Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1895-02-07
NURSES ARE IDLE.
rees TRADE TIMES CAUSE HOUSE
HOLD ECONOMY.

saving I, tho order of the Day. and There
Ia No Money 20 Spare For Luxuries--Ail
Hands ut Home Tend the Sickbed--un-
protected industry Suffers.
M one would ever think of connect.
ing the profession Of nursing with the
tariff. Yet it is an unprotected industry
that has already suffered so much from
,be evil effects Of the present tariff that
almost 10 woman, for am now con-
sidering the woman nurses, they are
all very pronounced in their denuncia-
tiou Of policy that has affected them
"a seriously. Mind you, they are not
rrumbling about the condition Of affairs
a brought about by Democratic con-
press, for they have no politics and
know no such creed as protection. But
what they are dissatisfied with is the
fact. and not theory. that there is no
employment for them today as there
should be at this season of the year,
and the outlook Of dull winter is not
encouraging. In college have in
mind that graduated 20 full fiedged
nurses in the class of '94 there are to-
day but eight of this number that are
busy, and those who are more expert.
eneed are no better off,
Why doctors and nurses should suffer
from hard times may not appear imme-
diatelv, but let us see how it is and
when it is that these two very impor-
tant classes of people are busy A doc
TOR is a necessity, and nurse is lux
uryS, 80 TAile physician may have
lust as m;iny cases in hard times as in
good times his percentage of receipts
is greatly decreased and the number of
charity patients increased. In the case
of nurse, however, the result is vast
" different A person who is i'll and in
need Of nursing will not incur the ex-
pense Of a trained nurse so long as the
income Of the family is reduced or linn
tied, aud though many may need the
offices of one they depend upon the at
tention Of some other member Of the
family to look after them.
1t has been shown that during the
first six months of the year wages had
| been reduced on an average of 40 per
cent as compared with the same period
in 1892 If we take this percentage
and apply it TO one family, what are the
results? Why, it means just 45 per
cent less TO be expended on luxuries and
the limited use of necessities. As have
stated before, trained nurse is I'M
doubtedly luxury, and, no matter how
great the need, the mother of the house
hold would be the last to expend for
luxury what would deprive the rest of
her family Of necessities In good times
she would be glad of the care given her
by nurse, but when it means that her
children or husband would have less to
eat or fewer clothes she would reject all
thoughts of a trained nurse.
When one considers the evil effects of
afree trade tariff, he is apt only to think
of how much the manufacturer will lose.
1t never occurs to the enemy Of the
wage Garner, or if it does he shuts his
eyes to the fact, that he is not only af.
feeting the business Of the manufacturer,
but is reducing the wages Of the EN-.
ployee, and thereby causing him to en-
dure the privations and hardships which
poverty alone can bring AS for those
dependent upon the demands Of the
wage Garner and who furnish the supply
for his needs, they are not brought into
the question. So it is today, with the
effects of free trade tariff about us on
all sides in heretofore protected indus
tries, we can look still deeper and see
hundreds of unemployed in the profess
sions that are misnamed unprotected.
and whose only hope is in the prosperi-
y that protective tariff insures
ELIZABETH WILLIAMS.