The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1865-03-22
wOMAN,s RIGHTS.
A REPORT OF A RECENT LECTURE BY MISS
ANNA E. DICKINSON ON LABOR FOR WOMEN.

A Report OF RECENT LECTURE BY MISS
ANNA E. DICKINSON ON LABOR FOR WOMEN.
Miss Anna E. Dickinson le:tured re.
Gently At Henry Ward Beecher's church,
Brooklyn, on the subject of Labor. The
church was filed with large and appreci-
alive audience. The lecture was noble,
earnest and eloquent plea in behalf OF
labor for woman. Henry Ward Beecher
introduced the speaker at eight O'clock
Women, he said, had now become power
in the land, and power had no sex. He
spoke briefly, too, of the extending sphere
Of woman's influence.
Miss Dickinson, who was attired in 4
scarlet silk dress, with black waist, com.
menced by relating the anecdotc of
Madame De Stael, who, when asked by
the great Emperor of France, why women
meddled with politics, replied, "Sire, while
you bchead women, we will ask the reason
why" So, tonight, if she were asked why
she spoke of this subject, she would say
that, while women strive, body and soul,
and sink into untold depths of degradation
and despair, she would ask the reason
why. The toiler is person to be cnvied
The laborer is enc TO be admired and hon.
orcd. But society says it is right for a
man to work, but wrong for a girl to work.
Suppose boy and girl starting in life.-
The boy may labor, may achieve, and so.
ciety cries "Bravo.' But suppose girl
goes out and works--it may be she works
for an old mother, or sick sister, does so.
ciety urge her on, and praise her? No; it
says she has lost all her chances for a com.
Portable settlement for life. But suppose
she lives in tolerably comfortable home,
and her father is tolerably well off, She
still may have liking for comfortable
things, ian infinite hankering after all
manner of pleasant things" and she may
desire to earn money to obtain them. So
ciety warns her that it is not proper and
if, despite that, she still persists, and OBJ
tains fine house, with nice furniture, So
ciety sees and smells all over it the stain of
work, and they put their hands into their
husbands pockets, and say how much bet.
| ter If this girl had been satisfied with the
life she was living; and waited until she
got married. There is no place nobler or
happier for woman than that of wife
and mother. But there is one unmarried
girl to one unmarried man the world over,
and there are thousands Of these that pre-.
fer to 60 out and labor instead Of staying
at home to starve.
INEQUALITY IN PRICES.
| A man is paid twice or three times as
much as woman for his labor. Take the
schools Of Philadelphia for instance. The
male principal of the male grammar
school receives 800 per year, and the
female principal OF the female grammar
school, passing the same examination, re>
ceives $500 per year. But it is said that
the man has others to support and the wo.
man has not. That is not true. The man
may be single, with no one to support, and
he still receives the same 81 600. The wo.
man may be single, or she may have "a
ther, mother, or children, Or even a hus,
band-fe- such things happen-to support,
and she still receives only 5000. Miss
Dickinson referred to an incident in her
own history, when she was teaching school
in Western Pennsylvania. She was ap-
piled for to teach in neighboring place,
and everything was satisfactory until they
told her that they had been paying $2s
per month for male teacher, and proposed
now to pay her $16 per month. She
secuted the offer. That winter she went
home, doing nothing, with others depend
ing upon her, to some extent, for support
and she had not enough money to spare to
buy two-shilling handkerchief; but she
would have swept at the street crossing
rather than have taken that school at less
price than a man would have received for
precisely the same work.
| WORK FOR WOMEN.
| The speaker referred to the availability
ofgirls instead of young men as clerks for
stores, and especially in dry goods stores,
where the men know nothing about goods
they are dealing in, and the women do.-
Still, it is true, women do not receive the
same education for their work as men do.
The women purchasing treats the young
lady clerk with rudeness and insolence,
where she would treat young man with
respect, and so the young lady clerk re.
turns the rudeness and insolence. One.
half the girls get married now a-days for o
home. Ifthey were able to support them.
selves, then young man and woman
; would get married because they loved
each other, and couldn't help it. This
matter rests in women's own hands,
Never yet die a woman determine to do a
thing than she did it. Never did she make
any rule of society than that it would be-
come law. You women of wealth say
that this is disagreeablc, but do you know
that your influence in this matter is ON
nipotent? 1t may be, you say, matter o.
, no moment to you but it may be the life
or death, honor or shame, to thousands anG
tens of thousands Of other woncR to day
and who knows, it may be such to your
child tomorrow. Women will often op
pose more hatcfully and persistcntly thar
men. Men, too, will oppose, young mer
who are not young men at all, but merely
,, egetables-forked radishes; and othel
men, of whom we may pray that their sons
: may not be brutes like their fathers, ant
: their daughters slaves like their mothers
But there are men and women with noble
generous hearts, who will aid in this work
:. aud by and by, through the force Of it's owr
power, it will mould the usages Of society
to its own convenience.
THE SOCIAL EVIL.
There are thousands and tens of thous
,, ands Of youEg girls to-day whose honor j!
= resting by needless point and hanging BY
. a single thread, and year by year they art
crushed down until, perchance, the hono
: slips from the needles point, and the tiny
: thread, breaking strand by strand, give
. way at last. and drops these women int,
infamy and shame Miss Dickinson re
:, ferred to some OF the prices paid now t
! sewing girls. These women meet this ques
ton Of the death Of the body and the deatl
! Of the soul with starvation, destitution ant
> despair driving them on, and so, falling in
= to this life, are, perchance, driving into il
y saving the body at the expense Of the soul
Society sweeps on, no matter how hare
> these women strive to be better-no mat
!, !, ter how they long-no matter how the,
may stretch up eager hands out of this gul
!. Of degradation and despair-society, sweep
ing on, tears loose the clinging hands. ant