The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1870-11-17
NUMBER %. &:


I'VE feel intuitively that when a woman
does tne same work as man, she should
have the same pay" The words look fair.
and sound well, and seem good vet il
somehow happens that intuitive FEELING has
very, little to do in settling the knoitv
problems OF the world, and nothing at ali
70 do IN settling this. We all know thai,
always, IN all countries, the average wsoes
OF women have been lower than those of
men. 10 what Is the fact attributable9
Legislation has not determined it: public
sentiment has not established it. There
IS law somewhere in which it has ifs
olftn and finds its perpetuation. The
rapaclty OF power in the hands of brutal
men IS responsible for the oppression of
woman. here and there, in the matter Of
wages, as 1t is for the oppression of man.
put 1t has nothing to do with the general
iact to which We allude Nor is the "1aW
OF demand and supply" of which so much
Is sald' primarily or principally active and
DISCRIMINATING IN this matter. But there
is law, easy to find by the candid obser-
yer, and impossible to be set aside which
establishes the inequality that The E1,iio1a
deplores. It is the law that that ilstiS{.
ment or agent of labor which has the
higher value shall command the greater
return for use and operation.
Inc owner of the mastiff that turns a
churn cannot expect 10 receive fer his
WORK as the man who furnishes a horse to
perform the same service. The horse Is a
hundred times more valuable than the
oog as motive power. 1t is the dog and
not the horse, that settles the price al
which churnlng can be done. We NAV
'ieel lntultively" that the dog ought to
command the price accorded to the horse.
but the fact Is that the horse must come
to the dogs price, or lose his work at the
churn entirely. The illustration is home
ly, and, perhaps, extreme, but 1t has the
advantage of being forcible. Let us try
another. The cheapest penknife man
can use Is one that has a single blade
adapted to the making of pens. If he in
sist on having one that bears not only a.
penknlte blade, but also gimlet, cork
screw, toothpick, glove-buttoner, screw
driver. file, saw, lancet, and hoof-hook, he
must pay for it the market price. He
must not expect that because he proposes
to use only the penknife blade, hecan buy
1t at the price of the penknife.
1t Is entirely legitimate to divide labor
ers INTO three classes, viz, men, women.
ana cnlIdren, There. are points, undoubt-
eoiy' IN which woman Is superior to man.
furnishes
Win engines and cars, and operates them.
He constructs ships and steamers and
navlgates them. The great work of pro-
ductlon and commerce is done almost ex-
cluslvely by man. If woman spins. man
makes the spindle and the power that
drives it; if she weaves, he inyents and
oullds. the loom. In short, he is lust as
much more valuable than q woman. as a
laoorer, as woman is more valuable than
child; and it is this fact which deter
mines that his wages shall be greater than
woman's. 1t Is pretty generally under
STOOD that women are quite as good
teachers as men, yet we know that as a
rule they do not get the same wages that
nave been paid to men in the same Office.
we may feel lntuitively" that they ought
70 have the same, but only in exceptional
instances will they have. The more GEN
erously woman is paid for her labor. the
better Will all generous men be pleased >
Dot the truth Is, that tho labor of neither
men nor women is paid generously in this
world, as rule. Both must be content
with justice; and justice determines that
man, 40 the most capable and valuable
lSborer, shall receive most for his time
There are some kinds of work. that boys
can do as well as men, but nobody claims
that because a bobbin- boy, in mill. can
do as much and. as well as man az his
particular work, he should therefore have
mans wages, or even a woman's. His
just wages are those which his value as a
general laborer VIII command-no more.
no less. Man is responsible for many sins
against woman-sins for which we are
glad to see him called to account-butf for
this law he does not happen to be ac-
countable. Human legislation can no
more change it than it can modify the
phases OF the moon. No new power as
sumed by, or Bestowed upon, woman, will
ana her to overthrow it. Her value as a
laoorer Is limited, and her wages will be
determined by her value as a laborer at
large. Ii woman COT Id build house or
a steam engine, ship Or bridge, she
could command mans wages at teachinRz
school, but she cannot, and She must tale
the wages of a woman.
1t IS curious to notice in this connection
now, IN the realm of creative art, this law
is Immediately set aside. The moment
the body Is counted out-the instrument
OF labor-everything becomes equal he
tween men and women The authors of
LothGlT and of AdGRt Bede stand upon
the same ground. The Poet Laureate and
MRS, Browning flew wing-and-wing until
she scared above him and was missed
Rosa Bonheur commands as fine a price
Tor her pictures as the proudest of her
countrymen whose works adorn the walls
OF the Luxembourg gallery. Miss Hos
mer and Miss Foley are the associates and
equals OF Rogers, and Story, and Mozier.
Where IN America is the masculine equal
OF Mrs. Stowe, the novelist2 No: when
1t comes to simple brains, and any form Of
creative art, the sexes are on common
ground. Whenever woman has special
gift OF God, through which she works for :
the world, no one inquiries for her sex that.
Its value may be graduated. No tenor
ever commanded such reward as has been
poured into the lap of Jenny Lind If
Miss Dickinson could not get as much as
man IN the exercise of her special Gift
upon the platform, and no man thinks of
quaIrelling with the fact. The tests of
the labor market touch only common en-
dowments, with relation to the common
work, and so long as man alone has the
power to deal with the rough forces Of
nature, and to practise the arts of produc.
tlon and commerce, 80 long will his time
be adJudged Of greater value than wo-
mans.