The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1900-03-16

$12 gaiter in which her mother walked
aud that torn and faded calico had an.
cestry of magnificent brocade that
swept Pennsylvania avenue and Broad
way clean without any expense to the
street commissioners.
Though you live in an elegant resi-
dence and fare sumptuously every day,
let your daughters feel it is a dis
grace for them not to know how to
work. | denounce the idea prevalent
in society that, though our young wom-
en- may embroider slippers and crochet
and make mats for lamps to stand on
without disgrace, the idea of doing
anything for a livelihood is dishonora-
BILE. 1t is shame for young woman
belonging to large family to be in
efficient when her father tolls his life
away for her support.
So far as 1 can understand, the line
of responsibility lies between that
which is useful and that which is use
less. If women do that which is of
no value, their work is honorable. If
they do practical work. it is dishonor-
able. That our young women may es-
cape the censure of doing dishonora-
BILE work, l shall particularize. You
may knit tidy for the back of an arm
chair, but by no means make the money
wherewith to buy the chair. You may
with delicate brush beautify man.
tel ornament, but die rather than earn
enough to buy marble mantel. You
may learn artistic music until you can
squall italian, but never sing "Orton-
vile" or "Old Hundredth." Do moth
ing practical if you would, in the eyes
of refined society, preserve your re-
spectability. 1 scout these fnical no
tions. 1 tell you woman, no more
than man, has a right to occupy
place in this world unless she pays a
rent for it.
In the course of lifetime you con-
sumo whole harvests and droves of cat
tie and every day you live and breathe
40 hogsheads of good, pure air. You
must by some kind of usefulness pay
for all this. Our race was the last thing
created-the birds and fishes on the
fourth day, the cattle and lizards on
the fifth day and man on the sixth day.
If biologists are right, the earth was
100000 of years in the possession of
the insects, beasts and birds before our
were invaders. The cattle, the lizards
and the hawks had presumption right.
The question is not what we are to do
with lizards and summer insects, but
what the lizards and summer insects
are to do with us, II we want place
in this world, wa Eaust earn it. The
partridge makes it's own nest before it
occupies it. The lark by its morning
song earns it's breakfast before it eats
it, and the Bible gives an intimation
that the first duty of an idler is to
starve when it says: eff he will not
work, neither shall he eat" Idleness
ruins the health, and very soon nature
says: This man has refused to pay his
rent. Out with him!" Society is to be
reconstructed on the subject of wom-
ans toll. A vast ma ority of those who
would have woman Industrious shut
her up to few kinds of work. My |
judgment in this matter is that wom-
an has right to do anything she can
do well. There should be no depart
ment of merchandise, mechanism, art |
or science barred against her. If Miss |
Hosmer has genius for sculpture give
her chisel. If Rosa Bonheur has
fondness for delineating animals, let |
her make "The Horse Fair" If Miss
Mitchell will study astronomy, let her
mount the starry ladder. If Lydia will
be merchant, let her sell purple. If
Lucretia Mott will preach the Gospel,
let her thrill with her womanly elo-
quence the Quaker meeting house.
Years ago, one Sabbath night in the
vestibule of our church, after service,
a woman fell in commissions. The doc
tor said she needed medicine not so
much as something to eat. AS she be-
gan to revive in her delirium she said,
Eight cents Eight
cents 1 wish I could get it done.
am SO tired. l wish I could get some
sleep, but 1 must get it done. Eight
cents! Eight cents!" We found aft
erward that she was making gar
ments for eight cents apiece and that
she could make but three of them in
a day. Hear it! Three times eight
are "a. Hear it, men and women who
have comfortable homes! Some of
the worst villains of our cities are the
employers of these women. They
beat them down to the last penny and
try to cheat them out of that. The
must deposit a dollar or two
before she gets the garments to work
on. When the work is done it is sharp
ly inspected, the most insignificant
flaws picked out and the wages re-
fused and sometimes the dollar de-
posted not given back. The Women's
Protective union reports case where
one of the poor souls, finding a place
where she could get more wages, re-
solved to change employers and went
to get her pay for work done. The
employer said: 81 hear you are going
to leave me?" Eyes" she said, land
have come to get what you owe me-"
He made no answer. She said: "Are
you not going to pay me?" yes" he
said, 81 will pay you" and he kicked
Ter downstairs.
Oh, that Women's Protective unionl
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