is the most common Of
fering and the pay is very little.
Misfortune Exploited.
The plight of the unemployed girl is
often exploited. How outrageously it
has been exploited in certain sweated
industries of the mill cities Commits
sioner Smith of the State Department
Of Labor and Industries has shown and
i'll a measure checked. Boston appears
to have little of this organized sweating
of girl labor But note the paleness Of
the girl who stands in tights in the
store window trying on neckties and
figure out how many meals she missed
before she exposed herself on that job
The Women's Educational and Indus
trial Union has maintained an employ
ment registry for women the last l3
months, has registered 2,658 women and
found some kind of work for 940 Of