The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-05-09

This morbid indiyidualism IS not con
fined to the leisure class, but is found
in every grade and on every social plane.
Mrs. and Miss Van Worst IN their book,
The Woman Who Tolls, has found il
among factory women. where dissatis
faction, restlessness and selfishness are
unpleasantly conspicuous. These writer's
say The American born girl is an
egoist- Her whole effort (and she
makes and sustains one IN the life OF
mill drudgery) is for herself She works
for luxury until the day when a proper
husband presents himself. Then she
stops working and lets him toll for both,
with the hope that the budget shall not
be diminished by increasing family de-
mands. In those cases where the wo-
man continues to work after marriage
she chooses invariably a kind of occu-
patton which is inconsistent with child
bearing. She returns to the mill with
her husband. There were a number of
married couples at the knitting factory
of US. never saw baby nor heard
of a bab-."
No horrid man is saying these things,
it must be Femem bered, and no excep-
tionally sour tempered woman, but two
women who have made a study of the
question, and who claim to know their
sex thoroughly. What is found among
the women who work In the mills and
factories is found elsewhere to the
highest plane where on the sacred
Indictment is rather a severe one, it
must be admitted.
A Frenchman, NJ lie Roux. who spent
some time in this country, discovered
much the same thing. On his return he
wrote a book entitled Business and
Love-" which contained his impressions
of America. EgOism and seldshneSS he
finds dominating and he finds the
American woman the victim of a pro-
cess of spelling in her home life where
she is enumerated from all RESPONSE
bility and where even her work. which
she undertakes with much fOurishing OF
trumpets, is more OF an indulgence than
/ a duty The outside occupations which
/ she has assumed" says this writer.
/ haven't the genuine character of reg
ular duties. The ambition of the WO-
man is thwarted by the ambition OF
other women. Outwardly and inwardly
it is the struggle, the clashing Of one
vanity against another, of one egotist
against another egotist. If the woman
had been brought up to the Nidea OF
duty she could recover herself. She
would realize that one is condemned 10
live in everlasting uneasiness when one
has no other object on earth but one
self"
A writer in the Chicago Record
Herald who boasts the honest name Of
Mary OCOnnor. indorses what the
/ F'renchman says and goes him several
better in her comments by saying that
the Self-centeredneSS of American WO-
men is attracting the attention of even
/ superficial observers. There is some
thing almost tigerish in this: They are
| coming to have a lofty belief that every
4 thing is due them simply because they
condescended to be born. They GRASP
at every good thing of life withou'
thought of returning payment to society
in any way. Every little social center
contains married women who neither
keep house, bear children nor look after
the comfort of their husbands, but think
they honor them if they spend then
money for them. and single women who
live detached lives and thrust aside any
impeachment that threatens to limit then
liberty, their time or their puse, in tht
shape of duties to parents, kin or so
ciety."
We are only quoting members OF ths
restless sex and a Frenchman who may
be purblind or prejudiced and their tes-
worth The cause of it all NJ. lie RouH
explains: American women have made
tyrannical use of the power placed il
their hands by an accident of circum.
stances. Their ambitions. their fan
tastes, their egois1n, they have made
law. They have reduced man to JUS
where they wanted him. AS it was nee
essary to disabuse him of any rebellion.
ideas they have had him taught as
small boy by women and trained him t
respect the feminine ideal. As a mat
ter of fact. it is not equality which hal
been the American mans religion. HI
rioritY of woman such as he saw her II
school and later in his own home"
If this is true it must refer to tha
delightful creature whom we have heard
so much about and whom we know 81