The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1907-11-02

take up her abode with a male relative
as was the custom of the day, she was
not necessarily forced to suffer the
humiliation Of dependence, since a
skilled oma in any household could
far more than pay for her own keep
ing. Women were happy and content
ed in the useful sphere defined for
them by the conditions Of the times.
However, this simplicity of living was
destined to be displaced by a far moro
kcomplicated system and the well-es-
tablished sphere of women to be ruth
lessly destroyed in consequence.
The successful cultivation of cotton
In the south and the succession OF in
ventions which made it's manufacture
at the north a tempting enterprise to
capital soon placed quantities of cot
ton cloth upon the market. Those who
did not produce their own linen bought
cotton, and it soon became fashionable.
The household weaver of linen be-
came ambitious to weave in the public
factory, and little by little the manu-
facture Of linen as a household indus
try was lost. The improved machinery
for the manufacture of wooden cloth
encouraged the establishment Of WOOL
en- factories as we'll. At first farmers
carried their wool to these factories,
receiving in return the woven cloth,
while the manufacturer kept a por-
ton of it in payment for the service
narfnrpond Tho ;or1roI {out,,ra ~
the factory cloth soon established its
popularity and made it fashionable.
The next step followed naturally. The
farmer sold his wool for money and
with money bought his cloth; thus the
household manufacture Of wooden
cloth was likewise driven from the
home. Fifty years after the invention
of the knitting machine the factories
were not only knitting the stockings
and mittens of the nation but it's I'm
dergarments as well.
The sewing machine was invented in
1916 and was a helpful assistant to
women in the manufacture of clothing
at home; but so years later it had be-
come the center of a large factory en-
terpise and a very large proportion of
mems tailoring, shirts, collars, cuffs
and women's muslin underwear, wrap
perS and clOaks were produced in the
factory, while each year women's
gowns were manufactured there in
increasing quantities.
Ore by n the occupations Of wom-
en- disappeared from the home to re-
appear in the factory and under the
magic touch Of capital to produce for
tunes of a magnitude not dreamed of
in the early days of American sim
plicity. Gas and electricity took the
place Of the tallow dips. Cheap soap
replaced the homemade article and
great factories sprung up all over the
country for the manufacture of starch
for the use of table and laundry, and
the soft soap and potato starch of our
grandmothers became forgotten arts.
The manufacture of butter and cheese
is so entirely relegatedr to the factory
that western farmers now sell cream
and buy butter. Bread, cakes, and
pies are produced in fabulous guam
titles by the bakeries. Canneries
without number prepare the choicest
fruits and vegetables in a variety of
ways for immediate use, while every cul-
mary achievement of our grandmoth-
ers, from their everyday baked pork
and beans to their holiday plum pud-
ding, is reproduced with c%leverness by
the modern factory.
In fact there was no accomplish
of the old-time housewife which
has not now become a market com
modify and women in consequence
have lost their ancient sphere Of use
fulness. The disappearance of the
household manufactures from the home
greatly lightened the labors of women,
but introduced a new problem. The
necessities which have been produced
by home labor could only be had in
the public market and money alone
could buy them. To meet the new &C.
became necessary and the men of
the family were not always able to
provide it. 1t was as natural as it was
for women to conclude to sell
their industrial services and with the
wage they earned to purchase the COM
forts they had lost when the home in
dustries passed into the factory.
Undoubtedly women, and especially
unmarried women, would have entered
very generally into the field of wage
Garner, in obedience to these natural
laws, had not restrictive influences
quite as strongly to keep them
within the home. There existed an al
most unanimous belief that woman's
sphere could only be found within the
walls of her home. Public opinion is
not i%nfrequently as binding as law
and the bitterness with which this
opinion was upheld visited unbearable
criticism upon many women workers.
were dubbed indelicate and were
made to feel that they were outcasts !
from all good opinion. Nothing but
poverty served to pardon their Of
tense.
The positions open to women were
few and these pitifully ~remunerated.
AS late as 1910 Harriet Martineau Wis