Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1900-03-16

for sculpture, give .ner euisei. IL noS"
Bonheur has fondness for delineating
animals. let her make "The Horse FAR.
II Miss Mitchell will study astronomy, let
her mount the starry ladder. II Lydia
will be merchant, LET her sell purple. IL
Lucretia Mott will preach the gospel, lei
her thrill with her womanly cloquence the
Quaker meeting house.
1t is said II woman Is given such oppor.
tunities She will occupy places that might
be taken by men. say, IL she have more
skill and adaptednessf for any position than
a man has, let her have 1t. She has as
much right to her bread. to her apparel
and to her home as men have. But 1t IL
said that her nature Is so delicate that she
is untitled for exhausting toll. ask In the
name OF oil past history what toll On earth
IA more severe, exhausting and tremen-
dous than that toll Of the needle to which
for ages she has been subjected2 The bat
tering ram, the sword, the carblne, tue
battleax, have made no such havoc as the
needle. would that these living seput
cbres 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 chll.
dren, her drunken husband, her OLD iatnel
and mother, pays her house rent, always
has wholesome food on her table ana Wnen
she can get some neighbor on the sabbath
to.eome in and take care OF her family APP.
pears In church with hat and CLOAK tha'
are far from indicating the toll to which
she is subjected. Such woman as thai
has body and soul enough to fit her for any
position. She could stand beside the ma
iorjtv Of YOUR statesmen and dispose or more
goods. She could 20 into your wheel
wright shops and beat one-half OF youi
worknen at making carriages. We tar
about woman as though We had resigned
to her all the light work and our.
selves had shouldered the heavier. Bu'
the day OF judgment, which will reveal the
sufferings of the stake and inquisltion, VIII
marshal before the throne OF God and tue
hIerarchs OF heaven the martyrs oil wash
tub and needle. Now, say II there BIO any
preference In occupation let woman have
II. God knows her trials are the saverest.
By her acuter sensitiveness to misfortune.
by her hour OF anguish, demand that no
one hedge up her pathway to u livelihood.
Oh. the meanness, the desplcability OF men
who begrudge q woman the right to WORK
anywhere in any honorable calling!
Igo 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 as men ana III many
cases only half2 Here is the gigantic inlus'
tice-that for work equally we'll IL not better
done woman receives far less compensa.
ton than man. Start with the National
Government. Women clerks In washing
ton get 5000 for doing that for winch
men receive $500. The wheel OF op.
preston is rolling over the necks OF
thousands OF women who arc at this
moment in despair about what they are to
do. Many Of the largest mercantile estao'
lishments OF our cities are accessory tc
these denominations, and from their large
establishments there are scores OF sous
being pitched off into death, and their em.
nloyers know It.. Is there God? Will
there be q Judgment? / tell you IL God
rises up to redress woman's wrongs many
of our large establishments will DO swal
lowed up quicker than South American
earthquake ever took down city. Goo
will catch these oppressors between the
two millstones OF His wrath and GRIND
them 30 powder.
WHY is It that female principal In
school gets only 1926 for doing work for
which male principal gets $l65Of 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 IL
human being who gets hungry when SUE
has no food and cold when she has no fire
Give her no more batteries; give he
justicei- Oh, the thousand OF sewing
rirlsi Across the sunlight comes theil
death groan. It is not such cry a.
comes from those who are suddenl.
hurled sout OF life, but q slow, grind
ing, horrible wasting away. Gathe
them before you and look into their faces
pinehed, CHASTITY, hunger struck Look a
their fingers, needle-prlcked and plooo
tipped See that premature stoop In thu
shouldersl Hear that dry, hacking, mercl
less cough! At large meeting OF thes
women held In Philadelphia grand speeehe:
were delivered, but a needlewoman tooi
the stand, threw aside her faded shawl
and with her shriveled arm hurled a yer.
thunderbolt OF eloquence, speaking out TIL
horrors OF her own experience.
Stand at the corner OF street in SOM
great city at 6 or7 o'clock In the mornln'
as the women go to work. May OF then
had no breakfast except the crumbs tina
were left over from the night before or tn!
crumbs they chew on their way through
the street. Here they comel The workin.
girls OF the cities. These engaged in bead
work. these In flower making, In millinery
In paper box making, but, most overworl
of all and least compensated, the SEWING
women. Why do they not take the cit.
cars on their way up? ley cannot anor'
the Ave cents. II, concluding to deny her
self something else, she gets into the car
give her seat. You want to see how Latl
mer and Ridley appeared In the fire. Loo
at that woman and behold more horriol
martyrdom, hotter fire, more agoniz
ing death. Ask that woman how nuel
she gets for her work, and she will tell yo'
six cents for making coarse shirts and ind
her own thread.
Years ago one Sabbath night in the vesti
bule OF our church after service womal
fell In commissions. The doctor said sh
needed medicine not 80 much rs some
thing to eat. As she began to revive In he
delirium she said gaspingly: eight cents
Eight cents! Iwlsh could get 1t done.
am so tired. wish could get som
sleep, but must get 1t done. Eight cents
Eight cents!" We found afterward tina
she was making garments for eight cent
apiece and that she could make but thre
OF them in O day. Hear II! Three time
eight are twenty-four. Hear 1t, men ant
woman who have comfortable homes
Some OF the worst Williams OF our cities ar
the employers OF these women. The
beat them down to their last penn
and try to cheat them out G
that. The woman must deposit
dollars or two before she gets the garment
to work on. When the work is done, 1t 1
sharply inspected, the most insignificant
flaws picked out and the wages refused
and sometimes the dollar deposited no
given back. The Women's Protective Uniol
reports case where one OF the poor souls
finding place where she could get NOR
wages, resolved to change employers an
and went to get her pay for work done
The employer said. II hear YOU are goin
to leave me?" "Yes," she said. "and hay
come to get what you owe me-" He mad
no answer. She said, "Are you not goin
to pay me?" YES" he said; Il will pa