WOMEN AND BUSINESS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19382, 17 July 1926, Page 6 (Supplement)

WOMEN AND BUSINESS.

BY ORIEL.

No. n. It is often the misfortune of a girl lacking a business training to take the advice of brothers. Once, many years ago, a girl possessed 50 acres away in the backblocks. She knew nothing of land values, and when her brother (who called himself a business man) advised her to sell the same for the enormous sum of £25, she acted on bis advice. "You will never got any more for the block," said he. "It is at the back of nowhere —no roads —never will be any — take your £25 and don't miss your only chance." She took it; but those 50 acres lie now in the heart of a thriving district—dairy land—arid many times might the paltry sale figure of years back have been trebled. Take another instance, the case of life insurance. A girl was once advised that, at all costs, she must insure her life—nothing like a life insurance for an investment. She was very hard up and the adviser omitted to explain to her the necessity of paying premiums. The policy was taken out, and in due course the account for the first premium arrived. What was a premium ? The girl had never heard of one. and possessed not the wherewithal to meet the obligations of such things. Were there to be any more premium expenses ?—Of course. So the end of it was that the whole thing had to fall through, incurring a loss of £l3. Now if that girl had only known a little of business and business terms, how differently would she have acted. v

Another pitfall for the innocently ignorant woman is the fatal habit of signing things. The best advice for the uninitiated is: Never put your signature to anything (unless it be a bus petition!) How many times has a woman in doubt—not quite certain of what has been drawn up for her to sign—how many times has she been shamed into stifling her inward questionings by such an assurance as "Surely you don't doubt me, madam ?" A crimson blush suffuses her face, and she forthwith bends in shame at her suspicions, and signs away even the whole of her fortune to—a rogue. I truly believe that thus mieht she be persuaded to seal her own death warrant if the facts were sufficiently veiled in the language of law, and if a suave voice insisted that she had nothing to fear—"Jnst leave, it all to me."

There is no doubt that all girls should receive at least an elementary grounding in business matters, so that if they accomplish nothing more they may, at least, be enabled to wind up their husband's estates with a comprehension of what the lawyer is driving at. The woman who gets through life without the need of such an education is lucky, indeed; but, if at a critical moment, she fall among thieves, instead of honest men, then woe betide her! Premiums, rates of interest, mortgages, land transactions and numerous others—there they are all floating about on the bitteij sea of experience, and the drowning woman catches at them, vainly trying to understand. Only had they been done tip into neat little packages like lifebelts long aso, -when she was at school, then might she more easily make the shores of prosperity when she finds her-' self alone on the great deep, where flows the cruel tide between the rocks of adversity.