The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-06-17

Editorial Opinions ofthe Leading Journals
upon Current Topics-Compiled Every
Day for the Evening Telegraph.
WAITING AND WORKING.

The most uncompromising advocate of
womans rights, especially of her right to
work, which no one denies, and the satisfac-
tory accomplishment of which no one but
herself prevents, shrinks from putting forth
the theory that her self-support should super
sede matrimony, or that, if married, her pro-
fession should be superior to her wifely du-
ties, and her devotion to the first be bought
by the sacrifice of the last. That marriage
should be the only profession for which
women are educated is unquestionably an
evil in society like ours, where the redun-
dancy of women is one of the most desperate
difficulties of the day; but that marriage
should be the chief object of her social life,
the destiny most desired and for which she is
best fitted, is only natural and right. This
is scarcely denied by any one but they argue,
waiting the event, and in face of the dispro-
portion of the sexes, it is only fair to let the
women try their hands at far more multifa-
rious range of work than any they
have yet undertaken, and learn how to suppot
themselves in case they do not marry. But
it is this very fact of waiting the event which
of itself destroys the worth of women's work
If they are to do any good they ought to give
themselves up to a profession as wholly as
men give themselves up, to serve as long an
apprenticeship, be content with as moderate
pay in the beginning of things, and think
themselves as well rewarded if the arduous
labor Of their best years will give them just
sufficient to live on in old age, which is the
lifes history of the great majority of second
class successful men, though one sees the
prize of rapid fortune, and more than COM
potency for the remainder of a life by no
means past its prime, fall to the lot of few.
Still, the rule is hard work for over forty
years, and just enough to live on for ten or
fifteen more. But most women are very
strongly disposed to demand masters wages
for prentice work; they think they ought to
compete on equal terms with men,
though they have only immaturity and
inexperience to oppose to long and steady
training. Again, women as a class are not
content to give themselves up to a profession
and to forego thereby all chance of marrying.
They say they do not see why they should,
and that as men can be men of business and
husbands, why may they not also be women
of business and wives? They do not or
rather they will not, see that the objections
of sex are not hindering in a man, while they
are SO in woman; and that man may be
devoted husband and first-rate man of bust
ness, while woman could scarcely carry on
her business with thoroughness and be at the
same time good wife, good mother, and a
satisfactory house-mistress. She must sacri-
fee one or other line, and delegate either her
family or her profession to assistants and sub
ordinates. If the example of French women,
notably Parisiennes, is cited against this
theory of the unfitness of m,'rried women for
active business, then the domestic arrange
ments of French women most also be
adopted to make the parallel correct; and
the two, or at most three, children allowed
to marriage must be sent out to nurse, and
the mothers obligation to the infant cease
with the mere fact of giving it life. But the
profession of a woman would never be more
to the great majority-a majority so great
that the minority remaining need not count
than mere stopgap, waiting the event."
and the natural reasoning would always be-
of what good to spend the best part of nv
life in learning for the sake of the future
when any day may see the whole thing blown
to the winds, and myself married and without
any further need of what have learned so
laboriously and at such sacrifice? She can
earn a little by her bad prentice work, and
she thinks the bird in the hand better than
those half-dozen in the bush which size may
never have occasion to catch. This is one of
the reasons, among some others, why womeu's
work is inferior to mems. They will not give
the time necessary for thorough training:
they will not wait patiently, as men must do,
from seed time to harvest, staying out the
gradual ripening in quietly watching the
right moment for putting in the sickle; they
NOW green, and then wonder that their crop
is light and their gains few.
One OF the worst things about this Ques-
tion of woman's work is the insane neglect
and degradation of such duties as they can
do in favor of those they cannot. Every duty
hitherto assigned to them which they can
shuttle off their own shoulders and lay on the
shoulders of some one else they do, and all
the work which is theirs by right of natural
fitness they have degraded as ''menial' and
''unladylike." They have shown themselves
utterly incapable of dignifying any work
whatsoever, and they have rested their claims
to be considered ladies on that most misera-
BILE of all foundations, their uselessness. But
even now, when so mucn IT healthier spirit
is being aroused, they set Themselves steadily
against their natural place In the vain attempt
TO I'LL that of men, and while work is waiting
to be done which only they can do, are spend.
ing their energies in trying to share in that
ior winch there are too many better qualified
ana stronger candidates already Every house
keeper OF certain position in London knows
the extreme difficulty there is in obtaining good
assistance OF any kind. Take the question of
heeoieworK alone. A low-class needlewomau
may be found at eighteenpence day. ouali-
fed to do only the coarsest kind of work and
such as is set her. To be sure there are
court milliners whose bills make any one under
millionaire turn cold, and there are wretchad
little dressmakers deficient in every reoui-
site of their trade. But there is no work
woman of taste and intelligence who will 90
out for good wages to make dresses at cost
something below the court milliner's and
with result above the ''little" dressmakers
There is nothing ''menial" in his-there need
be nothing unladylike or unrefned A woman
OF certain taste and culture would meet
win nothing to offend her, and she would be
doing no lower ''art" than the miserable stuff
hU AhrT Tlg AH