Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1885-02-26
Prom the Denver Coll EBquirr.l
An Appeal TO the Humanity and In
telligence OF the Nation, by the
Sewing Women ofSan Fran
cisco.
For the Enquirer:

euu pDOI-"c, bHc nt"luR NONHeH VI
San Francisco. make this appeal TO
You, not alone for our sake as class.
but for the sake of suffering humanity
a. large We are, most OF US at least
American women. horn beneath the flag
SO dear to honest hearts and liberty
loving souls. It. would he i.eneatn
our dignity rs daughters of free peo-
pie to ask of you slms, although there
are many Of us, ave thousands in our
dear land in sore need of the hare
necessaries Of life. Yes. fellow cti-
zens, under the protecting shadow of
the Stars ami Stripes, in all our large
cities, poverty, disease. crime and
death hold high carnival. Yet we do
ask men for aims. No, Thousand
times no. five have already arrived
at that epoch IN our history that onr
American spirit Of freedom is to be
crushed ont, then We are to heclme
serfs, or starve. then we call upon
the manhOod of the country ths; re-
mains, TO tear that hollow mockpry of
liberty from the mast ami make us
shrouds. Death is preferable to IN
famous deg sdaton.
Everv avpnne in which women can
be honorahIv employed is filed, AMI
when work can he obtained it o ariU-
GUS, and poorly pail, the natural re-
suits of cpinpattirn in the lanor mar
ket Factories are shutting down all
over the country and our already de-
plorable condirinn threatens to brcoms
infinitely worse.
Manv of our weaker sisters have
been driven bg desttution or enticai
by tbe wealthy llhertune to lives OF
shame until comp,tlti"n is great eQrn
among those who have adopted This
loathsome means OF prolonging mis-
erable existence. >--r--.
Hnod's "Srnr of the ShTrt' and
"Britge of Sjghs" will apply as forci-
bly, to day in America as they did in
Eng Qlant when they we're first written.
Had We voice in the adm'nrstra-
ton of the government, and in fran
ing orr laws We would then he re-
6pOnS nle to \ certain extent for 0nr
prpsen' condition AS it is, however
our hands are tied, and it cannot h.
thrown in our teeth that our misery
is of orr own maGny. We are quite
willing to allow our brothers the cred1'
of GonE the hest they know how We
do not even ak thu privilege of vot'
ing. although until the contrary Is
proven, we shall continue to believe
that we coul.i WELD that dangerous
instrument "tha ballot" with less in
iurv to ourselves that our brothers
have inflicted upon themselves ano
poor womanhooi ny its use lii the past
What we demand is simply jusrre
We ;eel, we know. chat Justice is no
done us. We are poor, obscure, half
stsrvet sewing women only few
davs removed fr,m destitu'ion anr
death, should our present precarou'
means of subsistence be suddenly Gu
off Yes, we have the hard mood t6
proclaim TO the worIdG e., if the gen
tlemen of the press to whom we senf
this address wiil allow us the space il
their columns 10 do SOY that we are
the victims OF an ubiquitous soca
system"
With starvation threatening MS a
every turn W. cannot afford to miBct
words. we must speak facts. If on
words are unheeded and we, bv force
of circumstances are overwhelmed il
the vortex of misery that now threat
ems us. we shall feel the consciousness
Of having done our dnty as American
women in recording our feeble protest
If a large number If our brothers
on whom God have pity, have hecom
so teer hloa'ed and whiskey sodde'
that they are incapable of reasonins
out the problems of the day. and If
majority of the balance have in thei'
insane thirst for gold become so in
tenselv selfish a. 10 be content to sac
rife unprotected women and cbildre
on the altar of commerce to the al
mighty dollar. then it is time that wo
man took up the cudgel in her owl
defense
Brothers, men, stop awhile ant
think.
Does the fact ever occur to you tina
we are living in land of mex hansti
bic natural resource. That there Ii
within our borders in unstinted pro
fusion all the elements necessary tt
supply ten times our population wit
oil the necessaries and comforts o
life! I
Do you know, 1--WE do) that I'm
proved machinery which in the hand
Of selfish capitalists has thrown s
many OF you AMI us out of employment
and reduced us to state of heggar
and dependence, it applied as an auxi
iary to our labor in developing tn
natural resources would supply u
With more of the pecessaries and com
forts of life than we could possibl
use?
Do you know 1--WE do,) that, unde
the present system of society and GOV
eminent, the land, the basis OF Al
wealth. is drifting into the hsno
of nonopollsts (nany of whom ar
aoro;,, ra ranitalists\ and that thay a,