Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1900-03-21
NO. IL.


iect Of woman's toll. A vast maj ority OF
those who would have woman Industrious
shut her up to a few kinds OF work. Ny
judgment in this matter Is that a woman
has right to do anything she can do well.
There should be no department OF mer-
chaudise, mechanism, art or science barred
against her. II Miss Hosmer has genius
for sculpture, give her chisel. Ii Rosa
Bonheur has fondness for delineating
animals let her make 1.-The Horse Fair"
II Miss Mitchell will study astronomy. lst
her mount the starry ladder. If Lydia
will be merchant, let her sell purple. IL
Lucretia Mott will preach the gospel, ier
her thrill with her womanly eloqnence tue
Quaker meeting house.
1t is said il woman is given such oppor-
tunities she will occupy places that might
be taken by men. L say, II she havc mora
skill and adaptedness for any pos:s>>han
q man has, let her have 1t. Sne mas as
mu sh right to her bread. to her appara
and to her home as men have. But 1t is
said that her nature Is so delicate that she
is untitled for exhausting toll. ask in the
name of all past history what toll on earth
is more severe, exhausting and tremen-
dous than that toll of the needle to whici
for ages she has been subjected? The bat
tering ram, the sword, the carblne, the
battieax, have made no such havoc "a the
needle. I would that these living sepu-
chres in which women have for ages been
buried might be opened and that some re-
surrection trumpet might bring up these
living corpses in the fresh air and sunlight.
Go with me, and will show you wom-
an who by hardest toll supports her chill
dren, her drunken husband, her old father
ana mother, pays her house rent, always
has wholesome food on her table and when
she can get some neighbor on the Sabbath
to come in and take care of her family ap-
pears in church with hat and cloak that
are far from indicating the toll to which
she is subjected. Such woman as that
has body and soul enough to lit her for any
position. She could stand beside the ma
iority of your statesmen and dispose of moro
goods. She could go into your wheel
wright shops and beat one-half OF your
workmen ut making carriages. We tnlk
about woman as though we had resigned
to her all the light work and our
selves had shOuldered the heavier. But
the day of judgment. which will reveal the
su1eriu2s of the stake and inquisitton, will
marshal before the throne OF Goi and the
hierarchs of heaven the martyrs OF wash
tub and needle. Now, lsay il there be any
preference in occupation let woman have
It. God knows her triais are the severest.
By her acuter sensitiveness to misfortune.
by her hour of anguish, l demand that no
Que hedge up her pathway to livelihood.
Oh, the ,neanness, the despicabillty OF meu
who begrudge woman the right to work
anywhere in any honorable caliingi
go still further and say that woman
should have equal compensation with men.
By what principle OF justice Is 1t that
women in many of our cities get only two.
thirds as much pay rs men and In many
cases only half? Here Is the gigantic injus-
tice-that for work equally well II not better
done woman receives far less compensa-
tion than man. Start with the National
Government. Women clerks In Washing
ton get $500 or doing that for which
men receive $500. The wheel of op-
preston is rolling over the necks OF
thousands of women who are at this
moment in despair about what they are to
do. Many OF the largest mercantile estab
iishments OF our cities are accessory to
these abominatiOns, and from their large
establishments there are scores OF souls
being pitched off into DEATH and their en-
ployers know 1t. Is there a God? Will
there be judgment? l tell you II God
rises mp to redress Woman's- wrongs many
lowed up quicker than q South American
earthquake ever took down city. God
will catch these oppressors between the
two millstones Of His wrath and grind
thcm so powder.
Why is it that a female principal in a
school gets only 1926 for doing work for
which male principal gets Sl65O2 hear
from all this land the wall OF womanhood.
Man has nothing to answer to that wall
but batteries. He says she is an angel.
She is not. She knows she is not. She f.
a human being who gets hungry when she
has no food and cold when she has no fire.
Give her no more batteries; give her
in tice! Oh, the thousand OF sewing
girls! Across the sunlight comes their
death groan. 1t is not such a cry as
comes from those who are suddenly
hurled out of life, but slow. grind
ing, horrible wasting away. Gather
them before you and look into their faces.
pinched, ghastly, hunger struck Look at
their fingers, needle-pricked and blood
tipped! See that premature stoop in the
-l.a tb hat Irx, hapt infy r,f
less cough! At a large meeting OF these
women held In Philadelphia grand speeches
were delivered, but n needlewoman took
the stand, threw aside her faded shawl,
and with her shriveled arm hurled very
lhunderboit of eloquence, speaking out the
horrors of her own experience.
Stand at the corner OF street In some
great city at 6 OFT O'Clock in the morning
rs the women go to work. May OF them
had no breakfast except the crumbs that
We're left over from the night before or the
crumbs they chew on their way through
the street. Here they come The working
girls OF the cities. These engaged in bead
work, these in flower making, in millinery,
in paper box making, but, most overwork
OF all and least compensated, 4, the sewing
women. Why do they not take the city
ears on their way up? They cannot afford
the five cents. II, concluding to deny her
self something else, she gets into the car.
give her n seat. You want to see how Latf-
mer and Ridley appeared In the fire. Look
Mt that woman and behold n more horrible
martyr1om, a hotter fire, more agoniz-
Ing death. Ask that woman how much
she gets for her work, and she will tell you
six cents for making coarse shirts and finds
her own thread.
Years ago one Sabbath night In the vesti-
bule Of our church after service woman
fell in commissions. The doctor said she
needed medicine not so much ns some-
thing to eat. As she began to revive In her
delirium she said gaspingly: Eight cents.
Eight cents. l wish could get It done. I
am so tired. l wish l could get some
sleep, but l must get 1t done. Eight centsi
Eight centsl' We found afterward that
she was making garments for eight cents
Apiece and that she could make but three
Of them in a day. Hear It'll Three times
eight are twenty-fo ur. Hear 1t, men and
Some OF the worst Williams Of our cities are
the employers OF these women. They
beat them down to their last penny
and try to cheat them out OF
that. The woman must deposit
dollars or two before she gets the garments
to work on. When the work Is done. 1t Is
sharply inspected, the most insignificant
flaws picked out and the wages refused
and sometimes the dollar deposited not
given back. The Women Protective Union
reports n case where one of the poor sOuil.
finding place where she could get more
wages, resolved to change employers and
and went to get her pay for work done.
The employer said, II hear you ara going
to leave me?" Eyes, she said, ''and have
come to get what You owe me-" He made
no answer. She said, Are you not going
to pay me2' Yes" he said; II will pay
YOU" And he kicked her downstair-.
The levees on both sides of the Mis-
sissipppi are Of sufficient extent that il
they were built in a single straight line