For this Women’s History Month #TypewriterTuesday, we’re sharing this women-in-business themed issue of Remington Notes. Published September 1919, less than a year before the ratification of the 20th Amendment, the issue starts with the story of Dick who, incensed that a female coworker is making a higher weekly salary, demands that his boss give him a raise:
“You pay Miss Brander eighteen a week, and you ought to pay me as much as you pay her,” said Dick, desperately.
“Why ought we to pay you as much as Miss Brander?” asked Mr. Morgan, quickly.
“Why- because- because I am a man!” exclaimed Dick. He knew it sounded foolish, but he had chafed under the situation so long that the words almost said themselves.
“Just because you are a man is no reason we should pay you eighteen dollars a week, or any other amount,” said Mr. Morgan. “We are not paying Miss Brander eighteen dollars a week because she is a woman, but because she does work that is worth that much to us.”
In case you’re curious to see how this plays out (spoiler alert: typewriter-related efficiency features prominently), we’ve included the entire story, as well as a few other pages, above.
Remington Notes is HF5547.A2 R3, in Hagley’s Published Collections.
