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Show I I The Poor Working Girl Plays I I By Frederic J. Hasten. , XKW YORK, Nov. 1.-U O: Henry could only see ue no!" The girl who made lliis remark stood poised on the edge of a large boulder somewhere along the Palisade". Gil arm thrust forth in a theatrical feature tor the heneflt of a second sirl below, who teas balancing a camera. A chorus of appreciative jpigjrtefl came from a group of sirie seated ahout a camp flro in the shadow of the boulder. "Say, vou people tn ths front row. mor e up a "little closer together." directed the girl with the camera. "1 can't get you 'all in." A wild Scramble to get within ihe focus of the camera followed, in which one girl almost fell into the camp fire and another into the near-by Hudson river, but when all were ilnally seated U made an extremely ex-tremely Interesting picture. A a a background there was the wide river, bearing an occasional canoe and motor boat, and all aplittcr In the sun. Against Ibis, like a huge gray hint, stood the boulder, decorated with eirlc. Most of them wore "middies" nnd bloomers, sturdy sport shoes, and had hohboJ hair. They" looked much like children, except for an independent something about them which one somehow in jtanlly associates with a Heady weekly pay check. They were all of them what used to cc Lermcd. "poor working girls." This term la old-fashioned now. There are no poor working girls in Xew York. -Or, at least, there need not ho. There aro pleuiv of girls who make very little In the way of wages, who live in impoverished impov-erished neighborhoods, and who cannot afford-to buv any but the cheapest kind of clothes. Hut they. are not poor. Their lives are a good deal richer than those of manv girls who stay at home and let fchetr parents support them; richer tha,n those of many of the business men who cut-ploy cut-ploy them; richer oven than those of some of the society damsels who contribute con-tribute large sums for their entertainment; entertain-ment; for throughout New York there are dozens of agencies and organizations con-atantlv con-atantlv at work to see that the working girl does not overwork and that she docs not become lonely or discontented. Po you remempor the O. Mfnry heroine Who had nothing but the portrait of 1-ord Kitchener to keep her on tho straight and narrow path? Well, such a- heroin is. obsolete now. The T. AV. C. A. and the Community Center and the AS or Wonc council have absorbed and completely changed lior. Thr New Tork working girl todav lives one of the busiest social lives ever Invented. Bhe has scarcely otic night lu the week free for a life of luxurious crime or for any of the other lures and pitfalls of a. bj?r city which are always being discovers! i'i the movies. She usually usu-ally belong to half a dozen different clubs, from which she is constantly going and coming. The girls we left, nosing for their photographs photo-graphs along the Palisades, for example, belong to the Health Center club here, which emplovs a recreation director for the sole purposn of planning healthy outdoor out-door and indoor recrcntlon for them. They attend the club at least two nights R u-ee.k one night for physical culture exercises and another night for games, including basketball and volley ball nnd skating. After the games are over they sit down and rest, while Miss Marian Taylor, the director, reads to them or tells them stories. That is how the flirl on the boulder became acquainted with O. Tlenrv. Never ha viug read a book through in her life before she joined the club, she is now pursuim; an entire reading read-ing course outlined for hor by Miss Taylor. Tay-lor. On a third night during the week, those girls who can afford it go horseback riding. The club has been able to secure rodnced prices for Its members on the basis of ten riding lessons for $15. The rifling academy also supplies the riding outfits. The first group of eight girts; took Us riding lesson the other night through Central park. Most, of the riders had never been on a horse before, and. while eager to try It, were somewhat tend fled by their own daring. "Is ho wild?" asked one of I he girls. ps a sad-looking nag was brought forward from one of the -stalls. Unon. being reassured by the riding attendant, at-tendant, she mounted awkwardly, though doggedly, and sat clinging frantically tp the saddle while the horse stood gently nibbling a wisp of hay. "Don't hold the saddle," commanded the attendant. "Hold the reins." "But is that all you have to hold on to?" the girl wanted to know. "I'm not a bit afraid," declared her companion, a plump little Hebrew stenographer, stenog-rapher, who nad managed to climb' up unassisted on a meek brown horse. "1 figure that if T fall off Til break my neck anyway, so it doesn't matter." A few days later, however, the same girls were able to speak of the expori-ysnce expori-ysnce in a bored and sophisticated manner man-ner to those of their companions who did not go along. "It's easy." said the girl who had clung to the saddle. "I didn't fall off once." Every Sunday the girls of the Health Center club go on a hike. jt&Bt Sunday they crossed by ferry to the Jersey shore and walked for two or three, miles along the Palisades until they found what they considered an appropriate camping place. Here they immediately shed their skirts and appeared, in bloomers, in which they set forth with great agility to obtain driftwood for a camp fire. Tn a short time they had a fire burning and each girl brought forth from her lunch bag all sizes and shapes of sweet potatoes to roast in it. Then Miss Tavlor, who hid brought along the club coffee-pot, made coffee, which was passed a round in tin cups in the usual camplike manner, to accompany fat "hot dog" and bacon sandwiches. sand-wiches. On a girls' hike eating Is the most con-snicuous. con-snicuous. If not the most important, activity. ac-tivity. It begins as soon as the party reaches the first pujnp or spring, and continues con-tinues throughoot the journey to the bitter bit-ter end. On a masculine hike lunch is also an important consideration, but once over it is soon forgotten and the hike becomes the main point of, interest. In other words, the male of the species cats in order to hike, whereas the female apparently ap-parently hikes in order to eat. Each glr' always brings enough lunch for three or four, pnd hence must eat consistently all through the afternoon unless she has the eouraere to throw the surplus away and a woman hates to throw away perfectly rood food or to cart it home with her. The last view of these girls going home on the boat- showed them still struggling with cake and sandwiches. On the other hand, it is noticeable that sir's, in spite of their lack of experience and outdoor trait ins, show a marvelous aptitude for the outdoor life'. They seem to fit into it quite naturally, and tbey are eood snorts. Hardships are treated as exciting adventures; cuts and bruises arc borne as nrQDrTly as scars of battle. A couple of weeks ago. for example, the Health Center club, escorted by Miss Taylor., went on an overnight excursion to Long BeAch. They carried knansacks and huge lunchtft to last them during the dav, and most of them included bathing suits in which they expected to take early morning plunges in the ocean. It was warm almost hot when thev started. start-ed. But scarcely had ths party reached Long Beach when the sky became tilled with ominous-looking clouds and a cool mist began to sweep in over the ocean. "It looks as though it's coing to rain, Miss Taylor." said one of the girls, as the party deposltei Its knapsacks on' the beach and gathered around in a camp-fire camp-fire circle. "Do you thing we had better go back?" asked the director. "No !" was the unanimous verdict. The process of tirenuildlng and unpacking unpack-ing went on. Meantime die sky was becoming be-coming blacker and the ocean was coming com-ing in in a ragged line along the beach. Just as everybody was comfortably settled, set-tled, with her sandwiches and fruit and coffee gathered about her. the rain came in a hard shower. There was a wild rush to collect scattered belongings, and by the time the girls had their knapsacks packed again and over their shoulders thev were fairly wet. o Once more the director asked then if they did not want to go home, and once more the girls Insisted thRt. they didn't. Miss Taylor, who is only 23 herself, looked desperately around her and finally spied what appeared to be an empty cottage cot-tage nestling In the shelter of a tall hotel, so she led a marathon through the sand for it. Fortunately, it had a wide parch with a protecting roof, whieh kept it dry. Here the girls, res-ting on their knap-eauks, knap-eauks, spent the night. In the. morning the surrounding country was so wet that breakfast on tho beach was impractical. But this time the resourceful Miss Taylor borrowed the near-by hotel laundry laun-dry for a kitchen, and the hotel management manage-ment added to the excitement of the occasion by treating the whole party to rolls and marmalade. After this the girls took their four-mile hike down tho beach, in spite of the rain. So. you sec, tile New Tork working girl lives a busy, pleasant life. She no longer spends her evenings in the cold seclusion se-clusion of her hall bedroom nor in the warm, stuffy dance halls of lower Broad-nay. Broad-nay. She has become a practical, wholesome whole-some person, who is going to be an excellent excel-lent influence on our next generations of Americans. |