San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1884-01-17

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| There came down on a northern train
the other day girl whose case has
good deal u interest Ia all OF US DO
cause IL Is typical Bright and pretty
well educated and we'll bred. she came
from Vermont village 70 work In z
Massachusetts, factory, and her frank
talk 10 travelling companion furnished
abundant food for reflection. 81 have
10 take care Of myself she said, "and
In the place lived there was absolutely
nothing for girls Ike me 70 do except
teaching and sewing; circumstances
prevented my teaching. even II could
get school ut the small pay. and with
the needle can barely keep body and
soul together. So l come here; what
else can / do2 II 60 TO a large city
and have the good luck 10 lind employ
ment nj all IL must almost certainly be
ut very low wages. and that would
mean a cheap bOarding-house. cheap
society. and a life hardly worth having.
/ am everywhere mt disadvantage be-
cssise I am woman; 1t sometimes
seems TO me that women are n superfiu-
ity In the world altogether. Yes, l
know that women who take care OF
themselves are not infrequently happ or
than those who nre married, but the
taking care is hard lob, and 1t ought
10 be easier. don't like to go into q
mill and do little stupid work all day
long, aud hope in time to find some
thing better, but II ! were a man l
could find something now. There Is
great wrong; ] won't pretend to say
a. 10 htsf N 10 a.
where" And so she went on, not In
lamentation or despondingly, but in
deep Indignation because she was de-
MED an equal chance in the struggle
for bread and butter. ...|. w.
1t was the old story. Every one with
an acquaintance among women OF the
class indicated who earn their own
living-and New England Is full OF them
has heard 1t in one shape or another
time and again; the supply of the better
class of female heads and hands is greatly
in excess OF any demand, and so the
girl on the train was able to find fac
tory employing dozens OF others Ike
herself in simple manual labor. and her
case is not unlike thousands OF others
II Is useless to say that these women
ought to become servants, for they can
not and will not; they will not because
of the social aspect Of the case, and can
not because they are Yankees-there
may be good "hired men" and "hired
girls" here, but no genuine New En-
glandcr ever made II good servant, and
It is the servant that is demanded. The
old hired help has disappeared. OF
course there are exceptions to the gem
eral rule; many women can be found
with practically the same work and
pay given to men of the same mental
and physical capacity, and there are IN
dividual women enough who succeed
better than individuals of the other sex
who are their equals; but the rule re-
mains. The actual difference will be
realized by remembering that the edu-
Gated man without family who merely
gets living is thought to be doing
nothing, while the woman who gains
the same is reckOned doing we'll. The
causes of the trouble are complex
prejudice, social pro-
prietfes and other good reasons, and
what not and the remedy can not be
named off-hand, nor will It come in a
Tho best that can DO said is
hat the improvement actually made In
tho last generation promises well for
the future, and meantime it is pity
that those who arc the real sufferers do
not oftenor make their complaints heard.
(MasS.) Republican.