The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1906-1907, 1907-06-24
womea workers In America.

One generation ago a woman engaged
any occupation which from its be-
ginning had been considered mans
work was a rarity. A recent report
rom the census once, based upon the
,ensus Of 1900, presents some surpris-
NC figures. In 1900, as shown by this
eport, women were engaged I'm all
nut nine Of the 303 occupations recogp
ized by the census. Nearly one-hak
Il the single women in the United
states, the actual figures being 4B.o
por cent, were at work. Employed In
gainful occupations" were 31.5 per
,ent Of the widows. 65.3 per cent Of the
divorced women and SO per cent of the
married women In the land.
These figures, of course, do not In
Jude the multitudes Of women who do
heir own housework. They apply ex-
iIusively to those who work for wages
n salaries outside their own homes.
/ comparison Of the two censuses of
800 and 1900 shows that the number
Il women working as housekeepers,
servants, walters, dressmakers, mil
liners and seamstresses had not In
reased relatively at the latter census.
rhe greatest increases were shown In
ilerlcal and stenographlc work The
lumber OF women workers doubled In
he twenty years from 1880 to 1900.
Since the latter year, though no au-
horitatlve figures are available, 1t ID
believed that the increase has been
Teater than In the preceding seven
Tears
The effect upon the male workers of
his enormous increase Of female com
petition Is a matter worthy Of serious
consideration There can be no doubt
hat In many occupations the women
lave lowered the general scale OF
wages. Not only this, but thousands
" men have been forced to engage In
occupations other than those in which
hey were engaged when the influx Of
'emale competition began. On the 9TH
T hand, IN a certain degree the de-
Teased pay OF men aud the increased
ilfiiculty of obtaining employment
laye been Offset by the fact that many
If the women workers contribute their
earnings to the support Of the family.
America is by no means alone In the
general employment OF women. In
certain European countries women
nave worked side by side with men in
many occupations for generations, par
1cularly In agricultural labor. In
France, for example, the proportion Of
actly twice our own, "a per cent of
he wage earning population compared
with our II, and IS per cent of the to-
tai population compared with our beg
carly O In Paris the shopgirl and the
woman office clerk were common a
generation ago Consul j. O. Covert,
writing from Lyon, France, gives some
interesting statistics concerning the
French working woman;
OF the H.7sOOOo population Of France
statistics record q working population OF
10, 76O,015, Of whom 6,s0S.5i0 are women and
girls, The number engaged In agricul-
tural pursuits Is sl76,b69, of whom 265S,-
952 are women. OF the J. s22 G20 people en-
Eaged In commerce $50 900 are women. and
Of the i,0i6.099 people employed In domes-
tic pursuits 7gi.il6 are females. Those en-
gagged In Industrial pursuits furnish en-
ployment TO b.Sles55 people, OF whom
ai2a6i2 are women The percentage OF
females employed In four branches Of la
Dor Is; Agriculture. 2S commerce. IS; do
nestle pursuits, u. and learned profess
sions, 81
Consul Covert also points out that
more than half the persons employed
In the weaving and throwing of silk
are women and children. The employ
ment of women and children, he says,
not ouly has driven men out of the
business on account OF reduction in
wages, but II has materially deterlorat-
cd the artistic character of the silk.