Not strong enough to undertake factory work again, she obtained a position in the shoe department in one of the large stores, where she was not “speeded up,” and her daily working time of nine hours was less severe than that of the knitting mill.  In summer she had a Saturday half-holiday.  There was a system of fines for lateness; but on the rare occasions of her own tardiness it had not been enforced.  The company was also generous in grafting five-o’clock passes, which permitted a girl to leave at five in the afternoon, with no deduction from her wage for the free hour.  She had been with this establishment for six years, earning $6 a week; and she had given up hope of advancing.

Miss Carr said that her work in the shoe department was exhausting, because of the stooping, the frequent sitting down and rising, and the effort of pulling shoes on and off.  In the summer preceding the fall when she told of her experience in the store, she had, in reaching for a box of shoes, strained her heart in some way, so that she lost consciousness immediately, and was ill for seven weeks.  She failed to recuperate as rapidly as she should have done, because she was so completely devitalized by overwork.

The firm was very good to her at this time, sending a doctor daily until she was in condition to go to the country.  It then paid her expenses for two weeks in a country home of the Young Women’s Christian Association, and during the three remaining weeks of her stay paid her full wage.  Miss Carr praised this company’s general care of the employees.  A doctor and nurse were available without charge if a girl were ill in the store.  A social secretary was employed.

Miss Carr lived in a furnished room with two other women, each paying a dollar a week rent.  She cared nothing for her fellow-lodgers; her only reason for spending her time with them in such close quarters was her need of living cheaply.  She cooked her breakfast and supper in the crowded room, at an expense of $1.95 a week.  She said that her “hearty” meal was a noon dinner, for which she paid in a restaurant 15 cents a day.

After her experience in the summer, she realized that she should assure herself of income in case of illness.  She joined a benefit society, to which she paid 50 cents a month.  This promised a weekly benefit of $4 a week for thirteen weeks, and $200 at death.  She paid also 10 cents a week for insurance in another company.

The room was within walking distance of the store, so that she spent nothing for carfare.  The services and social life of a church were her chief happiness.  Besides her contributions to its support, she had spent only $1 a year on “good times.”  She did her own washing.

Her outlay in health in these years had been extreme.  She was very worn, thin, and wrinkled with hard work, severe economies, and anxiety, although she was still in what should have been the prime of life.

Her weekly budget was:  lodging, $1; board, $1.95; luncheons, $1.05; insurance, 21 cents; clothing, contributions to church, occasional carfare, and other expenses, $1.79; total, $6.