CHANCES FOR WOMEN

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 362, 16 April 1903, Page 8

CHANCES FOR WOMEN

One of the Sex Staking Employmeet Learnt Strange Things.

Faeta Which Prove That <*• Men Hsvt Not n Monopoly on Inses-•Hr-OdS Wars of HnklßE • Livelihood.

Ths ways in which Xew York women who are dependent upon their own efforts make both ends meet are Taried. A woman who has been forced to look for work made memorandums of what she found others doing. She did not try for ordinary clerical work, or stenography, typewriting or employment in stores, says the Sun.

"I found one woman," she said, "who is making a comfortable living for herself and supporting an invalid husband by selling gloves which have been thrown aside at the glove counters for apparently trivial -reasons. For example, in fitting a glove the saleswoman may break off a button or rip a team or soil it so as'to spoil a sale. This woman has a contract with several stores to take all such gloves at a reduced figure. "She skillfully repairs whatever damage has been done and sells the gloves at less, of course, than the store price. Ido not know what she pays for ths damaged goods. That depends, I fancy, upon the extent of the damage. But I do know that in some cases she sells a pair of $1.50 gloves for one dollar, maybe less, and so on. I know she has built up quite a business in this way. A number of her patrons now have orders with her frequently in advance for from one to a half dozen pairs. The saving of 50 or 75 cents on a pair of gloves is quite an item. "Another woman who had tried in ▼ain to make a living at millinery, in which she is an expert, calls at a number of houses in her neighborhood and takes the daily market orders. She is paid for this, of course, and I am pretty sure she is smart enough to get a commission besides from the butcher and the grocer. "Sometimes when the mistress of the house wants something extra for a special luncheon or dinner the ordertaker makes more. On one occasion a woman who had lived in Washington wanted some Lynnhaven oysters. Now it is a fact that you can't find a Lynnhaven oyster in New York such as you can get in Washington. "This order-taker knew exactly how to get the Washington Lynnhavens at a reduced price, and how to have them shipped, and she made a handsome orofit on her order. She told me she would not exchange her work for a place in the biggest millinery foundry, as she called it, in New York. "Another woman buys all the theater tickets for a colony away uptown. Her patrons call up on the 'phone and name the date and play, and she does the rest.

"I found another who, in addition to some other little jobs, furnishes several churches with communion bread. Then there is another who sends out samples of new goods to customers in the country. She is not exactly a purchasing agent, for there are many such; she simply senda out the samples, naming the house where the goods may be obtained. The name and the address of each person receiving the samples are furnished to the house sending out the samples, and in case of a sale the woman is notified by the house, which pays her a commission. "This sort of business, she told me, pays better than a direct purchase by an agent—if the woman who sends the tamples has a good list of customers, for the reason that many customers in the country rather like the idea of dealing with the house direct in purchases. The stores, she added, are not so apt to send samples aa a woman who makes a business of it.

"I found a woman in a drug store In a fashionable part of the city who is a graduate in pharmacy. She Alls only such prescriptions as are brought in by women. She receives a salary, but she gets a commission on all ths trade she secures from women.

"And so ft goes in this great city where so many women have to make their own living. If a woman can only find something novel aha will find plenty of people to help her out."

Asserts* a Conmtrr of Bstgaoo* Tie market for bridges ia far greater in the United States than elsewhere. The states have now 190,000 miles of railways, and it has been estimated that there is an average of one span of metallic bridge for every three miles of railway. This gives 63,000 bridges on existing lines, without including those required for new lines. The increase in the United States of the weight of care and engines has resulted in wonderful economic changes. This increase of weight of rolling stock has led to the renewal of the 83,000 old bridges by stronger and heavier ones. This demand has brought into existence many bridgebuilding companies, and they can well afford to equip themselves with the best labor-saving and accurate working machinery, regardless of first cost, as they know it would seldom, if ever lis idle,—Engineering Magazine. Woa*. r*lp sad raver ladaetrr. An interesting bulletin has just been issued* byt the census office, showingthe remarkable increase in the wood pulp and paper industry of the United States. It showa that the establishments have increased in tea vears from M 9 to 7«3, or 1T.6 per cent., while the capital has jumped from $89,520 548 ia l«90 to 1187.107,713. an increase ~f •8.5 per cent. The wage account is now W0.74«.4M, an increase of 57.1 per cent., white the value of the products has risen from $78,037,1 s* ;„ tenn •,, H27.28ft.1ft2 in I*oo. an Irm-V.- of 61.2, thus showing a remarkably close relay Hoa between wsges snd product.