, 1890-10-18
SOUND COMMON SENSE
EVA LoSsTT CARSON WRITES OF
THE BUSINESS WOMAN.

Spoken and Printed About Women
Who Make Their Living Along Lines
of Competition with Mon.
Copyright by American Press AssociAtion.l
"a few years ago a man dying sud-
denly left nothing but n tolerably pros
porous our and feed business for the
support Of his wife and little ones. The
wife was a woman Of energy and deter
mination. She comprehended that to
sell out meant poverty for herself and
children Henceforth the office was her
sphere. She already had a fair idea of
the business, and she at once applied
herself to the details, trusting to no one
for aid, and in a short time things were
running as smoothly as If there had beer
no change in the management. Nor did
she neglect her natural duties, her house
and children receiving their full share
of careful and particular attention
The above item, from a prominent
daily paper, must be taken with n grain
Of salt. Such paragraphs on business
women have become very common, and
nobody seems to realize how absurd they
are. An account was lately published
of some woman who studied to be a law
yer, and supported her family OF five
children while she did it by sewing. She
also took entire charge Of her homework
and family, and finally bloomed out as IA
successful and brilliant lawyer after edu-
eating and bringing up her children as
perfectly as the woman who finds her
hands full when she does nothing elsei
Now, q clever woman, a bright wo-
man. is the brightest and oleverest thing
in the world, far ahead Of the clever
and smart man. But it may be con-
fess.d just here that her capacity for
work is limited-as limited as a mans.
A woman is mortal. She needs time for
rest and sleep. She is obliged to eat her
meals, and to stop occasionally to
breathe. And, as with every one else.
her day contains only twenty-four hours.
Homework to the ordinary woman Is
q business in itself. and IL done properly
and well, attended to at all its points,
takes much time. In the average city
house, II a woman has q house. a hus-
band and from three TO six chill
dren TO see to, with one Irish peasant
woman to do the hardest work, her time
is filled. II she makes all her own and
her children's clothes and some of her
husbands, does all the buying for the
house and family, s~uperintends all the
cooking, is head and front and general
picker up in the house, and heaven save
the markD clears the table and sweeps
the dining room wash days" 1t is evil
dent that she does not sit down many
minutes to amuse herself.
II this housewife finds she has the
ability or IL she perceives the necessity
to write, to paint or to conduct n bust
ness, there Is no doubt that she can do
it as thoroughly and well as a man. 1t
takes no more brains TO run a -four bust
ness than to run a house, husband and
ave children, as the writer can testify.
It does take most of ones time and en-
ergies to do either OF these things, how
ever. and the time that is given to one
profession has got to come from the
other somewhere. II the woman can
make extra money enough to hire all
her sewing done or to hire competent
servants to perform every detail of the
house work, and she likes that better
than to do the work herself, she has a
right to do it. II she thinks she can at
tend to zach household duty herself as
well as II she did not give only half time
to them she will speedily find herself
mistaken, or the family will for her.
In the cass quoted above there is no
doubt that the woman did conduct a
hour and feed business. and manage her
house and family, too. That she did not
do both as well or as completely as II she
did only one there is also no doubt. She
had to neglect things at one end of the
line or the other. In spite of tho para
graph certain details of the -four and
feed business were intrusted to other
people while she devoted time to her
children, or some n attended to the
house and the children while she was
absorbed in -four and feed.
When a mans work is i )ne for the
day that is the end Of it. lie Is not to
be bothered with home vexations; the
children are not to trouble him. He ia
to rest and muse himself in this, his
leisure time. How would it ave lone
to expect the man in the flour and feed
business, on the death OF his wife, to fill
her place at home, taking entire charge
of his house and children in addition to
his own work? lie woald have said
very quickly that the thing was impos-
Hble; he had enough to do to attend to
his own business. And ne would be
right, for either work would take so
much time and energy that both could
not be done well by one pevson. Is there
any reason why a woman. moro than a
man, should be expected to perform inn
possibilities? O.
The trouble is that it is still such a no
ticeable thing for u woman to be n sue
cess in business that men cannot quite
reconcile themselves 10 the fact, unless
the woman does their work in addition
to her own. She may do this thing. but
she may not leave the other thing III
done.
Now, this II utter nonsense. II a wom-
an feels that she must write let her write;
IL she is moved to paint let her paint;
if she, from inclination or necessity, as
pires to be a business woman let her do
it; but do no. let her imagine that she
can attend to her house and family the
same as the ordinary woman, who takes
no part of her time to paint, or write, or
sell -four. She can do both. Nobody
ever did, though it may be in the paper
a thousand times.
For the wonan who has nc family
the way is clearer, and she can write or
go out to sell -four with no self reproach
about the neglected work at home. She
can hire her clothes made. and pay her
board, or her servants to do the house
work, feeling that she is doing her whole
duty to man.