Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1896-03-19


Special Correspondents of Gazette and journal
New York, March 13-Even the most
learned of magazines thinks it worth
while to take up the question Of the
wages paid to women, and whether
they really earn them or not. do not
know why this old question has been
brought up, because | fully believe
that wherever civilization exists the
woman whose work is on a par with
mans gets a mans salary. But-you
see that will come--I do believe that,
under many circumstances, women do
more work for the same money than
men do, because it is the nature Of a
woman to busy herself about that
which her hand findeth to do. A bust
ness man engages a woman typewriter;
four days after her arrival she is not
only doing all the work involved under
the head of stenography and typewrit
ing, but, ten to one, she is keeping the
Office in order--I don't mean sweeping
it, but making it neat-running the
letter book, and doing tho hundred
and one things that are required, but
which man stenographer would sscorn
to do. / don't know but that he is
right. He is hired as stenographer and
private secretary, not as man of all
work; but women-well, my friend,
women usually need the money so badly
when they work for it that they are
willing to give the helping hand wher-
ever it is needed, and forget that by 80
doing they lessen the value of their
services.
Do you think / am wrongP No, /
am not.
THE WISE WOMAN
will do that which she is hired to do,
do it well. and, except in the case 81
an emergency, let the work of others
alone, | agree with the learned maya
zine in one respect: Women will never
be, physically, fit to compete with men.
Their nerves are finer, strung on more
sensitive chord, and, being women,
they throw heart and body into what
ever they may be doing with the result
that, while it is we'll zone, the woman
herself is worn out and fitted only for
rest There have been articles written
on how women should work, how they
should live, how they should eat and
how they should have their being,
until one would think that tho average
woman was SO drunk with advice she
found standing on her feet with firm
ness somewhat difficult OF course,
that women have 10 work outside the
home is misfortune. But that they
do is fact They can starvo, but it
is not "A pleasant mode of death, and
most of them have strange fancy for
cinging to life, poor as it is, that it is
wonderful. Mrs. Tom Brown, who
last year vas AS merry as grig, did
not think there was trouble in life
and believed that Tom Brown was the
greatest man on earth, to-day faces a
problem. Tom Brown has failed and
e En-. -
and look for work of any kind, no
matter what it is. he sits at home and
means and worries and blames his
trouble on everybody but his own
short-sighted self In the meantime,
food, coal and wood are needed. Poverty
has, if anything, increased the appe-
titles of the children and Mrs Tom
Brown says to herself, being a loving
woman, Poor Tom, he can't help it I;
but I'll try and get something TO do. "
Mistake number one. The chances are
that il Tom Brown had seen his wife
and children hungry and cold, and
realized that they would starve or
freeze unless no worked for thom, it
might have made man of him, and he
would have started out and done some
thing. Or tried to. As it is, he says: :
81 can't do anything; the world is
dEdlnFL II blo Mdn lb IT, l6L mary
try"
WHITING FOR MAGAZINES.
And Mary docs try. Poor, foolish
Mary! She has read of the immense
amount of money made by Mrs. Hum
phrey Ward, of the great sums earned
by Mrs Burnett, and she sits down and
writes story. And while she is writ
ing the story, the Brown family go in
debt to the grocer and the butcher, and
the milkman and the baker. And the
story comes back to Mary, and she
concludes that the editor of that maya
zine is fool. And then it comes back
from another, and she concludes that
the editor of that magazine is in
fiuenced by other women not to take
the work OF other women. Then that
poor story comes back from another
magazine, and then Mary does what
she ought to have done in the first
place, puts her story in the fire and
warns the children by it. Do | I'M
derate Mary's ability? No. But tho
woman who can write good, original
story is not treated as Mary is, and,
in addition, she forgot that success of
the pen comes to the few, for, after
all, my friend, the women who make
much money with their pens are few,
very few. What would | advise her to
do? Put all the children to bed and
think awhile Think and think, until
she knows what she can do best Ii
her talent lies in the baking of cakes
and the making of bread, and the con-
coction of dainty dishes, and this is a
great talent, then, if Mary is wise, she
will go to those neighbors whose cooks
are poor, who have no knowledge of tho
great art of cooking themselves and
she will let them know that she will
make for proper price whatever they
may need IN this special line. Tine
devilled eggs for Sunday evenings
tea; the light. lady cake, that is a Joy
to the taste, pleasure to the eyes,
and not an insult to the stomach; the
meat salads that the men like, or the
dainty buildings that the whole family
enjoy, Mary can make TO order. Now,
IL Mary has a talent for cooking, and
manages properly, she can, in her
own little town, make an income that
ought to shame Tom, but which
Decent, though it will keep that awful
wolf, Debt, from the door.
Possibly, Mary's talent lie with her
needle. She can take the finest of
cambria needles, very cobweb OF
thread, and hemstitch tho daintiest of
linens. Oh, no, she needn't embroider
centre pieces or doylies or tea cloths
the world is full of them. Instead she
can go to little Mrs. Matron across the
way, who ia young and happy, and
who is hoping for a greater happiness,
and she can ofIer to make for her all
hn la "A tk,,.