The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1885-06-03
W0MAN'S WAGES.
DR.. Talmage on 1.-THE Despotism of
the Needle"
Tho Blessing of Honorable Industry and
the Misery OF Idleness-Tho Mistake OF
Parents-Equal Pay for Equal
Work-Woman's Oppressors.


ne subject Of recent sermon by DR..
1almage was "The Despotism of the
Needle or Discourse on Woman's Wages"
He took his text from Ecclesastes w., 1:
$50 returned and considered all the op-
pressions that are done under the sun, and
behold the tears of such as were oppressed,
and they had no comforter; and on the
side Of their oppressors there was power"
Following is the sermon:
woMAN's Toll.
Very long ago the needle was busy. 1t
was considered honorable for women to
toll in olden time. Alexander the Great
stood in his palace showing garments
made by his own mother. The finest
tapestries at Bayeux were made by the
Queen Of William the Conqueror. Au-
gustus, the Emperor. would not wear any
garments except those that were fashioned
by some member Of his Royal family. So
let the toiler everywhere be respected
The needle has slain more than the sword.
When the sewing-machine was invented
some thought that invention would al
leviate woman's toll and put an end to the
despotism Of the needle. But mol While
Che sewing machine has been great bless
ing TO WELL to-do families in many cases,
1t has added to the stab Of the needle the
crush Of tho wheel, and multitudes of
women, notwithstanding the reinforce
ment of the sewing machine, can only
make, work hard as they will, between
two dollars and three dollars per week.
NO HAPPINESS IN IDLENEss.
The most unhappy women In our COM
munities to-day are those who have no en-
gagements to call them up in the morning;
who, once having risen and breakfasted,
lounge through the dull forenoon in Slip
pers down at the heel and with disheveled
hair, reading 0uida's last novel, and who,
havind dragged through wretched fore
noon and taken their afternoon sleep, and
having passed an hour and half at their
toilet, pick up their card case and go out
to make calls, and who pass their evenings
waiting for somebody to come In and
break up the monotony. Arabella Stuart
never was imprisoned In so dark q dun
geon as that.
There is no happiness in an idle woman.
1t may be with hand, it may be with brain,
1t may be with foot; but work she must, or
be wretched for ever. The little girls OF
our families must be started with that
idea. The curse Of our American society
Is that our young women are taught that
the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth,
seventh, tenth, flftieth, thousandth thing
In their life is to get somebody to take care
OF them. Instead of that the first lesson
should be how, under God, they may take
care Of themselves. Tho simple fact is
that majority OF them do have to take
care Of themselves, and that, too, after
having through the false notions Of their
parents wasted the years In which they
ought to have learned how successfully tc
maintain themselves. We now and here
declare the inhumanity, cruelty and out
rage OF that father and mother who pass
their daughters into womanhood, having
given them no facility for earning Their
livelihood Madame De Stael said: at Is
not these writings that am proud Of, hut
the fact that have facility In ten occupa-
tions, In any one Of which could make q
livelihood
You say you have a fortune to leave
them. o, man and woman, have you moi
learned that, like vultures, like hawks, like
eagles, riches have wings and fly away
Though you should be successful In leav.
ing competency behind you, tho trickery
Of executors may swamp 1t In night; OF
some officials In our churches mRy get W
q mining company and induce your
orphans TO put their money into a hole In
Colorado, and IL by the most skillful
machinery the sunken money can not b,
brought up again, prove TO them that Il
was eternally decreed that that was the
way they were to lose it, and that 1t went
In the most orthodox and heavenly style
OH the damnable schemes that professed
Christians will engage in until God puts
His fingers into the collar OF the hypo.
critics robe and rips 1t clear down to the
bottoml
THE CRIME OF PARENTS.
Have you nothing better than money tc
leave your children2 II you have not, bu,
send your daughters into the world with
empty brain and unskilled hand, you are
guilty Of assassination, homicide, regicide
infanticide. There are women toiling In
our cities, toiling for two and three dollars
per week, who were the daughters Of mer.
chant princes. These suffering ones now
would be glad to have the crumbs that
once fell from their fathers table. That
worn-out, broken shoe that she wears Il
the lineal descendant OF tho twelve dollar
CATERS In which her mother walked, and
that worn and faded calico had ancestry
ofmagnifcent brocade that swept Broad
way clean without any expense TO the
Street Commissioners. Though you live
In an elegant residence and fare sumptu-
ously every day, let your daughters feel II
Is a disgrace TO them not to know how to
work. l denounce the idea prevalent in
society that though our young women may
embroider slippers and crochet, and make
mats for lamps to stand in without dis
grace, the idea OF doing any thing for a
livelihood is dishonorable.
tits q shame for a young woman belong
ing to large family to be inefii dent when
the father tolls hislife away for her sup
port. Il is shame for a daughter TO be
idle while her mother tolls at the wash
tub. It is as honorable to sweep houses,
make beds or trim hats as IL is 10 twist a
watch -chain. As far as can understand,
the line Of respectability lies between that
which Is useful and that which Is useless.
II woman do that which a. of no value