El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-03-26


an in her broadened activities and by
thouse who would have her return to
the narrow circle from whence she so
lately emerged The difference Of opin-
ion is based not upon the character Of
woman's sphere, but on the definition
Of the word home"
Ideas OF Home Differ.
Those who oppose the modern activ-
lly OF women would define home as a
place, bounded by four walls, beyond
which no Woman's voice should be
raised The mOdernisLs and the femi5a-
ISIS define home TO mean all OF those
influences, circumstances and condi-
lions that affect the life of husband
WE ana children, whether these infIu-
ehceS' circumstances and conditions are
20 De located within four walls or
Whether they are as broad as the ma
1t is not the woman's fault that her
relation to society has changed. and is
sun changing. 1t is the mans fault, #
lault II be- For the domestic revOIu-
ton now an progress in all the west
ern world IS but the necessary and
inevitable result Of the industr'aI
revolution that century or more ago
took industry out of the home and
planted it in the factory
IheSe two revolutions, industrial and
domestic, that were set on foot by the
invention Of labOr-and time saving
machinery, are far more fmDOrtaur in
their effect upon mankind in general
than any political revolution, bloody or
bloodless, ever staged in the worlds
history.
Industrial Revolution.
For thousands and untold thousands
OF years woman stayed at home, kept
house, reared children, and carried on
manufacturing enterprises Man
hunted and fished and titled the
ground. often with the help of his
women 1t was the woman who spun
yarn and wove cloth; it was the wom-
and who tanned hides and made shoes
OF course. there were artisans and
handlcraftsmen who worked in metal,
wood and stone. but even these did
their work in the house where they
nFed and hourly called for the physical
ana their women could give them.
About the middle of the 18th cen
fury Things began to change. Watts
invented the steam engine; Hargreayes
and Arkwright invented the spinning
Jenny; a little later, Whitney produced
me cotton gin and multiplied the
available supply of raw material for
the new textile mills Thus for the
first time since Eve spun. men
began to weave. A woman spinning by
hand could not produce as much yarn
IN whole day as could a man at a
single spindle in a single hour in the
new factory A linen sheet which re-
quired a months labor in the home
could be made in the factory in a few
hours. This was the beginning
Domestic Industries Gone.
The industrial revolution swept on
until II has all but abolished the do
nestle industries Now all spinning
and weaving is done in the factory. and
most Of the sewing. Even cooking as
no longer domestic industry. Bread
comes from the bakery; Tegeta bles aud
fruits from the canning factory: Ger
eals and breakfast foods appear on the
table ready cooked from the factory.
The economic advantage of employ
ing mechanical rather than human
power to accomplish laborious work
viii not be disrupted at this late day
But it has forced the modern woman
to face new questions of supplying her
own need for employment, and fire.
quenty OF providing the necessaries Of
life Tor herself and those dependent
upon her. The ability which enabled
her ancestor to direct all the activities
IN the home, which supplied the needs
OF the family Of the 18th century, must
be utilized by the modern woman to
meet her own obligations which are
not less onerOus because entirely diff
ferent
Seek New Octivitfes.
Since by mans usurpatiOn Of the
province which was formerly her own.
she no longer Is able to occupy herself
within the four walls which she called
home, she must needs turn to other
activities. some Of which have been
considered to be peculiarly masculine.
Consequently, the red glare Of the
steel furnace is reflected upon
wOmen's faces in America as well as in
Europe The pulpit, the bar. the ply
slclan's office. know feminine activity
as do also the market and the count
ing room In these callingS, however.
1t is becoming more and more appar-
ent that women are not taking mems
places in the great and industrial bust
ness world. but are doing in a dis
tinctly feminine way, a new work that
has been created by changing cond'
dons, and which, but for the women,
would go undOne- The masculine and
the feminine principles may be clearly
recognized in every field of work
Woman is only coming into her own.
Society Not Adjusted to Change.
The Industrial revolution which /
eliminated so many industries from the
home, also changed its sociological and
economic OutlOOks. Society has not yet
adjusted itself to these changed points
of view. and in this fact is found the
reason for the great unrest among the
women Of the western world. and es-
peciany among those of the English
speaking nations Machinery is multi /
plying daily and, with its multiplied
ton tends still more to lessen both the I
labor yet remaining to be performed /
in the home and the products Of that {
labor. This brings to the woman OF
moderate means greater leisure than
the richest woman knew a hundred ]
years ago. Leisure cannot mean idle |
ness to a human being OF normal In
telligence. so the modern woman IS |
turning her attention to work helpful /
to the whole human race, although she /
still is filling only the broader re- |
Quirements of her true sphere-the /
home
Crusades That Help Homes.
The mother of a family desires to /
have only pure milk for her children.
To secure this it may be necessary for |
her to inaugurate a crusade for milk I
which will benefit not only |
her own family. but that of the poorer |
mother, who would not have been able /
to initiate such a movement or to Sc I
cure such protection for herself If /
the modern woman would protect her /
own family from the typhoid germs to 1
be found in impure water, she must 4
demand system of filtration and pur- \
ification. which will make the water |
pure and safe for the whole commu- K
nifty.
The modern woman may demand /
that the clothing which she buys for /
herself and her children shall be made |
under proper sanitary conditions. In l
this she not only safeguards her own |
family, but protects less fortunate /
may be less able women
by using her influence toward the pro-
hibition Of child labor. for the proven
lion of long working hours for women.
and for the protection Of workers in
the factories from avOidable disease
and accident.
VE-,rI- -, l., o,,tsF5o III, h..