Smyrna times., 1875-05-19
A Problem Of the Spring.

There are other subjects brought up for
/ consideration by the opening Nav less
cheerful than rOsepinil arbitus or even the
Spring fashions. The pressure of the last
two years upon men in their business rcIa-
TONS has driven this Spring an un,recc-
dent"d number Of women out of the .ecIu-
SION OF home. to earn thcii own living W.
Ct" not mean women OF the laEoring classc.
atone, although many means Of sllp,iort are
closed to these by the long depressed CON.
diiIon OF III" manufactures. There j.. no
Necessity for them to starvc i. lone as
domestic service is open to them. And we
have but little patience or respect for the
miserable vanity that keeps them out Of =
business which is better paid, in proportion
to the capitol OF education and time
invested, than amy other accessible 10
women.
There i, large class however. of women
much more deserving OF sympathy than
theS"--thc daughter, of professional men
or merchants, who are compelled tli.
Spring, by the circumstance, Of tboi,.
households, to fnd t.adr or orc,n,atfot
such as was given to th".r brothers. and
was 70" given to them. There IS no ql,.
uon invoIcd hero Of wolnan'S rir},ts o,.
woman spheres. Thc-r women are in ,.o
humor to discuss one or the othcr. Most
OF them are, indeed. domestic airI~, who
have possibly heard oi thought nothin. Of
socia! reforms. They az, concerned alone
with the fact that ,tarcs them broadiy il,
the face that they must worl, or ,tayo
hat are these girls to do? Iti,ot ~, ,ls,,
to tell them to s''w o. teach. rhg proper.
ton OF girls and boys of seventeen or tween
ty who are really qualihr to teach or VIII,
could receive Il salary for - do;ns. i, about
equal-not on" in a hundred. The oil
may or may not have exceptional skill
and taste in sewing; if she have. it
Will insure her comfortable. ,llIDort-no
more; if She have not. il VIII Weld l..r
starvation prices. There is an opening in
som" Of the cities for thousands Of girl> as
clerks - <alc~womcn, hut tho wages paid
r@ngr from s. to s. per week in the largest
houses When her board is s,tbtrartcl
from this. how docs il compare with the
wage of the chanholmaid or cook
The history Of otir social lif,. this Winter
amt Spring should teach eyo,y mother to
leave til" int, gninablr .iangle about sex and
vocation to those who arc not m ,thcr,. and
TO heotir herself quietly to civ. her drlaI,-
ter as we'll a. her son a trade or handcraft.
If 81" is compelled to earn her broad and
c!othrs. let her provide with decent
menIs Of earning them: if not. let h.r
thank Heaven and devote herself to hrr
home duties. and to her husband and chi!.
dlrn, II God gives them to her There are
ay"r"t;ona open which pay q woman equally
with man, mli according to hcr skill. but
they require two or three yra.> a!ric9tion
to max" them r"nunc:atiyc. Among these I
ar" Designing and wood engraving. and
let Us add, the culture ana arrangenon. Of
tio"'ri or tree. \ Young writer in one of
til" magazines thi- month invcels against
oui-door work for woman a, reducing Ter
mentally to the level Of brute and oe-
troying her physical health; he srIo,, the
Russian sorf to point his moral. II he had
taken the trouble to look at home. at the
whit" women in Pennsylvania OF North
Carolina who plow and reap, he would have
found them mconparably superior in both
body and mind 70 women in cities of thcir
OWN social rank Tbarn !. NJ, ,.,,,,-,, ~
the higher grades Of outdoor work should
not be undertaken by educated women:
they are more hralthlul. give wider cxcr, .
else for taste and Judgment, tax the body I
less severely, and pay better than the few
occupations roSsib!" to them in cities
" \. TjtJ"ng.