The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-09-21

us the trend of modern industry
dangerous TO the character Of wom-
an?" LAS an indistinguishable unit In
the Industrial hosts of today is she
more or less anti-social in thought and
deed than as an isolated worker under
the simpler conditions of the nast?'
These questions are asked and con-
sidered in a report which Miss Mary
Conyngton made for the federal gov
ernment on the relation betw cen oc-
cupation and crminalitX of women. II
Is part of the investigation concerning
women and child wage earners in the
United States. prepared under the d.
rection of former Labor Commissioner
Charles p. Neill Miss Conyngton en-
deavors to give answer to the questions
| from q study of women offenders.
| The conclusion is that the widening
OF the Industrial sphere of woman has
not been accompanied by a proper
/ tionate increase in criminality. but as
far as change is perceptible, 1t is to-
ward a diminution of legal offenses.
Statistics were obtained from 1929
women offenders in six different states
who had been convicted of some Of
fense An analysis of 1862 of The 1929
offenders, who had been gainfully en-
ployed, shows that 1852 per cent had
been engaged in domestic or personal
| service; 1867 per cent in manufa ctur-
ing and mechanical pursuits; 33l per
cent In trade and transportation, and
.66 per cent in professional work. Com
pairing these percentages with the per-
centage of women in different occupa-
tional pursuits throughout the coun-
try as given in the United States CEN
sus for 1900. 1t was found that dis
portionate number. varying from twice
| to six times its representation, come
from the ranks of domestic and per-
sonal service: that manufacturing and
mechanical pursuits do not furnish
| their full share and that trade and
| transportation, including all store and
office work, produce only a small frac-
tion of their proportionate share of Of
tenders
Inquiry as to the earliest occupa-
tions of the offenders in 627 cases in
dicates that no proportion of offenders
beginning in the higher occupational
pursuits fall back into the ranks OF
domestic and personal service, and a
| study of individual cases shows that
those who pass from one occupational
part on the same industrial plane, thus
controverting the theory that any con-
siderable number of women beginning
in the higher occupations seek to con-
ceal their past by CHASING themselves
| as domestic workers.
The great bulk OF women offenders
who come repeatedly to the courts or
who offend in such way as to show
criminality are divided according to
this report into three classes--moral
imbeciles mentally defective and low
grade women who are in the main un-
educated mentally, unframed indus
trially and undeveloped morally. Be-
cause domestic and low grade factory
work draw the low grade workers, do
mestic pursuits yield large proportion
of he who violates the laws. The
newer occupations. it is reasoned. show
far less than their proportion of WON
en- offenders because they attract the
better grade of workers and because
they exercise upon these women re-
straining influnces. At the same time
that there are more temptations there
are also present more safeguards
against these temptations. 1t is in
ferred that so far as increased indus
trial opportunity has had any effect
II has been IN the direction of greater
. decrease of criminality among women
Is not only an accompaniment but in
part consequence of their wider in
!, dustrial opportunities
An inquiry in regard to the relatio
ship between occupation and immoral :
ity and the study of the cases of 100
women who were leading lives of pro-
fessional immortality. leads the inves-
tigator to believe that there is little
connection between occupation or want
and immortality AS a result CT inter
viewing those who work with women
! who have been leading immoral lives
the Investigator states that not one
person consulted gave occupational in
fluences' as leading cause of immor-
ality, and only two laid particular
| stress on them as subsidiary causes
also that not one worker ASST gned pow
erty or low wages as a direct or inn
mediate cause of immortality. In the
whole inquiry only five eases Were
found I'm which the worker reporting
them believed that the women had beer
driven into wrongdoing by want. Foul
classes of women are considered-the