The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 6, 1903, Page 10

THE SUNDAY CALL., nt, business girl has w proclamation, and have her thousand sters responded to the well, in fa that there faintest similarity be- f to-day and the one of yei s ago. amation? Ah, nothing an to change her man- W her code of business e she tried.” Instead of ndemjduty to travel h-of the city with hard luck tten all her head with a r-being-on-the- you are very much i her traveling leisurely her head well up and giv- ression that her pockets B , for that matter, why on earth shouldn’t fete played her a the barrel emntied k and THE NENws PARE O A NS 5HOR$ SYWIRT anND THICT AT ekels the wrong way should alk i make it known to all that s bread is uncertzin an f. And as to ever so much r. Worry were »” e friends, and nt a d several times eather was cold and pride e reason for this change is nding are st sulder with men, the ed when was g disgrace to earn rhaps a bit of _ han to drain the the dregs and nightly ees and devoutly pray be lessened by ng along in the very well and good, with'a cheerless empty cupboard looks 1 here is where Miss er strong point t ever so mean, does not days it has come zed fact that good en worn to cover up ) these The girl who works is just like an¥ and she dearly loves all the d the dainty noth- men wear, but she simply them it she Fener rbelows s the eternal fitness of mark you, she knows as- well or the next one that shabby er stand for anything no »ut plain or worse yet, ill health. They don't even stand for womanly virtue or native talent as they did in the good old days gone by, and strange as it may seem to those blessed with good old fashioned the poorly clad girl is invariably he one who goes wearily on her way enswering this, that and the other ad- n . and finding no emloy- ment Now Mr. Skeptic, even though you shake your head end mutter, it's an absolute fact. And you, Mrs. Wife-of- the-Business-Man, you may smile and say “foolish,” but use your eyes a bit the very mext time you visit your husband in bis sanctum-sanctorum and take one long look at his secretary. ¥or it is now & part of the business girl’s code to dress well. Not in grand spurts, but always. When she is look- ing for & position; when she has it, and more especially, when she has lost it. In other words, it is a part of her business training. But it most certainly isn’t part of her training and she most assuredly doesn’t display-good common sense if she rige herself out regardiessly in silks and satins and reserves the calicos and rags for the privacy of her two-by-four hall bedroom. Dangling do-dads and fiying ends don't make favorable impressions on sensible busi- ness men and the girl hunting for.a po- sition is quicker than any one else to notice that, but she knows in her heart of hearts that a well-cut tallor suit, fresh linen and smert boots will do more for her than & packet of recom- mendations and letters. And does she take advantage of his weakness? Well, rather. She isn't the Jeast bit gullible and she knows for absolute fact that . Man takes ix i g § ] 2 had on to save his very life. Well Probably not. His eve has not been trained to note colors and textures, but he knows a well-groomed, trim woman and he appreciates to a T what it means. Men are queer creatures. They swear and tear their halr over ex- pense and cry aloud from the house tops that women's clothes are a lot of foolish trash; yet, even the sagacious, stern man of affairs is decidedly sus- ceptible, and many a victory is won without half trying, all on account of 2 bow of crisp ribbon or a spick and span linen collar. To be frank, the girls aren’t slow to seize upon this advantage and use it for all it is worth. And when it comes right down to it, can you blame them? There isn’t so terribly much differ- ence between the methods of the soci- ety girl and the business girl. Both have their tricks in their trades and both are remarkably alike. The society girl receives a card and she straightway rushes to her mirror, 4dabs her nose with a sweet scented, puff, adds a bow in a coquettish fash- jon here and a rose that he has sent just there, and down she sallies with sails full set to conquer or die. With the rose and the bow as war paint she declares that battle is on and those who kaow her best smile when they see her flaunt her signals. With the business lassie it's quite the same. Her war paint is of another nature and meant to withstand the glare of cold office scrutiny, but never- theless it is there and where one wins out by a rose the other makes a touch- down with a bit of immaculate neck- wear. Girsl will be girls the world over, and each and every one of them realizes full well the power of being well and becomingly gowned. Think well of yourself and the world follows suit; hang your head and the finger of scorn is ever ready to be pointed at you. This working girl took herself off into a convenient corner and had a long heart to heart with herself. ““There’s absolutely no sense in not be- ing dressed correctly,” she argued with herself. “Plain, substantial clothes al- ways wear far better than cheap fluffs and I owe it to myself to keep up an appearance.” And that is the situation in a nut- shell. It need not necessarily follow that just because a girl works she has no other interests or claims on life. It ie perfectly true that her time is not her own to do with as she pleases, but that only makes it the more imperative that she keep well groomed and fresh, else the time will not be far distant when she will be a drab, forlorn.old maid, thoroughly sour-balled on the world and giving neither satisfaction nor cheer. It's so terribly easy to fall into this rut. Days pass, one exactly like an- other, with nothing but work, work, and it soon comes to pass that Jack Is an awfully dull boy, not caring what happens mor looking ahead into the future. And at that rate there isn't any future. Even the most philan- throplc grow weary of sighs and long gray faces and seek the sunny girl with the merry laugh and the ready an- swer. She may not have so very much to make merry over, but she laughs and world laughs with her; she makes best of things and her followers her & jolly good fellow and rise 234 call ber blessed. TH Is it not better s0? Does it not pay to see that the skirt is not bedraggled; that the hat has some excuse for ex- istence; that the boots do not squeak and grate on the nerves of all within hearing? When it means friends and amusements and even & livellhood. The business man argues that the girl who gives her apparel considera- tion will give his interests her full at- tention, and nine times out of ten he is right, for generally there is method in her madness, and method is exactly what he is looking for. The newspaper girl, for instance, would never make a success of her pro- fession if she went about looking de- jected and miserable. Not one person in a hundred would thaw sufficiently to give her a story, and she couldn't worm it out of them, try as hard as she might, if she were togged out in a picturesque fashion or represented the ultra fashionable worldly wo; Quicker than a flash the thought “gay” would be put down against her, and while it might make a decided hit with COSTUMEYS oM EMPORIUM a questionable few, it doesn't pay by any manner of means. On the othé? hand the natty, short suit and the chic hat not’ only look well, but they always win respect and admiration. The man with every min- ute of a long day scheduled will say: ‘Ah, let her in if she looks as though she had a grain of sense.” It may be that his judgment is of the most su- —_—————— e and any girl who nas her own living tc make would do well to humor his fan- cles, no maiter how foolish she may think them. What if she has to rus madly to her nearsst accommodating friend and lay the situation before her. And let me tell you right here that true friendship is to be found among these who toll early and late for their dally bread, and therc {sn't one girl in a hundred who would not gladly lcan a gown or a hat toward the cause. To be sure it isa't always the most pleasant thing in the world to start off * to work clad in the best suit your chum has and to be constantly reminded if a sudden shower should come up that Mary’s pet hat would probably be much the worse for vear. Jt isn't pleasant, but it is profitable, and that is infinitely more to the point when it comes down to a matter of hard, cold facts. Even the most capabile office girl may have a long streak cf bad luck and when the mere rrowirg of a friend's pretty frock would put her upon her feet again wouldn’t she be the silliest thing that ever happened not to take advan- tage of her opportunities? The girl who sings at concerts has her stock in trade and she don’t depend entirely upon her voice, either. She kncws that she must make a good ap- peararce and that her manner must be gracious and charming. And how could she be thoroughly at ease if her gown wag not smartly cut and she had to remember to keep her skirt just so in order not to reveal her shabby boots? That isn’t the way to secure another engagement and after one or twe pitiful blunders she comes to the edifying con- clusion that it is an actual business in- vestment to dress well, even if she eats crackers and cheese for a solid week. The fastidious hostess wishes to make as brave a front to her guests as possi- ble and when she pays for their enter- tainment she demands that they be amused and pleased and in her eyes sloppiness and poverty have no excuse for existing. what is this girl worker to do? Nothing more or less than dress as well as she honestly can—no more or no less. 1f she gives up seeing a play that sh has set her heart upon for the sake of « new hat it may not prove as attract- ive, but from a business standveint it is a good investment, and she at least s the satisfaction ving that of lh; was penny wise and not pound fool- ish. "This lassie has learned another lttle trick about herself and her employer. _—mnmmm a salary that seems to fit her needs, but on the other hand, if she looks as though she had been used to a good salary, she will get it and just as easily, too.. For, unforiunately the time has not yet come when giris’ salaries are uniform, and they are subject to violent ups and downs according to the appear- ance of the applicant. But from aenther standpoint buying cheap fabrics is even worse economy for her than for other women because of the wear and tear that they ars called upon to withstand. The really good thing may seem terribly expensive at first, but gowns that keep their shape and color through months of active all-weather service, that don’t wrinkle and look forlorn after a sudden shower, are found by miladi sensible to be a rattling good investment at thel\ end of the year. If she be wise she re- members when buving that this gown is wor ut of the twelve and that in it by the largest number of pe It for that reason alope she should not think it beneath her dignity the strictest attention to be stylish anc should she upon the idly wastes Life is and the porta office mea. e L WHEN BINNING DID THE ELEGANT| o “Ah, and it is a tale—a tale of wos," Binning began. “1t happened a good bit ago, too: not long after I came down here to the city, belleving, In my green- ness, that I could cut a swath in law that would lay over anything I could do in the plow-making line. “Dad zot me a chance wila a d firm and then paid no further attention t. me—financial attention, J mean. I was as lonely as a strange cat at first, but after a2 few months one of the boys in the office introduced me tp a rather nice family uptown. “There were three girls in the family, and as I bad hardly spoken to a girl since leaving home. this introduction seemed a godspeed to me. But I've wondered since if my fellow clerk did not introduce me simply to make his own escape from matrimonial toils the easler. As my visits increased, his de- creased. “So it was up to me to treat every- body allke, And I wag determined to do the elegant. I invited the bunch, duughters and mamma and papa, to go to the theater., bought six seats right in this very row. “It pretty nearly cleaned me out. Six dollars was two-thirds of a week's sal- ary, and after mentally figuring It up I decided that I would excuse myself after the show and let my guests go home alone. I could net afford even another round of carfares ! “Well, we rustied into our seats like a flock of pigeons—papa at one end and myself here on the aisle. After the first two or three numbers on the pro- gramme, the waiters got extremely busy. To tell you the truth, I had not taken into consideration the fact that liquid refreshments were served, but I figured that I could stand one round for the crowd, even if I had to walk from the office to my lodgings severgl even- ings to pay for it “So 1 suggested a drink to the girl next to me. She took me up with posi- tively frightful alacrity and passed on the proposition to the others. I turmed to beckon the iter, intending to order six of those foaming glasses in an off- hand manner, bound to impress the ob- server with the fact that I was the Real Thing. “ ‘Oh, Mr. Binning,’ said the daughter next to me, ‘I think TI'll take a lemon- ade.’ And so will k. Mr. Binning,” said the secc sister. The third and mamma followed suit. Whew! in those few sec- onds my collar wiited. “Eva the old man, evidently consid- t I would be offended if he d beer, asked for something in e of mixed poison that I knew plaguey well he'd never tasted. Then the waiter, with im sing affability, me a terrible thing to be a coward, T wanted to biurt out: ‘Not with money!” But I didn’t dare, so I or- cered the same mysterious drink that the old men had spoken for and saw the waiter hurry away with a feeling that he might as well bring the house "k with him when he returned looked at t's “Those six dr $1 80, and I had Al! the impossible means of getting out of the entanglement raced through y mind. I couldn't even see what was ing on upon the stage. The falling of the curtain and a burs® of applause roused me PrHOTOS B3 STANFORD S7eDrQ “That waiter would be But there would be rather between this last and the must get away where I 1t she goes into an office cheaply §own- spp perficlal sort, but it is man-fashion, ed she is instantly sized up and given “ ‘Do you know what > - 8 e T : said te th th an air of cagdor, ‘T've forgotten and my landlady locks up at 11 »ck sharp.’ “ “While ait is on I'll run ove: to the house only a few pery tempered ring her up lat in the morning. “1 grabbed my b my overcoat. next turn,” I declar the alsle. “As I left my seat the stage manager came from behind the scenes and sig naled the orchestra leader to stop. If Dr. Harrity Is In the audience,’ I heard him say, ‘there is a telegram at the box office for him." “When I reached the sidewalk thdl’e‘ was the man in the tall hat, with a policeman, both shouting for a cab. There was one standing across the street, but the driver was missing. ‘He's in some saloon along here,’ I heard the policeman say, ‘Tl look for him, doc- tor." “‘Find him, or I'll take the cab self. I've got to get to Forty-third street ipstantly!" the physiclan cried. ‘I'd give $5 to get there In ten minutes.” “The cop disappeared and the doc- tor ran across the street to be near the cab when the driver appeared. And I was right by his side. “Five dollars! Why, at the minute, Jack, I’'d have committed highway rob- bery for that sum! ‘' “You jump in,’ saild I to the doctor. Tl get you there. What's the num- ber?” “He gave me a look which assured me he knew I was not the driver the cab: but he told me the ‘TN give you $5 if you're there in ten minutes,” he sald. “I expected to hear the officer or the driver of the turnout yelling at me to stop. But the doctor w t in the cab any quicker than I was up on the hig get them—it's luckil s away. She's a pep- lady, and if I should might put me out t. I dared not take ck before the and rushed up seat. And I woke that cab horse up. “Inside of the ten minutes we stopp before the rumber Dr. Harri gave me. He was out and up the steps ring- ing the bell in a flash. For a second I thought the promised $5 was getting away m and 1 had made a c r\r‘\A‘ inal of myself for nothing. “I leaved n just as the door of the hou an . ¢ - in, but I at tafls bef: d disappear “The doctor tried to jerk away, but ‘Johnson!" he shouted t : e this fool $5 and i T But I didn’t wait to be kicked after getting my grip on the fiver “You can bet that I wasn't to ba hired to drive that cab back to the theater. I took a car down the ave- nue and walked calmly into the lobby Just as the orchestra began to play the introduetion for the first number after the Intermission. “As I passed in there was the officer and an excited cabman jawing each other, with a curious crowd about the: Evidently cabby blamed the police: for the disappearance of his rig. ‘I Slid into my seat, Jack, just as the went up. There were the n the shelf in front of my guests, and 1 _saw the waiter, rather ous by now, hovering about. Oh, T forzot to pay for these I remarked, and passed over the fiver with an air which evidently impressed the old gentleman at the 4 n other end of the fow with my finagflu wBe looked 2d vastly relteved, again benignly, the girls bled, and I—well, you can bet I tried again week.” ma Sab- . never to ‘do the elegant’ om $9 per