THE GIRL AND THE JOB BY HELEN CHRISTENE HOERLE It AND FLORENCE B. SALTZBERG of the Vocational Guidance Committee Wadleigh High School New York City NEW YORK HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 1919 COPTRIGHT, 1910 BY HENKY HOLT AND COMPANY THE QUINN * BODCN . . . . . vii THE BUSINESS FIELD . . . . * 3 OFFICE WORKERS: The Office Girl . , . . . . . 6 The File Clerk . ... . * ( . ... 7 The Typist * . '. . . . ' , . . . 8 The Dictaphone Operator . , v ; 9 The Stenotypist 9 The Multigrapher . . ..... . . * 10 The Stenographer . . . . . . ... . . II The Public Stenographer . . , . . . . 15 The Private Secretary ... . . . . . 17 The Bookkeeper . ... . . . . , . 19 The Accountant ..,...,,.. . . . 21 The Cashier . . * . ....*. 22 DEPARTMENT STORE WORKERS: The Cash Girl > . . . . ... * . 26 The Stock Girl ... . ..... . 27 The Saleswoman . ^ . . * . . . . 27 The Buyer .f .30 The Professional Shopper . 32 The Demonstrator . . . . . ... . 34 HOTEL WORKERS: The Floor Clerk 39 The Desk Clerk . . . , . . . . . 40 The Room Clerk ... . .... 40 The Cafe" Cashier ... ' . . . . . . . 41 The Food Checker . ... ... . . . 41 The Waitress . ... .... . 41 xiii xiv CONTENTS PAGE AGENCY WORK: The Employment Agent 45 The Real Estate Agent 48 The Insurance Agent . . ..... .50 The Advertising Agent . . ... . . 63 The Press Agent . 56 The Advance Agent . . . . r . . . 59 The Booking Agent . . ... * .. . 62 MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES : The Telephone Operator ....... 66 The Telegraph Operator . < , . , . . . 69 The Elevator Operator . . . . . . . 72 The Tea Room Manager 73 The Florist 76 The Model 80 The Dressmaker .... . . . . . 85 The Milliner . .' . . . . . . . . 88 The Hair Dresser ... 92 The Manicurist . . . ' . . .... 94 The Theater Treasurer . . "... . . 96 The Usher ; . . . . 98 The Detective . . v 99 The Commercial Traveler 103 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN: The Home Maker 106 The Dietitian 110 The Social Worker 113 The Nurse 115 The Physician 120 The Oculist 123 The Dentist 125 The Pharmacist . .128 The Bacteriologist 130 The Newspaper Woman 133 The Writer 137 The Teacher 149 The Librarian . 159 CONTENTS xv PAGE The Lawyer 163 The Statistician 166 ARTS AND THE GIEL: The Jeweler . . . . e . . 170 The Interior Decorator .. . 172 The Landscape Gardener , 174 The Architect . . .177 The Photographer . . . . . ... . . . 181 The Costume Illustrator . . ... . .183 The Magazine Illustrator . . '. 185 The Novelty Painter . .... i . . .188 The Scenic Artist . . . . . . . . .190 The Musician , . ./, > ... 193 The Pianist . . . . . . , - 198 The Actress . , . . . / . . . .200 THE GIBL IN INDUSTRY: Factory Workers ; . . . . . . . . 208 The Paper Box Maker . . .... . . 212 The Candy Maker .*...... 214 The Biscuit Maker . . . . . . . . 216 The Cigarette Worker . . . ... . . . 219 The Hat Maker . . , 221 The Clothing Maker . . . . . . . .224 The Printing and Bindery Worker .... . 228 1 The Laundry Worker . ... .... . 232 The Motion Picture Industry . . . . . . 235 The Farmer / . '. . . . . . . 243 THE GIBL IN BUSINESS: The City Girl . . . . . . ., . . 251 The Small Town Girl ........ 254 The Country Girl ....... . . . . 258 INDEX . . . ... . ; M M M ... . ... . 265 THE GIRL AND THE JOB THE BUSINESS FIELD THE business world offers the broadest field of work for the average girl who does not or cannot go to college for highly specialized training. There is hardly a business house, no matter how small, that does not have a cashier or a stenographer. Although at one time all such posi- tions were held by men, at present nearly all are held by girls. We shall, therefore, consider some of the op- portunities and problems which the business field presents to girls. One of the first questions to be faced, is whether the girl wants to become ultimately an employer her- self, or remain an employee indefinitely. Some people work much better under direction than on their own initiative, whereas others accomplish more if they can make their own plans. The girl who is willing to accept responsibility, anxiety and uncertainty of success, may attempt to establish herself in a business of her own. She must be ready to face the possibility of failure and of losing all she possesses. In return for this risk, she will have the privilege of working out her own ideas and the opportunity of doing the work for which she may believe she is best fitted. There is, perhaps, as good a chance for a woman today to establish herself in an independent business as there 3 TH^ BUSINESS FIELD equipped with intelligence, courage and perseverance, has many fields from which to choose. The first requisite is experience, as florist, employ- ment agent, or tea room proprietor, etc. Years of ap- prenticeship in a business, full knowledge of the conditions of supply and demand, and some capital make a good foundation for success in business. The girl just out of school who desires eventually to establish herself in a business of her own, should select the field that attracts her most, and seek a position there. A small salary at first, provided she can live on it without loss of health, should not deter the girl from going into business. She should remember she is work- ing for experience. It is better to begin in the lowest position and work her way up, than to secure a reason- ably good position and remain in it. The latter will afford the girl less opportunity of learning the business. If she have an opportunity to save and if she have the necessary personal qualities of ambition and initia- tive, the time will come when she will feel justified in striking out for herself. Of course, before attempting to establish a new busi- ness in any neighborhood, one must know that such a business is needed there. No matter how well one may be prepared to do a certain thing, it is most foolish to attempt it unless the girl is convinced that there is need of what she can do. In selecting the neighborhood in which she will open her shop, let us say, she must consider whether it is well-to-do or poor, whether she THE BUSINESS FIELD 6 may expect to make few sales at large profits or whether she must make many sales at small profit, in order to make her business pay. She must of course consider the items of rent, light, printing, help, replenishing of stock and a hundred other details which may seem too small to bother about but loom large when the bills come in. There are many things that girls may sell profitably. Those that we are most familiar with, are cooked food, clothes, and flowers. Novelty shops pay better in small towns than in New York, though in New York many women are successfully maintaining lingerie shops in residential sections. An enterprising woman in Mont- clair serves dinners to people in their own homes, mak- ing a great success in a new field. We must not overlook the fact that while the choice of whether they may be employers or employees is un- doubtedly open to some girls, to many, many others there is but one thing possible, work for some one else. Society has not so far developed that equal opportunity is open for all, but with the further organization of business and its more democratic control, we may be sure there will soon be more equal opportunity. Per- haps the great influx of women into world work is to be one of the factors in bringing about this growth. In the next chapters, we shall tell you about several kinds of work in which women have achieved prosperity, discussing first, the various positions open to girls in a business office. OFFICE WORKERS THE OFFICE GIRL IN every town and city there are business offices, in nearly every one of which at least one girl is em- ployed. The office girl is fast succeeding the office boy. An office girl works seven or eight hours a day, making herself generally useful. She runs errands, addresses envelopes, stamps letters, attends to the mail, receives callers, delivers cards of introduction and in every way tries to see what she can do to aid others. She usually has a half day Saturday and receives a two weeks' vacation in the summer. Many firms today are utilizing the services of girls from 14 to 16 instead of the much joked about, gum- chewing office boy. Girls are more willing and cheer- ful, less impertinent and lazy. However girls are not always as strong as boys and girls of this age are more apt to be absent because of illness than boys; although in summer a boy generally loses some time going to base- ball games. Moreover, girls usually stay in a position longer than boys and therefore are more liable to rapid advancement. Weighing the pros and cons in the balance, the affair works out in favor of the office girl. 6 THE FILE CLERK 2 THE FILE CLERK In a few weeks or months if she evinces ambition she may prepare herself to become a filing clerk. Not so very long ago, filing was considered merely a necessary evil, a method of getting mail out of the way. But today filing is rather a complicated matter to the un- initiated, and many filing clerks in large establishments are graduates of Schools of Filing. When a girl rises from the ranks and learns the filing system used by the firm for which she is working, she sometimes becomes as efficient as if she had taken a course and her salary is increased accordingly. The course in a filing school is usually four weeks and costs between $30 and $40. Upon completing the course, the school places the graduate in a position which pays approximately $15 weekly. Girls who have taken the filing course may ultimately receive a salary of $30 a week while the girls who do not take the course usually receive from $10 to $18 a week. Having advanced from the position of office girl at which she received about $10 a week (a few years ago she would have gotten about $6) to the work of file clerk, the ambitious girl may go even further. A few women of exceptional ability have made a success of organizing filing systems, introducing them into various offices, and giving such supervision as is necessary from time to time, to keep the files in good 8 OFFICE WORKERS working order. For this they are paid a comparatively small fee by each concern, but their total annual in- come may be large. This work often entails traveling from place to place which makes it most interesting. THE TYPIST While a girl is working as an office assistant, she can study typewriting in the evening either at a public or a private school. As soon as she is able to do neat and rapid work, she can secure a position as copyist, billing clerk or dictaphone operator. Later she may study stenography or stenotyping as she has studied typewrit- ing. Then if she works untiringly and with a definite aim in view, she may become a private secretary or office manager. The typist must be accurate, neat and rapid. Her duties are to copy Manuscript, fill in index cards, ad- dress envelopes, copy plays, letters, etc. For this she will receive from $12 to possibly $20 a week. Typists who are specially accurate and specialize on insurance or accounting work are in great demand and there are many positions open to them at $18 and $20 a week. The work, however, is most monotonous and no matter how good a typist a girl is, she usually endeavors to study stenography so that she may be able to alternate her work. THE DICTAPHONE OPERATOR 9 THE DICTAPHONE OPERATOR The dictaphone operator typewrites letters, etc., not from the dictation of her employer but from the dicta- tion of a phonograph-like machine into which the busi- ness man talks and dictates his letters. The dictaphone operator then adjusts the machine to her ears and type- writes the letters as dictated by the records. When she has finished a record it is placed aside and later scraped clean by another machine and put away for future use. Acute hearing and steady nerves are required for this work. The salaries average the same as stenographic work, from $12 to $20 a week, the hours and the vaca- tions being those of the usual business office. THE STENOTYPIST Just a few years ago a new machine was placed on the market which opened another field to the girl just out of school. To the girl who finds office work appeal- ing but to whom the mental feat of learning stenography is nothing short of a miracle, the stenotype will be a welcome invention. The stenotype is built on the same general lines as a typewriter, except that the action is simpler. By using combinations of letters, this machine records a kind of stenography on the typewriter. Stenotyping may be studied in connection with type- writing, at any good business school. To learn to write correctly with one hundred and twenty-five words per minute as a fair speed, and to learn typewriting at the 10 OFFICE WORKERS same time, requires from three to eight months. The course costs about $12 a month. Experienced typists who desire to learn the stenographic code, could prob- ably acquire it in a month's evening course (usually three lessons a week) at a cost of $5 a month. A girl who takes up stenotyping, must buy her own ma- chine which costs $100. Stenotypists earn from $12 to $25 a week. One decided advantage in using this special machine is that an expert stenotypist can take sufficient dictation to keep six ordinary typists busy. Another is that any stenotypist can read another's notes a thing which is frequently impossible in stenography. THE MULTIGRAPHER The important process of duplicating typewritten letters is called multigraphing. As the multigrapher needs some mechanical skill, men are often employed for this work, but more girls are entering this branch of office work daily. Any girl who has a mechanical turn of mind and who is not afraid to soil her hands, can become a successful multigrapher. It usually takes from two to three weeks to learn the construction of the machine, to set the type, and to operate the machine with facility. The work may be learned at the office of the firm which manufactures the machine or in an office where the machine is used. Multigraphers receive from $10 to $18 weekly. Office work attracts many girls because they may THE STENOGRAPHER 11 easily obtain a position without spending any time, money or energy on training. But if the girl doing office work does not try to progress to earn more and to make something worth while of herself, she will find that she will always be " just an office worker." But if she applies herself to study at night, if she cannot afford the time during the day, and strives to better herself, she will be able to do so. THE STENOGRAPHER Next to teaching, stenography may be said to be the most generally " acceptable " occupation for girls. This means that it is considered " respectable and ladylike " work for which almost any girl can fit herself. This of course attracts to stenography hundreds and thou- sands of girls who have no definite ideas of what their capabilities are and no desire to study themselves care- fully or to develop their best gifts. It goes without saying that there are also stenographers who are gifted by nature to do this work, and who have put their best efforts into educating themselves for it by study at school and by experience. These are few; the former many. While the casual observer will tell you that the field of stenography is overrun with workers, one who has had long experience in business life will say that there are too few good stenographers. It is true that many busi- ness firms require speed above everything else. Neat- ness, accuracy and good English certain business houses 12 OFFICE WORKERS do not demand. It should be said that when they only require speed, it is all they pay for. And speed alone is not rated as a high-priced qualification. Most business houses prefer a stenographer whose work is exquisitely neat, whose English is faultless, who can be relied on absolutely to follow directions, and who will take some responsibility when no direc- tions are given. There are few such stenographers in the big cities, perhaps it would be fairer to say, in New York. Business concerns seeking stenographers some- times specify that they wish a girl educated outside New York City, for she is much more likely to have initiative and a general good training than the girl from New York. Stenography includes a knowledge of both shorthand and typewriting. Letter writing, spelling and grammar are other subjects which a Business School teaches in a stenographic course. Education equivalent to the grammar school course will admit to a Business School. But high school and college graduates stand a much better chance of rapid advancement. The usual time consumed in studying stenography is from eight to ten months, at a cost of from $100 to $150 at a good, reliable school. The hours of the school day are about the same as in public schools. However, there are in many cities schools supported by private donations where a girl may receive practically the same training, and pay only for books. Other schools provide even the books for their free students. In many high THE STENOGRAPHER 13 schools, a three years' commercial course is offered. Here the student will study, besides what the business college offers, business arithmetic, a foreign language, and English, as well as many of the general high school subjects. There are, too, night schools where stenog- raphy is taught, affording an opportunity to ambitious factory and store workers to prepare for entrance into a new field. All these schools issue diplomas and many of them place their students in positions. But caution must be used in answering advertisements for stenographers as well as in answering any kind of application for help wanted, when the firm is not well known. To the girl who, on leaving elementary school or high school, wishes to select a business school where she may learn stenography, we have a word of warning to offer. The most reliable business schools do not make a practice of sending representatives to the homes of graduates to solicit pupils. Then, too, some business schools promise to secure employment for their pupils when they finish the course. This sounds very alluring. There seems to be, however, among some business schools and business houses a curious system of rotation. A pupil after graduation from her course will be given a position as promised. Then after a month or two, for no very defi- nite reason, she will be discharged, her place being filled by a girl just graduated, who, too, had been prom- ise^ a position by the school. A reliable agency can always be consulted and many girls secure their posi- 14 OFFICE WORKERS tions through the employment bureau maintained by typewriter companies. A good way to obtain confidence in yourself and practical business experience as well, is to get a job substituting for another stenographer away on her vaca- tion or sick. Do not mind the amount of salary while you are thus filling in. After working for a week or two, your employer will be glad to give you a letter setting forth your qualifications as they appear to him. If you have done good work, a recommendation to that effect will help greatly in getting a permanent position. The average wage for beginners who have had no advantages in the way of education aside from the business college course, are from $12 to $15 a week. Two years ago a girl began at $8 but salaries are gradually increasing. After three or four years, the stenographers may advance to $18 or $20. After that her salary will be problematical. It may be she will never make more. But if she is with a firm that has no use for the better work which she wishes to do, let her try to get a position elsewhere. Good, experienced stenographers should have no trouble in getting from $20 to $25 per week. The best educated stenographers will receive in time $30 a week, rarely more. They may, however, graduate into private secretaries for their employers. A vacation of a week or two with pay will usually be given stenographers. Hours vary from the usual nine to five with Saturday afternoons off (which many com- THE PUBLIC STENOGRAPHER 15 mercial houses in New York give) to the small city business firm which requires work from eight to six, six days a week. When a girl is young and strong, she need not mind a position with long hours if she feels she is gaining valuable experience and training which will enable her to better herself soon. But nothing except economic necessity should make a girl willing to stay where the work is unreasonably exacting, es- pecially if she is not getting much more out of it than a meager salary. Neatness, accuracy, precision, a good general educa- tion and a clear head are necessary for success as a well- paid stenographer. THE PUBLIC STENOGRAPHER To the girl who has been successful in stenography and who, after a few years of experience, desires to be her own boss, public stenography offers an interesting oppor- tunity. To be a successful public stenographer, a girl must have tact, business ability, a little capital which she is willing to risk, and a certain amount of financial backing. As the name implies, a public stenographer is one who works, not for a private firm or an individual, but for any one who may desire her services. When a new building is being erected, a stenographer who desires to open an office, takes a lease on an office in that building, with the concession of having a card \vith PUBLIC STENOGRAPHER and the number of 16 OFFICE WORKERS her room in all the corridors and in every elevator. The added concession is sometimes granted that there shall be no other public stenographer in the building. Thus she assures all the work in the building to herself. People often prefer having their work done under the same roof with their offices, as it saves time and trouble. If a girl can not afford a whole office, she may hire desk room in another office, for $12 to $15 a month. A public stenographer does work that can not be handled by the regular office staff. Rush work is given her. Sometimes when a man can not afford to employ a stenographer by the week, he contracts with the public stenographer in the building for a few hours' work a day. A society woman sometimes sends for the public stenographer whose advertisement she has seen in her husband's office building or the telephone book. As a public stenographer, a girl can teach all she has learned herself to her corps of assistants as they grow in numbers. She can establish a reputation of having no work done in her office that is not beautiful and precise. She can establish a reputation of always send- ing to the society matron who wishes social notes written or to the public speaker who wishes to dictate a lecture, a soft-voiced, neatly garbed, accurate young woman who does work that is uniformly good. There aren't too many of that type of stenographer. In most hotels, there are public stenographers who pay the hotel a certain amount a month for desk room ; THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 17 and find customers among the hotel guests. The small- town girl if she be ambitious, may easily build up a comfortable trade. By establishing herself in the local hotel, paying a small amount for desk room, she could soon command the trade of the commercial men who stop there. Moreover, few business men in a very small town can afford a full-time stenographer but like to have their few letters typewritten. A traveling sales- man of a big concern told of an experience recently that illustrates this. " Last year when I was in !N~ , I wanted to send an order to the firm, but in that whole town I couldn't find a stenographer to take the letter. There was no use writing it myself; the firm couldn't read it. I lost that order. When I went to N" , a few months ago, there was a girl in a corner of the lobby, well-established as a public stenographer. She is kept so busy she's there some nights till nine o'clock. Then for days she has little to do but to rest up for work when it comes." THE PRIVATE SECRETARY Of the various uses to which a knowledge of typewrit- ing and stenography may be put, perhaps the most lucrative is work as a private secretary. There are, now, several schools which make a spe- cialty of preparing girls for the work of private secretary. Columbia University offers a special course, as do many of the commercial high schools of the coun- try. There is even a special school for private sec- 18 OFFICE WORKERS retaries in New York. In these courses girls are trained 1 to write accurately as well as to do typewriting and to know stenography. A girl, on entering is generally given the choice of training for work as private secretary to a business man, or as social secretary. Both courses presuppose three traits of character aside from any technical equipment, tact, a sense of responsibility and the ability to deal with all types of people. The girl who becomes private secretary to a business man must be prepared to do anything and everything from jogging along an employer who has tendencies to "leave for tomorrow what should be done today," to taking entire charge of the routine work of the office if her employer goes out of town. She must be able to acquire some knowledge of the technical part of her employer's work, such as a knowledge of law, of stocks, of rubber goods, or white goods, and so on, in short, to make herself generally helpful. Of course, opening her employer's mail and answering it is part of the work. 'A private secretary often knows her employer's virtues, habits and manners better than his own family does; his secrets are hers ; and if she is wise, she forgets the things she should forget, and remembers only those things she is paid to remember. For this responsible work of being her employer's " right hand man," and for acting at times in his place, the successful private secretary usually receives from $30 to $50 per week. Occasionally more. Such em- ployment offers a girl the chance to make herself indis- THE BOOKKEEPER 19 pensable to the firm and makes for permanency of position. The work of a social secretary (which we shall discuss here since it is so closely related to the position of stenographer and private secretary in business) is a somewhat different story. Women of wealth frequently employ a social secretary to answer personal and social correspondence. Frequently she is required to assist in planning various social functions. Accuracy in handling all types of letters, announce- ments, invitations, acceptances and regrets, is an essen- tial in this work. Intimate knowledge of social usages and current etiquette together with pleasing manners and an attractive appearance will greatly help to insure the success of the social secretary. The salary for this type of work varies, hut $25 to $30 a week is con- sidered a fair average. THE BOOKKEEPER Practically every business, no matter how small, needs the services of a bookkeeper. This work can be learned at any good business school or commercial high school, and a brief study of the rudiments of bookkeeping is usually included in a stenographic course. Accuracy in handling figures is needed, and in the case of a girl employed by a small firm, neatness in writing figures is especially important in order to avoid errors. Large firms have adding machines to eliminate errors of this kind, but all bookkeepers have some writr 20 OFFICE WORKERS ing to do, and clear penmanship is one of the chief requirements. In a small concern the bookkeeper is frequently called upon to do other office work, and she will find that a knowledge of typewriting and stenography are a great asset. When a girl does nothing but bookkeeping all day the work is likely to prove very tiresome. Bending over books constantly is, moreover, injurious if kept up for any great length of time. But if she alternates between stenography and bookkeeping the work is less arduous, more healthful, and more interesting. This work offers very few opportunities of advance- ment except in large establishments where a girl may become chief bookkeeper of an entire department. With further study, in recent years however, it has become possible for a bookkeeper to become an accountant. New York University, the University of Pennsylvania, the College of the City of ISTew York and other colleges now offer excellent courses in accounting which help a bookkeeper to advance. Salaries of bookkeepers range from $15 a week and upwards ; the usual salary of an expert bookkeeper, who knows her business and can keep a set of books perfectly, averages between $30 and $40 weekly. A young woman who is considered one of the cleverest and most accurate bookkeepers in New York says, " An outsider, I suppose, considers bookkeeping a very monotonous occupation but keeping a set of books is almost like a story. Beginning every month you open THE ACCOUNTANT 21 a new page, and look forward eagerly to the end of the month to see if you get your trial balance. If it comes the first time, you feel as elated as if some one had given you a gift." So you see there is a romance to figures if one is will- ing to seek it out, and every job has its compensations to those who are interested and determined to succeed. THE ACCOUNTANT This is one of the branches of commercial work which has but recently opened its doors to women. Although there are but three women certified public accountants in the field at present, there are plenty of opportunities for women accountants to get positions. Banks and insurance companies, heretofore very conservative in employing women as accountants, are now gradually changing their attitude. Technical equipment for this work may be gained at any of the recognized schools of accountancy or at the schools of commerce, but practical experience is essen- tial. This may be obtained by going to work for an accountant as an assistant. If a girl has a good position which she cannot afford to give up for experience of this sort, she may gain some experience by doing night work. She may also open sets of books or render other types of accountants'-services as private work for small firms who cannot afford to employ an accountant reg- ularly. An accountant may set up in business for herself, 22 OFFICE WORKERS taking an office and contracting to do work for various business firms, inspecting books and supervising the accounting of her clients. Such a business can easily be made to yield an income of from $2000 to $4000 a year when she has inspired confidence by the fine character of her work. However, it takes a long time and a wide circle of acquaintances in the business world to build up a business of this kind. No person may become a Certified Public Accountant who is not at least twenty-five years of age. College graduation or its equivalent in commercial courses or in accountancy is a prerequisite. Five years of work as a clerkship with a certified public accountant are required before a student is eligible to take the examina- tion. The examination is notoriously a very difficult one. So far three women have succeeded in passing it, and there is no reason why more should not be able to qualify. There is practically no limit to the amount of money a certified public accountant may make, de- pending upon the type and wealth of her clientele. THE CASHIEB Virtually every business employs a cashier. Often in the- small shops, the position is held by the proprietor himself or by a member of his family. At the other end of the commercial scale are the cashiers of banks and other large businesses, men of ability, earning good salaries. But many cashiers' positions such as those in THE CASHIER 23 department stores, restaurants, drug and candy stores, barber shops, etc., are held by women. For the clear-headed girl, quick at arithmetic, the work is comparatively easy, but the pay is usually small and the hours are often very long. There are many opportunities for girls to work as cashiers in department stores. There the hours are not so long but the work is done under high pressure, each girl often having from six to ten, sometimes twelve, cash tubes to attend to. A mistake is a serious matter, for any deficit is deducted from her salary. In the small stores and restaurants, there is little strain for the cashier except as the result of too-long hours. In these stores, the cashiers ordinarily receive from $10 to $13 a week for twelve or fourteen hours' work a day, often seven days a week. In the restaurants, the pay is from $10 to $18 a week, the hours about the same, two meals being given in addition to the salary. In tea rooms, cashiers are usually paid a dollar a day with lunch; the hours are usually not more than six or eight and Sunday work is seldom required. The only advantage which the position of cashier offers to offset the long hours and low rate of pay, is that there are periods nearly every day during which a girl may read or study; few restaurants are busy con- stantly. Many an ambitious young woman has prepared for examinations while acting as cashier. Sometimes these positions may be had for parts of days or for evenings, or for Saturdays and Sundays, 24 OFFICE WORKERS leaving the employee free to attend school in the morn- ing. But the salaries in such cases provide only the barest living, sometimes only room rent. The qualifications for the positions of cashier are first of all and above all, honesty ; second, a clear, quick mind, and finally, facility in the use of simple arith- metic. The cashier in a public place will find it necessary to learn to meet hundreds of people daily with perhaps a moment's cheerful greeting, not making the mistake of thinking about customers in a personal way, nor allowing them to think so of her. The problem of the personal and social relation in business is one that presses hard upon the girl who elects to be a cashier. It challenges all her dignity and commonsense to solve it successfully. And she can do this much more readily if her mind is occupied when not directly busy with her duties as cashier, with study or book which will extend her in- terests beyond the desk where she makes change. DEPARTMENT STORE WORKERS IN a department store there are many departments, each employing trained and untrained workers, from the least skilled to the highly skilled and well-paid executives. We are here going to discuss exclusively the kinds of work that are peculiar to the department store, only mentioning in passing that department stores employ cashiers, elevator operators, stenographers, typists, file clerks, models, dressmakers, milliners and many other women workers whose positions and prob- lems are dealt with elsewhere in this book. THE CASH GIRL Few people believe that children should have to work for their living. Some day the ideal of a childhood free from care with opportunity for a good education, will become the right of every child born into the world. Until such a time comes there will be many children who, as soon as they are old enough to get working papers, must become wage earners. A few years ago there were practically only two fields open to the fourteen-year-old girl on leaving school to go to work, the department store and the factory. To- day there are three, for so many girls of fourteen are 25 26 DEPARTMENT STORE WORKERS becoming office girls that there is said to be almost a scarcity of them for department stores. For several reasons, however, the department stores today do not employ as many young girls as formerly. First of all, pneumatic tubes are almost universally used, thus eliminating the once-familiar cash girl who hurried to and fro from early morning until the store closed at night. Of course in the smaller cities and towns, cash girls are employed to some extent, but their wages today are about double what they were a few years ago. A cash girl now receives on an average of $8 a week to start. Little skill is demanded of her, but the work will doubtless prove wearisome and trying to her childish patience. She may bring a lunch from home and eat it in a room provided for that purpose. Some department stores advertise for help when they need it, others maintain a waiting list, and often a girl can obtain a job through a friend who is working in the store. A direct appeal to the superintendent's office is perhaps the best method to pursue whether the store is a large or small one. Absolute cleanliness of person, plain, neat clothes, (store employees are usually required to wear dark blue or black) good shoes and tidy hair are first essentials. With them a job comes easily; without them, very hard. When a girl of fourteen applies for a job she must have her working papers with her, and they are filed in the archives of the store which engages her. t THE STOCK GIRL 27 THE STOCK GIRL The next higher position to which she may he promoted if she has shown herself willing and eager to learn, is that of stock girl. (Nowadays, however, many girls become stock girls immediately upon employment.) The stock girl's duties are to keep the stock or goods in her department well dusted, in order, and in place. She will be raised a dollar a week or perhaps more when she becomes a stock girl; salaries in department stores varying greatly in different cities, and in different stores in the same city. The usual wage is $12.50 for a stock girl. While she is handling stock, she will gradually learn many things, some because she consciously tries to do so, and some she will unconsciously absorb without any effort on her own part or exerting any initiative. She will learn differences in materials, differences in qual- ities of the same material, the names of the various articles, the styles, and above all she will learn, by ob- serving the clerks around her, how to sell goods over the counter, to study people and to manage different types. The latter is most essential for a successful saleswoman. THE SALESWOMAN The next step in the ladder is the position of sales- woman. However, a high school graduate can become a saleswoman immediately. Selling may seem an easy proposition but it is really the hardest thing in the 28 DEPARTMENT STORE WORKERS world. There are so many women who merely " shop," that is, stroll in and out of stores inquiring prices without the least intention of purchasing anything, and those people are the bane of the saleswoman's existence. She may lose a good sale while trifling away her time with a shopper; and each saleswoman has a certain record she must maintain. The saleswoman is receiving a higher salary today than she has ever before. Few department stores start a saleswoman at less than $10 or $12 a week and the latter is the usual salary. Salaries vary from $12 to $20 according to the saleswoman's ability to maintain her standard. Many department stores now pay their saleswomen an additional small commission on all sales over and above a certain amount to encourage and stimulate them in their work. The world today is beginning to realize that people must have an incentive to work, and that money is the greatest incentive for everybody. At present many stores in the large cities have part- time workers women who come in for just the after- noon when the rush is greatest, or for two or three days a week, usually the big sale-days. These women of course do not receive as much as the girl who works the regular number of hours. For a day's work, the part- time worker may receive from $2.50 to $3.50 a day and some of the specialty shops pay even more. The employment of part-time saleswomen is an economy for the store and an assistance for women who desire to earn THE SALESWOMAN 29 some money but who, because of home conditions, can not go out to work every day, or for a whole day. The girl who proves that she is an efficient saleswoman may become "head of stock" in charge of all the girls in a department. She must see that there is always an adequate supply of stock on hand, she confers with the buyer and assistant buyer, and acts as their right hand. She receives from $20 to $30 a week. In many of the smaller department stores and in five-and-ten-cent stores, salesgirls are required to do a greater variety of work, sometimes having several count- ers to serve and perhaps being required to know and find any stock in the entire store in addition to making themselves generally useful. The rate of wages in these stores varies so greatly that figures would mean little. Then too, there are the Specialty Shops, each em- ploying one or more saleswomen. They generally pay a slightly higher salary than department stores, but the hours are usually longer and the responsibility greater. Their saleswoman has to be a sort of buyer, saleswoman and demonstrator all rolled into one ; and although they sometimes attract a higher class of patrons than in some department store, girls frequently prefer to work in department stores. It is a matter of taste. Hours of work are now regulated by law, so the girl need not fear being overworked as she was in the past. It is tiresome, however, standing on one's feet all day, and until a girl becomes accustomed to it, she is 30 DEPARTMENT STORE WORKERS usually worn out when closing time comes. Then too the artificial light in the store may prove harmful to her eyes, but this may usually be offset by bathing the eyes morning and night, and taking good care of her health. Good health will prove to be a great factor in this kind of work, and a girl must not neglect it. When one considers what the conditions are in many of the European stores, we realize that in America our saleswomen are much better looked after and taken care of. Every year new legislation is being planned and enacted for their benefit, to make their work easier, their hours on duty shorter, and their rest periods and vaca- tions longer. Sometimes it seems as if wrongs are being remedied very slowly. But when we compare the long hours, including night work, in stores poorly built and more poorly equipped, with the hours required now in buildings where real welfare is taken into account, one believes that in a few more decades stores will be what- ever the workers in them decide is right and good. THE BUYER Each department of a large store in a big city is run like a separate store of which the buyer is the presiding genius. It is she who buys the stock, sees that it sells, and if it does not sell, finds out the reason. She ar- ranges special sales, and manages the advertising. In short it is her duty to see that her department pays well. It is hardly necessary to point out what a re- THE BUYER 31 sponsible position that of buyer is, and that a girl just out of school could not immediately become a buyer. Most buyers have risen from the ranks, that is, they have started their careers as saleswomen, and worked their way to be assistant buyer and then to buyer. Of course they have evinced special ability and adaptabil- ity; and have shown that they possess the skill not only to know what to buy and where to buy it, but also to handle people. Buyers in cities other than New York, make semi- annual trips to the large centers of trade to buy goods. Buyers of women's clothes often make annual trips to Europe. The buyer must be constantly on the alert, studying changes in styles, knowing what will sell best, and not investing too heavily in extreme styles which will only last for a few months. Because of the vast responsibility of their positions buyers receive good salaries. Assistant buyers receive about $25 to $40 weekly, while buyers' salaries range from $1500 to almost any amount annually according to the departments which they have in charge and their own experience and ability. Many colleges now offer courses in commerce, textiles, economics and psychology, which would be of great assistance to the ambitious girl desiring to rise to one of these positions. High school graduation is not re- quired for admission to the university extension courses. A girl who determines to go into business seriously, and not merely to gloss over the few years before matri- 32 DEPARTMENT STORE WORKERS mony enters her life, who enters a department store with the desire to succeed and become something worth-while, may set the position of buyer as her goal. It is impor- tant, however, for girls to realize that in such positions, luck is a tremendous factor. We cannot say to the earnest, intelligent and ambitious young saleswoman, " You have only to try and you will become a buyer," any more than we can say to the bright ambitious office- boy, " You have only to try in order to become a bank president" THE PROFESSIONAL SHOPPER The field of professional shopping is a comparatively limited one in which there are not many girls employed. The majority of the large department stores have several women on their staff who are known technically as pro- fessional shoppers. It is their duty to visit other stores and compare the prices, values, quality, styles, etc., of the goods offered elsewhere with those of their own store. A professional shopper must have tact, keen judgment both of people and of merchandise, commonsense, poise and above all, self-control. For if a woman once shows nervousness or hesitation, she will be detected and her career as a professional shopper ended. It is absolutely essential to remain unknown in the other stores. She must also be able to write a report in a clear, concise manner of what she has seen. A head shopper, who works directly under the man- THE PROFESSIONAL SHOPPER 38 ager, supervises and directs the other shoppers, telling them which stores to visit, which goods to price, etc. She receives their reports and submits them to the manager. The professional shopper is known only to the head shopper, not even to the salespeople in her own store. The reason for this can he easily understood since it is part of her duty to price merchandise, ask for samples, etc., in her own establishment, in order to test the af- fability and courtesy of its sales force. Reprimands and sometimes discharges follow the tests given by these professional shoppers. ; There are but few positions of this kind open to a girl. On the other hand there are only a few girls qualified to fill such a position which is often held by a woman of good education who has been reduced in circumstances and must earn money, perhaps for the first time in her life. fc Young girls who occasionally do fill such positions receive from $6 to $10 a week to start. If they prove capable they may be advanced to a wage of from $3 to $5 a day, working possibly five days a week. The head shopper receives of course more than those whom she directs. The figure her salary will finally reach depends upon the store and the city even more than on her own ability. For the girl who has good judgment and who can only spend a part of each week at business, the position of professional shopper might be desirable. The work 34 DEPARTMENT STORE WORKERS is interesting, giving a certain amount of freedom that store work does not. But the girl who is bright, ambi- tious, efficient and who is compelled to support herself entirely would do well to look for better opportunities. There are other lines of work, both industrial and com- mercial, where a girl can find a more remunerative job which is more likely to lead to advancement. THE DEMONSTRATOR The success of an article often rests upon the ability of the person who demonstrates it. Therefore, there is an unceasing and constantly increasing cry for clever demonstrators. Demonstrators are people who travel from store to store and from town to town, or city to city, exhibiting a certain line of goods, extolling its qualities and estab- lishing it on the market. Nowadays everything from a safety pin to the latest model of automobile is dem- onstrated, and there are innumerable positions open to girls. However, the work once obtained, is tiresome, in fact much more tiresome than straight salesmanship. For eight hours a day, sometimes longer, the dem- onstrator is on her feet, trying to attract the attention of possible customers, trying to. make sales, and explain- ing over and over the value of the article until she feels as if her tongue worked mechanically. This work requires constant concentration which causes a strain on every fibre of the demonstrator's THE DEMONSTRATOR 35 mind and body. Only particularly healthy girls and women are able to withstand the combined mental and physical exhaustion. Perfect health is an essential for this type of position. Of course to attract people's attention a girl must be a convincing talker, having a pleasing voice, well modulated and flexible, she must dress well, and always be ready to smile when she might prefer to frown. A bright, intelligent girl after a week's training under an experienced demonstrator ought to be able to take charge of an exhibition in a store. It will take several years before she is an expert and even then if she changes from one line of goods to another it takes little time to get used to " the new line of talk." When a new article is placed on the market for sale the firm manufacturing it usually sends out a number of advance agents or demonstrators, to exhibit the article in various parts of the country. Some demonstrators will spend a week or two in certain drug stores, while others will exhibit in department stores. Perhaps household and toilet articles are the articles for which women demonstrators are more frequently employed than men. A girl may often choose the article in which she is most interested and obtain a job easily. Many girls would strenuously object to " making up " their own faces to show the effect of a beautifier, whereas they would enjoy showing people how to work a vacuum cleaner. On the other hand, there are some girls who would prefer making up their own faces or some one 36 DEPARTMENT STORE WORKERS I else's a hundred times daily rather than explaining the Dorkings of a vacuum cleaner which to them, would be agony. To the older women, who have outgrown the beauty-aid stage, the household demonstrations are usually given. A demonstrator receives about $12 a week to start, plus 5% on all sales. Salaries run from $10 to $30 a week with a certain percentage on all sales in addition. Expenses while traveling are of course paid by the firm. Many traveling demonstrators make as much as $40 to $50 weekly, but these are usually older and experienced women. Some women work entirely on the commission basis, placing their demonstrations themselves. One young woman who started as a demonstrator and is now manufacturing a splendid brand of toilet articles, says, " To be a successful demonstrator is hard work, which exhausts every drop of your vitality. Older women make more successful demonstrators than young girls because they are more likely to study their cus- tomers and the trend of business. The young girls I have employed always seem to have some friend or other running in to see them; thus customers slip past. Strictly business is the only way to success." The other day in a city department store a pretty young demonstrator stepped forward and tried to in- terest a woman (who was past middle age) in the skin beautifier she was selling. The woman stopped haught- ily and remonstrated with the girl for using the cream and spoiling her skin. The girl began to talk; before THE DEMONSTRATOR 37 the woman left her table, she had paid a dollar for a jar of the face-cream. We do not say that the woman was wise, but we do say that the girl was a clever demonstrator. Demonstration work is interesting, for it gives the girl a chance constantly to study human nature. If the work appeals it will afford her a comfortable liveli- hood. Concentration, conviction, and " being on the job " all the time are the only ladders to success in this field as in all others. HOTEL WORKERS IN hotels, as in department stores, there are many posi- tions which are not peculiar to that business. For example, every hotel employs stenographers, elevator operators, telephone operators, etc. But there are also many positions which a girl will find open to her only in a hotel, such as that of desk clerk, floor clerk, checker, cafe cashier, waitress and chambermaid. It is rather amazing to learn how many positions in hotels are today open to girls and women and it is indeed gratifying to be assured that women are proving just as competent and successful as men. In- deed many of the hotels in the big cities are retaining women in positions filled by men previous to the war. Jobs involving heavy work, such as that of porter, are only suited to men and would not appeal to a girl with any ambition. Hotel work affords splendid opportunities, especially for the girl who has no home, since board and lodging are supplied in most cases. Hotels reckon salaries by the month and pay twice per month. Girls who desire to work during vacation at a summer hotel will find that there are opportunities open to them and each summer the number of positions increases. In these she receives board and lodging, works either night THE FLOOR CLERK 39 or day, but her salary is slightly smaller than in a city hotel. Waitresses in summer hotels are frequently college girls who are working their way through school and earn their tuition money in that way. THE FLOOR CLERK First of all let us consider the position of floor clerk. Practically all the big hotels in the United States today employ floor clerks, whose job is just what the title says. On every floor just opposite the elevator doors is a desk at which the floor clerk sits. She is a sort of "guardian of the floor;" she knows who is occupying each room and in that way safeguards the guests. Instead of having the keys left at the main desk, the guest leaves his key with the floor clerk. It is she who receives the mail from the main office, sorts it, and de- livers it. She receives all phone calls when a guest is out, accepts packages, pays for C.O.D. parcels and is custodian of about $200 which she uses as is necessary. The floor clerk is sometimes a stenographer and does whatever public stenography is required for guests on her floor. There are two clerks for each floor, who work what is known as a " hotel watch." They are on duty for six hours at a time. In this way a girl is pretty much tied down to her job, but she is free one day a week. Floor clerks live at the hotel, receiving their lodging and food in addition to a salary which averages about $60 a month, varying with the rating of the hotel. 40 HOTEL WORKERS A girl must have a level head and a sense of responsi- bility to take a position of this kind. There isn't any special training for it. There have been instances in which floor clerks, having been specially nice or just passingly kind and pleasant to hotel guests, have been offered positions as companions to wealthy women or as secretaries to men. It is all a question of handling people and knowing human nature, and one good place in the world to study it is a large metropolitan hotel. THE DESK CLERK The next higher position is that of desk clerk. The desk clerk stands behind the desk in the main lobby, answers questions and makes herself generally useful. She sometimes receives room and board, possibly just board, works on hotel watches and usually receives about $75 a month. Desk clerks must dress well, must have good manners and the ability to handle people. THE ROOM CLERK This is a responsible position, for the room clerk must remember the guests who make the hotel their home while in the city, must be able to size up people apply- ing for rooms, and be a splendid judge of human nature. The room clerk's position is not an easy one, and the salary is higher than that of any of the other clerks, averaging around the $150 mark, in addition to board and sometimes lodging. THE CAFE CASHIER 41 THE CAFE CASHIER A cashier in the cafe or dining room of a hotel does much the same work as the cashier in any restaurant. Here however she does not come in contact with the guests, since the waitresses bring the money and check to her. The cashier receives her food in addition to her salary, and works a long and a short day which really means that she has so many hours to put in per week, and the periods are divided irregularly. The require- ments are the same as those for any cashier. Salaries vary greatly according to the standing of the hotel. THE FOOD CHECKER The food checker sits at the door of the kitchen and checks up the food on each tray to see if it corresponds with the amount on the check. The job is not difficult but a girl must be accurate and particular, and not make any slip-ups in her work. In a way the hotel's profits depend on her accuracy. She too has a long and a short watch, like the cafe cashier, and receives her food in addition to her salary. THE WAITRESS Up to the present time women have usually been employed as waitresses only in tea shops, bakeries and lunch rooms. Many summer hotels have used girls, the majority of them college students working to earn their tuition, and therefore a somewhat superior type. 42 HOTEL WORKERS The average waitress used to be considered a rather ordi- nary person and treated accordingly. Recently, however, because of numerous strikes and war conditions, women have been engaged by some of the biggest and best hotels in the various cities to act as waitresses. And the universal verdict is that their services are far more satisfactory than those of men. This may be another victory for women. The type of women who have rallied to this work is distinctly a high class and their worth is appreciated. At one of the biggest hotels in New York is a girl who was a stenographer for several years and secretary to a Wall Street man. She tired of her job and when the cry went forth for waitresses decided that she would try it. She did. She says that she receives almost as much in a week as she did in a month and she was a secretary and that the new work is far more engross- ing. Girls of this type naturally raise the standing of any occupation, and if more girls of her caliber tackle the job of waitress it will attain a real standing in the world of work. Women of course are not as physically strong as men and the work is therefore far more tiring to them. If you have ever been in a hotel kitchen you will realize the distances one might almost say, miles that a waitress has to cover in securing orders. Large hotels have solved the problem by using girls only in certain dining rooms, while they employ men in the others. Then too it is a strain on a woman's back to carry heavy THE WAITRESS 43 trays, but her muscles may become accustomed to the weight and her body to the feat of balancing a heavy tray of food. A waitress in a hotel works long and short watches, or she may simply work during the dinner and supper hour. In restaurants time is regulated according to the size of the staff maintained and to the rush hours. Restaurants in the business and shopping sections have their busiest time at noon, while dinner is the most crowded time in other sections. The earnings of a hotel waitress are problematical. She receives so much monthly from the hotel a com- paratively small sum and her meals. Then she depends on tips for her real wages. They vary of course accord- ing to the restaurant or hotel, the type of guests, and the size of parties and checks. Many patrons tip ac- cording to a percentage of the check; others give more or less liberally. A good deal depends on the girl, the kind of service she renders and her personality. Waitresses in large hotels may average from $6 to $8 a day in tips; many days more and seldom less. The job of waitress is not one to be scorned if a girl can grow accustomed to the constant standing, and the carrying of heavy weights. A rugged constitution is necessary and a steady head, as well as swiftness of service and a knowledge of table etiquette. Equipped with these, almost any girl can undertake a job of this kind and succeed. AGE1TOY WORK THERE are many men and women in all kinds of busi- ness enterprises who do not receive a stated salary, but who receive a certain commission or percentage of another person's salary. Although some of these people earn a large amount during the year, their earnings depend greatly on their own business sense. The dictionary definition of agent is " one who acts for another," and to that we may add, " for a certain sum of money known as commission." An agent may be employed by another or he may be in business for himself. There are many kinds of agents, insurance, real estate, employment, soliciting, booking, purchasing, as well as advertising and press agents. Each of these will be taken up separately in the following sections. Fortunately, there is little prejudice against women agents. Therefore a girl with a certain amount of capital, a winning personality, a knowledge of human nature, ought to succeed as an agent if she perseveres. However, she must have some idea where her patronage is coming from, have a number of reliable friends or acquaintances who will recommend her, or the way will be tediously long and failure may be waiting at the end. Perhaps it is harder for an agent to establish herself 44 THE EMPLOYMENT AGENT 45 than in almost any other branch of the world's work. It is hard to build up a large enough clientele to insure a comfortable, half-way, regular living. A reputation for prompt service, and absolute reliability is necessary. There are many women agents in the country today and there does not seem to be any particular reason why there should not be many more successful ones if girls start in a business-like way. THE EMPLOYMENT AGENT A girl with sufficient cash capital, sound judgment and endless tact may find attractive work as employ- ment agent. In founding an agency for high-grade household servants, nurses, governesses, housekeepers, secretaries, etc., a girl must have enough money to provide an attractive and business-like office, and to insure about two years of operation in building up a clientele and reputation. !N~ot until then can she expect to count a dollar of profit. To put in years of hard work without any monetary return requires a lot of pluck, but the end may be made to justify the long wait. Besides cash capital, one must have patience, good judgment, and the qualities of perseverance and honesty in making and keeping promises to customers and servants. The percentage of failures in this field is greater than that in many others. Many offices are opened without adequate consideration of the qualifications necessary or the equipment desirable. This often happens when for 46 AGENCY WORK some reason a woman realizes that she has access to a large number either of employers desiring help or of employees desiring positions. Now neither one of these groups alone is sufficient to warrant opening an employ- ment office. Used as a basis, however, and added to judiciously, either one of them would prove a valuable asset to a girl contemplating such an enterprise. The margin of profit, as compared with that of other businesses, is narrow and dearly earned. Yet there is a fascination about the work, which holds and keeps one to the grind if a girl has the rare combination of executive ability and understanding of people that is necessary. The personal element, as in so many other lines, has more to do with success or failure than is commonly supposed. Firmness and tact in handling servants together with rigorous adherence to the requirements of reference and record, or else the power to read human nature so that you can tell what a would-be employee can do, are absolutely essential. The placing of each irresponsible servant will reflect at once on the standing of the office, and it will require much good work to wipe out the bad effect of even one such mistake. In other words, to maintain a successful employment agency, one must be charitable, tactful and able to judge people. This work brings one into contact with two distinct classes, the hard-to-please employer and the harder-to- please servant. The secret of success lies in the ability THE EMPLOYMENT AGENT 47 to " place the cake in the right tin," in refraining from sending a Japanese cook to a woman who insists on having an Irishwoman. She won't keep the cook and you'll lose her trade. To obtain the necessary knowledge of wage rates and of the requirements of employers and employees, a girl might get a clerkship in a large employment agency or even better, work as an assistant in a well-run small office. In either case she would have little responsibil- ity, and yet would have an opportunity to acquire valuable practical experience. The salary w r ould prob- ably be that of any clerk, $10 to $14 a week to begin. But the experience gained will be worth more than twice that much to her. An employment agent's income is derived from commissions and registration fees. A fee is required of every one who registers at the agency, and also a certain percentage of the first month's wages. It can readily be seen that a very large clientele must be built up before one's income can be large. As head of a successful employment agency, a girl can often influence the lives of many servants, as well as mistresses, whose personal problems often overwhelm them. People are likely to turn in time of difficulty to any one with whom they have come in contact who has seemed to have personal magnetism and an ability to help others. If you have a longing to be of service to others, and the ability to assist them when they are " floored " by personal questions, you will find as much 48 AGENCY WORK opportunity to do it in a well-conducted employment office as in what is definitely known as " social work." THE REAL ESTATE AGENT A varied and interesting occupation which keeps a girl in the open air and brings her in contact with all kinds of people, is that of real estate agent. It em- braces buying, leasing, selling and exchanging land and houses, appraising their value, mortgaging, auctioning and managing. The girl who wishes to become a real estate agent must have in the first place, experience in this kind of work, and in the second place, some cash capital varying in amount according to the locality in which she proposes to establish her business. The personal qualities for success are tact, perseverance, skill in argument, originality of ideas which will enable her to work out new ways of utilizing property, and execu- tive ability. Training in this particular line is best gained by experience in a real estate office. A girl who is employed as a filing clerk, stenographer or secretary by a real estate firm can, if she is intelligent, energetic and ambi- tious, gain in a year or two a great deal of knowledge of the business from her office work. Then she may secure an agency for some established firm; or, if she has the necessary capital and sees a good opening, she can hire an office or desk room is some one else's office, put her name in the telephone book and start in busi- THE REAL ESTATE AGENT 49 ness for herself. In addition to experience, a girl should avail herself as far as possible of the excellent lectures now offered in many colleges on contracts, leases, taxes, deeds, bonds and mortgages and the laws regard- ing the legal relations of landlord and tenant. Success in this field as in all others, depends partly upon a full and accurate knowledge of the subject. It may depend also upon a girl's social position and the number of well-to-do friends she has who are likely to want her services. The subject of " buying a house " is a fascinating one and more frequently introduced into social intercourse than most business subjects. There- fore a girl with a wide social acquaintance will have as soon as she begins work, a good list of possible cus- tomers and a fairly accurate knowledge of their personal tastes and bank accounts. As in all independent work, the hours will be what the broker makes them. The length of the busy season depends upon the kind of work. For buying and selling suburban property, spring and summer is the busy sea- son; whereas for buying and selling city property, and especially renting apartments, autumn and winter are the busy times. Eent collecting will keep one busy the year round. A girl who goes into the real estate business, must be prepared to face the fact that she is now and then a factor in the tragedies of those among whom she works. The selling of a home, collecting rent when a family is very poor, ousting tenants who do not pay, 50 AGENCY WORK and foreclosing mortgages, are transactions so closely affecting family welfare that they often spell disaster to those involved. Unfortunately, this business is one of the most un- certain in the world from the point of view of financial returns. Even a successful real estate woman who can make $5000 in a good year, may make but $500 in a poor one. Many women are succeeding as real estate agents in this country today. Their patience, tact and attention to detail fit them especially for the work of renting apartments and collecting rents. Not many are suc- ceeding as yet in the larger field of suburban develop- ment. THE INSURANCE AGENT To a girl either in a small town or large city, the insurance business opens up a lucrative field. Open- minded, intellectual women and girls who are enthusias- tic, are the ones who will succeed. The services of women of this type are eagerly sought. Since there are no training schools for insurance agents or brokers, the school of actual experience is the only one available, and in the long run, it is the best school of all. A sound knowledge of mathematics how- ever, and special training in logic, ethics and psychology would be decidedly helpful. In undertaking the insurance business, a beginning may be made by becoming an agent for some company. THE INSURANCE AGENT 51 Positions are not very difficult to obtain. 'An agent works for one company only and is employed by it on a commission basis or perhaps a salary. Her earn- ings depend however, entirely on her interest and good management. After some experience, an agent may become a broker. A broker works for all companies in the interest of the insured, having a license to do so from the state or states where business is carried on. A broker's income depends entirely upon the number of customers and the amount of insurance carried by each. Of course his income is greater than an agent's for a broker works for several companies while the agent is employed by only one company. It may be wise for a woman just entering the insur- ance business to specialize in one branch, especially if she works in a large city. Among the various kinds of insurance policies issued, are fire, life, endowment, burglary, plate glass, disability. An important feature of the work for a beginner is going about and arranging interviews with prospective policy holders. Possible customers may be selected from among personal acquaintances or from members of some profession. As the interviews must in any case be planned with system and foresight, a girl ought to know exactly the arguments she is going to use. It takes capital to establish such a business but if for a period, say a year or so, a beginning is made with a company as a special agent, it will not be long before 52 AGENCY WORK your commission will permit you to open an office of your own. There is plenty of room for brokerage firms to be established and operated by women, either in large cities or small ones. The country town also affords a fine opportunity for a general agency including several different lines of this work. Special agencies are given upon application by any company, provided all vacancies in the requested district have not been filled. No salary is allowed, but as there is only one agent in a town, the monopoly of business is assured when the appointment is made. Any responsible person who has had a year's experience of writing policies or as an agent, and has thereupon received a broker's license from her state, may be ap- pointed. There isn't any reason why a girl shouldn't hold this position as well as a man. A fair average income would be $800 to $1000 yearly during the first few years after a girl's entrance into this work. Her own ability to get business will determine the limit of her income. Some insurance brokers make thousands of dollars a year. One successful insurance man who is employed by a large company to train agents, says that the most im- portant thing for any one in the insurance business to know, is how to read human nature. For this enables an agent to decide what arguments to use and in what vein to talk to any given person. The second factor for success, this teacher-agent says, is remembering the "policy-average," that is, the average number of peo- THE ADVERTISING AGENT 53 pie who must be approached for each cash policy writ- ten. With some women the numher would be eleven, others seventeen, others twenty-four. Once an agent learns " policy-average," she is no longer down-hearted by the people who turn down her insurance proposition. She knows that a certain number of failures are a neces- sary factor in attaining final success. THE ADVERTISING AGENT Like many of the occupations you will read about in this book, the position of advertising agent is secured only after a girl has had experience in several other lines of business. Therefore a girl just graduating from high school or college is neither prepared nor capable of holding any position in an advertising office or agency other than that of stenographer. Advertising is the greatest means today for increasing business. Every line of business does some advertising, no matter how very-little. It may be the personal appeal by letter, post card, blotter, folder or booklet; the news- paper or magazine medium; or for certain enterprises, the bill board. But whatever the medium employed there must be people who know how to write the ad- vertisement with " punch." First, last, and always, a girl must have pluck if she intends to enter this field, especially if she plans some day to have her own agency. This is because there is unfortunately, an unreasonable prejudice against woman's entrance into the advertising business, due 54 AGENCY WORK perhaps to the fact that there are few women who own their own agencies. There are however many women employed hy the large agencies who do the actual work, and who many times receive very little credit. The girl who is interested in advertising, who has an inhorn ahility not only to write but to fit the right word into the right place, the word with enough " punch " to catch and hold the eye is the girl who will succeed. But coupled with her writing ability and " punch," a girl must have a knowledge of business methods and conditions. The stenographer who secures a position in an adver- tising agency (preferably a small one) opens to herself a splendid training school. Here she learns the way to write " copy," the meaning of technical terms used in advertising, and business methods. If she is apt, her eyes, ears and brains are sharpened, and instinctively she learns the value of color lines and proportion in " making up " an advertisement. After a couple of years if she is bright and capable she may obtain a position, either with an agency or with a private firm. Women are employed principally to write advertisements, for the appeal is almost wholly to women. Women do seven eighths of the buying of clothes, food and household goods, etc. Almost every large business house and amusement enterprise has an advertising manager, and many of them have one or more assistants. Either the manager or the assistant is generally a woman. Assistant advertising managers THE ADVERTISING AGENT 55 receive from $25 to $50 weekly, while the manager draws from $50 to $100 a week, sometimes more. Even if a firm employs an advertising manager, the advertising is usually " placed " through an agency. This saves time because the advertising manager is con- stantly being approached by solicitors for one paper or another. The agency attends to these and receives 10% from the paper or magazine. There are many big agencies throughout the country that employ many " copy writers " and artists. " Copy writers " receive $1200 to $2500 annually. The salary of the woman who exploited a famous cleansing powder reached $7000 a year. These agencies also employ artists to draw the illus- trations to accompany the text. Their salaries are about the same as the " copy writers " perhaps a little higher. To open an agency and finance it herself a girl will need not only a goodly sum of money but an inexhaust- ible spring of perseverance. Before she will be rec- ognized as an advertising agent by the newspapers she must have three " going " accounts. The newspapers or magazines pay a 10% commission to the advertising agent for all advertisements she places with them. So unless a girl is pretty sure of herself, her ability, and at least three permanent customers, she had better think long and carefully before starting out for herself. The woman pioneer to open her own agency in l^ew York City and who today has a lucrative although conservative business, says: 56 AGENCY WORK " A woman is always being set back, always learning and always fighting her way in advertising, specially when she dares to open her own agency. Newspaper experience and press work are both advantageous to the girl who contemplates the advertising business. The knowledge gained as stenographer in an advertising agency is invaluable, and that seems to me to be the best way to start out. Pluck is the greatest requirement for success. The girl who possesses an unfailing supply will surely succeed if she has the grit to stick in spite of desperate odds." THE PRESS AGENT There are some positions that the average girl knows but little of, many of which are responsible, interesting and lucrative. Press Agent, we believe, is one of these. Press agents are employed by all theatrical and mov- ing picture enterprises, as well as by restaurants. Then, too, many well-known speakers, singers and noted men and women have their own private press agents, who attend to their interests, exclusively. Kecently many business houses have begun to employ press agents, al- though in some cases the work is being done by the advertising manager. The press agent's work consists of discovering, writ- ing and circulating interesting items about the various members and enterprises of her client, a firm, corpora- tion, theater or individual. In other words she attends ,to and secures, " free advertising," if we may so call it, THE PRESS AGENT 57 in newspapers, magazines, etc. The press agent also in many cases, attends to the publicity work, that is, the writing of material for pamphlets for distribution; ar- ranges for and sends out invitations for special perform- ances or entertainments. A vivid imagination in connection with no small amount of writing ability is necessary in order to be successful. An attractive personality, supplemented by ease of manner in meeting people is absolutely essential. A press agent meets all kinds of people in the course of a day's work, and her knowledge of human nature must teach her how to meet and treat each one. She must have a goodly amount of courage to combat numerous obstacles and indomitable perseverance. A girl just graduating from High School or college could scarcely except to fill a press agent's job. Her source of general knowledge would be too small to draw on, for a press agent must be a veritable fount of information regard- ing both current events and past occurrences. A press agent must have a thorough knowledge of the city wherein she works, of its newspapers, its theaters, restaurants, streets and famous people. It is therefore difficult for an out-of-town girl to succeed in this work in a large city, until she has been there long enough to know the city like a native. Press agents usually are recruited from other profes- sions, specially newspaper work which is very good training for a press agent, for in it a girl meets all kinds of people, gains a vast amount of information 58 AGENCY WORK and learns to write facts of interest, concisely, snappily and quickly. A year or two on a newspaper or indeed a few years spent in literary work of any kind is the best way to prepare for a position as press agent. The knowledge of newspaper methods and acquaintance with editors will be indispensable. The ease of manner ac- quired in interviewing people will be vastly helpful to the press agent who will be called upon to do much in- terviewing. Fortunately there doesn't seem to be any prejudice against women in this profession. In fact women can do many things in it easier than men, and their services are rather sought after. The one and only way to get a position, is " to be on the job/' always watching for an opportunity. A newspaper woman who hears that a big theatrical firm is producing a new play, or that a new moving picture firm is being incorporated should go and try for the job of press agent. In many cases the work is far easier than the newspaper work to which she is accustomed. This is more especially true in the case of moving picture concerns than of theatrical firms or restaurants where the hours are often long and ir- regular. The salaries are somewhat higher than those paid to beginners for most kinds of theatrical work, and there is always the hope of advancement. A press agent sel- dom receives less than $25 a week to begin. Salaries vary from $25 to $100 a week, though $35 or $40 is considered about the average for a woman. THE ADVANCE AGENT 59 'Advancement comes through ability, luck and hard work. Although the press agent's job is not an easy one, it is full of unceasing change and interest. One press agent in New York says : " Press agent's work is delightfully interesting, and good work is very much appreciated. If you do a specially fine bit of work it is praised, and maybe your salary is raised. Make one mistake and the whole office is on your head, but another stroke of good luck will wipe the misfortune away." The position of press agent is decidedly well worth consideration for the girl who has literary ability, which she desires to turn into cash by quicker methods than by the usual long road to success in fiction or most literary; pursuits. THE ADVANCE AGENT 'Another position which the average girl knows little or nothing about is that of advance agent. Why in the world the word agent is used in this particular case, no one quite knows. Advance man or advance woman would be a more proper title but as " agent " is used for both sexes, we shall use it here. The theatrical profession perhaps offers more interest- ing positions to men and women than any other line of business. Something from the highest art to the lowest industry is employed in the building of a successful play, and it seems as if there is a niche for almost everybody in some branch of the theatrical profession. 60 AGENCY WORK An advance woman goes out ahead of a play, a mov- ing picture, a concert, or whatever the entertainment may be, and lays the groundwork. In other words the advance woman arrives in a city or town about ten days before the opening of the attraction. She arranges advertising with the manager of the theater the house manager, in the parlance of the theater; looks up the times of arrival and departure of trains ; arranges hotel accommodations for the cast, signs contracts for the transportation of baggage; and in short, attends to everything which will smooth the way for the company when it arrives, and blaze the trail for its success in that town. Many times advance agents also handle the publicity, see the editors of local newspapers, " plant " photographs and write the press matter when necessary. Sometimes a press agent is engaged to do the " advance work " on a new show, and thus combines both jobs in one. An advance woman receives from $60 to $125 a week. Her railroad fares are paid, but she must pay her living expenses out of her salary. When a press agent " goes on the road " for a few days at a time both hotel expenses and railroad fares are paid for her. It is only within the last year or so that women have done " advance work." They have proven themselves so capable that more women are being engaged for this work all the time. It has been learned that they are more steady and reliable than men, and are more apt " to be on the job." Then too a woman, by utilizing THE ADVANCE AGENT 61 her personality, can often talk a newspaper editor into using a story or photograph, where a man would fail hopelessly. On the advance woman depends in some measure the success of the play ; and thus a great responsibility rests on her shoulders. A good advance woman is invaluable and need never be out of a job. Of course the work keeps her constantly traveling, just like a commercial traveler; and there is always the thought of possible weeks of idleness which constantly occur in the theat- rical profession, although as I said before, a clever advance woman need never be out of work. Of course a young girl could hardly expect to tackle a position of this kind. It is a good goal to have in mind, however, and with this as an object to work to- ward, a girl may get a job where she can glean as much information and acquire as much knowledge as possible about this field. The best way to work up to it perhaps is to obtain a position in a theatrical office. But to fill a job of this sort well, a girl must be sure of herself, of her ability to manage people ; be a " good fellow " and at the same time be able to keep people at a proper distance. She must dress smartly which is difficult when she is constantly on trains and " living in a trunk." The latter grows wearisome after a time, and unless a girl is of a wandering disposition and likes to travel, she ought not to think of a position of this kind. For, although it may attract for a time, deep down in every girl's heart there is a longing for her 62 AGENCY WORK own home, and after awhile she tires of traveling. . If she does, by that time she knows the theatrical business so well that there may be some sort of a position in the home office for her, and there doubtless will be if she has proven her worth to her employer. THE BOOKING AGENT A booking agent for a theatrical firm arranges the routes for the plays on the road, negotiating for their transportation. She sometimes travels for weeks with the company until the route is straightened out and everything is in smooth running order. This means that a booking agent must be familiar with the railroad and steamship lines, know the size of the theaters in each town where the play is booked to appear, as well as its population. The route must be arranged with an eye to railroad fares, for these form a large item in the year's expenses. A booking agent holds a very important position in a theatrical firm. The position is one of trust and there is not any reason why a clever industrious girl could not hold such a position as well as any man, provided she is willing to apply herself diligently. The salary is well worth the trouble. It differs with the various firms, changes many times according to the trend of the theatrical season, but usually runs into the thousands yearly. A booking agent who has her own office does but little road booking of plays. She usually handles entertainers THE BOOKING AGENT 63 for private or semi-private entertainments. There are two divisions here. One agent will handle nothing but " club bookings " which means supplying acts for club entertainments. Another agent books only the highest class singers, monologists, pianists, etc., for private home musicales and hotel recitals. Occasionally one agent will handle both club and private bookings but this is seldom done. Of course, no matter what kind of talent she books, the agent must understand acting, music and singing in fact she must know whether or not each and every person she engages is worth finding engagements for. This means that before a girl can become a booking agent she must be able to differentiate between talent and would-be talent If a club intends to give an entertainment with pro- fessional talent, it will call up a booking agent, tell her how much money it wishes to spend on that occasion, and how many people or acts are desired. Sometimes suggestions are offered as to the sort of entertainments wanted, or as to some one person the club would like to have for that evening if he is available. More often this is left entirely to the agent. Then it is her duty to secure the best possible talent for the money from which she deducts her commission, which is usually ten per cent and to decide upon the style of entertainment which will please. All the opera stars, lecturers, dancers, actresses and actors, w_ho appear at recitals, concerts and musicales 64 AGENCY WORK have managers or booking agents to secure engagements for them and arrange their public recitals. Many book- ing agents have entered the motion picture field and supply whole casts for productions, including the extras who work for a few dollars a day. Of course agents who do this latter have a great deal more work on their shoulders than those who simply " manage " a few stars. They must of necessity have a great many people on their books, as well as keen knowledge of each person's capabilities. Many women who have been professional actors or entertainers themselves, and have tired of the life or have been perhaps forced out of it by ill health or lack of engagements or some other reason, become booking agents. They have the advantage of having a large acquaintanceship, a thorough knowledge of many per- sons' ability, and the inside knowledge and friendship of theatrical and film companies. The one and only way to gain experience in this line is to obtain a position in a booking agent's office either as stenographer or as an assistant. Here the business may be learned, acquaintance with both the people who employ and those who are employed, may be made, and finally the experience in discriminating valuable from worthless material acquired. This business is an interesting one for it brings a girl in contact with all classes of people and gives her ample time and opportunity to study human nature. Since she meets the same class of people as she would THE BOOKING AGENT 65 on the stage, many fathers and mothers may object to it. But the girl is no more likely to be exposed to harm than in any other office. The booking agent in a theatrical office, and the private booking agent are alike inasmuch as they both arrange for the presentation either of players or plays. They are unlike inasmuch as the former is usually sure of the amount she will receive in her pay envelope each week, and the latter is never sure. MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES THE TELEPHONE OPERATOR THE telephone business offers a means of livelihood to girls, which like many others may have much said both for and against it. The conditions under which a telephone operator may have to work vary greatly. Sometimes a telephone operator works in an agreeably lighted, well-ventilated office amid healthful surroundings of every kind. Nevertheless the extremely high tension maintained by the excessive speed necessary may ruin her nervous system. This is specially true in central offices. Often when a girl operates a private switchboard, she will be tucked away in a dark corner of a dingy, draughty hall, poorly lighted and ventilated. Her work, however, will be comparatively light. Sometimes in good sur- roundings the strain of work will not be excessive, and a girl can work steadily for years without it affecting her in any way. To be eligible for a position as telephone operator, a girl must have had a grammar school education, pref- erably some high school training, write a legible hand, possess intelligence and good health, and present a good appearance. She is especially examined for nervous- 66 THE TELEPHONE OPERATOR 67 ness. She should have a clear, well modulated voice, without any impediment of speech, good eyesight, unimpaired hearing, ability to think and act quickly, and to perform the manual operations of the work deftly and accurately. As a telephone office is a busy place, it is hardly necessary to say that it isn't any place for drones. A girl must be able to concentrate on her work, often every minute of the day, or she cannot hold a job as telephone operator. Undoubtedly the strain on the telephone operator is not so great in a small town as in a great metropolis. The iron nerves required in the latter place are not quite so necessary in the former. Then, too, as the telephone organization in a small town is frequently less efficient, mistakes are more readily condoned. Often in very small towns one day and one night-operator is all that is required. A girl must remember that the subscribers in a city, used to well trained operators, will not stand the loss of time and perhaps money, the inaccuracy and trouble in securing a number, which is accepted as part of the system in small towns. Telephone companies maintain schools, presided over by competent instructors for the training of telephone operators. While learning a girl is paid $6 a week, the course of study covering a period of seven weeks, at the end of which time the student's real work as an operator begins. Since it is not expected that she will ,68 MISCELLANEOUS OPPORTUNITIES at first be able to handle as many calls as more expe- rienced operators, the beginner is often given night work. Having mastered the rudiments of the business she will, however, day by day, acquire increased con- fidence and greater skill. Telephone operating has certain advantages over other occupations for girls. The work is permanent, so long as a girl is physically able to hold her job. There are no dull seasons when girls are laid off. She is al- ways sure of her pay envelope, and knows just how much she will receive weekly. The salaries compare favorably with those paid young women in other work requiring similar skill. There is, however, one serious drawback in the central office positions. Night work is required. There are three shifts of operators during the twenty-four hours. After seven weeks of study the student spends only half of each day at the telephone school and the other half of each day at actual work. She will receive $27.50 when she begins work and is raised till she is getting $35 a month at the end of her first year. At the end of her second year she gets $40 a month. Ten per cent of operators receive $60 a month at the end of their third year. Supervisors are paid from $60 to $75 a month. Assistant chief operators receive from $65 to $95 monthly. Naturally but few girls can hope for the latter salaries for there are but few such positions. Girls working in the central offices of telephone com- panies have no direct contact with the public. Thus THE TELEGRAPH OPERATOR 69 they avoid the dangers and unpleasantness which are possible in meeting people in the business world. At the same time they lose the stimulation and interest which come from personal contact with those we serve. In the central offices, telephone companies furnish not only rest rooms where girls may lie down during their fifteen minute rest periods, but also dining rooms where nourishing food may be purchased at a minimum cost The rooms are uniformly clean, well lighted, heated, and provided with reading matter. Girls having the necessary qualifications and willing to apply themselves diligently, have little to fear in this work except the possibility of a nervous breakdown. Few girls stay with telephone companies more than three or four years, because the work is so arduous. Many leave and become operators of private switch- boards. They have the same hours but easier work. The salaries are slightly higher than those paid by the companies, carrying from $12 to $18 a week. All office buildings, hotels, apartment houses, and de- partment stores employ one or more operators. Oper- ators in courts receive from $1200 to $2000 a year, with three months' vacation in the summer. THE TELEGRAPH OPERATOR Unless a girl has a very strong constitution, good hearing and does not know the meaning of the word "nerves," she should not choose telegraphy as her occupation. This is the advice of every woman in the 70 MISCELLANEOUS OPPORTUNITIES field today. It is a hard business for a woman, the hours are long, and the salary is comparatively small, considering the physical and mental strain under which the telegraph operator works. However, if the occupation appeals to a girl and she is willing to take the risk of the unending strain, let her get a position as check girl with a telegraph com- pany. A check girl carries messages in the office from one wire to another. She is permitted to practise teleg- raphy one hour a day and may stay after regular office hours to practise if she is ambitious, and not too weary. For the girl who studies this way the time of probation is often long and tiresome. However, if she prefers she may go to a school to study. In obtaining a position however, the check girl who has learned from practical experience in the com- pany's offices, will ofttimes be given the preference over the graduate of a school. In a telegraphy school, the course is six months and costs ten dollars ($10) a month. The night school (four nights a week) costs five dollars (5) a month, but of course, this method takes a little longer. After the completion of the course a student enters as an apprentice with a telegraph company, working for three months without pay. In the offices of the telegraph companies, the hours are long. In the main office, operators work 9% hours a day, with one half an hour for lunch and one quarter of an hour of rest in the morning and the same in the THE TELEGRAPH OPERATOR 71 afternoon. The rest periods are much needed, for the operators are usually exhausted after a few hours at their keyboard. Operators in branch offices work ten hours a day. There are not any complete holidays for telegraph operators. Employees are given one half a day on six of the legal holidays. In case of absence, no matter what the cause, pay is deducted for every minute the operator is away from the office. A check girl usually receives $3.50 a week. When she is given a wire, her salary becomes $8 a week, and is increased $1 every six months for two years, until she is receiving $12 in her pay envelope each week. Branch operators begin at $35 a month, working up to $40. Few receive over that, although some few do achieve $50. The highest salary attained by a woman in the company's offices is $18 a week. Very few ever reach that amount. Positions in brokers' offices are far more desirable, paying from $18 to $25 a week. Rail- road operators receive $45 to $60 a month. In news- paper offices, telegraphers are paid $35 a week for seven hours' work a day, but exceptional accuracy and in- telligence are required as well as the ability to undergo the excessive strain. There are comparatively few women in the telegraph business, because of the nervous strain involved. Five years are required for the development of a thoroughly expert telegrapher. By this time the average girl is worked out and no amount of pleasure and joy in her work will ever recompense her for ill health. In view 72 MISCELLANEOUS OPPORTUNITIES of this fact, and the low rate of payment compared with other positions, it seems as if this is one of the occupa- tions which girls ought to shun. THE ELEVATOR OPERATOR The war has opened many new fields of endeavor to women, one of which is that of elevator runner. Just why this occupation would attract any girl is something of a mystery, except that the salary is not a bad one for the untrained girl who is suddenly forced to earn her own living and cannot afford to spend time or money in studying something worth while. Elevator work requires fairly steady nerves; that is about all. A girl usually works eight hours a day with a half hour rest period in the forenoon and afternoon, in addition to her regular lunch hour. The salary ranges from $12 to $15 a week. The great disadvantages to this position are the absolute lack of any chance of advancement financially or mentally, plus the fact that the girl usually works is a constant draught which in time may affect her health. This is more true in office buildings than stores, or hotels. Many hotels, apartments, department stores and office buildings have signified their intention of retain- ing their women to run the elevators, because they can get a higher grade of girl for this work than they could men for the wages offered. Then, too, girls are more willing and obliging. THE TEA ROOM MANAGER 73 There is however absolutely no advancement, and no girl with an iota of ambition will think of remaining on a job of this kind unless it is merely to earn sufficient money to support herself while she studies something worth while. THE TEA ROOM MANAGER . Quite recently a number of girls have established themselves successfully as managers of lunch or tea rooms. Running a tea room is a pleasant, remunerative occupation for the capable girl, whether she lives in the city, town or country. Like all other successful business women, she will need perseverance, tact in dealing with customers and employees, and besides, she should have that special home-making gift which will enable her to plan and serve delicious food in dainty attractive surroundings. The country girl is at no disadvantage in this work. Now that automobiles are in such common use, thou- sands of formerly unknown and out-of-the-way places are passed by dozens of hungry tourists daily, on holi- days by hundreds. Many a country home has a broad, pleasant piazza or a large, light room which, with plain, light-colored walls and harmonious hangings of dimity or chintz, can be made an effective background for a prosperous business. If a girl buys carefully, a small capital will go a long way. Plain, unvarnished kitchen chairs and tables may be stained green or painted white. If you have 74 MISCELLANEOUS OPPORTUNITIES any bits of old china, bring them out, but put them on shelves, not on the tables. For service, use simple, cheap ware but not too heavy. Be sure to get open stock so that broken pieces may be easily replaced. Im- maculate table linen, where any is used, is an essential. But much can be saved in laundry bills by substituting small doilies for tablecloths. Also the bare tables, with paper napkins, may be made to look picturesque in a suburban tea or lunch room if fresh leaves and flowers are strewn daintily on the tables. Of course, the preparation of the food and the service are of the utmost importance. But many a girl has the natural gifts and sufficient experience to enable her to do both very well indeed. Have plenty of bread and butter, preserves, and other eatables that can be quickly made into attractive dishes, and which may be kept from day to day. The trick of making varied and delicious omelets is an important asset for the girl of the tea room. A course in Domestic Science is usually necessary for the city girl, but her country cousin has often had enough training in her own home to justify her in hanging out her sign of the tea kettle and proceeding to business. Customers will probably come slowly at first, and the fact must be faced that they may never come in sufficient numbers to justify the enterprise. The city girl can readily command wider attention than can her country cousin, but she has many competi- THE TEA ROOM MANAGER 75 tors (restaurants, hotels and other tea rooms). Before a girl opens a tea room of her own in the city, she should have had considerable experience gained through working for others, as cashier or assistant in a similar enterprise. Her original outlay must be larger than the country girl's. Expenses for linen, silverware, china and kitchen equipment may run up into hundreds of dol- lars. Besides the items of rent, food and service, there are other heavy expenses, such as gas, telephone and advertising. The degree of her success will depend in great meas- ure upon her selection of a location, the charm and individuality of her place, and the excellence and cheap- ness of the food she serves. Her personality will also count for much, for the patrons of a tea room like to feel at home, and prefer to go to the place where they will be greeted by a cordial hostess. Women, especially, often regard her as a bureau of information, and ask all sorts of friendly questions on household and other topics. A clever tea room proprietor will make it her business not to be too busy to respond to these personal demands, for her success will depend in no small meas- ure upon the friendliness of her customers. At present, the field of lunch and tea room manage- ment does not seem to be overcrowded. Many women are succeeding notably in it. Interesting stories are told by many of them of the steps by which they have arrived at success. Two girls ; while still in college, 76 MISCELLANEOUS OPPORTUNITIES hired a bungalow near a fashionable summer resort. They fitted up one room and the piazza with chairs and tables, hung out their shingle, and waited for guests. Tennis players, golfers, motorists crowded the tiny place, demanding tea, lemonade and sandwiches. At the end of each summer, the girls cleared several hundred dollars, and when they graduated from college, they had sufficient capital to establish a tea room in their home city. They now have several successful branches both in the city and the country, and are planning, in addition, to take over the management of an apartment hotel. THE FLORIST The florist business will no doubt appeal to girls with a natural love of flowers and growing plants, though there are many factors which make it a hard one for women. A wonderfully strong constitution is neces- sary to be able to work all night and be on the job the next day, as is sometimes necessary when special blooms are to be cared for or when sudden changes in temperature are to be met. Hard work and lots of it will be necessary to success. A girl may start at about $5 a week in a florist's shop to gain experience. Here she would do anything demanded of her, meanwhile learning the relative buying and selling prices, the different flowers for every season, the arrangement of flowers for different sorts of bouquets, also the special requirements for THE FLORIST 77 wedding, funeral and social orders. Besides trying to learn all that another can teach her, let every girl preserve as a valuable asset and develop as a precious gift any individuality or originality she may possess in the arrangement of flowers. When she has a shop of her own this individuality will he indispensable to her success. Capital of course is necessary, for it is a big under- taking to start in business and build up a trade. Rents differ according to locality, and flower prices must be graded likewise. An attractive store with large show windows for display of stock is a necessity. The in- terior of the shop should be made to advertise one's artistic ability, so that it will make your customers confident that the flowers they will buy will receive artistic treatment. The initial expense required to decorate the store is one most worth while. A large serviceable ice box for the preservation of stock which will also cost money must be regarded as money well spent. Then there is the added expense of waxed paper, wrapping paper, attractive boxes for delivery, ribbon, etc. As proprietor, the girl must dress pleasingly, be cheerful in manner and be on hand at all hours. The loss is tremendous in this business, owing to the perishable nature of the stock; and to offset this loss, an enormous profit must be made. It takes a very long time to build up a trade unless a girl has many friends who are interested in her success. 78 MISCELLANEOUS OPPORTUNITIES The florist business seems to be better suited to women than men in certain ways, for women are more likely to be artistic in the shading of colors, tying of ribbons and arrangement of blossoms. A girl with a highly de- veloped sense of decoration could no doubt be a success in the decoration of luncheon and dinner tables, etc. Few women, however, have the strength required to lift heavy plants, to stand the long, hard hours or the nervous strain occasioned by fear of loss of perishable stock. Nevertheless, in spite of the hardships there are many women in the business. One successful New York woman has been in the business eleven years and has owned her own business for the past four years. She started with a capital of $1000, and though she has been more than successful and loves her work, she warns girls from entering into it " It is too hard a strain, both mentally and phys- ically," she says. " I could hardly advise a girl to enter the business. But any girl exceptionally qualified to do so and having a great love for it and determined to become a florist whether encouraged or not, stands a chance of success, in spite of all handicaps." The florist business offers a splendid opportunity to the out-of-town girl who has her own garden. If she cannot afford a greenhouse of her own, she could open a shop in cooperation with some one who has one. In summer old-fashioned flowers from her own garden will be in demand, and in winter the greenhouse flowers will THE FLORIST 79 sell. In Red Bank, New Jersey, there is a florist shop run by two sisters. In winter they do a flourishing business, better even than in summer, when most of their neighbors have their own garden flowers. A girl who expects to become a florist would be wise to turn her attention to what Japan has to say in regard to flowers. There have been established lately at Columbia University, classes in which a Japanese woman teaches the age-old art of flower arrangement, as known in Chrysanthemum Land. Much also can be learned from Japanese prints and pictures. Moreover the Japanese literature that is available to English readers would be helpful. For some reason no one has as yet applied all this to the florist trade in Amer- ica. But it will be a distinct artistic contribution which some American girl can make as a happy pioneer in this field. Many of the hotels in the big cities are employing girls and women to buy and arrange all their floral decorations. This includes buying flowers for the daily table decorations, and also the handling of the decora- tions for weddings, banquets, etc. This position is a delightful one and gives the girl many unusual op- portunities for exercising her artistic taste and skill. Although this field is a limited one, it is also a constantly growing one and there is always room every- where for the girl who can really " deliver the goods." 80 MISCELLANEOUS OPPORTUNITIES THE MODEL When the word " model " is mentioned, the majority of people think either of the manikin parading daily in beautiful clothes in a wholesale house, or of an artist's model. As a matter of fact, models are employed in both artistic and commercial lines, but since more girls are engaged in the latter, we shall discuss that type of work first. There are several kinds of commercial modeling: cloak and suit, dress and waist, hat, lingerie, hair, shoes, fashion reviews and for photographs, advertisements, etc. Of course to be a model in any of these lines, a girl must have a good figure and be as perfectly pro- portioned as possible. She must have well-formed hands and feet, and be able to wear her clothes with a certain amount of distinction and style. This last is as im- portant as a good figure and beauty. ; Models must spend considerable time, thought and money on their personal appearance on hands, hair, teeth and skin. Brains are not essential, but the ability to stand still is most necessary, especially in the case of modeling for commercial photographs where the model is obliged to hold a certain pose for some minutes. There was a time when it was thought that beautiful girls did not possess or need brains. The truth of the matter is, that beautiful girls imagined they could glide through life on their looks without utilizing their braina as nature intended they should. But models are begin- THE MODEL 81 ning to realize that brains are a decided asset, and in this work today it is the girl who has brains plus beauty who most rapidly attains success. All wholesale clothing houses, fashionable modistes as well as many department stores, employ models to display their creations. Wholesale concerns retain one or two models all the year and at the rush seasons take on several more for six or eight weeks. Cloak and suit models must be tall and willowy, and are usually required to be a " 36 " or a sixteen-year-old size. Advertisements in the papers will tell a girl where to apply, and upon reading them she will find that they generally call for tall girls. However, manufacturers of misses' clothing sometimes require stouter and shorter girls as models for the so-called " flapper " clothes. In wholesale establishments the model exhibits the merchandise to buyers for department stores, etc., while in the modiste shops and department stores she shows it to a retail customer who, intending to purchase a gown or suit, desires to see it on some one else, fondly be- lieving that she herself will appear as attractive in it as does the beautiful model. Modeling is hard work, for a girl is constantly on her feet and constantly changing from one costume to another. In some houses she is required to act at times as saleswoman in addition to her regular work. Clothing models usually receive from $25 to $35 a week. The work is seasonal however, and the girl 82 MISCELLANEOUS OPPORTUNITIES must have some other way to earn her living between seasons. Photographic modeling offers one way of doing this. Every advertisement we see in street cars, newspapers, magazines, on bill boards etc., in which a girl or woman is pictured, has to be posed for. Posing for commercial photographers is not hard work nor is it especially tire- some ; and if a girl is able to get enough of this to do, it pays well. She can pose for one photographer in the morning and another in the afternoon, since one appointment or engagement seldom lasts more than an hour or two. She must be able to hold a pose for a minute, and she must take a good photograph. A girl wishing to get a job of this kind should take some photo- graphs of herself to commercial photographers in her city whose names can be found in the classified tele- phone directory, and should register at their offices. At first she may have few calls for her services, but let her prove that she does photograph well and is adaptable, her popularity will grow and she will be kept fairly busy. The usual rate of payment is $3 for the first three hours and $1.50 an hour thereafter. Many cloak and suit models fill in their off seasons with work of this kind. Practically all artists, moreover, use models, some of them employing one girl entirely and exclusively. Of course different types are required for various illustra- tions and pictures, and a girl of a distinctive type is usually in demand. THE MODEL 83 Artist modeling is very tiresome and monotonous. Sometimes a model is required to hold a position for fifteen or twenty minutes at a time while the artist is endeavoring to catch a certain expression, but the usual practice is ten minutes' posing followed by a five minutes' rest period. There is nothing sure about this work, and practically no chance for advancement. Alice Joyce, the motion picture actress who was once an artist's model, was approached by the Kalem Com- pany with a proposition to pose for them because they had seen her picture on a magazine cover. Of course this is an exceptional case ; and Miss Joyce proved that she had dramatic ability by steadily mounting the lad- der to fame. Modeling for a single illustration seldom means more than one or two days' work for the model, whereas il- lustrations for a book may require from three days to a week according to the rapidity of the artist. Models used to be paid by the hour, but now they are paid by the day, usually $4 to $5, regardless of whether they work twenty minutes or the whole day. The wholesale hat houses and fashionable milliners employ models ; as do fur houses. These models receive about the same compensation as do cloak and suit models; only hat modeling is not as tiresome as cloak and suit for it does not require as much exertion to change a hat and put on another as it does to change a dress or suit. All the fashion shows today use models to display 84 MISCELLANEOUS OPPORTUNITIES their particular lines of apparel to the interested public. For work of this kind, the model receives $10 a day for exhibiting shoes and hats, with $5 for rehearsals, up to larger salaries according to the character of the show, where it is held, and the class of patronage admitted. Fashion show modeling is, however, inter- mittent work and not to be counted on as a source of steady income. At automobile shows, motor boat exhibits and hotel men's association shows, models are often engaged by the week to sit in the automobiles, or motor boats, merely to add attraction to a particular exhibit. In such cases, the model's costume is supplied and the girl is paid according to her beauty and her ability to do the little required of her. She may receive from $40 to $60, but definite figures cannot be stated since there is great variation in the range of salaries for this type of work. If she is required to go out of town, all her expenses are paid in addition to her salary. For the girl ambitious to make a definite place for herself in the business world, modeling with its un- certainties of wage and work and associations will hardly be satisfying. If however, she wishes to wear pretty clothes that do not belong to her and take her chances haphazard at slack seasons and rush seasons, she can earn fairly good wages while the work lasts. THE DRESSMAKER 85 THE DRESSMAKER One of the earliest arts is that of the dressmaker. Though the origin of dressmaking goes back to Eve fashioning her first fig-leaf garment, it has curiously enough left the home while its sister art of cooking still lingers there. In other words while many families have their clothes made outside the home, the majority still do their own cooking. Dressmaking is done principally in shops and factories. Instead of dresses being made one at a time they are today made frequently by the hundreds and thousands. Designers and cutters are paid very good salaries, several hundred dollars a month. Much of the rest of the work is done by machines. Besides the wholesale production of clothes there are also dressmakers' shops where a woman designs, fits and supervises the building of each and every gown. A girl who is qualified to be a dressmaker often shows her interest in the art when as a child she cuts out dolls' clothes and takes a decided interest in garments. Many girls go into dressmaking after making their own clothes. A girl who would be a successful dressmaker must have besides an instinct for color, line and form, the ability to execute her plans and turn into actual reality the beautiful dresses she plans. She must have in- genuity and the ability to carry out not only her own ideas but the ideas of her customers. She may or she may not do the actual sewing. The more creative ability 86 MISCELLANEOUS OPPORTUNITIES a dressmaker has, the more profitable she will find it to do the designing and to have some one else to do the sewing. If a girl intends to have her own shop some day she cannot understand every branch of the work too well, or have too pleasing a personality. She herself should be her own best advertisement. Her own gowns should tell the story of her art. To all this she should add the knowledge of good English, a smattering of bookkeeping and social conventions. All this sounds perhaps like a formidable equipment but the clever alert girl will acquire it, if she has the fundamentals of the art in the beginning, and if she really tries to learn. A girl may either go to a trade school to learn dress- making or she may start as an errand girl in a dress- making establishment. In the school she will spend a year learning the trade. When she graduates she will know how to cut, fit, design, drape and finish a garment. She may then take a position either with a private dressmaker or in a shop. Here she will do the finishing of seams, sewing on of buttons, and hooks and eyes. She will make from $8 to $10 a week. If she shows great ability in any one direction she will probably be asked to specialize. Before long she will be making $12 to $20 weekly. Great ability will make her an expert and increase her pay accordingly. The girl who begins as errand girl in a shop has little chance of learning the trade unless she stipulates, on taking the job, that a certain number of hours a week THE DRESSMAKER 87 should be given her for practice. Her wages as errand girl will be from $6 to $9 a week. An errand girl may find it possible to take a course in dressmaking at a night school and so get her tuition free. This is the best course for a girl to pursue if she must earn money while learning. But only a girl of abounding good health can stand the strain of working all day and in the evening as well, and a girl who is not exceptionally strong should not attempt it. A girl who plans to some day own her own shop may gather a good trade by first " sewing out " for a few years. A good dressmaker makes from $2 to $5 a day. This is an excellent way to start. A girl with ingenuity, artistic skill and a pleasant personality may then set up her own shop with a clientele already as- sured. The income of a woman who owns her business may vary from $1000 to any number of thousands a year, depending not only on her ability but also on circumstances beyond her control. Dressmaking is a wide field and may be made very much or very little of an art. Some women successfully specialize in women's blouses, children's dresses, etc. This specializing would of course prove more profitable in a big city than in a town. The general dressmaker may set up her little shop in the smallest town in the country and be sure that the daughters of Eve will give her abundant work to do always providing that there are not already enough efficient well-known dressmakers there before 88 MISCELLANEOUS OPPORTUNITIES her. As there is always something new to be learned in dressmaking, the girl who keeps apace with the styles and is able to modify them to suit the different types of figures will be successful whether in city or country. Dressmaking is a good trade for the girl who in- tends to keep on working after marriage and who wants to be at home to look after the babies herself. !A dressmaking establishment may very conveniently be opened in one's own home; customers usually like to have a shop in the residential district so that trips for fitting and planning dresses will not consume too much time. As long as the world is, there will be clothes and dressmakers to make clothes. Fashions will continue to change and women will follow the changing fash- ions. The clever dressmaker will always be in demand; once she has made a name for herself she can command her own price. Decidedly dressmaking is an art worth considering, if a girl has a taste for sewing and designing. THE MILLINER Probably the first thing Mother Eve did after fash- ioning her fig-leaf apron and observing the charming effect in a nearby water mirror, was to make herself a chaplet t of flowers. And so was born the art of mil- linery. It has always remained closely allied with the dressmaker's art THE MILLINER 89 Two sisters who run a fashionable Fifth Avenue shop in New York began business very modestly some years ago. One sister learned dressmaking and the other mil- linery. After a few years' experience each in a good shop, they hired a room and combined their trades. Each one acts as a " feeder " of customers to the other. When a customer has been much pleased with a hat made by one sister, she naturally wants to try a gown by the other, and vice versa. Now after years of ener- getic work, the sisters have a fascinating little shop, with soft mellow lights, dove colored furnishings and exquisite appointments of every kind, where very high prices can be charged. Each gown and hat that leaves the establishment, not only has style but is suited to the individuality of the customer who ordered it. While millinery used to be almost invariably seasonal work, shops today do not lay off their hands for more than a month or six weeks in midsummer. The chances for a girl's earning a living as a milliner are therefore better than they used to be as far as that is concerned, but it must be pointed out that there are other draw- backs in the way of a surplus of workers. This is more or less true of so many trades and professions and so well known that perhaps it need not be dwelt upon here. The girl who aims to be a milliner, may begin as an errand girl in a shop. If she has the money, however, she would better go for a year or two to a millinery school. Here she will learn to make frames, cover them with different materials, and finally to trim them. Such 90 MISCELLANEOUS OPPORTUNITIES schooling will enable her when she enters the millinery shop, to go to work at once on hats and show her ability. She will be given beginner's work of lining and cover- ing frames and will receive from $8 to $12 a week. Later if she does really good work she will be advanced to the position of trimmer at a salary somewhat higher. Large shops employ special girls to act as designers of hats, and these receive from $25 to $50 a week. The department stores in big cities employ milliners. Here as well as in the small shops and private establish- ments, there is usually one woman, an experienced milliner, who directs the work and has complete charge over and is responsible for the workroom. She may do no actual handling of materials herself but her services as critic and executive are valuable enough for her to be paid from $25 to $40 a week. The milliner's work is one that is not limited to any one place or country. If you learn the art well, you may set up a shop in 'New York, London, Hong Kong or Smith's Corners. Hats are wanted everywhere and worn everywhere. A pathetic incident in a recent hearing of the In- dustrial Relations Commission among the farmer folk of the great southwest, was that of a tenant farmer's wife who took the witness stand. She had had many children. She worked from four o'clock in the morn- ing till bedtime, most of the time when not in the house, with her husband in the field. She had never had any dresses except those which she made for herself which THE MILLINER 91 later were cut down to fit her daughters, and in addition she also made her husband's clothes. All her life she had wanted a hat, a store hat, and to that end she had saved for years till finally she had two dollars. She made a wonderful trip to a nearby city and there bought " a real hat." Nothing then mattered in her life. She had her heart's desire. To the girl of today who lives in a city where hats are bought, worn for a few weeks and then discarded this will seem almost impossible but it serves to illustrate the fact that as long as women live, milliners will be busy. This is more true today than ever before. Velvet hats appear in August, felt in October, fur in Novem- ber, satins in December, straw in January, some new combination in February, and March ; georgette and net in April and something else in June. The millinery business is thriving today as never before and the be- tween seasons when a girl used to be out of work are fast disappearing. Thus the girl who enters this attractive line is less apt to be out of work than she was a few years ago when there were merely two seasons for hats winter and summer. This is most encouraging and the girl who started by making hats for dolls and whose ambition is to be " a real milliner " will find that this is an art worth pursuing. 92 MISCELLANEOUS OPPORTUNITIES THE HAIRDRESSER Hairdressing is an art which is practised profes- sionally in all big towns and cities. It' includes, besides the final arrangement of the hair, shampooing, singe- ing, electric treatment and scalp massage. It is often made a separate department in a general " beauty " shop when facial massage and manicuring are allied with it A girl needs to have special adaptability for render- ing personal services to others in order to be a hair- dresser. This at its best has no element of servility in it Then there must be also deftness in the use of the hands. An appreciation and understanding for the beauty and contour of the human face and how it may best be framed in a coiffure is also necessary. There are, it is true, many hairdressers who " do " each cus- tomer's hair in a prevailing fashion and believe they have done the best that could be desired, but that is failing to appreciate hairdressing as an art, which im- plies that a style must be specially adapted to a person. A girl must have very robust health in order to stand the strain of being on her feet for long hours, and of bending, as is necessary when shampooing a customer's hair. A girl with even a slight tendency to physical weakness would better choose some other line of work, as for instance manicuring. There are two ways in which a girl may learn to be a hairdresser. One is in a private " beauty " parlor THE HAIRDRESSER &3 or with a successful hairdresser, and the other is in a so-called school. The latter is, however, not yet suffi- ciently good, with the result that after graduation a girl finds a few private lessons necessary before she can secure a position. The best way to learn hairdressing is to go at first into a good hairdressing shop, where one may have to pay about the same as in a school for the privilege of learning the art but which will prove cheaper in the end. Ofttimes the establishment where she studies would rather employ their pupils than those who have studied elsewhere, and in this case a girl is often engaged in the very shop where she has been trained. After a girl finds herself proficient, she may get a position as assistant or open a shop of her own. She will need much executive ability and at least a little business experience to do this, unless she can afford to make perhaps no money at all for a few months. Many girls go from house to house catering to their customers till they have built up a clientele and can afford a shop. In this way a girl is sure of trade when finally she opens a shop of her own. Its success will depend greatly on its attractiveness and her own per- sonality and appearance. People object to patronizing an untidy store with a disagreeable owner. As assistant in a hairdresser's shop a girl may receive $10 and up, not including gratuities. Owning her own shop she may possibly make $25 or sometimes a great deal more weekly but not unless she is one of 94 MISCELLANEOUS OPPORTUNITIES the unusually successful ones upon whom Fortune smiles. The hairdresser's art was well known and practised freely among the ancient Greeks and Romans, when all bodily beauty was thought much of. It is safe to say that woman will never tire of preserving and adding to her beauty and that among the means she will employ will always be the art of the hairdresser. So a girl who is really skilful need never fear of starving. THE MANICUBIST The manicurist, one who cares for customers' hands, cleaning, filing and polishing the nails and shaping the area of nail framed by the surrounding cuticle or skin, has work that rivals even that of the hairdresser in its necessity for intimate personal contact. It re- quires the same ability for giving personal service, only if anything, in a greater degree. It requires absolute neatness and fastidious daintiness of one's own person. A girl need have but little education if she has the above requirements, to find manicuring a very good way of earning her living. It does not require great physical strength, and a delicate girl who can not stand in either factory or store, will be able to take good care of her health while doing manicuring. She must have, however, excellent control of herself and an ability to ignore and throw off bad influences which a manicurist may meet in her work. She must THE MANICURIST 95 know how to take as good care of her reputation and character as of her health. Her customers will be from all classes of men and women. For half an hour or more she will be so near each client that conversation will naturally follow. The manicurist will often learn much that is useful and interesting. But if, on the other hand, the conversation of her client is bad, she must keep a steady head on her young shoulders. She has two things to remember that will sometimes make a decision hard for her. One is that she must not let herself be in any way con- taminated by anything bad her customer says. The other is that unless she is smiling and agreeable she may lose a customer, and if her table is not well patronized, she is likely to lose her job. It requires tact and courage to manage such situations. A course in a manicuring school takes about three weeks. A complete " beauty " course, covering hair- dressing, shampooing, singeing, manicuring, facial mas- sage and scalp treatment, takes about three months and costs $50. There is some disagreement among good manicurists as to whether schools are better places for training than the shops themselves. At any rate, prac- tice only can make one a good manicurist and wherever a girl studies, she will find her proficiency is measured by the extent of her practical work. A girl must be exceedingly careful in looking for a job after she is qualified to do manicuring. Many ques- tionable resorts masquerade as manicuring, hairdressing 96 MISCELLANEOUS OPPORTUNITIES or massage parlors where enough work of that kind is done sometimes to further the deception as to their real purposes. The choice of position is comparatively wide, for hotels, department stores and even the office buildings today have manicure parlors. A girl would need an unusually wide circle of acquaintances to go into busi- ness for herself without first taking a position as assis- tant in some such places as those mentioned. The place of employment will in great measure de- termine a girl's pay as manicurist, but it will be some- where around $8 to $15. Tips will materially increase this amount, and the gracious girl will be especially favored in this way. Some girls earn as high as $30 a week. A girl's personality and ability to work well will determine what she will make when she begins to do independent work. The girl in the small town may find manicuring a possible opening into the world of work. Customers may be obtained wherever there is money spent for any kind of luxury. THE THEATER TREASURER The treasurer of the theater is the man or woman who handles the money. Within the last few years women have become treasurers of motion picture and the small- town vaudeville houses, and since the war they have become assistant treasurers and in some cases treasurers of the larger legitimate houses. THE THEATER TREASURER 97 The treasurer of the theater sells the tickets in the box office, and therefore in addition to being an accurate cashier, he must know his theater, the location of seats, and how many tickets, on an average, are sold ahead for the various performances. Each night his total must total with the manager's tally of sold seats, ^according to the tickets received at the door and later counted by the manager). The treasurer together with the manager makes up the theater and the company payrolls, and is generally responsible for all monies received and paid out in the theater. Therefore his job is a very responsible one. The treasurer is usually under bond, which means that a surety company has vouched for his honesty and will make good any amount of money that is found to be missing. In other words, the bonding company insures the theater against loss. Some theaters pay the cost of this; sometimes the treasurer is compelled to pay it herself. In the smaller houses and the legitimate theaters where there is not a great rush, women have proven themselves very capable ; but at some vaudeville houses where there is apt to be a big crowd morning and night they have " lost their heads " and have not been as successful as men. The question of making change is a simple one today for most theaters now have machines of recent invention which make change. As the box offices for theaters open at nine o'clock in the morning, there is always a treasurer and an 98 MISCELLANEOUS OPPORTUNITIES assistant Some houses even have three people in their box office; and when there are three they work a long and a short day, working one day from nine till twelve, being free till six o'clock in the evening and then re- turning to work till the box office closes around ten. The next day that person only works from twelve till six and has the third day off. All treasurers or assistants have one day a week free; but in vaudeville houses that day is not always Sunday nor is it the same day every week. In legitimate houses it is usually arranged so that the person who works days one week is on at night the next and thus they alternate. Treasurers receive from $20 a week when they start as assistants, to about $60 which perhaps is the average in high-class vaudeville and legitimate theaters. Of course it is not as large in motion picture and " small- time " houses though the salaries are fair all over. A really good treasurer of a big house may receive $100 a week but that is exceptional. THE USHER Another field in which women are fast supplanting men is that of usher in a theater. Of course the posi- tion is not a very good one, but for the girl who has to be home during the day and who desires to earn a little money and does not mind working for a few hours at night this may appeal greatly. Ushers arrive at the theater an hour before tEe per- formance begins. It is simple to learn the position of THE USHER . 99 the seats and any girl can become an adept very quickly. Ushers can leave the theater after the last intermission, and it is usually arranged among the girls as to who goes and who remains till the end of the performance. Of course they have to he on hand for matinees. Ushers receive ahout $8 or $9 a week, plus whatever gratuities they may receive. Uniforms are furnished by the theater. In the vaudeville houses where the performance is continuous or where there are daily matinees, the girls are given one day a week off, and their hours are arranged on other days to accord with the law. Salaries in vaudeville houses are slightly higher than in legit- imate theaters but the girls have more work to do. For a girl who desires to earn extra money, or who is unable to work during the day owing to home condi- tions the position of usher gives her a little money and the job is certainly an easy one. However it is not the sort of position that a girl of ambition would accept or desire to have. THE DETECTIVE Perhaps there isn't any occupation that is less ap- preciated as a field for women than that of detective. Yet there are few where women are more essential to the success of an undertaking, or where her work is more thoroughly valued by those with whom she works. There are two distinct classes of detectives: first, the high-class detective whose aim is to protect the com- 100 MISCELLANEOUS OPPORTUNITIES munity, and who ranks with the highest grade in any profession; second, the low unprincipled detective who stoops to any and every method, even blackmail, and whose specialty is divorce cases. The first class is the one in which women are respected and prized, and it is with this group alone that we shall deal. A girl must discriminate and keep clear of the second To be a successful detective a girl must have an analytical mind, and the ability to see all sides of a question, and to decide quickly and accurately. She must be, too, an unending source of resourcefulness and initiative. She must be fair in all things and trust- worthy. When caught in a tight place she must keep a level head to avoid being regarded with suspicion. Once a detective shows the least sign of nervousness she will be discovered and then, for a time at least, her usefulness will be gone. All these qualifications are apt to strike terror to the heart of an aspiring detective but when they are all collected and viewed together, the lump sum means just plain " commonsense." Women many times make better detectives than men. This is because the ability to note detail and to study minute personal factors seems to be especially developed in women. The one and only way to train for this work is in a detective's office. A college graduate or even a high school graduate who feels the lure of the field of detec- tion, should write to a reputable detective bureau or THE DETECTIVE : ; ; through a male friend or relative have an interview with a well-known detective. As the big detective agencies are always on the watch for bright intelligent girls, they are the best places to look for a job. De- tective agencies have to be careful whom they employ; but as the need for women in the service is constantly growing, more and more positions are opened all the time. There are many different branches of detective work open to the girl while she is employed in a detective agency. She may do everything from " shadowing " to directing a "case." She will have to be very clever to get a chance at the latter. Then there are positions in department stores and jewelry shops. Every big store in every city employs one or more detectives to guard them against " shoplift- ers " or " sneak thieves." Department stores lose thou- sands of dollars in merchandise annually to the women and men who make their living by stealing from them. Store detectives work from ten o'clock in the morn- ing till four or five o'clock in the afternoon, (during the busiest hours) and receive from $3 a day up, av- eraging about $20 to $25 a week. In some cities of the United States the department store detectives go from store to store. In this case they are employed by an agency which has contracted to protect the stores. The store detective's work is invaluable, saving the company many dollars in the course of a year. The hotel detective is another valuable aid to society 102 MISCELLANEOUS OPPORTUNITIES Some hotels employ one or more house detectives, while in many cases one detective has charge of two or three smaller hotels or restaurants. There are hundreds of ways thieves can work in the hotels, especially in lavatories where women remove their rings to wash their hands. In dining rooms, a purse, fur scarf or some other valuable article is dropped and would never be recovered but for the resourceful, keen-eyed detective. The salary of a woman doing this type of work ranges from $3 to $10 a day, but her hours are very much longer than those of the depart- ment store detective. During the rush hours of luncheon, dinner and after-the-theater supper parties the detective must be about, ever watchful and ever unobtrusive. The secret of successful department store and hotel work is " to see but not to be seen." Women have reached the highest degree of success in the Diplomatic Service of the United States where their services are invaluable. Positions are secured through the Secretary of State and a woman must have displayed her ability before a postion in the Diplomatic Service can be secured. Unfortunately the Secret Service of the United States does not provide regular positions for women. Posi- tions are secured in the Secret Service through examina- tions which women are not permitted to enter. They are, however, used as " informants " but are not actual members of the service. The time is coming, though, we believe, when provision will be made for women. THE COMMERCIAL TRAVELER 103 Detective work is improving all the time as an oc- cupation for women. In it women are given an equal chance with men. In many cases a woman can be sent on a case where a man could not be used without arousing suspicion. The greatest drawback to detective work is the ir- Iregularity of the hours of work. Hotel and store detectives are virtually the only ones who have stated- hour schedules. The dream of the great detectives of the world today is that the time will come when a detective will not be so often employed to track a criminal after a crime has been committed, but to prevent the crime from being perpetrated. Decidedly detective work is a splendid field for an ambitious, courageous, level-headed young woman, and one which is interesting, sometimes exciting, besides being very lucrative. THE COMMERCIAL TRAVELER A saleswoman or drummer is one who is employed by a manufacturing house to sell its goods to retail stores. At present, there seein to be comparatively few women engaged in this work. Until very recently, it was thought that the incessant traveling necessary in this kind of work, was too wearing for a woman. Furthermore her capability for selling merchandise was doubted. The strain, however, is not so great as that of the 104 MISCELLANEOUS OPPORTUNITIES actress while "on the road." There seems to be no reason why a level-headed young woman with a keen mind and the ability to express fluently and convinc- ingly her own faith in the excellence of the goods she desires to sell, should not be a successful " drummer " or commercial traveler. A confident and easy bearing, pleasant manners and the ability to meet people on their own ground, are essential to success. To many people the work is in- tensely interesting, and as soon as the salesman has become expert in her line of merchandise, it is a com- paratively easy life. The out-of-town salesman has an opportunity to see the country and even the salesman who is employed in the city, and its immediate vicinity, has the opportunity of meeting a great many people. Most drummers work on a commission, many on salary and commission, and all have a weekly drawing account to cover expenses. Some houses who can not afford the full-time services of a drummer in the smaller towns allow the sales agent covering such territory to carry several lines of goods for different firms. The field of salesmanship is crowded with young people who are working their way through various professional schools, and with older persons who are out of jobs in their regular lines of work. These posi- tions must not be confused with those of experts in permanent lines. Except for persons unusually gifted, by nature, salesmanship is a very uncertain occupation. THE COMMERCIAL TRAVELER 105 The work of the commercial traveler is well illus- trated in the stories of the well-known author, Edna Ferber. She has turned out the most readable fiction on what work as a drummer may mean to a woman in the way of joy and sorrow, trouble and pleasure. How one woman managed to maintain a womanly and dignified bearing, and at the same time a bright and engaging cordiality of manner; how she managed to keep in good health under conditions so trying that many men fail to do so; how she managed not only to earn a good living for herself, but also for her son whom she sent to college any girl who is thinking of becoming a drummer should read. But when she reads these delightful stories, the girl who wishes to become a commercial traveler should not say to herself, "I'd like to do just what Emma Mc- Chesney did," and thereby adopt her vocation on the spot But instead she should ask herself, " Have I the qualities this woman had for success? Could I adapt myself as she did? Could I be another Emma McChesney?" And if she thinks she could, if she thinks that the pleasure and salary in such work will repay her for the trouble, loss of home ties and the constant wandering, then she will be a wise girl if she decides she will enter this field. But if she thinks she is not fitted for the work she should stay closer to home and the job she can fill well. THE PKOFESSIONAL WOMAN THE girl who is in a position to get more than an elementary school education will have broader and more numerous opportunities to choose interesting and better paying lifework. Professional training gen- erally involves technical training or highly specialized training following a high school education. With ability along special lines, .the will to succeed and perseverance to pursue the necessary studies, the girl who embarks on professional training will find none of the professions closed to her. THE HOME MAKER " Woman's place is in the home." The phrase has become a platitude, at the mention of which most of us either smile patronizingly or hoot with derision. But to do either, is a mistake, for to be a true home maker, in the full sense of the word, is a vocation of which to be proud. Yet in spite of this fact, hundreds of girls go out to work in factories, paying, out of their meager wages, for food, clothing and shelter, when they might be living in clean, attractive homes and earning the same salaries. THere must be a reason for this phenomenon, and probably it is this: Until a few years ago, domestic 106 THE HOME MAKER 107 service was considered degrading by some people. It was more or less a disgrace to be a " servant/' Factory work smacked more of the professional, so to speak. But, today, the world is slowly beginning to realize that unless a house is smoothly and systematically run, it can not be a home. A maid is no longer treated every- where as a menial. Her room, which used to be the storehouse of discarded furniture, is today often an at- tractively furnished little den. Women are beginning to realize that their maids are human beings, and the sooner more women realize this the better it will be for all concerned. Domestic service is practically the only occupation in which a beginner may earn more than her living expenses. In addition to the $30 or $35 she receives per month, her board and lodging are absolutely free. Moreover, a year's experience with a capable house- keeper is better training than three years in a domestic science school. True, the hours of work are long; but the duties are varied, and a girl generally knows just how much time she will have off, and just when she will have it. Then, too, both the moral and physical conditions are often better than in factories or in shops. One who begins as a second girl, for example, can quickly advance into the position of general house- worker, if she is apt. If she is particularly fond of cooking, and willing to study in her spare time at some practical school of domestic science, there is no reason why she should not soon obtain a position as cook. 108 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN Cooks receive anywhere from $35 to $45 per month for work in families and $50 in institutions. In large establishments where there is a division of labor, the servants work under a general housekeeper who takes the place of the mistress. This housekeeper directs the work, plans the meals, does the marketing, and does what she can to make the house a home. For this, in addition to her maintenance, she receives from $60 to $100 a month. As has been said, the hours of domestic service are long; yet there is usually a little time for resting be- tween tasks. It is true, too, that many mistresses try to work their servants as hard as they can but, on the other hand, there are women who treat maids with all kindness and consideration, a class of women which is constantly growing in numbers. Of course, as in every other occupation, advancement depends upon the girl herself. Women like to see bright, cheerful faces around the house, and the girl who is sullen, obeys orders reluctantly, and sulks when she is reprimanded will find her advancement slow, if not impossible. The field is wide and varied. The domestic service of women is required by all hotels and restaurants, and by many other institutions, both public and private. Hotels, for example, need women as waitresses, chamber- maids, cooks and for a hundred odd jobs. In charge of each battalion of workers is a woman who has risen from the ranks, in most cases, one who has shown she THE HOME MAKER 109 has executive ability, tact and resourcefulness. These women command large salaries, and find the work in- teresting and not over-taxing. There is no reason why a bright, intelligent girl starting in the field of domestic service, should not attain a high position with a large salary. In all in- stitutions and homes, the matrons are women who under- stand housekeeping thoroughly. Until a few years ago, we regret to say, institutions were merely places in which to exist, not homes, to their inmates. Since the state has begun to realize, however, that home life is the only real balm to the criminal or to the orphan, institutions are being made more homelike, and the matrons aim to take the place of mother to the inmates. It is in such a field that a girl who has had several years of successful domestic service in a private family, hotel or restaurant, can often successfully compete, with a graduate of a domestic science school. Each assistant to a matron in an institution has a position not to be scorned. Girls who love to " fuss " around mother's house, should not spurn domestic service as degrading, and turn to nerve-racking, health-destroying factory work. It is the highest calling of woman, this transforming of a mere house into a true home. Every girl, no matter what her station in life, hopes in her heart, some day to have a home of her own. To do so, it is not absolutely necessary that she work in it. But if she expects to do so, what better way is there 110 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN to train for it than by working in another home first? When John Howard Payne, who left his home and traveled the world over, living in every big city, sapping the youthful health and strength from his body, dis- covered that he could find happiness nowhere, he wrote that famous song, " Home, Sweet Home." " Be it ever so humble, There's no place like home." To make such a fine sweet place requires all the best abilities of the human heart, mind and body. This the world is beginning to realize, and perhaps be- side finding home a place to live in and to love, girls may find it also a place for skilful and satisfying work. They will find that housework and homemaking are today better paid and better systematized than they used to be and that trained workers are never out of a job. THE DIETITIAN How many girls like to cook ? Many more, perhaps, than care to admit it. But this is because most people have always thought of cooks as ignorant, poorly paid women or else overworked mothers and housekeepers trying vainly to do justice to many devious kinds of work. But that idea is gradually dying, and scientific cooks, or dietitians as they are technically called, are THE DIETITIAN 111] taking the place of the all-too-of ten slovenly cook of other days. Some few years ago the practicability of adding a cooking course to the curriculum of the public schools was recognized. A girl may now study the pri- mary laws of the culinary art in the grammar schools of almost every city in the Union. If it interests her she may continue it through the high schools, and if she is able, through her college course where she will receive training as a dietitian. The course is called the Home Economics Course and requires the same length of time as any college course. Chemistry, food values, scientific management, relation of diet and disease, and the preparation of food are among the subjects studied. Special diets for the sick are studied and planned. A girl graduating from one of these courses is well equipped to earn her own living. Upon graduation three roads are open to a dietitian. She may, after passing an examination, become a cook- ing teacher, a hospital dietitian, or a club, or hotel dietitian. The cooking teacher has the same working hours as a grade teacher and about the same salary. In some cases it is slightly larger than a grade teacher's. The position of hospital dietitian in small hospitals is practically a combination of housekeeper, teacher and expert cook. In addition to other work, she often gives lecture courses to the student nurses. She prepares special diets prescribed by physicians. In larger hos- pitals, however, thq housekeeping is in charge of a 112 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN regular housekeeper, leaving the dietitian free to work in her special field. As the relation of diet to health and disease is be- coming more clearly recognized year by year, it is receiving greater attention in hospitals. The position of dietitian is, therefore, becoming correspondingly more important, responsible and better paid. And, what is far more important for the general good, the dietitian is allowed more freedom in selecting such quality and quantity as patients require. It is impossible to state any definite salary for the dietitian, for this differs so much in different hospitals. However, it is always adequate enough to permit a comfortable livelihood. Dietetics is in its infancy as a profession and until it has a fixed standard among the professions there will be, unfortunately, no set scale of salaries. Resident housekeepers in public institu- tions, such as orphan asylums, homes, reformatories, etc., are more and more often chosen from among the graduates of Home Economic Courses. The salary ranges from $1000 to $1500 a year. This often in- cludes maintenance, which of course is worth several hundred dollars more a year. In some cities a new branch is open to dietitians. The girl who has had some experience as a social worker, may find the position of visiting housekeeper an interesting one. This visiting housekeeper is employed by charity or other relief societies to go into the homes of the poor. Here the wife and mother is taught in her THE SOCIAL WORKER 118 own kitchen how to prepare food properly, cheaply, attractively and to plan her meals. She is also taught how to market to advantage. This field is perhaps the hardest of all open to dietitians. Sometimes the visit- ing dietitian suffers scathing rebuffs, and at all times the tragic side of life is before her. The salary depends entirely on the association or department by which she is employed. As the field of dietetics grows it is rapidly becoming more attractive. Dietetics is one of the very few oc- cupations where women do not compete with men. In most occupations women are breaking into fields hitherto occupied by men. It is predicted that with cooperative apartments, " the cooperative dietitian " who will either cook or superintend the cooking for a whole house of people, will be a reality. Then it will be as unusual a sight to see a mother scorching her face over a stove, as it is nowadays to see her cutting out and making her hus- band's or son's trousers. That remains to be seen. However, even at present, the girl who studies dietetics opens a path to herself which is both delightfully pleas- ant and lucrative. THE SOCIAL WORKER Social service work should appeal strongly to the high school graduate possessed of a strong desire to help her less fortunate neighbor, a willingness to work under drab and squalid conditions, and a ready sympathy 114 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN which may be converted into efficient action rather than into useless, though possibly self-gratifying emotion and sentimentality. The work is, assuredly, not joyful, or, of itself, conducive to happiness, but cheerfulness and optimism are absolutely essential to the social worker, else her mission will remain only half accomplished. To be successful, a girl must have, besides a buoyant nature fortified against melancholy, a strong constitu- tion, an alert and open mind, unbounded tact, together with a general liking for the work. Although she may feel, at first, a certain shyness or timidity in approach- ing the unfortunate, she can usually overcome this by experience. However, the girl who becomes easily de- spondent, who is self-conscious, or faint-hearted will, without doubt, fail utterly as a social worker. The social worker should have the equivalent of a college education before she enters the field of organized philanthropy. However, a high school graduate is ad- mitted to most schools devoted to training for social service. The trained worker is needed in relief work for charitable societies, in probation work for courts and prisons, in government investigations, and in the social work of schools, settlements, hospitals and asylums. The salaries usually paid to social workers range from $40 to $100 a month, according to the responsibil- ity of the position, and the length of service. Saturday afternoons and legal holidays are free. A summer vacation of two or three weeks is usually allowed with full salary. And when the season's work has been un- THE NURSE 115 usually taxing, a spring recess of from three days to a week is often granted. The nervous strain of social welfare work is great, but its unceasing variety tends to lessen that strain. Then, too, a girl is brought into contact with the highest and lowest classes of humanity. At one extreme, she finds the highly intelligent and public-spirited leaders in social welfare movements; at the other, the poor whom it is her work to assist. Undoubtedly, social welfare work is one of the noblest professions which a girl can enter. No matter what the duty, unpleasant though it may be, the worker will respond cheerfully with an encouraging word, a bright smile, and a promise of assistance. A fact which one who goes into this work must face, is that the most that can be done in social service is often, as a social worker once put it : " pitifully little in comparison with what is needed." THE NURSE Some girls seem born with a natural talent for caring for the sick and suffering. Without this, the intimate, tedious tasks of a nurse are very irksome, but with it, they are glorified into beautiful work, gladly done. It is work that offers the most immediate return of gratitude and affection from the patient. It offers too a very certain reward in the way of money, and is one of the few fields where the female sex predominates. There are, it is true, a few male nurses, but women are by nature more fitted for this work than men. The 116 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN field for nurses is a large one, since there are many grades and classes of nurses. A good nurse, therefore, need be out of a position only when she feels that she needs a rest from her arduous work. Tact, sympathy with suffering, reliability, a good head capable of making unerring emergency judgments, as well as a robust constitution, are absolute essentials for a career as trained nurse. Any physical weakness will debar a girl from even entering a training school. A cheery voice is a most useful asset for the nurse. A high school diploma is demanded for entrance to many of the nurses' training schools, and all the sub- jects studied at high school will be found of use to the prospective nurse. However, the combination of phys- ical strength, sympathetic personality, and peculiar adaptability to nursing, is of sufficient value, and ex- ceptions are often made in the cases of such girls who have had little school education. Six to four months' probation period is required by most hospitals, and at the end of that time, if a girl has passed the tests of earnestness, endurance and intelligence, she may enter the regular training course as pupil nurse. Hospitals differ in grade, and a girl should be careful to train in the best hospital available. She will find that the standing in medical circles of her training-hospital will influence her own standing in her profession, later on. Therefore, when selecting her hospital, she should weigh carefully such questions as size, scope of work and standards of admission THE NURSE 117 The length of time pursued in training is from two to three years, preferably three. During this time, the hospital makes no charge for teaching, as the student is doing actual work. In addition, she receives her board and lodging free, and most hospitals allow their pupils a small sum usually from five to twelve dollars a month, which can be made to cover the expense of clothes and books. All the medical attention a nurse may require, while she is a pupil, will be given her free by the doctors in the hospital where she is training. After she is a graduate nurse, she will receive either medical or surgical treatment free as a professional courtesy from any doctor. During her training, the pupil will be on duty from seven in the morning to seven at night with two hours off for rest and recreation. In addition she will have a half day off each week, and probably a half day on Sunday. An annual vacation of from two to four weeks is given. The work is so arduous that a wise nurse uses most of her time outside the hospital for sleep or some outdoor recreation like tennis, golf or walking. In most hospitals, all communication except that connected with their profession, is forbidden be- tween doctors and nurses. Social engagements are, however, practically almost out of the question for the nurse in training on account of the hard work required of her. The subjects studied include anatomy, chemistry and other laboratory sciences, nursing in all its branches, 118 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN massage, dietetics, and invalid cookery. Some of the classes are often held in connection with classes of medical students, if a medical college is connected with the hospital. Of course, the nurse gets practical ex- perience in working in all the departments of the hos- pital. Nursing is one of the few occupations, possibly the only one except telephoning, where a girl earns her expenses while learning. This is an item of importance. After graduation, varied fields are open to the trained nurse. Graduate nurses in private work receive salaries of twenty or twenty-five dollars a week, often more. When there are two nurses on a case, one takes the night work, the other, the day. If, however, there is hut one nurse, she will probably lose much sleep. She is sup- posed to take two hours off for rest or recreation during the day, except when the patient's condition absolutely precludes this. There are also many positions in hos- pitals open to the graduate nurse. Superintendents receive from $75 to $150 a month, with maintenance; associate superintendents, $50 to $100. The salary of a head nurse is from $40 to $90, including board, lodg- ing and laundry work. In many cities, the Board of Health employs visiting nurses who go from house to house in the poorer dis- tricts, teaching sanitation and attending the sick. These nurses receive from $50 to $100 a month, with- out maintenance. There are often nurses employed by the cities for work in the public schools, whose salaries range from $60 to $100 without living expenses. In THE NURSE 119 Eed Cross work salaries range from $50 to $100 a month. In the last few years, the large department stores have adopted the practice of employing a trained nurse who is on duty in the store hospital from nine to six. The hours are not bad, the work is steady and often light, and the salary either twenty or twenty-five dollars a week. A position of this kind is very desirable since the strain is not as great as in many other posi- tions. The store nurse will seldom have acute sickness to deal with and when she does, it will only be for the short time elapsing before the patient can be taken to a regular hospital. These positions are only open to graduate nurses. Under-graduates, or those who are compelled to leave before the completion of their course, may obtain posi- tions as " practical nurses," at a salary of fifteen or eighteen dollars a week. A practical nurse is one who not only takes care of the patient, but also attends to the cooking of the food, and supervises the household to a certain extent. A nurse may make a specialty of one particular disease; or she may become a trained infants' or chil- dren's nurse. A kindergarten course would be especially useful to a girl contemplating the latter. Many doctors keep in touch with particular nurses whom they know to be skilful, and whom they always recommend to their patients. Thus a nurse who be- comes favorably known to one or two physicians may feel virtually confident of constant employment. A 120 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN girl may also register at one of the nurses' employment bureaus, and obtain cases through them. A nurse's mission in life is, assuredly, a great deal, and if a girl has grit and perseverance together with an inborn capacity for personal service and an understand- ing of sick people, she should succeed as a nurse. Pos- sibly the quality of sympathetic cheerfulness should also be added to this list of essentials as all-important, for sick people are unusually sensitive and often come to rely to an amazing degree on their nurse. Her smiles and her sympathy do something for a patient that is as essential to recovery as the doctor's pills and treatment. And while a girl may hear other essentials more often mentioned as qualifications for a nurse, she should real- ize that the ability to radiate her own buoyancy and health is necessary to be a really great success in the profession of trained nurse. THE PHYSICIAN The girl who is strong physically, has a love of science and of curing the sick will do well to consider medicine as her chosen profession. This field for women is by no means overcrowded, the few existing barriers being rapidly broken down. For this profession the regular college preparatory high school course is essential. It is advisable for the girl who contemplates taking a medical course to study Latin as one of her languages. A knowledge of ele- .mentary Chemistry is absolutely essential. There are, THE PHYSICIAN 121 however, very few women's medical colleges which admit students on merely a high school diploma. Some demand two years of general college training, whereas others require a recognized A.B. or B.S. degree. If it is a possibility the full college preparation is strongly urged, as medicine is primarily a profession for mature minds. However, no girl need feel discouraged if she really feels that she is fitted for medical work and if she cannot afford the full college course before under- taking her professional studies. Some colleges give a six year course, both general and medical, after which the student receives both the A.B. and the M.D. degrees. As the actual medical training for four years takes almost the entire day of the student's time, it is prac- tically impossible for a medical student to support herself while studying. The expenses of the entire course amount to about $3000 for the four years. Yet in spite of the large sum required, there have been brave women who have managed to work their way through medical college. Summer work and some borrowing of money will help a great deal. The girl who really is determined will succeed; she need only remember that there are many eminent physicians on whom financial burdens weighed heavily while they were students, who by the time they were thirty, had managed to pay all their debts and to have an assured income. After completing the medical course, at least a year's hospital practice is necessary. In the larger cities such positions are not very hard for women to obtain. It is 122 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN usually several years before the young physician will be in a position to rely wholly on private practice. Medical positions in various institutions often pay fair salaries, affording much practice and steady remunera- tion. Among such are school inspectors ; visiting physi- cians under the auspices of the Board of Health ; school doctors; prison doctors; resident physicians in infant, insane and maternity hospitals and in convalescent homes. Salaries in these vary from $1200 to $3000 a year. Income from private practice will, of course, vary in different cases. Foreign mission work, medical work in Oriental countries where male physicians in attendance on women is by custom prohibited, specialization in the field of child hygiene, work with women's diseases, social welfare work, factory visiting, and the examination of applicants for life and industrial insurance companies are some of the branches of the work eminently suited to the woman physician. In all kinds of medical work strength and endurance are essential, as the work is laborious even under the best of conditions. The going from patient to patient is exhausting. "Not only is physical power necessary but a pleasing, tactful personality should be just as much a part of a physician's equipment as medical or surgical knowledge. This profession is an ideal one, but as is the case in most ideal professions, the path to success is rather long and stony. Yet, it does yield both financial and THE OCULIST 123 professional satisfaction to the girl who is willing to travel it. To cure the sick, to prevent the well from becoming sick, to help raise the standard of living con- ditions and perchance to contribute something toward the cure of diseases this is, in truth, worthy of the best efforts of woman. THE OCULIST The profession of oculist is one that has grown with the increasing interest, both public and private, in good health. An oculist is one who examines and treats eyes. A 1 girl intending to become an oculist must have a world of patience, a bearing that will command confidence, pluck, and a thorough knowledge of her profession. Training for this profession requires either a two years' course of study at an approximate cost of $400, or three years of private study with a registered optome- trist. After graduation a state examination must be passed before a woman may practise. Most states charge an entrance fee for the privilege of taking the examination and a certain small amount for the license. Many colleges give courses in optometry, and, strange to relate, there does not seem to be any marked prej- udice against women entering them. There are, how- ever, more women optometrists in the West than in the East. The license secured, two or three years' ex- perience in an optometrist's office should follow before a girl attempts independent work in an office of her 124 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN own. The only way to gain such a position is by ad- vertising or by personal visits to registered oculists. Experienced oculists or optometrists may have their own offices, or they may take positions at a stated salary in retail stores. Most of the largest department stores now have an optometrist whose services are free to customers. In all cases, if an optometrist proves her ability, her advancement and success are reasonably certain. Men, as a rule, prefer to have men examine their eyes. However, many women choose to entrust their children and themselves to the care of a woman. In connection with that of oculist, there is also the profession of optician. The optician is the one who attends to the mechanical end of the work filling the prescription given by the oculist, adjusting and mount- ing the lenses. All this is included in the optometry courses, and girls who feel diffident of their ability to instil confidence in those they meet, who haven't tact or an easy, assuring manner, might prefer specializing in this branch of the work. One of the first women to become a registered op- tometrist in the West gives the following bit of advice to girls who are either studying or planning to study op- tometry : " First : Know your profession. Second : Keep only the best grade of goods in stock. Third: When you begin business for yourself, do a bit of judicious advertising. You can increase your number of patients by advertising in a direct way, that THE DENTIST 125 is by personal letters ; but the most effective advertising comes through a well-pleased patient or satisfied cus- tomer. Satisfaction alone produces profit, not only so far as the amount we make on one individual, but on the many who are devoted to us." Kemember that. And the girl who enters the field of optometry, equipped with a level business head and a thorough knowledge of her profession, will find an interesting field. THE DENTIST One of the fields into which women have thus so far ventured rather cautiously, is that of Dentistry. Per- haps many girls who would really like to become dentists are afraid that their chances of success are slight be- cause dentistry until a few years ago was considered a man's profession. This is a mistaken idea. But it is only fair to say that success comes less readily to a woman than to a man. While there are few women dentists in the East there are many in the West who are making great suc- cess. In one New York college women students receive an especially cordial reception. The dean of that in- stitution says that at the last graduation eight medals out of eleven awarded for exceptional merit, were given to women. Health, strength and a cheerful disposition are ab- solutely necessary qualifications. As a dentist stands all the time she works, the strain on the nervous system 126 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN is tremendous. There is obviously great eyestrain also. Even when a dentist has exceptionally strong eight to begin with, she usually has to resort to glasses after a few years' practice. All colleges of dentistry have their own qualifications for admission; and the girl contemplating studying dentistry should write to the various colleges for cir- culars. The course is usually three years, covering eight months of the year. During the summer vacation most dental school clinics are open and the students are permitted to practise. The usual fee is $200 a year, exclusive of laboratory charges, and some few minor fees. On graduation, the degree of Doctor of Dental Sur- gery is conferred on the successful candidate. Once a full-fledged dentist, two courses are open to a girl. She may begin at once in an office of her own, or go into the office of an established dentist. The choice depends entirely on her circumstances, confidence and ability. It takes capital to hire and equip an independent office, and the responsibility is correspondingly large. However, if a girl has enough money to live on until patients arrive, and kind friends who are willing to patronize her, perhaps it may be wise to start out for herself directly after graduation. Nevertheless if a girl is a stranger in the city, is timid and desires experience before she opens her own office, the second way will be the better one for her to follow. Two or three years in the office of a dentist ought to give her confidence and THE DENTIST 127 help Her financial resources considerably. Of course unless a girl has many friends who will patronize her, her returns for the first few years will be surprisingly small. Then too, she must overcome by her ability and personality the prejudice which exists in some measure against women dentists. In dentistry a woman may specialize as in many other occupations. However, a very large practice to start with, or else friends in the profession who are willing to send their patients to her, are necessary before a dentist should attempt to specialize. In the West there is one woman who is a specialist in orthodontia or the straightening of teeth. Her income runs high into the thousands yearly. The work is not nearly so hard as general dentistry and what one woman has done others may do. There is also a wide field for women in the treatment of children's first teeth. Many dentists have such large practices that it is almost impossible for them to devote time to treating children. If a woman would specialize in children's teeth she could without doubt build up an extensive business. Dentists would be relieved of a big responsibility and would gladly send their youthful patients to a child specialist. When the children get their second teeth she should be scrupu- lously fair and send them back to their own dentist. One woman dentist whose income was $1000 her first year of practice, $2000 the second and $3000 the third, says in regard to dentistry as a profession for women, " The work is trying to nerves and body, I 128 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN admit, but the interest in it is never flagging. In den- tistry there is always something new and different. Each case brings new methods of treatment and an opportu- nity to be as original as possible. Dentistry is surely a work for women and a day is coming, I'm sure, when more women will realize this fact and enter the profes- THE PHARMACIST Unfortunately, the general public on whom we depend <( for our bread and butter, has been skeptical about women's ability to prepare drugs. !N"ow they are begin- ning to realize that women are as competent to do that as men. With a little personality, great perseverance and much hard work, women can and have built up as large clienteles for their pharmacies as men. As you may readily see, a girl's opportunities in this field are not very great, but they are improving yearly. Pharmacy has one big advantage over many of the other professions, namely, that while a girl is studying, she may be earning something. A girl is eligible for the civil service examinations, and, if she passes them very well, she stands a chance of appointment to one of the fe\v jobs as drug and food inspector, at a comfortable salary. This is one of the best openings for a girl who is a graduate pharmacist. Before a girl may enter a college of pharmacy, she , must have graduated from high school. The college course is usually three years and costs about $225. Of THE PHARMACIST 129 course, the entrance requirements of colleges differ as to individual subjects. The diplomas of foreign schools are accepted as adequate for entrance. One woman in Brooklyn who owns her own drug store, is a graduate of a Kussian Gymnasium. When a student has graduated and passed the State examination, she may obtain a position in a hospital or dispensary. She would have to pass no further examina- tions for these very desirable positions, and she would ^ not have to combat a prejudice against the employment of women. In a dispensary, the hours are short, usually from ten or eleven in the morning to four in the afternoon. The salaries are generally $50 a month. The work is light. In a hospital, too, the hours are short, and the work equally desirable. The salary is from $10 to $12.50 a week, including laundry, meals and, ofttimes, lodging. Jn these particulars, a hospital has an advantage over a dispensary position. Because men can stand longer hours than women, they are preferred in pharmacies. It is sometimes diffi- cult, therefore, for a girl to obtain a position. There v are, however, a great number of unlicensed stores, where the owners are compelled to place graduate clerks in charge. Such owners usually hire girls because, un- fortunately, they can hire girls at a lower salary than men. A girl may also act as relief clerk (substituting for the regular pharmacist) receiving $3 daily. 130 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN In a pharmacy, the hours are very long and often unspecified, depending upon the employer. Up to the present time, but few women have started in this business. It should be pointed out in connec- tion with this profession that the drug trade is being very rapidly taken over by large corporations and in great cities most of the independent druggists have had to yield their stores to the great corporations. This will undoubtedly spread to the smaller towns soon, and it should be borne in mind that the chance of really own- ing one's own drugstore will in the near future be rather remote. When one has intense interest in this profes- sion, without a desire to be one's own boss, this does not materially change the desirability of the choice of pharmacy for a girl. THE BACTERIOLOGIST Not the least among the remarkable array of profes- sions open to women is that of bacteriologist. This pro- fession will appeal to the girl who has a systematic turn of mind, an ability to learn new things quickly, accuracy and conscientious attention to duty, together with a love of discovering new truths and an absolute lack of senti- mentality. These sound like a formidable array of almost im- possible qualifications, but in reality one leads directly to the other. If a girl likes laboratory work and desires to enter that field more than any other, she ought to be successful. Some girls begin work in a laboratory THE BACTERIOLOGIST 131 and after two or three months find that instead of ab- sorbing their attention the work only weakens and sickens them. The training for laboratory assistant or bacteriologist differs from almost any other profession. Perhaps this is because the work is really in its infancy and as it grows without doubt the requirements will increase pro- portionally. One bacteriologist insists that in the future only men and women with an M.A. degree will hold the position. At present girls with a college degree, whether it be in science or not, are more welcome in a laboratory than those with merely a High School diploma. Girls who take a college course, intending to become bacteriologists would be wise to specialize in chemistry and physiology. College girls, who lean toward this research work, volunteer to work in a laboratory, usually one connected with the Board of Health in their City, for a specified time, generally from one to six months. At the end of that time the bacteriologist in charge will know whether or not the girl ought to try to pass the civil service examination for an assistant's position. In New York City, all Board of Health positions are obtained through Civil Service. As laboratory assistant a girl will begin with a salary of $50 a month, being raised to $62.50 and finally re- ceiving $75. That is as high as she may go as an assistant. An assistant does the purely routine work mapped out 132 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN by her superior. Yet to do it well, she must be minutely accurate, systematic and quick. If a girl desire to rise above a $75 a month job, she will have to pass an examination as bacteriologist. A bacteriologist receives $100 to start, probably being raised to $150 after years of work. There isn't any definite plan of promotion or in- crease in salary. Promotion comes only through death of a person holding a higher position or through a resignation. There are, however, laboratories both in hospitals and in private sanitariums where the salaries are a little higher. In all laboratories the hours are usually from 9 to 5, and 9 to 4 in summer. Closely allied with bacteriology is the science of serology, the analysis of serums, and the study of blood analysis. The positions occupied by serologists and bacteriologists pay about the same. Often a bacteriolo- gist does the work in serology. In every laboratory there is a helper who cleans bottles, test tubes and who helps with the dissecting and inoculating. These helpers do not have to pass any examination, and are usually women with little or no education. They receive from $20 to $50 a month. In one of the New York laboratories, the helper can dissect an animal as skilfully as any one of the assist- ants or bacteriologists. She is a woman who can barely write her name ; yet she is invaluable in the laboratory. " Unless a girl desires to work in a laboratory more than anything else in the world, she ought not to attempt THE NEWSPAPER WOMAN 133 the work," a clever bacteriologist advises. " I have had all types of girls under me. Some of them will make splendid assistants, splendid routine workers, but they have not the initiative ever to become bacteriologists. " The recompense is small in comparison to the labor involved. If you don't love the work, it soon becomes drudgery. You have to forget self. Most girls faint the first time they assist at a dissection, but they soon get over the feeling. " Every year the field widens, but with the growth of the work, the requirements are also increasing." " Then the salaries will be larger," I suggested. " I don't know, I hardly think the City departments will ever pay much more, but private laboratories may. Bacteriology is not a question of pay, but largely of love and interest." The girl whose greatest aim is to make money had better avoid bacteriology. But the girl who loves to discover new things just for the sheer delight of dis- covery, and to aid humanity, will find bacteriology an absorbing field. THE NEWSPAPER WOMAN When we pay a copper cent for a newspaper sold by a loudly screaming youngster on the corner, how many of us stop to realize the vast amount of time and energy, of brains and money, that has been expended in produc- ing that penny sheet for five or ten minutes' perusal? Yet infinite resources have been applied to the paper, 134 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN and it is safe to say that every item of news has passed through a dozen hands. \Ve shall not discuss here the inner workings of a newspaper office. They will all become known to the girl who becomes a newspaper woman. (She should never call herself a " journalist " in a newspaper office; she would be laughed at.) An iron constitution is the first and greatest re- quisite for a successful career for the woman who desires to gain admission to this profession which is already overcrowded with men. It can not be said that either a high school education or a college educa- tion is necessary for a woman reporter. But unless one has most exceptional gifts, a position can hardly be obtained without at least a high school education, and a college diploma will be a great additional help. Since so many of the colleges are opening schools of journal- ism, most of the papers prefer to have graduates of these colleges. A course in journalism is of the same length as the usual college course four years. Positions open to women are comparatively few. Editors say that any woman is out of place as a general reporter in a newspaper office unless she can be sent haphazard on any assignment, as can men. Few women care for or are qualified to do such work. The positions which are open to women are, mainly, those in women's departments society, fashion or club reporters. It is rather difficult to obtain a position and, for the ordinary applicant, there is practically only one way to break into the game. All papers buy accurate articles THE NEWSPAPER WOMAN 135 about some interesting happening, personage, or place, of timely or of general interest. Should the girl be in a position to write such an article, (if it is illustrated with photographs, all the better) she should take or send it to the newspapers to which she thinks it best adapted and try to sell it. She will probably be forced to try many times before she succeeds but her second article will sell better than the first, and if her material is really distinctive, she may in time work into the coveted job. This corresponding with a number of newspapers is called " free lance " work. It is paid for by space, and the metropolitan newspapers pay an average of five or seven dollars a column. Some writers are so success- ful at " free lancing " that they continue at it and thus break into the magazine field instead of the purely journalistic one. Since editors prefer men to women on their staff, papers pay women less than men. Eeporters start at $18 or $23 a week with incidental expenses paid, such as carfare and telephone charges. Women seldom re- ceive more than $25 or $30, except society or woman's page editors who receive $50, sometimes more. It takes years of experience to secure one of these positions. The system of space rates mentioned before, is perhaps most advantageous to women, for, while it has certain drawbacks, on the other hand, the same rates are paid to men and women. Some women become special writers and if their " stuff " is unusual and is popular they write a certain article daily, being 136 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN paid in accordance with its worth and the value of their own name. The hours of newspaper work are long, hard and ir- regular. That is one of the principal reasons why women are not so well suited to the work. The editors realize that, while they may send a man out on any sort of a case at any time, it would usually be impractical to send a woman out on a murder case at one o'clock on a winter night. A position with a newspaper syndicate is a lucrative one but hard to get. There exist, throughout the coun- try, great newspaper syndicates which contract with men and women for so much work a week, and then supply the material to dozens of papers from east to west. Women are particularly in demand for writing household hints, beauty articles, verse, and fashion notes. Perhaps the newspaper field offers most opportunities for the small-town girl who knows practically every one in her town. Thus a girl with " news instinct " might run the society column, edit a woman's page, or*write - " sob stuff," the trade term for injecting the senti- mental, the " human interest," into the news of the day. Possibly, if her town paper is a small one, she might be compelled to take over all three of these duties. However, the work would not be as pressing as in the city, and it would certainly be just as interesting. The girl herself would be of far more importance in molding public opinion. From there, if she wasn't contented, she THE WRITER 137 could work into a metropolitan daily ; but for the slight increase in salary, the extra pressure is so great that she would be better off at home. There is a fascination in the newspaper game. We all admit it. Yet considering the work from every angle, it does not seem particularly desirable for women. The wear-and-tear, the nervous strain, are very great; the rewards are precarious and small. And it is not denied that women, except the unusually gifted ones, are not wanted in newspaper offices. Therefore, to preserve her footing, the newspaper woman must show that she can do reporting as well, if not better, than the men with whom she must compete. THE WRITER Somebody once said that school teachers are born not made. If that be true, the statement can also be said a thousandfold more truthfully of writers. Writers ARE born and not made. The ability to write seems almost like a Heaven- given gift, just as a beautiful voice is a gift. The per- son endowed with the ability to write must develop that power to the greatest extent, just as a person possessing a voice must work over it, train it, and then give the full beauty of it to a listening public. There has been so much said on this subject whether or not a person not really endowed with ability to write can be taught to write to write fiction, drama or po- etry, that it will merely raise another discussion to 138 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN dwell on the subject at any great length here. How- ever, after having questioned a number of writers and having received the same reply from all, it seems as if we can safely assume the truth of the original statement made above that writers are born, not made; that the ability to write cannot be drilled into a man or woman, as can a language, history or mathematics. When a person wishes to write, nothing in this world or any other will keep that person from writing. Un- less she feels such an impulse to expression, a girl should not decide on writing as a profession. The road to success is too long and weary a one, the returns for many years too small, and even when success is at- tained, the question of how long her work will be in vogue is an ever-present problem. Writing is a game, the game of being able to furnish the publishers with the kind of material which they want. Every one who has ever started to write has been determined that he would write what he wished to write, and educate the public up to his standard. But the public does not wish to be educated; it wishes to be amused. If a girl intends to make her living by writing it is her business to write the kind of stuff that the reading public demands. Ideals are very won- derful and as far as possible every one ought to cling to them, but ideals will never pay rent, buy food, clothes and the necessities of life. Yet there are many men and women who make their living by writing. One well-known and widely read THE WRITER 139 author last year drew $15,000 from one magazine, and an equal amount from the royalties on his books. He is one out of many. We all laugh at this picture of the young author starving in his cold attic, while manu- script after manuscript is returned to him, but we do not realize the tragedy back of the picture. However, there are fewer and fewer starving authors these days, for men and women who possess ability to write either write the sort of stories which do sell, or if they cannot sell enough to earn a living wage, they take a job at something else, leaving the writing game to be a side issue until they become established. Writing, then, is not a profession which can be taught, but a gift which can be developed. The ability to write salable stuff depends upon the author's im- agination, and unless a girl possesses imagination, she can never be a writer no matter how many courses she may take or how many years she may spend in trying. The girl who intends to make writing her life work, and earn her living by the use of her imagination and brain, ought to start out early in life to acquire as much varied information as she can. She has to be constantly alert, eyes and ears open. In almost every sentence she hears, in every situation, and in many a chance glance, a story will be suggested to her. She should make English her principal study, read the great short-story writers, read plays, become acquainted with the magazines and the class of material they desire, and then begin to write, and write and write. 140 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN Writing constantly is the only way by which any one will ever reach success. To the girl who would earn her living by her pen, this advice is offered. Write, write, write and tear the work up as quickly as you write it, if it does not seem perfect. Better still, return to your manuscript after a few days and reread your work with a view to correction. This is the only way to acquire ease of style, fluency of language, and the ability to say the right thing in the right place. After a girl has a story synopsis with which she is satisfied or perhaps a manuscript of some sort, let her take it to some one who is really able to criticize it for her. It may be a writer, an editor, or an author's agent, but let her go to some one who knows. She may have to pay for it and she may not. If she has submitted her work to an editor and has received a personal letter in reply instead of one of those nasty rejection slips which are the bane of all writers, then let her ask him for an interview. Editors are very human; they are always willing to lend a helping hand to the man or woman who is in earnest, and you will learn more from one criticism by a person who knows the game than you will from six months in any short-story course, no matter how fine it may be. One woman writer, who has served many years on all the big newspapers the country over, who has several novels to her credit and who has even tried her hand in the motion picture field, says of writing : " It is the little things that count, the aptitude of one word, the descrip- THE WRITER 141 tion of a tiny action, the ability to know what to say and how to say it. On these hinge success, and on nothing else." There are many schools throughout the country where short-story, dramatic and photoplay courses are offered. We shall not say anything derogatory of these courses. They nearly all are excellent, and serve their purpose. But unless a girl entering one of them has the story mind, imagination and the innate knowledge that noth- ing but writing will satisfy her, there is not a course in the world which can teach her to write. As any college will supply information concerning these courses, there is no need of going into detail here. A girl who plans to go to college, and then to make writ- ing her life work, will naturally cram as much English as possible into her course. But if she possesses a def- inite style, she shouldn't let any one change that style, deform it by hard and rigid rules of form, set expres- sions and technique. Style is the one thing that is in- dividual to a writer. If she lose that individuality, her career is lost. There are many divisions of writing journalism, press work, advertising (which we have treated in pre- vious sections) the writing of short stories, novels, plays, sketches, articles, essays, poetry and last but not least the newest division of the profession, the scenario. Short stories are the first type which the budding author usually attempts. Most short-story writers are recruited from the newspaper field, but many start on 142 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN short-story work without any newspaper training. Newspaper work is a great asset, a splendid stepping stone to fiction, but in the transition the reporter must learn to drop his abrupt, terse style, and acquire an easy, rolling, more definite one. Short stories, and in fact all stories, have an annoying habit of returning, not once but many times before the story is accepted. Some stories written by well-known writers have not sold until their twentieth trip. To stick at the game and persevere thus requires a vast amount of courage. Sticktoativeness is the word which best expresses it. And then, too, the remuneration is not very large. True, some writers have been known to receive $1000 for a short story but many more have received $5, although the latter must not be regarded as an average price. Different magazines pay differently, some so much per word, (running from % cent to 5 or 10 cents a word) some pay by the complete worth, considering the value of the author's name, etc., and others pay by the page. However, the per word basis is the one which is almost universally used. One author said " You cannot support yourself on short stories alone." In this he is correct. Novelettes (from 15,000 to 25,000 or 30,000 words) and novels are the chief means of an author's support. Novels are the most remunerative in the long run al- though they, of course, take a far longer time to write. A novel can be sold five times in this country, ex- THE WRITER 143 elusive of foreign rights. In selling a novel to a magazine, the wise author sells the first serial rights only. For this he may receive anywhere from $500 to $5000 and sometimes even more according to his name and fame. The novel may run either as a com- plete story in one issue of the publication or it may be a " Continued in Our Next " story. Then the writer sells the novel rights to a publishing company, and the story is brought out in book form. For this the usual rate is $250 thirty days after publica- tion, and then three months later a ten per cent royalty on the sales of the book, which is paid twice a year thereafter. The average selling life of a book is a year, possibly two or three for a big seller. Then it is usually brought out in a cheaper edition fifty cents a copy. On each and every copy of the popular edition sold the author receives five cents and the publisher two cents. Often the author receives many more dollars on the cheaper edition than on the expensive one. After the novel rights come the dramatic rights. Many books are dramatized. Arrangements are either made through the producing company for the dramatiza- tion of the book, or the author does it himself. The amount of remuneration depends entirely on the suc- cess of the play, for few dramatic rights are sold out- right. After the dramatic rights, the newspaper rights are in order, a certain length of time after the publication of the novel. Many newspapers publish a syndicated 144. THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN story which has made a success in book form. The amount received for this varies so that no set amount can he stated. Then last of all come the motion picture rights. The film rights of a hook may sell from $500 to almost any amount. Last year sums as high as $15,000 were paid to popular authors of best sellers. Thus the short story and the novel are disposed of. Sketches and plays are next to be considered. Sketches for the vaudeville stage are in constant demand but they require a peculiarly trained mind to write them. The vaudeville sketch is really a whole play condensed into twenty minutes, in which the interest of the audi- ence must be aroused at the rise of the curtain and held till it drops. Vaudeville sketches draw an amount weekly while the act is working from fifteen to fifty dollars, according to the class of the act and the amount paid to the actors. After their usefulness for the public stage has waned, vaudeville sketches may some- times be sold to a publisher of amateur plays for a lump sum. The play, drama or comedy, is a more complicated piece of work which often takes the playwright years to write. Besides the ability to write the playwright has to have a dramatic sense and know stage values. Strange as it may seem actors or actresses seldom seem to be able to write a play. They may know how it ought to go but few of them seem to possess the ability to write one. Playwriting is perhaps the most THE WRITER 145 precarious branch of the whole writing field, and yet if a playwright puts over one big success he may be wealthy for life. Even when a play is accepted and produced, th> question of its success still hangs in the balance. For no one, not even Mr. Belasco, the master of the stage, can tell whether the public is going to like a play or not, and no matter how great a play it may be, unless the public want it and go to see it, the play is considered a failure. And the public is fickle. Play- writing is a branch of the writing game to be aimed at ; played up to, and approached timidly until one is sure of sufficient revenue from other fields to devote all her time to playwriting. Some of our most successful play- wrights are women Rachel Crothers who wrote " Old Lady Thirty-One," " The Three of Us " and whose suc- cess this year is " The Little Journey ; " Caroline Thompson, who lately died, wrote " Rebecca of Sunny- brook Farm " and many others can be named. A playwright usually receives a certain sum down when his play is accepted, the sum to be forfeited by the manager if the play is not produced within a certain time, and the rights then revert back to the playwright. When the play is produced the playwright receives 5% of the gross receipts up to $5000 weekly; 7% on the next two thousand and ten per cent on all over $7000. Some authors get from $600 to $1500 weekly while their plays are doing big business. Thus it can be easily seen that if a playwright writes one big success he may make a fortune on it. Then after its usefulness has 146 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN departed as a big attraction, he can always dispose of his stock rights which bring in from $100 to $200 every week the play is used. Thus for many years he may draw money from one successful play. Special articles for magazines are usually written by staff people trained in the work about which they are writing. It is wise for the young writer who desires to sell some special articles, to consult the editor to find out whether the latter is interested in his work. For an article that might interest one magazine might not be of any use to another. Each century produces a few great poets, and al- though we are living in a practical age, poetry still holds its own and poetry is more in demand today than it has been for some years. But the poet of today can- not merely write of babbling brooks and sunny glens. He must have individual style and say something that will attract the public. Last of all is the motion picture synopsis and sce- nario. Motion picture companies are demanding today stories which have action, a little more psychology than ever before, characterization and plot. They want a clear, concisely written synopsis of about three thousand words which tell the story. The scenario, that is, the division of the synopsis into scenes from which the picture is made is written by men and women specially trained for the work. Women are as successful, perhaps more so, in this line than men. The average price for an original motion THE WRITER 147 picture synopsis is from $500 to $1500, but the price may be higher or lower according to the company and the value of the author's name. Comedies run about $50 a reel. Although they are in great demand, they are difficult to write because they must definitely suit a certain comedian being featured by a special company. Hence, the market is very limited. Continuity writers or those who divide the story into the scenes (continuity and scenario being different names for the same thing) are specially well paid. Some work on the staff and are paid weekly salaries from $100 to $250 weekly, while those who " free lance," as it is called, receive from $500 to $750 for each continuity they write. The way to get into motion picture scenario work is to obtain a staff job as reader, that is, picking out the stories which lend themselves to the screen. Salaries are from $25 to $50 weekly. The average editor is always willing and anxious to aid the aspiring writer, and if at times he seems gruff and cross, we should remember that he has worries like ourselves. It is not prejudice which prohibits him from buying your story but perhaps the policy of the publishing house, excess of material already on hand, and a hundred other reasons he cannot explain to each writer. If a girl really feels she is a writer, she needs a large stock of patience. If stories come back, they must be sent out again. If she gets discouraged, it may be 148 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN a warning that she is not cut out for a successful writer. O. Henry, that master of the short story, tried to sell his hrain children for thirteen years before he succeeded in selling any. But he knew that he could write and was determined that he would write. There has heen much said and written ahout methods of submitting manuscript to editors. Manuscript should always be folded, not rolled ; a short note inclosed if any at all; and a stamped self-addressed envelope in- closed for return if the story is not desired. This holds good in regard to all manuscripts. Editors are busy people, and ought not to be disturbed. In many cases a writer's personality will help greatly in selling a story. One writer who has been fairly successful within the past few years says that selling a story depends forty per cent upon the story itself, and sixty per cent on personality plus salesmanship. So if the writer cannot meet people easily, talk without stam- mering and blushing, it is safer for her to submit her material by mail. A personal interview may kill a thing just as quickly as it may bring success. There are many disappointments in the path to fame ! The young writer may never reach higher than the first rung of the ladder of success, but when a story does land, and the precious check finds its way home to her, there will be a flutter around her heart, a sob in her throat, and a pride in her bearing which almost nothing else on this earth can produce. An actress who is now famous both on the stage and THE TEACHER 149 screen was very unsuccessful when she first came to this country. In fact every play she was starred in, failed, but she was determined to succeed. One day a friend speaking of her new production, ventured to wish that it would be a success. " Success," she smiled, " I am a pill the American public has not decided to take, but they shall swallow me no matter how long it may take." If a writer has the goods to deliver, she will even- tually sell it, even though her commodity is a harder article to put across than the average article hawked about today. Very many people try to write and many fail. Some one once said that every person has at least one story in his system. If a girl has only one, she will never become rich or famous, but if she sticks, if something tells her to keep at it in spite of disappoint- ments, then all that can be said to her is " GOOD LUCK, and may your perseverance bring forth fruit." THE TEACHER Until recent years teaching was the chief profession other than that of home maker open to w r omen. In a recent Regents' examination a high school girl answer- ing a letter to an uncle who had inquired about her choice of a profession said that she wished to be a teacher. She assigned as reasons that the work was not very hard, the hours were short, the pay good, the vacations long and the profession was a genteel one in which the social status of the woman worker was high. 150 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN The average person will at first be inclined to nod his head approvingly in agreement with this estimate of teaching as a profession. The social status of the teacher as a professional worker is certainly high. She has the respect of the community in which she works, and the field is one in which employment is not difficult to obtain for one qualified to do the work. The most conservative of families agree that next to motherhood itself teaching is an ideal profession. It is for this reason perhaps, that we find numerous families who would have their daughters become teachers regardless of other considerations. Not all young women, however, are qualified to be- come teachers. Love of children, of growing, trouble- some, even apparently dirty girls and boys is the first quality with which she who would follow this truly noble profession must come armed. Closely allied to this, in fact wrapped up with it, is patience and sympathetic understanding of the way in which the minds of children work. A quick insight into the causes of that which we commonly misname disorder in the class room, patient ability to attend to a thousand small details that most pupils never dream go into the making of a successful teacher, a broad outlook on, life and the ability to live in a double world as it were, the world of childhood in school, and a vital world of womanhood in the outside world all this should be the equipment of every girl who wishes to teach. A large and super-human require- ment we may well say, yet I am sure we'll all agree that THE TEACHER 151 the most successful teachers are those who have been able to measure up to the greater part of it. Even when equipped with these qualities of character, a girl is by no means ready for this profession. A certain amount of academic training is necessary for a successful teacher. This varies in various districts of the country and in different cities. Practically all school boards demand a high school education plus special training in teaching methods, which can be obtained in a normal school or in a Training School for Teachers, as it is called in New York City. For teaching in the country frequently one year's training after high school graduation and the successful comple- tion of the state examinations are all that is necessary as requirements for the elementary schools. In New York City, special training of two years' time is re- quired, six months of which is given over to practice teaching in a school. Tuition for this special training is free in most schools. This is one of the two courses open on graduation from high school to the girl who would be a teacher. The other is to pursue the usual college course for a B.A. degree, electing methods of teaching as one of the subjects of her college course. The latter, of course, opens for a girl possibilities of rising in her profession which the former does not. Formal school training is after all but the smallest consideration in the training of a successful teacher. More important by far is the training the girl will give 152 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN herself to fit herself into the place she must occupy in the community. She must be familiar with the industries, population and social organization of the place where she is to teach in order to train her pupils not in a narrow bookish sense, but in a way that will make them see the relation of the subjects she teaches to the life about them. The girl who has unusual love for children under seven or eight will generally make a successful kinder- gartner. The training for this course involves a two years' course following high school graduation. In ad- dition to knowledge of the science of education a kinder- gartner should be able to play simple songs and dances on the piano and to draw on the blackboard. Only a girl with an exceedingly strong love for little children should become a kindergartner, as a lifetime given over to work among infants alone is apt to make a girl narrow. To girls living in New York City, there is one serious drawback to kindergarten work. The chances of secur- ing permanent employment are few since the Board of Education has at present a long eligible list of unap- pointed kindergartners, and since there are relatively few vacancies in private schools. If a girl has money at her disposal, time to wait for financial returns, and a large clientele of people who would pay to send their children to a good kindergarten, she might make a suc- cess of running a private kindergarten. The girl who desires to teach in high school needs a different type of training in order to meet the different THE TEACHER 153 problem involved. A thorough college education with specialization in her chosen field and a broad knowledge of all subjects allied to it should be her stock in book learning. Firmness of character, coupled with a sym- pathetic yet not over-sentimental understanding of the peculiar physical and moral needs of girls and boys between the ages of thirteen and nineteen, should be added to a thorough academic training. Time and willingness for post-graduate work are essential, for every high school teacher soon realizes that in teaching she consumes an enormous amount of reserve informa- tion which has to be replenished frequently as the terms go by. A true high school teacher must throw herself into the secondary activities of the school even more than an elementary school teacher, into the play to be given, the athletics to be organized, the literary or current events club to be assisted, and the thousand and one other self-governing and socializing activities of a modern high school. Besides, due allowance must be made for the time needed to correct papers. (Now we have an effective answer to the girl who would choose teaching because the hours were short.) The requirements and methods of obtaining positions in high schools vary in different localities. Some cities give examinations to those applicants who fulfil the necessary requirements. Others select teachers through interviews with the members of the school board or board of trustees. Private high schools generally re- 154 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN quire personal interviews with prospective candidates for vacancies. Teaching in college, of course, presupposes a college education at least, and generally graduate work in the chosen field. Hours of actual teaching are shorter than in the case of high school work (fifteen periods per week being a fair average) but a great deal of time must be consumed in reference reading for the prepara- tion and planning of work. As the students are older, the difficult nerve-wearing problem of discipline is lack- ing. However, salaries are as a rule somewhat lower than those of high school positions in the big cities. In many cities, if there is a question of choosing between a man or a woman for a given position, the man will still be given the preference for college teaching. An in- structor may sometimes rise to a professorship if she distinguishes herself for some scholarly piece of re- search. As conditions vary in different colleges no defi- nite statement in regard to salaries or conditions of work can be made. Besides, the position of college pro- fessor is not one which really concerns the student of the jobs a girl may obtain ; it is essentially the problem of an experienced teacher. The salaries of teachers vary with the locality of the school. In rural districts elementary school teachers may receive anywhere from $300 to $700 for a school year of generally nine or ten months. High school teachers in similar districts receive from $400 to $1000 a year depending upon the size of school, the grades to be THE TEACHER 155 taught, the responsibility involved and the amount the community can afford for school purposes. In many districts no provision is made for increase in salary with years of service. In the vast majority of places, a few big cities excepted, there is no law of tenure of office, and the teacher may be reappointed or dropped at the personal wish of the school board regardless of the quality of her work. In the cities salaries are much higher, but due allow- ance must be made for the higher cost of living and the heavier demands made on the salary of a teacher in the city. In New York City, kindergartners and ele- mentary school teachers of the first six grades of schools begin on a salary of $720, increasing gradually to a maximum of $1800, a portion of which is annually deducted for a pension fund. After passing an exam- ination to teach in the seventh and eighth years of the elementary schools, the salary is increased, as is the case with assistants to principals. In high schools salaries run from $900 to $2650, the maximum being obtained after twelve years of service. Heads of de- partments receive a higher salary. In the other large cities of the country the salaries are approximately those of New York City. In the case of private schools, salaries vary to such an extent that no general state- ment can be made on the subject. In nearly all cities in the United States there are groups of teachers other than the regular grade teachers of high and elementary schools. With the increased 156 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN knowledge of the science of education that has come of recent years, the need for a corps of." special " teach- ers has arisen. These include teachers of drawing, sew- ing, basketry and other forms of manual training, as well as teachers of the mentally backward, the morally deficient, the blind, the deaf and those with slight de- fects of speech. There are special courses for those desiring to teach any of these given at Teachers' College in Columbia, the School of Pedagogy of New York University, the School for the Morally Defective in Vineland, New Jersey, Hunter College, New York City and practically at any college that has a complete course in pedagogy. Salaries of these " special " teach- ers are slightly higher than those of grade teachers in the elementary schools. Closely allied with the work of special teachers of physical training and of social work is that of the play- ground-teacher in a school or park. Where there is only one teacher, her work is a combination of the jobs of kindergartner, dancing teacher, physical training teacher and supervisor of clubs and games. Where more than one teacher is employed the work is divided into boys' playground, girls' playground and kindergarten work, three teachers frequently being in charge of the work. Such playgrounds in large cities are run in congested districts from three to six o'clock during the school season, and all morning and afternoon during the sum- mer months. The work is either under the auspices of the Department of Education, or civil service work THE TEACHER 157 under the auspices of the Department of Parks. Pay- ment is generally for services by the day. Teaching in the city possesses certain advantages over similar work in the country. The salary seems to be higher, life in the city affords broader opportunites for study and for human intercourse, the position is prac- tically permanent during satisfactory service and proper conduct, and in many cases offers chances of advance- ment. There are, however, disadvantages that offset these. Classes in city schools are large, certainly larger than any one teacher should handle alone. Then, too, they contain a very large proportion of foreigners for whom the language is a serious problem. The curric- ulum is packed to bursting with numerous subjects. There are constant demands made on time and energy. For all these causes, the city teacher's life constantly has a great pressure placed upon it and it is only she who has unusually robust health who doesn't soon begin to feel the nervous strain of the profession. Even when the disadvantages are all told, teaching remains one of the truly ideal professions for either man or woman. The girl who really feels the call, who from infancy has felt the still small voice within grow louder in its appeal in the same way that every true physician or minister has felt the call, should choose this as her profession. Despite the arguments of opponents who justly claim that teaching is overcrowded with misfits, there is and always will be a place for those to whom it is an ideal, a calling. Teaching is the one profession 158 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN in which the worker lays out everything in return for no visible reward. Yet to every real teacher happily doing her duty and trusting that she is helpful to instil some permanent good into the lives of her pupils, each day brings its own reward. It is true that the pro- fession from its very character tends to get the teacher into a rut. Yet, every teacher born with the instinct to teach will discover for herself the particular method of counterbalancing the danger. This, of course, will have to be a gradual work carried on as regularly as teaching itself, for " eternal vigilance is still the price of liberty." Under the best of circumstances, the long summer vacation is a practical necessity to provide ade- quate rest after the strain of the winter's work. With- out it no teacher can do her work the following winter. !N"o girl should ever drift into teaching by the negative process of elimination. Teaching is hard enough when one loves it and is born to the work, but it would surely be torture to one who merely does it to make a living. If a girl tries teaching, thinking it to be her life work, only to find herself a square peg in a round hole, the greatest benefit she can bestow upon both herself and the community is to give up teaching as soon as possible. To the girl who feels that she must teach, the work will bring compensations far outweighing any apparent dis- advantages. THE LIBRARIAN 159 THE LIBRARIAN Within the last few years, the increase of libraries in the United States has called for more and more girls as librarians. Without giving it careful consideration, many girls imagine that the work is suitable to any one who is a book lover. But the prospective librarian must not think that the main qualification for the posi- tion is a desire to read. Few librarians have the time to read the latest novels, and a girl with that idea had better stay away from library work. To be a successful librarian, that is, to reach the higher positions where the salary and work are really worth while, a girl must be enthusiastic, quick, neat, accurate and understand human nature as well as books. In fact, the understanding of people is more necessary than a knowledge of books. When we go to the library, pass our book over the desk, and have our card stamped by the librarian, the work she does seems simple and easy. But this simple checking of books is the least part of the real job. There are cataloguing, repairing and reference de- partments in public libraries, and a hundred intricate little matters which are absolutely necessary for the librarian to take part in, which one seldom considers when borrowing or returning a book. And finally and most important of all, there is the help that must be rendered to readers looking for particular books or needing advice as to what to read. 160 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN There are two ways to prepare for library work. One is to take a course at a recognized library school, and the other is to begin work at once in a library as a probationer. Of course, the former is the better method, but if a girl hasn't the required sum to pay for tuition, the latter way is often just as satisfac- tory. Most library schools demand that applicants be at least eighteen years old and have a high school diploma together with a knowledge of French or German or both. Some schools require that candidates for admis- sion have a year or more of college education. Ap- plicants are only admitted after successfully passing an examination in history, current events, literature and a foreign language. The courses are from one to three years. Most library schools are heavily endowed so that the cost of tuition is comparatively small, about fifty dollars a year, exclusive of supplies (text books and periodicals) which cost from twenty to thirty dollars. All branches of library work are taught, including special writing used in library work, cataloguing, classi- fication, binding, indexing, bibliography, current topics, etc. When a girl graduates, she must keep up her study. If she falls behind the times, she will not suc- ceed. She must read magazines, newspapers and books of research and invention even more particularly than fiction. A probationer enters a library and works usually for three or four months without salary. At the end of that THE LIBRARIAN 161 time, if her work has been satisfactory, she becomes a substitute or may be appointed as a librarian at $35 or $45 a month. After two years' work, these librarians are entitled to take a promotion examination, and if successful in passing it, receive a salary of from $50 to $60 a month. In the public libraries, librarians work so many hours a week, having certain half days off and certain evenings in the week to work. The various branches of the work are divided, and a girl may sometimes, after learning all the details of each branch, select the kind of work she wants to do. In public libraries, girls with a love for children would be successful in a children's room. Here the librarian aids the little tots in selecting books suitable for their age, helps the older ones in finding necessary data for school work, and many libraries have story- telling hours. The salaries of the heads of children's departments are $700 to $1000 a year, while their assistants receive about $500 to $800. Head circulation librarians re- ceive $900 to $1500, annually. In the adult circulatory department, the librarian must be a veritable fountain of knowledge. All manner of questions are asked of her ; her assistance is required to select books, to hunt up characters in books; the names of technical books as well as novels, she must know. People don't always know what they want, and a librarian must have ingenuity coupled with versatility, 162 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN as well as knowledge of human nature, to know what they do want. All types of people are met in the course of a day's work, and to librarians this may be a matter of interest and education. Girls to whom constant contact with people is dis- tasteful, will be far happier in the cataloguing room. The strain here, however, is often great. If any of the rooms have to be lighted artificially, they are usually those where cataloguing is done. A girl's brain is kept constantly on the alert. It is the cataloguer's duty to label new books and make catalogue cards. Often books come under several different classifications, and she must know just where to catalogue them by merely glancing over the book. She must be fully acquainted with authors' names, so as to be able to supply initials, etc., when they are missing. Much of the system of a library depends on the cataloguer, and her position is most important. The chief of the cataloguing room will receive $1000 to $2000 annually, while her assist- ants start at $600 and rarely exceed $120'0. An ambitious girl may aim to work her way to a position in the Congressional Library at Washington, where the salaries range from $1200 to $1800 a year. A head librarian's position is most important and requires executive ability and utmost tact. The salaries are from $600 in small towns to $2500 or even $3000 in large cities. High schools, private schools, colleges, universities, publishing houses, law firms and some private individ- THE LIBRARIAN 163 uals employ a graduate librarian to catalogue their books and perform all the duties of librarian. Some- times, if the library is small, such a position may afford one much leisure. Salaries range from $900 to $1500 a year. Librarians work principally in large pleasant build- ings where in most of the rooms there is plenty of sun- shine and fresh air. But the salaries are not, in many cases, very large, and promotion in public libraries (at least, in those of ISTew York City) is uncertain. Per- haps the temptation occurs here more often than in some other occupations, to neglect one's all-round de- velopment as a human being, in the effort to get ahead as a librarian. Ideally of course, this should not be so. Knowing the danger, will help one to avoid it. THE LAWYER There always have been courts and judges ever since there have been laws. Only recently, however, have women tried to enter the field of law, and because of the small number in the profession, there is not as yet very much confidence placed in woman lawyers. But every year more girls are entering upon the practice of law. With this increase, more faith is being placed in them. The girl with an analytical, logical mind, the power of thinking clearly and of reasoning abstractly, is the one who will make a good lawyer. A retentive mem- ory, coupled with a keen insight into human nature, is a valuable asset. 164 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN There are two ways to train for the law. One is to complete a college course, followed by one in law; the other is to pass three or four years in a registered clerk- ship to a lawyer. The former is by far the better but more expensive way to study. Women will find that it is virtually the only way open to them. Lawyers are still skeptical about having women clerks in training in their offices. The college law course is from three to four years. It gives a certain breadth and balance of thought that only the most exceptional office-trained woman ever gains. After graduation a student is required to pass the " bar " examination before she can be admitted to practise. Women are not handicapped in competing with the men in classes. One woman lawyer says that the girls in law school, as in the general college courses, usually win more prizes and scholarships than men in propor- tion to their numbers. The really important training comes after the embryo lawyer passes the bar examination successfully and enters upon her years of clerkship. This training is imperative. Law schools teach many things and train their stu- dents to think logically, but being a graduate does not necessarily mean being a lawyer. The graduate can not at once establish herself in business. There are many things about practice and pleading that can be learned only by actual experience, which must be THE LAWYER 165 gained as a clerk under the tutelage of a lawyer who has had years of training and experience. It is not an easy matter for a woman to get a position as a law clerk. The prejudice she will meet all through her profession begins right here. The girl who perseveres, however, will make an opening for herself if she has the neces- sary qualifications. The salary of a law clerk varies from nothing to $15 a week. The hours are usually from nine to five, al- though to succeed, a young lawyer must work patiently morning, noon and even into the night. Unlike most occupations where better training is usually acquired in small firms than large ones, the best legal training is secured in the big office of a suc- cessful firm, where many cases are handled. Here the clerk has a greater opportunity to study a diversity of methods and to meet a diversity of emergencies. A clerkship should be of at least two years' duration ; the longer the better. If a clerk has " made good," she is likely to be permitted to enter into an arrangement whereby she can handle her own private practice through the office with which she has been associated. At any rate, it is not advisable to open an office to wait for clients. Many young lawyers have either starved or thought it necessary to go into some other work, usually journalism or teaching, because they tried to work in- dependently at the start. It is far safer to gather some little practice before doing this. Comparatively few women plead in court without 166 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN specializing in some branch of the work. Specializing in so new a field as the law still is to women, presents many hazards which women will do well to avoid. Gen- eral practice is safer and surer. The returns at first are surprisingly small. It is useless to quote figures for they vary so considerably as to be no help in deciding upon law as a profession. Woman is today in the process of finding her place in law; it is not yet established. Undoubtedly, the entrance of woman into the political field is going to assist her progress as a lawyer. In the states where there is woman suffrage, it is now generally conceded that woman is a human as well as a feminine being. It is rather taken for granted that the qualities which make a man a good lawyer are human qualities and not masculine qualities, and that a human being of the opposite sex may therefore be a good lawyer too. The very fact that more women are entering the ranks every year seems to be the best indication of the possibilities and opportunities which law holds out for women. For the woman who desires a political career, the law is a good background and foundation. The women in suffrage states are beginning to prove this admirably. THE STATISTICIAN Some colleges give courses in statistics and of course a girl who is planning to go to college and later become a statistician ought to study statistics while there. THE STATISTICIAN 167 Although statistical work requires a special ability which is rarely to be found, it does not unfortunately pay unusually large salaries. A statistical clerk who works under the direction of a superior receives $100 a month or less; we regret to say, usually less. Statistical work involving planning and interpreting of an investigation pays from $1200 to $2000 a year. Experts receive about $3000 annually. In the Federal Government the director of the Census receives $7500 census year, $6000 other years. This is the highest salary paid to a statistician. Statistical work for women, as indeed for men, cannot in every case be trained for as in other professions. It requires some apprenticeship in the work itself to show whether or not a girl has the fine discrimination necessary to deal with the material subjected to statis- tical analysis, the rare ability to think out facts in numerical terms. Beginning as a clerk or in some other office position, a girl who is able to master the details involved in planning a study of the business or activity she is engaged in, may become a first-class statistician. Although the chances for positions are not very en- couraging at present and the salaries small, in con- sideration of the fineness of the work involved, the opportunities are fortunately increasing. As good statistical work becomes more appreciated and the need for it is made more apparent, the salaries surely will increase and the number of possible positions open will be far greater. 168 THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN The world-wide call for efficiency and the world-wide effort at organization and scientific handling of all problems involving human need, are both factors which will make the work of the statistician every year in greater demand, and which will increase its significance and social value. AETS A1STD THE GIEL To most of us the words " woman artist " call up a picture of an attractive young girl garbed in a gay smock and velvet tarn o'shanter, gracefully surveying a half-finished picture on an easel before her. The pic- ture fits very few cases. The entire field of art work concerns two classes of women and men. The first and by far the smallest group is composed of professional painters who have chosen art as a creative life work, a means of self- expression and of creating for the world the beauty they find in life. The woman who treads this path, shares with her brother a hard road, bestrewn with difficulties, not the least of which are the struggle to master the art itself, and the struggle to make a living. The other class is composed of commercial workers in the field of applied art, such as stenciling patterns on boxes, copying illustrations for advertising material, executing designs made by the creative artist for jew- elry, wall paper, stage scenery, textiles, etc. In most cases they do absolutely no original work. A course of highly specialized training is generally a prerequisite. This can be obtained in numerous good art schools. It differs, however, from professional train- ing, in that the chances of permanent employment with advancement are not so assured. 169 170 ARTS AND THE GIRL To the girl who loves color, form, f ahrics, textiles or design in any form, or who loves to fashion things with her hands this field offers a numher of interesting oc- cupations. THE JEWELER The art of designing and making jewelry is one that a beauty-loving girl with original ideas may find most delightful. It is not, however, always well paid. Ex- quisite work in good shops is done by young women graduates from the art schools who often receive about $50 a month. The choice of this work is, therefore, a matter for serious consideration. A girl not remarkably endowed with talent in this direction should not enter the field unless she already has at least a small income assured. Beside the artistic ability required, she must also have capacity for close and regular application to work. If, besides such qualities, a girl has in addition such executive ability that she could plan the disposal of her wares herself, she may make a financial success. This combination of abilities is rare, however. There are many schools throughout the country where the jeweler's craft may be studied. The courses are usually about three years in duration and tuition is from $15 to $20 a month, excluding cost of materials. Instead of studying at a school, a girl may enter a shop and learn there as an apprentice. She would earn from $3 to $4 a week during her apprenticeship. This direct work under experienced craftsmen is sometimes THE JEWELER 171 considered more valuable than schooling. The salary would increase to $10 or $15 a week. A very limited few will in time receive $30 a week. If a girl wishes to start in business for herself, she must spend much in equipment. The best tools are ex- pensive, materials dear, besides the usual rent and ad- vertising. Advertising for the craftsman jeweler is an especial expense because it must be done in those magazines which reach people of means, who can afford luxuries. Of course a girl with artistic gifts and personality combined may find ways of advertising among her friends and acquaintances that will be most valuable. One difficulty is that the majority of people still cling to conventional jewelry and do not appreciate the beauty of craftwork. The usual stereotyped set- tings suit the taste of most people, just as clothes cut in fashion do. It requires almost nothing but mechanical ability to work for a great firm where the production of jewelry is an industry and art is lost sight of. Here untrained girls are wanted. The hours are long, the work weary- ing and tedious, and the wages are at first low. The work is especially hard on the eyes and becomes too often a mere grind. Foreigners are most frequently employed. Few people realize that jewelry should have in- dividuality and suit the owner's personality. When this idea is general, the art of making craft jewelry will be more lucrative than now. 172 ARTS AND THE GIRL THE INTERIOR DECORATOR Perhaps none of the vocations open to women seem to be surrounded with a more roseate glow than that of interior decorator. Numerous girls love to handle pretty things, to plan the furnishings of a room and to place furniture. It is as instinctive with them as the tying of a hair ribhon. But interior decorating means a great deal more than this. It is a business. A girl who expects to be successful must have executive ability as well as artistic sensibility. Various art schools are now offering a special course of two or three years in interior decoration, costing perhaps $100 a year tuition. This course includes the study of form, color, line, architectural detail, period furniture, etc. Every possible branch of art is included in interior decorating, for all beautiful things are used to ornament houses, paintings, furniture, needlework, tapestries, sculpture and porcelains. Therefore, a dec- orator must be well informed in all branches of art. The decorator is never through studying. She must read continually the best that is written pertaining to her profession, so as to be well acquainted with what is new. A beginner should obtain a position as assistant with an interior decorating house. In this position she will gain a fund of valuable information that she will never get if she starts in business for herself directly after her art training. A beginner often works for months THE INTERIOR DECORATOR 173 without any salary and in those months she often obtains as much useful knowledge as she ever learned at art school. She is trained in methodical business methods through contact with the trade and in con- fidence through meeting clients. When she has gained all this experience and is really worth a salary, she is given a very small one at the beginning. More experience is gained if a girl works for an in- dividual decorator than for a large concern where the work is so subdivided that each one must particularize. An assistant would have perhaps $8 to $10 a week to start, working up to from $25 to $30 a week in a few years. To start in business for herself, a girl must be as well trained in the business end as in the artistic. A patron will not be satisfied with work, no matter how well executed, if it is not finished when promised. In almost the same way as the architect, an interior dec- orator must be able to deal with all classes of work- men. As the mason, painter, cabinetmaker, uphol- sterer, all come within her realm, she must make them live up to their contracts, so that she may live up to hers. Then, too, a decorator must know the stock of each wholesale and importing house with which she deals, what the manufacturers are making, and the new objects of art the various art dealers have on hand. In short, she must know every intricate detail connected with her profession. She must know how to receive sugges- 174 ARTS AND THE GIRL tions from her clients and how to correct them in such a way as to make them think they are doing it them- selves. Infinite tact and patience are required. When a girl starts in business, her advance depends much on her circle of friends. However, if a decorator carries out successfully one important commission, she is apt to be " made " from that time on. Her work helps very much to advertise her. One of the best known women decorators makes an average of about $75,000 yearly after being in the busi- ness for ten years. Few of course reach this high salary but there isn't any reason why a young woman with ability and social opportunities should not find the work congenial and remunerative. THE LANDSCAPE GARDENER Love and appreciation of natural beauty mark the well-developed, rational human being. The landscape gardener has to have more than this, for she is the one who is able to see the possibilities for natural beauty in a place and knows what methods to pursue to accentuate and bring them out. The landscape gardener who suc- cessfully handles a park, for instance, makes the be- holder feel that most of the beauty was developed spon- taneously, and at most has been merely cared for by man. Some of the most beautiful parts of many parks fulfil this requirement. They seem to be primeval Nature. But you learn that these very places are the THE LANDSCAPE GARDENER 175 ones designed by the hand of a clever landscape gar- dener. A girl requires both a passionate love of outdoors and all growing things, besides a capacity for hard work, in order to become a successful landscape gar- dener. She needs artistic ability, mechanical applica- tion, and, most of all, perfect health. Formerly the owner of a great estate had a place of beauty only if he or one of his family or gardener chanced to have special gifts in this direction. But today the millionaire who has no artistic ability hires a professional landscape gardener to tackle the problem of his hills and valleys. Because of the comparative newness of the profes- sion, there are few schools where landscape gardening is taught adequately. They give on the whole too little architectural training and not enough practical study in shrubs and trees. A knowledge of architecture is ab- solutely essential. The courses are from two to four years. Some of the best courses available are found in the state universities, where tuition is free to residents of the state. Experience in the office of a good landscape gardener should follow the college course. This is in- dispensable, for practical knowledge of the workings of an office is not gained in any school at the present time. In the office a girl will be somewhat handicapped by the tendency which prevails to keep the girl at whatever office work presents itself and to send a man on the out- side work. She should try to overcome this, as the prac- 176 ARTS AND THE GIRL tical experience is a necessary accessory to all her theoretical knowledge. A girl is not supposed to be able to stand the hard- ships of weather and poor accommodations as well as a man. She will not be able to, either, unless she adapts her clothes as perfectly to the work as a man does. In- -cidentally it may be remarked she can do this without sacrificing her good looks, which no woman, no matter how much of a landscape gardener she may be nor how great her desire for success may be, would wish to do. Thanks to the progress of the last few years, women may buy good-looking garments, including shoes, which are comfortable and adapted to every sort of outdoor emer- gency. The plea that women cannot carry, as a rule, the heavy surveying instruments may be true, but they must make themselves so valuable in other ways that this one fault will be overlooked. A girl must be alert to every opportunity in order not to have this side of her train- ing curtailed, and the draughting and theoretical side overemphasized. OFor the first year or so, such work is not going to be very well paid. A girl may receive $5 a week for the first three months, and then perhaps be raised to $7 or $8 and later to $10. It certainly isn't much for a college graduate but she must remember she is gaining experi- ence which is more important than money just then. As in many other kinds of work a girl's own natural ability will in good measure determine the rapidity of THE ARCHITECT 177 her success. When she has some money saved and feels that she is capable of planning and executing her own work, she may begin to think of going into business on her own account. It is a good plan at first for the girl who has decided to strike out for herself in landscape gardening to take desk room in a reputable architect's office, and to ask his cooperation in securing clients. If he should rec- ommend her to his clients, that would afford her at once some work to do. Her success would then measure her increase in business. The girl should always re~> member that satisfied customers are her best advertise- ment. It is impossible to say what the income might be. At any rate, it would be decidedly fluctuating. The field is a rather new but entirely desirable one for women. The very tangible results of the successful landscape gardener are always a joy and a keen delight to the one whose beauty-loving spirit and practical, keen mind brought them into being. THE ARCHITECT Architecture is an art involving a knowledge of many other arts and trades. For this reason perhaps, women, who are still only breaking the ice of work in the out- side world, are not yet great successes as architects. Women ought to be able to plan houses which are real homes, better than men. In the future, they probably 178 ARTS AND THE GIRL will. But so few women have the necessary mechanical ability that thus far few women have succeeded. Architecture requires a beautiful adjustment of mechanical ability, artistic gifts and business capacity. Add to these tact and diplomacy, if an architect desires to attain the ideal. Tact is necessary, for she has to meet all classes of people, both those engaged in the building trades and her own clients. Perhaps in no art or trade is perfection more de- manded than here. Architecture demands a knowledge of the activities and the inner life of human beings, and ability to represent in drawings such a building as would make these activities happily possible. Besides the actual planning of a building, the ar- chitect must be well acquainted with the problems of lighting, heating and plumbing. She must have a knowledge of woods, papers, fabrics and the processes of construction. There is always something new to be learned and studied and some new building material to be used. The gamut of art, industry, commerce and business is run. It is a prospect that may readily fas- cinate the girl who has diverse gifts. This is the advice which a well-known woman ar- chitect who has been in business in New York City for many years has to give to girls : " I should try to dissuade any girl from entering the field. I have known too many to fail. I have had in my office in the last fifteen years, twenty different girls. Not one of them had the strength of character to become an architect. THE ARCHITECT 179 " Women today demand an equality with men and then are shocked to get it. In architecture women deal principally with men and the supposed weakness of their sex is ignored. A woman architect is treated as an architect, not as a woman." It is interesting to note that this architect does not think the girls who entered her office were inherently disqualified for success in their work, but only that the social adjustment was too difficult for them to cope with. Of course this would be less of a problem today than it was five years ago. Conditions have changed and women are entering every field of activity in greater numbers each year. Courses in architecture are offered in nearly every college, and may be completed in three or four years. The entrance requirements are often not as strict as for other courses. Training in the best university is desirable, but if a girl cannot afford to go to a school of the highest class she would do better to enter an ar- chitect's office and get her education there. Because men are not particularly keen in this branch of art, about having women as co-workers, it may be necessary to study typewriting and stenography in order to get a job in an architect's office. A girl who makes herself indispensable will stand a good chance of being allowed finally to study architecture. The majority of architects who have not been for- tunate enough to have a college education, have entered offices, first as draughtsmen, drawing plans worked out 180 ARTS AND THE GIRL by another person. The first year a young draughts- man will receive $10 a week, but it must be remembered she is being trained. The second year her salary will be increased to $12 or $14. Some workers, it is true, remain draughtsmen and never become full-fledged architects. Their salary will never amount to more than from $25 to $35 a week, even after long years of work. A girl who passes the draughtsman stage and desires further advancement in architecture, may after good experience decide to open her own office. This of course demands money. It is too bad, but it is often true, that her success will depend, at first anyway, more upon her circle of friends and acquaintances who will patronize her, than upon whether or not she is really a good ar- chitect. Time alone will determine her ability. Her income will vary as much as will that of a doctor, lawyer or dentist and will usually be surprisingly small for the first few years after she has started out for herself. She can seldom reckon from one year to the next, for it may be larger this year and appallingly small next year. The field is one of the most promising as far as op- portunity for development of great gifts is concerned. The girl who determines to be an architect need not let her sex deter her from entering the struggle. But a thorough examination of one's qualifications should be first made, and an unquenchable fire of perseverance lighted before she starts out on her career. THE PHOTOGRAPHER 181 THE PHOTOGRAPHER There are only a few branches of art that pay well and secure to the worker an income equal to the amount of labor expended. Photography is one of them. Until a few years ago, girls were only employed in the offices of photographers' studios. Now, one may find them in practically every branch of photography. Many women even have their own studios. Of course ownership comes only after years of work and expe- rience, but every year there are more women entering the profession. A steady hand, good eyesight, an eye for detail, and general artistic feeling are valuable. If ability to pose subjects is combined with them, better work is insured. If a girl intends to do the actual work and not be simply a reception room assistant, she should study at a photographic school, although she may begin at once as an apprentice in a studio. The courses in photo- graphic schools are from three months to a year or more, the tuition varying in the different schools. At the school, the girl will learn developing, printing, retouch- ing, light and shade, posing, etc. After such training, she is qualified as a beginner in a photographic studio. She will probably first be given the job of mounting and finishing, for which she will receive from $6 to $9 a week. If she shows sufficient ability, she will then advance perhaps to retouching, at $9 to $25 a week. A highly skilled retoucher is con- 182 ARTS AND THE GIRL sidered an artist and may receive $40 to $50 a week. Printing and developing are sometimes but not very often done by women. The salaries range from $10 to $30. The operator who poses clients and takes the pictures, commands better wages than those paid in any other branch of photography. As a usual thing, the owner of the studio does this part of the work, which requires artistic ability and an all-round understanding of human nature. If she has decided to become a photographer without first going to school, a girl may find a position as assist- ant, where she will arrange for sittings, keep books and gradually gain some photographic knowledge. As as- sistant, she would receive from $8 to $35 a week. The larger figure would be hers only if she had extensive executive ability and gradually took over the business management of the place. To deal successfully with customers, she must have graciousness and tact. A girl who is planning to own her own studio, must know all branches of the profession as well as some chemistry and physics. One successful woman photographer, who with her sister, has a studio on Fifth Avenue, New York, says : " Photography is like every other profession or art, as it should rightly be called. It is hard but it has many bright openings for a clever girl. For the girl who proposes to have her own studio, a year or two at an art school is desirable. She understands anatomy THE COSTUME ILLUSTRATOR 183 and blending of colors two things every photographer ought to know, and which unfortunately, the majority do not." Photography ought to interest girls in small towns. Few towns have good photographers ; cheap, poor work is often accepted as a matter of course because the majority of the people there have never seen good work with which to compare it. A photographer in a little place has the added opportunity of doing a good deal of amateur developing and printing, if the town is sf summer resort. The beginner should remember, too, that magazines and newspapers are always on the look- out for quaint, unusual pictures, and that publishers pay from a dollar up to five and even ten dollars for clear prints of interesting subjects, accompanied by a few words of vivid description. The photographer, after a year or more, may de- velop unusual ability in some one line of her work in which she can afford to specialize, such as color photography or pictures of children. Photography is delightful and remunerative work to the artist who is gifted in this line. THE COSTUME ILLUSTRATOR Costume illustrating is good work for the girl who has artistic instincts, but who can not afford the long ex- pensive study necessary for her development into larger creative art fields. The scope of this work is wide; there are so many branches of it that not only are good 184 ARTS AND THE GIRL illustrators and fashion artists always in demand, but also amateurs fresh from art schools have opportunities to prove their ability. A field in which the beginner is welcomed, is almost unique. The girl who aims at costume illustrating should have first a broad general education. She ought to give special attention to anatomy, botany and history. High school training should be followed by a course in a school of design. Courses of this kind take from two to four years. Tuition fees are from $75 to $100 each year. Fashion publications subdivide the illustrating work so that one employee will make the first rough sketch of a costume, others will fill in the outline, another will add the finishing touches. Each will be required to specialize. A beginner will probably be paid by the piece until her ability is ascertained, when she will receive from $10 to $35 a week. Fifty dollars may be reached in some cases. The best artists working on fashion publications on a salary basis are paid several thousand dollars a year. The work is constant, and the income, therefore, steady. The hours are from nine to five, with a half day off on Saturdays. Another branch which the costume illustrator may like, is drawing for mail order houses and department stores. This catalogue work lasts only about twelve weeks in the year. It is, however, splendid training for a steady position, one in which the amateur will be much interested. Some of the best catalogue work THE MAGAZINE ILLUSTRATOR 185 pays well, other cheap catalogues do not. The pay is by the piece; from $3 to $5 a figure is the rate. Artists are sometimes sent to make sketches from models shown in dressmakers' establishments, or a dress- maker sometimes requires an artist to go to an importer and sketch a desirable costume. This also is piece work. The artist is expected to do only a few hours' work a day three days a week, but she will be employed only about three months each year in the spring and fall. Salary by the piece is $.50 to $3.00 a figure. On a weekly basis $8 to $15 a week is a fair average. The environment in this work is usually good and often excellent. The tax made on physical strength is not great. For the girl who can draw and who has an eye for color and a love of beauty, the field of costume illustrat- ing is a desirable one. THE MAGAZINE ILLUSTRATOR An interesting branch of art work is magazine illus- trating. With the increase in the number and im- portance of magazines in the last few years, this field has widened considerably. To do successful magazine work, a girl must have much more ability and preparation than for costume drawing. It needs initiative and a fertile imagination besides the other art requirements. After a girl leaves the art school where she will have to study for four or five years, she must continue to study as long as she doea 186 ARTS AND THE GIRL illustrating. "No illustrator, for instance, who is not up on current topics (which at first thought may seem alien to the suhject) , can do general magazine work. A girl who wants to specialize in hook and magazine covers will require certain special training which she can get in a year's course after graduation from the general art course. At the present time every magazine illustrator has his or her specialty. All through the magazine world the illustrator will find it is specializing that counts. One of the unpleasant features of magazine illustrat- ing is the method one must follow at first of disposing of her pictures. She has to " peddle " them around until some one huys them. To the sensitive person this is sometimes hard indeed, hut she can not do successful creative work until she has steeled herself to it as one of the necessary drawbacks which she will just have to bear. Beside being unpleasant it is also rather un- certain. She may not sell anything, whether her pic- tures are good or not. It is, therefore, best to be doing other work which will bring her in a steady income, however small, until she has become known to art editors and until they are sending her commissions. Artists sometimes offer a good magazine cover to a dozen editors before one buys it. When some striking illustration of the artist's has appeared in one magazine, she will find that it acts like a wedge and she will there- after sell others more readily. Art editors sometimes send for an artist whose work in a magazine has THE MAGAZINE ILLUSTRATOR 187 struck a new note, and ask for similar illustrations. Practically all magazines require that their fiction be illustrated. This work pays well when it can be secured. An assistant editor of one of the big woman's maga- zines told us the other day about an artist who had ap- plied for illustrating. Eleven times he had visited that office and eleven times he had been told that, although the work he submitted was good, there was nothing for him. The twelfth time, the assistant editor begged the art editor to entrust the illustrating of a story to this persistent young man. " Those illustrations were the best we had used in a long time," the assistant editor said in telling of her find. " Needless to say, he got more work and plenty of it." In illustrating stories, an artist may use full play of his imagination. It may be left to him to select the phrase, sentence or crucial point that will lend itself best to illustration, or perhaps the author may already have done this. Sometimes an art editor will suggest the general outline of a picture but usually it is left to the ingenuity of the artist. The magazine illustrator has a long hard pull to fame, which few, of course, ever reach. The work is interest- ing and absorbing. When an artist is established, the monetary returns more than compensate for the struggle. However a girl should consider well before entering the field and while holding a position in some other line of 188 ARTS AND THE GIRL art, slowly work her way into magazine illustrating. Perseverance is necessary in this field. A girl who does not have to depend entirely upon her art income for her living expenses, will have an advantage that may be a decided factor in her final success. THE NOVELTY PAINTER This type of commercial art work includes paint- ing celluloid articles, satins, ribbons, toilet articles, infants' accessories, souvenirs, etc., by hand or with an air brush or spray. The air brush is a type of atomizer in use for spraying oil colors and dyes on various kinds of materials. It is largely used for decorating fans, glassware, picture frames, furniture, calendars, fashion plates, photographs, etc. The brush is connected with a tank containing compressed air. Conditions under which the work is done vary with the type of building in which the workroom is situated. Where a cheap grade of post card is manufactured, the workrooms are crowded, the work frequently being done under the poorest factory conditions. The busy season is from June to January. There is no school where the use of the air brush is taught. The work is generally learned in the workroom itself or from friends who may have an air brush. Sometimes a firm will take a beginner at low wages, and if she is bright, she can learn to use the brush in a short time. The salary is regulated according to the amount of THE NOVELTY PAINTER 189 experience. Naturally, experienced operators are more in demand. Salaries range from $6 to $15 a week; piece workers earn as much as $15 a week. Girls work- ing on the cheaper grade of post cards get only from $3.50 to $7 a week. The opportunities for advancement in air brush work are limited as they do not lead to the highest branches of art work. A capable worker may in time become a foreman, or she may buy her own air brush and set up in business for herself. As there is a constant de- mand for experienced workers, this is a field in which the girl with limited art ability will be able to earn a fair salary under fairly good conditions. Novelty painting on celluloid articles demands a higher degree of manual skill than air-brush work, since the design must be painted directly on the articles without drawing or stamping. Special art training is therefore required for this work. Neatness and ac- curacy in matching designs and colors in the various parts of sets are essential. Training in an art school is desirable, but not absolutely necessary. There seems to be very little opportunity for advancement in this work. Salary varies with experience. It is piece work as a rule, the worker earning from $8 to $18 per week. Painting on satin and ribbon articles is very similar to celluloid painting in character, conditions of work and salary. The type of design, however, generally demands a wider knowledge of drawing than celluloid work. The opportunities are better than in the case of 190 ARTS AND THE GIRL celluloid painting because the work leads to a higher grade of design, embroidery or textile work. 'No training, only accuracy and neatness are needed for painting ornamental combs with gold. As the design, is engraved beforehand, the operator has to handle the brush neatly and to be economical in the use of the gold for the inlay work. Experienced workers get from $8 to $10 a week. There is not much opportunity for advancement. Novelty painting as a field for girls has its advantage in teaching a girl a line of work by means of which she may establish herself in a business of her own. It will be a benefit to girls who have studied design, but have had few chances of applying it in more difficult lines of work. THE SCENIC ARTIST In the whole United States there is just one woman scenic artist and she is a wee slip of a girl just past her twentieth birthday. Every day one runs across some new field which is being invaded by women, but perhaps no instance is quite as astonishing as this. What is a scenic artist ? What kind of scenery does she paint ? Therein lies the marvel of it, the scenery for theaters which one sees upon the stage ! Few of us realize the vast amount of time, money and energy expended on one theatrical production. When we buy our ticket at the box office we are apt to com- plain of the price, but we scarcely stop to think how THE SCENIC ARTIST 191 much money has heen expended on that production before it was ready for the stage or before any money was made on it. Scenery and furniture are not the least items of expense. Few women have become scenic artists because of the arduous work and the amount of time necessary to become at all successful. It requires a girl with almost a masculine mind and constitution to stand the work, and even then, working often from eight a.m. until two or three the following morning will eventually wear on any constitution; and that work is often required night after night and day after day of the scenic artist. First of all what does a scenic artist do ? Every play must have scenery which must be designed and painted. That is the work of the scenic artist. Then in addition she must know how to build the sets, tell the carpenters how to prop stage rocks, and how to build them so that they can be packed for transportation. The scenic artist must know how to make models to scale, how flats are put together in addition to knowing which colors light best over the footlights; which are warm and cold; which colors get the best effects for certain plays. She must also know a great deal about stage furniture. When she knows all that, she is only really beginning. To even dream of becoming a scenic artist, a girl must have a good grounding not only in the rudiments of art but must be a fairly good artist Scenic work is coarsening and she must be clever with fine work 192 ARTS AND THE GIRL to begin with, or her work will be too coarse. Even the paint used is mixed differently from other^ paints and though it is water color it is a peculiar kind. Many girls have tried to become scenic artists but there are many things which frighten them. First of all the scenic artist works on what is called a bridge a high platform and the canvas is stretched out before her. Of course she only sees part of her work at a time and as the canvas is vast, unless she knows exactly what scale she is working on the perspective may be entirely wrong. Then too she wields large brushes and must be physically strong to stand just the laborious part of the work. There is a great prejudice against women becoming scenic artists. Many have tried and many have failed. It requires almost more courage to succeed in this line than in any other. Studios are not exactly the right sort of environment for a woman to work in and unless she is able to establish herself independently, which is the most difficult thing in the world to do, she will have a hard time of it. If she does establish herself (which takes considerable capital) she will have difficulty in procuring a bridge to work on, for theatrical managers are usually loath to have a woman work on the bridge in their theater. The best way to break in is if possible to obtain a job as assistant to a scenic artist in stock. A scenic artist says he is " playing in stock " just as an actress does, only the artist means that he is painting the THE MUSICIAN 193 scenery for the weekly change of bill. Sometimes when the set is simple this is not such a big job, but when the play requires elaborate sets the scenic artist works early and late to get them finished on time. This sort of job will give the aspiring scenic artist a better idea of what she will be up against than anything in the world. She will learn construction of scenery and that sort of thing, only in stock many effects have to be " faked " because of the lack of time to go into detail. Although scenic work is perhaps as fascinating as any line of art, because of the very nature of the work it is practically impossible for a girl to break in unless she knows a scenic artist or some one who is willing to hold out a helping hand. Even then the fight is a hard one, an unending one, a terrifying one, so terrify- ing in fact that few women have had the courage to stick. Perhaps the new generation will develop some girls who will start in this field with heads erect and a firm determination to succeed. The climb is a long one, but if the girl is willing to sacrifice practically every- thing for success, some time, somewhere, somehow that success will come to her. THE MUSICIAN There are few artists in every age. Because a girl can sing a little, or play some instrument a little, she shouldn't think she can become a wonderful artist. She shouldn't devote her life to music unless there is good 194 ARTS AND THE GIRL indication that she is one of the few artists. In this transitional time when woman's work has been mostly taken out of the home and woman has not entirely found her place in the outside world, girls have heen too often led to believe that after a few lessons on the piano or violin they are musicians. For a girl to make such a mistake is no less a tragedy to herself than to the world in which she should do some useful work. Ordinary musical ability may warrant a girl studying music as a method of expressing herself, but it in no way warrants her making it her career. A girl who is deliberately choosing her life work would do better to be a good cook than a poor musician. The musical world is already overcrowded with mediocre singers and players. It is often hard to know just where the blame lies. Society is so poorly organized that there is much suffering both among those who have given great value to the world and those gifted ones to whom the world refuses a chance to serve society. In the realm of art we are more critical than in industry. We resent what may be called a misplaced musician more than we do a " misfit " saleswoman, because the former is probably doing greater harm to society than the latter. The girl who thinks she can sing or play well enough to make it her career, should first consult an expert in regard to her musical ability. If it is the expert's opinion that she is mistaken in herself and is not a musical genius, she should thank him on her knees for having saved her from the pitiful anguish of learning fTHE MUSICIAN 195 all tHis after years of delusion. She should thank him, too, for the years of useless study from which she has been saved. She should instead use the time and money to cultivate some real talent. If, on the other hand, she is one of the very few who should study music seriously, she should not make the mistake of neglecting her education in other respects. A good general education cannot be too strongly urged. A musician must be a cultured, well-informed human being. Musical gifts should never be considered an excuse for neglect of all-round development. The length of time to be devoted to the study of music cannot be definitely stated, for the true artist never ceases to study. When one plays an instrument, daily practice thereon is necessary or skill is lost. The girl who sings must also practise daily to keep her voice and ear in training. It will be many long years before the girl who decides to be a musician can reap any financial reward. Her preparation for a career must be a long one, involving years of hard work. The piano, the violin, the 'cello and other instruments all offer special fields, if one leans toward instrumental music. Singing also has its fields for glory. The question for both the instrumental and vocal musician is whether she will teach, go on the stage for concert, opera, or other work, or get a church position. For the private teacher the path is often a difficult one even if she has social position and a large acquaint- ance from which to draw pupils. Teachers receive from 196 ARTS AND THE GIRL $.50 a lesson up to any number of dollars. The income is likely to vary within tragic limits. Four months of the year the music teacher will probably have no pupils at all. While this may be a very welcome rest for the successful teacher, it is a serious hardship for the one without a bank account. The music teacher in public or private schools does not have as hard a time in some ways. Her salary will vary from $800 to $3000 a year, but she will at least know how large a sum she can count on annually. If a girl wants to go on the stage either as an instru- mental concert player or as a singer, she will learn while she is studying just what her capabilities are. If she is remarkably clever and gifted, she will be well paid for her work. But if she does only fairly well, she may be out of a job very often and when she is engaged it will be at a small salary. Grand opera sing- ers receive fabulous salaries, as every one knows, but at the other end of the ladder is the little cabaret singer who makes perhaps $12 or $15 a week, for long hours and strenuous work. Personality counts greatly for success in music, as in every kind of work which calls for personal contact with people. In deciding whether to be a musician and what branch of music to study, a girl must consider whether she has the sort of personality that will be effective in public or private work, as a teacher or an entertainer. There is plenty of reading matter to be had, both of THE MUSICIAN 197 fact and fiction, in regard to the possibilities of a musical career, as well as stories of individual musicians. They should be secured from the public library and read if the girl is thinking of studying music. From them she will learn how difficult the road to success in music really is and the golden reward which real true genius finally reaps. She will learn that the road to failure is broad and wide, and the reward at its end is very bitter. If she feels and thinks she is a born musician after every possible test has been made, she should try it! The world needs music. The world is going to use music more and more with the gradual evolution from pain- ful drudgery to happy work. A little story may serve to illustrate how very few really wonderful voices there are in the world, and do more good than pages of facts. Last year at the graduation exercises of a famous musical school, a girl of twenty-three years sang the solo part to a chorus of eighty-five voices. Every one of the eighty-five pupils had splendid voices, or they would not have been permitted to study in that partic- ular school. Out of that class of eighty-six there was just one girl with a wonderful voice. Still there are years of study and hard work before she attains her goal, grand opera. And she may never reach that goal. A thou- sand accidents may occur to impede her, she may lose her voice, or it may never prove big enough for grand 198 ARTS AND THE GIRL opera. So out of that class of eighty-six not even one may turn out to be a genius. Unless her courage is impregnable and her talent as- sured, no girl should study music. THE PIANIST There are in many of the large cities service bureaus run by the various music publishing houses, which main- tain a staff of people to play their music and popularize it. Then, too, professionals from the vaudeville and musical comedy stage learn to sing the songs you admire so much when you hear them on the stage in these very places. This is the music publisher's method of advertising his wares, at least one of the many methods. Many pianists are employed at these bureaus to play the new music for the singers, and often it is the pianist who tells and shows the singer how " to put it over/' in theatrical parlance. To obtain a position of this kind a girl has to be a very good pianist, a quick reader of notes, with a good retentive memory for music by that we mean able to memorize quickly and retain what she has memorized. The ability to play Chopin is not necessary ; to be adept at ragtime and ballads is. The work is rather nerve racking at times and for this reason some music publishers prefer men pianists to women. Then, too, pianists accompanied by a singer, also employed by the publishers, often " play " a turn THE PIANIST 199 at various vaudeville theaters to popularize a new song, and men lend themselves more readily to this sort of thing than women. However there are several girls who are doing this work most successfully and there is not any vital reason why more girls should not try it. Of course the field is limited but a girl who can really play will eventually land. The salaries range from $25 to perhaps $50 or $60, and the average for women is about $40 weekly. One of the greatest requisites for a position of this kind is a smart appearance. A girl who is at all dowdy need not apply, for personality and personal appearance are the great assets in any branch of the theatrical busi- ness. No matter how clever a girl may be with her fingers, no matter what music she may be able to play, she must look right or she will never obtain a position as pianist. Practically every village now has its own motion pic- ture house and a girl who is a fairly good pianist can often obtain the position as " band " in the local motion picture theater, the band or orchestra usually con- sisting of a pianist. The work becomes monotonous after a time and is tiresome but it does open another avenue of work to the girl who wants to stay in her own home town. Salaries of course are proportionate to the size of the theater and its receipts, so no definite figures can be given. 200 ARTS AND THE GIRL THE ACTRESS Almost every girl at some time in her life has a fervent desire to go on the stage. There's no need to deny it. Ever so many of our elders, otherwise sensible people, had, when they were young, the longing for the glare of the footlights and the applause of thousands. Practically every girl has some dramatic ability. She has strong feelings and an intense desire to express them. The mimic world of the stage seems to offer her the longed-for opportunity, now to mourn for the loss of a lover, now to dance at her own wedding. The imagination of girlhood, flying over the gamut of emo- tions, finds everyday life at times almost unbearably commonplace. So it is quite natural that millions of girls plan and thousands of girls actually try to " go on the stage." Most of them gain wisdom without ex- perience and find another occupation, but some continue in the path that leads to stardom for the very, very few. Not even stars can count on steady success. It is true that they are paid enormous salaries, but a star may be a great popular success one year and her play may fail the next. Then, too, the public is fickle and once a star is not always a star. But our real consideration is the little actress who works hard and often fails to get recognition. It is not only on the stage that hard work may fail to bring a fair return but it is especially true there. The profes- THE ACTRESS 201 sion is very much overcrowded, that is, there are a great many more girls wanting parts than there are parts to be played. Positions are hard to get. The girl who seeks a stage career, should be sure of financial support while she looks for work indefinitely. !N"ot only is the profession overcrowded but the work is seasonal and uncertain at best. A girl may be, often is, out of a position from May till October. Then she may have to pay a hundred dollars or more for gowns for a play which may run only three weeks. It is just because most girls can act that the girls who do get on the stage find their positions insecure and, in comparison with the necessary standard of living, poorly paid. The hours of work are long and irregular. Of course, when a play is a success and the actress is established in one city for a long time, her hours are fairly regular, but " on the road " conditions are very different and trying. She may be called on to make a daybreak start or to appear at a midnight rehearsal. Then, too, she can't depend on the quality of the hotels in small towns, and a girl's health is likely to suffer. On the whole, the life of an actress on the road is exhausting and de- pressing. Ability plus hard work may lead to promo- tion. But it may not, and the uncertainty of it all is hard on nerves and temper. To the earnest, ambitious girl, the stage is not a dangerous environment. She may be unpleasantly ap- proached by men who think love can be bought, but a 202 ARTS AND THE GIRL girl must be prepared for such advances in any occupa- tion. There are a few excellent schools of acting and a great many others that will take money and give nothing in return. It is generally thought that the best place to get stage training is on the stage itself. The first thing is to get a position. This may or may not be done through agencies. These, like the schools, are sometimes reliable; very often, they are not. The commonest way of seeking positions is by application to the theater manager. The first months of all stage careers and often many months of every year thereafter are spent waiting in managers' offices in the hope that a job may turn up. There are four fields among which the would-be actress may choose the legitimate stage, musical comedy, vaudeville and moving pictures. The Legitimate Stage The best place for the young actress who is seeking to establish herself on the legitimate stage, is in a stock company. Here she gains the invaluable experience of playing many parts. Her first position will probably be that of " walking lady," without a word to say. The position may pay from $12 to $15 a week, possibly $18 on the road. But when one compares this salary with that of a saleswoman or stenographer, she must remember that the actress probably will not be employed half as steadily as the THE ACTRESS 203 former. The actress will have three or four weeks' rehearsal without pay before the play opens. After rehearsal she may be dismissed because it is decided not to produce the play after all. If the play is really put on, it may or may not be a success. The plans of a manager, a little oftener than those of mice and other men, " gang agley." Minor parts pay usually from $30 to $40 a week. Promotion comes, if it comes at all, as a result of favorable press notices and the approval of the public, and not always because of ability or hard work. Beauty helps sometimes but many of the greatest actresses have succeeded without it Musical Comedy If a girl succeeds in entering the field of musical comedy, she will find herself first in the chorus. She will be paid perhaps $20 to $25 a week, possibly more on the road, and of course, no salary during the weeks of rehearsal. Beauty is more important here than on the legitimate stage. Singing and dancing will help her to get on, but most important of all for success in musical comedy is magnetism, that subtle quality that brings others into sympathy with her, that carries her song and dance over the footlights, and that makes people laugh when she is gay. While she is in the chorus, she should try to get the part of understudy to one of the principal players. Luck 204 ARTS AND THE GIRL may give her the opportunity of playing the part some time. Vaudeville Vaudeville offers another large field, but in the more expensive theaters, the actress must compete with well- known actors and actresses who are temporarily out of " legitimate " engagements. However, as there are some less important theaters which pay fairly well, the successful vaudeville actor may often he employed all the year round. In the less expensive theaters where vaudeville is combined with moving pictures, the play- ers ordinarily present their acts three or four times a day, between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m., and as a rule are paid less than in the better houses. The work in musical comedy and vaudeville offers far fewer opportunities to the girl of intellectual gifts than the legitimate stage. Only youth, gaiety and humor, the last often of the crudest, find expression in these places, except in the occasional one-act play which in vaudeville is sometimes of literary and dramatic quality. The Moving Picture Perhaps the most practical field for the young actress is the moving picture field, but unfortunately for her, this field is already as overcrowded as the others. Here, as in vaudeville, she must compete with well-known actors and actresses from the legitimate field. In seek- THE ACTRESS 205 ing a position, she will find herself jostled by the thou- sands of young people who think that it's easy to work for the " movies." This is a mistake. While beauty is not necessary, a face that photographs well is essential. A very definite gift for pantomime is needed. The actress must be able to express thoughts and feelings without words ; and this is not easy. Patience is a very important quality for the moving picture actress. She may report for duty at nine o'clock and not be called till two in the afternoon, or she may not be called at all. Positions are secured through the motion picture companies. If a girl finally becomes established, she will find that her work has some practical advantages over other fields of acting. In the first place, there is not any regular night work. If she has a contract she may be employed 52 weeks in the year at a regular salary. When a girl begins work in a studio she will probably receive from $2.50 a day to $5 working as an extra girl. She may work one or two days a week, perhaps more, often less, until after an indefinite period she impresses a director with her ability. But too often a girl who wants to work in pictures has not any ability and never gets beyond the " extra " stage. She may eventually be given small parts at $7 to $15 a day which sounds like a lot but how many days a week will she work and how long before she obtains another engagement? Finally if she is one of the lucky ones, she may sign a contract for one year or 206 ARTS AND THE GIRL more at a salary of from $75 to almost any amount a week. But never count on it. It is too problematical. r However every day actresses from the legitimate stage are " filling in " between seasons with motion picture work and the opportunity for a novice grows smaller daily. There isn't any glamor of romance to motion picture work, it is a dull grind, uncomfortable many times, and hazardous at others. If a girl imagines she will find romance in a motion picture studio, let her seek elsewhere. The handsome hero usually has a wife and babies waiting for him at home and thither he dashes as soon as the day's work is over, just as any business man hurries from his office. His work is a business and he is just an ordinary human being, earn- ing his living in the best way he can. If a girl who has to earn her living, believes that it is easy to do it in the movies, let her try anything in the world but picture work. However if she only desires to earn a few dollars occasionally she can reg- ister at one or more booking agencies and they will call her for extra work. For this service she pays a commission. But the girl who does this many times just to get into a studio and say that she knows so and so, in order that her girl friends may envy her, is really most selfish for she may be taking a day's work from an actress who is out of work and needs the money. So, you little stage-struck girl, who sees only the THE ACTRESS 207 glamor and not the hard work, seek success in other fields where success comes easier, and the heartaches are fewer. Theatrical people are the most wonderful in the world, uncomplaining, always smiling, ever ready to help one less fortunate, and to the outward world they are always seemingly happy, and behind the footlights their life seems ideal. But it isn't! And each of them, although they would not leave the stage for anything in the world, will warn you against attempting a stage career. If a girl really has dramatic ability and knows that she could never be happy anywhere but on the stage; if she is willing to face the hardships, the years of struggle, the constant fight, perhaps defeat, nothing in this world will deter her from trying her wings. But think it over carefully; before you embark on a stage career, meet the facts squarely in the face, and if you do not think you are brave enough to meet discourage- ment and perhaps defeat, start out on another path before you lose your youth and ambition. THE GIRL IN INDUSTRY FACTORY WORKERS PERHAPS more girls are employed in factories than in stores or offices, and many of them receive as much or more than the girls who work in offices or stores. Fac- tory work, we admit, is not the most fascinating in the world. Yet, if a girl is bright, she can try for the higher positions. Few girls on graduating from gram- mar school or leaving as soon as they are old enough to obtain working papers, will receive more than $5 to begin. In many cases their services aren't worth much more. As she has an incomplete education and knows little or nothing of the trade, her first few months in a factory are merely months of schooling in her future trade. The great crime in this work is that if a girl begins work too young, she is apt to be kept as an apprentice for years before she is allowed to learn how to operate a machine. When a girl is selecting a trade, she should consider carefully the one in which there is most hope of advance- ment. Of course, every girl hopes to marry some day and leave the factory, but that hope ought not to deter her from striving for the highest position and salary obtainable. The position of forewoman is a coveted one in every factory. Upon questioning forewomen in different in- FACTORY WORKERS 209 dustries we found that the majority were women who had started work as apprentices. Forewomen seldom receive less than $18 a week and though theirs is a responsible position, their days of hard work are prac- tically ended. The great objection to factory work is the deadly monotony of repeating the same motion hundreds of times a day. It stunts the imagination, dulls the in- tellect, and does not spur the operator on to any great desire. Speed! speed! speed! is the cry in every factory as most work is piece work, for if a girl knows her salary depends on the amount of work she does, she is spurred on to work faster. This intense strain often causes physical ruin to the worker. Many girls break down after years of factory work. Yet, a well-known factory investigator insists that there are workers in factories who don't seem to be any the worse for it. However, a girl ought not to start to work too young. She soon tires of the unskilled work and drifts from factory to factory, seldom learning any trade. After a girl has learned a trade, she is apt to be satisfied and to stagnate if she is earning a fairly decent salary. Even if she gets less at first, it is wise for her to learn how to run every machine in the factory. This will help her toward the position of forewoman, besides assuring her of the fact that she need never be out of a job. Laws have been passed in the last few years in many 210 THE GIRL IN INDUSTRY states in the union, regulating the hours of work and sanitary conditions in factories. Conditions in factories are not always satisfactory, but they are, we believe, steadily improving. Old buildings that are not fire- proof are being renovated and made safe. All new loft buildings which are being erected are being built according to the new factory laws. Those laws secure adequate light, air, toilet and lunch rooms, exits, fire- escapes and chairs for workers when practicable. In factories where dusty materials or dangerous machin- ery are used, there ought to be equipment for carrying off the dust and for guarding the machinery, thus protecting the worker. In spite of the laws that many states have passed, children under sixteen continue to work in factories. Unfortunately these child labor laws are not always stringently enforced. It is the duty of parents, as well as of the state, to give their children a fair start in life. A girl will gain more in the long run by going a year to a trade school, than by going directly to a factory, where she will begin at two or three dollars. In the end a girl will make more money than she lost by going to a trade school, as well as being better pre- pared for her work. The men and women workers in certain industries have banded together and established trade unions. These endeavor to fix the standard of wages, the length of hours in the working day, and in other ways materi- ally to help their members. FACTORY WORKERS 211 Unions have been of assistance in many cases by demanding a living wage and shorter hours of work. However, when strikes have been declared, much hard- ship has been caused. Whenever the point at issue has been won, union members have gained greatly. When, on the other hand, the strike has been lost, and the strikers have been out for a long time, much suffering has ensued. A girl earning $6 or $8 weekly can hardly save much money after paying for lodging, food, clothes, laundry and a little pleasure. When a strike comes, she has little to live on, and if it lasts long, she often goes hungry. However, if a girl's trade is union- ized, she will, no doubt, benefit by belonging to the union. Every girl who enters a factory has her own problem to work out. All we can do is to help her solve it. We can warn her that in one industry she will never advance, whereas she may have every chance in another. There are innumerable factories manufacturing hun- dreds of different articles. Women are employed in all of them ; in some more women than men are employed. Unfortunately, this is because in many cases, girls will work for less money than men. We have tried to give actual facts about a few of the industries in which many women are engaged. The enormous number of different industries makes it prac- tically impossible to cover them all, but perhaps the following information may be of some assistance. 212 THE GIRL IN INDUSTRY THE PAPER BOX WORKER For the girl who must of necessity go to work im- mediately on leaving elementary school after receiving her working papers, the paper box trade offers an open- ing. Although she does not advance from one position to another, the work is uniformly fairly well paid. Girls are not employed in all branches of paper box making; so we shall only consider those branches where girls are employed. The one really dangerous machine is run either by men or by girls, both sexes often working side by side at these machines. This process, " staving " or " set- ting up " consists of folding a side and an end of a box together and running a piece of paper along the two edges to hold them together. Safeguards are supplied, but are seldom used, for the girls complain that the iron finger tips lessen their speed. The work is usually piece work. As the operator sits on a low stool, the work is not tiring. Another process is that of " stripping." The box or cover is placed on a wooden block the size and shape of the box and is turned around as a gummed strip is fed out by the machine. This strip is guided by the operator who presses it down firmly. The knife used to cut the strip can be operated by the foot, but the " stripper " invariably uses her hand. This machine is very simple. The girls sit while at work. Strippers earn from $13 to $15 a week, occasionally $18. THE PAPER BOX MAKER 213 Working at the same table with the stripper is a "turner in," who presses down the paper extending beyond the edge of the box. The " turner-in " carries the boxes from the setter-up to the stripper and from the stripper to the " top-labeler." All " turners-in " are girls. They sit except when carrying boxes to and fro. The turner-in gets about $13 a week. The next step is " top-labeling." This is pasting paper on the top of the cover and bottom of the box, when required. This machine is worked by foot power, re- quiring the girls to stand all day while at work. At this branch of the work they can easily make from $11 to $13 weekly. The finishing is done entirely by hand and consists of pasting lace paper around the inside of candy boxes, in- serting tapes, strips of paper for covering contents when filled, etc. Older women, not able to run the machines, are usually found at the finishing table. They usually get $13 to $15 in their pay envelopes every week. Then there are the labeling and closing processes. These are very simple and are done either by young boys or girls. These are the two branches of the work for apprentices though new hands are often made " turners- in." Except in the busy season the hours are good and in most factories the rule of one half day in the summer is observed. The busy seasons are from January to March and from September to November. Even the overtime work is not excessive. 214 THE GIRL IN INDUSTRY THE CANDY MAKER The making of candy is one of the growing industries of the country and is yearly offering employment to more and more girls and young women. Candy factories sometimes occupy whole buildings where hundreds are employed ; on the other hand, some factories are so small that all the processes of candy making are carried on in one room. The majority of the factories are clean and not overcrowded, except in the busy season. In the large factories, men and women usually work in separate rooms. The candy making proper is done by men only ; girls are employed in the finishing processes, hand and machine dipping, for example. When the candy is dipped by machinery, the girls' job is to place the trays of sugar delicacies in the dipping machine. After the candy has been covered with chocolate, the girls put it into cold storage rooms. Those who dip candy by hand, sit at long tables with a bowl before them. The bowl is filled with whatever coating is to be used. The dipper puts each candy into the bowl and turns it until it is covered. Then it is put on oiled paper and carried by the trayful to the cold storage room. All fine candy is dipped in this way. Girls become quite expert at the work. These are the only skilled workers in the trade. They receive from $7 to $10 a week; if they do piece work, they may average from $9 to $10. THE CANDY MAKER 215 Young women are also employed as wrappers and packers. This work is entirely unskilled but to the on- looker it seems to require great dexterity. The packers work at a high rate of speed but for their work they receive from $3 to $5 a week, rarely $6. Those who wrap the boxes and tie them with ribbons are paid $5 or $6 a week. There is no apprenticeship in the candy factories. Many extra girls are employed during the busy season but they are discharged as soon as the rush is over. Dur- ing the rush seasons,, employees work from sixty-eight to seventy-seven hours a week, and receive in return eight cents an hour or $.25 an evening for the overtime work. Sometimes overtime work is paid for at the regular rates for day work and occasionally supper is furnished. Of 2800 women employed in the candy factories of New York City, 2100 receive less than $8 a week, the lowest wage, according to experts, on which a girl can support herself. Dippers work in what is known as the " cold room," where the temperature is from 60 to 65 degrees. As dippers are the highest paid women in the trade, the work is coveted. But the low temperature of the " cold room " is without doubt injurious to the health of the employees. Many candy manufacturers own stores and often the most intelligent of the factory employees are trans- ferred to the stores in the capacity of saleswomen. These positions however do not always constitute ad- 216 THE GIRL IN INDUSTRY vancement, for the store assistants sometimes worK more hours than the factory girls. Work in a candy factory is not a desirable trade for a girl. If possible, she should enter one where there is greater prospect of advancement and fewer hours of work. In candy making there is practically no chance of earning wages such as a fair standard of living demands. THE BISCUIT MAKER Perhaps the cracker factory where the information for this article was obtained is the ideal one; perhaps there is not another like it in the world. We can't say. However, if every biscuit factory in the country is only half as clean, bright and roomy, we should choose to work in one of them in preference to any other kind of factory. Of course all factory work is tiresomely monotonous ; the repetition of a single motion is always wearing on one's nerves and body. Nevertheless the work done by girls in a cracker factory is fairly well paid, and not any more monotonous than any other kind of factory work. The actual mixing of the dough and the baking is done by men. As in many factories the girls are em- ployed chiefly in the packing and labeling departments. Then, too, many girls are used to fill biscuits when this is done by hand. In filling the biscuits, two girls work in cooperation. A cracker is spread with the icing THE BISCUIT MAKER 217 by one girl, is covered with a second cracker by another girl and packed by her. When the biscuits are filled by machinery, men are employed. Although chairs are provided for every girl, the majority stand, because they can work faster standing than if they sit down. The filling of the biscuits is piece work. The average worker makes $8 or $10 weekly, while a rapid worker receives $10 to $12, pos- sibly $14 a week. More girls are employed, however, in the packing and labeling departments. The girls work at long tables, which have a rotary belt passing through the center of each. The crackers move along on this, the girls selecting the good biscuits and discarding the broken ones. Two girls work in collaboration here. One girl folds the box, ready to be used and another girl fills it. The box makers sit at their work while the packers stand. They both average about $8 or $10 weekly. Some girls, however, are unusually fast workers and their weekly earnings may reach $13 or $14. Then the filled boxes are passed to a girl who closes them. Some boxes are then labeled by machine but the tin boxes for fancy wafers are always labeled by hand. Then another girl packs six boxes in a carton. [Most of these girls receive $8 or $10 a week. Then, too, in many factories girls are employed to pack sample boxes. The need of speed isn't so press- ing here and the slower workers are generally found in the sample packing department. In every depart- 218 THE GIRL IN INDUSTRY ment there is a forewoman to supervise the girls. She usually draws a salary of $15 or $18 weekly, some- times more. The hours of work are limited and girls under eigh- teen are not very welcome. The only training needed is given in the factory. For a month the girl works for $5 or $6 a week, learning how to pack, accurately and neatly. Then she is placed on piece work and her earn- ings depend solely on her own efforts. Many biscuit factories supply their employees with a uniform. This entails laundry and sewing rooms and the employment of help in these departments. In the laundry the stiff white duck coats and trousers worn hy the foremen in the baking rooms and mixing room are ironed by hand. The rest of the work is done prin- cipally by machinery. The women receive from $10 to $12 weekly. They have the regular factory hours. Therefore their working day is shorter than if employed in a regular laundry. In the sewing room, women are engaged to make, alter and repair the uniforms. Their work isn't very strenuous and is often in much more congenial sur- roundings than if they worked in a clothing factory. They receive $10 and up a week. As most of the biscuit factories are in modern build- ings, the girls have rest and lunch rooms. Of course all factories have certain drawbacks and biscuit factories are not exempt from some unpleasantnesses. Neverthe- less if a girl is compelled to earn her living, she can earn THE CIGARETTE WORKER 219 a fairly comfortable one there, with much less effort and physical strain than in other industries. THE CIGAEETTE WORKER Candy seems to be an almost indispensable luxury to women, and cigarettes to men. Many of the millions of cigarettes made and consumed in the United States are handled principally by girls. Until recently most of the girls employed in cigarette factories were Greeks and Italians, but now there are many American girls in the industry. This applies especially to the departments where skill is required. In some of the New York factories there are ten or more cigarette machines, each making 25,000 cigarettes daily. Naturally it takes many skilled workers to pack and label this vast output. Some of the factories are clean and airy. This may be said of the majority of cigarette factories. In some, however, the factory laws are evaded and conditions are exceedingly bad. While the work of running the great machines is done entirely by men, the girls are employed in almost all other branches, where great physical strength is not as essential as deftness. The girl who works the cork- tipping machine feeds the cigarettes mechanically into a tube. No skill is required to tip 60,000 a day. The girl stands all day at her machine, feeding the cigarettes into the machine and watching for broken, or imperfect ones. She will receive $7 or $7.50 a week. Very little 220 THE GIRL IN INDUSTRY hope of advancement is before her. The work is ab- solutely unskilled and girls with any initiative will not stay at this job very long. Straw tipping is done entirely by hand and demands some little skill in placing the straw and care in not soiling the cigarette. The girl takes a bit of paste on her finger, runs it over the straw and fits it neatly around the top of the cigarette. These girls receive about $10 a week, but only a very few are employed in each factory. Some cigarettes are made entirely by hand and this requires great skill. Men are most often employed but girls who are expert find there is no discrimination against them. The amount earned depends entirely upon the rate fixed by the factory per thousand and the worker's speed and skill. Girls are almost exclusively employed in the pack- ing rooms. Here the girls sit at long tables, with a tray of cigarettes at their right, a pile of small boxes at their left, and a bundle of inside papers before them. The paper is slipped into the box, then the cigarettes are fitted in, the box is closed and the process is begun all over again. The operation requires skill to fit the cigarettes in without breaking, and at the same time to detect and to discard the damaged ones. For the two weeks usually required by the average girl for learning, she receives $5 a week. At the end of that time she is put on piece work. Of course she is slow at first but can earn $7 or $8 a week. As her THE HAT MAKER 221 speed increases her salary does. Packers receive from $.07 to $.12 a thousand. In the majority of cases the girls earn from $9 to $12 weekly. In one New York factory a girl draws from $15 to $18 a week but she is unusually skilful and rapid. Then other girls are employed to paste seals and government stamps on the filled boxes, while still others pack these in cartons and label them for shipping. Their weekly wage is $7 or $8 with little hope of a raise. Forewomen in the packing departments receive a stated salary, and in rush times also assist with the packing. The packing department is the one and only department in a cigarette factory where a girl may earn a comfortable wage. Though the work is monotonous, it has the advantage of being rather well paid. THE HAT MAKEK It is unfortunate for a girl who has leanings toward millinery and who is apt and capable, that the season in the ladies' hat factories is short. A trade like this compels her to learn some other trade for work be- tween seasons. This two-trade idea is never as satis- factory as a trade where a girl is sure of employment all the year. A few girls are taken on in November to get out samples but the regular season is from January to June sometimes July. There are some trade schools where girls may learn the trade and if a girl is really determined to enter the 222 THE GIRL IN INDUSTRY occupation, this is the wise thing to do. In a trade school the course is about a year and is usually free. In connection with the actual study of the making of hats, a girl usually is taught business arithmetic, Eng- lish and designing. Here a girl learns how to run the various power machines, to make and shape hats of coarse straw, and finally when competent, to work on shapes of expensive straw. However, if a girl must earn money immediately, and can't afford to spend a year in training, a position as errand girl or helper in a retail house will give her a little experience. Sometimes a girl beginning as a helper in a wholesale house will work her way up to operating a machine, but these cases are rare. The one fact impressed on the writer by a forewoman in a large hat factory was that only experienced work- ers are desired. The season is short and so much work has to be done that every one must know her work well and the most efficient way to do it in the shortest possible time. Women work principally on straw hats. When felt hats are worn, the work is almost steady but since felts have been superseded by velvets and satins, men do practically all the felt work. The operators of the machines that sew the hats are paid by the piece. They shape the hat on a wooden block as they sew. Workers on coarse straw or the cheaper make of hats earn $10 to $15 weekly, some- times $18 in the busy seasons. The operators on the THE HAT MAKER 223 fine straw hats make $10 to $20 easily per week and sometimes $25 or $30 in the busiest weeks. Copyists are experienced milliners who can copy a hat accurately and quickly. In one factory visited the majority of copyists were young girls, few over twenty- three or twenty-four years old. The majority of these girls have trained in a retail store. Some copy dozens of hats from models that have been trimmed by the designer. Others make whole hats, especially even- ing hats. These milliners can procure positions as trimmers in any department store or hat shop, and many have their own patrons for whom they work be- tween seasons. Copyists make from $10 to $20 weekly according to their speed and the style of hat they are working on. Of course each department has a forewoman who has usually risen from the ranks and who gives out the material and supervises the girls' work. These women command a comfortable salary, differing of course in each factory. In every factory there are one or more designers in charge of two or three assistants. Designing of hats is a gift, though careful study of styles and public taste will be of assistance. Designers command large salaries and usually receive a month's vacation, summer and winter, while many go to Europe annually. A designer's position is an all-year-round one. The head designer of one of the large hat factories in New York said recently, "Every person employed 224 THE GIRL IN INDUSTRY in a hat factory must be experienced or at least be fully acquainted with her machine. Our season is so short, we haven't time to train people. Of course, we keep a few of our best workers all year round rather than lose them, but every year the same people come back. Un- less a girl has another trade to fill in between seasons, I should not advise her to enter this trade." THE CLOTHING MAKER In these days when ready-made garments can be bought for less money than it costs to have clothes made, more than half the clothing worn is bought " ready-to- wear." Therefore, a great army of women and girls are employed not only in the waist and dress industries, but also in the manufacture of underwear. Perhaps more women are employed in the clothing industries than in all the others combined. Few women, however, are employed in the making of cloaks and suits, men being better fitted by nature to handle the heavy materials and to do the heavy work involved in this branch of the trade. As every waist or dress that is made passes through dozens of hands, a girl will work on just one portion of the garment. A girl just leaving school upon obtaining her working papers would doubtlessly begin as errand girl. Two or three dollars is considered adequate com- pensation for her labors. The next position she will be raised to is that of " finisher." " Finishers " sew on hooks and eyes or buttons, sometimes by machine, some- THE CLOTHING MAKER 225 times by hand, cut threads and generally finish the garment. They now receive about $8 a week. If a girl proves her capability she may be given a machine to operate. In large shops division of labor is very minute, whereas in small shops one girl may sew three or four different portions of one garment. Usually the divisions are as follows : sleeve makers, body-makers, closers (sewing of side seams) sleeve setters, skirt mak- ers, belt makers, hemstitchers, tuckers, hemmers, bind- ers, pipers, lace runners, trimmers, buttonhole makers and button setters. Therefore a simple wash dress costing three to six dollars in the store usually passes through about twenty-four pairs of hands before it is finished. Machine operators of the grades previously mentioned earn from $15 to $25 weekly; exceptionally; rapid workers $25 to $35. Few workers ever get beyond machine operating, but there are still many other divisions of work. Every factory employs a designer, who designs all the dresses or waists. Working with her in the designing room are well-paid women who make one or more dresses from the designer's original model. As all designing in the factory is done with materials, not with pen and ink, the designer needs able assistants. A high-class designer may receive $30 or $40 weekly. The "sample drap- ers," " sample operators " and " sample finishers " re- ceive larger salaries than machine operators, ranging according to the shops where they are employed. Then the models go to the pattern makers, who are usually 226 THE GIRL IN INDUSTRY men. However, a bright girl who is willing to study this branch of the trade in an evening school could do the work as well as any man. Many girls are also employed in making underwear. Here the wages for machine operating equal those in the other clothing industries, usually averaging $15 to $20 a week. In all clothing industries the completed garment is pressed before it leaves the shop. Women are employed to do the work in many cases, except when the material is heavy. In connection with the clothing industries we must mention embroidery work both by hand and by machine. Hand embroidery on expensive underclothing and on infants' wear is in demand, but the work is a tremendous strain on the eyes. Much of this work is done by married women of reduced circumstances in their own homes. The price paid per piece for hand embroidery varies according to the skill and speed of the worker. Machine embroidery now pays about $10 to start, and is usually piece work. Stooping over the embroidery frames is very tiresome. Unless a girl is exceptionally strong, she cannot stand the strain. Another branch of the clothing industry is that of corset making. A high grade of skill is required for making corsets because of the difficulty of handling the heavy material. As a trade, corset manufacturing pays better than clothing work, few girls receiving less than ten dollars a week and many $12 to $15. THE CLOTHING MAKER 227 In every department of all these trades, there is a forewoman who distributes the material, collects the finished product, keeps account of the amount com- pleted by each worker and has general supervision over her own department. These women usually started as errand girls and worked their way up. They are, there- fore, familiar with the work and understand their business very well. Forewomen receive from $18 to $25 a week, sometimes more. Of course, theirs are the coveted positions. Generally a girl who intends to stay in the industry strives to become forewoman. As in the case of most industries, the workers in the clothing trade are not well paid. The work, however, is not unusually hard on the health except in the case of handling the heavier woolen materials, and a girl's chances of advancement are as good as in any other industry. Then there are establishments in all cities where cleaning and dyeing companies send materials to be hemstitched or pleated. These need skilled workers. A girl who has learned to run a hemstitching machine will find a position in one of these small shops very much more desirable and better paid than work in a large factory. Another branch of the clothing industry is the making of knitted goods, such as sweaters, babies' caps, under- wear, etc. The work isn't so pleasant as work in the waist and dress industry because of the lint and worsted in the air, which is injurious to the lungs. However, 228 THE GIRL IN INDUSTRY the average wage is slightly higher than in other cloth- ing trades, probably because of the danger to eyes and lungs. Then, too, girls are employed in the stitching of gloves, work in which great skill is required for suc- cess. In non-union shops girls have to pay rent for the use of their machines. Shoe factories employ a large number of women; in some New England towns all the girls work in shoe factories. A girl begins by cutting threads, also mark- ing and packing shoes for $5 to $6 a week. The next step is stitching, requiring more skill, which pays from $9 to $12 a week; while vamping pays as high as $20 or more. Great speed is necessary to make these wages. Because of slackness of work, a girPs average salary per week all year is lower than that stated above. THE FEINTING AND BINDERY WORKER Throughout the country there are printing plants where many grades of men and women are employed, from the highly skilled trained worker to the lowest untrained beginner. Perhaps there are few factories where girls work under better conditions than in some of the good printing plants. A bright, ambitious girl can earn a salary as high as $30 and sometimes higher. In some of the large printing plants, everything from an encyclopedia to a pamphlet is turned out. But books, fiction, travel and school textbooks, are the PRINTING AND BINDERY WORKER 229 principal ones printed. Girls are employed in nearly all stages of the work. When a girl first gets a job in a printing establish- ment, it will be as a " box girl," to collect sheets as they come from the folding machine. She will receive $5 to $6 a week. The work is monotonous and requires neither thought nor skill. The box girl may advance to having charge of a folding machine which folds the large printed sheets. This is piece work and a girl earns easily from $9 to $10 a week. As she sits, there is no great physical strain. The next step upward is to the job of gatherer, where she has charge of a machine which gathers the book together after it comes from the folding machine. This requires some skill and a girl must be alert and quick. For such work a girl will receive from $9 to $12 a week. A supervisor in charge of all the workers on gathering machines receives $20 a week. Besides the machine gatherers, there are girls who gather the books by hand. This work does not last all the time and a girl must be prepared to do other things at times or be laid off. Hand gatherers may make under good conditions $11 to $14 a week. The next step in the making of a book is sewing it. This is highly skilled work. Sometimes a girl can stitch 1000 books in one day. It is paid by the piece and workers make from $15 to $18 a week. In connec- tion with the sewing machines are girls who cut the books apart after they are sewed. These girls receive; 230 THE GIRL IN INDUSTRY from $5 to $6 a week as the work is unskilled. Cutters may later become sewers. In making the cover of a book, a specially prepared liquor is used to make the gold leaf lettering adhere. To do this work, which is called " sizing," takes three or four years of training. The expert " sizer " re- ceives from $10 to $12 a week. The cover is conveyed to a specially ventilated and lighted room where the gold laying is done. Here girls sit at a long table, applying the gold leaf to the sized cover. The work is highly skilled and demands a steady hand and nicety of pre- cision. After the cover has been stamped, unskilled workers at $6 a week, take off the surplus gold leaf. Girls employed to paste in illustrations do piece work, receiving $.05 a hundred. They make from $.50 to $2, and in exceptional cases, even $3 a day. When a book is bound, it passes to the examiners who must see that it is in proper condition. Their salaries range from $6 to $8 a week. Over all the girls is a forewoman who is usually a girl who has worked on all the machines and thus understands them, and in addition has displayed execu- tive ability. Forewomen receive from $25 to $40 a week. The most skilled work a woman can do in a printing establishment is on the monotype and linotype machines. The work is unionized and highly skilled and hence the regular salary is $27 a week. There are workers re- PRINTING AND BINDERY WORKER 231 ceiving $50 a week. The brightest corner of the press room is set aside for these machines and here girls work side by side with men, receiving exactly the same salary. Monotyping must be studied at a school. The course covers a few months and is not expensive. It is fully a year, however, before a girl becomes an expert operator. A knowledge of the printing business is help- ful. The monotyper sits before a machine, like a type- writer, which has a keyboard. Instead of making words out of letters by striking the keys, on a monotype ma- chine a series of dots and dashes is recorded on a roll of paper like a pianola roll. This is placed in a second machine which translates, as it were, the dots and dashes into words and makes type for them. The linotype machine is worked on practically the same principle, except that there is no second machine necessary as the words are recorded directly in metal type. A girl who thinks of operating either a monotype or a linotype machine should visit a school where the work is taught and inform herself thoroughly in regard to her possible liking and adaptability for the work. In many schools there are evening classes so that girls earning their living in other work may prepare to run these machines. The forewoman of a large, clean printing house in New York, said, " We feel mighty proud of the girls who work here. They all are interested in their work and many of them repair their own machines as well as 232 THE GIRL IN INDUSTRY any man could. Many girls learn to operate more than one machine, so if work is slack in their own branch, they may be kept busy elsewhere." Printing establishments may be found in all cities but they are not all airy and clean. Ventilation and cleanliness are two of the chief things to note when you can choose your place of work. THE LAUNDRY WORKER One of the industries in which a position is very easily secured is the laundry trade. Even for a girl who is so strong that the continual strain of standing on her feet in a warm moist atmosphere won't affect her health, this work should be almost a last resort. There are two types of laundries, hand and steam. Hand laundries do a finer class of work, whereas steam laundries handle steamer, hotel, restaurant and boardr ing house linens. Sometimes the steam laundries do some work for the smaller hand laundries. A girl will learn her trade in a more thorough way in a hand laundry, for the work is less sub-divided. However, a girl who knows something about ironing from helping at home will find this knowledge of great assistance. Hand laundries are becoming scarcer every year. So, after a little experience in a hand laundry, a girl will find it to her own advantage to secure work in a steam laundry. A beginner usually sorts the pieces as they come THE LAUNDRY WORKER 233 from the drying room or wraps the bundles ; she receives $6 a week. If she has had some experience she will hegin by feeding the mangle, that is, feeding the table cloths, sheets, towels and other flat pieces on to the flat hot roller which smooths them. This work pays from $4 to $7 a week. A girl will be kept at the mangle for- ever unless she insists upon being given a chance to learn the more skilled work, such as collar ironing, starching and sorting. The collars are ironed by ma- chine, the operators receiving $4 to $8 a week. Starching is very difficult. It is best to learn it in a hand laundry and then to go to a steam laundry where the hours are longer but the wages higher, i.e., $15 to $20 a week. Sorting the packages as they are received is a re- sponsible position. An accurate knowledge of materi- als is needed, for certain fluids used to wash one kind of material would ruin another. The sorter receives about $10 or $12 ; the folder about $15. A skilled ironer is always sure of employment. In laundries, the beginner is given aprons and clothes made of gingjham and muslin; as her skill increases the quality of the work and her salary increase proportion- ately. An ironer receives $10 to $12 a week, though a skilled worker may get as high as $18 a week. In the laundry as well as everywhere else, there are fore- women, whose salary is usually $15 and upwards a week. Work in this field is usually steady, but the great 234 THE GIRL IN INDUSTRY rush occurs during the summer months when the laun- dries are almost unbearably hot. Vacations are usually without pay. Winter is the slack season, but few laun- dries "lay off" any help. In cases where they do, skilled workers can usually obtain employment in a cleaning and dyeing establishment, where the busiest season is during the winter months. Many fine waists, light wraps, evening gowns, laces and embroideries are cleaned several times during the winter. A skilled presser is needed to iron them after the garments have been cleaned. The salaries paid are about the same as those paid in the laundries. Though many other branches of work are done in cleaning and dyeing establishments, no one is so well paid as the skilful presser. So a girl who is skilled in this homely art need never be out of a job. In all cities there is always a demand for shops to which fine laces, lingerie, dainty waists and infants' clothes may be entrusted with safety. A girl or two or three girls with a small amount of cash capital could open one of these high class laundries and without doubt make a success of it. " There is just one drawback to the laundry in- dustry," a successful laundry worker complained re- cently, " and that is the difficulty in being changed from a poorly paid department to a better paying one. You may be promoted to a better department but to be sent to a better paying one is almost an impossibility." THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY 235 THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY Twenty-five years ago the motion picture industry was a mere myth ; fifteen years ago a tiny infant strug- gling for breath ; ten years ago a mere child feeling its way cautiously; five years ago growing steadily and strongly until today the motion picture industry ranks among the first five great industries in the United States. The picture business is at once the most interesting, complex and least understood perhaps of all fields of endeavor. There are positions in it open to both men and women ranging from $5 a week to a thousand or more weekly. Because the motion picture industry is the youngest of all the great industries, it is the business for the young. Because it is young it seems to be in- terested in youth and it is the young man and young woman with fresh ideas, new ideals and strength of endeavor who succeed in it. Even the presidents and managers of these companies are young ; Arthur Spiegel of Equitable was only 29 when he died, and Adolph Zukor, president of the Famous Players, is a young man as are most of the executives of the other firms. The film business offers to a young girl many op- portunities, from the highest skilled art to the lowest unskilled manual labor. The business includes numerous branches, the arts, the sciences, profes- sions, commercial lines and industries, all employed in the making of one motion picture. Therefore a girl trained in any one line of work may find an opening 236 THE GIRL IN INDUSTRY in the motion picture industry, and many times will receive a larger salary and find her work more agreeable than in other fields. When we see a picture on the screen starring our favorite actor or actress, how many of us realize the many and devious operations employed in its making? Most people seem to be under the impression that a picture is photographed and then in some miraculous manner is projected for our amusement on the screen in a picture theater. Of course the audience realize that actresses and actors are necessary for the production; they hazily know that some one must have photographed the action and in a vague way it is conveyed to their minds that some one " directed " it, for the director's name usually appears in a title; but just what is meant by the term " directing " is not always understood. That each of you may know the processes employed in the taking of a picture from the first to the last we shall take up the course of procedure and discuss the " jobs " for a girl as we consider each successive step. First of all a company must of necessity be formed ; and in the office may be found positions for stenogra- phers, bookkeepers, typists, telephone operators and the usual office workers. In most picture concerns the salaries paid to these workers are slightly higher than in the usual commercial offices, and the work is not usually any harder. THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY 237 In the actual production of a picture first of all a story must be secured. This is the work of the scenario department. The scenario department usually consists of an editor, an assistant editor, several readers, con- tinuity writers and original story writers. The staffs of most of the companies are usually divided equally with about the same number of men and women. The feminine mind is an absolute essential in a scenario department ; and the women are paid equally well with the men. After a story has been purchased and got into shape for production, it is handed to the director, or the person who puts the picture on, in other words the stage manager of the screen. There are only two or three women directors in the United States; Alice Blacke, Lois Weber and Ruth Stonehouse are the best known. However, there is not any reason that any woman who has had training as an actress and has the ability to direct other people could not be as successful as these three. Directors' salaries range from $100 a week into the thousands and a good director is almost as hard to find as a new ingenue. Then every director has an assistant who checks him up and acts as a handy man in every way. There are few women assistant directors but they ought to be even more successful than men. The feminine viewpoint is most necessary and it would be an ideal combination for every masculine director to have a feminine assistant and every feminine director to have a masculine assistant. Assistant directors' 238 THE GIRL IN INDUSTRY salaries range from about $50 a week to $150 or per- haps more, according to the various companies and the worth of the person. The director is the person who makes or mars the picture and much depends on his or her ability. The assistant director has the woes of every one on his shoulders and must have a clear head for detail. When the director has O.K.'d a script, it is then turned over to the casting director or the person who selects the people to fill the roles, usually in conference with the director. The casting director must be able to handle people effectively; know their comparative worth to the company and their popularity with the public; know their average salaries and be constantly on the alert. The casting director does not have definite hours; he works when and where it is necessary and this is true of the studio and almost every other depart- ment in the picture business. When a thing is to be done it is done; it cannot wait and definite hours are not often adhered to. The casting director's salary varies; no definite figures can be given; and a woman more often fills this position than a man. In one studio in New York, it is held by a very young woman who has risen to the position from that of stenographer. The pictures of that company are very ably cast. When the picture is cast the script is turned over to the master or director of productions who attends to the " sets " or the rooms in which the scenes are photo- THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY 239 graphed. It is his duty to plan the sets and to see that they are built properly. This position is often filled by a person who has been trained in interior decorating. The position of director of productions is one of those " movable " ones in which the holder must of necessity know more different lines of work than seems possible. This job is usually held by some one who has developed into it. Salaries vary ; no stated sum can be quoted but the position is important, interesting and essential in the production of a picture. When the sets are ready, the cast assembled, and the director on the job, the picture is ready to be " shot " or photographed. The camera is run by an expert cameraman who has studied lighting effects, density, color effects, etc. In Italy there is a school for camera- men where the course is of many months' duration. There are also schools here, though cameramen usually evolve from camera boys whose duty it is to carry the tripod and camera, and be as useful to the cameraman as the assistant director is to the director. We do not know of any woman who " turns the crank," in studio parlance. The job is hardly one suited to a woman for many times the cameraman is forced to climb moun- tains, stand for hours in water and perform many seemingly impossible feats, always carrying his camera with him. On him and his work depends the beauty of the picture and the clarity of the film; therefore expert cameramen are very well paid. About the lowest salary; received is $60 per week and oftentimes the 240 THE GIRL IN INDUSTRY head cameraman of a company receives several hundred weekly. When the picture has been photographed the negative is sent to the factory to be developed just as you send a roll of film from your camera. Then a positive print is made for showing. A film is not taken in sequence, and often many feet are taken that have to be discarded ; the film is then joined together and shown. Then the positive is cut to the number of feet necessary, and the negative cut from that. Film splicers are the poorest paid of the girls working in a film factory. This is the " scullery " work of the trade from which they may grow into trained workers. They receive from $8 to $12 a week; but all the time they are learning and preparing themselves to advance. The next step is the negative cutter who matches the negative to the positive cut. This work is trying on the eyes for it is a question of matching scene to scene, each bit of film being about the size of a postage stamp. Negative cutters receive from $12 to $25 a week or perhaps a little more. The next step higher is forewoman of a cutting room. The forewoman is usually one who has risen from the ranks and who has charge of a number of splicers and negative cutters. They receive from $30 to $35 weekly. Positive cutters must know the value of acting and study the picture on the screen. They cut the film from the original continuity, which is the new name for that much abused term " scenario." A well cut film is three THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY 241 quarters the battle of a successful picture. Many times a badly directed or acted picture can be saved by clever cutting. Therefore the positive cutter is an important person with a position equally so. Positive cutters receive from $25 to $50 a week. However, it is possible for a positive cutter to receive even more although the person who is known as the Film Editor seldom does the actual work of a positive cutter. The Film Editor is the person who puts the finishing touches on the film when it comes from the hands of the positive cutter and often the two positions are filled by one person. The Film Editor makes final changes, recuts the pic- ture; suggests changes for its betterment; and often writes the titles, although the position of title writer is a variable one, sometimes being a separate position, sometimes filled by the scenario editor, and sometimes by the film editor. Much of a picture's success depends on its titles ; and good title writers are difficult to find. Film editors receive from $75 a week up, two hundred dollars weekly being about top notch though not an unusual salary. A title editor's salary runs about the same. These positions are often filled by women. The work is delightfully interesting though it is wearing on one's mind and body. The best way to work into either of the latter positions is through the scenario department and by studying the cutting end. The factory workers have regular factory hours with the usual recompense for overtime work. The conditions under which they 242 THE GIRL IN INDUSTRY work are ideal for most film factories are new, sanitary and thoroughly inspected regularly. Every film company also maintains a publicity and advertising department. The salaries here are about equal to those in any other line of work and are dis- cussed in detail in the chapters dealing with these sub- jects. There is, however, one other line in which women are engaged and in which women ought to be successful. Many film companies maintain an art department with several artists who are kept busy with " spreads " for advertising and the " art titles " used on the screen. Then, too, there are several " title " offices in the city employing several artists to letter titles, to paint back- grounds, etc. This work is interesting and women are as successful as men although strange as it may seem there are more men engaged in it than women. The picture business affords many opportunities to a girl for advancement. In this as in perhaps no other line is ability recognized and advancement offered. The salaries are higher because the business is constantly growing and its returns are large. As to the moral side, any girl who wants to do the right thing and keep " straight " can do it as well and as easily in a picture office as in any other business in the world. The motion picture business is constantly changing and one must ever be alive and awake to progress with it. It is growing and the persons interested must grow with it. There is opportunity but one must seize it. THE FARMER 243 It is impossible to stagnate even for a day. Once a reputation is made in any branch, one's value flies sky- high, and salary is not any object. The motion picture business is the coming industry. It is constantly spreading its wings and enfolding more people. We have hardly touched on many of the jobs for trained industrial workers, such as carpenters, electricians, paper hangers, painters, plasterers, wood workers, ad infinitum; but these positions must of necessity be filled by men. There is always an op- portunity to create a new job, and a moving picture concern is always willing to listen to anything new. In conclusion we may say that the acting end of the motion picture industry is the smallest though perhaps the best paid, that a girl trained to do almost any kind of work can find an opening in some company and that it is up to herself as in every other line of work to prove herself invaluable. If she is capable of doing any other kind of work she would do well to side-step the acting-end of the film business. The field is overcrowded with trained artists from the legitimate stage and every day it is becoming more difficult for a girl with merely a pretty face to " break in." This subject is treated in detail in the chapter on The Actress. THE FARMER THe scientifically trained farmer has come to stay. The state agricultural colleges in most cases admit women to their classes in farming. Gradually the op- 244 THE GIRL IN INDUSTRY position to women as farmers is being wiped away. There is no doubt that the operation of large farming machines by women is perfectly feasible, but much of the old-fashioned hand farming is very strenuous for girls. When farmers have been persuaded to employ women for outdoor work, the pay is not very large, varying from $15 to $35 a month with maintenance. However, there are signs of improvement both in condi- tions and in wages. When not done to excess, this is a most healthful line of work, which proves to be educational as well as absorbing. There is, however, one objection unless one owns a farm and runs it herself that namely the work is seasonal since there is little employment of farm hands in the winter. A girl who is in a position to rent or purchase a small portion of land, and who loves work of this kind, might easily make her farming pay if she handles her problem both scientifically and practically. THE GIRL IN BUSINESS EVERY girl, whether rich or poor, should be trained in some occupation. The rich girl may not always be rich and the poor girl always poor, but whatever her lot, a girl ought to know how to do some one thing and do it well. Having decided on what business, profession or art she feels is suited to her and in which success waits for her, and having acquired the knowledge and training necessary to start out in that chosen field, the next thing to do is to obtain a position in which to test her knowl- edge and prove her worth. To do this is sometimes very easy and sometimes it is much more difficult, depending in a great measure on the particular career the girl has chosen and on the girl herself. " Experience " is the cry of the business man to whom every minute may mean dollars, and to whom speed and accuracy count for everything. But every one has to start some time and if the girl looking for her first job is willing to start at the bot- torn and says so, she perhaps has learned the greatest lesson in life. It is much better to start on the lowest rung of the ladder and climb upward, than to start at the top and fall down. Much is said and is being continually written about the snares into which the unsuspecting girl thrusts 345 246 THE GIRL IN BUSINESS herself in answering advertisements in the daily news- papers. Of course it is always wise to be cautious but the girl who goes into the business world with her head full of stories of men who try to lure girls to destruction and all that sort of thing, will be looking for trouble, unconsciously communicate that thought to others, and therefore may find it. Most business men are too busy in the course of a working day to make any advances to a girl in their employ. For one thing, it is rather risky. If a girl invites attentions which the majority of men are only too ready to give, then she has herself to blame. It is always rather amusing to hear the stories some girls have to tell of the advances men make to them in the business world. If it is done, notice how the young woman dresses and conducts herself. That usually answers the question. Perhaps it is done, no one can say it isn't, but one can always draw their own deduc- tions from stories of that kind, and realize that atten- tions are seldom proffered uninvited. "When established in a job, don't settle down and be content to stay where you are. Advance! Learn everything you can about the business, try to discover new and better methods of doing things. Suggest them in a quiet, respectful manner to your employer. He likes you to take an interest. Make yourself more than a mere cog in the office machinery. If you do, you can make yourself an indispensable employee and your salary will increase proportionately with your ability and worth to the firm. THE GIRL IN BUSINESS 247 Tlie girl who learns how to mind her own business and her employer's, is the girl who will succeed. An employer is more liable to trust a girl who attends strictly to business (which does not necessarily mean being a prig or snob) who is punctual, than a girl who is always laughing and talking, and who never volun- teers to do anything more than is actually required of her. It may become tiresome to be constantly doing a little more than any one else, to work harder and longer than some one else, but perseverance and application are the greatest factors to success. Another important factor is dress ! There have been seemingly numberless articles written on this subject and yet not half enough has been said. Don't overdress! Don't wear pleasure castoffs. Dress sensibly! Sensibly does not mean ugly blouses with uncompromisingly stiff collars, and hair strained back tightly from your forehead. 'No one likes to have an unattractive girl around, of men especially is this true. It is part of a business girl's job to look as well as she possibly can without going into debt to do so. Dress simply. Wear good clothes, suitable to your particular job. Have your hair and your hands as beautifully taken care of as possible. If you don't, you can't hold a job in a perfectly appointed business office even if you could get it. Remember that your success is going to depend on your personal appearance as well as on your education, capability and experience. Just as you had to pay for the latter by perseverance and 248 THE GIRL IN BUSINESS hard work, so you can gain the former, if you do not already have it, hy will power, observation and a keen desire* for such a change. Girls who ultimately go into business for themselves should remember that they must set an example for those in their employ. They must, therefore, be a model of good taste and neatness. Girls who become modistes, milliners, hairdressers, etc., should remember that their wares and ability will be judged by their customers from their own appearance and that of their assistants. Just one more thought before we proceed. Don't think that when you enter the business world that it is merely to fill in the time between your school days and the seemingly halcyon days of matrimony which every girl believes are just around the corner. Give to your job the best that is in you, you are being paid for definite work and you owe it to yourself and your em- ployer to give of your best to that job. No girl can definitely count on matrimony and even if she could, life will mean more to her if she has done her job in the business world. Too many girls take matrimony for granted, it passes them by and they find themselves at thirty in a position little higher than the one the^ held at eighteen. Daily a girl's opportunities in the business world are growing. New fields of endeavor are being opened to her in which she is on an equality with men. The world is constantly progressing and with that progression the 'American girl is finding her place in the world. THE GIRL IN BUSINESS 249 But a girl must love her work and go to it daily with! a light heart and an eagerness to really succeed which only comes through keen enjoyment. If she loves her work it is half the battle; and if not, the battle is lost before one shot is fired. To succeed, she must be sure of herself, confident in her ability and appreciate her own worth. Today as never before has the girl or woman with keen intelligence, the ability to think quickly, to grasp business technicalities, and willingness to work, hun- dreds of opportunities for advancement and success. War conditions caused a new era in woman's work, and for the first time since her advent into the business and professional worlds she has been really received as a man's equal. During the war she was doing a man's work, filling an absent man's job, she was the heroine of the hour, and therefore she was a man's equal. Women who had never before worked for their living entered some business and succeeded. It was woman's day ! Nothing was too hard or impossible for her. Her worth was proven ! Conductors, elevator runners, ticket choppers, mes- senger girls, bank and hotel clerks, shipyard workers, munition workers, everywhere women were perform- ing men's work. Business houses and institutions where women had never crossed the threshold as employees, threw open wide their doors to and welcomed them on an equal footing with men. But now the war is over. Daily thousands of our 250 THE GIRL IN BUSINESS boys are being mustered out of camps and returning from overseas. They are returning to their former occupations. What will become of the women worker is the question raised on every side ? Some will be only too happy to return to their own firesides but others will want to remain in the business world. However, this war has proven two things as far as the business woman is concerned. First, that women can adequately fill certain positions heretofore occupied ex- clusively by men, who now can direct their energies in other lines where they would be more useful to the world and to themselves. And in these jobs will women remain. Secondly, that the slight prejudice which lingered in the minds of many about women's capabil- ities in the business world has been erased from the minds of even the most skeptical. So the war has really opened many avenues of em- ployment to the girl who has her living to earn. It has also established her in the short space of eighteen months in a position which it might have taken her years to gain otherwise. Then, too, it has materially increased salaries which will without doubt continue. It is true that today there are many people, men and women, in pursuit of the same job. However, there is always a place for the girl or woman who is "on the job," willing to do what is asked of her and having the knowledge required of her. For her a place will be made, even if it isn't waiting. Once again we repeat the words, " Success depends entirely upon oneself." THE CITY GIRL WHEN one considers the business opportunities open to the city girl and those of her country cousin, the advantages seem to be all in favor of the former. How many girls in the city realize this ? How many of them appreciate the fact that opportunity is constantly knock- ing at their door ? Comparatively few, we fear. But, strange as it may seem, it is, in nine cases out of ten, the small-town or country-bred girl who is most successful in the city. Three reasons may be given in explanation of this. First, the out-of-town girl has to depend entirely on her own efforts to live; if she does not keep her position and advance, she cannot eat or have a roof over her head, so she strains every nerve toward success. The city-bred girl usually lives at home, and is at least sure of a roof over her head and food to eat if she is out of a job, so she does not worry about it as much as the country girl. Secondly, the out- of-town girl who has gone to the city so proudly, hates to return home and admit defeat. Thirdly, the city girl at the time she starts to go to business is just at the age when pleasure appeals to her most, and theaters, dances and dinners may mean more to her than business. This of course is only human and natural. Yet it distracts her from her daily work. The out-of-town 251 252 THE GIRL IN BUSINESS girl does not know so many city people, does not go out so much, therefore has more time to study and work toward advancement. Then too with her it is a point of pride to succeed. With her it is " sink or swim," so she swims more valiantly toward the shore of success than perhaps she otherwise would. And for that reason it is seldom that she does not reach the shore. This may all sound unfair and untrue to the city girl who believes in her heart that she is as ambitious as any one else, but if you examine the lives of our con- temporary successful women you will discover that few of them are the products of big cities. Fannie Hurst, the writer, was a small-town girl who suffered and starved and slaved before she attained success. Gladys Hanson, the star, was a Southern girl, Hazel Dawn came from the West, and so on. But they tried their wings in the big city and succeeded because they dared not fail. This all seems an argument for the small-town and country girl to try her luck in the big city. It is not. We are talking generally and perhaps there are many small-town girls who never reach their goal. But we are trying to encourage the city girl to make her job more than a mere bridge between school and matrimony ; to make it one of the big things in her life ; and to work harder for success. The city girl has the finest public schools, colleges, business and art schools, in fact every educational ad- vantage at her disposal, to aid her on the road to sue- THE CITY GIRL 253 cess. She has the largest number of possible fields to select from and the greatest amount of business op- portunities. In refutation you may say that there are as many people looking for positions as there are posi- tions. But remember, that every girl has the oppor- tunity to make herself not an ordinary worker but an extraordinary worker, so that her services will be sought and she will not have to seek. Such a thing is not only possible but also probable. As a girl reaches the point in life where she must choose a means to earn her livelihood, each one must face her own problem, and ultimately solve it for her- self. We can only advise and suggest, but within each of us lies the motive power which drives us to success or drags us down to failure. The problem of the city girl is far more simple and encouraging than that of the small-town or country girl, and her advantages and opportunities are greater. If she does not grasp them it is her loss. If she does, she is on the road to success. In any case, she must answer to herself for her ultimate failure or success. THE SMALL-TOWN GIRL IN the whole United States, there are, relatively speaking, few cities in comparison with the number of towns of from 1000 to 5000 inhabitants. Many of these towns are within easy access of a city, and it seems to be the desire of many girls to go into the big city to work. "Now youthful yearning for adventure and new inter- ests is most natural. But it may be you can get this without the cost and sacrifice of living in the city. Maybe you can find work in your own town and take your holidays in the city. Work in a small town is likely to be done under much less trying conditions than in the city, so that you can keep your health and your youth many years longer than if you entered the rush and turmoil of a metropolis. There are many positions open to you if you but search them out in your own town. Though you may think the salaries are larger in the city, by the time you deduct carfare, lunches and the general expense of city living you will find that even from the financial point of view the bigger salary is not the best one. When you have chosen the occupation you wish to pursue, if you find it impossible to study it in your own home town, go to the nearest city to the best school you can afford. Then come home with your knowledge and 254 THE SMALL TOWN GIRL 255 help to improve that home town of yours. Find out what ideal conditions are and be one to bring them about There is a glamor of romance and mystery about the white lights and throngs of the great cities. But this alone will not interest any girl for life. Finally she will want friends and acquaintances, and lacking them she will face the greatest terror in the world loneliness. If she has not the courage to go back home and find work there, she will stay in the great friendless, unkind city, longing for friends and neighbors which she ac- cepted as a matter of course in the little home town. The girl who commutes, of course lives at home, but if the distance is far, she may find that the strain of an hour or so twice a day on the train drains her health and empties her pocketbook. In every town or even village there are stores where salesgirls and cashiers are needed. There is not any special training necessary and sometimes a girl is paid more than for the same work in a city. A public stenographer could make her own niche; a dressmaker or milliner with an eye to the fashions; a photographer who will also develop for amateurs, all of these may reap well of what they have sown if they start in business in their own town. We all owe a certain duty to the community in which we were born and raised, a duty to give to it the best in us in return for what it has done for us. In most cases it has educated us, perhaps even supported us for 256 THE GIRL IN BUSINESS many years. When our time comes let us return in as great measure as we can what it has given to us. When you grow up and are working, accept certain responsibilities and obligations in your home, and in return will come grown-up privileges. Too often young people who stay at home want the irresponsibility of their childhood and the advantages of adult age. That is as unfair as the other extreme, when the grown-up daughter earning her own living and helping with the home expenses is given no opportunity to live her own individual life as an adult human being. If in your own home town you can find a place for yourself or make one, you stand a chance for sweeter success among known and tried friends than the same success would bring among strangers. If no opening exists for you there and your intel- ligent effort makes that opening, you will have done much better with your life than if you went into a great city among the thousands already struggling there, where competition is exceedingly keen, and where in an emergency like sickness, or lack of work, you may suf- fer cruelly without any interested person trying to help you. At home during any such crisis your family and friends as a matter of course look after your welfare. In deciding between the town or the city remember all these things. If you have much imagination you may see how they are going to weigh in the balance of your life. If you haven't, you may have to learn by experience. THE SMALL TOWN GIRL 257 Don't be afraid to change your course when you see you have made a mistake. It isn't brave and courageous to keep on doing something you find you are not fitted for. It is only stubborn or weak. Strong people are not afraid to change their opinions when shown either by experience or in any other way that they have been mistaken. If you go to the City and find you can't succeed there, don't be ashamed to go back to your home town and begin over there. That will be far more courageous than to stay in the city, a hopeless failure. Whatever work you do and wherever you do it, make up your mind that you will leave in it some contribution entirely your own, in the way of making the work easier or the conditions under which it is done happier and better for the workers who come after you. THE COUNTRY GIRL THE problem which the country girl must face is often a much more difficult one than that of either the city or small-town girl. When the country girl lives within a few miles by train or trolley of a city, her situation is not greatly different from her city sister's. But when she is isolated from neighbors by five or six miles, practically cut off from easy communication with towns, she will have to have much perseverance to fit herself into a niche in the work world. The readiest opening for the country girl who wants or has to earn her own living, is that of home maker. In a good farming community this is not degraded drudgery, but on the contrary may offer fine possibil- ities of association with agreeable friends and real ac- quaintanceships. When the " hired girl " in the country home marries the son of the family, as she often does, she knows her mate better at the altar than the average wife after months of married life. Moreover, the lack of class dis- tinction which often in the country makes the " hired girl " one of the family, makes it possible for her good qualities and ability to be reckoned quite at their human value. If she has perseverance and initiative the country; 258 THE COUNTRY GIRL 259 girl who does not care for housework can find openings for self support even in remote communities. There is the village post office, for instance. It is not unusual, especially in the West, for a woman to receive appoint- ment as postmistress. The position is not an arduous one, and although the salary is not large, it is sufficient to support a girl. Then there are few, if any, villages in the United States today, especially those which are attractive for their beautiful scenery which the jaded city dwellers do not seek out in the hot summer months. A country girl may earn enough during the summer vacation from city boarders to make her financially independent for the rest of the year, or to at least add a substantial sum to the nest egg she is gathering for her education, for a trip to the city to look over new possibilities for work, or perhaps for her trousseau. City folks love home-made candies, cakes and cookies, ice cream, buttermilk, daintily served fresh fruits, salads and above all good home-made bread. Two or three girls could open a little store or tea and lunch room and sell their own cooking or the products of their own gardens. If a girl be clever she could make her own post- cards to sell also. The touch of a local person who knows the prettiest spots of the locality will be of added value in the pictures. A girl who can use a camera to advantage, will make money with her post- cards if she chooses subjects which photograph well. 260 THE GIRL IN BUSINESS If the time and ingenuity for postcard making is lack- ing, there are postcard firms who will make cards of any locality very reasonably and sell them wholesale. Then, too, the girl who understands a camera and developing, can always do developing and printing for the amateur photographer. Practically every one owns a camera and takes dozens of pictures in a sum- mer. This field is a lucrative one and for the girl who understands it, will mean quite a sum of money each summer. If her village is on a lake or river, a girl could rent row boats and canoes by the hour and perhaps act as teacher to those inexperienced on the water. Whatever she does, let her remember that a very simple but effec- tive appropriate costume will add much to her popular- ity and therefore to her proceeds, especially if her cus- tomers are summer boarders. When people are bent on pleasure they gladly pay for a touch of the pictur- esque, provided it is not overdone. The picturesque de- pends far more on a natural instinct than on the amount of money one spends. If a girl is an expert swimmer she can always teach the youngsters how to swim or superintend their antics in the water. A good swimming instructor can demand a good price for a lesson. If a girl can get away from home to go to a Normal school there is little doubt that after graduating she could secure the school in her own district at home. Even if the salary is very small as it unfortunately often THE COUNTRY GIRL 261 is, it will insure her a better income than a larger one would if she were living away from home in a large city; where board is expensive. So far we have been talking of the little country girl who is willing to stay at home. But there is the other girl too, who is not willing, and who wishes to enter a field of work which her home environment makes im- possible, the girl who dreams the long dreams of youth, dreams of fame and glory and an activity at once interesting, useful and happy. When the reality comes, hard work which is often unappreciated, poorly paid and perhaps tedious to the point of desperation in contrast with her roseate dream, will often make her cry. But if she has the courage and wisdom to learn lessons of life from every experience, she will not stop dreaming but finally learn to make her dream come true. Remember, first of all, when you are leaving the big old-fashioned farmhouse, with its open fireplaces and exquisite cleanliness, that your home for many years to come will probably be a small hall bedroom, stuffy and never quite clean. Remember, too, that if you exchange the delicious, abundant home cooking of your mother's table for cheap restaurants and boarding house fare that you will find so little to suit your appetite that even when hungry you will sometimes be unable to eat Remember too, that there are hundreds of girls, born and bred in the city, striving for their living and if the 262 THE GIRL IN BUSINESS city proves a difficult proposition for them what will it prove to you ? Remember also, that the trained worker, is the only one who will succeed, so don't come to the city prepared " to do anything ! " You will end in a factory earn- ing $6 or maybe $7 a week, an unskilled worker, while the roses in your cheeks fade and you are afraid, ashamed to go back and say that you have failed. And remember first, last and always that no matter what financial success you may attain, if you lose your health and happiness in the pursuit of that success you have gained absolutely nothing. It would be wise to take all this into consideration before you decide to leave home. If you then believe that the experience and development which new sur- roundings and work will bring can compensate for cut- ting home and friendship ties, it is your right to try your wings. However, if she goes to the city armed with a diploma of her chosen profession, the badge of her competency, and enough money to keep her going till she has attained a position of trust, then the country girl stands an even chance of success with her city sister. If a girl has the money, desire and opportunity to train for a profession, or study an art, let her think well before she spends the necessary years in preparation. If medicine or dentistry is her choice there isn't any reason why she shouldn't go back to her home town to practise in her own community instead of trying to THE COUNTRY GIRL 263 break into the overcrowded ranks of that profession in the city. Above all, the country girl must " work out her own salvation." People can assist her, but the actual solving she must do herself. She is so much the better equipped for life if she has a school or college training before she enters the ranks of the wage earners. That will in- troduce her to a larger social life than she would have met at home and broadened her before her life work begins. One final word of advice : whether you leave the home nest to try your wings in the city, or town, never be too foolishly proud to fly home again if necessity, temporary or lasting, requires it. And most important of all, let your ideas of life and living expand and grow as you yourself gain success. For no girl is worth while in this world whose ideals do not grow with her. INDEX Accountant, 21 Actress, 200 Advance Agent, 59 Advertising Agent, 53 Agency Work, 44 Architect, 177 Arts and the Girl, 169 Bacteriologist, 130 Biscuit Maker, 216 Booking Agent, 62 Bookkeeper, 19 Business Field, the, 3 Buyer, 30 Cafe* Cashier, 41 Candy Maker, 214 Cashier, 22 Cash Girl, 25 Cigarette Maker, 219 City Girl, the, 251 Clothing Maker, 214 Commercial Traveler, 103 Costume Illustrator, 183 Country Girl, the, 258 Department Store Workers, 25 Demonstrator, 34 Dentist, 125 Desk Clerk, 40 Detective, 99 Dictaphone Operator, 9 Dietitian, 110 Dressmaker, 85 Elevator Operator, 72 Employment Agent, 45 Factory Workers, 208 Farmer, 243 File Clerk, 7 Floor Clerk, 39 Florist, 76 Food Checker, 41 Girl in Business, the, 245 Hair Dresser, 92 Hat Maker, 221 Home Maker, 106 Hotel Workers, 38 Insurance Agent, 50 Interior Decorator, 172 Jeweler, 170 Landscape Gardener, 174 Laundry Workers, 232 Lawyer, 163 Librarian, 159 Linotyper, 230 Magazine Illustrator, 185 Manicurist, 94 Milliner, 88 Model, 80 Monotyper, 230 Motion Picture Business, 235 Multigrapher, 10 Musician, 193 Newspaper Woman, 133 Novelty Painter, 188 Nurse, 115 Oculist, 123 Office Girl, 6 Paper Box Maker, 212 Pharmacist, 128 Photographer, 181 Physician, 120 Pianist, 198 Press Agent, 56 266 266 INDEX Printing and Binding Workers, 228 Private Secretary, 17 Professional Shopper, 32 Professional Woman, the, 106 Public Stenographer, 15 Real Estate Agent, 48 Room Clerk, 40 Saleswoman, 27 Scenic Artist, 190 Small Town Girl, the, 254 Social Worker, 113 Statistician, 166 Stenographer, 11 Stenotypist, 9 Stock Girl, 27 Teacher, 149 Tea Room Manager, 73 Telegraph Operator, 69 Telephone Operator, 66 Theater Treasurer, 96 Typist, 8 Usher, 98 Waitress, 41 Writer, 137 COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS ASK What do we do now that n>ar is over P Do we mark time or carry on P Can't we help out in peace time? AND FIND THE ANSWER IN HOW TO FACE PEACE A HANDBOOK OF COMMUNITY PROGRAMS By GERTRUDE MATHEWS SHELBY Wiih index, 331 pp., $1.50 The author, as editor of the News Letter of the Woman's Committee of the Council of National Defense, was continually impressed with the thought- fulness of inquiries received concerning the objectives which communities should work for. The twenty-seven chapters include The Commun- ity's Part in Reconstruction, Find the Boys Jobs, Help Women and Children in Industry, Prevent Evictions and Rent Profiteering, Help Returned Soldiers and Their Families, Americanize America, etc., etc. HOW TO FACE PEACE: "Very well written and fall of interesting comment on the affairs of the time and valuable advice." {. Lauit Olobe- Democrat. HOW TO FACE PEACE : "The volume Is an authoritative one, written .by a close observer of social conditions." Newark Ledger. 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