Montana news. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1904-191?, 1908-12-03
THE DIVISION OF LABOR
Ry Allcc Stone RlackwrlI.


Among the better class of opponents
Of woman suffrage, there is a growing
tendency To drop the old argument
that women have not intelligence TO
vote. and to base opposition mainly
on the division of labor"
We are told that the progress Of
civilization Is marked 10y "A growing di-
vision of labor and specialization OF in
dustry: that IL is i'm accordance with
this Ia have men to take charge of the
political work and women of the do
mostic work; and that to admit women
To the ballot would be return toward
barbarism.
II Is true that the progrcs OF civili-
zation has been marked by a growing
division of labor between man and
man, but not between men and women
Thus i'm the early days, every man cut
down trees and built his own house.
raised animals and killed them for
meat, and himself cured their hides
Now this work is divided up between
the carpenter, the butcher and the
tanner In the old days every house
wife spun and wove cloth. dyed IL. and
made IL up into garments for her fam
lily, and also made butter and cheese,
soap and candles. Now this work is
divided up between dozen men and
women. The division of labor be-
tween individuals has been constantly
Increasing. but not the division OF la
Dor between the sexes. There the
trend OF things has been just the other
way.
A hundred years ago hardly any oc-
cupations were open To women except
house work and sewing. Now the
census of 1900 shows that out OF the
hundreds OF trades and professions fol-
lowed by men the only ones I'm which
no women are found are the work of
soldiers and sailors. and telegraph and
telephone linemen. Nothing could be
more untrue than To say that the pro-
grcss OF civilization is marked by a
more and more rigid division of laho!
between the sexes.
Some people admit that the trend of
the times has been to open more cm-
ploymcnts To women, but declare that
IL Is a calamity for women to engage
I'm wagc-earning occupations outside
their homes; and, by an odd confusion
of ideas. they make this an argument
against equal suffrage. But this is To
mix up a political question with a
purely economic one. Whether IL Is
right for n woman To vote is one thing;
whether IL is wise for her to work for
money outside of her home Is quite
another There is no evidence that
more women are wagc-carncrs outside
their homes I'm the states where women
vote than In states whore they do not.
Wyoming has had full woman suffrage
ever since 1863; yet according to the
census of 1900, Wyoming has the
smallest proportion of unmarried
women TO its popuation of any state in
the union, and. presumably, the small
lest proportion of women who are OBJ
llged To engage I'm wage earning occu-
pations outside their homes. On the
other hand, Massachusetts and New
York, where women do not vote. have
an enormous number of unmarried
women wngc-earners.
The specialization of industry" has
no bearing on the question. Voting
is not an industry. The progress OF
civilization has not been to restrict
suffrage more and moro narrowly, but
to extend II To one class after another.
The most advanced nations today are
not those whore all political power is
concentrated In tho hands OF a single
dospot, but those I'm which IL Is most
widely shared among the people. And
the best government Is found where
the largest number of people perform
their political duties, not where they
neglect To vote and leave public af-
fairs tn bc managed by small class
OF professional politicians"