The Washington times., 1903-03-08

- NE Of the remarkable books of
the season is The Woman
- Who Tolls" by Mrs John Van
Worst and Marie Van Worst Appearing
first as a series OF articles on the con-
ditions of women's work in various man
ufacturing cities. il attracted much at
tention from the unique character Of
the social experiment described and from
the graphic force Of the narrative it
self
or late il has been once more brought
into unusual notice from the fast that
President Roosevelt has written a let
ter TO one OF the authors warmly COM
mending the book AID touching especial
" on a certain phase of the problem
which # discusses. This letter is re-
printed as a preface to the collected
sketches.
For the benefit OF those who nave
not already read the book in its serial
form. il may be briefly stated that two
women of wealth and social position.
lions as they affect working women.
conceived the idea OF making a personal
investigation in the disguise OF working
girls seeking employment This they did,
in Pittshurg pickle factory. in a Ne,
York mill town. in Lynn shoe factories.
in Chicago clothing shop and in the
cotton mills OF South Carolina.
Two Views of Factory Life.
They did not pursue their investiga-
tions together. but each took certain
towns as her fold and wrote Of ,h..n
The book is COMPOSED Of the two sets
Of sketches. II is certainly the most
notable contribution 10 sociological it,
erature Of It's kind since Prof. Wyckon- j
books appeared several years aEo.
II may be argued. and with justice.
that any view OF working people taken
from the outside-and the view OF a
born outsider is always from the out
side-musf necessarily be impsrf sct.
The man or woman born IN the non
working class. taking up the life of ihe
toilcr merely as an experiment. cannot.
as repeated trials have proved. enter
into the feelings and experiences OF that
description is inevitably colored either
by optimism or uessimism.
The narrator. bringing 20 unaccusto ON
ed tasks the trained intelligence o. gen
erations OF leisure. may find them less
intolerable than the narrower IrtcIli-
ronce: or. which is more likely. the SEN
sitive nerves OF the investigator. revolt
ing at the sqUalor OF the conditions un-
der which work is done. may lead him 20
the conclusion that the workingman is a
creature OF a lower order. because ne
also does not evidently suffer from those
conditions
We often hear the careless comment.
"Oh. these people are not Ike US. They
1on't mind such things" Sometimes IL
is true. There is state OF mind and
body too caIlous and stupid TO be moved
by bad smells filthy surroundings. dis
agreeable tasks. o. any kind OF moral
or physical ugliness.
II there were not in human nature a
power OF adaptability; II the human love
OF life did not prove stronger than ad-
verse influences IN the environment. the
Iaboring classes OF more than one gen
Grafton would have been snuned out
long ago.
The Tragedies Of Labor
But in spite OF everything there are
individuals here and there among those
who toll. whose feelings are as sensi-
tive. whose systems are as delicate as
those OF the average aristocrat. and the
crushing down of these hner intelli-
cences is one OF the tragedies OF labor.
The present work is notable ia that
Il recognizes. as perhaps no former
work has done, the existence OF such