The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-09-27
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. WOMEN IN INDUSTRY.
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(Those who met Mrs. Amante S
Finlay, when she was the guest of her
brother, Mr.. o. j. Sen1mes, will be in
terested in the following article, writ
ten by her for the Memphis CONNER
cia1-Appeal, the woman's page OF
which she edits.)
Representative Wilson, an anti
argued that women do not need and
, do not want the vote. 'Woman's high
est mission is to fill the home he
said. News item appearing the day
the Tennessee legislature voted to
ratify the Susan B. Anthony amend
ment.
But just suppose that all the women
suddenly agreed that Representativ e
Wilson was right, and that home was
where they belonged. How long 90
you think the wheels would continue
to revolve in this complicated piece Of
machinery, the industrial world of the
year of our Lord 1920.
Here is a slight indication of what
would happen. All the Toms, Dicks
and Harrys of the world hurrying to
their morning jobs would wonder first
Of all why it was the street cars ha 4
such a queer look. Then they would
discover that the cars We're curiously
devoid of feminine passengers. For it
would be too early in the morning for
many of the shoppers to be aboard,
while, of course, the clerks and fac
tory girls, and the stenographers and
all the other women who are part %
the business world, would be filling
the homes"
. But this would only cause a ripple
of interest Later in the day, how =
ever, the ripple would widen, and
widen into a pretty heavy storm in
each little business millpond or lake,
growing in size and volume with the
Importance of the interest affected.
First of all, when Mr.. Busy Man
ager arrived at his office an hour or SO
later than the first relay of clerks, he
would, to his chagrin, find that not
only his own private secretary was
missing, but that every other stenog-
rapher who could at a, pinch TAX
down the important letters that he
must get off, was also conspicuously
absent, and that only the masculine
desks were occupied.
Then, when he reached for his phone
to call business agency and get tenn
porary substitutes for his inconsid-
course fail entirely to hear and an
swering Number. please" For of
course the telephone girls would also
be filling abe homes"
If, following the antiquated customs
Of those far-off days which antedated
telephones, he sent the office boy
scurrying to the nearest agency with
an S. o. S. call for help, he would get
small comfort. For either the boz
would return with the announcement
that the manager says all the girls
stayed home today, or in the event
the manager. happened to be a woman.
the message would be 1.-THE office was
locked, please sir, and nobody was
there
In busy factories, where all the ne
cessities as well as the luxuries of life
are made, perplexed foremen would
be wondering in varying degrees of
profanity where were the hundreds Of
girls who operate machines or PACK
goods or do all the other manifold
tasks about the factory. There would
MT be any way for him to find out. For
of course the superintendent of a mod
ern factory doesn't deal with his fem
mime help in person, but handles them
through the medium of capable and
experienced forewomen or social ser
vice worker. And all the forewomen
whose jobs are so tremendously i'm
portant in the industrial scheme of
things as they are" would also be
filling the homes"
The girls would be missing from be-
hind the counters in the stores. There
would be no mattresses in the cafes
and lunch rooms when the men
knocked off work and went to talk
over the perplexing situation with
other men at the noon hour.
And in a little while the material
comfort of the masculine workers who
were having to work overtime in a
business world suddenly bearing the
for men only sign" would begin to
suffer
For the whole world is suffering now
from underproduction and overcon-
sumption, and a scheme of things that
would cut by one third the ranks of
the producers, while the ranks of the
consumer grew no less, would play
havoc
For while women may not be hewers
of wood and drawers of water, even in
these strenuous times, they are en-
gagged on a wholesale scale in prepar-
ing the 1000 ana making the clothing
of the world, in canning factories and
garment factories. Moreover, they
work in practically every industry the
government declared essential during
the days of the war when the lines
were tightly drawn.
And, speaking of the war days, sup
pose then the women had decided their
duty was Ito fill the home" Who
would have filled the places left vacant
everywhere in those same essential in
dustries. whenrhundreds and thousands
of boys and men went into camp anil
overseas? Who would have helped on
the farms, in the munition factories.
In the hospitals, in places where, if
overseas would have failed?
As for the homes, suppose that all of
that army of employed women and
girls did fill the homes" wouldn't
those homes be rather overcrowde,l
with useful citizens suddenly off one
job and without another Job to occupy
their trained hands and clever heads
For the modern home is such a verv
efficient affair-with all its labor-say-
ing devices RIM NV