New-York tribune., 1915-03-03
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to other wage earners, but they have a
very present realization of how to help
out at home," she stated. She was at
work in her study, at 206 West Thir-
teenth Street. "The woman movement
and the great industrial movement of
which we hear so much haven't reached
the consciousness of most working
women. They are too much involved
with their outside work and their work
at home to realize what these are.
And you must remember" she went
on, that it was not until women had
leisure that the suffrage movement was
born. Our grandmothers' lives were
centred in their homes because they
had the spinning and weaving and bak
ing and brewing to attend to, and it
kept them busy.
working girls now go outside to
work, not as competent wage earners,
as mer do, but as helpers out at home.
So you see they still have the domestic
point OF view. Men feel that their
domestic duty comedies with the per-
fo-mance of days work. Women
giye time and strength to industry as
men do, but are not relieved from home
duties. So you see working women
haven't really as much time TO give to
outside ideas like suffrage as working
men.
"And working women feel keenly the
need of direct action. This talk OF suf-
frage is too far away from them. Trade
union girls are cutie sure that .tics
is not their channel and that 1t Will
not affect their economic condition.
They look to their unions to obtain the
action they want. We are not
politically minded here, as the people
of Germany and Australia are. There
they look to the government for what
they want; here the working people
look to their unions"
Feminisr. Middle Class Movement.
The "woman movement" according TO
Miss Marot, is a middle class woman's
movement. The middle class women
have been set free from labor. and there
is a general activity among them, a
desire TO do something to help. Natur-
ally, they wish to help the unfortunate
working woman. "And, as a matter of
fact, most of the legislation enacted
for the benefit of working women has
come from women who do not work and
who know little of the conditions of
those who work" Miss Marot added.
The minimum wage she cited as an eX-
ample of legislation that women work
ers themselves objected TO, but which
other women were quite in favor of.
She then went on to say that work
ing men, like many other men, didn't
want their women to vote. Even in
the unions, where there is -upposei to
be no objection to sex. creed or color,
women are not trusted with officehold-
ing. They agree that women make the
best strikers, however, and they want
the aid OF women in strikes. But the
shirtwaist makers union. one of the
largest in this country, is Offered en-
tirely by men"
And, like Miss Scott, she knows the
trade union girl is skeptical "It is a
mistake to tell working women that
they will receive all sorts OF benefits
when women get the ballot. They know
perfectly well it isn't so, that the vote
can't give them what they want They
ask, logically enough: What about the
other states where women vote? Are
the working women there better off
than we are? And what about the
men? They have had suffrage, and
what good has il done them? And they
give their spare time 10 Strengthening
their union organization, for in it lies
their hope"
From all of which 1t seems then that
until working women are given more
time to think and to feel the middle
class woman's movement" will remain
alien to them.