The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1847-08-14
prove whatever have advanced in its

and at reasonable prices. tsa
prove whatever have advanced in its
favor" And should California pass in
to the hands of the Americans, "whar
an amazing field for enterprises" ex-
claims the writer, twill it hold out. At
present there is not yard Of tape, a
pin, or piece Of domestic cotton, or
even the thread it is sewed with, that
does not come from the United States
of America; and this in a country
where every thing necessary for their
manufacture can be procured with less
trouble and expense, on account Of the
superiority of the climate, than in any
other part of the American continent"
There seems to bs some little dilE.
Guilty in California, however, as there
is every where else, in the matter of
servants, in relation to which we make
an extract: ,sfl
"There is not such a thing, all over
California, as hired female servant
The only female servant which the su.
perior classes of the peoole have been
able to procure, are Indians, which
have been brought wild from the noun
tains in their infancy. They remain in
some houses until they arrive at the age
Of twelve or fourteen years, when they
are almost sure to run away; and as
none have been brought into the settle
ments for some time past, there are ve-
ry few families now who have any SER
wants at all. A California woman,
though she may be naked and cold,
will not enter into regular service.-
They think it degradation, and many
OF them will rather sacrifice their vir-
tue than enter into any kind Of regular
servitude." .s.I
| Unhappily the latter fact is Of too
frequent occurrence in this meridian;
litis the result of mistaken notion too
often entertained by the employed and
enforced by the manner Of the employ-
er. There is no degradation where q
| valuable service is rendered for an D.
quivalent, and there is scarcely any
service that contributes moro to tho
comfort and general happiness of the
household than that rendered by faith.
full domestic aid. And it is a service
entitled to respect from those who en-
| joy it. If this subject were better un-
derstood by the two parties, the rela-
ton would be far more agreeable to
both, and the result different to what il
is at present. Uniform kindness, and
not undue familiarity, is the secret Of
good management, between the house,
wife and the servant. Ho moa
In California there are no tradeswo..
men-there are seamstresses, who re-
joice in the oppoi itunity to charge most
unreasonable prices for their labor
For making the coarsest shirts they
charge dollar, and must then be found
in needles and thread. For washing
they charge twelve and half cents for
each peace, but though they make no-
ney, they are very extravagant. Ths
washerwoman preserves her dignity
unimpaired by having as many and as
rich dresses as the person she washes
for. 1 .@
The females are pot given to idleness,
as the men are. "The women," says
the writer, "are always occupied in
some useful employment, either in thsir
houses or out of them, and do much
more service in their families than the
men; and there are many women in
all parts Of the country who actually
maintain their husbands and their chill
dren by their. own personal labor; the
husband acting as mere cypher in the
family, when he does not, by all dishon-
orable means in his power, try 10 de-
prive his wife other hard-earned dollar,
to carry it to the gambling table or
L
tavern. This ina great measure is the
reason, and has been for years, that
many women have sacrificed the con-
nubial bond, which is very rarely the
case where the husband behaves to bis
wife as all husbands ought to behave"