The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1892-07-22
Women's Wages.


commissioner of labor, gives in The
Forum summing up of the conclusions
which he has drawn from the national
statistics of women in the industries.
Mr.. Wright devotes considerable space
to answering the question why women
are paid less than men in the same
branches of work. The leading causes
are, first, that woman is an entirely new
factor in the worlds work. This. and
the added fact that there has been a
great rush of the sex into the occupa-
tions at which they could earn money
has kept down her wages. Again, wom-
en- have not high standard of work or
of preparation for work. The average
girl does not go into vocation for all it
is worth, owing largely to the hope
that the permanence of work will be in
terrupted by matrimony." She does not
get the proper technical training in the
first place, because she shrinks from
spending years to get it. Therefore she
must take an inferior place.
Again, when she has a good place she
does not always fill it as faithfully as a
man would do She does not throw
herself into it as if for life with all her
force, more's the pity; for even if she
filled situation only three months it
would give all the sex good name if
she did her best in it. Finally, there is
helack of organization among women
workers. They do not combine and
stand together, but each works as an in
dividual, feeling often rather as if other
women were her enemies industrially.
But Mr.. Wright believes all this will
be remedied in course of time. Look
ing over the field carefully, am inclined
to the idea that industrial and political
equality will be coordinate results, the
latter, however, depending on the for
mer, rather than the reverse. Indus
trial emancipation means the highest
type of woman as result"
1t is the writer's belief that for time
divorces will become more frequent as
what he calls the industrial emancipa-
ton of woman progresses. For time,
too, marriages may be less frequent.
The meaning of it is that women will
not submit to i'll usage from men for the
sake of a support, knowing they can
support themselves. For the same
reason they will cease to marry merely
for a home. But as they become inde-
pendent they will marry only from their,
own free choice and affection There
fore marriage will be placed on high
er, finer basis than ever it has been eff
marriage is to be purer and the family
more sacred, with women occupying an
exalted position as to remunerative
service, the morals of the community
must be correspondingly enhanced"
1t will be observed from these OBJ
servations that the distinguished COM
missioner of labor takes radical ground
on the large question of woman in the
industries His paper is an important
contribution to the side of those ladies
who are working for the pecuniary in
dependence of women as the necessary
preliminary to all other progress on the
part of the sex. Here is what Mr..
Wright predicts when what he calls
woman's industrial emancipation is ac-
complished:
Her economic freedom will stimulate the
inf rod ofc iapf afI ;xy
ing by which she can rid herself, if she choose,
| Df the drudgery of household work without
| destroying the home, and thereby gain time
and opportunity for individual Improvement
| for the cultivation of her best talents and for,
bestowing the highest care upon the rearing of
her children. She will secure, as the direct
result of industrial emancipation, her absolute
social equality, and this will warrant her in
making great changes in her whole environ
ment whether these changes be of dress, of
amusement, of vocation or of political action.
Social equality will not warrant her in max
ing fool of herself, but it will enable her to
step out from under the restraining conditions
which prevent her from taking the wisest in
dividual action. 1t is not fair to predict that
| though now the most active element of all
| church organization and of the highest forms
of charity service, in the forefront of moral re-
forms, with still greater powers, with still fur
| ther development, she is going to act unwisey
| | believe she will act wisely, and demonstrate,
| her right to the industrial emancipation which
| is to place her on true social equality with
| man. With such social equality her loveliness
| will become more lovely, she will make mans
| life happier and better, and with increased in
| fuence over his intellectual being she will
| lead him to higher attachments, and with her,
/ intense psychic force she will be able to be-
come power in the world that we have not
yet fully seen nor yet fully comprehended.