Cheyenne record., 1914-11-05
THE WOMAN IN THE FIELD
The Farm Woman Needs Relief
More Than Her City Sister.
BY Peter Radford.
Lecturer National Farmer, U:iiou

ten ABOUT the woman IN the factory
and behind the counter, but how about
the woman who works in the field!
! want to say a few words ii her be-
half. ! regret necessity that com.
pels woman to work for a livelihood.
and l favor not only shortening her
labor entirely. crave for society
that high standard OF excellence where
the home is wo:lan's THO: and her
life is devoted TO n.o!ding the char
acter and el2va.ing tho thought OF
the rising generation. But so long as
want, greed aid misfortune prevail in
this world. wo"eu, through choice or
necessity. will work, and perhaps
they will work at enc task or another
as many hou.s per day as they please.
We mcy pity the weak and admire
the strong IN their struggle. but the
farm woman is entitled to her share
of sympathy and reward.
All Must Toil.
The tabor problem, as relates to
men, Is a. most veXatious one, and
when we apply 1t to omen 1t becomes
more seriously complicated. We will
always have to work unless some po.
litical genius can rut law on the
statute book ,hat will enable US to
live without labor. So long as every
person must r,cet tol face 10 face. the
best we can 60 is to equitab!y dis.
tribute the burdens and reward labor,
and IL there is TO be revision Of
wages and a shortening CT hours, l
want the farm Woman to get her
share. She has mere reason to com.
plain than any oth2r class Of toilers.
She has. as rule. fewer comforts,
fewer pleasures. ."es recreation and
less opportunity for enjoyment than
her sister in the city. She has not
so many convenicnccs and fewer lux.
urics and less to be thankful for than
women who live in the town. but she
tolls on, a model Of consistency, pa
ticrcc and womanly devotion. Ger
tainl:- she should be the first to be
rewarded.
Tho Real Labor ProbI1n Is on the
The great dail!es with flaming head
lines dcplo:c the let Of women who
toll in the cities, the city pulpit
thunders with sympathy for her and
the Legislators orate in her behalf.
but not line Is written, word said
or n speech delivered in the interest
of the million women who labor on
the farm. Where one woman works
In the cities in this state, there are a
hundred mothers toiling in the field.
and no mention Is made OF 1t. Is the
woman in the city entitled to any
more consideration than the woman
on the farm? I contend that she Is
not. The city woman may be more
easily restrained by legislation. and
she may have Hlore attentive au-
dience when she cries aloud. but the
real labor problem. ins ofar as 1t re.
lates to women and children. Is on
the farm-where mother and child.
welding the hoe and gathering the
harvest, toll day in and day out with.
out hope Of reward.
The City Life Puny.
The farm women. work from sun
until sun. They do their house work
and lull q half-million babes to sleep
after the chickens so to roost. and
they get breakfast and milk the cows
before the lark sings. The city wo-
man frequently chafes under hard
ships that the farm woman would
consider a blessing. The city people
are great takers and ofttimes great
" magnify their troubles and enlarge
their accomplishments. This charac.
teristic permeates organized society
as we'll as enters into the individual
life Of cities. There are orphan asy-
lums which are doing commendable
work and should be encouraged. that
boast of their accomplishments, but
I have seen widows in the country
make a crop. drink branch water and
eat corn-bread and molasses and
raise more children and better chill
dren than many Of these city orphan
asylums. The cities need to get back
to the soil with their Ideals. They
are hysterical. puny and feeble In
their conception of life, Its require.
ments and its orportunities-