Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1912-11-30
WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN IN
,DUSTRY
Continued from page /

times In unsanitary tenement houses.
where women and children work. over
hours and many times until far into
the night. l men ion this because
it is condition that is not reached
by child labor laws. In those states
that have child labor laws they only
apply to the more public works.
While all the work Is not done in un-
sanitary places, we are safe in say
ing that much of it Is done in such
places, and this not only subjects
the child to over work but places
the public in great danger of contag-
ious diseases. This surely Is con-
dition which needs attention.
But as / wish to take up the con-
dition of the child In industry in con-
nection with that of the child that
does not work, l will pass on and
notice the conditions under which
some of our women labor
Whether it is better for woman to
work in her home in occupations re-
lated to industrial life or whether
such work should be done, in the
factory is a question which most stu
dents have decided in favor Of the
factory; and this for various reas-
ons. Some of which | have just men
toned. When such work Is done In
the factory there is p legal number
of hours during which women may
work, and the wages paid have been
fairly we'll standardized. Women In
industry ordinarily work too many
hours per day and they do not re
ceiye as high wage as they earn,
as compared with that received by
man. But undoubtedly the conditions
in the factory are much better than
they can possibly be In the home.
Aside from the other considerations
the home should rarely, II ever be
turned into workshop, for here Is
involved not only the work Of the
woman, but the children as we'll.
The history of women in industry
in the United States Is story OF
great industrial readjustment. Not
only has her work been carried from
the home to the factory, but the kind
of work which they have been doing
has been greatly changed, and at the
same time their monopoly OF ,radi-
tional occupations has been destroy
ed. Her work has been systemat-
lied and specialized SO that an in
dividual woman no longer finishes
an entire product. She has become
part of a great machine. A large
part of what was formerly consider
ed Womans work is now being done
by man. Under the old domestic
system the work of woman was to
spin, to- weave, to sew, to knit, to
cook and to perform the other duties
of the domestic servant, but machines
have come to aid in this Work-ma-
chimes which In some cases have
brought their men operatives, and
in others have greatly increased the
power of the individual
making it necessary for many women
to seek employment in other fields.
According to the report on woman
and child wage earners in the Unit
ed States, gotten out by the De-
partment of Commerce and Labor,
in several large cities
showed that out Of 108,616 women
employed in the large department
and retail stores, those living at
home averaged 22.5 years of age,
earned $6.98 and paid $3.50 weekly
to their families. Those not living
at home averaged 1872 years of age,
earned $7.89 and spent SAB per
week for their food, shelter and
laundry. The conditions in the fac
tories are much worse. Out Of 294,-
SOC Investigations, those living at
home averaged 21.1 years OF age,
earned $6.40 and paid $5.4e weekly to
their families. Those not living at
home earned $67S and spent $3.50
for food, shelter and laundry. These
figures do not include clothing, liter
AZURE or amusements.
Any one who Is familiar with liy-
ing conditions in our large cities
knows that this is not a sufficient
amount to maintain a decent stand
ard Of living, and when they do 1t
proves the unusual strength OF char
acter OF the individual. The thing
most needed is a minimum wage law
such as Massachusetts has, and 9TH
er states are considering, for woman
will undoubtedly remain in industry.
Most of them will be compelled to do
so.
But It might as we'll be recognize