New-York tribune., 1884-02-03
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
A DOMESTIC REVOLUTION.


Athonyb Mrs Peirce is somewhat extravagant III
bnr conclusions. wild in many of her statements
ora of,en bvsterical in manner, she has presented
in her little book some sensible suggestions w,ch
are likely we think, to become AT no us.an' u"'
tbe basis of domestic reform. she 1rahkiy a'o"s
tbs belief that her contribution to social science Is
ssa venture of the female Imagination IN cohstruc-
tive sociology quite as valuable as any that mas
emanated from the male imaginatlcn since tne iui-
mortal formula of Thomas Jefferson IN l'|o"-a
sornn,a which she misquotes in the next sentence
This is rather large way of talking about the pro-
nosol 70 extend the principle of cooperation 10
sucb household industries as cooking and washing
Int Mrs Peirce looks far beyond the first opera
4;ons of her plan When women have learned 10
annlv in their proper domestic sphere the great
eystem of the organization of industry whlch pre-.
walls in the enterprises of man, long tIain y,
benefcent results will follow. Women VIII nnu
conpenial work and fair wages. Marriages VIII DC
more general. The social evil will be diminished
AS cooperative cookery requires concen'ia'Vn
of the population, the land question VIII ha'0 "
he settled upon the theories OF Mr. Henry ',oso'
,rhon, Mrs Peirce regards as a powerful and pro-
found thinker" Mr.. George she says mas sho"n
that men have no business to own land; ana ,heie-
core she holds that "to bring agriculture up 10 tne
b;ohnst standard of civilization and of phlanthro-
49,, ondn ot the same time to keep the lands III the
hands of the masses of our people. the Iarlhs VI
the limited States should be thrown into great es
tates of convenient size and owned III hunuieu
dollar shares by the farmers In propoI'ion
IN the lands each contributes. Each shaio
sbould command vote, and no farmer shouio DC
allowed a vote on less than one OF more thah
brndred shares. Laborers binding themselves to
service on the estate for term OF years shou,u Oo
Uobliqed, , TO inhabit cottages provided for theih'
hv inSf9lmeQtS
came owners and thereby shareholders In the es-
toto After the organization of women has accom- =
plshed this REFORM 1t will naturally occur TO woh
an that she ought to he represented IN tne LegiS-
,oture. Mrs Peirce does not believe IN giving Lor
"manbood suffrage" but thinks that SHE onght 10
rboose delegates Of her own sex to LOOK alter her
interests in the National State, andtown councls al
first as sort of advisory committee, or thlru houSe
"but after time il would occur to men that tnose
houses were supertiuous and that the oena'e'
tbrouph all these generations had In fact oeeh
-, ,ro,,;sional against the era when mans con-
stant companion and adviser In private alalr',
+ba woman should become sufficiently developed
IN take her rightfu place as his best counse"or
also in public ones" Mrs. Peirce wishes, moreover
to reform the Government by allowing lrlsh' Uei-
man and other alien voters to elect representatives
only in proportion to their numbers 1t is not clear
what she means by this; but as II is only detail
in the general bOuleversement not an immaculate
consequence of cooperative laundnes, we may
postpone its consideration until some Oh the o'heI
changes have been accomplished
But TO come the practical part OF the book; 1oi
II has practical part after all. The curse OF
I,b,istendom according to Mrs. Peirce, is the OBJ
stinacv of women in cinging to baTbarous methods
of work which man long ago discarded Man mas
orospered and advanced in civilization by the or
panization of enterprise and the subdivision OF
labor. Woman has continued to do what she mas
to do for her family either alone or with the help
of other women of the house. While man, IN earn
ing the support ofthe family, confines hlmseh 10
some one sort of labor which he understands ana
associates himself with other men for the more ei
eient and economical prosecution of his calling
xvouan has not only TO become the buyer CT all
,bat ;s needed for the household, but she must
,roctise elther with her own hands or by the ser
wants under her direction, three distinct trades
cooking laundr,-i1g, and sewing. Ihls is a TASK
lar beyond her powers 1t is a task which lmpera-
lively demands organized effort; there is no DOUBT
whatever that this Reorganization OF women
among Themselves for the best andmost economical
performance of their housewiiely duties toward
tbe world in which they live Is the very greatest
evil with which contemporary society has to con
fendu There is truth in this statement OF the case
mixed with fallacy and hasty generalization Men
rs rule do not conine themselves to single line
of activity but their occupations are usually more
,ared than woman's. The three branches of house
leepne are not distinct trades, any more than Tho
different processes-buying, selling. manufacturing
bookkeeping. borrowing, discounting etc.
which are combined in almost every masculine
bnsiness. 1t is not true that domestic labor Ii
evervwbere becoming more difficult than it was OF
old On the contrary, the tasks OF the housekeepel
are constantly growing lighter and simpler. II
American women are becoming less able 10 perloru
tbem IT is not because the duties are too many
but because women have acquired distaste 1o
them. The wife of poor man will not do the
,vorl of her own house if she can possibly pay fO
h servant: md American women refuse unanimous
iv to perform domestic service for hire, even under
The pressure of absolute destltutlon. Ihls IS
state of things which prevails in no country eXcep
ours: and the result is a scarcity of female labor
ihe department for which tits best htted, terrO'
oyer-supply in other industries where the WORK
nrecarions and exhaustng and the pay pittance
and the importation Of rude ahen peasauuy u
do the nice household labor for which they hav
neither the training nor the native aptitude. In
word the proper subject of Mrs. Peirces reform i
simply the servant girl question That is not
nroblem of worldwide urgency; but for us here !
is a very hard one and we are thankful to anybody
who suggests solution. Mrs. Peirces PROJECT VIII
not apply to the country lat least until she ma
abolished ownership in land, and it offers no re
lief to that vast majority which, even after the COS
of domestic labor has been considerably reduced
win still be poor to pay for service but within
certain limits it is promising.
The first part of her remedy Is the organization
md subdivision of labor But this reform ha
been in progress for long time. Hundreds of do
mestic tasks such as sewing, baking. and most o
the coarse preliminary work of making food read!
for the kitchen, which were once performed a
home. are now done outside by organized and sub
divided labor. When q woman does the famll,
sewing at home it is because she can employ he
own time at that duty more profltably than sh