Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1902-01-11

| Ine woman quoted in this column
yesterday has suggestions as well as
complaints to make aprOpos Of the
wage-earning women and the woman
| who wishes she was Il wage-earrer.
AS the women who don't have to
| work are not yet banished from the
field, other ways Of relieving the con-
gested condition Of the labor market
| must be considered. One remedy is
the extension of the profitable fields
of activity wholly suitable to women.
Many suggestions" says this wom-
an, given to me from time to time as
TO new openings evince singular
want of common sense and practical
foresight. The other day / was urged
to recommend women to take up archi-
lecture as paying profession But
apart from the difficulties and costly
nature Of the training, rendering it.,
like medicine. impracticable for any
woman unprovided with an adequate
income for the first five or six years
of her career, surely architecture,
which involves the ascending Of scat
folds the inspection Of drains. under
ground supports, etc, is not particu-
larly fitted for women, so long as
skirts remain their traditional gar
ments.
mo such objection can be raised
to artistic dressmaking, which offers
wide and varied fields for the capa-
bilities of clever women Of taste and
education. There is scarcely single
town, country district or suburb where
really expert woman would not be
welcomed and assured of good liv-
ing within a couple of years. The
wealthy woman who is clothed by an
expensive dressmaker getting her
models from Paris is we'll catered for
to-day; but the average woman with
good taste, willing to pay fair price
for her dresses, has no alternative to
the average tasteless, incompetent
dreSsmaker, whose sole notion of the
are of dress Is derived from the fash
ion plates, who knows nothing of the
laws Of line and color and fitness, and
cares nothing for individuality and
that harmony between dress and wear
err which is the secret Of beautiful
dress. There are hundreds of women
Of taste who detest the hard tailor
made costume, and would gladly and
gratefully see evolved graceful. femi-
nine, yet serviceable wOrkaday dress
for $15 or $50 There is simply an i'm
mense continent here; but the artistic
dressmaker must be woman of real
ly artistic ideas and feelings, with an
unerring eye for color and personality,
and she must be trained.
Then, again, most Of the sugges-
tons for employment for women ne.
cessitate too much capital. In nine
cases out of ten the wOuld-be wage
Garner has no capital at all, and, hav-
ing no security, can get none. So all
kinds of excellent little enterprises
have to be left aside by capable, re-
liable women for want of a few hun
dred dollars. 1t seems to me that If
the organized charities can get thou
sands yearly for the purpose of in
vestlgating the genuineness Of cases
of distress there ought to be sufi-
clent number of rich men and women,
or, indeed, of women only, who would
create a loan fund and make 1t avail
able, so far as it would go, for enter
prises that seem likely to be success
full. So much is done to-day for the
industrial classes. so little, practical
ly nothing, for the educated middle
class, which cannot easily avail itself
of the same advantages. Without
some capital the artistic dressmaker
would have to compete with the fifth
rate dressmaker working for low
prices and able with different stand.
ard Of life to live comfortably; and
she would have too many disadvant-
lges even to be a successful rival;
whereas, with few hundreds for
rent and wages Of workgirls, she could
create her market and, am convinced,
make an excellent income."-New
York Commercial-Adv