The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-09-23
TRE VIcrOR SEX.
Progress Of AmeFicah women in Trade
ana industry.
Fron Ae TeehnieaI WOrId MaOasln..

there are only eight In which women do not
appear In all the other BOT there are &C.
credited representatives or the coming sex
in numbers ranging from two to oOo.coo.
The eight occupations In which women do
not appear, fall into two classes;
In the first OF these CLASSES the absence Of
woman In due to the tyranny OF man. Thsre
are no women soldiers In the United States
army. There are no women sailors in the
United States navy. There are no women
marines In that navy. And there are no
women .nremen in the municipal Are de-
partments Of American cities, All thiS is
simply because women have been ruled out.
With different regulations there might he
different results. In Sweden there Is n FIRE
department In which women are frequently
enrolled. And the fighting done by women
at the Siege Of SaraRossA in Spain during the
Napoleonie wars has always stood a. a speo-
taculAr and sufficient proof OF feminine valor.
In the Remaining four Of the eight wOmnn-
lesa occupations In this country the absence
Of Wouen cannot be 90 readily explained
away. Il must be simply due to feminine
neglect that at the time OF the last census
there were no women apprentices ana help
ers TO roofera and skaters, no women help
ere 30 brasswOrkers, no women helpers TO
steam boiler makers. and no women street
car drivers. The next census will probably
repair this defect. There Is no reason why
women should not enter these four trades.
Already they can be found In trades which
are similar but more dinicult. Already there
are women roofers and skaters. women brass
workers and women steam boiler makers.
II Ia hard 70 ace why they shouldn't he help
ers in these trades IL they can be full iedged
mechanics. And II. as is the case. there were
two women motormen In 1900. there is no
reason why there should not be women street
car drivers In 1910 In cities where horses are
still used for local transportation.
n,l,, fNnr FNNrtinatinna therefore are IN.
day beyond the reach Of women In the United
States. They cannot be Federal soldiers.
Federal sailors, Federal marines or municipal
nremen. Everywhere else they have Knocked
and they have been admitted.
The total number OF women engaged In
ga,nful occupations in 1000 was 1919, 1877.
This was an emo advance over the num-
Der Of women similarly employed in 1870. II
the same rate OF progress has been main
tanned since 1900 there cannot be the slight.
est doubt that at the present time there are
fully six million women at work in various
trades and occupations in the United states
What this means It is impossible 70 realize
Sntii the t0tai nuI Insn OF SonSIdeIstion nhe i N mt tSs
year 1900 there we're some 100000 American
Women over ten years OF age. Many Of
Many Of. them We're % old as TO be beyond
the working age. Millions Of them were
s SpinsISs u 10 TIER asfi s sfi j on q Sa0Yid hS9FEs 6;m e.
for the present generation and of laying the
t tSTs de aSs iS q the fnS Sssef words oRd q ths s9e T SSl,
with all these dsductions there were in the
were engaged not only IN spending money
but in, earning it: not only in managing the
edged function OF woman. but in creating it.
which u supposed 70 be the duty OF man.
In other words. in the year 1900 out OF every
there was one who was going outside OF her
family. duties and who was tsking, part in the
Ss Jase about about u i.ooc. 600 of Americas 100000
Raintul woTnen In 1900 we're engaged In
xmonx these I'Oo6,coo Women asricpitIrist;
there were e05, 7s1 farm labOrers and ~. U.s.
faroers planters and ovsrseers; od Thssrs
men and iIS women w~oodchoppers.
In thu professions women are accepted
proSs.sions that Of teaching Is the most thor
SSshI q f fsatn tSai m y .h 4 p Tai ftSGDssits as.s Il thf iGeo
there were more than sos. 900 teachers, IL IL
decidedly sSEP1,sinss howsysr: 70 wake up
II IA clear that Il takes about ono teachers
to make az much stir and get as much space
Who would Suppose from the relative amounts
OF ommen made upon actresses and women
G. e. .eT Numerous sn a. t re soTmer are Y %Gr sh sTs" H %ss
lO5 women clergymen IN the United states
in 1900 and they we're actively engaged IN the
| lAhNO IA VI ~
Englpssrlns is groperly regarded as the
most difficult profession for women. The
engineer has to do rough work in educating
hirnheli and he has to do still %rougher work
when he begins to practise, M Essv eI ieae-s
thirty women mechanical and electrical en-
gineers. and threeewofnen mining engineers
Incidentally. there we're fourteen women
Xnd Women Should not forget that modern
library science, with its int ricate technique.
Ia nrn yidinR them with A hey and EXPANDING
field Of professional effort: In 1900 there
were S.I2S women librarians in the United
''There were also 2.Oss women saloon keep
ers and 40 women b~artenders. -.
c.tsiosIins books and Of RSiSins drinks
!. y S6seTSs6ls III IN a r RerT wsn S1 the ea census Ts.i.
s% SanCs miH tnat oS . maH ThS S SSve ali the ne" w Sek
/ done by the women who have gone into the
mechanical trades. In 1900. besides the 100
under the professions, there were $50 women
builders and contractors IN the United states,
forty-Rvs Women plssterers' i.75o women
painters, glakiers and varnishers. i26 women
plumbers. sal women pspsrhansers and tMo
structure in honor Of the sex might pe
s erected by these representatives of its mod
The most notable advance made by women
u in the decade from 1890 to 1900 waSin StenOg-
. raphers and typewriters. In 1900 there we're
Q se.Iis. This was an increase OF more than
The only occupations in which women are
going backward compared with men are
those in which. they might be expected 20 20
I forward. namely. sewing. tailoring and dres.'
taiioresses and dressm akers in proportion "a
the number Of men in these OCCUPATIONS IN
iOOO than there were in ls0N. Work with the
: needle seems to be becoming too feminine
for women.
Il On the whole, however, the increase in the
number of women in the trade and INDUSTRY
Of America h not only satisfactory but MGR
4 zoos there were only about 4,0O0.O0O. The
. number OF women at work increased 80 PEI
q cent. during the decade from 1890 to 1914.
. In that anne period the total number OF women
in the United States increased only p pei
|, cent. In other words, the number of women
at work increased half again as fast rs the
!! total number OF all the women in the country
! Roughly speaking. It may be said that while
in 1890 one woman In every six went tovork
a in 1900 the proportion had increased to one
Il in every Ave.