New-York tribune., 1908-03-01
EQUAL PAY QUESTION.
Statistics Shoe IndiUiduaI Is Eco
nomic Unit for Women.
To the Editor of The Tribune

To the Editor of The Tribune
Sir: In the controversy over equal pay" ths
advocates the policy decline sanction the ap-
DpeaI OF their opponents TO common knowledge;
for instance the generally accepted statement that
broadly speaking. women wage earners provide ZOE
themselves only. while wage earnsrs make pro-
vision for families. present prospective. meets
win the cry that 'In the present enlightened ags
OF freedom progress etc. the economic dependence
Of woman upon man Is fast becoming relic OF the
barbarous past: justice. then. demands that etc
Let see IL woman really Is rapidly bscoultnS
''emancfpated'' from her economic Dependence
this would 70 indicate or course. shall
appeal to untrustwo-thy authority al
what everybody knows: that is - much nks
the similar familiar epigran1. what's everyoooys
business IS nObody's business" Granting then.
that what every knows knows, and
that hence II is probably not true. perhaps these
ardent petitioners FOR special governmental proseo-
ton will find the grace 70 refuse 70 accept a.
authoritative a most interesting. impartial and
scientific study. entitled statistics OF Women AZ
Work" based on unpublished information derived
from the schedules OF the twelfth census 1900 and
published in 1850 by the United States government
From the statistics therein presented II appears
that in 1890 there n the United States S4.5A
female breadw1nners sixteen years OF age ovsrs
OF these women engaged In gainful occupations oS
per cent lived at home and I91 per cent vs-D
boarding, and only In ten living IN fam
ny tn which there other breadw1nner- In
other words. out OF 10000 only soooo supported
others than themselves. and OF these soo.ooo -
per cent were living in homes IN which there vers
other breadw1nne-s than themselves: indeed z
per cent OF them in homes in which there az
least four breadwfnners. and OF the single
women three-tenths lived IN families IN which thera
were three other breadwinners
But the figures here presented o. even greater
pertinence. OF the 40 1ss teachers IN the Unirsd
States IN 1890 there were three women 20 every
man The study OF the ages OF these women
teachers leads 10 the conclusion that comparative
" speaking their work IS temporary nnakezhift.
and II is remarked that marriage usually
the teacher to leave profession. while II often
does not affect women engaged IN many other
cupatIons."
Further light is thrown on this aspect Of rha
case by noting the marital relations OF the women
teachers On this subject the report rernarhs=
when the female teachers compared With the
women engaged in other occupations It
will be found that the percentage of single women
among teachers exceptionally higa- OF the
total number OF female breadwinners only IS per
cent single, while the corresponding Per
centage or the teachers was S2-2 per cent and as
further Illuminating subject, it IS Interesting
TO learn that "of the teachers who lived ar home.
the largest proportion were In the families OF which
the father the head while the teachers whSI
the sole means OF support OF their families
formed only So per cent OF the total We ars
further informed that single teachers. exclusive os
boarders usually lived with their fathers ard
mothers and further that the single teacher
not usually the only breadwinner, FOR she was usu-
ally assisted by the father and one brother OF
sister and perhaps more than one The married
teachers were assisted by their husbands. and ths
widowed and divorced women often had q child
who was 6 breadwfnner-
What bearing do these iudispuraole facts Eavs
upon the equal pay agtation9 II less than E
per cent OF the female teachers heads oI far-
lies dependent upon them for support II would
seem that to help these few among the fifteen
thousand women teachers OF New York the tax
payers invited 70 pay TO the other 90 per cent
a wage TO which they not entitled, assregatt1S
many millions annually The whole question can
be pIthly summarized IN these words: WIKI the
man the economic unit IS the family; with the
woman, II IS the Individual
CHARLES r FAY.
Erasmus Hall High School. Brooklyn. Feb u 1888