The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1897-10-15
Women as Bread Winners.

"A writer in the American Federation
list vigorously opposes the indiscrim-
mate employment OF women in factories.
He says that it is no indication of prog
ress to see the father, brother and son
displaced by the mother, sister and
daughter. or forced by their competition
to work for starvation wages. Here is
the way he puts it:
''rhe growing demand for female la
Dor is not founded upon philanthropy
as those who encourage 1t would have
sentimentalsts believe; it does not
spring frotn the milk of human kind
ness. 1t is an insidhous assault upon
the home; 1t is the knife of the assassin,
aimed at the family circle-the divine
injunction. 1T delbas the man through
finacial embarrassment from final re-
sponsibflfty and physically, mentally
and socially excludes the woman equally
from natures dearest impulse. Is this
the deniand of civilized progress; Is it
the desire of Christian dogma!"
In reply to this, the Baltimore Sun
says:
Mr.. OiDonnell is doubtless correct in
his view that the indiscriminate employ
ment of female labor is not in the inter-
est of the women, for it is a fact we'll
known that women occupy a higher posi-
ton and enjoy more of the comforts of
life in those manufacturing districts
where mem only are employed. This is
the case in England no less than i'm this
country. ut is an unfortunate fact that
in every industry employing women and
children wages are far lower than where
men are employed. There is no just rea-
son why women should not receive the
same wages ais men when they do the
same work and do DIT as we'll But such
is the fact. The employment of female
labor and of child labor where the labor
of men is manifestly the proper labor
to be employed may be some times a ne
cesSfty. Butt df DIT is, 1t is a sad necessity
and greatly ito be deplored. 1t enfeebles
women and renders them less fit for the
duties of motherhood. 1t withd. "a US
them from their homes and makes do
nestle life and the proper rearing of
their children well nigh impossible. 1t
wthdralws children from the schoolroom
and flom the playground, promoting ig-
norance and it's accompanying vices.
Without their natural play and exercise
in the open air children grow to man.
hood and womanhood with dWarfed and
enfeebeled bodies and with minds warped
and distorted. ut has been said that in
the great manufa turing cfties of Eng
land it is almost impossible to get a We
cHalit for the army who can stand the
easiest tests eff strength and physical en-
durance.
lC ldCt DC recognized 'uIldl
some kinds of work demand men, and
women should not be forced or tempted
to engage in such occupations. America
is not prepared to reduce her to.lers to
the level of the pauper labor Of Europe,
and If our Industries cannot employ men
at decent wages they should close their
doors.
But it is "a ratifying sign to see wo-
men winning place for themselves in
a thousand light occupations which suit
them, and which do rot need men to
carry them on. Women make good jour-
nafasits, type-writers, stenogsaphers,
teachers, bookkeepers, clerks, operatives
In the Mghter work of factories, and there
are many other positions in which they
can earn a living without very hard
manual toll and without suffering the
loss of their self-respect-
Women should be encouraged to be-
come self-supporting and thrifty, but at
THE same time it would be bad thing to-
employ them in occupations unsuited to-
them simply because they are willing
to work for low wages. That would noe
help the general situation of wage-work5 I
ing families