OIL-BURNERS ARE BEST

Stoking coal on an ocean steamship has commonly been regarded as one of the least attractive of all occupations--the sword that hangs over the head of stowa ways who are caught, the last resort of those who are bent on working their way to Europe by any means. The English girls who, bored on her passage to America, asked permission to work the full length of the voyage as a stoker, has set a precedent, not the least amazing feature of which is that her request was granted. Dressed in overalls, she wielded the shovel for nine days.

The case will doubtless be cited by feminists who are interested in dispelling the last mists of doubt concerning the abilities of their sex. To the average man, however, it is an occasion for wonder if not for alarm. It is doubtful if among all the men who have crossed their Atlantic, one has offered, just for the fun of it, to shovel coal; what is more, it is doubtful if one ever will, unless driven to it by the similar activities of the girls on board. It is a new, and unpleasant possibility. Is stoking in the hold to the other diversions of a sea-journey? Echo answers, not if it can possibly be avoided.