Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1900-03-16
Unhappy IdIcness.

bella Stuart never was imprisoned In
so dark dungeon as that.
Unhappy IdIcness.
There Is no happiness in an idle wo-
man. 1t may be with hand, 1t may be
with brain, II may be with foot, but
work she must or be wretched forever.
The little girls of our families must be
started with that idea. The course of
American society is that our young
women are taught that the first. sec
ond, third, four. fifth, sixth, seventh.
tenth, fiftieth, thousandth thing In
their life is 10 get somebody TO take
care of them. Instead OF that the first
lesson should be how under God they
may take care of themselves. The
simple fact is that majority of them
do have to take care of themselves.
ana that, too, after having through
the false notions OF their parents vast
ed the years in which they ought 10
have learned how successfully 10 main
tain themselves. We now and here de-
clare the inhumanity, cruelty and out
rage or that father and mother who
pass their daughters into womanhood,
having given them no facility for
earning their livelihood.
Mime. de Stael said, cit is not these
writings that l am proud OF, but the
fact that i have facility In ten occu-
pations, in any one of which / could
make livelihood" You say you have
fortune 20 leave them. oh, man and
woman, have you not learned that. like
vultures, like hawks, like eagles, riches
have wings and by away? Though you
should be successful In leaving COM
potency behind you, the trickery of
executors may swamp IL in n night or
some officials In our churches may get
up mining company and induce your
orphans TO put their money into a hole
In Colorado and IL by the most skillful
machinery the sunken money canrct
be brought up again prove TO them that
IL was eternally decreed that that was
the way they We're to lose Ii and that
IL went In the most orthodox and heay-
emily style. Oh. the damnable schemes
that professed Christians will engage
In until God puts his fingers into the
collar OF the hypocrite's robe and strips
Ii clear down to the bottom! You have
no right, because you are well off. 70
conclude that your children are going
10 be well Off. A man died leaving a
large fortune. His son fell dead In
Philadelphia grogshop. His old CON-
rades came in and said rs they bent
over his corpse. ''What Is the matter
with you, Boggsy?" The surgeon
standing over him said: Hush We! He
is dead!' "Oh. he is deadr' they said.
Come, boys; let us go and take n
drink In memory of poor Boggsyw
Have YOU nothing better than money |
TO leave your children? III you have
not, but send your daughters into the
world with empty brain and unskIIled
hand, you are guilty OF assassination.
homicide. infanticide.
There are women toiling IN our cities
Tor 81 or So a week who were the
daughters of merchant princes. These
SUFFERING ones now would he glad TO
nave the crumbs that once fell from
their fathers table. That worn ont
broken shoe that she wears IS the
ineal descendant of the SO gaiter I'm
Which her mother walked, and that
orn and faded calico had ancestry of
brocade that swept Penn
'yiVania avenue and Broadway clean
any expense to the street COM
nissioners. Though you live In an
elegant residence and fare sumptuous-
y every day, let your daughters fee!
t Is a disgrace for them not to know
low TO work. 1 denounce the idea
prevalent In society that, though our
ioung women may embroider slippers
INA crochet and make mats for lamps
o stand on without disgrace, the idea
u doing anything for a livelihood is
iishonorable. 1t is a shame for n
Ioung woman belonging to a large
amliy to be inefficient when her IA
her Tolls his life away for her SUD-
)ort. IL Is n shame for a daughter TO
De luie While her mother tolls at the
Nashtub. 1t is as honorable TO syyeen
house, make beds or trim hats as 1t Is
o twist watch chain.
80 far as 1 can understand the line
u responsibility lies between that
"Nhch is useful and that which is use
ess. If women do that which is of no
Iaiue, their work is honorable. If
Dey do practical work, Ii Is dishonora-
BE. That our young women NAV es-
ape the censure OF doing dishonorable
work l shall particularize. You may
Unit tidy for the back of an arm
hair, but by no means make the mon.
y wherewith to buy the chair. You
nay with delicate brush beautifv n
nantel ornament, but die rather than
arm enough to buy n marble manteI
You may learn artistic music until Won
an squaI Italian, but never sing cor.
onviile" or cold Hundredth." DO moth