pursued, in order to discover what are the peculiar disadvantages which affect women in regard to them. No newspaper with a moderate-sized reporting staff could afford to attach a woman reporter to the staff, on account of the great drawbacks under which she would work. There are classes of reporting done with propriety by men, which women could not undertake. There are public gatherings reported, at which their presence would not be desired; and there are inquiries and deliberations at which their presence would not be permitted. Account must also be taken of the discomfort, the irregularity, and at times the unpleasant surroundings, in which the reporter is bound to exercise his calling; and the extreme pressure under which he often does his work. Would women be prepared, or would their friends desire them, to obtain a livelihood in a calling which must be followed under disadvantages such as these? Assuredly not; and no editor would think of engaging a reporter who would be incapacitated from discharging a large portion of the duties he would have to perform. Even in respect to reporting work which women could undertake, it is doubtful if they would have a sufficient grasp of political and municipal questions to write satisfactory reports. Male reporters have therefore very little to fear from the competition of women.
In other branches of general newspaper work the same difficulty presents itself, but in different forms. Women successfully perform secretarial duties for some of our leading journalists, but there is a vast difference between this and the ability to select and condense, which is required of the ordinary sub-editor. Editorial positions are, of course, hardly likely to be filled by women, and editors at least may regard with equanimity the assertion of "women's rights" on the Press.
There is, however, a sphere of journalistic labor for
