The Savannah morning news., 1903-01-18

functions. That explains the tagging
of the political rights of women be-
hind their industrial and civil rights
or, rather, industrial and civil neces-
sities for no right ever has been, or
probably ever will be, recognized until
it becomes a necessity. The develop
nent with us of class of woman who
were housekeepers only and were, for
the most of the time, idle or half idle,
is a development unnatural to the
spirit of our democratic republic.
1t was due in the main to three
causes. First, the survival of the old
world old era ideas of "woman'S
sphere" of the coarsening effect of la
Dor upon her finer nature" of the
"aristocratic flavor" and high breed
ing" of uselessness and idleness. Sec
ond, to the simpler tastes of even the
better educated classes among our an
cestors, and the comparative ease with
which the labor of one individual in
the family could provide money
enough to satisfy those tastes. Third,
to the very tardy development of a
class of domestic laborers and provid-
ers to relieve woman of the care of the
houhehold and the nursery, when her
talents could be more probably en-
plowed in other occupations.
AS a result of these three causes a
class of idle women sprang up-not
only amorg the rich and the well-to-
do, but even among the artisans, small
farmers and small shopkeepers. And
this class came to be regarded as typi-
cal and exemplary. In reality 1t is
neither. 1t has no place in our tradi-
ton of mothers and grandmothers who
spun and made preserves, did their
own housework, and We're busy every
waking moment about matters which
are now largely attended to in fac
tories and shops. And it has no place
in our future. if the signs of the times
mean what they seem to mean. Our
society is founded upon two ideas
work and equal opportunity to all to
work. 1t abhors an idler as nature
abhors q vacuum. And as the old
time occupations of woman are carried
on in a different way. she must and
will find other occupations.
Emerson well said: Every man is
as lazy as he dares to be-" He meant
every woman, also. The very power
full impulse that is acting upon the
woman, bred to idleness and genteel
inertia, is found in the passion for in
dependence and the passion for luxury.
These two passions impel women to
work that they may be free and may
have the Injuries and comforts which
must be earned. These two passions
impel men to refuse to burden them
selves with the dead weight of the
support of idle, incompetent women.
Men Also DispIacing Women.
Thus, we have a social organization
which is in process of revolutionary
change. The women are rapidly go
ing to work at occupations which
have been transferred from the domes-
tic to the general sphere, and at the
occupations new and old which, it was
expected a few years ago. would be in
possession of the men only. The men,
on their part. are not only working rs
formerly, but also entering occupa-
tons once followed exclusively by the
women. Some of the new employments
of women have already been enumer-
ated. The new employments of men
in this country include laundry work,
cooking, general housework nursing.
keeping boarding houses, teaching pri-
mary and kindergarten pupils, dress
making, millinery and sewing. The list
is Ear shorter and, from the old view
point where the equal dignity of all
honorable labor was derived, seems far
less dignitied than the women's list
The reason for this Is, of course, that
the men had small room to expand
their already multiform activities,
while the women had all the room in
the world.
The underlying principle Of this re-
distribution of activities is the com
mon sense principle that every unit in
a society should do the work at hand