Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1890-04-23
woMAN AND HOME.
Pin Money. Wages and the Effe,
on Bread Winners

on Bread " inners-
Tsere as q time uheI u was thought
that a married woman who worked Tor
n4oLey In some Way reflected dis
CrclI- upon ter husband, by
tu duplication Of hrs lack OF ability
To support heI as she wished To live
That rcTiOd Is past. both happily and
uuhappily- Happily, because many a
man has had cause To bless the slender
lands Of the wife which, By their skill
IN ~ elding the pen, the brush or
the needle, or in do NJ other wOmanly
work, have, backed 10y the willing brain,
Tended of want and disaster when he.
the usual bTeai winner, has been dis
abled OF prevented by loss OF employ
ment from supplying the family with
bread and bu ter.
But the change OF pIblic opinion on
the score OF home living women worl-
ing Tor money has been unfortunate, Oe
Cause in the struggle for funds withwhich
To indulge a taste Tor dress, or for other
luNur:es not warranted 10y their hus-
bands income, some women have taken
he sewing that should have been given
In those poor creatures who find in &
their sole means o. subsistence. The
sheltered wives and dtughtsrs whom
husbands and faith rs support can ''ac-
cept work to pick up at odd moments"
a; rates that woald mean semi-starva-
ton TO those women To whom such
work Is the only means o; supplying
themselves with lodging, food, fuel and
clothing.
The wife of a small farmer was hea- i
not long ago recOunting cOmplacently
the success she had had in laying aside
a heat little sum in the bank during the
past winter.
I'VE had good deal of spare time
evenings" she said, and Jane aud
Sarah and l thought it was a real
shams we shouldn't make something
by IL. 81 when father went down TO
NJ we made him go to a store there
an get Us some things 10 make lie
brought us mems shirts and little boys
knee pants. They were all cut out and
Stitche 1, and it was easy enough 10
finish them off, though II WAS kind of
tedious work. There were i've guSSets
and nine buttouhOles TO each shirt, and
Il took the three of US pretty near all
day working s.ealy all the time we
could spare from our housework, to a
dozen OF the shirts. l could do two
paIr OF the pants a da.
"Aud how much we're you PaII!"
querIed an interested listener.
"Oh, we'll, II wasn't much, admitted
the other; ''ouly thirty-iive cent a
dozen for the shirts, and a dollar and
seventy-Ive a dozen Tor the pants 1t
did seem rather little TO me at first, but
| says To the gI.lS. If We weren't doing
this, we wouldn't be doing anything TO
earn money And by keeping at II all
winter we'd made forty dollars by
spring, betw, Ell the three of us, ami
that WIS a good sight better than
nothing"
Il should say so calculated the audi
tor. Il declare To goodness, L believe
I'll try that same plan myself next
winter. l only wish I'd thought OF II
before
To neither speaker did the ideI seem
to suggest itself, that in the city there
were struggling women to whom that
| forty dollars would have meant thrice
that sum that it did TO the well clad,
well fed wife and daughters who gave
| only their .esure moments TO shop
work The degraded order of human
Ity possessed 10y the prOprietors of
sweating establishments Is OF a sort
I that makes them rea iy to take advant-
! age of their ability to have the work
| done at the lowest possible terms. Ev-
\ erything that by causing the supply 10
| exceed The demand, has a tendency 10
reduce wages is hailed with JOY by
| these human sharks.
! Still it seems rather hard to veto the
| earning of all wages by woman sImp-
/ IL because she has a husband or father.
| The gifts, the charity that the gains
I from her labOTs enable her To bestOW, =,
[ grant her double the qualification she
would derive from anything bought
with money that had been given her.
But let her seek some other outlet for
her industry. That is an exceptional
woman who has not some speciality, lie
| it ever so humble. To tins let heI
turn as means for earning her extra
| funls. Sometimes she may posse 5 an
! accomplishment, Oftener knack ri
/ some branch of handiwoTk out Cf the
common line OF labor, the practice
| q. which takes employment from mo-
body.
One deft little woman, who had Ut
income except the slender allowance
that was all her husband could afford
her, used to make the money for hls
! Christmas and birthday gifts by Gro
chetIug silk shaw's in peculiar stitch ot
which she lone held the secret. Another
earned all her donations 10 chaTltab I
enterprises 10y putting up picked III II
! zoe. by an old family recipe, fuI
friends who could not obtain these
da!nties elsewhere and were glad 70 pay
her literally for her trouble Sul
another, a young girl, assumed tkt
cuncuction OF bouillon for a certain cat
ere=, achieving a preparation that be
came famous IN the little city where
she lived. Home made French ca die:
ant salted almonds became the indus
Try OF another. Such avocations ::
these impover S. no one, and thelI
PRACTICE enIbles woman 10 feel that
Independence dear to AL, who are no
content to fiIl only Ornamental places il
life.