Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-10-13
Mans Recognized Competitor in the
Employment Market.
CONDITIONS RUINOUS TO BOTH SEXES
Universal Organization is the Rene
dy That is Offered.
THE LOCAL ALTON

| or sink together. Dwarfed or godlke bond
| or free; IL she be small, slight-natIred.
| miserable, how shall man grow?-Tennyson.
The shoeworkers of New England have
for long time been complaining because
women are crowding into the factories in
| large numbers, while men are. in conse-
quence. being forced out upon the streets.
The excuse given for their employment in
preference to men is that they work for
| about one-third less wages and turn on:
| just as good work.
| Organized society today is surely called
upon to settle more knotty problems than
ever before in its history. Especially is this
| true of the Industrial situation. and the
| question Of female labor is one of the most
| serious pressing for solution at the present
| time. IL we except the greatest of all prob
lens just now-that of getting work of any
| kind at any price. Too long have men
| looked upon woman as an inferior being.
| only fitted to perform the labors of the
| household, with little or no compensation
| IL a wife. with the merest pittance of re-
| muneration IL servant. She has not been
considered factor worth noticing in the
| labor world. There have been some avenues
| of trade open to her for many years. but
| she was usually employed to do what the
| men were pleased to term ''woman's work"
and, no matter what her condition or the
wages paid for her labor the other sex
| did not, as rule, trouble themselves much
about her.
But with the Introduction of machinery
to do the work of man Ii was discovered
that less muscle was required to handle the
work, and why should not women be en-
| loyed to do the work instead of men? Man
| himself had established the custom of pay
| ing woman less for the same amount OF
| equally as good labor. and the average
| employer was not slow to take advantage of
his opportunity to reduce the labor cost in
| production, and thus either add TO his
| profits or give him leverage over his COM
| petitor in the markets of the world. This
| change has been gradually taking place.
until women have now become the recogniz-
| ed competitors with men for employment in
| a large majority of the mechanical arts
| or trades. Skirts and founces have not
only invaded the editorial sanctum and
| counting room, but in a majority of retail
mercantile pursuits women are found to
| be quite the equals of men as clerks or
| salespeople. In the more laborious walks
| OF life they are fast displacing the sterner
sex printers, binders, watchmakers
| wire workers, box makers, shoewcrkers,
| tailors, buttonmakers, telegraph operators.
&c, and 1t is only few years since an
| extensive nail mill near Pittsburg displac iced
| nearly all the men in their employ and re-
| placed them by women at about one-half
| the wages formerly paid.
| Organization for Women Workers.
| Wageworkers with their eyes open have
| been watching the progress of this move
| ment for several years with a great deal
| of interest, but 1t was not until COM
! paratively recent date that any concerted
| action was taken looking to a remedy for
| the evil-for evil it had certainly become
| A few of the leading men of thought in the
labor movement determined that women
| should become organized the same as men,
| and as an organization demand for the
sexes equal Iay fer equal work. This was
opposed at the time by many men even i'm
| the ranks of organized labor. "A woman
| ISM worth as much as man." was the
usual argument.
But when the man saw his position as
| clerk or bookkeeper taken from him and
| given to a woman, who did his work tust
| as we'll for much less money, he very readi-
ly came TO the conclusion that "the woman
was just as good a man as he was" and
| today all thinkers in the labor movement,
! of whatever branch they may be members
| are ready to admit that if the men do not
want to see the standard of wages reduced
below living rates they must take a hand
| In the work Of organizing the women and
securing for them the same considera ton
| they would expect to receive for them
| selves. No honest employer can object to
| paying the same amount of money for a
| like amount of work. whether the workers
wear trousers or flowing skirts. The value
| Is IN the labor done, and the sexes should
| bes-equally compensated for doing il. The
| Typographical union for many years held
out against the admission of women as
| members; but they saw the folly of con-
tendlng against the inevitable, and wisely
| concluded to make terms with both the
| women and that other even more danger
GUS competitor-the typesetting machine
| And there are few union printers today
who would care to take the back track in
| either case.
But the shceworkers and the printers,
and all other trades now suffering from this
KIND OF competition. have only themselves
to blame. A woman has much right to
! life as man, and, under just conditions
| is a legitimate competitor IL the Organized
trades had adjusted themselves twenty-five
| Nnp 70 h.
taken woman into their societies and as
| sisted her to better her own condition.
| she would readily have assisted them in
turn to maintain living rates of wages for
their labor. No person objects to good nav
for labor done. But so long as women
! were told that they were inferior and in
competent. and not able to earn as much
| as their male competitor, 1t is not to he
wondered at that they have been induced to
| ton.
| The Situation In This City.
This question of woman in the Industrial
pursuits has local phase peculiar to
| washington, and of especial interest Just
now to Washington people. When the Hon.
carroll d. Wright Of the department of
| labor made his investigation and report on
| the condition of the working women in
large cities he does not seem to have con-
sdered this city in his calculations. Per-
| maps 1t was because Washington has no
factories where women are employed: vet
| In proportion to the number of persons en-
| gagged in industrial pursuits. there are more
| women employed in Washington than In
| any city in the United States except New
| York. For what are the government de-
| partments but workshops? Some women
prefer to have 1t said that they ARE In Of
| hce' rather than that they work for the
government; but the employment is the
| same. Further than this, outside of gov
| eminent employment there Is no CITY in
| the Union In which the same grade of intel
| ligence is employed at so inadequate a re-
muneration. Speaking on this subject the
| other day, New England manufacturer
| said to the writer that he knew of no place
| In America where large a number of
women OF mature years and a high order
OF intelligence and virtue could be employed
at SO low a rate Of wages as In Washing
| ton. School teachers and graduates of fe-
male seminaries come here, expecting to
| obtain employment with the government
| Some Of them get II. Others accept tenn
porary employment while waiting for the
| other, and hope against hope, and often
| never get beyond clerlxing In a store or per
| forming some kind of Office work in one
| Of the numerous pension agencies or real
| estate Offices
| In any Of these the compensation Is bare
| ly sufficient to maintain life decently Some
| of these women have enfovad