THE BUSINESS GIRL.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 872, 25 November 1916, Page 7

THE BUSINESS GIRL.

■ ■■ ■'■■'■ ■ ' • ■■■—■— A FACTOR IN COMMERCE. [Wrlttsn for THE SUN.I L.A.A. introduces us to the foibles of tho lady stenographer in tho making, and also tho perfected article:— Tho lady stenographer, or as she is more generally called here, the shorthand typiste, is a familiar figure in our midst. She has come somehow to be looked upon as one of tho persons necessary to business—which, of course, sho is. You are all familiar with her, tho chic young lady who is due at the office at nine, but seldom arrives on time. It is sho who is largely responsible for tho harassed and worried look on the face of the tram drivers. They all know the modern business woman, for just as the tram is due to start, she rushes round the corner, all sweet and apologetic, smiles —and car No. 007 is three and a half minutes late again. But it is not only the tramway men who como under her spell. Tho "boss," who has made up his mind to give her a little lecture on punctuality, smiles weakly in response to her bright "good morning," as she comes in, well satisfied with herself for not being more than 37 minutes late. And he also remains helpless while she leans over the desk and discusses the momentous question as to whether skating is better fun than dancing with the junior clerk. When these little preliminaries are over, sho settles down, and with the insistent clatter of the typewriter, proves her value

in the business world. But has anyone ever observed the lady stenographer in tho making? Sho is to be found during the day or evening at a business college. The com- , mercial college is mentioned; because while at school she never takes seriously the study of shorthand and typewriting, even if they do come in the curri'j eulum. Enter the shorthand room of an evening school with me, and you will i find three or four large tables occupied '! by a largo number of girls, mostly of I the flapper stage, with perhaps an unI noticed boy student hero and there. I There is a good deal of noise, and if you i listen at all you will hear that there is j a good deal of conversation and occa- , sional giggling, contrasting with tho I silent zeal 'of the studious ones. Over | in the far corner there is a little clique I of leaders of stenographic society, and I they seem to be enjoying themselves. | You might be interested in their converj sation. To be properly initiated you must be iold that these students are practising j shorthand on tho weighty utterances of our members of Parliament, as recorded in "Hansard." Before taking , down a speech they read it over aloud and help each other with the hard words | —hard, that is, from a shorthand j writer's point of view. The study of |an important speech goes something ] like this:— "Well, come on, lot's do some work." "All right; what piece are you takJ ing? Oh, that! There are too many i hard words in that. Can't we take an ! easier speech? Oh, well, come on."

"Personally, I am in favour of this Bill, gentlemen, and I think the measure necessary and justifiable" "I say, how do you write justifiable? Oh, doesn't nnybody know?" On receiving no answer tho would-be studious one gives up and listens to the conversation which has again commenced. "Have you been to the pictures this week? Isn't Mary Pickford " "No, he won't be going back again, he has been discharged." '' Yes, I wont there last week, wasu 't it fun?" .... "Oh, him! He is a brute to work for. Just because I went out for afternoon tea for an hour or so he had the cheek to ask me to stay late and get the English mail away. It was a horrid nuisance, because Chrissy and I were going to price that smart little hat in Madame Frou-frou 's. You know the one—a little velvet toque with quite the latest quill on one side, lined in blue." From here on the conversation on fashions becomes too technical for the lay mind, and, the teacher having loomed up on the horizon, they recommence work. Once more the speeches of politicians are read over without any attention being paid to tho subject matter. "The force of public opinion, and not the Government, is bringing on conscription"—(yes, didn't she look awful') —and I would like the hon. gentleman to remember that such statements cannot bo made with infinity," (the reader meant impunity, but no one notices that). "The Labour Party has

made a great mistake in" —but whatl the erring Labourites have done is lost j to us for ever, for the class has stopped to listen to the conversation of two in-1 attentive students. The air is beeom- j ing electric, for there is a division upon] the question whether it is "etiquette"| for a soldier to keep his hat on indoors.; "Well," says one student, "my| brother says that according to regulations " but here the teacher, who i has several times attempted to check the noise, rises determinedly, and says j with that look which even the leaders of stenographic society respect. "Girls, this noise must really cease. You, Miss Brown, move over to that other table, and you others get on with your work."j She learns her subjects, though, despite her gift of eloquence, and makes herself equal to the task of going out into tlio commercial world, where her; success depends on her merit. She has ! grit, too, and plenty of it. When a posi- j tion is advertised, she goes along and! does all her own battling, gets past im-i pertinent oflico boys, and finally into 1 the manager's sanctum. There she in-! tcrviews the Big Chief, and if she ap-j proves of him, she takes the job. But in justice to the business girls i who are the subject of this article, next time you sec one playing tunes on thai typewriter, taking shorthand notes, and eating chocolate creams, remember that I she didn't just happen. She is a pro-1 duct of the age, and it took thought and study, and more or less work, for her type to evolve. L.A.A.