PATIONS 209 Congress Building, Detroit, Mich. MARY J. MALCOMSEN, MANAGER The short month of February brought COLLEGIATE BUREAU OF OCCUmany demands upon the resources of the Bureau and its staff. The Manager has visited Lawrence and Grinnell Colleges and the State University of Iowa for vocational conferences; has addresseed high school students and members of a woman's club in Chicago, and completed the vocational tour of Colorado, noted in the last News Notes, which has resulted in the formation of a collegiate bureau in Denver. She also spoke before the deans of women in Kansas City in connection with the meetings of the Department of Superintendence of the N. E. A. on The Place of Vocational Training in a Liberal Education. We are still finding the advertising field an excellent opportunity for the college girl. One of the advertising firms in Chicago has promoted one of our apprentices to be the private secretary of the head of the firm; has taken another of our candidates as a new apprentice, and in turn as their business increases will come to us for promising material. Two of our candidates have been patiently waiting for desired positions, one in applied chemistry and another work in the far west, and this month has rewarded their patience. After five months' correspondence the young woman trained in chemistry has secured a position as analytical chemist, and the other candidate has set forth on her travels with a secretarial position awaiting her journey's end. We are glad to observe the possibilities in department stores for candidates to utilize their knowledge of domestic arts as saleswomen and work towards the executive positions as heads and buyers of departments. And we are interested in keeping in touch with the times as increased activity of the Red Cross leads to calls for executives as organizers, publicity agents and office managers. Our candidates are responding nobly to the demand. The Detroit Board of Commerce has cooperated in full with the Collegiate Bureau of Occupations since its organization, giving the highest recommendations to business men and others whenever possible. It has offered to publish a weekly news-story from the Bureau in the Detroiter, the official publication of the chamber, and will give this story to other newspapers. The Bureau considers this a valuable means of keeping the work before those it especially wishes to interest. After a six months' search a young woman who divided her college work between Vassar and the University of Michigan has been found for a position requiring a college education, knowledge of technical French and German, typing and ability to do research work. Another who attended Elmira College has filled a position as governess and French tutor where fluent French was a positive requirement; another position filled very successfully was that of tutor and travelling companion through the South for a child of twelve years. Contrary to New York experience, it has been found that there is a field for the college woman as governess here—often to fill positions where young women of lesser education have not given satisfaction. Families seem very ready to welcome a young woman of intelligence and training to direct the play and studies of their children. Usually no hesitancy is shown regarding salary. A dietitian has been placed as assistant manager of a tea-room and two positions have been filled during the month in social work. Business positions of responsibility are being filled continuously. The local office of the Americanization Society just organized here, has turned to the Bureau for an Executive Secretary. But more interesting to us than the positions filled are the reports coming from firms where young women placed by the Bureau are working. One law firm which has employed three women recommended by the Bureau, speaks especially of the splendid work of one who is acting as office manager. She has pointed the way toward the saving of thousands of dollars by an efficient office system which she is putting into effect there. A talk has been given before the Contemporary Club composed of the women of the faculty of the Michigan State Normal College at Ypsilanti, on "Vocations Open to Women" and vocational appointments were met at Ann Arbor with special emphasis on summer opportunities for girls. COLLEGIATE VOCATIONAL BUREAU 310 Bessemer Bldg., Pittsburgh ESTHER M. SMITH, DIRECTOR The work of the Bureau during March has been greatly hampered by the lack of candidates. A large part of our effort, therefore, has been directed this month to means of getting in touch with all the young women of the community, who are self-supporting. Cooperation with the placement bureaus of schools and colleges has aided us in this campaign. Cooperating with the Philadelphia Bureau, we have brought a dietitian from North Carolina and a laboratory technician from the eastern part of the state. We are also bringing another laboratory technician from Ohio to fill a position in a hospital. A short time ago we would not have had to go that distance to find candidates for such open ings. The demand for stenographers is the greatest in the history of the Bureau, with few qualified candidates on our lists. Calls from churches and educational institutions for secretaries have had to go unfilled, although they were good opportunities. The month has brought a rather large number of requests for talks before schools, clubs, and other groups of young women interested in vocations. The College Club is planning three conferences for this spring, our first effort on this side of the educational work, which the Bureau plans to do. The results of these meetings will aid the committee in planning larger things for the fall. THE KANSAS CITY COLLEGIATE ALUMNAE VOCATIONAL BUREAU Co-operating with Federal and State Departments of Labor 804 Grand Avenue, Kansas City, Mo. MRS. WILLIAM E. CRAMER, MANAGER There has been a tremendous forward movement along vocational lines throughout Missouri and Kansas. This movement was greatly helped by the many splendid papers which were read at the National Educational Association which met here the week beginning Feb. 26. The State Legislature, most appropriately, passed the necessary quota required by the Hughes Bill, and the Missouri Schools will receive Federal and State assistance along vocational lines. The manager was called to the University of Kansas to give a talk on Business Opportunities for College Women, and last week went to Oklahoma University to give a similar talk. College women are becoming more and more interested in the business world, and seem anxious to keep in touch with any bureau that may give them definite information regarding business opportunities. There is naturally a tendency on the part of the college girl to overrate the value of a college education in the business world, but good advice from the many fine business women throughout the country will help straighten out this difficulty. We are filling many interesting positions these days, among them being a welfare worker for the City Railways Co., a wardrobe woman for a famous "movie" actress star who happened to be passing through Kansas City, a campaign manager for the Children's Code Committee, a fine French and German governess, and several tutors. Miss Alice Houston and Mrs. Ralph Major are chairmen of a committee made up of members from varied colleges, the purpose of which is to place girls where they can give the most satisfactory social service. The plan of work is two fold: Some of the committee are in correspondence with the colleges finding girls who wish to give part or whole time to social work, as well as those who, having graduated, can look forward to it for the coming year. Miss Houston and Mrs. Major are making a survey of all charities in town to find what volunteer work each wishes to do. When this survey is made the committee will have contributed a valuable piece of sociological research work to the city. NEW YORK INTERCOLLEGIATE BUREAU OF OCCUPATIONS 130 East 22d Street, New York City FRANCES CUMMINGS, MANAGER The plans for our two days' conference of vocational advisors in the colleges and representatives of the bureaus of occupations are well under way. The Central Committee of the bureaus of occupations will meet at the same time so that the gathering should bring to gether an unusual group of those whose vocational problems are closely interrelated. The The first session of the conference will take the form of a dinner to be given at the Women's University Club on Friday evening, March 30. speakers will be Mr. George Burdett Ford whose subject is "France at Work," Miss Elizabeth Kemper Adams, subject: "The Student-A Neglected Asset" and Professor James T. Shotwell on "Where Women Find Their Best Work." Saturday morning will be given up to successive conference on such topics as "Training for Social Work," "The Present Status of Vocational Guidance in the Colleges" and the "Relation of Intercollegiate Bureaus and Appointment Bureaus in the Colleges." The afternoon meeting on Saturday will be held in a large assembly hall in the Sage Foundation Building and will be a general rally of the members of the Intercollegiate Bureau, its officers and guests. Six employers will tell of their contact with college girls and their equipment for work in varied fields, and Miss Hirth will outline her plans for compiling vocational information. We very much hope that all the bureaus will find it possible to send representatives, although we realize that the distance from New York will make it difficult for some. WOMEN'S EDUCATIONAL AND INDUSTRIAL UNION MISS FLORENCE JACKSON, DIRECTOR On March 15 and 16, a Conference was held in Boston of the principals of high schools of the State of Massachusetts. The program of Friday evening was devoted to Vocational Guidance in high schools, the chief speaker being Mr. Jesse B. Davis of Grand Rapids, who made an address also at the Union Friday afternoon, under the auspices of the Appointment Bureau, cooperating with several other organizations at the evening session. Miss Jackson outlined the Vocational Guidance course offered by the Union. The attendance at the recent conferences on Professional Opportunities (four) aggregated 742 against 553 last year. Among other interesting positions referred to the bureau are the following: Social workers to serve as policewomen, doing preventive work chiefly, supervising moving picture houses, dance halls, etc. A general secretary for a small A. C. society. Two superintendents of Orphanages (one an Episcopalian). An executive secretary of an organization managing several day nurseries and free kindergartens. An inspector of factories and other industrial establishments for a well-known organization. Managers of two bureaus of placement and vocational guidance. Director of a girls' club (with club house, etc.). A person trained in housing problems, to work with the legislature, local politicians and property owners. Investigators for the Consumers' League. Principal of a private school for girls (New England). Assistant principal of a private school for girls (Canada). Secretary (stenog.) to an employment manager (efficiency system) with chance of becoming assistant employment manager. Office secretary of a teachers' agency, to become an assistant manager. Here's a sou for butter, I shall sew fine stitches, Que la vie est belle! QUE LA VIE EST BELLE I have no sou for butter, But Jeannot must be fed. The soldiers sacked the village Tirra, lirra, lirra, Que la vie est belle; -Dorothy Huggins in The Bookman. BOOK REVIEWS AND LITERARY NOTES It is intended to notice in this department books and other publications of educational and social interest, preference being given to those by members of the A. C. A. Copies should be sent immediately upon issue to the offices of THE JOURNAL, 934 Stewart Ave., Ithaca, N. Y. LETTERS OF RICHARD WATSON GILDER Edited by his Daughter, Rosamond Gilder. Boston: The Houghton Mifflin Co. Price, $3.50 net. It is in the intimate, personal life revealed in the letters of the late editor of the Century and touched upon with such charm by his gifted daughter, that the reader of this book will find greatest delight. The famous Love Letters of the Brownings present a not more beautiful picture of the passion of wedded love surviving through the years. than do these pages. Gilder married Helena de Kay, who was a grand-daughter of the poet, Joseph Rodman Drake, and a painted of recognized talent in 1872. Helen Hunt Jackson brought the young people together and sang of their devotion in her verses. This union of art and poesy proved most happy in every way. The Gilders drew about them like-minded people and before the old "Studio" was sold had created a salon, the only one of Paint its kind in New York that ever has deserved the name. ers, sculptors, musicians, actors, men of letters, philosophers and statesmen thronged their doors. One might find there on the same evening St. Gaudens, La Farge, Thayer, Charles Dudley Warner, Mary Hallock Foote, Edmund C. Stedman, Madame Modjeska and Joseph Jefferson, Leopold Damrosch, Dr. Holland, and even Walt Whitman who could seldom be induced to attend any "gathering." In the old "Studio" and later in the house in Clinton Place songs were first sung, pictures first shown, portions of plays first acted. Both Modjeska and Jefferson used to recite and act for the guests. Bispham sang "Danny Deever" at the Gilders' for the first time, with Damrosch and Kipling both in the com pany. Miss Gilder would do well, as has been suggested, to write the history of her mother's salon. It would afford a fascinating picture of the social intermingling of some of the most |