PRIVATE COMMERCIAL SCHOOLS MANHATTAN and the BRONX REPORT OF The Committee to Investigate Private Commercial Schools Published by The Public Education Association of the City of New York 1918 EXCHANGE PRIVATE COMMERCIAL SCHOOLS MANHATTAN and the BRONX BY BERTHA j STEVENS Author, Boys and Girls In Commercial Work, Cleveland Foundation Education Survey, 1916. Co-author, Commercial Work and Training for Girls, Macmillan, 1915 1918 CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I THE PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THIS STUDY 12 A TYPICAL ILLUSTRATION 12 SOURCES OF PRELIMINARY INFORMATION 14 THE POINT OF VIEW 15 II A GENERAL SURVEY OF THE SCHOOLS 16 NUMBER, SIZE AND LOCATION OF SCHOOLS 16 SCHOOLS GROUPED ACCORDING TO TYPES 18 THE STUDENTS 22 THE TEACHING FORCE 25 COURSES OF STUDY 26 INDIVIDUAL INSTRUCTION 30 PERIOD AND COST OF INSTRUCTION 31 EQUIPMENT 32 FINDING POSITIONS FOR STUDENTS 34 THE SPIRIT OF RIVALRY 36 SUDDEN CLOSING OF SCHOOLS 38 THE MORTALITY OF SCHOOLS 41 THE RIGHT OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS TO EXIST 42 III THE PRODUCT OF THE SCHOOLS 46 SOURCES OF INFORMATION 46 LEAVING BEFORE GRADUATION 47 THE FATE OF 1035 TRAINED WORKERS 48 SOME INDIVIDUAL STORIES 53 ENGLISH TESTS FOR TRAINED WORKERS 56 WORKERS' OPINIONS ON THE NEED FOR HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION 66 AN INTENSIVE STUDY OF ONE SCHOOL'S PRODUCT 68 IV SOLICITATION OF PUPILS 78 PRIVATE COMMERCIAL SCHOOL SOLICITATION OF PUBLIC SCHOOL CHILDREN 80 THE EXTENT OF SOLICITATION 81 How CHILDREN'S NAMES ARE SECURED 81 METHODS AND ARGUMENTS USED BY SOLICITORS 82 THE INFLUENCE OF PRIVATE COMMERCIAL SCHOOLS WITH REGARD TO HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION 86 COUNTER -EFFORTS OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS 86 428899 CONTENTS (CONTINUED) CHAPTER PAGE V ADVERTISING METHODS 89 FORMS OF ADVERTISING 90 POLICY IN ADVERTISING 92 INVESTIGATION OF ONE SCHOOL 's ADVERTISING 93 GOOD ADVERTISING 96 VI THE NATURE OF OFFICE POSITIONS 99 THE FATE OF SEEMINGLY UNDESIRABLE STUDENTS 100 THE ALTERNATIVE OF FACTORY WORK 105 THE USE OF STENOGRAPHY AND BOOKKEEPING 106 AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE PUBLIC SCHOOL 117 VII PUBLIC CONTROL OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS 119 REGENTS' REGISTRATION 120 LEGALIZING THE SCHOOLS 124 THE CRUX OF THE PRIVATE COMMEECIAL SCHOOL SITUATION 125 THE INFLUENCE OF PUBLIC SCHOOL PRINCIPALS AND TEACHERS 126 EFFECTIVE CONTROL THROUGH PUBLIC SCHOOL EDU- CATION 128 SUMMARYfOF RECOMMENDATIONS 133 APPENDIX 135 LIST OF TABLES PAGB The entrance requirements and the length and cost of courses in 31 private commercial schools of Man- hattan and the Bronx. 21 Courses of study in 31 private commercial schools of Manhattan and the Bronx. 27 3 Kinds of English instruction in 27 private commercial schools of Manhattan and the Bronx. 29 4 Physical conditions in 31 private commercial schools of Manhattan and the Bronx. 33 5 Minimum wages demanded for graduates at 18 private commercial schools of Manhattan and the Bronx. 36 6 I/ist of private commercial schools of New York City published in Trow's directory five to ten years ago, but not listed 1916-1917. 41 7 Advice regarding High School education. Given to public school children by solicitors for private com- mercial schools. 85 8 First positions held by 30 graduates who left their commercial school at 16 years of age or younger. 102 9 Kinds of business represented by 182 office positions which made use of neither stenography nor book- keeping. Held by workers trained in one or both of. these subjects. 110 10 Analysis of 182 office positions which made use of neither stenography nor bookkeeping. Held by workers trained in one or both of these subjects. Ill LIST OF TABLES (CONTINUED) TABI,E PAGE 11 Numbers of stenographic, bookkeeping and other office workers employed in five business houses of Cleve- land, O. 115 12 Office positions held by untrained boys 14 to 18 years of age inclusive. 135 13 Office positions held by untrained girls 14 to 18 years of age inclusive. 139 14 Office positions held by boys 14 to 18 years of age in- clusive, who have had commercial training. 141 15 Office positions held by girls 14 to 18 years of age in- clusive, who have had commercial training. 142 LIST OF DIAGRAMS PAGE I Use of stenography and bookkeeping in 1641 office posi - tions held by 1035 trained workers. 50 II Duration of employment. Study of 697 office positions retained less than six months. Held by workers train- ed in private commercial schools. 51 III Wages in 1357 office positions held by workers trained in private commercial schools, 52 IV Ages of 185 office workers trained in one private com- mercial school. 69 V Kinds of positions held by 185 office workers trained in one private commercial school. 70 VI Duration of positions held by 185 office workers trained in one private commercial school. 70 VII Wages received by 185 office workers trained in one private commercial school. 71 VIII Use of stenography and bookkeeping in 370 office posi- tions held by trained boys and girls. 109 IX Use of stenography and bookkeeping in all office posi- tions held by employees under 21 years of age at the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. (September 1916). 113 COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE PRIVATE COMMER- MERCIAL SCHOOLS MRS. SIDNEY C. BORG, Chairman. MEMBERS* MRS. HENRY BRUERE, President, League for Business Opportunities for Women. GEORGE H. CHATFIELD, Assistant Director, Bureau of Attendance, School Census and Child Welfare, New York City. MRS. EDWARD C. HENDERSON, President, United Employment Bureau. HOWARD W. NUDD, Director, Public Education Association of the City of New York. MRS. WILLIAM W. ROSSITER, Young- Women's Christian Association, National Board. JOHN R. SHILLADY, Secretary, Mayor's Committee on Unemployment. MRS. ALEXANDER KOHUT, President, Federated Employment Bureau for Jewish Girls. MRS. HENRY A. STIMSON, President, Woman's Municipal League of New York City. Miss GERTRUDE ROBINSON-SMITH, President, Vacation Association. MRS. ROSE SOMME'RFELD, Resident Director, Clara De Hirsch Home. LIONEL SUTRO, ALBERT SHIELS, Director, Division of Reference and Research, Department of Education, New York City. Miss MARY VAN KLEECK, Secretary, Committee on Women's Work, Russell Sage Foun- dation. ARTHUR W. WOLFSON, Principal, Julia Richman High School. *A number of persons included in this list have, since the formation of the Committee, become identified with other organizations. ACKNOWLEDGMENT. The committee desires to acknowledge gratefully the voluntary aid of persons and organizations listed below. Most of the persons whose services were received, helped in the interviews with public school children. Miss Grace Speir, Mrs. J. S. Ward and Mrs. Edgar Strakosch contrib- uted time in especially generous measure. The organiza- tions permitted the investigation freedom to use their files, aided in giving an English test to graduates of commercial schools who came to them as applicants for employment, or contributed office facilities and clerical help. In addition to voluntary aid, the investigation had the assistance of Miss Jeannette Eaton in field work. % VOLUNTARY HELPERS Miss FLORENCE BLOCH, Superintendent, Federated Employment Bureau for Jewish Girls.* Miss IDA CARPENTER, Greenwich House. Miss GERTRUDE GRAYDON, School Visitor, Greenwich House.* MRS. B. STEUER, Emanuel Sisterhood.* Miss HARRIET B. LOWENSTEIN, Certified Public Accountant. MRS. CORA L, MAGNUS, Local School Board Member, District 18. Miss MARY MAROT, Visiting Teacher, Public Education Association of the City of New York. MRS. SlGMUND POLLITZER, Local School Board Member, District 13. *Now associated with another organization. 9 Miss GRACE SPEIR, Director, Vacation War Relief Employment Bureau.* MRS. EDGAR STRAKOSCH, Director, Federated Employment Bureau for Jewish Girls.* Miss EDITH ISOBEL THAIN, Local School Board Member. District 15. MRS. J. S. WARD, League of Business Opportunities for Women. CO-OPERATING ORGANIZATIONS ALLIANCE EMPLOYMENT BUREAU BUREAU OF ATTENDANCE, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION EXTENSION ROOMS FOR COMMERCIAL WORKERS FEDERATED EMPLOYMENT BUREAU FOR JEWISH GIRLS HUDSON GUILD METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY PUBLIC EDUCATION ASSOCIATION PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT BUREAU (CITY) STATE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT BUREAU VACATION WAR RELIEF EMPLOYMENT BUREAU YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION YOUNG WOMEN'S HEBREW ASSOCIATION *Now associated with another organization. 10 FORE-WORD. TO THE PUBLIC: The beginning of the European War manifested itself almost immediately in the disorganization created among the working classes. Hundreds of applicants for work ap- peared, women never before thrown on their own resources suddenly rinding themselves forced to earn a livelihood. Out of the chaos a few glaring facts presented themselves and obtruded as a real problem on the community; a mass of uneducated, ill-equipped women and girls entering the field as office workers, secretaries, etc. This question bore analysis, wherein lay the fault and how could this evil be remedied. With this object in view a survey of commer- cial schools was undertaken with the hope that the findings would appeal to the understanding public. Girls by nature ill-equipped for office work, leaving school at an early age, with little or no high-school training should be dissuaded from following a commercial calling. Certain educational requirements should be essential for entering these schools. Proper supervision and control of business schools should be mandatory. This volume in concise, comprehensive form pictures for us the actual condition of the pupils in commercial schools and the type of graduates frequently encountered, so handi- capped by lack of proper academic foundation as to make progress and advancement in their line of work almost im- possible. By raising the standards and demanding higher qualifications for entrance to the business schools we are aspiring to improve economic conditions and to elevate the type of youthful office workers ; and we are desirous of enlisting the cooperation of the intelligent public to help us in the realization of our aims. MADELEINE BORG, Chairman of the Committee. 11 CHAPTER 1. THE PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THIS STUDY. The purpose of this study has been to find out some of the causes which produce, in New York City, a large number of unemployable stenographers; and to make recommendations of a fundamental sort. The primary concern of the study has been, not the schools, but the workers. A seventeen year old girl came into the City Public Em- ployment Bureau, bringing with her a card of introduction from a prominent institution. The card read, "Introducing Miss Sarah Levine, a stenographer who is beginning her business life. I think she would make good if given an opportunity. Can you help her start?" Here was a present- able looking girl with an encouraging introduction. On the employment director's desk lay an employer's call for a stenographer who would be taken on trial, at first, in tem- porary work. It was a good opening with the possibility of permanency. Usually the City Public Employment Bureau sent new applicants to a central office to be given an efficiency and capacity test ; but the employer was in a hurry, and the girl was at hand. By way of compromise the employment di- rector decided to give her a brief test, himself. The short letter he then dictated we reproduce here, showing the false starts she made, as well as the completed final sheet. It is not necessary to say that this stenographer was not, in the end, referred to the position. 12 FIRST ATTEMPT ALTHOUGH MISS L. HAD BEEN SHOWN WHERE CARBON PAPER WAS KEPT, SHE USED LETTER HEAD, AND THE WRONG LETTER HEAD, FOR THE SECOND SHEET. Mr ~e York, New York SECOND ATTEMPT WRONG LETTER HEAD. LETTER HEAD, UP- SIDE DOWN, USED FOR SECOND SHEET. <= New York, H. Y., July, ^28,1916. Mr. Joyn, ANderson. 131, Eat. 23rd Wait^ Association forLabor legislation THIRD AND LAST ATTEMPT MISS L. SUBMITTED THIS AFTER 21 MINUTES AND THEN ASKED TO BE ALLOWED TO WRITE IT AGAIN. Hew York. H. I. July, 28, 1916. Mr. John 8. Anderson. 131 EAst 23rd ST. Wait seociation for Labor Legislation. the bearer Mise WMMM Levine. reokomended to me by Mr. of owMMMir Settlement. She is not a graduate from MMMK' School but baa attended iir'for six months and feels as She is competent* She has not been previously employed and, -I therefore intended to send her direct to the "Thade Extention Room irr for test and rate. Howevera as you aek me to be sure and send you some one on trial and temporary work to-day I will give her the opportunity and o also that she may be able to do Ohe work and satisfy your present need. One may well be sorry for the employer who has to be annoyed with girls like this one, or for the employment director who has to take the responsibility for placing them; but one should be most sorry for the girl herself. She had probably worked hard at her stenographic train- ing, and she had spent money that may have cost consider- able sacrifice. When she came seeking her first position, fortified with the introductory card, no doubt she thought she really was a stenographer, and that the reward of her work and sacrifice was at hand. Instead, she was to learn that she could not give satisfaction; that positions were to be found with difficulty, and that when she did secure them they were soon to be lost, because she could not make good. tCorrect form, Mr. John B. Andrews, American Association for Labor Legisla- tion. 'Correct form, Trade Extension Rooms. 13 There are many hundreds of young office workers in New York City of the calibre of this girl. Employers, em- ployment bureaus and social agencies know it. Many of them have, in their files, first hand evidence of the quality of the work which these young people offer. And, many girls, like this girl, have attended commercial schools for a period approximating six months and, at the end of that time, have left whether graduated or not. To inquire into the causes which produce the city's host of incapable steno- graphic workers, and to recommend fundamental changes, the present survey was made. The field of the survey covers private commercial schools of Manhattan and the Bronx. The effort has been made to learn something of all the schools, and to select for direct, detailed investigation those schools which are largely pat- ronized by children of elementary school preparation. There are about thirty schools of this class. As a preliminary step, we desired to get an appreciation of the situation from many angles. Interviews, seventy-six in number, were held therefore with the following persons : Public Education Officials, State and City. Principals and Teachers in Public Commercial Schools, New York City. Directors of Various Private Organizations Concerned with Education. (Local, state and national.) Former Managers of Private Commercial Schools in New York City. Persons in Charge of Commercial Instruction in Philanthropic Institutions in New York City. Officers and members of Associations Seeking to Raise the Standard of Commercial Education. The Conductor of Tests for a Typewriter Agency. Employers of Young Office Workers. Representatives of the Stenographers' Union. With a view to securing names or records of girls and boys who had attended private commercial schools of Man- hattan and the Bronx, an examination was made of the files of fifteen public and private organizations, ten of which 14 were employment bureaus. Through the aid of these or- ganizations we were able to get specific information con- cerning 1,682 young people, under twenty-one years of age, who have gone out from private commercial schools of Man- hattan and the Bronx since 1913. Some of this information was in the form of occupational records; some was in the form of specimen letters written by applicants ; and, in other cases, the information came through our home or office interviews with girls and boys whose names and addresses the organizations had supplied. For each succeeding chap- ter we have shown, in a foot note, the specific data upon which the information and conclusions of that chapter are based. This study started with a question, not a conclusion. The employment bureaus of New York City have a large demand for stenographers; and they have a large supply of candidates for stenographic work. But calls go unfilled because the applicants are unsuitable, incompetent, or inade- quately trained. The question is, what causes this situa- tion? A complete answer could be approached by an ex- amination of every training center in New York City private, parochial, philanthropic, public. This study has made a start by covering the private schools. But, let it be remembered that, in making this study, there has been no predisposition against any private school. The primary concern has been not the schools, but the workers. There are several private commercial schools in New York City, some large and some small, which are clearly contributing to the city's needs ; and to these the unfavorable generaliza- tions of this report do not apply. 15 CHAPTER 2. A GENERAL SURVEY OF THE SCHOOLS. Manhattan and the Bronx have 67 private commercial schools. In a group of 40, which includes all the larger schools, the day registration in the course of a year approximates 7,000; the night 6,000. Girls make up 85% of day and 60% of night registration. Most students are 15 and 16 years of age and are grad- uates of elementary schools; most of them take a course which includes stenography and bookkeeping, lasts six or seven months and costs $10 a month. Few teachers have had normal training. No normal training in specific commercial subjects is available. Most teachers conduct classes day and night. Most schools try to find their graduates' first positions; but a number of them accept for graduates a wage of $5 or $6 or place them in clerical positions which do not make use of their stenographic training. There is little rivalry between private and public com- mercial schools; but the competition among private schools is active and sometimes unscrupulous. Private schools sometimes close suddenly, with little or no warning to pupils. This was true of three schools in Manhattan last year. Private commercial schools have been the discoverers and pathfinders in commercial education. They antedate public commercial schools or courses in New York City by 37 years. This investigation has learned of sixty-seven private schools for business training, located in Manhattan and the Bronx. This number does not include schools maintained by charitable and religious interests. These sixty-seven Chapter 2 is based upon the following data: Direct investigation of 31 private commercial schools, detailed records being made of observations, and of interviews with the managers or principals. Two visits or more to all schools except the smallest. Study of the catalogs of these 31 schools with reference to course of study, cost, etc. Records of visits made by Bureau of Attendance to 40 private commercial schools. Lists of private commercial schools published in Patterson's directories, Trow s directories, Telephone Red Books, and the directory of the Educational Aid Interviews, with workers, with regard to the quality of instruction at the private commercial schools which they attended. Records made, in detail. Interviews with students and other persons regarding the character of three schools which closed suddenly. Records made, in detail. 16 schools are spread over a wide area; yet they are centered, to some extent, as follows: Vicinity of City Hall Lower East Side Central Manhattan Vicinity of 125th Street and Fifth Avenue Tremont There are a few scattered schools not included in this group- ing. Two divergent objectives in location are easily dis- cernible one to place the school in the heart of a business section with a view to giving the impression of close touch with business and for the sake of placement relations with employers; and one to place it in a neighborhood of the sort of homes from which the school will expect to draw its pupils. It has been impossible to find any complete information about the number of boys and girls educated annually by private commercial schools. From the Bureau of Attend- ance, whose agents visited private schools in the fall of 1916, we have figures for day and night registration at forty commercial schools of Manhattan and the Bronx. The schools which were not reported upon are known to be the smaller ones. The aggregate for day pupils, both boys and girls, is 4,516 and for night pupils 4,063. Among day pupils, girls made up 85 per cent ; among night pupils, 60 per cent. The maximum registration for a single school is 550. These figures do not, however, represent the year's total, because nearly all private schools have at least two shifts in a year's time and many schools have more than two. In the case of schools which have two shifts it is generally true that the second or summer shift is only two-thirds to one-half the size of the fall and winter shift. But the shifts are over- lapping rather than consecutive. We believe it is a con- 17 servative estimate to say that the number of day pupils registered at these forty private commercial schools during the past year was 7,000, and the number of night pupils was 6,000.* SCHOOLS GROUPED ACCORDING TO TYPES.* From the sixty-seven private commercial schools of Man- hattan and the Bronx, we have selected thirty-one for special investigation. These selected schools include all the larger ones, those which are most active in soliciting eighth grade pupils in the public schools, and those which offer special inducements in time or cost. Schools for ex- perts and those which could not be entered by inexperienced graduates from the public schools, we have not included. Judged by general standards of efficiency and reliability our thirty-one investigated schools seem to fall into five groups, thus : Group I, made up of schools superior in their equipment and in the calibre of their teaching force and students; Group II, representing competent schools which have good equipment and good teachers but students of varied types, less discriminatingly selected than in the case of the foregoing group; Group III, schools cheap in equip- ment, personnel and methods of advertising, and caring more for speed and numbers than for individual excellence ; Group IV, made up of schools of low standard, whose meagre equipment and dirty, neglected classrooms cannot expect to do more than prepare students to enter low grade positions; Group V, representing schools which are unscrupulous in their dealings with their students or the pub- lic. In educational facilities the schools of Group V are similar to the schools of Groups III or IV. The methods they employ are set forth in Chapters 4 and 5. *In 1916, 1,687 pupils were graduated from commercial courses in the High Schools of New York City. This figure does not include persons who took commercial subjects in academic courses *For number of schools included in each group see Table 4, page 33. 18 It is possible that the characteristics of these groups may be more clearly recognized if some quotations are made from the visitor's recorded impressions of schools and managers : SCHOOLS OF GROUP I. This school is as impressive in its dignity and beauty as many private academic schools are . . . One has a feeling that educational purpose and high busi- ness ideals are as important to the school as the suc- cess of its commercial enterprise. It gives the im- pression of being, if not keenly alive to changing demands in business, at least well deserving of its established reputation for thoroughness and quality. The distinction of this school seems to be its careful training of pupils, its high minimum wage and the confident assurance of success which lifts it above the level of unscrupulous or undignified competition. It impressed the visitor as a good, wide-awake business school wherein students could find efficient, special- ized training; but there was no discernible atmos- phere of idealism or general educational interest. SCHOOLS OF GROUP II. The chief asset of the school is the personality of the principal and the shorthand teacher. This was shown in their wholesome, dignified appearance, their earnestness in dealing with the pupils, and their direct and intelligent discussion of school matters with the visitor. The place was clean and honest, and one would not be afraid to recommend it to a poor young person in search of specific training. The proprietor, a scholarly looking man, said he had heard of this investigation and proceeded to ask a few direct and very reasonable questions regarding its method and purpose. He is a man of intelligence 19 and culture, and well informed in matters relating to education generally. The admirable organization and equipment of his own school are evidence of his standards. One wondered why, with all this, so few students of maturity or more than elementary edu- cation were attracted to it. SCHOOLS OF GROUP III. This is a small, makeshift sort of a school, crowded into a few rooms on the second floor of a store build- ing. Two distinct impressions came to the visitor at once : the cheap character of the school and the plaus- ible, intelligent discussion of the principal, who is quick-minded and very alert to the investigator's point of view. If the principal practised his ideas, the school ought to be a fine thing which it does not appear to be. The whole enterprise seemed shoddy, as if undercapitalized. The school in general, gives the impression of living by its wits and of being "up to the minute" in new methods and new ideas in commercial education and in its policy of adaptability to conditions; but it seemed to spread itself too thin. We did think, how- ever, that the purpose of the school is to be frankly honest in all its representations. SCHOOLS OF GROUP IV. The first reaction was that nothing good could be said of the school. It seemed to be making its money by fitting low grade pupils for low grade positions, and to be doing this in the kindly guise of working for the good of the young and for the promotion of efficiency. The manager had an air of fatherly kind- ness and showed a certain subtlety in giving all the right answers. But, before the visit was over, the 20 investigator was impressed with the relation of good will existing between teachers and pupils ; and, also, she felt that the degree of attention the teachers se- cured was a thing to be commended. The emphasis of the school's advertising and the re- marks of the principal lead one to suppose that this school considers itself a sort of social center or settle- ment for its foreign neighbors. In conversation the principal seemed intelligent, very much in earnest and alert to general questions of commercial educa- tion ; but the dark, dingy classrooms and the untidy children who rilled them seemed to tell a different story. In Table 1 which follows we have gathered together, ac- cording to the groups just described, some of the more im- portant things required and offered by the several schools. The information here given was obtained from printed catalogs or by interviews with proprietors or principals of the schools. One school offers a much shorter period of instruction (one and one-half months) and another school a much lower cost of instruction ($35) than anything indi- cated by the table. We are unable to include this informa- tion in the tabulation because in so doing we should reveal these schools' identity. TABLE 1 : SUMMARY OF WHAT IS REQUIRED AND OFFERED BY 31 SCHOOLS, MANHATTAN AND THE BRONX. Group Age of Majority of Pupils Academic Preparation of Majority of Pupils Range of Usual Period of Instruction Cost Range for Usual Course of Instruction No. of Schools which Guarantee Positions I 16-20 years Some H. S. Ed. 6-10 mos. $60-$180 None II 15-17 years 8th grade 3- 8 mos. 55- 65 None III 15-17 years 8th grade 3- 7 mos. 45- 65 5 IV 15-16 years 8th grade 6- Indefinite 48- 55 2 V (Information included by Groups III and IV.) 21 THE STUDENTS. The usual age of students is from fifteen to seventeen years, the greater number being not older than fifteen. This means that few are old enough to have had more than a year or two of high school education ; and the large majority have not passed beyond the elementary schools. Com- menting upon this point one principal said, "Fifteen or twenty years ago the age of all pupils in private business schools was much more advanced, and a girl under eighteen or nineteen was an exception. But now the tendency is to take young people into an office at a much earlier age be- cause office work has been so reduced to routine, by the in- troduction of efficiency methods, that young and inexperi- enced girls without much education can be valuable." The idea expressed in this opinion is discussed in Chapter 6. None of the schools investigated requires high school grad- uation for entrance; one school insists upon some high school education and makes an effort to get graduates; and all other schools, except three, require elementary graduation. More than half the thirty-one investigated schools recruit their entire enrollment from elementary school graduates immediately or soon after graduation ; the remainder of schools have a mixture of pupils who have preparation ranging from eighth grade to second year high school although, even here, the majority enrollment is of eighth grade pupils. Three schools admit the acceptance of pupils who have less than eighth grade preparation, we have said, but they claim that such pupils are a small minority. When asked about the policy of admitting students to the school, managers and principals seemed ready to discuss the matter with unreserved frankness. Six schools asserted that they never refused admission on the ground of unfit- ness, provided the requirements in age and school grade were met. Only two schools claimed to give any sort of 22 formal entrance examination. The attitude of the few best schools is summarized in the statements of the first two principals quoted below; but the three statements that fol- low represent the attitude of most of the schools. 1. "Undoubtedly, many pupils choose this work wrongly, as is proved by their after-experience; but it is extremely difficult to tell this at the time they enter upon it. There are all grades of office work, and we expect to prepare pupils for any one of them; but we always take pupils on pro- bation one month, and in the course of a year we reject a number of them." 2. "We always take pupils on trial; and, after one month, it is possible to tell whether they will be successful or not. No honest school would pre- tend that it could find this out at the beginning by testing pupils. If a pupil proves unable to do the work, the parents are informed of it, and the money paid in is refunded except enough to cover the expense of stationery and supplies used." 3. "We do not turn pupils away. We make what we can of them. Sometimes we can only fit them for the lowest grades of work, but, in so doing, we save them from the factory or the shop." 4. "If I don't take their money, some one else will, and perhaps I can do a better thing for them than some other school can." 5. "I do not believe in fixed requirements, I think every pupil ought to have a chance; and, by our individual system of instruction, we find out ex- actly what a pupil is worth. Like a business house, we take them on trial. If they cannot suc- ceed, we tell their parents. No, not many are dropped in this way. Almost every one can do something in the business world. If they leave after a trial, of course we charge for the month. It should not be our risk." 23 The question of refunding money does not seem to the schools a serious one; for in the majority of cases advance payments are made from month to month only, so that a pupil who drops out because of inability to succeed loses no more than a month's tuition and probably less than that. The fact remains, however, that some schools which do not allow a refund offer a slight reduction for the payment of three months' tuition or more in advance. If pupils who have entered into this arrangement drop out, their loss is considerable; but, in order to avoid loss, they are likely to continue in school even though they are not profiting from the instruction. The types of pupils who make up the enrollment of the private schools are too various for generalization ; yet with- in the groups described above there is a degree of similarity. Thus, some idea of the types can be given by quoting briefly from the records those impressions which are typical : The pupils were pleasing to the visitor's observation. They seemed bright, attractive young people who came, apparently, from favored homes. Many of them were mature. It is probable that they would, on the whole, be acceptable and competent in a business office. The concentration of the class was marked. A School of Group I. They were a good-looking group clean and of at least average intelligence. They were simply, but well dressed, and appeared to represent comfort- able circumstances. But many of them looked too young for wage earning. A School of Group II. The students were observed as they came from the school at dismissal. We saw a colorless stream of youngsters, sent, one would say, from financially struggling homes. There may have been a num- ber of foreigners among them, but the effect was of a group of American-born children, with Ameri- can traditions. A School of Group HI. 24 Children of fourteen, fifteen and sixteen years. While they looked bright and responsive in the casual glance allowed the visitor, the majority of them were poorly dressed and not clean, and there was something about them that seemed to betray the fact that a large portion of their lives was spent in the New York streets. Most of them appeared to be foreign born or of foreign parentage. A School of Group IV. THE TEACHING FORCE. If the ideal preparation for a commercial teacher is a combination of academic education (high school or college), pedagogical training, technical training in the subject he is to teach, and practical experience in business, it might be hard to find many ideal teachers. Only one school of those visited claimed insistence upon normal school training. Very few schools consider experience in business a requisite qualification. A number of schools state that they employ as teachers only those who have at least a high school diploma. In the schools of Groups I and II and in some other schools, teachers who are college or university gradu- ates may be found. In these groups and in Group III there are a few principals and teachers who have written texts; or who are prominent in associations seeking to raise the standard of commercial education. By contrast, in schools of Groups III and IV there are evidences of actual illiteracy in the managerial or teaching force. An example of this was given by the principal who said, "We can boast on our school." Managers claim that it is difficult to get good teachers. The sources commonly used are commercial agencies, the typewriter companies and lists of their own graduates. There is considerable interchange of teachers among private commercial schools, as this chapter demon- strates later; there is less interchange between public and private schools. Two of the schools visited make a specialty 25 of giving training to teachers. They offer, however, not pedagogy but intensive work in the subjects that are to be taught. Commercial school teachers learn, as a rule, by doing. It is in the best schools that the older, more experi- enced teachers are found. One large school reports that it has no teacher in its employ who has been at the school fewer than fourteen years. This, of course, is an exceptional situation. In the whole body of schools there are more young teachers than middle aged ones, and more men teachers than women. The teachers in private commercial schools must expect night classes as well as day ones. The situation is relieved in a few schools by requiring the day teachers to be on duty the first part of the evening only and employing extra teachers to care for the latter part. One school reports that it uses the services of its day force only three nights a week and that extra teachers take charge of the other two nights. Nearly all teachers have "y ear 'round" engage- ments ; however, as a rule, their afternoons after one o'clock are free in summer. The minority have Christmas or Easter vacations for the period allowed by the public schools. It has been impossible to learn much about salaries; but schools have corroborated one another in saying that $25 a week is considered by most teachers "good pay." COURSES OF STUDY. Nearly all the thirty-one schools visited, except those established for specialized work, offer three courses : Sten- ography, Bookkeeping (also called Accounting, Business, or Commercial Course) and the "Secretarial" course. The Stenography course is, in a few cases, concerned with short- hand and typing only. More commonly it includes spelling, penmanship and business forms or some other form of English teaching. In the minority of schools, it includes office practice, legal forms and filing. One school adds 26 mental arithmetic. The Bookkeeping course may be book- keeping only, with perhaps some drill in rapid calculation. More commonly, it includes banking, commercial arith- metic and penmanship. The minority of schools offer commercial law, office practice and English in connection with the Bookkeeping course. The Secretarial course as- sumes its title in some schools, no doubt, because other schools use it. No school wants to lose patrons because of the omission of this fine-sounding name. As a matter of fact, a real secretarial course preparing mature pupils of good general education for work of special responsibility, is offered in only three of these schools. The so-called "Secretarial" course is really, in most cases, a combination of the Stenography and Bookkeeping courses; and anyone admitted to the school is considered eligible to take it. Two schools give a secretarial course which might more appro- priately be named "clerical assistant." This includes neither stenography nor bookkeeping, but is concerned with office practice, filing and penmanship. In any school of general character, most pupils take the combined stenographic and bookkeeping course, whether called "secretarial" or by some other name. The second largest group take the stenog- raphy course. The thirty-one schools divide thus on the basis of courses offered : TABLE 2: COURSES OFFERED IN 31 PRIVATE COMMERCIAL SCHOOLS OF MANHATTAN AND THE BRONX. Courses Offered. No. of Schools Stenography, Bookkeeping, "Secretarial" Course 19 Stenography, Bookkeeping, Typing 1 Stenography, Bookkeeping, 4 Stenography, Bookkeeping, Typing, Accounting.. 1 Stenography, "Secretarial" Course 1 Stenography, Telegraphy 1 Shorthand, Typing 1 Shorthand, Advanced Shorthand 1 Secretarial Course 1 Filing 1 27 When one private commercial school principal was asked about the need for intensive study of bookkeeping in the general commercial course, he said sardonically, "It has the value of holding pupils five or six months longer than they would otherwise stay. For my own part, I do not wish to increase my income at unnecessary expense to my pupils. I can give them all the bookkeeping they need in a very short time enough to understand the principles and to be able to keep simple accounts." Some of the older and more conservative schools are, conscientiously we are sure, giving a large share of attention to bookkeeping, believing in its value as mental training and in its general practical use. It is safe to say, however, that in the majority of schools book- keeping is learned from a long drawn out text which carries the student, self-taught, practically, from point to point ; and that it is a time-consuming, complicated matter of difficult details. The somewhat common practice of supplying text books free to students seems to work out badly in connec- tion with the teaching of bookkeeping. In order to save itself expense, a school may be using antiquated texts, which cost at least one-third less than the current editions and are poorly adapted to the changes in the bookkeeping of modern business. If the purchase of books were the pupil's expense, a school would not be tempted to use any but the best and newest publications. We have the statements of twenty-seven school prin- cipals relative to the teaching of English in stenography courses. The statements may be summarized thus : 28 TABLE 3 : KIND OF ENGLISH INSTRUCTION IN 27 SCHOOLS OF MANHATTAN AND THE BRONX I Instruction No. of Schools General instruction in English composition to all pupils 11 General instruction in English composition to any pupils who are not high school graduates.. 1 Instruction in the writing of business forms. (Given in two schools through the medium of occasional lectures) 8 No claim to any English instruction. (Separate academic preparatory classes in three schools wherein pupils may receive Eng- lish instruction if they desire. This given at extra cost, except in one school.) The schools which confine their English instruction to "business forms" are, unfortunately, those with an enroll- ment made up chiefly of children whose education is eighth grade or less, and whose need of drill in English structure and composition is urgent. One principal describes the course in business forms thus: "The students learn how a business man expresses himself in a letter. They are given an exercise in writing a dunning letter to meet several conditions, such as a debtor's inability, unwillingness or negli- gence to pay; also special circumstances, such as a mistake in a bill, which prevent immediate settle- ment. We grant that the teaching is not for the purpose of providing English instruction in com- position, punctuation, etc., but to impress upon students the form of a letter, the beginning and ending, and the ideas it means to convey." From the whole description of the English work in this school, we should conclude that it amounts to nothing as education in essentials. Furthermore, judging from the business letters referred to in Chapter 3, which 428 busi- ness-trained young people wrote as a test for this investi- 29 gation, it would appear that the most obvious result of such instruction is to give an impression to students that the ideals in business correspondence are the omission of all first person pronouns and the lavish use of abbreviations for almost any sort of word. INDIVIDUAL INSTRUCTION. The "individual instruction" commonly advertised by private commercial schools is a method of teaching which good or bad is enforced upon the majority of them. It is the only method adaptable to a group of students uneven in their attainments and capacity. It is true that the greater number of New York City schools show homogeneity in the general character of their students, the age being fifteen or sixteen and the preparation, as a rule, eighth grade; but these students do not enter or leave together. With the exception of the best schools, registration, dropping out and graduation go on all through the year. There are, as a rule, no set dates for beginning and ending. Under such conditions strict grading is impossible and students must have their lessons assigned and explained individually or in very small groups. Class work, which is so rarely pos- sible, has the advantage of general discussion; it gives to students the chance to profit by each others' mistakes and to teachers an opportunity to find out what the students do not know or understand. In the poorer schools, where individual instruction is the only kind given, students may drift along in a vague, unintelligent way. They have little or no home work ; and the written work done in class does not, students say, receive a teacher's careful correction. In the shorthand and typing work, however, there is a definite standard by which a student can measure himself at any time. That is his "speed" ; and when he can achieve a given number of words a minute he is a "finished" person ready to be offered to business. The best schools offer a combina- 30 tion of individual instruction and class work. They are able to do this because the longer course they give makes for uniformity in beginning and ending, and only one shift of students can be completely prepared in the space of one year. The size of classes varies with the size of the school. The maximum number found in one class was seventy-five; a more usual number was forty. PERIOD AND COST OF INSTRUCTION. The period of instruction, as shown previously, ranges from one and one-half months to a year. In nearly all schools the course of study is of indeterminate length. Several advertise three months or less; a few expect to keep pupils from nine months to a year; for the majority of schools the expected time is six months. The cost of a course in which stenography and bookkeep- ing are taught varies from $35 to $180, according to the school one chooses. The majority of schools charge ten dollars a month, and expect payments to be made in advance monthly. Payment in advance, of the whole cost of tuition or a considerable part of it, is rewarded usually with a slight reduction in cost. That some schools do not have a fixed price for a course but adapt the amount to what the stu- dent can or will pay, was indicated in the statements here quoted. They are taken from the records of interviews with girls who attended schools of Group IV. "One of the curious things at this school was the way they charged. Everyone paid different tui- tion fees. It depended on how much they knew about how to make a bargain. I paid $65, another girl paid $40 and another $75, etc. That struck me funny like a fish counter!" "Some paid $50 or $55, some $60, some $75. He charged according to family conditions. It was the poor people who only paid $50 and the rich ones $75. Why not?" 31 Most of the schools in Groups I and II require students to purchase text books ; in most of those in Groups III and IV text books are loaned by the school, free of charge. We have already referred to this in our discussion of the teaching of bookkeeping. EQUIPMENT. Typical equipment for instruction in the majority of schools consists of ordinary school desks with typewriters of various manufacture. One school of the thirty-rone visited, provides its pupils with office desks and cabinet typewriters. In some schools the number of typewriters is not adequate to the number of pupils ; in some the variety of typewriters is insufficient; and in others there is such lack of room that pupils are required to study or even recite in typewriting rooms while the typewriters are in use. In three schools the traditional cages, simulating the bank- ing offices of business, were found in use as a method of teaching bookkeeping. Office practice equipment is some- what meagre except in one school which specializes in it. Most schools have none; seven have small filing cabinets for the pupil's instruction ; and a smaller number have dup- licators, comptometers, adding and dictating machines or other office devices. Not all schools have adequate black- board space. So far as we were able to learn, three schools make some effort to maintain a commercial library and two have a lantern for lecture puposes. In spite of the fact that the equipment, generally, is limited, it can be said that there is likely to be an air of business and system even where the actual tools and furniture of business are lacking; and that for teaching the specific subjects of stenography and bookkeeping, without allied subjects or practice in general office routine, the equipment in most schools is of fair ade- quacy. But we believe that for a complete commercial course, worthy of the name, the majority of schools are under-equipped. The condition of classrooms and the na- ture of the buildings which house the schools are set forth in Table 4 which follows: 32 u c3 4) O co a 1 = "co- ,- cu A -w J -T3 co G O < J2 - o ^ 1111 o -a ^lg-sl ^-G-a.s O C App hoc ^ IS rt 73 **i ^ 8 o a^ co OT o - -M t+H oj < r3 o 3 to cu ' " O" 2 s ^ t, rt gj" 4) ^ 11 =.5 1=1 = Class-rooms are dingy and neglected looking, although the reception office may be presentable. Stairways dirty in all and in two schools too narrow. il" co rt G U)'* O G O i'n CO ton: G 3 - ^ PQ 3 ife S 3 3 ft tx^ C 7 ^^^y ^f^ttz^l 4 ^/^W^ v / t// 61 MR. JOHN WILSON Brown and Wilson 549 Broadway New York City Dear Sir: I would like to apply for the position of stenographer, I am twenty years of age. Having left public School in the fifth grade. Am attending Business School for the past eight months, having just my school experience. I will accept $9.00 a week to start. Trusting you will give my application careful considera- tion. And send me an early reply, Respectfully, MR. JOHN WILSON, 549 Broadway, New York City. Dear Sir : In looking up in today's "World 3 ' having a vacancy for a bookkeeper and typist. I will start with $7.00. I went in Business School. Yours truly, 62 MR. JOHN WILSON, c/o Brown & Wilson 549 B'way. N. Y. C Dear Sir: Respectfully apply for the position of stenographer at your office. Am twenty (20) years of age, honest, willing, and ambii- tious. Have graduated from an academic high school. Also, studied stenography and typewriting at for six months. Am a speedy and accurate stenographer. Have had a few years experience in same, and have references to show that I am Al. Desire $15.00 per week at the start. Trusting, that you will call for me, and test my abilities, I am, Yours very truly, MR. JOHN WILSON, c/o Messrs. Brown & Wilson Co., 549 Broadway, New York City. Dear Sir: Beg to make application for a position as stenographer with your firm. Am a Christian young lady 20 years of age, with one year's high school education ; also a graduate of Business College. Was employed in the accident insurance business for over four years, acting in the capacity of policy-writer for three years, and stenographer and dictaphone operator for the remainder of the time. Would appreciate a salary of $12.00. Hoping to receive a favorable reply at your earliest con- venience, I am, Yours truly, 63 Some letters, in other respects fairly good, have disclosed in the opening sentences the writer's ignorance. Others with unconscious irony used poor English in the very phrase that makes a request for high wages. Illustrations of both sorts are cited : "Hearing of an omition in your place for a stenogra- pher, I would like to apply for the position." "In applying for a position as a stenographer in your concern, I am sixteen years of age! 3 "On seeing your advertisement in the todays world would apply for the position as stenographer." "In answer to your letter as a stenographer beg to say I am 17 years old." "I have formerly been getting $10.00 per week and which salary I now desire." "The amount of salary / believe to deserve is $10.00 per week." "Being that I had some experience I would like $10.00." "Referring to salary, I would expect Ten Dollars for Start." "I am looking for a position as stenographer, type- writter, office routine and detailed work $15/1800." The paragraphs of comment were, on the whole, much worse than the letters. The reason may be that special training is commonly given in the letter form. In many cases a letter written in fairly good English was followed by a paragraph of extremely poor construction. We wonder if anyone can read these statements without being stirred to do something to prevent the teaching of stenography to such unprepared young pupils. The comment, apart from its test value, gives us the opinion of young office workers relative to High School education, as we have already 64 pointed out. Workers who have had a year or more of experience, are in a position to check up their advantages and handicaps with whatever the demands of business may have been ; and it is worth while to know what these work- ers think. It was to be expected, perhaps, that those who had attended High School should, as a rule, speak of its merits, and that not a few of those who had no High School education should confess a deeply felt need for it. Some applicants understood the question to call for a comparison of public and private commercial schools. The following quotations illustrate faults in English. The succeeding ones give the most clearly expressed comments regarding the office worker's needs in education. The italics are ours. Examples of Deficient English: 1 "Referring to the education of a stenographer in either High School or Business School, it is splendid. Prepares a person ready for the busi- ness life and not only that but it is a very good thing to know. In case of a hurry and are in need of copyng a letter, just take it dozvn in shorthand. The High School as far as being concerned I think teach it much better the class as a whole all keep to-gether, and being in Business School you take it up yourself the teacher is just there to see and to correct you if a mistake is made. But taking it all to-gether they are both very good." 2 "I believe a person having a good high school educa- tion, aids them in being a good stenographer; for the following reasons; that one mind is broadened and is more capable of filling a good position, and also makes one more intelligent!' 3 "In being a stenographer with a high school educa- tion, I think that a firm would be more successful with same, as she has more facts about that course, that is, more broad minded as (has) she has had more years of training than a business school steno- grapher has. 65 A high school stenographer before she finishes her course, she has to pass a regents exams, and that makes her more capable of fulfilling this position." 4 "High School education will help us a great, if we ever wish to become a stenographer, why because English is the only important factor, whether we are extremely rapid typist, really the whole of it rest on our ability as perfect spellers, and a clear knowledge of English, and our memory and power of concentration, proofing that high school does give us the chance to improve our spelling and the power of memorizing." Opinions on the Need for High School Education: 1 "I believe the value of a High School education to a stenographer is not realized until she enters a business life. The ability to recognize and cor- rect an ungrammatical sentence hurriedly dic- tated, saves the employer many irritating mo- ments and enables the stenographer to feel that her education has been of some use, tho in a small way." 2 "The high school graduate has not only had time to become thoroughly familiar with the spelling of ordinary, every-day, words but has had many opportunities to learn a large number of new ones, so that she does not have to waste her em- ployer's time whenever there is a word at all unusual. This alone would be enough to show the superiority of a high school graduate." 3 "Does a stenographer, to be a good stenographer, require a high school education? This is a ques- tion that has been asked many times. It is my opinion that a high school education, while a very valuable asset, is not an absolute necessity. True, to be a thoroughly efficient stenographer, one must be able to spell, must know at least the fundamentals of grammar, and have a fairly good command of English. Eight years of conscientious study in the elementary 66 school should be a pretty fair starter; a little studying each evening at home, and the library, with its wonderful opportunities, should enable everyone to obtain this knowledge, if he really desires to improve himself and thus, of course, better his opportunities." 4 "I did not go to high school^ but I think it would have been better, if I would have gone there. Be- cause I see other girls that are stenographers and graduates of High School are better off than I am. They are better because they get a better education there than in any business school." Private and Public Commercial Schools Compared: 1 "My opinion of the education given in High School is that in High School one cannot get familiar with the business world so well as in business schools. In High School, teachers have not the time to go out and find the real style of business teaching, because they teach other sub- jects as well as commercial subjects. In business school you come in contact with business people, therefore I would advise girls to go to business schools and finish their course in a few months, and they will know just as much as a High School graduate." 2 "A high school education is a valuable asset to any stenographer. First, because the study of English is given a prominent part in the curricu- lum of studies, and a knowledge of English is essential to a good stenographer. Second, because stenography and typewriting are taught more slowly, and for that reason better, than is possible in business schools. Last, for the reason that a girl is, in the majority of cases seventeen or eighteen years of age when she graduates, and a business school graduate is about fifteen." 3 "I think a High School education is very good. You have plenty of time and there is no hurry 67 and scramble to get through the work as you can't finish before the rest. Then you are sure that the teachers are not trying to push you through as it is neither their gain or loss. Indi- vidual training' (advertised by private commer- cial schools) is not good. Class work is better because many times you think you understand and when a girl asks a question you profit by her mistakes . . . ." 4 "The environment at high school freshens up the stenographer and it is that which puts an inter- est in her work, as for inst. the teachers, the so- cial, athletic and literary activities of the school, the comrades, all are of the best source as only the Board of Education would allow and supply ; these put together make up a full fledged sten- ographer in due time." 5 "High School education in the equipment of a stenographer is very good. My reasons for this opinion are in the first place you have the regu- lar school hours and I think the teachers take more time and have more patience in explaining a subject more thoroughly and the pupils are not so afraid to ask questions when they do not un- derstand the subject being explained the first time." 6 "In the business world, we find the more we know of other things than stenography, the more fitted we are for the position we hold. In high school, we learn how to increase our vocabulary, the use of English, and other studies necessary for prog- ress in business." INTENSIVE STUDY OF ONE SCHOOL'S PRODUCT. The product of one private commercial school has been made an object of special study. The school selected was one which we believed to be fairly representative of a large number of ordinary, moderate-priced schools which offer 68 no special inducements and exercise no special discrimina- tion in the kind of pupils they undertake to instruct. It is one of the largest schools in New York and it has been established here for a number of years. The pupils come "from everywhere," as its manager states, although nearly all live within the boundaries of Greater New York. Prob- ably the clientele is as cosmopolitan as that of any school in the city. The employment bureau records, upon which we have based statistical studies in the first part of this chapter, give information for a total of 185 girl office work- ers who have gone out from this school since 1913. The diagrams which follow set forth this information. Eighty per cent of the group took their business training course soon after leaving elementary school. We can, therefore, conclude that many of those who were seventeen or eighteen years of age at the time of registration at the employment bureaus, must have had, when they came to the bureaus one year or two years of experience in wage earning. In many cases, those who were over eighteen must have had ex- perience of more than two years' duration. Diagram IV shows that more than two-thirds of the workers studied were over seventeen years of age. DIAGRAM IV. Under 15 years 1.7 15 and 16 years 29.7 17 and 18 years 49.7 [ Over 18 years 1B.9 [_ Analysis of 185 records of office workers trained in one school. Shows age of persons represented in Diagrams V, VI, VII. 69 The records contain information for 293 positions held by these 185 workers. Diagrams V, VI and VII, showing the kinds of positions, their duration and the wages received in them, are presented in such a manner that they may be compared; and they should be considered, also, in relation to the facts about age shown by Diagram IV. A summary of the findings might be put thus : The majority of work- ers included in this study were over seventeen years of age. The majority of positions held by these workers made definite use of stenographic or bookkeeping training; but the majority of positions were held for less than six months and compensated by less than $8. A close study of the wage figures shows that three per cent of the positions received less than $6. DIAGRAMS V, VI, VII. V. KINDS OF POSITIONS HELD. Stenography ^ Q Book-keeping Clerical 22.1 Other VI. DURATION OF POSITIONS. Less than 6 mos. 50.5 6 mos. to 1 year 27.0 1 year and over 22.5 I 70 VII. WAGES RECEIVED. Under $6 8.7 f I $6 and $7 48.6 | 1 $8 and $9 30.2 | ; $10 and over 12.5 [ Analysis of 293 positions. Held by 185 office workers trained in one school. We have visited at their homes and interviewed person- ally twenty girls whom this school has trained. Those girls were chosen whose application at the employment bureaus had been recent and whose addresses were most clearly re- corded; thus they constitute what is practically a random list. They live in several sections of the city and attended the school at periods which for the most part do not coin- cide ; for these reasons we conclude that these girls probably do not know one another in more than an occasional in- stance. Yet certain phases of their comment, dealing with the honor rather than the educational calibre of the school, met striking corroboration. The idea is prevalent among these students that the school is not honest in financial mat- ters, large or small ; that pupils may be failed purposely in order that more tuition money may be received and that, to this end, final examinations are given only at intervals of two weeks or more. While it may generally be considered to the credit of a school not to graduate students until they are ready for graduation, we are led to believe that some other element than the student's advantage may enter, in the case of this particular school; for, in the course of all 71 our follow-up interviews with students of other schools, no accusations were offered such as the students of this school, almost without exception, made. It was further charged by the students that undue profit is gained from the books and supplies which the school compels the students to purchase from its stock. We selected this school for special study, as we have said, because we believed it was a typical, aver- age school. We cannot now consider, however, that it is average in so far as the students' relation to it is con- cerned. In only one school included in our investigation was such criticism encountered. Students' opinions regarding the quality of instruction were less in agreement ; and when divergence occurs among so small a group as twenty we cannot attach much significance to what is said. We should make it clear, however, that several of those who condemned the school's practices in financial matters commended the instruction. A survey of the opinions of the group showed five pupils who endorsed the school on the ground of scholarship, eight who said it should not be endorsed on any ground, and seven who re- frained from committing themselves. Of those five who stated, in answer to a direct question, that they would recommend the school, it should be said that one has never held or wished to hold an office position and so has had no real opportunity to test her training ; and one was reported upon as inefficient when her employer was visited. The interviews with some of those students who do not favor the school either in its policy or its methods of in- struction, are here quoted from our records verbatim : Frances L. Thinks the instruction was good on the whole. Had some trouble at first in learning the ways of her employer but thinks this was to be expeted. Said in criticism that the school makes too much profit on stationery and supplies; and that if one does not "watch out" there are likely to be mis- 72 takes in the monthly bills to the student's disadvantage. Claimed she had known of instances in which an extra quar- ter of a term was incorrectly charged. Said, "If you object to a mistake and can point out exactly what is wrong, the school will correct it." Rose B. The girl's mother did most of the talking. She exclaimed, "All dat money, all dat money, and no help from de school ! What dey do for you ? Nothing." Rose's objection was that the school was commercial in its spirit ; that it failed to find positions ; that the instruction was not very thorough and that the school tried its best to "keep you back." She said that, when students take examinations at the end of each set of lessons, "they try to fail you and they fail you extra." Rose W. This girl, tall, lanky and sharp-faced, said, "I didn't like that school very well. I did not care much for the teachers; they did not pay any attention to you but you had to go ahead and get it all yourself. They tried to hold you back, you know. If you don't pass your final examination you have to pay a month extra." Elsie B. Stated that it is the plan at this school to advance pupils from one shorthand teacher to another whenever a cer- tain speed is reached. There are four teachers in all and this changing about, Elsie said, is confusing because all teachers do not write alike even when the same system is used. She se- cured her first position herself but did not get along very well because she was nervous in taking dictation. She said, "Em- ployers talk first fast and then slow, while the dictation at school is measured by a watch." Rose K. A gnome-like little person, dwarfed almost to the point of deformity. "If I would 'a' known," she said, "I never would have gone to no business school. I was going around 73 mont' after mont' and couldn't get no position, so I lost all my speed. Some schools, like , shows you different tings, like de filings, and all dat, but not dis school." When asked why she had gone she said, "De agent boddered me so." Clara K. This girl said she had "some experience in High School" but had to stop because her father failed in business. "I got through at business school before six months were up," she said. 'They couldn't keep me back." "Did they try?" she was asked. "Yes, they did. They tried to keep me from taking the examinations. When I had nearly finished the final examination the teacher called me to the telephone and then refused to let me make up the time, and because of this she said I must wait and take it all over again." Lena S. Undersized and apparently unhealthy. Apart- ment poor yet not indicative of extreme poverty. Talked fast and eagerly against the school and had nothing good to say of it. Said, "They skin you something fierce; they make girls stay on week after week by telling them that they did not pass the examinations. If you do not pass in the fourth speed class you have to remain in school two more weeks before they give the examination again." She said also, "They skin you for stationery." Helen W. Her objection to the school is that it is unfair in keeping pupils too long, so as to obtain more money from them. Said she had completed the necessary work and was ready for the final test but was prevented by the school from taking it, first by one excuse and then another. Finally her mother went to the school and showed the assistant some papers the daugh- ter had brought home from the school, complaining that they were marked too strictly. The assistant admitted that the mistakes were slight but merely said that the principal was away and urged that the daughter remain two weeks longer. 74 The mother refused to allow this and the girl has therefore no diploma. She said, however, that the teaching was good and that she was "thoroughly grounded in stenography." An attempt was made to interview the first employers of a number of this school's students. We included, among others, employers of the twenty girls we had visited in order that we might view the statements of these girls from the em- ployers' standpoint. As in other follow-up work, those names were chosen for which we had most recent informa- tion and for which addresses were most definitely stated. Our effort to find forty employers was successful in thirty-one instances, although three of these persons could not recall the employee inquired for. Those who were not seen had moved, terminated their business or could neither be found nor traced. The comments made by employers show in- stances of satisfaction as well as complaint. In fourteen cases girls were spoken of favorably and in nine cases un- favorably; in five cases the employers could remember no more about a girl than the kind of position she had held or the simple fact that she had at one time been employed. But, in order that the comments of employers may be bet- ter understood, we should state that ten of the employees in question held clerical positions in which their steno- graphic or bookkeeping training was not used ; and several of the employers were illiterate men who maintain small and somewhat undesirable offices. We were able to secure interviews with the employers of only four of the girls quoted above. Paraphrases of the remarks of these employ- ers follow: Mr. C., Manufacturer, Regarding Frances I. "She ain't what I call first class. She could read her notes back but was slow about it. Her typewriting could have been a good deal improved." He said, however, that she was capable of learn- ing and would not have been discharged if the firm had not dissolved. 75 Mr. B., Agent, Regarding Rose B. He remembered Miss B. as a good average girl sufficiently prepared in English. She was able to take thirty to fifty letters daily and to transcribe them acceptably. Mr. F., Manufacturer, Regarding Rose W. "She wasn't efficient or alert ; she was unbusinesslike and slow. She could not be called competent; yet she could read her notes, could get up a good letter and she had ability to learn to improve." Mr. K., Lawyer, Regarding Elsie B. It was not possible, he said, to state that Elsie B. had been desirable as a steno- grapher. "She had no speed at all," he asserted. She was dis- charged because of inefficiency. "She could not do the work for us," he said in conclusion. The wage-earning experience of the 185 students of this selected school is shown to be similar in a general way to that of the large group of 1035 workers, discussed earlier in this chapter, who represent training in a variety of schools, The chief difference is that the small group of 185 held a higher percentage of positions in which stenographic or bookkeeping training was useful; but it is also true that a higher percentage of their positions were of short duration. Wages for the two groups show little divergence. Our con- clusion, based upon this investigation as a whole, is that so long as private schools continue, without check, to try to impose commercial training upon pupils of any degree of illiteracy or unsuitability, just so long will employers be hampered by the blundering inefficiency of the newest sten- ographic assistants, and the city be filled with discouraged hundreds of position-seeking young people. 76 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 1. A considerable proportion of the young people in New York City who invest time and money in commercial education become discouraged job-seekers or accept work they could have done without special training. The fault lies not so much in the quality of their sten- ographic or bookkeeping training as in their deficiency in English composition or their personal unsuitability. They are persons whom the private schools should never have accepted for training. 2. Private commercial schools should in some way be made to feel responsible, as they do not now do, for the num- bers of persons who enter upon but are incapable of com- pleting their courses. Published lists of enrollments and graduations for each year, or unpublished lists sent to the State Department of Education, would call attention to this situation wherever it exists. 77 CHAPTER 4. SOLICITATION OF PUPILS. Private commercial school solicitation of eighth grade pnpils about to be graduated from public schools is general. Of 1,952 such children, in 24 school districts, 1,288 were reached by agents or through the mails. This soliciting was done by 46 different private commercial schools. As many as twelve private commercial schools have operated at the same time in a single school district. There is more solicitation of girls than of boys. Names and addresses of pupils about to be graduated are secured from school children, from name brokers, or by disguised advertising. Most solicitors work on commission and have no other connection with the school which employs them. They can make verbal contracts which the school later may not uphold. Arguments used most effectively by agents are the shortness of the course, the futility of High School educa- tion or training, the undesirability of doing factory work, and the guarantee of a position. Public school efforts to present High School oppor- tunities are varied; the printed information is academic. "We are obliged to send paid solicitors into the field to correct the statements made against us by the representa- tives of competitive schools" one school proprietor said when asked about his methods in securing pupils. In a number of instances our investigation has indicated that such an assertion as this may have very real foundation. Unscrupulous methods between rival schools have been brought to light to a greater extent in connection with so- licitation of pupils than in any other way. One method, in common use among certain schools, is inter-employment of Chapter 4 is based upon the following data: Interviews with 1952 children about to be graduated from public elementary schools. These represent 29 public schpols located in 24 districts of Manhattan and the Bronx. Records made, in detail. Interviews with principals of 20 public elementary schools of Manhattan and the Bronx. Records made, in detail. 78 soliciting agents. In order to secure the names of possible pupils, to cover a rival's territory or to know how to anni- hilate a rival's chief arguments, a school may induce the rival's solicitor to become its own employee. For example, we interviewed a girl of twenty, a bright, vigorous Russian, who had been employed successively by four schools. These were located near together and all drew upon the same area for their patronage. Of course she was under the necessity of telling children that that school was the best which hap- pened at the moment to be employing her. The record states : Miss B began by working for Mr. I. Soon Mr. J, a teacher in Mr. I's school, decided to open a school of his own and persuaded Miss B to work for him. Several weeks later she sued Mr. J for withholding part of her pay, and won the case. She believes Mr. J. withheld the pay in order to prevent her leaving him. One day, while she was working for Mr. J, she and a representative from the K school had met in a public school pupil's house, both labor- ing for the pupil's patronage. Miss B said she se- cured the girl and also the admiration of the rival solicitor. He said to her, "If you ever want a job, come to me. I am the manager at K's." Therefore when Miss B left Mr. J. she applied to the K school, was accepted and remained three years. Her next employment was in the L school, the most ener- getic rival the K school has. She said that in both L and K schools she was expected to "take liber- ties with the truth" and to speak compromisingly of other schools. Twenty-two proprietors of private commercial schools discussed with us the general subject of solicitation. Ten of the number, representing chiefly the smaller schools, stated that they do not employ soliciting agents. Eleven proprietors admitted that they have such agents; but one of these proprietors qualified his statement by saying that an agent is sent only in response to inquiries for informa- 79 tion. One proprietor secures most of his pupils by personal solicitation, but the visits are made by teachers in the school instead of by agents. If soliciting is to be done, the use of teachers is commendable ; for there is little likelihood that a teacher, whom a pupil will see and know when he comes to school, will make promises that are not to be fulfilled. The paid agent works on a commission basis, as a rule ; and, in his eagerness to persuade children to sign application blanks, he can exaggerate and guarantee without check if he desires. He may even make a verbal contract for a reduced cost for the course, which the school will not be bound to uphold. The experience here recorded illustrates what has happened : The mother of the girl who was being interviewed became very much excited when the M school was mentioned. She said, "You can't trust them. They sent a man here and he told me if my girl started in August she could have summer rates and we could get the whole course for $50. Instead of that the school sent me a bill for more money and in the end I had paid $70." Her claim for reduc- tion, promised by the solicitor, received no recog- . nition from the management of the school. Elsie, the daughter, stated that the man came often when he was trying to secure her for the school and that he was sometimes intoxicated. She told the man- ager of the school about this and he said he in- tended to discharge him. Later the man was dis- charged and became the agent of the N, a rival school. He returned then to see Elsie and persist- ently tried to persuade her to change to the N school, although she was well along in her course in the M school already chosen. SOLICITATION OF PUBLIC SCHOOL CHILDREN. In June, 1916, with the co-operation of the Board of Edu- cation, an inquiry was made into the methods and extent of private commercial school solicitation in so far as it affects children in 8-B classes about to be graduated. We inter- viewed 1952 children. These were boys and girls in gradu- ation classes of all the school districts of Manhattan and the Bronx, except two. Our failure to cover the first and second districts was a matter of circumstance rather than intention. We found that 1288 children had been reached, and by a total of forty-six different private commercial schools. Agents had come to their homes from more than half these schools ; and letters, circulars and other advertising material had been sent by all of them. One child had been reached by nine schools; most children had been reached by five or six. Usually, in girls' classes, 90 to 100 per cent, of the pupils had been communicated with in some way; but in boys' classes the percentage was lower. The school districts most solicited are in Harlem; the two least solicited dis- tricts cover, one the outskirts of the Bronx and the other a section of Manhattan which has a fairly large negro popu- lation. In a number of instances as many as twelve private commercial schools were found active in a single school district. School proprietors, as a rule, assert with frankness that they purchase names of elementary school graduates from dealers. The investigation has procured from school chil- dren the business cards of two of these "name brokers," both of which have post office addresses in Greater New York. Some schools, instead of buying names, get them themselves by various means. One school conducted in a daily paper a "popular school contest" in which only mem- bers of elementary school graduation classes might partici- pate. Voters were asked to send their names and addresses. This plan provided a solicitation list. A number of children reported that they had sold to deal- ers or agents lists of names of seventh and eighth grade stu- dents. The usual compensation is two cents a name; but in one case $2 a list was promised and in several cases the 81 offered reward was an autograph album. Some children reported sending names and receiving no pay in return. Children who gave names and addresses secured them as a rule by inquiring among their classmates. Teachers and janitors as well as pupils have been asked to prepare these lists. Some business schools have sent directly to the principal's office supplies of blotters, rulers and other useful trifles car- rying the advertising of the school, and have asked to have these distributed. So far as we know, such permission is not given. In other cases, representatives have placed these things in piles on a teacher's desk in the class-room at noon without permission, hoping that they will be distributed during the afternoon session. A few elementary school papers have carried a commercial school's advertisement. Various forms of advertisements were left at homes by agents, or sent to the children by mail. Among these forms were rulers, blotters, buttons, "dope" capsules, picture pos- tals, graduation congratulations, invitations to dances, appli- cation forms on postal cards addressed to the school, illus- trated booklets, lists and pictures of graduates. Refer- ence is made to some of these in Chapter 5. Two schools gave dances to the children of elementary graduation classes. A little girl of fourteen gave the report first quoted. The second report was offered by a girl of like age who attended the dance at a different school. "Many kids were there, all 8-B girls, I think, except a few of them that go to that school already. There were many more girls than boys. It was very hot and crowded and they were screaming from the tops of their voices but it was nice decorated. Nine o'clock I went home, but I heard they had later refreshments." "I knew girls who went to the dances and did not come home until two o'clock in the morning, alone. They said they had a good time." 82 The influence of public school principals and teachers is probably to be connected with the unfriendly or at least disinterested reception which the children in many instances claim to have given to agents or to advertising propaganda. The following are typical remarks : "He started to speak but my mother said it was not necessary." "My mother shut the door to him." "I never took any interest." "I did not care to look at it" speaking 1 of a circular. Many of the children whose homes had been visited were not at home at the time the agent came and had not cared to inquire of their parents what he had said. Some of those who had received advertising material had merely glanced at it and thrown it away without remembering distinctly what they had read ; but a little questioning generally drew from the children some idea or claim which had impressed them. The following quotations from the records will illus- trate the kinds of appeals that most effectively reached them: "Many scholars get payable positions." "The principal himself teaches in the classes." "He said it was very clean there." "He said they treat the girls very nice." "Great men are graduates from that school." "I could come a few days free to try if I like it." "It is better than High School if I want to go into business." "You have individual instruction." "Two futures are open. One for the working girl life is miserable; one for the business girl life is enjoyable." A statement regarding the persistency of solicitors in call- ing is difficult. Agents have come to the homes in the chil- dren's absence and it is not known whether they were repre- 83 sentatives of schools which had already reached them or of other schools. In one school district a woman solicitor is reported to have called upon certain children, for a period, regularly each week. We have, however, considerable evi- dence of persistency in argument. The following quotations illustrate this: "He talked on until my mother got tired of hearing him." "A man came to my house several times. He would not leave until my father signed the blank that if I graduate I would go to their school." It should be said to the credit of certain schools that they have made no effort, so far as we know, to dissuade children from their plan to continue their general education ; and we have found several instances of a solicitor's- positive advice to children to enter high school. In a number of cases a solicitor has told a child she is too small for business school. But in the case of the majority of schools which employ so- licitors, the strongest and most frequently used argument is the futility or unsuitability of a high school course for the pupil in question. The following are typical quotations showing the children's report of what solicitors have said. "High School is not right for girls who would like to help their mothers. Business school gets right to work; high school drags it along." "He'd get me done quicker in one year than high school would in three years." "At high school the first two years they only teach you what you learn in the elementary schools, while in the business school you can become a bookkeeper in six months." "He said, 'You're such a big girl you should go to business school. You could get almost any posi- tion/ ' 84 "High School takes a long time and then you are no good." "High School takes four years and girls don't keep single so long." "He told my mother that he thinks business school is better for me than high school, being that I'm not such a bright girl." "He said I should go to business school because I was such a good scholar, in fact one of the best pupils in my class. I think he must have heard it from my teacher." We have desired, especially, to find out the procedure of solicitors in the case of those children who had already de- cided to go to high school. We find our records complete enough to give information for 153 such children. Table 7 shows that high school attendance was definitely opposed in more than half the cases. TABLE 7 : PROCEDURE OF SOLICITORS REGARDING HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION. SHOWS ADVICE TO 153 CHILDREN WHO HAD PREVI- OUSLY DECIDED TO ENTER HIGH SCHOOL. Number of Number of Children Private Commercial Advised Schools Represented Advised against attending high school 82 16 Told that private commercial school is as good as high school 14 Not dissuaded from attending high school, but given name of private commercial school and told that solicitor would call again 22 9 Not dissuaded from attending high school ; solicitation apparently with- . drawn 25 12 Advised to attend high school for a while, but to enter private commer- cial school later 5 4 Advised to attend high school 5 5 85 During the last week before June graduation the influ- ences which favor high school attendance are at their maxi- mum of strength ; moreover the members of the graduation classes, when asked about their plans, know that the answer which will please their principal and teachers is "High School." We do not, therefore, attach great value to the information we gathered concerning the success of solicita- tion. It may be summarized by saying that the proportion of children who affirmed that they were going to private commercial schools was small; a larger proportion were undecided about what they might do. Considerably more than one-half proclaimed their intention of entering high school. The real answer to such inquiry is to be found in the thousands of children of high school age which at all times make up the enrollment of the private commercial schools. COUNTER-EFFORTS OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. What are the public schools doing to help these children make wise decisions regarding the choice of commercial education and the choice among sources of commercial in- struction? What are they doing to make clear the oppor- tunities which the Board of Education holds out to gradu- ates of elementary schools? In each public school in which our solicitation inquiry was made, the principal was asked those questions. To the first question, an answer not un- usual was, "We warn them against the private schools un- less we know about a reliable school." That is, the princi- pals and teachers have had no way of discriminating among schools and have sometimes found safety in warning against all. Some suggestions which principals and teachers may find useful in advising children, are to be found in Chapters 5 and 6 of this report. It should be stated also that, since these interviews were held, the acting superintendent of schools has issued a statement to teachers giving them some 86 general instruction on the points we have just described and announcing to them that more concrete information will be sent to them later. To the second question, various answers were received. Most principals or their eighth grade teachers talk to the children early in the term in regard to high school oppor- tunities. A bulletin of information about public secondary education is received from the Board of Education period- ically, distributed among the students and explained. This is discussed also, in some schools, at parents' meetings. The bulletin is concise in information, however, and it is aca- demic in form. When the time comes to fill out applica- tion blanks for registration in high school, much effort is put upon urging high school education. Several schools told us of addresses made in assembly, some having been given by representatives of various high schools and some by the district superintendent. From the Board of Educa- tion we learned that all high schools send representatives to speak at the schools from which they receive pupils. Principals, generally, seem to feel that they are expected to explain and urge high school courses; but they do not do this according to any official or standardized plan, except through the bulletin already referred to. It may be that standardization for the whole city is impracticable, because the needs vary with the district. In two schools the prin- cipal pointed out the futility of suggesting attendance at high school because of the extreme poverty of the children and their consequent need to become wage earners early. One principal expressed herself thus regarding available high school instruction: "All information about high school courses is given to pupils and their parents. But social standards are wrong. Pupils are ashamed to enter the handi- crafts, and it is the pupils who control the parents. Commercial work is chosen as the most 'genteel' 87 next to the professions. The high school course is wrong in delaying technical and business instruc- tion until the second high school year. Pupils and their parents would be encouraged to select high school training if first year subjects of study were less academic." CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 1. The arguments of private commercial school solicitors would be more successfully counteracted if public school propaganda setting forth the educational and training opportunities in the public school system could be popularized and adapted more specifically to the indi- vidual needs of each school district. 2. The private schools reach the parents of children. The public schools will have to do this also, to a greater extent than they now do, if public school opportunities are to be fairly and clearly presented. 3. School children need to be shown, in graphic concrete ways, that the average eighth grade graduate is not ready for stenographic training; that there are many positions in office work which do not demand sten- ography; and that, since the advent of the socialized free employment bureaus for juveniles, it is no longer necessary to attend a private commercial school in order to be helped to a position. 88 CHAPTER 5. ADVERTISING METHODS. The mails are the chief means of advertising used by private commercial schools; solicitors are second in im- portance; the newspapers rank third. The advertising of the schools, as a group, is popular in language and form. The printed matter of reliable schools places empha- sis upon the time the school has been established, the training and experience of teachers, or points out the standards of competency by which a school should be judged. Some schools have offered for enrollment a reward that could not be claimed easily; have used a card of endorsement which looks but is not authentic; have pub- lished letters from graduates claiming a degree of suc- cess which their employers in some instances do not support; or their printing contains extravagant claims which will seem plausible and persuasive to the children they are intended to reach. The mails are the chief means by which the private com- mercial schools reach their public. Daily and weekly news- papers are used by a limited number of schools for regular brief statements and for occasional special announcements. Most of such advertising appears in the "Help Wanted" section of the papers under the subheading "Instruction." A few public school publications, issued by students, carry private commercial school advertisements, especially at commencement time. Bill boards and street cars have been, occasionally, used. Chapter 5 is based upon the following data: All the printed and other advertising propaganda obtainable for 63 private commercial schools. Sent by the schools, on request; also gathered from public school children among whom it had been distributed. All private commercial school advertising, which appeared in the leading newspapers of New York City, during the two months just preceding the (1916) June graduation of elementary school classes. Interviews with workers trained at a school which promises graduation in a limited number of days. Records made, in detail. Follow-up visits and interviews in the homes of 46 persons trained at a school which claims graduation in fewer months than most schools require; also interviews with eight of these students' employers. All interviews recorded in detail. Records showing the occupational experiences of twenty-six other per- sons who had been trained in this school. 89 FORMS OF ADVERTISING. The forms of printed material mailed to or distributed among prospective students are various. A list of these forms is presented in Chapter 4*. A certain school, whose principal seemed to us to have a more than usual degree of dignity, intelligence and educational idealism, has re- sorted to a "dope" capsule as a form of advertising. This capsule is less than one inch long and made of celluloid. A rolled up bit of paper inside it is labeled "Dope," in black let- ters, which can be read through the transparent walls of the capsule. When the paper is taken out and unrolled, a state- ment recommending the school and ending with the words "This is good dope," is found printed on the paper's inner side. No sample of this capsule had yet been received at the State Department of Education several months after it had been in circulation although there is a regulation that every Regent's registered school, such as this one is, should send to the Department samples of all printing and adver- tising matter. If a school of this school's type finds such advertising necessary in order to capture children's atten- tion, we have in this fact some evidence of the energy of the competition which the school is facing. Graduates from elementary schools have a very real de- sire and need for reliable help in choosing among the many commercial schools which surround them during the period just preceding graduation; and this is realized by some of the private schools an4 used to the schools' advantage. No advertising received by school children attracted so much attention as a certain blue card widely circulated by a "lady," who, the children stated, said she came from the Board of Education. The card read thus : EDUCATIONAL ADVISORY BUREAU Organized for the purpose of advising and assisting public school graduates in the choice of educational institutions. Note: Representatives of approved schools will mention number on reverse side of this card to prove authority. 'See page 82. 90 The reverse side of the card bore the names of five New York private commercial schools. From the standpoint of this investigation, these schools represent widely varying degrees of reliability; one of the least desirable in the city is included among them. When we visited the schools to learn about the use of the card we found in only one in- stance a manager who admitted that he sanctioned its use. This manager told us that a woman, whom he did not know and whose address is unknown to him, asked permission to include his school on the "approved" list ; and that although he promised a commission for students thus secured, he had paid none because no students had been produced. Two managers disclaimed all knowledge of the card. One of these evinced no particular objection to the use of his school's name; the other, representing one of New York's best schools, was indignant to find his school listed with others which he regarded as inferior, and he considered tak- ing legal steps to have the card withdrawn. In several school districts children received an announce- ment which read in part as follows. The announcement carried with it no more explanation than is given here: ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS TO BE GIVEN AWAY Greetings : We take pleasure in announcing that we will divide One Thousand Dollars among the First Fifty Young Men and Young Women that en- roll to take Day or Evening Courses in our school. Application should be made at once, .... Mr , the Principal of the school, was elected .... His first contribution to the people of the District is the above named One Thousand Dollars, which he has set aside to be used in appreciation of the great honor conferred upon him by the people of . . . . Respectfully (Signed with the principal's name.) The card was not dated and it did not state how and when the counting of the first fifty would begin. 91 POLICY IN ADVERTISING. The kind of printed matter which the private commercial schools offer to the public, indicates their true character with remarkable precision. It would almost be possible to make an arm-chair survey of the schools of New York City, the method being simply to sit down and carefully peruse their printed propaganda. In its statement of purpose, the character of its claims, its use of English, and in the quality of taste shown in the material and make-up of the printing, a school reveals itself; and it does this with special effec- tiveness if its publications are considered in contrast with those of other schools. But reliable judgment of schools on this basis is possible only for persons of some education and maturity. The children for whom this propaganda is de- signed are not capable of rating it. Extravagant claims, cartoons picturing high success by way of the business school, or even irrelevant color prints of sunsets, are the means which we have found most likely to win their ap- proval and choice. Three principles seem to underlie the publications of the schools. One principle, and this is followed by a few schools only, is merely to announce the school, its managers preferring to see and talk with the prospective candidate in person and to discuss with him orally the qualities of the school; another is to set forth in a catalog as attractively as possible all the positive information about the school that a prospective student might wish ; and the third is to anni- hilate rivals. Schools which work upon the last named principle give evidence that they have carefully examined the circulars of other schools. The effect of this may be to produce in their own circulars claims that outdo all others in extravagance; to point out a rival's weaknesses in so specific a way that the school criticized will be recognized unmistakably; or to successively discuss claims made by rivals in order to offer proof that the advantages thus set 92 forth by these rivals are in reality to be looked upon as dis- advantages. One of New York's large and popular schools recognizes that the whole city is in competition with it and attempts, in its catalog, to fell each enemy. No school of importance, so far as we can see, escapes a well- aimed blow. The school in question is a moderate priced one, with modern yet not elaborate equipment. Its catalog says that a school which charges more than this school, may do so because it does not manage to economize in the mat- ter of running expenses, or because it is willing to take more than legitimate profit. It points out that a smaller school cannot have facilities for being a good school al- though our investigation shows that this claim can be dis- puted. It states that a school which advertises the principal's personal supervision, is likely to be a neglected school because the principal's time is bound to be taken up with business. The "nearest" school, the catalog points out, is no more safe in education than the nearest doctor in illness. It claims that other schools teach but one or two makes of typewriters, while this school teaches many. On the basis of our investigation we know this claim to be unsupported by fact if, in speaking of "other schools/' it is implied that most other schools are meant. Schools located in a private house, or a former club- house, or an office building are criticised as not being adapted to school work. All these assertions are direct answers to claims made and information given in the printed advertise- ments of other schools. The following are quotations, from various school cata- logs, which, it seems to us, any intelligent, adult person should see must be exaggerated or impossible. But the children and the foreign or illiterate parents, for whom they are meant, could not be expected to consider that, and they are likely to accept these statements as conclusive evidence of the excellent powers and possibilities of the school. 93 "No other school has 60,000 successful graduates in the business world- who send only to their Alma Mater for any assistance they, or their employers, need." "Thus far, each graduate has been placed and is hold- ing a satisfactory position, as per hundreds of rec- ords on file at this office." (This school is several years old.) "We have yet to record a student who did not become proficient in our night school." "Of the great number of graduates we have no record of even one student who was unsuccessful as far as a position is concerned." Another sort of advertising which in our opinion is likely to be an unfailing index to the character of the school, is the eulogy. In one instance it takes the form of a letter from the principal to the public, in which the latter is thanked for its "confidence," "encouragement," "kind words" and "good wishes for our success." In another in- stance, a "Declaration of Loyalty" is published which, the school says, came from the student body. The following is one of the several elaborate sentences which compose it: "In consideration of your services to us in the past and in appreciation of your best efforts to enable us to complete our studies satisfactorily, and for your extra hard work on Saturdays and Sundays, and your assurance to give us the outside assist- ance and encouragement we may need, and for your thoughtful solicitations for our comfort and welfare and your endeavors to make our sojourn in your school a period of our life worthy of re- membrance, we give you the following pledge of our appreciation, loyalty and co-operation." 94 Newspaper advertisements, we have already said, are likely to be simple, brief and non-sensational announce- ments. In only two instances have we observed even an apparent departure from this rule. One school at frequent intervals throughout two consecutive months advertised, "Shorthand for $10 This Week Only." Anyone who hap- pened to note the successive appearances might be justified in wondering if the claim of "This Week Only" was hon- estly made. Another school regularly inserts an advertise- ment offering to teach shorthand in an unusually short time. The proprietor of this school explained to us verbally, when he was visited, that the literal claim was less than we thought. There is no school session on Saturday and Sun- day; therefore, the promised number of days is not limited to the number of weeks they seem to indicate. Further- more, he pointed out that the advertisement claims the teaching of shorthand only and, although the reader may connote typing, it cannot be denied that the advertisement says nothing about it. He concluded, however, by saying that the interpretation the public is likely to give the adver- tisement is by no means an unsafe one, because he does claim that he can produce pupils who have learned both shorthand and typing proficiently in the promised time, or less. Interviews with students of the school have indicated to us that some of them do not get through in the prescribed time, and some of them do. We are not able to learn the proportionate number included in these two groups. The school was investigated by one of the daily papers more than a year ago, and its report was not favorable. We have obtained, from the office of this paper, the following extract from the letter of a young man who states that he attended this school for about four months. "I took this course because I thought I could finish in days; but (after four months) I had to leave as I could not afford to put in more time. I could not take more than twenty-five words a minute of 95 unprepared dictation. I know of other students who were there before me, and who were still there when I left." On the other hand, we have the testimony of two persons, known to us to be reliable, that they did acquire proficiency in shorthand within the advertised time. These were both women of maturity and superior intelligence and education ; we cannot judge, on the basis of their experience, what less favored pupils could do. The publications of private commercial schools frequently contain lists of their graduates. Such lists are offered as proof of a school's success; therefore, if they are to be ac- cepted as proof, they should be accompanied by whatever information is needed for substantiation. A list of names and addresses with no dates or other indication of the time of graduation is almost valueless unless the graduates, as secretaries to public men or in some other way, have them- selves become famous. Names of employers of graduates, unaccompanied by the date of employment and the employ- ers' address, are completely valueless, unless the employing firm is one commonly known. Letters from graduates are sometimes published. In the case of one school which uses this method of advertising we made a special investigation. The letters, which are addressed to the school, tell of the graduate's success in employment. When we visited the employers named in the letters we found in a number of instances that the graduate who wrote of success was considered incapable by the employer. Thus the endorsement of the schools' training, which the letters imply or state, may lack prac- tical value. GOOD ADVERTISING. It would be unfair to close a discussion of the advertis- ing in New York's private commercial schools without some recognition of the honest, intelligent and attractive propa- 96 ganda of the better schools. A number of such schools put emphasis upon the qualifications of their teachers and show, with dates, the educational institutions attended and the experience of the teachers prior to employment at the school. Those schools which use lists of graduates in recommendation are careful to give the adequacy of infor- mation to which this chapter has earlier called attention. Several lay stress upon the value of a good foundation in general education in ways like the following: "Parents, give your children all the education you can. But do not neglect to give them from six months to a year in a first class business school." "Requirements for admission: Nothing less than a grammar school education; high school students are desired." One principal points out what constitutes legitimate success for a business school. Another tells concretely what a boy or girl should think about in selecting a school, and asks prospective pupils to consider his own establishment on the basis of such points. Among his suggestions for testing a school are questions like these: "Is the school well established? Does it employ good teachers? What do business men think of it? What do its graduates think of it? Do its performances measure up to its promises? Has it shown a consistent growth? Does it teach touch typewriting? Does it, in addition to shorthand and typewriting, have a practical course in office training? Do its quarters reflect the atmosphere of a modern business office, or rather that of a reception room?" 97 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 1. Much of the misleading or false advertising which now reaches children could be eliminated if, by legislative provision, private schools were compelled to file at the State Department of Education samples of all adver- tising material, and the State Department were given power to censor it. 2. It should be made illegal for schools to use published lists of names in endorsement of their work, unless definite addresses are appended and the date of attend- ance at the school is indicated. 3. If the list of Regents' registered schools is to be con- tinued, non-registered schools should be warned by the State Department of Education against using the terms "approved" or "incorporated" in such a way as to con- fuse the public with regard to Regents' endorsement. (See Chapter 7). 98 CHAPTER 6. , fj THE NATURE OF OFFICE POSITIONS. There is a large number and wide range of office posi- tions which are not dependent upon stenographic or bookkeeping training. This may be true of the following: 25% of 1,487 office positions held by stenography trained applicants at employment bureaus. 49% of 370 office positions held by stenography trained workers previous to employment at the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. 88% of all office positions (733) held at the Metro- politan Life Insurance Company by workers under 21 years. Some of these workers, how- ever, may have an opportunity later to enter stenographic positions. 81% of 1,436 positions representing all office positions held in five establishments of different kinds in Cleveland, O. A study of 316 office positions held by boys and girls from 14 to 18 years of age shows that trained and un- trained workers held practically identical positions at a similar rate of pay. The standardization of office work makes some second rate stenographers employable provided their personal characteristics are acceptable. There is indication that some offices can use in fairly responsible stenographic or bookkeeping positions bright, well-trained boys and girls who may be 16 years of age or younger. The low standard product of certain schools appears in some instances to find its place in offices of similar grade. The present investigation has to do with training, not work; and the material it offers relative to the nature of work and the demand for office workers in New York City, must be suggestive rather than conclusive. The study of Chapter 6 is based upon the following data: Records showing the occupational experiences of 1035 young people trained in private commercial schools (already referred to in Chapter 3). Records showing the occupational experiences of 733 office employees at the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. These cover detailed information con- cerning the 733 office positions held in the employ of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and 370 office positions held by the same workers previous to such employment. Statistical information showing kinds of positions held by all office workers (1436) in five business houses of Cleveland, O., each house representing a dif- ferent kind of business. Bureau of Attendance records, giving detailed information for office positions held by 316 workers between the ages of 14 and 18 years inclusive. Records showing the occupational experiences of 30 private commercial school graduates, all of whom began wage-earning between the ages of 14 and 16 years. Secured by home visits. 99 the city's office work is a study in itself and one which needs to be made completely if public commercial schools are to serve the best purpose, if the place of private schools is to be definitely known, and if young people are to receive wise advice in their plans for education, training, and work. Some contributions to the subject have been made already, such as the report of Mr. F. V. Thompson to the Committee on School Inquiry, 1911-1912, and the answer to this re- port; also the report of a Committee of The High School Teachers' Association of New York City in 1915. But no report, of which we have been able to learn, claims thor- oughness in covering the field ; and the result is that persons who already had an opinion relative to the kind of com- mercial education needed are of the same opinion still. Since contrary opinions are thus adhered to, it would seem that the truth, or the whole truth, has not yet been learned ; and it is evident that a thorough, comprehensive report needs to be produced. Our own reference to the field of work cannot hope, as we have said, to do more than call to the attention of those interested, certain indications about the nature of office positions, based more upon the experi- ence of workers than upon a study of the work itself. THE FATE OF SEEMINGLY UNDESIRABLE PUPILS. In going about the city, visiting private schools and see- ing group after group of pupils in the process of commer- cial training, we have wondered: What can business do with girls so mediocre or dull? Will anyone really desire to employ them as stenographers? What can business do with these irresponsible young children? What can busi- ness do with these boys and girls who wear soiled cloth- ing, who sharpen their pencils onto the school-room floor and who speak English with a foreign accent and a curious in- version of phrases? A definite answer to the first question has been given in Chapter 3. The commercial school product which that chapter discussed must have been composed very largely of the kind of girls this question describes. The answer is, then, that they are likely to change positions often and to 100 fail to progress in kind of work or in wages; and a number of them will have to be satisfied with general clerical or even non-clerical positions in which their special training does not find use. No doubt some mediocre workers, whose personality and physical appearance is acceptable, will be able to get and to hold stenographic positions because of a demand for second rate stenographers created by the stan- dardization of work in large business organizations. We do not mean that second rate work is tolerated; but that the letter writing and other routine business is so nearly re- duced to forms that it is an easy matter for a girl to become skilful in the particular, unchanging kind of work that she is assigned to do. But we do not see how a girl so em- ployed could hope to become more efficient or to fit herself for advancement, even if the business should be willing to make promotions. The second question seems to find a partial answer, at least, in our study of a school of Group II. This school is one which impressed us favorably except in regard to the extreme youth of its pupils. Room after room disclosed children of fourteen or fifteen years of age, and some of these small for their years. We asked the principal, "Will you give us the names of fifty young graduates who left the school recently, so that we may find out what has happened to them?" The principal complied readily. A list of fifty pupils was received, thirty of whom we visited. We do not know whether or not this was a selected list; we did not specify that it should not be. We needed to be con- vinced that even under the promising conditions which this well equipped school offered, business would make serious use of mere children. We have given here in Table 8 a complete record of the information our interviews with these pupils disclosed. Plus sign show that the worker was still employed at the time of interview. The indication is that business, in New York City, may accept in fairly responsible positions, bright girls who have been trained in a good school, even though they are only sixteen years old or younger. The unconvincing fact is the shortness of the period for which most first positions have been held. 101 ^ c . X rf rr , i CM to c^ a u- 1 CM - X C00 ^2 0*0. o'W >> . 888 8 888 g E 1 8 E J 8 8 8 8 II vcJ op vo* o\" t>! o vd c ^ o M: NO VC ) oo oc 1 II cn cn cn cn en -f- cn c o o ^ o o o c Cl 3 C o cn a ) C V I * i en e/ O O s e ^ e s s j s : S E i X e s W CMCMCM CM CM i i CM v 3 ^ "CM C\ 1 CM I-H CO TJ- >v 1 1 <*>. 1 jy cu u 1u bfl bo : g c -a ^ : V3 *i ^ O O 'S -^ 52 fe C S S *n rt cj '5 i Kind of Position. tenography, switchboard, filing tenography, typing, some filing ngle entry bookkeeping, little responsil enography, bookkeeping, answering phone and general clerical work :enography, typing, care of building ii ance and answering telephone enography, typing enography, typing and general office i rst, circular work; later, a little ste raphv added.. u (U cn .0 W 1 'a ^g I| ttle stenography, responsibility for fi :enography, typing and filing, answ( telephone . rst, ^ stenography; later, stenography clerical work large of books, making deposits in and making out checks . . sneral office work; taking orders, dis uting mail enography, typing C/2COln.C/} CO C/2COfc CO J co fo O co bo : ! bo I bfl O CO c : c C || is +* bo bfl 2 C C bO C 4> C C 3 o s-, 'cS ^ = 1 w 1 II 11 1 Illl i ||i Manufa | S 2 in ctf 3 * 2 c > 4a !^ ^ t: S a | W PQ *c3 ' r .9 S ^ *^\ M\ gJs Tf-^lOlO IO IOU1LO 10 IO IO IO IO IT5 UO U - -vi ^r j ^5 K od cK -H CM" co" rj" LO '"" ""^ 102 1) Jg g ^ g >> - vo CM pa cvjco c3 *- | vo 04 - 'o'a f- 4 ^ -4 x 8 S 8 8 88 88 88 8 8888-8 "u **> tN vo l> t> t CM t"x VO VO VO t>. CM t^ t^ t> O O ^ VO ^H vo vo "S + + 4- + + II 3. QJ c cn en en en .en en cn en en o O OO O JO OO OO C SEES kSSSSS i en cn . ^ a : ^ 1 8 xj J p*H G w co VOCM vo CM ** CMCM m-^- co CM CM *- '-' t- 1 1 bo a 2 e : ^ OJ QJ C/3 bo ;= * U cn cu ^ c ctf cu o > J3 cn rt * cn * "C JM* t* L Q oT *^ | (jft S 2 . * >> I) <1> <1^ c a "t-t "S^ "^ x C/5 5 2* "S = ^ *o *o """ O rt rt o o a OS d c 03 - ^ '^ f 9 ^s g ^. bo bo bo 43 - C 4= 43 bo o 2 Jrt *- 15 bo hn O w *_g") ^^ CJ L/ fN ,+j T3 CH r-^ ^ CT3 *^^ v-* /t4 -"t^ flj o c T3 hrt r^ ^j s pH O c ^ ^ rt | bO S .s * tt -^ c C/) bo c -2 bo bfl w C bo bo It .S .G bo J* G ^ s g>S bio O bio b2 c j^ c c o c s bo c ' 'a C U3 J >, ^H f rl Cu -*-* Is f S 11 *2 x-o *- C v "^* O4 *Z? *I? ^X QJ Ui C-U . cn ^ o **^ ^ rt CL ^ 09 ^fc 'a rt L, rt 11 II rt rt > ^ > >> III ll Ifl II "k ^ 1 *0 bo C ww ^ bfl bo O O +? o< O O w G 43 cn cd G G r D a 1-1 >-i cu cu .tm bo- bobofe boboo bobo a^4 bo ^ bo bo b o ^ i g-2 8 g-g S g a 5 bo CO tin CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO C/" (J * I bo 1 bo * c bo OT .s i 3 .2 .s bo J i hfi r; -*- 1 aj 'C cu c bo g ff s *> p ^ f* cu t; ! bfl ti |1 Jw Distributi .S t3 -J 1 2 1 1 1 pti S U CO | ^11 2 &3 Law .... Manufact II 1 (J fH bo ^ o S 5 ctf cn rt 15 OT fc w ^ -S w ^J ^ g -4= ^ o rt 5 *2 J-i CU ^ 3 CU !s m ^o vo ^o VO vo vo VO vo vo vo vo vo vo vo vo O vd tx ao O\ O T-H '-I CM CM CM CM ^f- ir> CM CM >p t>I oo o\ o PS CM CM CM CO 103 Information of the sort given in Table 8 was corroborated in interviews held with twenty girls trained by a philan- thropic school of excellent reputation. All left the school at fifteen or sixteen years of age and all but one secured stenographic or bookkeeping work. The usual first wage was $7, the minimum being $5 and the maximum $10. The girls who enter this school are carefully selected, only those being taken for training who are likely to succeed. In most cases they had the aid of friends or relatives in securing their first positions. The average employer, whether he prefers very young workers or not, may, in many cases have no choice but to take them; for, as our investigation indicates, about three- fourths of the supply of workers provided by the private training schools of the city as a whole, are under 17 years of age. The general employment of such young workers may therefore indicate no general demand for them on the part of employers; and there can be no doubt that the situation has been largely brought about by the deliberate effort of the private schools. Competition has been the cause. As the number of commercial schools increased in the city it became increasingly necessary to recruit pupils from the elementary schools and to secure them in ad- vance of some other school. The answer to the third question, relative to pupils whose standard of living is low, must be to some extent specula- tive. It is a matter of common information that a consider- able amount of business in New York City is transacted in the offices, shops and stores of its poorer sections. These places are small and not likely to be very clean or comfort- able ; the proprietors are in many cases foreigners who speak a broken or illiterate English. Yet, except for such char- acteristics, these may be in no way disreputable places ; and legitimate work is there to be done. Who could be willing to do it? The answer is, probably those very boys and girls 104 whom the third question describes. Some evidence that this is the case is given in the catalog of a commercial school, in a foreign section of the city, which publishes the names and addresses of employers to whom its graduates are sent. Two-thirds of these employers are those who maintain small shops and offices in the neighborhood of the school; and these places are, not improbably, to some extent the sort to which we have here referred. The pro- cess seems to be something like this : Children of a certain neighborhood are trained in the schools of that neighbor- hood to occupy positions in the same neighborhood's places of employment. It will always be a misfortune for any indi- vidual to do less well for himself than his utmost ability jus- tifies ; but some boys or girls will find employment which satis- fies them with friends or relatives it may be who are not suitable for a higher grade of employment. THE ALTERNATIVE OF FACTORY WORK. The children of the public schools are invited by most private commercial school agents to follow reasoning like this: "Do you want to go to work and earn some money? Very well, you can choose between office work and factory work. People will not think much of you if you do factory work. If you choose office work, you will have to be trained. Therefore, come to our school and take a six months' course in stenography and bookkeeping." Public elementary school teachers and private commercial school agents may be alike in their representation to children that factory work is a fearsome alternative. As a matter of fact, there is no great difference in essential characteristics between some forms of factory work and the mechanical, standardized, clerical work that is likely to be the fate of inferior office workers; and the rate of wages may be the same, or even tend to be higher in the case of factory workers. And we have already shown, in Chapter 3, that 105 some workers ultimately reach the level of factory work after the expensive experiment of commercial education has been tried and has failed. Workers cannot expect to rise above this level if they have not the foundation upon which special training or opportunity can build. It is unfortunate that factory work should be generally disparaged; for, be- cause of the social stigma that is still upon it, failures in office work are being produced who might have been suc- cesses as industrial workers. Of course we do not believe that mechanical work should be the fate of anyone who can do and get a better thing. But progressive factory legisla- tion is regulating hours and wages, and continuously more rigorous inspection is making factory work increasingly safe and comfortable. Employers, also, are awakened to the effect of working conditions upon the efficiency of the worker. An illustration of the influence of commercial schools with regard to the prevailing opinion that industrial work is undesirable, is found in the catalog of one school which makes this statement: (The italics are ours.) "You are now on the threshold of life. The start you make now will lead to Success and Great Joy or to Failure and Unhappiness . . . Brain Work not only brings a higher remuneration than Hand Work, but the Brain Worker is a respected mem- ber of Society, while the Hand Worker is classed with the ordinary and the illiterate." THE USE OF STENOGRAPHY AND BOOKKEEPING. It is customary, we have said, for the agents of commer- cial schools to recommend that one who chooses to become an office worker should study the usual subjects of private commercial instruction, namely, stenography and book- keeping. Our study does not bear out the wisdom of that advice; and our objections to it are based not only upon the present investigation but upon a somewhat prolonged study of commercial work in another city. We believe that, 106 as a rule, boys' success in business is not in any way de- pendent upon knowledge of stenography ; in the case of girls we believe that stenography, when taught to those who have a good foundation in English, does make for success and affords the best business opportunity girls have. But the present report has to face the fact that it is concerned chiefly with children of no more than elementary school education. Some of them are not fitted for any sort of office work; others are not fitted for the sort that the ordi- nary business school prepares for; only a few, perhaps, have the personal qualities and the mastery of English necessary for successful stenographic positions. But the important truth which the business schools overlook, so far as training goes, is that there is in business a host of office positions which do not depend upon either stenog- raphy or bookkeeping. We have illustrated this in para- graphs that follow. A good foundation in general educa- tion is more desirable for these positions than specialized training; a course which combines training in office routine, business methods and business organization with general education might be the best preparation if such were ob- tainable. Chapter 3 showed that 18 per cent of 1641 office posi- tions, held by a group of commercially trained young people who used the free employment bureaus, were general clerical ones. But we have further evidence from other workers a group which is likely to represent the commer- cial schools' better product. By the courtesy of the Metro- politan Life Insurance Company we have obtained the occupational history of all office employees, under twenty- one years of age, on the company's payroll in September, 1916. The history of each extends from the time of leaving school to the date in September on which the inquiry was made. We have made two separate studies of the tabu- lated results one, of positions held by commercially trained 107 workers previous to employment at the Metropolitan Life In- surance Company ; and one of all positions held in the com- pany's employ without regard to the workers' training or lack of training. 1. PREVIOUS POSITIONS OF OFFICE EMPLOYEES OF METROPOLI- TAN 'LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY. We find that 370 office positions, in various kinds of busi- ness, were held by the commercially trained workers pre- vious to their Metropolitan employment. For each of these positions we have the worker's definite statement whether or not use was made of his stenographic or bookkeeping knowledge. The office employees of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company are selected carefully from a long wait- ing list. Analysis of the general education of the group here studied shows that seventy per cent of the boys and sev- enty-three per cent of the girls had attended high school for a period. We may suppose, therefore, that if these young people, who had been trained for stenography and bookkeeping, did not always get positions that used their training it is not to be inferred that they were incompetent workers, but rather that evidence is given of the tremendous demand for office helpers in positions of a general clerical nature. Diagram VIII shows that more than two-thirds of the boys' positions, and considerably more than one-third of the girls', made use of neither stenographic nor bookkeeping training. 108 Neither Stenography 71.3 Nor Book-keeping DIAGRAM VIII. BOYS' POSITIONS, 99. Book-keeping 21.3 [ Stenography 3.8 I Stenography and Book-keeping 3.2 Neither Stenography 40.9 Nor Book-keeping Book-keeping 8.8 GIRLS' POSITIONS, 271. Stenography 37.5 \ \ Stenography and Book-keeping 12.8 Use of stenography and bookkeeping in 370 office positions held by a group of commercially trained boys and girls previous to employment at the Metro- politan Life Insurance Company. The total number of positions which used neither stenog- raphy nor bookkeeping is for both sexes 182, or 49 per cent of the whole number studied. To show how great a variety of business was represented in these 182 positions and to answer the objection that they may have been confined to standardized kinds of business, we offer Table 9. To 109 show the nature of the positions, Table 10 is given. The clerks' positions designated for boys cover stock, sales, tariff, bill, mail, beneficiary, shipping and Junior clerkships ; those for girls cover stock, sales, bill, mail, shipping, credit, file, inventory and toll. TABLE 9: KINDS OF BUSINESS REPRESENTED BY 182 OFFICE POSITIONS WHICH MADE USE OF NEITHER STENOGRAPHY NOR BOOKKEEPING. HELD BY COMMERCIALLY TRAINED BOYS AND GIRLS PREVIOUS TO THEIR EMPLOYMENT AT THE METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY. Kind of Business. Agency, Bureau Architecture Banking and Trust Brokerage Commission Construction Insurance Importing, Exporting Laboratory Law Mail Order Manufacturing Municipal Offices Printing and Publishing, Professional Public Accountant Public Stenography Real Estate Retail Telephone, Telegraph Transportation Wholesale No. of Boys' Positions. 6 1 2 2 5 2 4 2 9 1 6 1 4 12 2 4 No. of Girls' Positions. 8 1 4 1 4 1 8 16 1 18 1 2 35 7 4 110 TABLE 10: ANALYSIS OF 182 OFFICE POSITIONS WHICH MADE tfSE OF NEITHER STENOGRAPHY NOR BOOKKEEPING. HELD BY COMMERCIALLY TRAINED BOYS AND GIRLS PREVIOUS TO THEIR EMPLOYMENT AT THE METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COM- PANY. Kind of Position. Clerk No. of Posi- tions Held by Boys. 29 No. of Posi- tions Held by Girls. 38 Clerical Worker 11 27 Typist 25 Office Boy 18 o General Office Assistant 6 9 Telephone Operator 1 8 Filing Assistant 2 1 Collector Agent 3 o Cashier . . o 2 Buyer 1 o Copy Holder.. 1 2. Positions held by Office Employees at the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Our study of all the office positions of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company held by young people under twenty-one years of age cannot, we know, be accepted as a study of the conditions in business as a whole. It can repre- sent only the conditions likely to be met in a large, standard- ized business. But standardization exists on so extensive a scale in New York City, and its tendency to spread is so great, that the number of workers involved and likely to be involved is sufficient to make standardization a matter to be reckoned with in questions of training. Everyone who has contact with the business world must be aware of the hordes of office employees to be found in railroad and other trans- Ill portation offices, in public utilities offices such as the tele- graph and telephone, in wholesale houses of the sort which maintain establishments in several cities, in the offices of large insurance corporations and many other kinds of al- ready standardized business. Our information concerning the positions at the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, 733 in number, includes, for each position, the workers' defi- nite statement regarding the use of stenography and book- keeping; and, in the case of those workers who have had commercial training, an additional statement regarding the general value of their training to the position in question. As Diagram IX shows, more than three-fourths of the boys' positions and nearly all the girls', find neither stenography nor bookkeeping useful, as such ; not one position finds spe- cific use for stenography and bookkeeping combined; less than one-fifth of the boys' positions, and a negligible portion of the girls', use bookkeeping alone ; and the use of stenog- raphy alone is for both sexes negligible. We should empha- size the point that the information here submitted came as direct answers to definite questions, and there is no room for conjecture, in so far as the workers' opinion is concerned. The representative of the company points out, in this con- nection, that the trained boys and girls are likely to prove more desirable than the untrained ones. Yet, he was will- ing to concede that, for those not specifically employed at stenographic or bookkeeping work, something might be taught which would be more applicable to their work than the ordinary stenography and bookkeeping training which commercial schools generally give. The records show that 59 per cent of the boys represented and 68 per cent of the girls have had commercial training. 112 Neither Stenography Nor Book-keeping Book-keeping 19.6 [ DIAGRAM IX. BOYS' POSITIONS, 218. Stenography _ . A Stenography 92.0 Nor Book-keeping 1.8 Q GIRLS' POSITIONS, 515. Book-keeping Stenography Use of stenography and bookkeeping in all office positions held by employees of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, under 21 years of age, September, 1916. In the comments which commercially trained students made, relative to the value of the training in their present positions, nearly all disclaimed with finality that it had any value at all. The statement of one worker, which we quote, is not only typical but almost a verbatim report of the comments of many others: "In my course at the Business School, I re- ceived excellent training. At the present time it is of no value to me." We are of the opinion that a good business school is un- doubtedly helpful, to some extent, in making its students acceptable workers whether or not they can use their special training. 113 Although only thirty-five persons under twenty-one years of age in the employ of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company claimed use of stenography, it is also true that, in the whole organization which covers an army of 5,500 persons approximately 350 stenographers are included. This means for some of the young workers and, ad- mittedly, for the best of them an opportunity to use their stenography later; for, the stenographic force is recruited almost wholly from persons already in the Company's em- ploy. Thus it must be recognized that a statement of the use of stenography, limited to the workers under twenty-one years, is not completely adequate. There may of course, be a long intervening period before an opening occurs. In view of this, the Company provides speed classes which any who wish may attend, so that their practise may not be lost. And, on the basis of proficiency shown in the speed classes, the Company is able to choose the most promising candidate when a worker is needed. 3. Positions in Business Houses of Cleveland, Ohio. The positions referred to in Diagram VIII and Table 10 were held in many kinds of business, standardized and un- standardized, large and small. But we cannot tell from these representations just what is indicated for any one business with regard to the proportionate demand for workers who have not had specific training. Such demand was made an object of special study in a report dealing with business houses of Cleveland, prepared by the writer in 1915-1916. A summary, taken from the Cleveland report and giving information for five important lines of business, is offered here in Table 11. It shows the number of steno- graphic, bookkeeping and other office workers which a single establishment in each business employs. If any- one should be interested to know in detail just what the "other office workers" were, the facts can be learned by 114 consulting the report of the Cleveland Foundation Educa- tion Survey entitled "Boys and Girls in Commercial Work." It will be noted that in every group of the tabulation, except the banking group, the "other office workers" are consider- ably more than the sum of the stenographic and bookkeep- ing workers. "Other office workers" make up 81 per cent of the total number of persons which the tabulation covers. TABLE 11: NUMBER OF STENOGRAPHIC, BOOKKEEPING AND OTHER OFFICE WORKERS EMPLOYED IN FIVE BUSINESS HOUSES OF CLEVELAND, O v EACH HOUSE REPRESENTING A DIFFERENT KIND OF BUSINESS. RETAIL (185 office workers in a store having 1,000 employees) : Stenographers 9 Bookkeepers and Assistants, Statistical Workers 24 Other Office Workers 152 (82.%) WHOLESALE (88 office workers in a house having 100 em- ployees) : Stenographers 5 Bookkeepers and Assistants, Accountants 14 Other Office Workers 69(78.%) MANUFACTURING (65 office workers in a factory having 1,000 employees) : Stenographers and Dictaphone Operators 6 Bookkeeper, Accountants and Assistants 18 Other Office Workers 41(63.%) BANKING (78 office workers in a banking house having 100 employees) : Stenographers 10 Bookkeepers and Assistants 35 Other Office Workers 33 (42.%) RAILROAD (920 office workers in railroad offices having 1,000 employees) : Stenographers and Typists 45 Bookkeepers (None. A few clerks use book- keeping methods ) Other Office Workers 875 (95.%) 115 4. Positions for Youngest Workers. Public education authorities in New York City have asked us to make this report specific with regard to the positions in offices which young workers may enter who have not had special vocational training in either stenography or book- keeping. Tables and lists already presented contain some of the information sought ; but for our best material we are indebted to a division of the Department of Education. If, therefore, we are able to offer useful data, it is because the Bureau of Attendance accomplished, in 1915, a remarkable piece of follow-up and statistical work covering 1500 boys and girls to whom working papers had been granted. Nearly all came within the age limit of fourteen to eighteen years in- clusive. The records thus obtained and tabulated by the Bureau of Attendance are described by it as follows : "The entire 1500 was made up of records of 750 boys and 750 girls. In all there are some 3000 records on file. When the time came to make the tabula- tion, funds were forthcoming for only a portion of the investigations so that it was determined to select the most representative and complete records from the total number. The factor of nationality was there kept in mind/' . Of 1500 tabulated positions 316 were in some sort of office work, 177 being held by boys and 139 by girls. We have learned from the records that 85 per cent of the boys and 63 per cent of the girls entered their work without com- mercial training. The positions of these untrained boys and girls, their wages, their age and the kinds of business in which the positions were held are listed in Tables 12* and 13.* We believe that the variety of business and positions represented makes the lists acceptable as a cross section of the kind of opportunities offered to young workers by the city as a whole. Tables 18* and 19* which follow give *See appendix. 116 corresponding information for the boys and girls who had commercial training. We present these tabulations in de- tail because we consider it worth the reader's while to study them and to note the similarity of the positions and wages in the two sets of Tables 12, 13 and 14, 15. We believe that this similarity of opportunity for trained and untrained workers has significance for education. In the case of the boys, the positions in the two tables are almost identical; and if there is a salary difference it appears to be in favor of the untrained boy. The girls* tables show similarity also; but the trained group includes a considerable propor- tion of stenographic and typing positions which, of course, do not appear in the case of workers who have not been trained. AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE PUBLIC SCHOOL. The significance of this study is, we believe, not that training is unnecessary, but that training need not in all or most cases prepare specifically for stenography and book- keeping positions. A training for clerical positions in busi- ness, in which general education is made an important factor is obviously needed. What specifically should be the content of the training, this report, which does not deal primarily with the field of work, is not prepared to say. A separate, special study must find this out. We think, how- ever, that Tables 12 to 15 inclusive are full of suggestion. In any case, such training may be expected to require less time than is demanded in the preparation of stenographers and bookkeepers. The introduction of such training into the vocational courses of the public school could, by reason of its shortness and its practical application to wage earn- ing, prove the most effective and sure defense against those private schools which are trying to make stenographers of pupils too young, too ignorant or too dull to reap success from their training. This we have further discussed in the chapter that follows. Some experimenting is already being done by the Board of Education with regard to a clerical training in which stenography is not included. It is wise no doubt, that this experiment is being carried on in con- 117 nection with elementary rather than High School instruc- tion. A short extension course put into an elementary school will be likely to capture children who might other- wise be leaving; but an abbreviated course put into a High School would be likely to tempt pupils who could, if they would, remain for more complete education. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 1. A general study of office work in New York City needs to be made, with reference to the training of young workers. Present information indicates that : a. Training for a significant proportion of office work- ers need not include stenography and bookkeeping as vocational subjects. b. There is, in New York City, an under-supply of reliable, well-educated stenographers; and there is a large over-supply of inefficient stenographers who are unsuitable for either stenographic or un- specialized clerical positions. c. Girls find their best business opportunity in stenog- raphy, provided they have adequate general edu- cation and the necessary personal qualifications. d. Specialized training may be especially insignificant in the case of the youngest wage-earners, because they appear to hold similar or identical positions irrespective of training. 2. Our conclusion, regarding the numbers of non steno- graphic clerical positions now being held alike by workers trained and untrained in stenography, is not that training is unnecessary, but that a training is needed which does not specialize in stenography or bookkeeping. In any case, drill in fundamental Eng- lish branches is essential. 3. A course in business training, which does not include specialized training in stenography or bookkeeping, could be made much shorter than a course which in- cludes them. 118 CHAPTER 7. PUBLIC CONTROL OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS. Any person may open, maintain or close a private com- mercial school in New York City without restriction. No credentials of any sort are officially demanded. The Bureau of Attendance may restrict from attend- ance at private commercial schools any children who are under 16, provided they are not elementary school graduates and the private school does not teach, in conformity to law, the subjects required for such chil- dren. But the Bureau of Attendance cannot always know when such children are in attendance at private com- mercial schools. The Regents of New York State inspect private com- mercial schools and offer to the public a list of recom- mended schools. But Regents' inspection depends upon the invitation of the private schools and the schools' pay- ment to the state of an annual inspection fee of $20. The Regents' list of recommended schools for Greater New York includes only six names. One of New York's private commercial schools calls attention, in its printed catalog, to the freedom of commer- cial schools to come into existence or to continue to exist without question on the part of the public. We quote here something of what is said: "WHICH SCHOOL WILL YOU ATTEND? No Doctor, Dentist or Lawyer can practice in the State of New York without having secured a license to do so by having the most rigid examination as to his ability. These men protect our health and happiness. The state re- gards these of sufficient importance to guard them zealously. The most incompetent is privileged to conduct a school. The only requisites are a gilded sign, some equipment and the rental of a room. To the unwary such a school has all the ear marks of a reputable institution. Little do they dream of the in- competency that lurks within." Chapter 7 is based upon the following data: Material used in previous chapters. Compulsory education law and Regents' rules. 119 The harm done by a poor or unscrupulous school is eco- nomic in character, and not so obvious, as the catalog states, as that done by malpractice in medicine or law. Hordes of out-of-work people, seeking positions they are incapable of filling, may become a community concern; and, for the sake of both the individual student and the community, there is need to check the present freedom in opening, maintaining or closing private schools concerned with commercial or other instruction. It should, undoubtedly, be in the power of state or muni- cipal authority to inspect and regulate all educational insti- tutions within state or city limits. As the situation is now, such authority is not clearly defined except in so far as it affects children of compulsory education age. This report has shown that schools of widely different quality offer courses of study similarly described, and charged for at similar cost. Although the public may be aided by certain general rules upon which to base discrimination among schools, there can be no sure protection until authorized inspection and standardized requirements are practically achieved. REGENTS REGISTRATION. At the present time the only authoritative step in that direction has been taken by the New York State Board of Regents. This body offers to the public a recom- mended list of private commercial schools. Any school which meets certain specified conditions may be registered on the recommended list. The rule of procedure is that the applicant for registration shall invite the Regents' in- spector to visit his school, and shall pay for this form of State service an annual fee of $20. We believe that inspec- tors' visits should not be dependent upon invitation and that no fee should be charged a school in consequence of State inspection. 120 There is, at present, a confusion of terms in commercial school catalogs that may be in some cases deliberate mis- representation. A private school may be incorporated by the State Department of Education. But incorporation does not carry with it sanction of the courses offered, and no school is entitled to use the term "incorporated" as an equivalent for registration. In certain private schools, par- ticularly those which maintain academic preparatory de- partments, some subject or subjects may be approved for Regents' examinations; but approval for examination does not entitle the school to advertise itself as recommended in the sense that a registered school may do it. A summary of the Regents' requirements for recom- mended schools is given below. A supplementary schedule shows that, in connection with Rules 1 and 2 the inspector ascertains the number and condition of fire-escapes, the hall space, the character of the stairways, the condition of lavatories, and the system of ventilation, heating and light ; also, the number of pupils, the number of rooms for study and recitation, the seating arrangements, the kinds and number of typewriters, and the provision of other equip- ment. For Rules 4 and 5 he inquires about the number of men and women employed as teachers, and the quality of their training; and he determines what is being taught under the titles of bookkeeping, commercial arithmetic, commercial law, commercial geography, commercial cor- respondence, commercial English, business writing, rapid calculation, shorthand, typewriting, and other subjects. Furthermore he notes the age of the school, its entrance and graduation requirements, and makes inquiry relative to the school's advertising methods and its guarantee to students. 121 EXTRACTS FROM REGENTS RULES. Section 23 : A commercial school may be registered as maintaining a satisfactory standard upon the payment of an annual fee of $20 and upon the report of the De- partment inspector that it meets the following require- ments : 1.- Suitable building or rooms for the conduct of its work. 2. Suitable equipment for the courses given by the school. 3 . Reputation for fair and honest dealing with its students, and the public. 4. Faculty of teachers whose training has been not less than that required of teachers engaged in similar work in public schools. 5. An approved course of study which includes at least the following subjects : Bookkeeping, commercial arithmetic, commercial law, Eng- lish, commercial correspondence, business writing, shorthand and typewriting. Registered commercial schools must file with the Uni- versity copies of all advertising literature, including cat- alogs, pamphlets, circulars, etc., and an annual report, on or before July 31st of each year. No registration certificate, except the one for the cur- rent year, shall be publicly displayed. For examinations in registered commercial schools, see rule 231-b. Among approximately 100 private commercial schools in Greater New York only six are at the present time regis- tered by the Regents. These are as follows : 122 PRIVATE COMMERCIAL SCHOOLS IN NEW YORK CITY REGISTERED BY THE REGENTS 1916-1917. Eastman Gaines School Merchants' and Bankers' Business School The Miller School Packard Commercial School Paine Up-town Business School Pratt Business School It must not be understood from this that only six schools are qualified for registration; for there are many schools which do not apply for inspection, and some of these give excellent training. Some school managers said the regis- tered list is so small and so little known that they could see no special value in placing their schools' name upon it ; a few of the older, well established schools claimed a foot- hold in the community solid enough to make such adver- tising unnecessary; one manager said he considered his school superior to some of the schools on the list, and thought that by associating his school's name with the other names, he would lose his high standing. These managers were asked if their attitude would be reversed if (1) the list were considerably increased so that the schools not in- cluded on it were conspicuous by their absence, and if (2) considerable publicity were given to the list. In most cases they gave an affirmative answer. But certain educational authorities have pointed out the difficulty in arranging for adequate inspection so long as it remains voluntary on the part of the schools to submit to it; also, the dubiousness of doing advertising which the private schools will regard as effective because of the predisposition of the public schools to keep pupils, if they can, in the public school system. 123 LEGALIZING THE SCHOOLS. It would seem that the requirements specified by the Regents are the minimum requirements which any commer- cial school should have; and that, instead of putting upon an approved list those schools which voluntarily comply with the standard, all schools offering commercial instruc- tion should, by law, be compelled to comply and, thereby, constitute a list of legal schools. In order to make the re- quirements applicable to schools which definitely specialize in certain subjects such as shorthand, filing, or accounting, and make no claim to a complete commercial course, we would suggest that Rule 5 of Section 23 be so amended that the school will be held responsible for the quality of in- struction in only those courses which it claims to offer. In the case of schools which take students who have not passed the age limit for compulsory education, the academic subjects prescribed by law will have to be included. Refer- ence to this matter is made later in the chapter. The experience of the present investigation has shown that special attention needs to be given to the date of the publication of texts used, especially in those schools in which the use of books is free of charge. We believe the regulations should stipulate that students in typing should be taught to operate at least three different kinds of type- writers of standard manufacture, and that there should be enough class rooms so that studying and reciting need not be done in typewriting rooms when the typewriters are in use. We believe that, wherever the teaching of English and arithmetic is claimed, the manner and amount of teach- ing should be clearly defined by the school so that the inspector and the public shall know whether these subjects are separately considered, or are merely incidental to stenographic or bookkeeping instruction. There is nothing, at present, to prevent a new school from coming into existence, or an old school from trying to con- 124 tinue, with insufficient capitalization. When a school fails it may be the pupils who suffer the brunt of misfortune. It would seem, therefore, that a school, in order to be legal, should be guaranteed for the reputableness and solvency of its owners as well as for the quality of instruction it offers and the condition of its equipment. THE CRUX OF THE PRIVATE COMMERCIAL SCHOOL SITUATION. Even though New York City should be able to achieve a state of things whereby safe schools and good schools should prevail in the field of commercial training, the chief difficulty might still be left untouched. Reasonably good training in stenography or bookkeeping is probably to be had in almost any private commercial school, provided the person who undertakes it is mature, intelligent, self-reliant, and well educated in English branches. But, as a rule, the schools have students who are immature, dull or bright as it may happen, and of meagre general education; and in taking such students, the private schools should also take upon themselves the burden of thorough, fundamental train- ing and supplementary general education. This burden, however, the private commercial schools do not in most cases assume. Specific vocational subjects are taught, and a pupil of any degree of fitness or unfitness must do what he can with them. If he fails the school does not take the blame; it points to other students who did not fail. The chief fault lies, then, in the kind of students which private commercial schools are willing to accept for training. What check can be put upon private schools in the matter of admission of students? The compulsory education law already has power to safeguard the youngest children who may try to enter upon private commercial instruction. All children between the ages of fourteen and sixteen, if they are not employed, or have not an employment certificate, must have 125 regular schooling for the whole time that public schools are in session. In regard to the substitution of a private school for a public one the law says, in part : "If any child shall so attend upon instruction else- where than at a public school, such instruction shall be at least substantially equivalent to the in- struction given children of like age by the public schools of the city in the district in which such child resides; and such attendance shall be for at least as many hours each day as are required of children of like age at public schools; ." "Instruction substantially equivalent" to the instruction given in public schools is, elsewhere in the law, made to in- clude "at least the six common school branches of reading, spelling, writing, arithmetic, language and geography, taught in English." These are elementary school subjects; and no child under sixteen, who is not an elementary school graduate, is free to attend a private commercial school, unless all these subjects are taught there and unless his attendance at the private school is for at least five hours a day, five days a week, nine months of the year. Since it is exceptional for private commercial schools to teach all these subjects or to offer a period of attendance of such duration, it is therefore probable that few, if any, of the non-graduate children under sixteen years of age enrolled at private com- mercial schools are legally excused from the public schools. The Bureau of Attendance looks after such violations to the extent that it is able to learn of them. THE INFLUENCE OF PUBLIC SCHOOL PRINCIPALS AND TEACHERS Elementary school principals and teachers have an ac- knowledged influence in the vocational and educational choices which their students make. Such persons can have a special understanding of a pupil's capacity and needs, and of the limitations of his home environment; their handi- 126 cap is likely to be in a lack of specific knowledge about the world of occupations and of opportunities for occupational training, which lies outside the public school. In their de- sire to stay on safe ground they have a tendency to advise pupils generally to refrain from attending a private com- mercial school, and to enter High School if they can. But if the teacher cannot convince a pupil that success for him, individually, does not lie in private commercial school training; if she cannot show how he can quickly become wage earning in a field acceptable to him, by any route ex- cept that of the private school; and if the economic facts make entrance upon a four or three year high school course prohibitive what can the pupil do but choose the private school? The experience of this investigation leads to the opinion that the average elementary school graduate is not ready for the kind of commercial education which private schools, in general, offer. The aim of the average business school is the manufacture of stenographers and bookkeepers in a hurry. Business wants, however, not more of such workers as it now receives, but better ones. School principals and teachers should have access to information which shows concretely what the demands of business are. They should be able to point out to children the range of office positions which general education helps, but which are not dependent upon stenographic or bookkeeping training. They should know that the alternative of industrial work is not to be shunned as undesirable in the case of some of those pupils who are unadapted to office training. And they should bear in mind, as without doubt many of them do, that no one should consider stenographic training who has not normal hearing and sight, who has not reasonably deft fingers, or a degree of nervous energy to aid him in typing; who is not free from noticeable physical defects. Normal posture is 127 an important consideration, because constant sitting at the typewriter will increase defects. They should, and prob- ably do, know that no one can count upon success in steno- graphic work who is not proficient in the writing and speak- ing of well expressed English ; who has not a good and fair- ly extensive vocabulary; who is not able to spell; who has not reasonably quick comprehension ; and who does not pre- sent a good personal appearance. In many positions, one whose speech or appearance are noticeably foreign will find himself handicapped. But if these things were known to the teachers in such a way that they could be put concretely and forcibly to the children, the situation would have more help than it is likely to get from general, unillustrated state- ment. It is possible that the kind of information we have set forth in Chapter 3 could be useful in this connection. It is claimed by private schools that they can serve as the door by which a boy or girl may enter business; that, whether or not the pupil makes use of specific training, the position he gets is found with the help of the school; and that it would not have been found, in all likelihood, without that help. This claim has less ground for truth now that it had a few years ago. The activity of free, non-commercial employment bureaus in New York City, carried on by pub- lic and private auspices and giving careful attention to the needs of juvenile workers, is increasing at a rate that war- rants for these bureaus serious consideration; and it gives to children's advisors in the public schools an answering argument. EFFECTIVE CONTROL THROUGH PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION. While continuance to enforce the compulsory education law, and the influence of elementary school principals and teachers can help to check the indiscriminate admission of pupils to private commercial instruction, nothing adequate 128 will ever be accomplished until the public school offers a course of training which sets up an effective rivalry to that now offered by private commercial schools. If the public school has not, in all these years, thought it best to offer to elementary school graduates a short, intensive, sten- ographic course preparing for wage earning, there must have been a reason. And that reason was rightly, no doubt, that such training is not suitable for the average graduate of the elementary school. But we believe that most child- ren who enter private schools are not so determined upon learning stenography in the months following graduation, as they are upon learning something, or anything, that will prepare them quickly to earn wages in office positions. They go to private schools because private schools promise or give hope of positions and the course is brief; and they study stenography because stenography is the thing that is offered. It remains for the public school to take cogniz- ance of the growing need in business for office workers of general training; and to provide that training adequately in a brief, intensive, vocational course. When such a course has been developed and extended the public school will be able to prevent, to a great extent, the study of stenography by those who ought not to undertake it. Undoubtedly many of the boys and girls who might apply to the public school for a one-year non-stenographic cleri- cal course would be turned away because of their unfitness for any sort of clerical training. Some of these rejected pupils might then seek private schools; but we believe the clear-cut, frankly explained refusal of the public school to accept the boy or girl in question for clerical training would deter many parents from investing money in private instruc- tion. But only when the public school offers training com- parable in length of course with that given in private schools, can public school influence, through rejection, be felt. 129 Plans for an intensive course should eliminate time waste, without forgetting educational ideals; and, in their special effort to help the pupil to earn his living, these plans should not forget to help him to live. The more a pupil's years in formal education have to be limited, the more should the school strive to give the pupil, before he leaves it, a little glimpse and understanding of the beauty and wonder of the world he lives in, of his individual capacity for expression, and of his civic responsibilities. These factors become in- creasingly necessary as business becomes more and more standardized and offers in work less chance for initiative and individual expression. No course should be too voca- tional, or too short to take account of them. This the pri- vate commercial schools, even though they should modify the general character of their courses to meet the changing demands in business, cannot be expected to do. The pri- vate commercial schools, we believe, should reserve their services for students of maturer age. The younger and more impressionable years belong to the forces of public education. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 1 All private educational institutions in the state should be compelled to register annually with the State De- partment of Education. 2 Commercial instruction in private schools needs to be standardized and officially supervised. 3 The public needs some plan of protection against under- capitalized, insolvent or financially unscrupulous schools. It has been suggested that owners of private educational institutions should be bonded. 4 There is no adequate means, at present, on which to base a safe choice among schools, even in the matter of 130 instruction. The Regents' list of six schools is help- ful, but it is limited by its brevity. If the Regents' power is to become widely effective, the department of inspection should be given the neces- sary appropriation and authority to visit all schools ir- respective of the schools' consent or invitation; to re- quire specific changes or improvements; or, if neces- sary, to order schools closed. No fee should be charged a school as a condition of such inspection. In place of an unrepresentative recommended list, we should have a list of all schools which are recognized as hav- ing a legal right to exist. But adequate commercial instruction and good equip- ment, thus assured, will not cover the most important difficulty in the situation which is the admission of persons to the schools who are too young, ignorant or dull to profit by the instruction. It should be required of private commercial schools to send to the Bureau of Attendance the names of all pupils who come under the compulsory education law. The Bureau of Attendance could then find out whether the pupils are receiving the program of instruction which the law requires. If those persons who unwisely enter private commer- cial schools, are above the age of compulsory educa- tion no authority can touch the situation. The hope of solution will be for the public school to go as far as practicable in meeting the desire of young people for brief, vocational training in an acceptable field of work. That is, the establishment of an effective rivalry is the public school's only means of controlling the worst fea- ture of the private commercial school situation. If the public school offers a short course, comparable in length and practicability to the courses offered in private schools, it may be expected to refuse to admit to that course girls and boys who are unsuitable or not 131 ready for clerical work. Of course, some of the refused applicants will then turn to the private schools ; but we believe that parents, in general, can be influenced by the public school's decision. 10 The private commercial schools cannot be expected, in their courses, to consider the broader aspects and ideals of education. Thus the younger and more impression- able years of students' lives belong to the forces of pub- lic education. 132 A SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS. To make private schools safe, in New York City, there is need for: The issuing of a State license, without which it should be illegal to open or maintain any sort of private educa- tional institution. Annual registration of all private educational institu- tions with the State Department of Education. Regis- tration should be compulsory upon these institutions. State censorship of advertising material. It should be required of the schools to file with the State Depart- ment of Education, samples of all forms used. Official standardization of course of study, entrance requirements, preparation of teachers, and equipment. Also, schools should furnish to the State evidence of solvency and sufficient capitalization. Regular official inspection and supervision, with power to revoke licenses. A published official list of schools which are legally en- titled to exist. To keep unfit pupils from entering private commercial schools, there is need for: Enforcement of the compulsory education law. Schools ' enrolling pupils who are under the law, should be re- quired to report the names of such pupils to the Bureau of Attendance. The Bureau of Attendance would then determine whether the pupils are being instructed in conformity to law; and if necessary, coukl compel their return to the public schools. Popular propaganda, directed to parents and public school children, which will inform them convincingly that the average eighth-grade pupil is not ready to study stenography; that success in any kind of office 133 position, is likely to depend upon good academic pre- paration ; and that the alternative of factory work need not be shunned, since such work may be both dignified and profitable. Public school competition, whereby the public schools offer, like the private schools, a brief vocational exten- sion course for office training. Such a course, however, should not include stenography and it should be re- fused to unsuitable candidates. Parents of children thus refused should be informed of the fact and the reason. Publicity with regard to the proportionate number of pupils who leave private commercial schools before graduation Schools should be required to send to the State Department of Education, lists of names of per- sons entered and graduated within the year. To raise the standard of commercial education, there is need for: Some recognized organization, such as the Chamber of Commerce, the State Association of Commercial Schools, or the League of Business Opportunities for Women, to formulate a standard higher than the legal one and to publish a list of schools which conform to it. 134 APPENDIX. TABLE 12: OFFICE POSITIONS HELD BY UNTRAINED BOYS 14 TO 18 YEARS OF AGE INCLUSIVE. BUREAU OF ATTENDANCE RECORDS, 1915. Bookkeepers 4 Wage Range $5-9 Age Range 16 BUSINESS KIND OF WORK WAGE AGE Furniture and Fixture. Asst. bookkeeper. Typewrites all bills and takes care of ledger $9.00 16 Embroidery and Lace. Asst. bookkeeper. Enters orders re- ceived and checks deliveries 8.00 16 Clothing Outer Bookkeeper 7.00 16 Furniture and Fixture. Asst. bookkeeper 5.00 16 Clerks 95 Wage Range $3-16 Age Range 14-18 Railroad Billing clerk $16.00 17 Railroad Receives all freight shipped to N. Y. and collected by wagon 12.00 17 Banking and Broker- age Weighing and in charge of testing coffee 1 1.00 18 Clothing Outer Helper, shipping department 11.00 17 Civil Service Clerk 10.00 18 Stationery General office-worker 10.00 18 Banking and Broker- age Junior clerk. Statistical work 10.00 18 Toilet Articles Shipper. Makes out bills and directs drivers 10.00 18 Shirtwaists Ladies ...Asst. buyer and receiving clerk 10.00 17 Advertising Junior clerk. Secretary to member of firm 9.25 17 Real Estate Office asst. File clerk and general of- fice-worker 9.00 18 Department Store Newspaper clipping. General office work 9.00 18 Dry Goods and No- tions Asst. receiving clerk 9.00 17 Groceries Enters bills and checks orders 9.00 17 Wall Paper Order clerk 9.00 17 Butcher Shipping clerk 9.00 17 Dry Goods and No- tions Bill clerk 8.50 17 Dry Goods and No- tions Clerical worker and salesman 8.00 18 Clothing Outer Replaces orders for shipment 8.00 18 Clothing Outer Makes out tickets. Charges goods 8.00 17 Department Store Asst. advertising manager. Attends to transferring and correcting 8.00 17 135 BUSINESS KIND OF WORK WAGE AGE Printing and Publish- ing Fills orders. Order clerk 8.00 17 Printing and Publish- ing Keeps account of manuscripts 8.00 17 Banking and Broker- age Clerical worker 8.00 17 Banking and Broker- General office worker. Does filing and age errands 8.00 17 Advertising Office worker 8.00 17 Motor Supplies Shipping clerk 8.00 16 Hardware Asst. shipping clerk. Ships goods 8,00 16 Feathers Helper on shipping 8.00 16 Newspaper Attendant, in charge of four boys 7.50 16 Cement and Stone Salesman's clerk 7.50 16 Novelties Prepares orders for shipment 7.50 16 Confectionery Ships orders 7.00 18 Rubber Products Mail clerk and office assistant 7.00 18 Jewelry Asst. shipping clerk. Prepares orders for shipment 7.00 17 Banking and Broker- age Stock boy. Fills stock cards 7.00 17 Dressmaking Asst. shipping clerk 7.00 17 Insurance Changes names of beneficiaries in poli- cies 7.00 17 Groceries Asst. to secretary. General office work. 7.00 17 Jewelry Office and clerical work 7.00 17 Furniture and Fixture. File clerk 7.00 17 Insurance Policy checker 7.00 17 Dental Supplies Shipping clerk. Ships goods 7.00 17 Automobile Junior clerk. General office worker... 7.00 16 Drugs and Medicines. .Records charges or overcharges and errors 7.00 16 Dressmaking Shipping clerk, packer, etc 7.00 16 Mail Order House File clerk. Delivers packages to chutes 7.00 16 Bottle Cap Making Does clerical work for Supt 7.00 15 Glassware and China. . .Receives goods and checks them 7.00 14 Insurance Mail clerk. Stamps and seals envelopes 7.00 14 Banking and Broker- age Clerical and general office worker 6.25 17 Civil Service First grade clerk. Does filing and in- dexing 6.25 17 Steamship Does bookkeeping and filing. Keeps records 6.25 16 Department Store Sends out letters and catalogs 6.00 18 Department Store Sample clerk 6.00 18 Art Work Clerical worker 6.00 17 Photography Information boy. Gives information, takes orders 6.00 17 Woolens Files correspondence, etc 6.00 17 136 KIND OF WORK WAGE ; AGE Dressmaking Packs orders for shipment 6.00 17 Tobacco Prepares orders for shipment 6.00 17 Clothing Outer Ships goods, makes out labor tickets, gives out goods to cut. 6.00 17 Dry Goods and No- tions Receipt clerk 6.00 17 Advertising Does all office work and filing 6.00 17 Printing & Publishing. . Keeps time. Typist 6.00 16 Automobiles Ships goods &00 16 Banking and Broker- age Stock boy clerical work and errands. . 6.00 16 Printing and Publish- ing Filing clerk 6.00 16 Clothing Outer Asst. shipping clerk 6.00 16 Clothing Outer Files letters and bills. Opens mail 6.00 15 Printing and Publish- ing Files letters 5.50 16 Stationery ...Sample clerk. Shows stock 5.50 16 Hat, Cap, Bonnet. . '. . . Assistant shipping clerk 5.00 18 Law and Collections ... Law clerk Answers cases on calendar. Does office work 5.00 17 Stationery Shipping clerk 5.00 17 Butcher Files receipts and claims 5.00 17 Novelties Packs, ships and delivers goods 5.00 17 Packs, ships and does general work 5.00 17 Banking and Broker- Board boy. Puts up quotations on stock age board 5.00 17 Dry Goods and No- tions Shipping clerk 5.00 17 Button Making Ships goods. Attends to stock 5.00 17 Real Estate General office worker. Care of receipts, collecting rents, etc 5.00 16 Clothing Outer Helper. General office worker 5.00 16 Tobacco Packs, stamps and does errands 5.00 16 Printing and Publish- Stamps mails. Deposits same in post- ing office 5.00 16 Printing and Publish- ing Filing clerk 5.00 15 Clothing Outer Helper in shipping department 5.00 15 Jewelry General utility worker. Office work and errands 5.00 15 Department Store Collects goods from different depart- ments 4.00 16 Clothing Outer Helper in shipping department 4.00 16 Clothing Outer Asst. shipping clerk 4.00 16 Painting Assistant clerk. Answers bell 4.00 15 Glassware and China. . . Billing clerk 3.00 16 Not reported Receiving clerk 16 137 Errand-Messengers 3 Wage Range $4-5 Age-Range 14-16 BUSINESS KIND OF WORK WAGK AGE ffHfH Restaurant - Office work and messenger. . $5 00 16 Silk Making Stock book and errands 450 Dressing Helps bookkeeper. Does errands 4.00 14 Office Boys 47 Wage Hange $2-8 Age Range 14-18 Building and Con- tracting ...... Office boy. Switchboard operator. . $8 00 16 Banking and Broker- *& e -.........Clerical worker 8.00 16 xpress and Trucking. Helper in office 800 16 Produce Office boy 7 50 16 Printing and Publish- T in ? u ;. Sub-clerical worker 7.00 17 Leather and Skin Typist 7>00 16 Advertising office boy. Does errands 7.00 15 Advertising Office boy. Mail clerk 6.00 17 Building and Con- tracting . Office boy. Answers telephone . . 6.00 17 furniture and Fixture. Office boy. Telephone work and mail- ^ 4 ing 6.00 16 Buttons . . . Office boy. Runs errands 6.00 16 Metal, Steel, Iron Office clerk 6.00 16 Department Store Office boy. Does filing and general of- fice work 6.00 16 Hardware Office boy 6.00 16 Banking and Broker- age Clerical worker and errand boy 6.00 16 bteamsmp Office boy. Telephone work and mail- ing 6.00 16 Dry Goods and Notions.Does errands and filing 6.00 15 Building and Con- tracting Sub-clerical worker 5.50 16 Clothing Outer Office boy 5.00 18 Neckwear Office and errand boy 5.00 17 Feathers Office and errand boy 5,00 17 Painting Office and telephone boy. Receives and announces visitors 5.00 17 Musical Instruments... Office boy. Marks price of goods on sales slips 5.00 17 Metal, Steel, Iron Does telephone work and mailing. Er- rand boy 5.00 17 Lighting Fixtures Office, errand and telephone boy. Ad- dresses letters 5.00 16 Liquors Office, switchboard and errand boy 5.00 16 Butcher Office, mail and errand boy 5.00 16 Express and Trucking. Office and errand boy 5.00 16 Telephone Messenger and office boy. Files papers . 5.00 15 Clothing Outer Takes care of mail books 5.00 15 138 BUSINESS KIND OF WORK WAGE AGE Lithographing Directs callers. Does errands 5.00 15 Furniture and Fixtures.Qffice, errand and telephone boy 5.00 15 Electrical Appliances. .Office, errand and telephone boy. Re- ceives goods 5.00 15 Law and Collections.. Office boy. Answers bells and tele- phone calls 5.00 14 Hardware Office boy 4.50 16 Machinery Office boy. Cleans office. Does errands 4.50 14 Groceries Office, telephone and errand boy 4.00 16 Glassware and China... Office, telephone and mail boy. Mes- senger 4.00 16 Painting Errand and telephone boy. Does typing and takes care of samples 4.00 16 Oil Products Watch-office boy 4.00 15 Novelties Office boy 4.00 15 Real Estate Office, mail and telephone boy 4.00 15 Religion Does light bookkeeping and switchboard work 4.00 15 Hardware Addresses envelopes. Does errands 4.00 Drugs and Medicines.. Office boy. Answers bells 4.00 14 Doctor Office boy during summer and after school 2.00 15 Woolens Office boy 15 TABLE 13: OFFICE POSITIONS HELD BY UNTRAINED GIRLS 14 TO 18 YEARS OF AGE INCLUSIVE. BUREAU OF ATTENDANCE RECORDS, 1915. Addressers 3 Wage Range $6 Age Range 16-17 Mail Order House. . . .Addresses mail $6.00 17 Mail Order House Addresses envelopes 6.00 16 Printing and Publish- ing Addresses envelopes 6.00 16 Bookkeepers 7 Wage Range $5-9 Age Range 14-17 Dressmaking Answers letters and keeps books $9.00 17 Hat, Cap, Bonnet Does all bookkeeping for firm 7.00 16 Machinery Makes entries. Takes dictation, copies letters 5.00 15 Express and Trucking. Takes charge of books for father 5.00 15 Furniture and Fixture . Answers telephone; correspondence work. Keeps the books . 5.00 Dressmaking Enters orders 5.00 Steamship Balances accounts for father ... 17 139 Cashiers 8 Wage Range $2.50-9 Age Range 14-17 BUSINESS KIND OF WORK WAGE AGE Clothing Outer Cashier. Does some bookkeeping $9.00 15 Department Store Takes cash, checks parcels 8.00 17 Butcher Cashier 8.00 17 Department Store Tallies time of employees. Receives money for sales 7.00 16 Groceries Sits at register and makes change 6.00 14 Hotel and Restaurant. .Takes charge of cash 5.00 16 Department Store Cashier and packer 5.00 17 Butcher Cashier and bookkeeper 5.00 16 Clerks 45 Wage Range $3.50-10 Age Range 14-18 Tobacco Factory pay roll clerk $10.00 18 Department Store Keeps records of correspondence 10.00 18 Dressmaking Keeps track of material given out 10.00 17 Advertising Graphotype operator 10.00 15 Department Store Files orders 14 Printing and PublishingDoes posting and billing. Asst. book- keeper 9.00 18 Printing and PublishingFiles letters. Asst. bookkeeper 8.00 18 Department Store Addressograph machine operator 8.00 17 Dry Goods and NptionsShipping clerk 8.00 17 Printing and PublishingMakes out bills 8.00 17 Banking and BrokerageKeeps track of money received and files bills 8.00 16 Embroidery and Lace. . Marks goods 7.50 18 Printing and PublishingFiles bills 7.00 18 Department Store Writes call checks 7.00 17 Religion Does typing 7.00 17 Department Store Files and addresses letters 7.00 16 Photographing Does general office work 7.00 Shirtwaists Ladies . ..Asst. bookkeeper 7.00 17 Tobacco Tabulates sheets. Does filing 6.50 16 Stationery Files letters. Asst. bookkeeper 6.00 Mail Order House Fills out blanks for customers 6.00 Clothing-t-Outer Keeps accounts of received goods 6.00 16 Clothing Outer Cuts tickets 6.00 16 Agricultural Printer. Works at stenciling and esti- mates 6.00 16 Mail Order House. . . .Writes letters 6.00 16 Department Store Attends to mail, makes out bills and keeps books 6.00 Department Store Attends to mail orders 5.00 Feathers Charges accounts 6.00 Medical Instruments. ..Does general office work 5.50 Department Store. Audits due bills 5.00 18 Department Store Enters sales. Turns in amounts to cashier at end of month 5.00 18 140 BUSINESS KIND OF WORK WAGE AGE Department Store Sorts bills. Looks up orders 5.00 17 Department Store Answers telephone. Looks up orders. . 5.00 17 Printing and PublishingFiles bills 5.00 16 Pattern Making Files order cards 5.00 16 Clothing Outer Does clerical work 5.00 16 Department Store Entry clerk. Puts checks on boxes 5.00 16 Printing and PublishingAddresses envelopes. Files cards 5.00 15 Department Store Clerk in mail order dept 4.50 17 Department Store Checks up commission of clerks 4.50 16 (lunch) Department Store Keeps track of appointments in altera- tion department 4.00 * 16 Department Store Enters bills in books 4.00 17 Department Store Files letters. Answers telephone 4.00 16 Department Store Does general office work 4.00 17 News Clipper 1 Wage Range $5 Age Range 17 Newspaper Cuts clippings from papers and pastes them $5.00 17 Telephone Operator 1 Wage Range $5 Age Range 17 Department Store Calls up self charges $5.00 17 TABLE 14: OFFICE POSITIONS HELD BY BOYS 14 TO 18 YEARS OF AGE WHO HAVE HAD COMMERCIAL TRAINING. BUREAU OF ATTENDANCE RECORDS, 1915. Bookkeepers 2 Wage Range $8-10 Age Range 17 Roofing Keeps accounts $10.00 17 Leather and Skins Asst. bookkeeper 8.00 17 Clerks 12 Wage Range $4.50-10 Age Range 15-18 Instruction .Shipping clerk $10.00 17 Electrical Appliances. .Shipping clerk. Gets orders ready and ships them. Also receives goods... 8.50 17 Embroidery and Lace. .Does filing, indexing and typing 8.00 16 Railroads Filing clerk 6.25 Law and Collections . . Does typing and filing 6.00 Machinery General office worker 6.00 Plumbing Keeps charges and letter books 6.00 16 141 BUSINESS KIND OF WORK WAGE AGE Stationery Packs orders for delivery 6.00 16 Tobacco Sends out letters. Does stamping 5.50 16 Engineering and Motor Supplies Does filing and order work 5.00 16 Steamship Lines Mail clerk. Folds and inserts circulars 5.00 16 Mail Order House Checks invoices. Does billing and mail- ing 4.50 15 Copy Holder 1 Wage Bange $5 Age Range 17 Printing and PublishingCopy holder for proof reader $5.00 17 Office Boys 7 Wage Range $4-6 Age Range 14-17 Furniture and Fixtures. Office and mail boy. Does errands $6.00 16 Amusement Office boy 5.00 17 Architecture Office boy. Files drawings 5.00 16 Department Store Office boy. Does clerical and telephone work 5.00 15 Law and Collections. . .Does minor clerical work and errands.. 5.00 15 Real Estate Does general office work and errands. . 4.50 17 Drugs and Medicines . . Office boy 4.00 14 Stenographers and Typists 4 Wage Range $9-12 Age Range 15-18 Electricity and Gas Stenographer and typist $12.00 18 Railroad ....Correspondence. Enters freight cards. 10.00 Automobile Stenographer and typist 10.00 Printing and PublishingTypist 9.00 15 TABLE 15: OFFICE POSITIONS HELD BY GIRLS 14 TO 18 YEARS OF AGE WHO HAVE HAD COMMERCIAL TRAINING. BUREAU OF ATTENDANCE OF RECORDS, 1915. Bookkeepers 6 Wage Range $6-8 Age Range 15-17 Automobile Asst. bookkeeper. Does general office work. Enters charges in books $8.00 17 Department Store Does billing. Answers telephone. Looks up charges 7.00 17 Dental Supplies Enters charges. Assists in bookkeeping 6.00 Printing & Publishing. Keeps book and accounts 6.00 15 Plumbing Makes out bills 17 Funeral Undertaking.. Bookkeeper and stenographer for father 142 Cashier 1 Wage Range $6 Age Range 17 BUSINESS KIND OF WORK WAGE AGE Groceries Does bookkeeping and makes change. . $6.00 17 Clerks 15 Wage Range $3.50-9 Age Range 14-18 Glove Making Does general office work $9.00 18 Furniture and Fixtures. Comptometer operator 8.00 17 Printing & Publishing. Files letters. Asst. bookkeeper 8.00 18 Printing & Publishing. Files bills 7.00 18 Drugs and Medicines . . Operates adding machine 7.00 17 Printing & Publishing. Addresses envelopes 7.00 17 Tobacco Asst bookkeeper 6.50 16 Instruction Does typing 6.00 18 Stationery Files letters. Asst. bookkeeper 6.00 17 Mail Order House Enters orders in books. Keeps monthly totals 5.50 17 Mail Order House Writes and keeps account of mail 5.00 17 Medical Instruments. . .Answers telephone and takes orders 5.00 17 Mail Order House Sends out requisitions 5.00 16 Glassware and China. . .Does clerical work, filing, etc 5.00 15 Box Making Answers telephone and enters bills 5.00 Drugs and Medicines. . Makes out bills and transfers 5.00 14 Feathers Addresses mail 3.50 14 Telephone Operators 2 Wage Range $6-8 Age Range 16-18 Clothing Outer . . . Correspondence and billing. Does typ- ing $8.00 18 Furniture and Fixtures. Does filing and writing 6.00 16 Stenographers and Typists 27 Wage Range $5.50-12 Age Range 16-19 Law and Collections. . .Law clerk $12.00 19 Advertising Does secretarial work 12.00 Dressmaking Does bookkeeping and stenography 12.00 Automobiles - . .Works on pay roll, books, letters, etc. . . 12.00 Liquors Keeps track of orders and letters 12.00 Tobacco Takes dictation 10.00 Civil Service Keeps records 10.00 16 Box Making.'.*. Stenography and bookkeeping 9.00 16 Printing & Publishing. Dictation of letters 8.75 Mining and Mining Products Takes dictation. Does copying 8.00 Real Estate Has entire charge of office dictation... 7.00 Embroidery and Lace. .Does office work 7.00 17 143 BUSINESS KIND OF WORK WAGE AGE Department Store Files bills. Does typing 7.00 17 Express and Trucking. Does bookkeeping. Receives and an- swers mail 7.00 17 Printing & Publishing. Takes dictation. Does office work 7.00 16 Dressmaking Switchboard work and correspondence. 7.00 16 Law and Collections. . . Copies and addresses envelopes 6.25 17 Law and Collections. . .Types all legal work 6.00 19 Hotel and Restaurants. Does typing and stenography 6.00 17 Law Collections Types letters 6.00 Funeral Undertaking.. Keeps accounts of books. Types charges 6.00 Department Store Fills in circular letters 6.00 17 Mail Order House Does typing 6.00 Real Estate Types and files letters 6.00 Printing & Publishing. Types letters to subscribers 6.00 Department Store Makes out bills 5.50 Drugs and Medicines . . Does typing 144 LOAN DEPT VC 05814 >#: /WJf UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRAKY