Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-05-21
WOMEN AND WORK,

once IN a while men have dared 90
declare that the so-called emancipation
Of womahmay ccarrled too far They
have not Viewed With Indifference the
scramble OF women for places In OH
COS, IN the professions, in the working
shop or In the field They have rec
garded this as an anomaly q menace
TO our civilization but whom they have
80 expressed themselves, they have gem
orally succeeded In stirring mp cloud
Of opposition Now, women themselves,
commence to look OF the situation
from new poiut of view They begin
to comprehend that the voice Of ma.
ture Is authority on such questions and
that rebellion Ia unsafe.
What may now properly b. called am
advanced opinion on this subject Is
set forth by Mrs Flora Mcdonald
Thompson, in the North American Re-
view She contends that the woman
Nage-earner Is under one aspect an
object OF charity, under another an
economic pervcrt, under another a So
cial menace And yet "the common
assumption Is that 10y engaging IN
mems work women achieve independ-
ence.
Mrs Thompson further points out
that they withdraw an indispensable
force from household production, which
has the effect Of increasing the cost Of
living While at the same time debasing
the value Of labor The wages OF
women being fixed without reference
to the cost Of living, they tend, m
competing with men, to reduce wages
below what II costs to i've Thus, as
they abandon the economy, OF the
household for wage earning. they put
labor IN the anomalous position of hay
ing living expenses increase m inverse
ration to wages
Woman labor" she goes on to say,
lis an economic element as abnormal
as convict labor and It Is equally per-
ncious for the reason that legitimate
labor Ia taxed for ia support"
And what are the results? Mrs,
Thompsons reply Is; 1T has secured
her competence averaging less than
one dollar day. 1t has undermined
her health, Il has trained her in the
work Of machine and made her un
skilled in all the labor which supple.
menta the office Of wife and mother IN
The family 1t has taken her out Of
the home"
The lady charges the employment Of
women in the various occupations with
It's share IN the responsibility for race
suicide. She says
y That child bearing should be re-
prqaeh to a woman follows logically up
on economic Independence Of the sex
The woman who aims 10 be a producer
Of wealth is justihably to be blamed
for bearing children. Maternity inter-
rupts her career and the demands Of
business are such that chances are
against her making success of her
children Very reasonably. In the mod
ern scheme of economics for women,
maternity is ridicul0us-a fault, an err
ror even almost a crime"
Those who have given the subject
close attention have found women en-
gagged IN nearly all kinds Of occupations
in which men ought 10 make enough
for the support NJ an entire family For
instance, there is, we are told. woman
section boss on the Erie railroad. there
Is In Missouri woman who runs a
sawmll; women are bank presidents
and bank cashiers and there are I'm the
United States two women butchers one
Of them glorying In the name Of Daisy,
There are other women who have big
incomes as pet cat bathers, expert
trunk packers and butterfly catchers.
Women dentists and women BARRIERS
have ceased to excite wonder not to
speak Of woman doctors, lawyers,
preachers, real estate agents, editors,
and even blacksmths. In some orien-
tai countries the women are doing
heavy work In the fields and in the
house, but the fact has never been adj
mired or even approved. by western
travellers who have seen Il. Have we
not been drifting toward the orient in
this matter2 But there are indications
that the women themselves are begin
ming to see light In which they may
better appreciate their mission on
earth