Page:The Girl Who Earns Her Own Living (1909).djvu/313

 It is always much safer for the out-of-town girl to write well in advance for information, addressing her letter "Secretary, Young Women's Christian Association," and the name of the city where she plans to seek work. She should ask whether this particular branch of the association maintains dormitories and a restaurant, what rates are charged, or, if the rooms are all occupied, what rooming-houses and boarding-places the association recommends; also whether a representative of the Travelers' Aid Society will be found at the depot where she expects to arrive. With this request for information she should enclose a stamped and self-addressed envelope. The very manner in which she approaches this, her first city problem, will betray her thoroughness and her business instinct, incidentally making a good impression on the secretary who receives her letter.

The girl who for any reason is obliged to leave home suddenly and who arrives in a strange city unarmed with advance information, should ask for the representative of the Travelers' Aid Association or the matron in the depot. She should not consult the advertising columns of the daily papers for a boarding-house, as she is ignorant of neighborhoods and their dangers. Any woman connected with the