K^IiwLqKI ^^4SK^ff} ?»s^^ ^^^fe:I° ••■^^ftSirtc> l^ii "''r 000 have lived at our Lake Breeze Camp. Our occupational records of applicants for employment show repeated instances of girls who have spent money and time at business schools and are presumably ready for office work, but who for some reason do not get a position of the sort for which they have been trained. In their desperation to be wage earning they alternate from unskilled factory work to cir- cularizing, or some form of near-office work; and perhaps after two or three years of this they give up Introduction xiii the dream of ever getting and keeping a real office position and apply themselves to mechanical work, in which their special training is of no use. Out of our reflection upon this state of things comes this inevitable question: ARE GIRLS RE- FUSED IN OFFICE WORK BECAUSE THERE IS AN OVER-SUPPLY OF WORKERS IN THE FIELD; OR, BECAUSE THESE GIRLS ARE INHERENTLY UNSUITABLE OR IMPROP- ERLY TRAINED? In this study we have set ourselves to find out the answer, and we have come to it along these two lines of inquiry: First: What kind of training is needed, and is it adequately given in Cleveland? Second: What are the demands and what are the inducements for girls in the field of office work? The Co-operative Employment Bureau as a whole has taken the responsibihty for the supervision of this investigation and its own activities have afforded its chief opportunity. The work itself represents the exclusive time of one field worker for more than a year; also the intermittent, but xiv Introduction organized, assistance of 25 volunteer helpers, in- cluding teachers, business women, social workers and unemployed college women. The method employed was that of observation and interview, and all impressions and items of in- formation were systematically recorded. For ex- amples of schedule forms used, see Appendix. It is safe to say that nothing in this book is put for- ward as a fact which has not in our files the name and address of the person who is sponsor for it or to whom it relates. Investigation has been made in a spirit of impartial inquiry, and the endeavor has been to show the spirit of the interviews by direct quotation so far as possible. On several subjects we have given a summary of the comments of bus- iness school students and their employers in office work. No comment has been set down which does not represent the expressed opinion of several per- sons. As the comments show, conflicting opinions were sometimes given; in sftch cases they have been impartially set down as they were received. We have made our study of the field of office work from the standpoint of the employer, only in Introduction xv so far as it relates to the preparation girls need; but the study as a whole has been made from the stand/point of the girl employee, and it endeavors to awaken the pubUc, particularly the public schools, to the opportunities as well as the requirements of this line of work. A contrasting purpose is found in the book of Mr. J. William Schulze entitled *^The American Office '^ and published in July, 1914. His book is a presentation of a plan for an ideal office from the standpoint of the employer, and it is the first recognition in book form, so far as we know, of the office as presenting the same need for standardization that has long been appHed to the shop. The basis of our information on work and train- ing is as follows: One thousand four hundred and twenty-one occupational records of as many office girls. Of this number 816 have been personally inter- viewed in our placement office or in their homes. Seven hundred and twenty-eight records of eighth grade public school students soUcited by agents of private business schools. xvi Introduction Four hundred and forty-one places of office employraent in Cleveland (with a few possible duplications) for which we have recorded in- formation. One hundred and thirty-three of these, representing 33 kinds of business, have been personally visited and detailed records have been obtained. Four hundred and fifty-two interviews with business men, educators and social workers, on the general subject of commercial work and training. Three hundred and sixty-one of the persons represented in this number are em- ployers of girls in office work. Fifty-two detailed records of as many bus- iness schools or courses. This niunber is the total for Cleveland. In addition to this local data valuable suggestions were obtained from persons in other cities, chiefly by correspondence. A list of these is given below. Bertha M. Stevens. E. E. Gaylord Director of Commercial Education, High School Beverly, Mass. Meyer Bloomfield Vocation Bureau Boston, Mass. EthelJohnson Librarian, W.'s Educa- tional & Industrial Union Boston, Maas. Thomas McCracken . . .Research Secre'y Wom- en's Municipal League . . Boston, Mass. Introduction xvii M. Edith Campbell. . . .Director, Schmidlapp Bureau for Women & Girls Cincinnati, O. William Bachrach Head, Commercial De- partment, Parker High School Chicago, 111. Anne S. Davis Chicago School of Civics & Philanthropy Chicago, 111. Donald M. Wright Librarian System Maga^ zine Chicago, 111. Mary L. Goodhue Central High School Duluth, Minn. Benjamin A. Andrews. .Teachers' College, Co- lumbia University New York City. F. G. Bonser Asst. Professor Indus- trial Education, Teach- ers' College New York City. Edward N. Clopper .... National Child Labor Committee New York City. Frances Cummings .... Director, Intercollegiate Bureau of Occupations . . New York City. Mrs. Alice Barrows Fer- Director of Vocational nandez Education Survey New York City. Benjamin E. Gruenberg Secretary Vocational Guidance Ass'n New York City. Edwin A. Hardy President, New York Fire Insurance Exchange New York City. James E. Lough Sec'y School of Peda- gogy, New York Univer- sity New York City. Mrs. P. J. O'Connell . . . Superintendent, AlUance Employment Bureau . . . New York City. N. Milner Manager Dictaphone Co. New York City. Mary Van Kleeck Secre'y, Committee on Women's Work, Russell Sage Foundation New York City. E. W. Weaver Chairman, Students' Aid Committee, New York Teachers' Association . . New York City. xviii Introduction G. M. Yorke Western Union Tele- graph Company New York City. E. C. Wolf Manager Employment & Instructive Dept., Cur- tis Publishing Co Philadelphia, Pa. Julia C. Lathrop Chief of Children's Bu- reau, U. S. Dept. of Labor Washington, D. C, PART I COMMERCIAL WORK AND TRAINING FOR GIRLS CHAPTER I PUBLIC COMMERCIAL SCHOOLS Public education has come to include, in most cities, some form of commercial education. In pre- senting here the details of our local system we at- tempt — in addition to mere information-giving — to note the significant phases of the ideals of Cleve- land's school and to point conclusions that will be more than local in their appUcation. In our chap- ter "Vocational Guidance" we have discussed plans of organization for commercial schools and courses and have compared Cleveland's system with that of other cities. The public schools of Cleveland are taking care of approximately only 10 percent of the whole number of boys and girls entering day commercial schools and 4 Commerddl Work and Training for Girls courses in Cleveland in a given year. The remaining 90 percent are patronizing private, parochial, or philanthropic schools. There are in Cleveland two commercial high schools enrolhng (1913-1914) a total of 790 day pupils. These schools, located one on the West, and one on the East side of the city, are in reaUty a unit, since the East High School of Commerce, established more recently, offers the work of the first two years only and sends pupils to the West High School of Commerce to complete their course. The principal of the West High School of Com- merce supervises both schools. In the following paragraphs the two schools will be spoken of as if they were one, and by the general title, ''The High School of Commerce. '' In addition to the training offered at the High School of Commerce, an elective two-year bookkeeping course is given at two academic high schools. The number of pupils enrolled in these courses (1913-1914) was 123. For the purpose of this study, all four of the high schools have been visited — the High School of Commerce ten times. In each, recitations have Public Commercial Schools 5 been heard in bookkeeping, stenography, and English. The students who attend pubhc commercial schools and courses appear to belong to a group fairly comfortable financially, who can afford an education but who must earn wages as soon as they are prepared to do so. The majority are whole- some-looking, intelhgent, and alert, although some seem inherently impossible for office work, unat- tractive in looks, and slow in mentality. But one's general impression is that a busy, deHghtful at- mosphere of good fellowship and wide-awake ac- tivity pervades the school. Most of the teachers are college graduates and have had practical experience in business. Their attitude seems broad and progressive toward edu- cational questions generally. The purpose of the High School of Commerce as stated in the catalogue is: '^To give practical preparation for life and for commercial work, and to fulfil the demand of the business world for workers specifically and adequately trained. '' Its purpose is cultural only to the extent of developing 6 Commercial Work and Training for Girls reasoning and quickened perception. The individ- uality of the student is developed by allowing free- dom in choosing electives; by encouraging class discussion; and by the literary, athletic, and social activities of the school. The establishment of the bookkeeping course in the two academic high schools seems to be a concession to the demands of their neighborhoods for definite vocational training for wage earning. In the High School of Commerce there is careful correlation of courses; shorthand combines obviously with the Salesmanship Lecture Course; shorthand and typewriting find place in the correspondence work and in making records of investigations which the Local Industries Course includes. Arithmetic dove- tails with bookkeeping; English with stenography. The discussion of the curriculum which follows is the result of class-room observation and of conver- sations with the principal and teachers of the school. Bookkeeping is required. Students take one-half year of penmanship before beginning work on business forms, the more complex work on this subject beginning in the sophomore year. Public Commercial Schools 7 Stenography, an elective subject, is not begun until students have acquired a background of two years' training in reading and penmanship, English, and spelling. In shorthand the dictation is taken from current papers and magazines, and is based upon a great variety of business. Touch-typewriting is taught. Science is taught both for general education £tnd for direct appHcation in business. In chemistry, analysis of the quality of foods, soaps, cement, cloth, etc., is made; in physics, such practical prob- lems as heating and lighting a house are worked upon*. The World's History is studied through its com- mercial development, political history being treated only as a background for the progress of trade. Geography gives the student a grasp of the world's commercial products and the physical and industrial conditions that affect the problems of transportation. English includes the drill necessary for the special needs of the commercial student, endeavoring to avoid becoming narrow and utilitarian; also, to stimulate love of good Uterature and to develop a good vocabulary. 8 Commercial Work and Training for Girls Local Industries and Institutions is a course given only to seniors. Every year the class is taken to visit some big industry, every process and depart- ment being carefully examined. Committees from the class are sent to various institutions, such as Warrensville Farm, the social settlements, etc., for interviews with the directors, the class receiving the benefit of the committee's impressions in re- ports read by them. In addition, the instructor gives the class some idea of the economic prin- ciples underlying business. Business Ethics, though not offered as a separate course is taught by every instructor in connection with his special subject, and receives emphasis ia the talks of the weekly lecture course. The Lecture Course, which consists of talks be- fore the whole school, is given by business and professional men on the subject of their personal experience in the world of affairs. This course illustrates the close connection between the High School of Commerce and the business of the city. The curriculum and equipment try to keep pace with the rapid changes in the organization of the Public Commercial Schools 9 modem business world through the assistance given the school by a committee of thirty prominent business men. They were first called together to advise in the original organization of the school and have assisted it ever since by visiting classes and by helping with criticisms and suggestions. In June, 1913, with the co-operation of the Prin- cipal of the High School of Commerce, the Co- operative Employment Bureau undertook to visit at their homes all pupils graduated from the date of the first graduation (June, 1910) to the date of the beginning of the investigation (February, 1913). This piece of work covers the investigation of 206 pupils, the product of nine classes. The figures which follow are the result. Table I OCCUPATION AT DATE OP INVESTIGATION Occupation Boys Girls Boys and Girls Working 68 117 185 Attending School 2 4 6 Staying at Home 3 3 Not Ascertained 4 8 12 10 Commercial Work and Training for Girls Table II ALL POSITIONS HELD FROM TIME OF LEAVING SCHOOL TO DATE OP INVESTIGATION Kind of Work Boys Girls Boys & Girls Office Work Semi-office Work Business Occu- pations (Other than office work) Stenography 39 54 93 Bookkeeping 24 53 77 Clerical Work 40 24 64 General Office Work. 7 32 39 Typing 3 33 36 BilUng 20 20 Totals 140 306 446 Errands 7 9 Stock Room Work . . 3 Totals 10 9 Agent's Work 2 1 Managing Store .... 2 Clerk's Work in Hotel 1 Totals 5 Miscellaneous Factory Work 1 Occupations Teaching Newspaper Work ... Playground Work ... Dairying Piano Playing 1 Singing Dancing Totals 2 16 3 19 3 2 1 6 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 10 Public Commercial Schools 11 Table III KINDS OF BUSINESS REPRESENTED BY OFFICE WORK POSITIONS Business Boys Girls Boys and Girls Board of Education 1 115 116 Manufacturing 41 67 108 Retail 11 44 55 Sales Office 13 30 43 Wholesale 11 10 21 Banking and Brokerage ... 13 7 20 Law 1 18 19 Transportation 13 2 16 Telephone 11 11 Real Estate 1 8 9 Printing and Publishing ... 2 6 8 Agency 8 8 Advertising and Addressing 5 5 Accounting 2 2 4 Insurance 3 3 Public Library 1 1 Table IV SHOWING HOW POSITIONS WERE FOUND Positions For Boys Placing Agency for Boys For Girls and Girls High School of Com- merce 23 79 102 Friends 34 67 101 Advertisements 16 31 47 Personal Application. . . 21 13 34 Typewriter Offices 7 24 31 Civil Service 11 11 Emplojnnent Agencies . . 3 6 9 Machine Companies. ... 1 1 12 Commercial Work and Training for Girls Table V WAGES GRADUATES WHO HAVE WORKED LESS THAN A TEAR (18 boys, 27 girls) Boys Girls Minimum $22 $25 Wage of Majority $40-$50 $35-$45 Maximum $65 $55 GRADUATES WHO HAVE WORKED 1 TO 2 TEARS (12 boys, 26 girls) Boys Girls Minimum $25 $25 Wage of Majority $45-$50 $35-$40 Maximum $70 160 GRADUATES WHO HAVE WORKED 2 TO 3 TEARS (19 boys, 39 girls) Boys GirU Minimum $40 $22 Wage of Majority $55-$65 $45-$55 Maximum $70 $100 GRADUATES WHO HAVE WORKED 3 YEARS (12 boys, 19 girls) Boys GirU Minimum $52 $40 Wage of Majority $50-$65 $50-$55 Maximum $85 165 HIGHESl : WAGE OF ANT GRADUATE Boy Girl $85 $100 Public Commercial Schools 13 Table VI ADVANCEMENT (For Students Who Have Remained in One Position Since Grad- uation from High School of Commerce) GRADUATES WHO HAVE WORKED LESS THAN A YEAR Boys (6) Girls (10) No. of Mos. Gain in No. of Mos. Gain in at Work Monthly Wages at Work Monthly Wages 10 months $20.00 11 months $ 2.50 9 months 20.00 10 months 12.00 9 months 10.00 10 months 5.00 9 months 10.00 10 months No advance 9 months 5.00 9 months 10.00 8 months 8.00 9 months 9 months 8 months 8 months 8 months 6.00 4.00 5.00 5.00 4.00 GRADUATES WHO HAVE WORKED BETWEEN 1 AND 2 YEARS Boys (9) Girls (13) Years Months Gain Years Months Gain 8 $20.00 10 $18.00 8 12.00 10 4.00 6 35.00 9 4.00 6 10.00 8 15.00 6 5.00 8 12.00 4 25.00 4 No advance 3 10.00 3 17.00 3 10.00 3 8.00 2 12.00 3 8.00 3 3 2 2 No advance No advance 15.00 5.00 14 Commercial Work and Training for Girls Table VI — Continued GRADUATES WHO HAVE WORKED BETWEEN 2 AND 3 YEARS Boys (12) GiVZs (5) ears ikfoni^s Gain ] Years Months Gain 2 10 Not ascertained 2 10 $15.00 2 8 $50.00 2 7 14.00 2 7 20.00 2 20.00 2 6 25.00 2 10.00 2 6 25.00 2 Not ascertained 2 4 10.00 2 30.00 2 24.00 2 20.00 2 12.00 2 10.00 2 Not ascertained GRADUATES WHO HAVE 1 WORKED 1 3 YEARS Boys (3) GirZs (1) ears MoTif/is Gain ] Years Months Gain 3 $30.00 3 $35.00 3 25.00 3 Not ascertained Public Commercial Schools 15 Table VII PERMANENCY (From graduation to date of investigation) Percentage of Percentage of AU Boys All GirU Remaining in Remaining in Period 1 Position 1 Position Out of school less than 1 year 33J^% 37% " " " between 1 & 2 years ' 75% 50% a i( ic 11 2 " ^ '' 63% 13% " " " 3 years 25% 5% The rate of wages paid to High School of Com- merce graduates is the best proof that can be offered of their efficiency in general. There are, according to our records, only two private schools in the city whose graduates show such uniformly high wages and regular advancement. These are, naturally, the two schools which make high school preparation an entrance requirement. Graduates of the schools allowing grade school preparation are shown in the illustrations of Chapter VI., Part I., to attain a much lower wage standard. Our study of repre- sentative wages for typical positions, pages 105-114, indicates that wages paid to High School of Com- 16 Commercial Work and Training for Girls merce graduates go even above the average; for unlimited experience may be the basis of wages noted in these typical positions, while the experience of the High School of Commerce graduates is, at the present date, of necessity limited to three years. In addition to facts expressed in figures, much general information and general comment upon the success of High School of Commerce grad- uates were secured by talking with both the grad- uates and their employers. A summary of the comments of 64 employers and all the girls grad- uated in the classes of 1912 and 1913 is here given: Students^ Comments: The graduates, almost without exception, are enthusiastic about the school — too much so for close analysis of their training or for valuable comment on the curriculum; but beneath this undiscriminating testimony lies genuine apprecia- tion of the value of the general and specialized training they have received, and they spread among younger girls their conviction that four years at Public Commercial Schools 17 this vocational school is excellent preparation for oflfice work. (The very fact that our records of interviews with High School of Commerce stu- dents include no self-criticism, or any reference to a period of adjustment, may be a criticism of the school on the ground of turning out its pupils with something of over-confidence; for some of the most cocksure of these young workers were commented upon with a good deal of reserve by the employers who admitted they were prom- ising but emphasized how much they had had to teach them at first.) Employers^ Comments: Employers, in commendation, have mentioned accuracy, adaptability, capacity to make up letters, and good general preparation in English. One employer said: ''What I like about the training those girls have is, that they can think for them- selves, and will not put down foolish things in their transcripts just because they seem to have them in their notes." Slowness in taking dicta- tion was sometimes complained of, but a decided 18 Commercial Work and Training for Girls minority of employers had unfavorable comment of any sort. It has been set forth that the ideals are high; the plans and their execution seem, for the most part, complete both in their application to the scheme as a whole and to specific subjects. Yet the results of our investigation do not show that, on the basis of its product, this can be judged a perfect school. Personal observation, backed by interviews with employers and graduates, show that the prac- tical faults of the school are probably negative ones. First — Absence of records which systemat- ically define the sum of a graduate's personal or professional qualifications. An employer's telephone inquiry at the school office concerning a graduate's ability secures, under the present system, the student's class-room grade in any or all of his subjects. But only by talking individually with the student's teachers or with the principal, can the employer get an idea of the student's adaptability for the particular work and his general qualifica- tions. Second. — Too Uttle care in introducing suit- Public Commercial Schools 19 able students into the school. (See chapter on Vocational Guidance.) A well planned curric- ulum and the best of instructors in special subjects cannot cope with poor preparation or inherent unfitness. Third. — A standard in dictation speed and correction of mistakes less rigorous than that which the pupil must encounter in actual business. This applies specifically to average pupils. The fact that High School of Com- merce graduates have received gold medals from the Remington Typewriter Company for proficiency in stenographic work is a proof that, with the more promising pupils, the school is able to produce superior results. Fourth. — Inadequate provision for experience in actual business conditions. It is possible that the school room cannot by any device be made to duphcate an office; but a plan of co- operation with business men might be tried here, as in the Boston Commercial High School, where undergraduates go into offices by a part- time arrangement, usually in the smnmer vaca- tion. Students might thus gain an experience which they can apply to their school-room training; and they would not require the same amount of adjustment when the real first posi- tion is entered upon. Fifth. — A standard for graduation that is not sufficiently exacting. By a system of imder- 20 Commercial Work and Training for Girls graduate experience in business, as outlined above, the trial employer would be able to return to the school a record of a student's failings and good points. The school on the basis of such records could supply requisite training, could grade graduates with a degree of correctness, and could frankly tell a pro- spective employer just what they have to offer. Follow-up of graduates in their experience after leaving school may no doubt be illu- minating to a principal with regard to the gen- eral trend of instruction needed; but follow- up of undergraduates while still within the school gives unequalled opportunity for giving individual aid and for, when a case demands it, maintaining the standard of the school by re- fusing graduation. Certainly a definitely voca- tional school has far greater reason than any other school for preventing the continuance of incapable pupils, for prolonging the course for insufficiently trained pupils, and for ultimately refusing graduation if the standard of achieve- ment is not reached. CHAPTER II PRIVATE COMMERCIAL SCHOOLS Two thousand one hundred and sixty-two boys and gMs are, this year, enrolled in the private business schools and '^colleges" in Cleveland, 722 of these students attending night classes. There are eleven such schools altogether, nine on the East side of the city and two on the West. For this report, all schools have been visited and recitations have been heard in eight. (See Table I on page 22.) The eleven schools fall naturally into three groups, according to the general standards of entrance requirements and the calibre and age of students (see Table II): The Grade School Group, which secures most of its students by solicitation from the seventh and eighth grades of public schools. This group obviously is the lowest of the three in entrance requirements. Its students — ^mere chil- dren, many of them — are of poor or foreign families 21 22 Commercial Work and Training for Girls Table I PRIVATE SCHOOLS No. of Gradu- No. of Records No. of No. of ates whose Showing Occupa- Graduates Visits Employers tional History Interviewed Schools to have been of Graduates about their School Interviewed Training No. 1... . 5 67 56 17 No. 2... . 2 79 25 No. 3... . 2 1 No. 4... 1 5 1 No. 5... . 2 57 3 No. 6... . 2 30 2 No. 7... . 1 38 No. 8... . 1 14 No. 9... 1 No. 10. . . 6 54 133 54 No. 11.. . 3 125 1 Totals 26 121 538 103 largely and have little or no background of educa- tion. The High School Group, which, as its name implies, represents a high school standard of preparation, attracts young people of maturity and intelligence, who as a rule come from families who are ambitious, living comfortably, and have Private Commercial Schools 23 fair standards of education. The Mixed Group includes the smaller schools and covers students who vary widely in age and experience and appar- ently are alike only in the mediocrity of their qual- ifications. Class-room unity or even homogeneity is lacking here more than in any other group, perhaps because the others are large enough to recruit their students by an organized plan of solicitation in somewhat definitely defined fields. Students of the Mixed Group seem to be chiefly of two kinds — ^joyless pluggers and irresponsible shirkers. Very few appeared to apply themselves with normal industry and spontaneous interest. In this discussion the private schools are referred to as belonging to one of these groups — The Grade School, the High School, or the Mixed. The num- bers one to eleven, designating each of the schools, are used consistently throughout. Table II gives a general picture of the teaching conditions and the equipment. of each of the eleven schools. Schools 1 to 4 inclusive, belong to the Grade School Group; 5 to 8 inclusive, to the Mixed 24 Commercial Work and Training for Girls 4 1 i-H 1— 1 1 1 1"^^ III S 8 1-H 8 ^1 t^ eo e« > ^ a O <1^ 03 o •3 *^ CQ ^ a g ^ O 03 O W n3 o o O > ^jn. S daOHQ 7OOH0g aavHQ Private Commercial Schools 25 3 r-t la 1-H CO ! T-l °4^ ^ O 00 00 OS 1—1 tH T— I 1— ( ^ cq ^13 <1 ^ ^ ^ ° S P abcg ^•^W) §, • o *30 >> -e ^ CI 2 « a ^5^ Sft ^o-3 .2 fl W fl .2^ fl O Q-g 03 o-sa^u^a-^-S'^ s?3 '=^fe^ ^2 o.ti O •^ d 0) >> • -^ .a^s-g-^gjc. Sag s'? ^^|g,d £c3« .a • -fid C3 -M 02 a 03'-' O .-TS d^ b^^-TJ SSiag o o •moHO aaxip^i anoHO ^ooHOg hoiq 26 Commercial Work and Training for Girls Group; and 9 to 11 inclusive, to the High School Group. A little study of the infornaation here set forth shows that those schools which have the lowest standards for entrance requirements (the Grade School Group) have also a monopoly of nearly all other undesirable conditions. It will be noted that schools 1 to 4 have crowding, bad air, and bad light while, in contrast, schools 9 to 11 (of the High School Group) are generally de- scribed as having ample space, ventilation and • good light. ' The equipment of the Grade and High School 1 Groups appears to be about even in the number and variety of machines, but filing systems are found only in the High School Group. The Mixed Group has obviously the least equipment, but this is partly because some of its schools offer special- ized work in one subject only. The usual age limits for Grade School Group schools are 15 to 18 years; for High School Group schools, they are 17 to 23 years. Important coroment can be made on the com- Private Commercial Schools 27 parative size of the groups and the number of pupils per teacher. The Grade School Group numbers 654 and employs 18 teachers; the High School Group numbers 516, employing 27 teachers. This proportion is shown by groups as follows: DAY SCHOOL Grade School Group High School Group 3 teachers for 150 students 8 teachers for 154 students. as compared with 7 teachers for 300 students 18 teachers for 375 students. as compared with NIGHT SCHOOL 3 teachers for 100 students 21 teachers for 187 students, as compared with The personnel of the teachers reflects in general the standards of the groups as already set forth. This is evident in the '^ snapshots'' which follow. The teaching force of the High School Group seems, on the whole, capable and well-equipped and in- cludes, among its numbers, several men and women as fine in culture and outlook, as any of the staff of the High School of Commerce; but the Grade School Group, with few exceptions, provides teach- 28 Commercial Work and Training for Girls ers of no culture, limited education, and unattract- ive personality, who are far from setting up, in themselves, any sort of desirable standard of social or business ideals. Snapshots of Superintendents and Teaching Force in the Private Commercial Schools School No. 1. She calls her pupils ^* Dearie," and said over the telephone, ^'No, we don't offer no courses like that." She admitted tranquilly that she places a number of pupils of 14 and 15 years of age.* She said the school no longer teaches History because the pupils do not like it. School No. 2. Approachable and kind in manner but crude and of slight education was this superintendent. She believes in the efficiency of the school, but admitted that the pupils are too young. The bookkeeping teacher was confused in the ex- planation of his system. School No. 3. Very reluctant to talk. He showed how * The child-labor law of Ohio forbids the employment of girls under 16 years of age, and of boys under 15, in any occupation. Private Commercial Schools 29 the seating capacity of the school might be doubled, utterly disregarding the extreme cramping of the children that would result in so doing. A vulgar type of man with a suspicious expression and a glassy eye, very far removed from the desirable type of educa- tor. School No. 4. Proud of school. Expressed great regret that the entrance requirements were so low, but said he was powerless to help until the commercial teachers were united on this question. A shrewd business man rather than an educa- tor, but he feels some responsibility toward his pupils, and often goes with them to their first places. School No. 5. A school man of the old fashioned type; classical and out of touch with modern busi- ness. Stenography teacher very keen and alert. Thinks the standards of both school and employers are far too low. School No. 6. A soubrette in appearance. Very anxious to talk about her school and herself. She spoke of her students as '^My children," and of certain industrious night students as 30 Commercial Work and Training for Girls ''Dear boys/^ We asked her if she found positions for her graduates; she remarked artlessly, ''Oh, yes, they come back, and back, and back, and still we keep on trying to help them." School No. 7. Smooth talker. Indifferent to the question of raising the standard of commercial educa- tion. She thinks her school a perfect thing in a small way. School No. 8. Two teacher proprietors. ''We love our school," they cried. "It is our life." They do not teach bookkeeping because they feel it is a great waste of a girFs time. Very vol- uble vulgarity characterizes these people. School No. 9. He considers it excellent business to keep the standard of his school high, and young children out of it altogether. He talked in a rambling fashion, but gave clear explanations of the machine work he emphasizes in the school. School No. 10. Heads and teachers of this school are su- perior, — attractive in appearance and man- Private Commercial Schools 31 ner. They are broadminded, keen and kindly, with excellent standards of education and character and a great sense of responsibility for the student and toward the employers. Very young applicants are continually being refused admission to this school. School No. 11. Head of school is a man of keen intelligence and breadth of view of business in general. Very much interested in the welfare of his students. Refused to introduce the Dictating Machine because it is, in his opinion, bad for the nerves of the operator, and because, in the way employers now use the machine, it makes for mechanical work. Teachers are proud of the school and of its equipment, and are eager to give information. Earnest in conducting recitations and keenly in touch with the modern business world and its de- mands. Snapshots of the Pupils Attending Private Commercial Schools School No. 1. Very young, most of them 15 years; ill- mannered and noisy in the halls. Poorly dressed; general appearance of personal un- tidiness and carelessness. Seem to work with 32 Commercial Work and Training for Girls great concentration. Atmosphere of cheap- ness as to personality and standards per- vades the schools. An almost imnatural fury characterizes the work done, that neverthe- less does not convince the observer that the students thoroughly comprehend what they are doing. School No. 2. Usual age, 15. Fairly neat. Some Httle girls have their hair hanging down their backs, and a number of boys in short trousers seem very small. The children show great applica- tion, but it appears unbelievable that such youngsters should imderstand the compli- cated system of bookkeeping that is taught. The teachers said it was not so easy as it looked to make them stick at work. School No. 3. An immense room, without partitions, filled with desks set close together. In the seats sit the pupils, some towering, some with shoul- ders barely coming to the top of the desk. Very young. A manner of gawky inamaturity characterizes the class, who are quite ho- mogeneous in the plain cheapness of the clothes they wear, and the blankness of their expres- sions. Private Commercial Schools 33 School No. 4. Only fairly mature. Seem earnest and able to concentrate intently. More girls than boys. Look commonplace and colorless. School No. 5. Pupils mostly girls. Young, rather frowsy looking. The exception is the well dressed, efficient looking girl. Most of this group look impossible for office work. School No. 6. A heterogeneous collection of workers. Some very young looking girls; most of them ma- ture. A few quite middle-aged. Many of the girls look as if they had been wage-earners for years. School No. 7. Small school. Day students are all girls, and seem quite mature, but ordinary in every way. School No. 8. Nice looking type, but very commonplace; dressed with great variety of taste, some in jumpers, some in fussy clothes, and a few in appropriate office garb. Many of them look as young as 15. The girls talk together on 34 Commercial Work and Training for Girls the sly and there is not much sense of order. Only one boy in the day school. School No. 9. Suitably dressed, mature looking, business- like, concentrated. School No. 10. Very mature, dignified and business-like. The boys look like young men, and the girls appear adequate to fill the positions for which they are training. Great concentration, whole- someness, interest and hard work, without rush, are characteristic of this efficient looking group. School No. 11. Mature, business-like, full of energy. In changing classes the pupils pass quickly from one room to another with little talking in the halls and no loitering. Girls are sensibly dressed, and the boys, for the most part, looked keen and mature. Concentration very re- markable. In addition to the courses as shown by Table III following, most schools offer what they call a ^'com- bined course, '^ usually a combination of the Sten- ographic and Bookkeeping (or Business) courses. The charge for the combined course is a little less Private Commercial Schools 35 than the sum of the prices of the separate courses that make it up. STUDENTS ARE URGED AND GENERALLY PERSUADED TO TAKE THE COMBINED COURSE ON THE GROUND THAT IT IS A COMPLETE PREPARATION FOR ORDINARY OFFICE WORK; AND THE COST OF THE COMBINED COURSE IS USUALLY $100. Unit courses meaning the single subjects, such as Typewriting, Penmanship, Billing, Expert Accounting, are given on request and at a somewhat higher rate than when in a course with other subjects. Unit courses are more frequently given in night than in day classes. In some schools, particularly those of the Grade School Groupj the courses outlined in the catalog are so padded that they seem to offer a great deal for the money, although really what is published is a conglomerate of the details of a single subject. For instance, one school offers ''Bookkeeping, Double and Single Entry; applied to all business purposes such as. Wholesale and Retail Commerce; Jobbing Grocery; General Merchandise; Manu- facturing; Partnerships; Corporation Stock Com- 36 Commercial Work and Training for Girls an liil -sis "1 RJU CO m ^< 60 09 V a fe llllil P'*' S a S Re's -2 £ « « g g t: Proof-reading— ► III. Stenography. Private Secretary Work-* Expert Stenography-* Stenography- Secretary and Treasurer Work. Supervision and Employment. Publicity Dept. Management. Charge of Library. Executive Secretary Work. Private Secretary Work. Office Managing. Department Managing. Executive Work. Executive Secretary Work. Supervision. Editorial Work. Advertising. Court Stenography. Convention Reporting. Expert Stenography. Correspondence Work. Stenography and Bookkeeping. Department Clerkship. Endorsement Clerkship. 240 Commercial Work and Training for Girls Stenography-* Stenography and Bookkeeping-* Order Clerkship. Chief Clerkship. Cataloging. Buyer's Assistant Work. Dictating Machine Operation. Library Managing. General Office Work. Private Secretary Work. Bookkeeping. IV. Bookkeeping. Assistant Treasurer Work-* Expert Auditing Work- Expert Statistical Work—* Adjustment Clerkship. ► Department Management. Executive Work. BookkeepiD?- Auditing-* Office Managing. Teller Work. Treasurer Work. Asst. Treasurer Work. Statistical Work. Expert Bookkeeping. Cashier Work. Auditing. Credit Assistant Work. Billing. Executive Work. Head Cashier Work. Conditions in Office Work 241 Auditing— > Bookkeeping. i Assistant Bookkeeping. Charge of Post Office Dept. ■ Pay Roll. 1 Cashier Work -► Record Work. t Pricing. t General Office Work. ' Tube Work-^ Clerical Work. Executive Work. i > Advertising Work. Figuring-* Statistical Work. Expert Auditing. Head Clerkship. V. Department Clerks. Credit Clerkship-* Cashier Work. Order " -^ Executive. Cost Clerkship. Pay-roll Clerkship-* Expert Bookkeeping. Stock clerkship. VI. Clerical Work. Supervision. Stock Room Managing. Private Secretary Work. Bookkeeping. Records-* Billing. Statistical Work. Auditing. Pay-roll Work. Purchasing Work. 242 Commercial Work and Training for Girls Filing- Statistical Work. Bookkeeping. Department Clerkship. Endorsement " Record Work. General Office Work. Miscellaneous. Planning Orders- Executive Work. Statistical Work. Bookkeeping. Counting and Sort- r,,^,^ ^ork. mg-^ General Office Work. Longhand- Collection Clerkship. Library Work. General Office Work. VII. Machine Work Typing-^ Dept. Managing. Stenography. Application Clerkship. Multigraphing. Dictating Machine Operating. Billing on Typewriter-* Stenography. Stenography and Billing. Typing and Mailing- Printing and Multigraphing. i Conditions in Office Work 243 Billing Machine-* Supervision. Cashier Work. Bookkeeping. Credit Clerkship. Executive Work. Tabulating Machine— > Statistical Work. Auditing. Addressing Machine -► Head of Dept. VIII. General Office Work. Executive Work. Employment. Bookkeeping. General Office Work-> Figuring. Auditing. BiUing. Clerical Work. The tabulation given above shows that advance- ment may come in many different ways and in- dicates that the more a girl knows and the more varied her specialties are, the better are her chances for promotion along one hne or another. Stenog- raphy opens the most varied possibilities of ad- vancement; bookkeeping and its allied kinds of work run a close second. This outline of possible advancement shows that office work is a vocation 244 Commercial Work and Training for Girls well worth the investment of years of education and at least a year of special training. The question of demand and supply in office work has been illumined in many ways during the course of this investigation. In the field of office work study and in interviews with employment bureau agents especially, information came readily, although not in form complete enough for tabula- tion. But we have sufficient data to justify the general assertion that THERE IS NO OVER SUPPLY OF WELL TRAINED, EFFICIENT WORKERS. There is in the city a horde of im- properly trained and otherwise undesirable can- didates who create an apparent over supply, but who bear no relation to real demand. If the schools generally were to become efficient in the prepara- tion of students, the risk of over supply would be lessened by the fact that real efficiency in training would mean a reduction in the quota of each school; for it carries with it elimination of the imfit before entrance upon and during the course of preparation. The moral situation in office work, though less serious than in other occupations, deserves grave Conditions in Office Work 245 i- consideration by those responsible for placing girls * in office positions. The Government report on the *' Relation between Occupation and Criminality i of Women'' made in 1911 for the Commissioner I of Labor, includes office work in its hst of occupations I studied. We quote the reference to moral conditions of office workers: '^Careful inquiry was made (Pages 87 and 89) as to whether experience had actually shown that any given occupations were morally dan- gerous. Five were assigned by different social and rescue workers: domestic service, the work of hotel or restaurant waitresses, the low-grade factory trade, trained nursing, and, . . . the cheaper stenographic positions. Stenography, as has already been mentioned, was assigned as a dangerous occupation by only one social worker, a worker, however, of such wide experience that her opinion should count for much. Her beUef is that its dangers are confined to the class that re- ceive the lowest salaries of all, the girls of 14 or 15, just out of school, who are ignorant and un- trained, wholly undeveloped in character, not habituated to self-control, rather weak-willed, and entirely unaware of the possible dangers of their position. Such girls she declared were un- questionably taken advantage of by their em- 246 Commercial Work and Training for Girls ployers on occasions. Whether they would be likely to get on better in any other occupation was dubious. She was not inclined to beheve that if, remaining just such girls as they are, they should be transferred to domestic service, their dangers would be materially lessened. The real peril lay in their immaturity or lack of training, and until that was removed they would encounter serious risk wherever they might be." A table of statistics in the same book based on the report of the House of Correction, Cleveland, Ohio, 1908, shows that 8.7% of the women inmates came from domestic service, 9.7% from manufac- turing work and 1.6% from office work (the rest being women of no definite occupation). This relation of percentages is typical according to the author of the Government report. No special effort was made in our investigation to secure information about the moral situation in office work. But it stands to reason that there is some risk for a girl who is the single employee of a single employer, engaged closely with him in work more or less private in nature. It is essential for a Conditions in Office Work 247 person placing a girl in an office of this sort to know beyond a reasonable doubt the character of the man who employs her. The following instances, which I interviews with girls for this study brought out, I are illustrations of the kind of experience possible I' to a girl in office employment. I A girl who came this year to an employment I agency known to be organized for girls' welfare I warned the Placement Secretary not to send any girl to her former employer, because he had been most insulting in his famiharity. The girl was so surprised and outraged that she was half afraid to try another place. Another girl, interviewed in the course of this study, said that when she started out she was young and immature, and being inex- perienced had to take what she could get by way of a first opening. Her first two places were so bad that she stayed at each of them only about a week. She said that, after the first few days, both employers were outrageous in their conduct. One of them put his arm around her every time he came to ask her anything about her notes; the other fairly insulted her. The girl thought she could stop this conduct by a freezing manner, which completely ignored it; but finding this of no use, she was obliged to leave. 248 Commercial Work and Training for Girls This testimony is corroborated by the priests and sisters in charge of the commercial courses in the parochial schools, who are very much opposed to placing girls in one-man ofl&ces. Recommendations for Improvement of Present Con- ditions 1. Regular official inspection of the physical conditions in offices. 2. Legislation limiting the hours of the regular working day for office workers, allowing overtime on the basis of professional work. 3. Promotion of a weekly half holiday throughout the year and annual vacation with pay for all office workers. 4. Caution in the placement of a girl alone in a one-man office. CHAPTER V JUST DEMANDS OF THE AVERAGE EMPLOYER It can be assumed that, through the mterviews held with all the employers visited in the study of the field of office work, the point of view of the average employer has been obtained. This chap- ter is a discussion of what the usual employer ex- pects the girl in his office to offer in personality, character, and training, and what he expects her to accept in work and compensation. All employers interviewed agreed in their state- ment of the essential qualities that a girl must have in order to do satisfactory office work of any kind — simple or experienced. These are: natural intel- Hgence, agreeable personaUty, sense of initiative, responsibihty, honesty, steadiness, and loyalty to the company. The classification given in pages 173-177 shows the importance of both high school education and business training to a girFs highest success in this 249 250 Commercial Work and Training for Girls field. Employers agree in their demands for a foundation of character and natural ability on the part of office workers, but their requirements in definite training and general education for entrance into office work vary according to the kind of work they have for girls to do. Some employers have so httle work that is not of an elementary kind that they do not try to secure high school graduates, and may or may not need girls commercially trained; some have almost entirely the kind of work requiring special training or advanced education; some have work of each kind. Employers of the last class are wilhng to take for subordinate work any promising candidate, regardless of training or education, and for the more complex work give the preference to high school graduates or to girls with both high school and business training. Work which a girl may enter without a high school education is to be found in departments of all large establishments, in doctors^ and dentists' offices, and in offices of addressing and circulating bureaus. Of the 2816 positions noted in the classification JiLst Demands of the Average Employer 251 of office work, 912 positions — 32% of the whole number — ^may be entered by girls with less than a high school education. It is of the highest impor- tance to note that of these 912 positions — listed below in Table I — those marked by a star offer no logical advancement. These 912 positions are thus divided : 13.5% — the starred positions — offer no advance- ment. 36.5% definitely require high school education for advancement. 50% may or may not require high school educa- tion for advancement, according to the demands of the particular estabhshments. Table I LIST OP 912 POSITIONS WHICH MAY BE ENTERED WITHOUT HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION Typing 241 Auditing 196 Entering 107 Figuring 98 Tabulating 60 Copying and Writing Forms 37 * Writing Tags and Slips 34 252 Commercial Work and Training for Girls * Cashier and Check-room Work 30 * Tracing and Verifying 27 * Mailing 21 Listing and Pricing 19 Tube Work. 16 * Addressing Machine Work 12 * Counting and Sorting 7 Sales and Expense Reports 4 * Ticket Stamping 2 * Adding Machine Work 1 912 Of the 2816 total positions, 742— 26%— may be entered without special training. Of these 742 po- sitions listed below in Table II, those marked by a star as in Table I offer no logical advancement. The 742 positions may be thus divided in respect to ad- vancement: First: On the basis of specialized training: 84.9% either offer no advancement or are not de- pendent on training for advancement. 12.6% definitely require speciaUzed training for advancement. 2.5% may or may not require training for ad- vancement, according to the demands of the par- ticular establishments. Just Demands of the Average Employer 253 Second: On the basis of high school education: 18.2% — the starred positions — offer no advance- ment. 53.9% definitely require high school education for advancement. 27.9% may or may not require high school educa- tion for advancement according to the demands of particular establishments. Table II LIST OP 742 POSITIONS WHICH MAY BE ENTERED WITHOUT SPECIAL TRAINING Auditing 196 Entering 107 Figuring 98 Tabulating 60 Copying and Writing Forms 37 * Writing Tags and Slips 34 * Cashier and Check-room Work 30 * Tracing and Verifying 27 ♦MaiUng. 21 General Office Work 21 Listing Stock and Pricing 19 Credit Clerk 18 Tube Work 16 Addressing Machine Work 12 Counting and Sorting 7 Making Appointments 7 254 Commercial Work and Training for Girls Information Clerk 6 Planning Orders 5 Sales and Expense Reports 4 Record Clerk 3 Accident Claim Clerk 2 Cataloging 2 * Ticket-stamping machine 2 Complaint Clerk Employment Clerk Exchange of Merchandise Clerk Mail Clerk Order Clerk Pay-roll Clerk Stock-room Clerk * Adding Machine Work 742 Examination of the records represented in this study indicates that POSITIONS WHICH OF- FER LOGICAL ADVANCEMENT FOR THE AVERAGE GIRL REQUIRE FOR THAT AD- VANCEMENT IN EVERY CASE A HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION AND, IN MOST CASES, SPECIALIZED TRAINING. The mental calculations involved in figuring simple percentages — cashier's work and other oc- cupations named above — ^are very easy and are Jiist Demands of the Average Employer 255 learned almost at once by young workers, but there is great monotony as well as danger of permanent limitation to narrow and mechanical work. Be- cause young inexperienced girls of limited educa- tion can do this work without any investment in special training, the wage paid for it is small — amounting to $5.00 and $6.00 a week — and there is very httle chance for advancement. One employer said that for her department the work of figuring percentages could be done better by a girl who has just left her eighth grade, than by a high school graduate, since the former had just studied in school the sort of arithmetic needed for her work, and had to be taught very httle. But this work is often temporary; sometimes it is even done on a part-time basis, and it is the unusual girl who advances to better work without further training. There are some employers who aflfirm that ad- vancement in office work is possible for a girl with neither high school education nor special training, provided she possesses an agreeable per- sonahty, natural inteUigence, etc., with ambition 256 Commercial Work and Training jor Girls added. These employers think that if workers are started in young there is a mutual advantage: the employee gains the interest of the company, and the first consideration of possible advancement; the company gains an advantage in the work done by the employee of long standing because of her intimate and tested knowledge of the firm's methods. BUT THE EMPLOYER DOES NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT EVEN FOR THE UN- USUAL GIRL THIS SYSTEM REQUIRES A LONG HARD APPRENTICESHIP WITH A REWARD IN WORK AND WAGES THAT IS LATE IN COMING, AS COMPARED WITH THE IMMEDIATE ADVANTAGE WHICH COMES TO ONE ENTERING THIS FIELD EQUIPPED WITH ADEQUATE TRAINING AND GENERAL EDUCATION. Even these very employers admit without realizing it that advancement in office work demands special training. Mr. F., of a large manufacturing concern, when asked what kinds of office work he had for girls, repHed, '^We have no such thing, we have only work." He went on to say that Just Demands of the Average Employer 257 rather than employ a new girl, even though a graduate of a business school, he greatly pre- ferred to take a bright girl from the factory, put her in the ofl&ce at some simple form of clerical work, and gradually advance her. He stated he preferred to have the girl taught typewriting in odd moments, or have her go to night school and learn stenography, and that the advantage of the girFs thorough knowledge of the company's work from the bottom up, counted against the inconvenience of waiting for her to be gradually trained. If such an employer can select unusual girls with constitutions strong enough to stand the strain of working all day and studying at night, he is doing them a service, but such an attitude cannot set a program for the average worker. For an employer to take a general stand against education and train- ing for office work is dangerous and unfair, and mihtates against the efforts of schools and placing agencies to raise the standard of commercial work. Girls with grade school preparation are employed also by physicians and dentists. There are no requirements that a girl of normal intelhgence cannot fill. This sort of work leads nowhere, and 258 Commercial Work and Training for Girls although the hours are often quite short (from 8:00 A. M. or 9:00 A. M. to 4:00 in the afternoon) it can only be recommended for girls going to night school, or for those who can use unoccupied time for study. The trained ambitious girl is not attracted to this sort of work, since $7.00 a week is about the limit of remuneration. Maturity and experience rather than education often are the assets which make a girl valuable to a doctor, but sometimes a girl as young as sixteen is employed. One physician outlined the ordinary require- ments, as follows: a fair elementary education; abihty to learn to sterilize the instruments and to assist the doctor in very minor opera- tions; abihty to keep the doctor's accounts after a simple fashion (this requisite is per- haps not typical since many doctors make out their bills themselves); skill in using the tel- ephone, which includes a good voice and man- ner, absolute accuracy in hearing and recording numbers, names, and streets; tact with patients who demand the doctor's immediate attention. The kind of work which especially demands high school education is found in the offices of banks, railroad companies, lawyers, insurance and steam- Just Demands of the Average Employer 259 ship companies, telephone and telegraph companies, in printing and publishing, wholesale and retail and manufacturing estabhshments. It includes ste- nography, bookkeeping, cost work, filing, general office, advanced clerical and executive work. Em- ployers demand high school graduates for this work because it requires not only specialized training but the general education that has matured the worker's mind and has taught her to think quickly and independently. One lawyer stated that for success in law work a girl must have above everything else a good foundation of general education, because fortified by this general knowledge she would find neither mystery nor red tape about the work and can acquire the necessary vocabulary very easily. A girl who has had a high school education has the essentials for advancement in much of the work in the ofl&ce of large retail firms. The business manager of one such firm stated that a high school education is perhaps not always inamediately appreciable in the initial wage received by the girl; for all new 260 Commercial Work and Training for Girls employees, no matter what their training, if without experience, are placed on about the same probation salary. But the girl with an advanced general education, given the same inherent abiUty, makes good sooner than the one with only grade preparation, and her salary will consequently increase more rapidly. She does not run the danger of sticking to a mechanical job and is in hne for a position re- quiring initiative and independent thinking. In dictaphone operating, a backgroimd of high school EngUsh training is especially essential. The office manager in a printing and publish- ing house, where most of the work for girls is dictaphone operating, said that he greatly preferred a girl with high school education to one without. ^^The high school graduate," said he, '^has an advantage in dictaphone operating because many words sound so nearly the same over the transmitter that a girl must be really educated and able to appreciate fine distinctions if she is to be a success as an op- erator." As a typical instance, he told of a girl who took over the transmitter, the sentence '^Silence is the best pohcy" and transcribed it on the typewriter in the midst of a letter, ^'Vi- olence is the best policy." The employer added, ''And it is, for such an operator! " Just Demands of the Average Employer 261 Work open to girls in a bank demands advanced general education for either stenographic or clerical work because it requires a high degree of excellence. One banker expressed his requirements thus: 'Tor our work girls cannot have too much general education and special training. We like to fit them into several different positions and quick adjustment requires maturity and education. For a girl so educated who remains with us, we are glad to pay a high salary." The probation wage which the average employer thinks just, must be discussed in connection with this consideration of advancement. The illustra- tions just cited show that advancement is depend- ent, so far as the girl is concerned, upon her natural abihty, education and training. The probation wage for all inexperienced girls, trained or not, is justifiable because in the beginning it cannot be known what girls are worth, and be- cause there is a necessary first period of adjustment, during which a girl is only learning and accomplishes very httle. But there should be a definite limit for the period of probation, at the end of which the 262 Commercial Work and Training for Girls probation wage should be supplemented by a regular salary, or the office worker should be discharged as incompetent. The probation period should continue for a short time only. One employer suggests a month. Unless the probation wage is limited to a definite period, it cannot conscientiously be justified. The lack of standardized wages and advancement in small offices as compared with large offices, to- gether with the fact that there are many more small offices than large, must put girl workers and those in charge of placing girls in office work, strongly on their guard. No one but a pessimist believes that willfully unjust employers form a large percentage of the men in business, but since the probation wage is safe only in the hands of fair employers, offices which are not standardized have to be dealt with guardedly. Teachers in private and public conmier- cial schools, the head of the employment depart- ment in one of the typewriting companies, and a former superintendent of the women's department in an employment bureau, all offer testimony that there are numerous employers who cannot be trusted of their own accord to raise the initial wages, even Just Demands of the Average Employer 263 after the girFs probation period is past. The lowest acceptable minimum salary for a stenographer who has passed this period, as set by a business school teacher, is $7.00; and, as set by the head of the em- ployment department of a typewriter company, is $8.00. Yet the teachers and placing agents say employers will telephone for *'a good girl, one who will turn out the work, etc., etc.," offering in return a wage of $5.00 or $6.00 with no guarantee of a raise when the girl has made good. An unjust employer may curtail the advancement of .girls in office work in two ways: First: Because he prefers to employ cheap rather than efficient service. . Second: Because he has worked out a system whereby a girl is dismissed as soon as she reaches the highest value and her place is taken by the girl just subordinate to her. The injustice of this first method is obvious. There is something very wrong in considering a worker's chief asset her cheapness. Much poor work is tolerated by employers who nevertheless continue to retain the very girls of whose work they 264 Commercial Work and Training for Girls are loudly complaining. Out of a total of 62 em- ployers of the graduates of a certain business school, who were interviewed about the quality of work done by their girl employees, over one-fifth were un- able to recommend those who were either still in their employ or who had left their employ of their own accord. A teacher in a private business school said with a great deal of bitterness, '^It is hard to maintain a standard of fair wages. Some employers, it seems to me, prefer a girl who will work for $5.00 a week rather than a competent, well-trained girl who demands more.^' She added, '^Such imtrained young things, especially if they are pretty, secure positions frequently, but further than that deceptive opening they probably never get.^' The employer who will take a girl from a school before she has completed her work, or without a recommendation from that school, is doing an in- justice not only to that particular school, but to all the other girls who are working for further prepara- tion. He has selfishly deprived the girl he thus secures of her rightful preparation for advancement. Just Demands of the Average Employer 265 The girl who will leave school before she is prepared, in order to take a cheap, easy place, is pulling down the standard of work and wages, and her Nemesis will probably come in a continuance of the low salary at which she started. The second kind of unfairness consists in conduct- ing the office on the principle of the ^'squeeze'' as a popular writer has called it, and it is a system that placing agents sometimes encounter. The injustice of this method is illustrated by the experience of a girl in the office of a large retail store. She was a graduate of a business course and was placed in the bookkeeping de- partment. Being accurate and hard-working, she was gradually advanced until she was holding, at $10.00 a week, the highest position open to women in that department. Her work in that place was not very different from that of the girl just below her who was receiving a Httle lower salary. After she had held her $10.00 position for some months, she was asked to leave as her services were no longer required. The girl just below was promoted to the advanced place paying $10.00. This second girl imderstood the work, and more- over had the spur of promotion to make her 266 Commercial Work and Training for Girls double her efforts, but she also was doomed to hold the position only a short time, since a third girl was in line to take over the work in the coveted place. This system sets a definite limit to advancement, and rewards faithful service by dismissal just at the point when a good salary is reached. Such a method does not conform to the modem ideals of efficiency, and is an example of flagrant injustice to the earnest efforts of the ambitious worker, giving only the semblance of advancement to those below the top. The place of routine must be considered in present- ing the demands of the average employer, for in every office there is a great deal of drudgery to be done at all times; and the question is, how this inevitable mass of detail work is going to be ad- equately taken care of without too much personal cost to the worker and expense to the employer. The introduction of machinery into the office effi- ciently deals with a vast amount of detail, but the machines require of the operator a monotonous kind of work that offers little stimulus or interest. It may be that in the future more and more drudg- Just Demands of the Average Employer 267 ery will be carried by machinery, and the operation of the machines will become more interesting be- cause it will demand a higher degree of intelligence and skill. But psychologists and efficiency experts do not agree that monotonous work per se is nec- essarily an injustice to those required to do it. Mr. Miinsterberg in his book *^ Psychology and Industrial Efficiency" suggests that there are a great many workers who are more adapted to work requiring repetition than to work requiring constant mental and physical readjustment. He reduces the problem of monotony to the selection of '^ habit workers" for routine work, and declares that when work is assigned on the basis of fitness no one will be given work to do which is essentially burdensome and unsatisfactory to her. Although, hitherto, office work has not met with as serious consideration from employers as pro- ductive work — i. e., factory work, selling, advertising, and organizing, there is now a tendency to standard- ize office work and to develop the possibiUties of office workers in the same degree that the productive- ness of factory workers has been developed. A 268 Commercial Work and Training for Girls great many establishments now try to determine by interview and question the kind of work desired by the appUcant for an office position; and Mr. Miinsterberg suggests how to make this rudimen- tary process complete and scientific by giving the appHcant a psychological test for the work open to her. These tests have not as yet been widely adopted, but Mr. Miinsterberg states that they will be worked out for general use as soon as psychology is appHed directly to commerce by the establish- ment of psychological laboratories for that purpose. * An instance of the value to the employer of this careful selection of workers is found in the success of the Curtis Publishing Company in developing tests for filing clerks, typists and stenographers. By such scientific tests waste of time, fruitless effort, and wrong use of human material will be prevented, and assignment of work according to adaptabihty will be promoted. An efficiency expert in Cleveland states that * A further description of these tests will be found in Mr. J. E. Schulze's book, " The American Office." Just Demands of the Average Employer 269 the person proved by test to be adapted to routine work is by no means a subject for commiseration. In his opinion monotony for such people has an entirely favorable aspect. As they become more and more used to their work, brain and hand move together without conscious effort, and the thinking part of the mind is left free and unwearied, or else is pleas- antly occupied in effort in which sameness brings no strain or rebellion. Such a person must get stimulus and inspiration outside his every- day work; but, according to this expert, he is fresher and more ready for recreation and mental and physical effort of a different kind than the worker who has been engaged in more complex work demanding mental and nervous strain. Another attitude toward routine recognizes it as a present problem and considers that until routine work can be assigned only to those who prefer it, such work is Hkely to be burdensome. This attitude is illustrated by the organization of a certain ofl&ce in Cleveland where the detail work is to some extent divided among all the workers in the office except the executives and supervisors and does not entirely devolve upon a few habit workers, with 270 Commercial Work and Training for Girls the result that some original and responsible work is assigned almost every worker. This employer in an insurance company is really studying the office system from the point of view of the girl and is changing it to make it more advantageous to her. A great deal of mechanical work is required : filling out pohcies, writing up records and forms, checking, filing and copying. New girls are started at mechan- ical and routine work, and when they have be- come adjusted to the place are allowed to share some responsibility and to assist department heads. There are only three girls who have unchanging work; one of these is in full charge of the files. She can organize her work as she pleases and has become an expert. This em- ployer wants, rather than habit workers, girls who are ready to insist upon a chance to grow, and he is convinced that his efforts to give the individual girl a chance for development has resulted in more inteUigent and faithful service. Routine is a problem of the present. Tests of individual fitness for this sort of work have not been thoroughly worked out or extensively apphed. There is an immediate need for more widespread attention and effort in this direction on the part of Just Demands of the Average Employer 271 practical psychologists and employers. For workers who are permanently assigned routine work, there is special need for legislation limiting the hours of work. Success for the office worker, it has been shown, covers these points: First. The office worker must offer the right inherent quaUfications. Second, She should have a high school educa- tion and business training, so that she may have the best opportunity for advancement. Third, If she is given a probation wage, it should be raised as soon as she is tested and has passed the period of adjustment. Fourth. Her assignment of work should be on a basis of her fitness. The average employer — of a hundred girls or of one girl — is the man who is making his own way in the business world and is counting every penny. He is intelligent and human, although he may have to be forced to improve conditions for his workers if it means expenditure of money. He is thoroughly assured now that more work can actually be done in a ten hour day than was formerly done in twelve 272 Commercial Work and Training for Girls hours, and it would be quite as possible to convert him to the belief that a well trained office girl is a better investment, after all, than an ignorant shp- shod worker, even though the latter will work for less than a Uving wage. This conversion will come about when commercial schools have so raised their educational requirements that the supply of workers offered the employer will be limited to a high type whose value he will come to appreciate to the extent of meeting the increased cost. The responsibiUty for raising tne standard of commercial work belongs equallv to commercial schools, employers and office workers. APPENDIX SCHEDULES USED IN INVESTIGATIONS ■TV Forms I to V inclusive: specimen set of cards for one complete investigation of an office establishment. Forms VI to X inclusive: blank schedules used in additional records. Office Work. General Conditions and Organization. I, I+, II 1 M 5 . V , 1 X 3 2 • 2 i 1 a J ^ .^ i 5 111 K 3 vj H X < i i X I K n 5 s i X 1 z \. S-6 1 *.mfi »-^ o ^ O t- |:\- ^ \i • IV 1 ^ 1 I X > O r I- i a > - 1 ^<3 i i i w Z M u 1 s 4 o <• 3 1 n iC ? 1 01 So zS «> 3 I « 2X «< z i 'j I o Z .5 ^1 i 1 u u 1 ^1 \si ^ 1 ^ .^ JS? k ^ »• ^. 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S iS' 1 1 • • p -. §£• A 00 «0 ©iH • ■ ' " O 13 43 a M M s - ? z H © 1 O O ©r-4 M "''l . +9 W Q p,o O ^ z i° >^ CQ« 279 Commercial Training School. General Conditions. Curriculum. VI. VII. & I si U O P4«4 a ^ 280 Hi a § 5 1 CO o o M n o o OQ »4 fl H o o 00 In 281 Office Worker. Preparation and Occupational History. VIII, IX g > 5 2 " o u t IS n -1 um e § o< o «z a? > 1 *5 KC g "* O z 5 Z s z h- Q 2 (0 o l-Z S5 < 2 tr. o .i 0. CD O i 1 fi < Q Z o K U H o z — J- Oq is z> UQ m 1- ,£ yS ES hi < 8 5 s 55 >< S5 z < u Q< zo <-i (0^ iH ! S 1^ i t' 1 s : g s 1 1 11 4 282 \ I i I i I I 1 3 1 z ; h 2 \ 1 1 1 1 J a 1 1 we If z :^ :? f" I 5 283 SoUcitation. Record of Private Commercial School Solicitation of Eighth Grade Pupil. X BIBLIOGRAPHY Oflfice Work and Office Training for Girls Books and Articles Published 1909-1914 Title Author Publisher Comment Accountancy & New York Narrative account the Business . City High of business engin- Professions. School Teach- eering and accoun- ers' Associa- tancy. tion. The American J. E. Schuke. Key Publish- An idealistic yet Office. ing Co. practical presenta- tion of a standard- ized office. Applied Busi- Hubert Hagar . Gregg Pub- One-year course of iness English. ' lishing Co. daily lessons in English for com- mercial schools. The Two-year Wm. Bachrach. Educational Very suggestive Stenographic Bi-Monthly account of public Course at The Magazine. commercial educa- Parker High tion; shows close School. connection be- tween school and business. Finding Employ- Chicago School Brief outline of ment for Chil- of Civics & business work for dren Who Leave Philanthropy. immature girls. the Grade School to Go to Work. Citizenship and J. W. Jenks. Henry Holt & Excellent but gen- the Schools. Company. eral statement of relation between 285 286 Bibliography Title AuLhrr Publisher Comment school and busi- ness. Civil Service. New York Account of re- City High quirements of School Teach- Civil Service ex- ers' Associa- aminations and * tion. how to prepeire for them. Commercial & Government Statistical tables Business Schools Report. of numbers of students in private and pubhc com- mercial schools. The Depart- Meyer Bloom- The Vocation Complete analysis ment Store. field. Bureau — Bos- of store orga,niza- ton. tion, reference to office work sug- gestive rather than exact or exhaust- ive. Everyday Bus- Mary A. Wil- Plain statement of iness for Women. bur. principles and practice of every- day business. Industrial Edu- Harlow S. Houghton, Some interesting cation. Person. Mifflin Co. charts, good gen- eral comment on present commer- cial schools, vague and general sug- gestions. Library Bulle- Philadelphia Fairly complete tin No. 2. A Board of Ed- bibliography on Working Library ucation. vocational guid- on Vocational ance; best books Guidance. suggested are men- tioned here. Bibliography 287 TiOe The Living Wage of Women Work- Author Publisher Women's Ed- ucational & Industrial Union — Bos- ton. Office Training Rupert P. So- Gregg Pub- for Stenogra- relle. lishing Co. phers. Outline of the Business Field & Chart of Bus- iness Courses. Proof Reading. Psychology & Industrial Effi- ciency. Extension Di- vision Bulle- tin. Hugo MUn- sterberg. Psychological Leonard P. Tests in Voca- Ayres. tional Guidance. University of Wisconsin. Women's Ed- ucational & Industrial Union. Houghton, Mifflin Co. Russell Sage Foundation. Publishing Women's Edu- House Work. cational & In- dustrial Union. Report on Vocar Geo. H. Mead, City Club of tional Training. Chairman of Chicago. Committee. Comment Tables of statistics on average ex- penditure for liv- ing expenses. In- cludes clerical workers. Series of exercises to instruct stenog- raphers in actual use of letterheads and business forms. Interesting as an outline of types of business. Brief general out- line of conditions of work and re- quirements. Shows the relation of psychology and business. Dis- cusses assignment of work on basis of fitness. Summary of psy- chological tests to determine voca- tional fitness worked out up to this time. General outline. Contains one chap- ter of interesting discussion of prob- 288 Bibliography Tide Author Publisher Comment blem of commer- cial training. Salesmen in Elizabeth B. RusseU Sage Generally suggest- Mercantile Butler. Foundation. ive and interest- Stores. ing. Reference to office work. Stenography & Girls' Trade Fair estimate of Typewriting. Education requirements and League — Bos- advantages of this ton. occupation. Story of a Katherine Collier's Mag- Narrative of girl's Stenographer. March. azine. struggle to hve on $6.00 a week, and her need of voca- tional guidance. Survey of Occu- Harriet H. Gu-ls' Trade Suggests probable pations open to Dodge. Education advancement of the Girl 14^ League — Bos- cashiers and bun- 16 years. ton. dle girls to office work. Twelve Prin- Harrington Engineering The spirit of this ciples of Effi- Emerson. Magazine Co. ideal study of effi- ciency. ciency may be ap- plied to office or- ganization. Vocations for E. W. Weaver, A. S. Barnes, Makes up in good Girls. Editor. N.Y. advice for lack of definiteness in in- formation. Vocations for Lasselle and Houghton, Gives general in- Gu-ls. WUey. Mifflin Co. formation. Vocational Conmiittee of Valuable outline Training. Association of of institutions in Collegiate U. S. for vocation- Alumnae — al training. In- Phila. cludes special bus- iness courses. Bibliography 289 TiOe Author Publisher Comment Vocations for Women's Ed- Valuable sugges- the Trained ucational & In- tions of positions Woman. dustrial Un. suitable for the college-trained woman. A Hand Book of Women's Mu- Complete and well Opportunities nicipal organized outline for Vocational League — Bos- of local opportun- Training in Bos- ton. ities for training. ton. Women Who Louis Bawry. Worid Today Narrative ac- Conduct Great Magazine. count. BuRiness. 'HE following pages contain advertisements of a few of the Macmillan books on kindred subjects HOME USE CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT MAIN LIBRARY 1976 ''V^iiii "ctr: — M- io_mi Rtc. cm. 3 78 ?^fei-; !ECM8C B 31978 JCV2 .%'4:' j '«''^'*«?sWt»0'^3 General Library University of California Berkeley ^^^^^■YB C5022I 5,f«'."^f UNIVERSITY OF CAUFORNIA LIBRARY ■l^i m ■j:y::.;':'^^,C^ii:'/.r:;''.;:":: ■;" .■•■..•'''■-'-"v.,-'iW"f',-''