The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1893-02-15

read works on political economy, la
Dor and capital and similar objects.
bought every book to be had on women's
department, duties and spheres. But
nowhere could gain information of pur-
suits that women could enter and earn a
livelihood, for no such printed informa-
ton had been given to the world. So
determined to learn by observation and
from personal inquiry what l wanted
To do so must go to the places where
men and women were at work. l usual
ly rode and walked from o'clock in the
morning until places of business closed
and reached my boarding place about
dark. There were then no elevators in
buildings, and and my hired compan-
ion, for / always employed one, climbed
up stairs, generally to the ninth, tenth
and eleventh floors, all day long, week
after week, month after month and year
after year.
Visited between 5000 and 6, 900 places
in Philadelphia, New York city, Boston
and the surrounding towns. My object
was to see the mode of operating, ascer-
tain the wages paid, the time of learn
ing, the effects of occupations ON the
health and many other things of kim
dred nature. The one and only aim in
view was to gain knowledge of what
employments were feasible to women,
the qualifications needed and the pur-
suits to which they were best adapted;
also the likelihood OF gaining footing in
various occupations, the probable result
pecuniarily, the length of time to pre-
pare and the expense of living while do
ing so, with some inquiry into the cost
of tools or the capital required for car
rying on the business, if carried on indie
pendent1y found the majority of pur-
suits followed by men were capable of
being performed by women.
The size and character of the places
visited ranged from the mammoth build
ings of the Harpers to the lone attic,
where maker of spectacle frames
worked alone and lived with his mother
less two-year-old child. have gone to
places ranging in variety from shot
tower to cobbler's workbench in a
basement.
l here take this opportunity to ac-
knowledge the uniform kindness and
courtesy received from employers and
employed wherever / went. Not rude
word, not q coarse look, did l ever have
from one of the thousands of men and
women / saw. Perhaps such changes
have taken place that none viii remem-
Der me. But my picture as / then was
may recall me to the minds of a few en-
ployers or employees.
How well i succeeded in my efforts
may be judged from the fact that when
I commenced only about six occupations
were generally engaged in by women,
and they were such as our women an
cestors had worked in from time imme-
mortal OF course there were few in a
small number of others, mostly of the
higher and better class of work, as jour
nalists, authors and artists. A woman
preacher, doctor or lecturer was curl
osity. Now women are occupied in
about 400 pursuits. Some of these are
new occupations that time and circum-
stances have developed. and which were
not then invented and consequently not
named by me when l first studied the
matter, from 1859 to 1868.
The results of my four years labor
were embodied in a volume entitled
1.-The Employments of Women" after
ward published as Five Hundred En-
Payments Adapted to Women" and
still later as How Women Can Make
Money" The second book, kindred in
nature, but not statistical, was called
Think and Act"
My first active work was commenced
n Philadelphia. l recall with pleasure
my trips through many of the large es-
adjustments in that city. was shown
through Power Sc Weightmans labora-
tory and permitted to talk with the en-
ployees. I remember my walk through
Howells' wall paper factory, through
S-ippiRcott's booknaklng establishment
and a pleasant chat with Mr. Lippincott.
Some friends and myself made visit
to Rembrandt Peale's home, where we
found the artist working on the sixty
first original portrait of Washington.
An intelligent guide conducted us
through the mint. | had delightful
talk with George w. Childs. who wrote
10 me in 1856 as follows: 1T might be
found that in the numerous magazines
deyoting some columns to women's in
serests the contributions of such q pio-
neer as yourself in the statistical and sug-
Restive histories of emploYments would