Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-02-01
and over with bakers bread. and no

and over with bakers bread, and no
butter"
Lack of Sympathy.
Well-to-do women. it is said. pay but lit
tie attention to these revelations, as made by
the Vice President OF the Sociologic Society.
This is hardly surprising. They cannot
sympathize very deeply with the poor
woman half starving in fireless garret, and
wearing her fingers to the bone in struggle
to keep herself alive by her needle, and sub
mitting to outrage and oppression at the
hands of manufacturers, to whom business
is business, and not philanthropy. The pa
thetic stories told of the hardships and suf-
ferings, the miserable wages and scanty fare
of these poor working women only empha-
size their own folly and ignorance, since
with them it is mainly a matter of pride and
prejudice.
All over this broad land, at least, there
are mothers of families suffering for help in
their home affairs. Women in domestic life
are harassed and overworked, who, with
comfortable homes and good wages to give,
can yet secure no one to take them. What
is it that keeps this supply and demand
apart? What is the intangible something
that makes woman rather choose the straits
OF direst poverty than to accept comtorta-
BILE living and full opportunity to lay up a
good fat bank account? 5
A few weeks ago young woman applied
at mill for work in this vicinity, where
the wages were So week. The proprietor,
favorably impressed by her appearance, said
he had no place in the mill to give her, but
his wife needed help and would pay her So
a week and her board, which would be bet
ter than the mill work. The young woman
went to the house, but refused to accept the
position unless 1t was agreed that she
should
Eat With the Family
and sit with them in the evening when she
chose. Now, imagine the men who work
in the mills and factories debating such
terms to Mr.. Carnegie or Mr.. Jones. If a
woman rejects good home and high wages,
and chooses to endure outrage and oppression
and miserable lie in garrett, with bread
unbuttered, and kettle broth" and the
poor house to top off with, rather than sacri-
fee foolish prejudice, she has a perfect
right to do so, but she cannot certainly be
credited with common sense. Work in a
kitchen for wages can no more degrade or
keep down a woman than driving the mules
on the tow path of a canal kept Garfield
from rising to the top of the heap; than
splitting rails at 80 cents day kept Abra-
ham Lincoln from becoming an eminent
lawyer, and finally President of the United
States.
A young woman chance to know '1ived
OUT doing general housework for some
years. She was ambitious to become a
trained nurse. To this end, when her work
was 'done up'' in the evening she attended
night school to secure the requisite knowl-
edge. She saved money, and finally went
to hospital and was graduated as nurse.
Her wages now are never less than $15
week IF she had not had sfoo'' in her ebe
might have been a poor ground-down victim
to "slop sewing" as millions of silly women
are to-day.
The sort of missionary enterprise required
among such people is not the establishment
Of sewing schools, but rather such effort as
will bring supply and demand together for
mutual benefit and will tend to root out the
idea that any respectable work is degrading.
BESSIE BRAMBLE,