Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-08-07
CAN WOMEN BE CARPENTERS?
The Question Discussed-Prizes for Nail
Driving and Saving.
From the Business woman's j urnsl.

From the Business woman's j urnal.
This was the subject of discussion at a recen,
meeting Of the New Century Guild of Phila-
delphia. We give below extracts from the in.
teresting report published by the Working
Womdn's Journal:
The reasons given by Mr.. H., who magnani.
mously shouldered the negative, were, briefly
as follows: Women cannot be carpenters, be.
cause much of the work demands a muscular
strength which they do not possess. Consider
cottage, log house or what not of hemlocI
timber, such as you may see anywhere from
Maine to the Pacific. There is not woman in
the country who could build such house, mol
the cow shed, pigsty, hen coop. dog kennel OF
sheep pen outside of it, nor the st DOL wash
bench, cradle, shelf or other furniture inside
Where Is the woman who can use the jackknifei
Where is she who can even sharpen lead pen
Gil as it should be done?
Miss X. thought that while a small proper.
ton OF the work of a carpenter needed actual
strength far the larger part was a matter OF
skill, which could be acquired. You could not
tell how girls would compare with boys in ans
direction where they had not an equal chance.
Let them try; If they could not do a thing that
would settle it; but give them a chance to find
it out for themselves.
Mrs. G. had not tried much work with tools
but had notion that day at the washtub was
pretty good test of muscular power
Miss - thought ironing equally trying
1.-The editor has known women going out BY
the day, who would wash all the morning. iron
all the afternoon, and go home ana do all their
own Homework after supper
Mrs. L. considered walking the floor most OF
the night with sick child and going through
the regular household labor the next day quite
as hard as making hencoops or pigsties.
Mr.. ID. said that he naturally felt a sympathy
for his own sex when he found ii in such d
minority. His observation of life, so far as he
had got. had led him to think that the modern
woman could do pretty much anything she
wanted; but in this case he didn't see why she
wanted. For his own part, the few expert
ments he had made with tools had scratched
his hands and inflicted various wounds with
out much result.
Miss b. suggested that there were so MANY
things about a house which needed attention
from the opening of a -four barrel to the hang.
ing OF shelf or picture, or the replacing of a
hinge. that housekeeper's accomplishment
were not complete without some knowledge OF
the use of ordinary tools
Mrs. 7. thought that nobody, man or woman
likes to be restricted. When our Creator i'm
plants in any creature a faculty, He implant.
with it an instructive desire to use that faculty
We simply want to do what we can; and We
want to find out what we can do for ourselye.
by trying. All we ask is to be let alone.
Mr.. - didn't see why, when a woman
wanted to do thing. whether it had beer
done before or not, she did not Just go to worl
and do it without so much talking about it.
Mrs. replied that this is not the way
human beings are made. No man or woman
save a martyr a fanatic, is able to stand
quite alone; he must have a little ground to
plant himself on, and a little something to
breathe, and this standpoint and moral atmos-
phere must come from the sympathy and sup.
port of others.
The curious thing was that everything the
gentleman had demonstrated that women could
not do had been done, either by some woman
present or by Some one under the speakers
observation. One member had made hencoops
one had made pigsty, one had made a high
fence round an enclosure-the writer forgets
for what purpose; one, who had frequent use
for large rough boxes, was in the habit of saw
ing and mailing rough boards together
to suit herself. One had a friend in Vine
land who had rooted her own house; one
had read of woman out west who had made
her house out and out not to speak OF clearing
her own land, paying for it. and subsisting on
the profit of her farm. One knew how not only
to take clock to pieces and doctor it, but to
put it together again in perfect health. One
had mended tables and reseated chairs; one
had taken the springs out of an old sofa and
replaced them with practicable" new ones,
one was in the habit of reupholstering her
furniture. Papering and painting had been
done by others, but that is hardly CARPENTRY
One absent member sent in her defense in
poetry. Now, true poetry comes from inspira-
ton, and inspiration is, of course, above all
controversy.
At the close of the evening prizes were Of
fered for the best nail driving and saving.
The first was awarded to Miss j. r. Baker; the
saving to Miss c. Altemus
Meantime the trade of cabinet making is sue
cessfully followed by women in Boston, and
meantime the carpenter class for girls. at Vine
and 23d streets, is SO crowded that the poor
hard-worked teacher finds even his masculine
powers sorely tried to keep up with the enthu-
siasm of his neophytes.