The San Francisco call., 1897-04-28

about by the increased output of labor
saving machinery.
Miss FELTON, devoted considerable time
to the discussion of the matter OF the eu-
croachment by women upon the domains
OF labor hitherto mans own. Their COM
petition in certain lines had reduced
wages, and men had been forced to accept
like wages or abandon their work.
There was. however, one notable e1cep-
tion-the Lancashir ire weavers, who look
women 1nio their unions and demanded
Tor them the same wages that were being
paid 10 the men,
The speaker quoted from the statistics OF
Carroll ID. Wright of the Department OF
Labor which statistics were Collated In
1883, to illuminate certain dark problems
OF the labor issue. Inquiry of l7,472
women, textile workers. brain workers
and domestic servants excluded, gave the
average age a. % years ana Z months
showing that the working women in our
great cities are working girls. or the
whole numDe only 745 were married and
living with their husbands.
The average age of 1892 working women
in Boston was "a years, only seven OF
whom were married, not including
widows, but including those VINO had
been separated from their husbands. In
1889 of the working women of Massa-
chusetts two-thirds were under 80 years
old and only il per cent married. includ-
ing widows
1t appears from these old statistics that
married women formed but an insign fl
cant proportion of the whole numbe, ell
gagged in work, aud that the number of
married men permanently displaced by
women had not increased.
Women seemed destined to take the
routine mental work, and m n would have
to seek for something higher. As the
introduction OF machinery had been con-
IN ne yvnii hahn -
would the introduction of woman into the
field of labor be conducive to that end
likewise.
Helen Gardiner, the popular authoress,
whose works breathe the spirit of the
newer and the freer age. was intro
duced by the chairwoman. Miss Gardeners
appearance is not at all suggestive of blue
stockings. On the contrary, she is a sweet
faced, swee voiced little woman, ali gold
and no brass. Her manner suggests the
proven bial modesty of merit.
She began by taking issue with Miss
Felton's statement that women were not
and would not be successful as civil en-
gineers. 1t happened to be matter of
knowled ge with her that one of the great
est engineering feats ever performed in
| the world was by a woman, the designing
| and construction of the BROOKLYN Brldge.
1t was not generally known that a woman
did ir. The man who undertook the task
broke down and lost his sight. and all the
mathematicaI work and calculation and
engineering were done by woman. 1t
was not wise to tell it at the time, but it
was fact
1t was not wise al the time to tell that
Miss Carroll of Maryland planned Grants
cam paign in Tennessee, but Grant ad-
mltted that such was the fact. Had 1t
been announ ced at The time il was feared
that the soldiers would not have had con-
fdence in the plan of campaign and that
this lack of confidence would have had
very bad effect.
of the great New York Aqueduct was
done by woman.
This ended Miss Gardeners little talk
and then a most d stressing thing hap
pened. A poor male of middle age, a
deml- brunette, arose out OF cloud of
women in the rear of the hall and asked
whether the woman who did the work for
the Brooklyn bridge was not the wife of
the engineer who went blind, and whether,
if that were true, it should not rebound to
the mans 81 ory.
There was a smile on the face OF the
wretched man as he asked the question.
His manner was respectful and deieren-
tiaI, as it should be, but his presumption
in daring TO ask the question of Woman's
Congress was met with q thousand
pound horsepower icv glare from the Of
fcers on the stage which put him on cold
storage. Nobody noticed the miserable
wretch and he was left to take what con-
ISOLATION he could out of q few giPgles from
knot of good-Iooking young women who
had never attended Woman's Congress
before.
Professor Henry T. ArdIey of Berkeley
was the next speaker. His subject was
Art in Industry" and his remarks were
illustrated with big portfolio OF draw
ings, colored and in back and white.
The professors lecture was really three
lectures condensed into one, and the hour
and haf allotted to him was really too
short for the scope of the subject.
He spoke of decorative art and illus
trated the manner in which natural OBJ
jects, particularly flowers and foliage,
the laws of dual symmetry. and to fit the
panel, the vase or the f anne which they
were designed to fill. His hearers were
surprised to learn tnat 81, 600, 900 was sent
out of this country last year for designs
made in Europe for decorative purposes.
This money should have been earned by
American men and women. England,
France and Germany were filing our
stores with drapery, china and iewelry
that should be made at home.
The first step toward knowledge of de-
signing is iree-hand drawing, and it
should be taught in all our schools. One
does not have to be borne an artist in or
der to learn to draw, nor must one be
born a poet to learn TO write. After free
hand drawing come designing and historic
ornamentation-
Geometry, nature and history are the
subjects of designs. Designs are often the
outgrowth of accident. and contrast, repe-
tition and symmetry were the essentials.
In iron pyrites, crystailIzed quartz and
snowfiakes could be found every geomet-
rical design ever made or that ever would
be made by the hand of man.
Stress was laid upon the value of tan
genital curves. The Egyptians $500 years
ago understood this principle, and as
proof of this statement the lecturer ex-
nibited the picture of a conventional
papyrus plant carved at that time.
Copies of designs on Greek vases, mosa-
les from Pompeii, designs from the Al
ham bra and examples of the Rococo style
which marked the decadence of the Re-
naissance, and which would give the
spectator the delirium tremens to look
upon, were exhibited.
At the close of the evening session the
chairwoman announced that DR.. beecher
would read a paper this morning.