The daily silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1903-1907, 1905-01-17
RATES.
THE WIFE AS THE BREAD-wINNER.

THE WIFE AS THE BREAD-WINNER.
mo woman should contemplate matri-
mony until she is able to supper a hus-
band,' was the somewhat sensational
statement of Mr.. N. w. Ferris, late
Democratic candidate for governor of
Michigan, in an address before the Ma
tional Commercial Teachers Association
of Chicago. Il believe" continued Mr..
Ferris, that before taking so serious a
step a girl should look ahead and prepare
for possible future misfortunes. There
fore, every girl should fit herself to step
into her husbands place in the support
of the family, in the event of anything
Detailing him which should unfit him for
work.
THE speaker meant to emphasize a
fact which is becoming widely recog-
nized,' explains the New York Post,
that every girl outside the privileged
classes not only should, but must be ed
ucated to become s-elf-supporting. So
commereialized has the world become
that the privileged classes are growing
smaller year by year. and the work done
by women in the home is yearly growing
more CONSTRUCTED. Statistics are dull
things, as a rule. but some of the figures
contained a recent report of the United
States Bureau of Labor are sufficiently
significant to make them interesting. Re-
ports were secured, for the present in
curry, from 25, 40 families living in thirty
three States, and the occupations repre-
scented ranged from mechanics and clerks
to day laborers.
Not the least interesting of the reports
related to the sources of income of these
families. The per cent of married women,
that is to say, of wives, at work is not
high enough to warrant the Indignation
expressed in the Presidents message, but
ii is sufficiently high to indicate that the
w~orkingman does not necessarily support
his wife in any section of the country.
In the north Atlantic States more than
8 per cent of The wives are at work. ~
the south Atlantic States, ranging from
Delaware to Georgia, more than IA per
cent work for wages In the middle west
the per cent is lower, a little more than
6 per cent; while in the far west, Colo
RADIO, California and Washington. a little
over 8 per cent only are at work. In all
of the United States exactly SOS per cent
of wives are bread-winners 1t does not
appear that these women are of foreign
birth. IN the contrary, more native-born
than foreign-born wives contribute to the
family income, although certain national
tiles have a larger proportion of working
wives. Thirteen per cent of French wives
in the United States are wage-earners.
Taking boarders is one of the oldest and
most respectable forms of adding to the
income. In all the United States %. 26 per
cent of workingmen's families are wholly
or partly supported by the wife taking
boardsrs or ledgers.
According to the report, the percentage
of families having an income from chill
dren at work is q. Is. No report is made
on the average earnings of the children,
but the earnings of the wives are consul
cradle. The income of the average work
ingman's family from all sources is $749.5O.
OF this sum the wage-earning wife con-
tributes s12S.52 Summarized. the report
shows that the average w~orkingman IN
the United States earns only 79.49 per
cent of the family income. His wife,
children and boarders contribute the rest.
The native-born workingman earns more
of the income than the forelgn-born, but
1t is plain hat in all except the privil-
eyed classes wives and children are be-
question.