Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1886-08-22
WOMAN IN THE CO-OPERA-
TIVE COMMONWEALTH.
Extract from Gronlunds "Co-opcrdtipe
Commonwealth"
CONTlNU ED.

That, of course, is not to be thought of
under the present system, The proper
ton of women to men in shops, mines
and factories will undoubtedly continue
to increase, In disregard of physiological
facts manufacturers will go on requiring
their female employees TO be on their feet
from morning tiIlnight, and retail dealers
will stick to the rule against sitting down.
As a matter of sentiment they may think
Plato's proposition to mix the sexes in all
things prepostcrous, but he system de-
maJidS it, 1t is just the same thing in
regard to wages. Sentimental people de-
| pore the fact that women are paid less
than men for the same work. There is
no help for it under our system: the la,r
Of TageS demands 1t.
Quite otherwise in the Cooperative
Commonwealth. There woman will be-
come a functionary she will have suitable
employment given her, and be rewarded
according to results, just the same as
man.
Suitable employment, mark YOU
Woman will there not take the place of
man. The sexes will there keep pace miM
each other, but-in accordance with the
teaching of physiology in different
patlncdyS. That will simply mean that
the principle which Is the basis of our
civilization, to wit: DiriSiOn Of LABOR
will be extended so as to embrace both
sexes If that principle is good for man,
| why not for man and woman? Indeed,
! we shall find that this extension of Divis-
| ion of Labor will furnish the desideratum
| Of the Coming Commonwealth: cOmpe-
| tent workers in every field of labor
Woman will surely not be dragging be-
hind, for we must remember that what
ever of greatness woman hitherto has
accomplished she has achieved in viola
ton of the conventional CODE but Nature
with cqnol laws always tends to diver
sHy.
"Will there be work enough for all
women who choose to engage in public
activities?" you may ask.
Why even now, in this crude civiliza-
ton of ours, there is an abundance of
work which woman only ought to do.
Why should not our women insist on
having female physicians I'VE do not
mean surgeons to attend them? Is that
calling more un-womanly than nursing?
The Woman's Hospitals in Philadelphia
and other places whose medical stats
and students are women are most excel
lent institutions, and mark the coming
change.
And imagine once the innumerable hui
name institutions of the Cooperative
Commonwealth They will afford
woman thousand opportunities for the
exercise of her peculiar natural gifts-we
need only instance the Kindergartens,
spread over the whole country, of which
we shall have more to say in the next
chapter.
How will this affect woman? Just as
it will man.
As his becoming public functionary
will dcstry the accursed dependence on
the irresponsible willsof some individual
for living which now obtains; as it will
make him a free man, so it will make her
a fee-~omdn, Woman now is dependent
on some man for a living: on father or
brother or husband or employer-that is
why men arrOgate to themselves to say
rhm is woman's sphere. Destroy that
dependence-we do not say make her m
DEPENDENT for independence" is not a
Socialist word at all; all will be dependent
on the Commonwealth and ter-depend-
ent-give her the porer Of earning her
own living at pleasure, and the economic
equality Of romdn is dchiered
But, undoubtedly, the idea that all
women, even 'ladies," might come to
earn their own living will shock many
''chivalrous" gentleman in these hypo-
critic times. What would life be to them
without delicate and spiritual women
to whom to pay homage
Well the consideration that the equal
ity which we advocate will hardly give
us any female sailor or blacksmith ought
to console them some hat. But we ad-
| NIT that they have some reason IN no
Mortified.
For these same persons generally fan
cy, that ii is their appreciation that gives
value To woman-a view, not so very