The Republican journal., 1898-05-19
Women and Work.
BY LADY COOK, nee TENNESSEE c. CLAFIN.

"Women' Rights movement urge upon
the British public the desirability and
justice of admitting women to a legal and
social equality with men, they are fire.
quently met by the retort: Men are the
worlds workers. and should therefore
function is marriage and motherhood, the
woman place the home. Very pretty
sentiments, If they were true. But,
unfortunately, the majority of women are
denied marriage, and the larger proper
ton of those who do marry have to work
foy a livelihood. Marriage, therefore,
is impossible to most, and motherhood
can only be accepted under many degrad-
ing circumstances and social sacrifices.
For the majority, also, there is no home
besides that shifty one provided by their
own exertions. And to crown all, it is
the easiest thing in the world to prove
of the worlds work, Notwithstanding
almost all is aimed by men. On this
occasion, however, and not to be too dis
cursve, we shall contine our argument
to the British Islands, and shall rely for
our proofs mainly upon Government sta
tstics
If we take associated labour in textile
and clothing manufactures, comprising
upward of one hundred kinds of occupa-
ton up TO 1871. we find that in England
and Wales the female workers numbered
], 1876 435 against 500, 449 males. In Scot
land there were 16S, 40 against l29, 067
males. In Ireland the number of women
factory hands nearly doubled that of the
men, having been 221, 656 against H., G7S
SO that out Of a total eff ,, 634, 7G4 Of both
sexes engaged in various factory work.
the women exceeded the men by nearly
four hundred and twenty thousand The
Factory Returns for 1874 showed an i'm
mense increase in the number of textile
workers, chiefly consisting of women and
children. And, from 1850 to 1875, the
number OF female workers above ID years
Of age had nearly doubled, while the males
had only slightly increased.
In the food industries, the Census of
1871 gave a total for the British Islands of
3, els, 764. Of whom the women only num-
bered 81, 49, The disparity here is more
seeming than real. and is no doubt caused
by the imperfect retuns-especially for
Ireland, where women are by far more
numerous workers in the fields than the
men but as their labour is less regular,
they do not appear to have been entered
1t is a singular fact, that while the British
Islands contained 81, 546 female farmers
and grazers, 800 female ''nurserymen, .
and ,, 4SS female gardeners, the Census
did not give single shepherdess. Thus
it attests that the pastoral age of the poets
is here absolutely dead, and not single
British Amaryllis or Phyllis remains to be
wooed by the amorous shepherds as of
old
Those who catered for the public in inns
~, 941 were women.
The total number returned in 1871 for
all regular occupations in the United
Kingdom was nine millions nine hundred
and sixty four thousand males, and four
millions seven hundred and twenty thou
sand females. But 4 account is taken of
40 If
assist at home in domestic work, nor Of
the married omen who either conduct
their households, or, as in the lower ranks
of lite, do tAe whole OF most OF the
dTudgeIy connected with them. 1t can
not be SAID that the control of family is
less one1ous than that Of an office or the
duties Of a working wife less laborious
than her husband S. Taking only the
wives and widows into account, we shall
add them to the former number after hav-
ing tilst subtracted the number of wo-
men already given as engaged in paid oc-
equations. This would afford an increase
OF about three millions mole to the wo-
AiVii "oi hoin1 o44HSiHS tHtlu ~ " 1. iUO,
900. But if we also add those over Is I'M
married, the number would rise to nine
millions, and the men do not much ex-
coed this SO that by the most generous
computation as regards the latter, for
every ten male there are nine female
workers AS the population contains a
million more women than men this leaves
a very vide margin for that class of wo-
men whose lives are altogether useless or
simply ornamental, and does not include
host of spinsters who give occasional
assistance in nursing ard other domestic
concerns.
We cheerfully concede that many male
occupations require an amount of mus
cular stl ength not possessed by the ordi-
nary British workwomar. Nevertheless,
many avocations Of women, such as laun-
dry work, require great physical exertion,
and the wear and tear OF others with their
long hours and incessant strain, would
produce physical exhaustion even in
strong men. Nor must It be forgotten
that while men complain that women are