El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-09-28

A w OEthINlT Elrl WEIeS me an
~ exceedingly Wrathy letter in
"A which she inveighs against mar
ried women who are wage earn
ers, and declares that they take the
Softly little sister. The woman VINO
works outside of her home after she
is married is oftener to be p1tied than
criticised, for in 80 cases out Of a
hundred IT means that her husband is
incapable of supporting her, and that
to the burden OF wifehOOd, and often
motherhood she has 10 add that OF
making a living. Sometimes the hus-
band is the victim Of unfortunate cir
custances. He loses his health, or IS
thrown out of work. And sometimes
he is just plain no account and lazy.
A Pathetic Figure.
In either case the woman who must
go out and earn the food Of her family
and then come home and cook II is as
pathetic figure as you can find- II IS
had enough for a young girl to nave
to stand behind counter, or pound
a typewriter all day, but how infinitely
worse for the woman who has been up
half Of the night nursing an invalid
husband, or listening for the footsteps
of a drunken one, and perhaps cover
ing away from his blows.
OF course my correspondents view
that the woman who is married, and
who has ostensibly q husband to sup
port her, should not compete with IN
married women in the labor market Is
a natural, if a prejudiced one As a
matter Of fact, hOWeVr, 1t has no
standing I'm Justice every one Of US
has a right to life, liberty and the pur-
suit Of happiness in our own way, ana
can best help herself by working out
side of the home instead of in it, or
that she prefers typewriting to cook
ing, she has a perfect right to do as
she pleases in the matter.
There are men. good and true and
lOvable. who are born without any
business faculty, just as most of US
are born without a tenor voice Many
Of these men marry women who have
the talent for getting on that the nus
bands lack. Shall such wives sit down
and fold their hands and let their fam
lilies starve because, If they 60 out 70
work, they viii compete with unmar-
ried women?
would Live Apart.
Again. there are many Young couples
who are in love and who could marry
comfortably on the combined earnings
Of both, but who must forever remain
apart If the wife gives up her job on
her wedding day.
by earning money than she can by
cooking his dinner and washing his
shirts, is there any reason she shouldn't
do itE There are many cases in which
a mans future prosperity could be as
sured by his wife holding on to her
Job and bringing in a little necessary
money for year or two after mar
rage.
The real objection TO married women
being wage earners is not that they
compete with young girls, but the NOR
al effect it has on their husbands.
There are some men who are spurred
on to greater efforts Dy the fact that
their wives are out in the world t0iling
trying to help them by making money,
but unfortunately the majority OF hus-
bands whose wives can support them,
let them do it. The statistics Of fac
tory towns where many women work
in the mills, show that the men con-
tribute very little to the family eX-
chequer. They spend their money on
themselves and leave their wives TO
feed and clOthe the family.
All Of this makes the problem Of the
wage earning wife one that cannot be
settled by any blanket rule. II has TO
be worked out I'm each individual case
on its own merits, not by denying the
married woman the right to compete
with the unmarried one.
But the lure Of the business world
is not so ~reat to women as many sup
pose. Every wOman's dream is of her
own home, her own fireside, her own
man, able with his good right arm 10
provide for her and she does not often,
after marriage apply for her old Job