The Washington times., 1938-09-13
CAREER WOMAN
Daily Short Story
,~~~~,-,~>~~~.~~~~By Charles McGuirk~

This Is no argument for or
against women in careers. Any
one trying to discuss such a thing
merely shows himself about so
years behind the times. Women
have come out of the home and
into the business and professional
world where they do as well and
often better than men.
No, this is no argument for or
against women in careers. 1t is
merely the chronicle of one of
them and what happened to her
and to her career.
Her name was Palfrey, Jane
Palfrey. She was a buyer for a
large and exclusive women'S wear
house and she made two trips
aboard a year and a salary OF
bout $4,000. She was tall and
Shapely. Her hair was mouse-col-
ored and she had sad eyes and sui
len lips. In the trade, she was
known as "The Ice Maiden" be-
cause Of her impatience with any
thing romantic.
YOUTHS INDULGENCE
But James impatience with ro-
mantle things was caused by an
over indulgence in romance which
occurred in her very early tWen-
ties, about 16 years before. There
wasn't anything dramatic about it.
It was lust one Of those love af-
fairs that turn out wrong-or
right, depending upon the amount
Of cynicism behind your outlook
on the world-and separate the
lovers.
Jane met william (BilD Slayton
in Secretarial school, where both
were completing a business course
which would, they hoped, turn
them into efficient secretaries.
This fact later was to develop into
James main objection to Bill as a
husband.
Why, she asked herself, should
o young man with so much prom
Use have no more ambition than to
become a secretary to some man
who wouldn't know half as much
as he did? But before that objec-
tion developed, Jane and Bill were
in love.
He was a tall, thin and blond
ish young man with light blue
eyes and a whimsical smile. He
was bashful and it was months be-
fore Jane could attract him to the
point of asking her to go to
movie with him. But from that
point on the affair developed rap
idly. They went everywhere to-
gether and they told each other
their ambitions.
James was to be Somebody and
TO get Somewhere. She didn't
know exactly what line she would
follow, but she knew that the end
Of it would be some nigh point.
Bill didn't seem to have much.
What he would have liked to do
was to become, an actor. Which
gives you an idea. But acting, he
knew, was always hard and al
ways uncertain and he had
mother and a kid sister to sup
port, SO he was taking something
sure and certain.
IF I were you, Bill, I'd take up
something else. I would at least
face life with the determination
to be my own boss. I'd plan to go
into business for myself"
IF you were me-" Bill smiled
at her, you'd do just what I'm
doing. It's the fact that I am
me that makes me want to do
what I want to do.v That's the
reason nobody can judge anybody
else, or advise him what to do"
JANE GETS AHEAD
Pretty much disgusted with his
line of reasoning and especially
with the man behind it, Jane
would let the matter rest. She
got a job in the Mercedes depart
ment store in midtown.
But she had a flair for design
ing and a Photographic memory
, for details. One day she asked to
be allowed to do some comparative
shopping. Her request was made
at a time when the store needed
comparative shoppers who go into
rival stores, not to buy but to
check on tn1 prices charged for
identical materials. From her first
trip, she brought accounts Of a
dress featured exclusively by Nee
mans, the Mercedes bittereSt
rival. Artists drew the dress from
her vivid description. Wholesale
dressmakers made it up and it was
put on sale at the Mercedes at
dollar cut in the price and the
Mercedes cleaned up OH it.
Bill, in the meantime, had gone
the way you would expect a per
son with his small ambition to go.
He got a job as a stenographer in
q big plumbing firm. He was paid
$40 a week to start. Two years
later he was still with the same
firm and still getting $40 a week.
Jane frankly nagged him now be-
cause he had asked her to marry
him.
They were sitting in a darkened
tnoving-picture theater watching
the unfolding Of q heroic tale in
which the hero, a lad from Brook
1yn, went down to South America
and on the pampaS outrode
gauchoes, outfought brigands and
won the heiresS Of the richest man
in Uruguay. 1t was a remarkable
story in that the hero had never
ridden a horse before he left
Brooklyn and had never fought
anything more dangerous than