Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1894-06-07
THE WHITE SLAVES.
Or. TALMAGE SCORES OPPRES-
SORS OF LABOR.
Vnderpaid Sewing Women a Blot Upon
Our CiviIization-The Wrath of God
Will Surely Fall Upon Their Cruel
Employers.

BROOKLYN. June 3. Rev T. De Wit
! Talmage, who is now on his round.
the world journey, has chosen as the
subject for to-day: Martyrs of the
Needle" the text being Matthew xix.
"a 1T is easier for a camel to &c
through the eye of needle"
Whether this "eye of the needle" be
the small gate at the side of the big
gate at the entrance of the wall of the
ancient city, as is generally inter
! preted, or the eye of needle such as
is now handled in sewing garment,
l do not say. In either case it would
be tight thing for camel to GO
through the eve of a needle. But
there are whole caravans of fatigues
and hardships going through the eye
of the sewing woman's needle.
Very long ago the needle was busy.
! 1t was considered honora BILE for
women to toll in olden time. Alex
ander the Great stood in his palace
showing garments made by his own
mother. The finest tapestries at
William the Conqueror Augustus the
emperor would not wear any garments
except those that were fashioned by
some mem Der of his royal family. So
let the toiler everywhere be respected!
The greatest blessing that could
have happened to our first parents was
being turned out of Eden after they
ha do IN,
their perfect state, might have got
along without work, or only such
slight employment as perfect garden,
with no weeds in it, demanded. But,
as soon as they had sinned, the best
thing for them was to be turned out
where they would have to work. We
know what a whitening thing it is for
a man to have nothing to do. Good
old Ashbel Green, at four score years,
when asked why he kept on working,
said, Il do SO to keep out of mischief. 4"
We see that man who has large
amount of money to start with has no
chance Of the thousand prosperous
and honorable men that you know
nine hundred and ninety-nine had to
work vigorously at the beginning.
But am now to tell you that in
dnstry is just as important for a
woman's safety and happiness. The
most unhappy women in our communi-
ties to-day are those who have no en-
gagements to call them up in the
morning; who once having risen and
breakfasted, lounge through the dull
forenoon in slippers down at the heel
and with dishevelled hair, reading the
last novel; and who, having dragged
through a wretched forenoon and
taken their afternoon sleep, and hav
ing spent an hour and a half at their
toilet pick up their card-case and go
out to make calls; and who pass their
evenings waiting for somebody to come
in and break up the monotony Ara
bella Stuart never was imprisoned in
so dark a dungeon as that
There is no happiness in an idle
woman. 1t may be with hand, it may
be with brain, it may be with foot;
but work she must, or be wretched
forever. The little girls of our fami-
lies must be started with that idea
The curse of our American society is
that our young women are taught
that the first, second, third, fourth
fifth, sixth, seventh, tenth, fftieth,
thousandth thing in their life is to get
somebody to take care of them. In
stead of that, the first lesson should
be, how. under God, they may take
care of themselves. The simple fact
is that ma jority of them do have to
take care of themselves, and that, too,
after having, through the false notions
of their parents, wasted the years in
which they ought to have learned
how successfully to maintain them
selves. We now ard here declare the
inhumanity, cruelty, and outrage of
that father and mother, who pass
their daughters into womanhood, hav-
ing given them no facility for earning
their livelihood. Madame de Stael
said: 1T is not these writings that
am proud of, but the fact that | have
facility in ten occupations, in any one
of which 1 could make a livelihood
Have you nothing better than money
to leave your children? If you have
not but send your daughters into the
world with empty brain and unskilled
hand, you are guilty of assassination.
homicide, regicide, infanticide There
are women toiling in our cities for SO
and 81 per week, who were the dangh-
tiers of merchant princes, These
suffering ones now would be glad to
have the crumbs that once fell from
their fathers table. That worn-out,
broken shoe that she wears is the
lineal descendant of the $12 CATERS in
which her mother walked and that torn
and faded calico had ancestry of mag
nificent brocade, that swept Broadway
clean without any expense to the street
commissioners. Though you live in an
elegant residence, and fare sumptu-
ously every day, let your daughters
feel it is disgrace to them not to
know how to work. / denounce the
idea, prevalent in society, that though
our young women may embroider slip
pers and crochet, and make mats for
lamps to stand on, without disgrace,
the idea of doing anything for live
lihood is dishonorable. 1t is a shame
for young woman, belonging to a
large family. to be inefficient when
Tho fatbar tolls hic life awau for har