The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1900-03-16

That wornout, broken shoe that she
wears is the lineal descendant of tho
SIP gaiter in which her mother walked,
and 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 livelihood is dishonora-
BILE. 1t is a shame for a young woman
belonging to a large family to be in
efficient when her father tolls his life
away for her support.
SO far as | 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, | shall partcularize. 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 a delicate brush beautify man
tel ornament, but die rather than earn
/ ,Nn1
may learn artistic music until you can
squat Italian, but never sing "Orton-
Vile" or "Old Ilundrcdth." Do moth
ing practical if you would, in the eyes
of refined society, preserve your re-
spectability. ] scout these fnical no
tions. | tell you a woman, no more
than man, has a right to occupy a
place in this world unless she pays a
rent for it.
In the course of lifetime you con-
sumo whole harvcsts 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
race came upon il. In one sense we
were invaders. The cattle, the lizards
and the hawks had preemption 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. If we want n place
in this world we must earn it. The
partridge makes it's own nest before it
occupies it. The lark by its morning
song earns its breakfast before 1t eats
it, and the Bible gives an intimation
that the first duty of an idler is to
starve when it says: IF 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 himl" Society is to be
reconstructed on the subject of wom-
ans toll. A vast majority of those who
would have woman industrious shut
her up to O few kinds of work. Ny
judgment in this matter is that a WON.
an has a right to do anything she can
do well. There should be no depart
ment of merchandise, mechanism, art
or science barred against her. If Mis-
Hosmer has genius for sculpture, give
her chisel. If Rosa Bonheur has q
fondness for delineating animals, lei
her make THE Horse Fair" If Miss
Mitchell will study astronomy, let hei
mount the starry ladder. If Lydia will
be a merchant, let her sell purple. Il
Lucretia Mott will preach the Gospe!
let her thrill with her womanly elo
quence the Quaker meeting house.
Years ago, one Sabbath night in tn,
vestibule of our church, after service
a woman fell in commissions. The doc
tor said she needed medicine not 81
much as something to eat. As she be
gan to revive in her delirium she said
gaspingly: Eight cents! Eigh
cents! | wish l could get it done.
am so tired. | wish | could get SOM
sleep, but l must get it done. Eigh
cents! Eight cents!" We found aft
erward that she was making gar
ments for eight cents apiece and tina
she could make but three of them il
a day. Hear it! Three times eigh
are "a. Hear it, men and women VIII
have comfortable homes! Some o
the worst villains of our cities are tn
employers of these women. The.
, beat them down to the last penny an
try to cheat them ont of that. TIL
, woman must deposit dollar or tw
before she gets the garments to worI
on. When the work is done it is SHARP
ly inspected the most insignifcan
flaws picked out and the wages re
fused and sometimes the dollar dc
, posted not given back, The Women
! Protective union reports a case wher
I one of the poor souls, finding plac
! where she could get more wages, rC
I solved to change employers and wen
to get her pay for work done. TIL