The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1899-02-09
HOME EMPLOYMENT.
The Tonic Value of Work and the
floral and Intellectual Benefits De.
rived Therefrom-The Position of
Women AS Bread Winners.

In view of the tonic value of work
and the valuable moral and intellect
ual benefits derived from regular oc-
cupation in some useful art or pro-
fession, the position of woman in
the modern world, according to the
Textile World is decidedly unsatis-
factory. Time was when women of
every class were engaged in produc-
tive MISUNDERSTANDING, weaving,
dying or other domestic work that
created values. Modern machinery
has destroyed women's former en-
ployment to such an extent that
''spinster'' is regarded as an odious
epithet. BY common consent it is
decided to be hopeless, if not foolish,
to try to manufacture at home the
yarns, cloth, candles, soaps, ETC.,
that can be bought SO cheaply at the
store. Half of the home force is
thus idle and the burden of sup
porting the family is too often thrown
on the male bread-winners. Time is
money to the men folks and their
whole existence is given to business,
but home there is glut of time and
all sorts of devices are resorted to in
order to kill it. Dressing and pre-
pairing to dress become the chief Oc-
cupation.
Surfeit of idleness incites to crazy
patchwork, piano practice, church
fairs. croquet, charity organizations,
acrostics, bicycling g-anything but
productive labor And wasteful idle
ness extends not only to the wealthy,
but to the families of the poor. 'Ma-
chines,'' says the Textile World
"have taken away a great proportion
of the work which made cottage
women busy. These latter spin not,
they weave not, they make not, they
mend not, aud the bakers, SOU
kitchens and schools take away the
other occupations of baking, cooking
and looking after their children,
which used to form so important a
feature in their lives There is, no
doubt, somewhere or other, plethora
of washer-women and char-women,
but one always fails to find them,
and the usual cry of women in their
homes is the dullness and lack OF in
terest which necessitates amusement
either in the milder forms of village
gossip, or, in some sad homes, of
novel reading, drinking and even
gam bling. Now it is just this waste
of valuable time, of still more val
liable human labor, energy and in
telligent activity which places us at
a manifest disadvantage"
There is, therefore, large deduc-
ton to be made from the advantages
of the present age of machinery.
The family is rendered less stable
and comfortable by the unproductive
character of female labor in the home
and by reliance upon the males ex-
clusively for income, The domestic
arts of fifty years ago ''saved" many
a penny and "a penny saved is a
penny gained" In recent decades
many families-farmers' families
particularly-have suffered decay
owing to store bills and mortgages
that would not have been contracted
under the old order of things. No
doubt the balance is being redressed
to some extent now by women leaving
the home for employment in schools,
stores, offices, arts, professions, etc.
Away-from-home occupations gain
for woman the money that was
formerly gained by them in the home
by spinning, weaving, etc. This is
desirable and, no doubt, inevitable
under the circumstances. But to
those who think the home the best
place for the development Of the
qualities that make good wife, the
exchange of home labor for the noisy
occupations of the outer world must
seem almost a calamity. Probably
character, if not injured, is improved
often by this way-from-home work.
1t has its compensations.