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Show WOMAN'S EXPONENT. 154 ineceius ia a laminar ono to uie iravcici, ca- - penally in the. States of Tennessee and Thousands of women are also employ ed as.Dorter3 and laborers in stores and ware houses in the "large cities of the North. The number of women giverr as tives, includes only those engaged in textile manufactures, but the number enacred m other manufactories would greatly swell these fiVures. there were not 300 TwentyJ Jvears aa. -TO O ' women employed in cigar manufacture; there are 19,881 in the tobacco industries, an ken-..tuck- mill-oper- y. a io-da- y of - Thp. . trade is iuiurious to men. but fear- - ciear-makin- ? . . even-hande- management. The chfef requirement of their work. is a certain manual dexterity, which 13 a3 -easily acquired by. a child as a women, conse quently the wages and qualifications of the woman are kept at the level of those of a child. Under this system, factory women must remain in the lowest grade of employment; the experience and trustworthiness maturer years are of no. use m betlenng their condition. It is, therefore, not strange that we find so many r factory women wanting in that intelligence. energy, and spirit which accompany a sense of responsibility .ana trust. Nothing is more, effectual in producing ab- jectness of character and deadening the moral and intellectual nature than a mean, servile condition which holds out no hope of change or improvement, and in which the compensa tion is insufficient to afford the means of a comfortable living. Ji c--f .' r ;i: public ignorance regarding the evils of work ing women s condition, when one oi the daily papers' of this city uses, as an argument in favor of their present position in industry ,the fact that 45 per cent, of the employes in numerou3 tir . manufacturing enterprisesrewomj beasts of burden, or the steam which furnishes iZ ' ,L il. me moiive puwer, aiu as luucn a iacior in ine ' exercise of any intelligent, thinking purpose as the women employed .Jn these industries. And although the number of women in these ' Tiursuits should be doubled: fillintro t.h' nlaees - i l in them they now do, the evil would only be increased and intensified. Trade-union- s have become a recognized power in determining, in great measure, the hours and wages of workingmen. By mea"ns of thorough organization they now form a laic auu it ct u i viassj n iiusc uiamis ttic LUC I, with respectful consideration by employers. But this protest of labor against oppression of all sorts Ljpractically unavailable" to women. As an eminent English writer says: "The strikes of workingmen are feared; those of working-wome- n laughed .at." Thisfact is recognized-b- y the employer, who well knows that he can buy his labor cheaper from unorganized than r r irom organized iaDorr Carroll D. Wright, U. S. Com. of labor, makes the following strong statement, on the condition of women in the. cotton mills: "What are these women but the very weakest and most . 1 - - : dependent, oi an inepeopier - o iney-navern- ais-positi- to agitate. Al that is noes! hleTf TT is to them 'toil, scrimp, and bear. Now for the men, strong, those who bear rule, the sovereigns oi tne iana,- tbe Mours of labor are but ten all over the country in about every em-- . 1 ployment tfhere they preponderate. But where the women and children preponderate the hours ot labor,as a rule, are eleven or more. And the question u, why is it, in this land, nuicaaims at equamy ano justice, that the -- d position of trust and .management, has done more to elevate and give encouragement to the whole class than would she, who should organize a score of dilettante charities for their benefit. , The trades dependent upon the. needle form-history' of human misery unequaled by the . . o ful in its effects up)n the health of women and children. . iwentv-on- e thousand and. seven. women are emoloved as boot and shoe makers. In this tons, etc., which is paid by the piece and very poorly. In all these manufacturing pur3uit3 women are restricted to the meaner sort of work, and rarely rise' to positions of trust, skill, or stores oir weakest,, the most helpless and dependent, are loaded with the more hour.--, while the strong, the able-t- bear, and the controlling ones have ; the le,--3 hours to work?" Many noble societies, even in this city, have : been founded for the amelioration of the con-- , dition of factory operative,4ut these do not reach the cause of the evil It is'.justice, not charity, these women want from society. The goddtss is the only, reformer that can reach the root of these and mauy other social wrongs. The woman who affects the promotion of, on$ capable factory woman to a 5.. 1 . -- i i cioinmg means an which allows the manusystem facturer to grind down the wages of "slop" work" to the pittance which merely enables the sewing woman to exut, to live in any sense that implies a rational existence '.she "does not. To these women even the lowest wages of the workman would mean riches and abundaBce -- And yet it is the man who complains 'he most loudly and .effectually. Mi chelet says that the workman needs so many more things than the workwoman, that one could say of them what is said of the English and Irish laborftThe Irishman when he is hungry asks ers, " t P L..i iL. L oniy ior poiaiocK, uut ine uuugry rngii3Dman demands " meat, sugar, tea, and above all ', beer." - ' The position of domestic servant possesses many advantages over the'I condition . of a,fac- tory or sewing vvomau ootn by the increased comfort and.cleanlinessof its surrounding and its better compensation.; But in no other employment do we heaf more bitter complaints of inefficiency. This is almost wholly due to the fact that, in .the city, .domestic servants are mostly districts or the drawn from the tenement-hous- 'e f t 1 1 .1 ' If newly lanaed immigrants irom castle uaruen, who.'' wi thou t pre vious litrainin e. are ex oected to perform skillfully the complicated duties of a modern household. With the best inten-- : j pi uuictij' io uuijf gaiucu uj .many liuucu, failures and loner experience, while the more careless go to swell the thriftless and ranks of inefficient servants who, being always in search of a place, serve to keep" wages at the lowest rates. But if crirls were trained for do- mestic servants as boys are trained to become carpenters and masons, the. work would speedily command the consideration and wages other sKilled laoor does in Itne marset. that TT J upon women possessing, weaun, leisure, auu influence, must the evils of the present state of domestic service chiefly rest, since they hare 1 in th pi r nn wpr nntnn v. ta rr q vi d e them- 1 . reauy-mau- e ! x- -i. . - a " , the world has ever seen. Is not Hood's song of the shirt sb pitiful in that'-i- t is so true? Here, too, women suffer from the same want of organization, the same eager competition born of overcrowding, the same low wages that mark the other leading occupations. It is true that the best of skilled labor commands good wages and the fashionable dressmakers often acquire a competency, but these are but a handful com-- , needle-wome- n who pared to the vast army-o- f work for a mere pittance. The affluences which tend to depress woman's industrial condition bear the mot fearful significance in the lower grades of its workers, the se.ving woman who makes a heavy pair of working pantaloons for seven cents, and by working continuously at the machine can make ten pairs in a day of from 12 to 15 hours. Provided no time is lost, their average weekly wages are $3.80, but to reach even this sum they are obliged to work ci'en full day, only occasionally taking Sunday afternoon for a holiday" .The condition of th e s h irt makers is stil wore; and hvJ nrcrn?7.inor they receive but 6 to 8 cent3 apiece, and can coIttdq urifK alrillpH eprtrnnta II IbU CiIIi.U &J1 .MU " Jj Q earn only from 30 to oO cents a day. Vests encouraging schools of cookery and other are made for 3 to ;6 cents apiece. Miserable branches of domestic economy, but of becomattics and cellars form the only homes of ing benefactors to thousands of their own sex these women, and their tenure even of these is bv raisine domestic service to the rank of a ing skilled employment. tunes of an employment in which, owing to . . . . e And yet to enter domestic service is oneoi the enormous overcrowding, .the most frivolous bereason serves as a pretext for a dismissal. Such the most common remedies proposed for ttering the condition of working women. Do a woman's food i3 insufficient and unwholesome, to her clothing of the meanest description, arid the advocates of domestic service ever stop consider that it is one of the employments if she have a best dress for Sundays or holicrowded to its is days it is often in the pawn shop to meet the open to women which already any exorbitant rent she is obliged to pay for even utmost capacity, and that to precipitatelabor in to a field of her wretched tenement. A cloak maker, who, mora untrainpd-wnme- n of with a friend occupies, two room3 on the top which does not afford any adequate means be a floor of a large tenement house on the East training for those already there would now which Side, states that they never have a warm meal most disastrous remedy for.the evils or meat except for their Sunday'ldinnex. The prevail? Nearly a million women are filling remainder of the week they subsist on bread the position of domestic servants, and yet the .and tea. or. milk. She also added that they intelligence offices are crowded and every were better off than many other sewing women. brings scores of applicants. Itw better servants that are needed,, not greater And yet it is work demanding experience,skill, in the working numbers. Another 'evil and taste in its higher departments, and requirfact that ing neatness, deftness of hand, and care in all. woman's condition arises from thecannot, at Its products are among those most in demand; however, hard she may work she the garments of the women and children of the present rate of wages in the occupations the wealthy classes are marvels of beauty and fully open to her- ,- hope - to save money. ILU. for workmanship, while the changing dictates of- with the greatest difficulty she can provide alt fashion require the constant services of the the immediate wants of 'the present; thus amount of sewing women. The question naturally arises, openings which require the smallest w- -e xuau, Why then are the wages of seamstresses" so camtai are closed to. ner. -oi me luuusuiai tne lowesrrouna BhamefullyJo wj n Lihestruggle-ior-existence- " . :V.r. rA OCClWQ' 1 n l or steady industry, it so tragic for them? : It must be obvious to the wim, trade-or dj nanus most superficial observer that, even with, the my, rise to the highest position in his to the pleasures present excess of supply oveidemaud in this profession, can look forward branch of work, thorough "organization" could of a comfortable home, of educating, bis effect much in .raising ; the .wages of needleand enjoying a, competency in bis pia women. Bit'here the greed of monopoly is age. But for the working woman there exiss limited by no restrictions or resistance. The no such plans or hopes. The hopelessness oi noor sewinsr woman. isoTafpd in the mlct e n her condition is one of ite saddest features. rgreat eity,fallsan easy prey to this gigantic North American Beviiw. evil ot modern society. The multiplication of . Ida M. Van Ette5. industriarcondition of any working cla-- s -- . ; . T 1 . 1 1- -. 1 1 -- T upon-the-uncertai- VV? . ajfor . -- - a 1 - 1 . . 1 - - cbu-dre- - n, |