The Savannah morning news., 1903-01-18

, for which it is best fitted. This princi-
pie explains every case. Where we
find man busting, scrubbing and
sewing and doing laundry work, it is
because he could find nothing more re-
munerative to do and could outbid the
women applying for that particular
task. Wherever we find a woman
| plastering, or keeping books, or driv-
ing a street car, or managing a store
or corporation. 1t is for the same rea-
son. And this modern principle who'll
ly ignores sex and looks only at the
work to be GOEe and the comparative
skill of the male and female appli-
cants Cor it.
1t is not prophecy to say that, as
more and more millions of women en-
ter the industrial fields, these read
justments and redivisions, these alb
SorptionS of some occupations by
women and of other occupations by
men, Will go on apace. We may not
like it; but we can no more stop it
than we can stop the physical and
mental development of woman, or the
use of steam and electricity.
Women Equipping Themselves Bet
ter Than Men.
Fully to grasp what is even now in
sight as to the future, one must con-
slider the rapidity with which women
are educating themselves. There is
evidence of this from the statistics of
eges-already one woman college
graduate to every three men. But that
is not all. In higher education in any
proper sense must be included the
thousands of high schools. There we
find the women outnumbering the men
four and five and six to one. These
are most conservative proportions.
This means that in a civilization
where education counts heavier and
heavier as an industrial factor, the
women are equipping themselves bet
ter than the men. And as our civiliza-
ton develops along its now clearly de-
fined lines, as the Importance of coarse
labor and even of skilled manual la
Dor declines, as the higher wages go
ever more and more to those who can
minister to what were once regarded
as luXuries and extravaganceS, will
not the women inevitably assume an
ever more important position? Will not
the men be harder and harder put to
1t to maintain their ground? They may
retain the most of the few originating
and directing positions; but how can
they prevent the women from dividing
with them the positions where the in
telligent execution of plans and pur-
poses formed by others is all that is
required? Does not woman's intelli-
gent receptiveness of ideas peculiarly
fit her to excel in such work?
The great advantage the men have
had thus far in this country has been
not their superior strength or skill or
faithfulness or industry, but that
woman has worked merely as a tenn
porary expedient. She has tenaciously
assumed that she would presently
quit work. and be supported by some
man. This dream has been largely
fanciful. The woman, married, has too
often found that she has not stopped
working, but has undertaken a far
more laborious and ever grudgingly
paid occupation. But her indulgence in
this dream has not only made her
wages smaller-who will not pay more
TO worker who expects to go on
working than a worker who expects
presently to quit and is meanwhile
giving at least half the energy to an
other occupation, that of catching a
husband@ Indulgence in this dream has
also prevented woman from cuItivat-
Ing ambition-why struggle to rise in
an occupation which one hopes and
intends presently to abandon for an
other that is wholly different?
Astonishing Changes in the Future.
We have an astounding increase in
the number Of divorces. We have
the increasing frequency OF families
where both the husband and the wife
work. contributing to the family in
come. We have more and more
families where the womans earnings