The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1891-07-18
MRS. EWING ON wOMEN's WORK.


Moro Pumpkin Pes and Less Politics the
Great Need of the Time.
Dispatch from Chautauqua.
Ats o'clock the piece de resistance of the
day. the lecture - Mrs. Ewing. the great
authority on cooking. came Oft in the hall
of Philosophy, and created quite sensa-
ton among the ladies by reason of the
vigorous and original ideas presented. Mrs.
Ewing 10 never dull, and generally sets
people to thinking with good results. Her
subject was Work for Women" and this Is
what she said:
"ietters come to me from all sections of
the country written by women inquiring
what kind of work there is for women TO
do. and what kind of positions can sug-
gest for them. My invarlable reply is that
while years ago only seven industrial occu-
patiOns were open to woman, statistics
show that there are now nearly four hun
dred open to them. In my own special field
of labor opportunities are opening every day
for women to find employment, as teachers
of household science, as matrons and
managers, as caterers and cooks, but wOm-
en- are unwilling to qualify themselves for
these positions. l hear not inirequently
that Mrs So and SO or Miss Somebody,
after attending few lectures and lessons.
has started out as a full-fedged teacher of
household science. In a short time hear
again that these people have proved fail
ures and have gone to cIerkinR in store,
or, worse still, gone home to paint china or
pray to the Lord to send them husbands.
There is scarcely village In the land
where competent woman could not earn
big wages in giving cooking lessons. Half
a dozen churches In Kansas City each paid
me for course of lectures a sum larger
than the average school teacher can earn In
year. and they themselves make big prof
it's out of the course This shows that good
cooks are wanted Everywhere. There
are at least 100000 bakery shops in
this country, carried on by men,
in which the poorest kind of bread
=
MEN should make all the pies and cake for
our cities and towns, and villages. What
this country needs is better pumpkin pies
and less politics. But the women say il is
too hard work kneading the bread. This
Is one of the biggest lies that was ever IN
flicted upon 6 credulous public. | have
again and again tested the matter. and one
Saturday on the Chautauqua grounds
mixed, kneaded and got ready for the oven
over fifty loaves of bread, and then at
tended the afternoon and evening
amusements without any WEAKNESS. In
fact / felt as fresh as if 1 had spent
the morning playing croauet or lawn ten
mis-. This experience confirmed my belief
the country. Good bread is the greatest
need of the the nineteenth century. If
women dress-makers and women tailors In
New York can earn $1,000 year, why can
not women cooks! The reason why SO
many idle, hungry. gaunt-eyed women are
looking for work Is due mainly TO ineffi-
cheney. Not only do thousands OF sO-called
dress ma K ers botch ana spoil dresses, but
tens of thousands of wash-women wash SO
badly that the last state of the garment is
worse than the first.
"Some one ought to write a book on how
to wash linen clothes. Many q woman
could raise bees and honey; here is q great
field for women. They could raise poul-
try, engage in fruit culture. become phar-
macists and drug clerks" The speaker Ie-
ferred TO Mrs. G. w. King, of Warren, Pa,
as a notable example OF a woman, left early
a poor widow, who had become a rich hotel
proprietor by industry. Ali vocations are
open To women. There are now no barriers
to separate the occupations of the sexes. A
true woman never gets out of her sphere,
nor forgets she is a gentle woman whatev-
er her employment. Any useful work a
woman can do creditably is proper work
for her The need of the present time is
not the work fer women. but women for
the work