Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1900-03-17

young woman belonging to large
family to be inefficient when her IA
ther tolls his life away for her sup
port Ii Is shame for a daughter to
be idle while her mother tolls at the
washtub. 1t Is as honorable to sweep
house. make beds or trim hats as 1t is
TO twist watch chain.
SO far as | can understand the line
of respectability lies between that
which is useful and that which Is use
less. II women do that which is Of no
value. their work Is honorable. III
they do practical work, 1t Is dishonora-
BILE. That our young women may es-
cape the censure Of doing dlshonorable
work. shall particularize. You may
knit a tidy for the back Of an arm
chair. but by no means make the mon
ey wherewith to buy the chair. You
may with a delicate brush beautify a
mantel ornament, but die rather than
earn enough to buy marble mantel.
You may learn artistic music until you
can squall Italian. but never sing "Or-
tonville" or ''Old Hundredth." DO moth
Ing practical II you would In the eyes
OF refined society preserve your re-
spectablllty. scout these fnical no
tions tell you woman. no more
than man, has a right to occupy
place In this world unless she pays
rent for II.
Work Necesnnry
In the course OF lifetime you con-
sumo whole harvests and droves OF
cattle and every day you live 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 nan on the sixth
day. II geologists are right, the earth
was a million OF years In the posses
sion Of the insects, beasts and birds
before our race came upon 1t. In one
sense we were invaders. The cattle,
the lizards and the hawks had pre-
emption right. The question Is not
what we are to do with the lizards and
summer Insects. but what the lizards
and summer insects are to do with us.
II we want a place In this world. we
must earn 1t. The partridge makes Its
own nest before II occupies 1t. The
lark by Its morning song earns its
breakfast before II eats ii, and the
Bible gives an intimation that the first
duty of an ldler Is to starve when II
says. III 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 woman's toll. A vast
majority OF those who would have wo-
man industrious shut her up to a few
kinds Of work. My judgment in this
matter is that q woman has a right to
do anything she can do we'll. There
should be no department Of merchan-
disc, mechanism, art or science barred
against her. II Miss Hosmer has
genius for sculpture. give her a chisel. |
II Rosa Bonheur has fondness for
delineating animals let her make "The |
Horse Fair" Ii Miss Mitchell will |
study astronomy, let her mount the
starry ladder. II Lydia will be a mer
chant, let her sell purple II Lucretia
Mott will preach the gospel, let her
thrill with her womanly eloquence the !
Quaker meeting house.
1t Is said If woman is given such OPP !
portunlties she will occupy places that
might be taken by men. ! say. II she |
have more skill and adaptedness for
any position than a man has, let her
have II. She has as much right to her
bread, to her apparel and to her home
as men have. But 1t is said that her
nature Is so delicate that she Is un-
fitted for exha, ting toll. l ask In the
name OF all past history what toll on
earth Is more severe. exhausting and
tremendous than that toll Of the nee
die to which for ages she has been sub
jected? The battering ram. the sword.
the carbine. the battleax, have made !
no such havoc as the needle. | would
that these living sepulchers In which
women have for ages been buried
might be opened and that some resur-
rection trumpet might bring up these
living corpses In the fresh air and sun.
light.
Womnn's Right.
Go with me, and I will show you q
woman who by hardest toll supports
her children, her drunken husband,
her old father and 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
appears in church with hat and cloak
that are far from indicating the toll to
which she Is subjected. Such a wo.
man as that has body and soul enough
to fit her for any position. She could
stand beside the majority Of your
salesmen and dispose Of more goods. !,
She could 20 into your wheelwright
shops and bent one-half Of your work
men at making carriages. We talk
about women as though we had resign
ed to her all the light work and our
selves had shouldered the heavier. But
the day Of judgment. which Will reveal
the sufferlngs of the stake and In.
quisition. will marshal before the
throne OF God and the hierarchs OF
hesy the martyrs Of washtub and
ieedle. Now. say II there be any
preference In occupation let woman
have II. God knows her trials are the
severest. BY her acuter sensitiveness
to misfortune. by her hour Of anguish.
demand that no one hedge up her
pathway to livelihood Oh. the mean
ness, the aespicabIlity Of men who be-
grudge a woman the right to work
anywhere in any honorable calling!
20 still further and say that wo-
man should have equal compensation
xx,ith man Nv whaf DrincfDlp of itlS- |