Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1909-01-24

II sDinster or widow was cotniFL'eS 70
take up her abode with q male relative
as was the custom Of the day. she was
not necessarily forced to suffer the
! humiliation of dependence. since
| skilled woman 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 far moro
complicated 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 q 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 q 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 por-
ton OF 1t in payment for the service
performed. The improved texture OF
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 Its un-
, dergarments as well.
The sewing machine was invented in
1886 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. Guns
! and women's muslin underwear, wrap
pers and cloaks we're produced in the
factory. while each year women's
gowns were manufactured there in
| increasing quantities.
One by one the occupations Of wom-
| en- disappeared from the home to re-
J 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 relegated 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 cleverness by
| the modern factory.
In fact there was no accomplish
ment 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
i by home labor could only be had in
the public market and money alone
| could buy them. To meet the new de-
! mand a greatly increased family in
/ come became necessary and the men OF
the family we're not always able to
provide it. 1t was as natural as it was
| logical 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
| tended quite as strongly to keep them
within the home. There existed an al
most unanimous belief that womans
| sphere could only be found within the
walls OF her home. Public opinion Is
! not infrequently as binding as law
and the bitterness with which this
oninion was upheld visited unbearable