Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-12-27
The Haskin Letter . ri r.
By FREDERICK
J. HASKIN
THE WOMAN WORKER PROBLEM.

numbers is indicated by the statistics.
Thus it is shown that one-half of
the women workers in Passaic are or
have been married. The report fur
ther shows that 80 per cent of the
4,O13 married women workers have
husbands who are employed, What is
more, nearly three-fourths of the
women who are or have been married
have children to care for, and while
in most cases the families are small.
the children are young. More than
half of the working mothers of Pas
sale leave children under five years of
age at home every day or carry them
along to work.
The women's bureau calls attention
to it's discovery that st was not the
widowed mothers nor other women
with disrupted marital relations who
were winning bread apparently at the
expense of the care of young children,
but the married women living with
bread-winning husbands" The reve-
lation, the report says, makes a strong
urge for further information.
Question Why Unanswered.
The bureau report says further: ut
is of manifest Importance to know
why SO large a group of women with
home responsibilities should be at
work when the usual family providers
are in evidence. Rarely are the wages
of fathers sufficient to keep grown
unmarried daughters from going into
industry as breadwinners, but that the
wife and mother should go out to work
while the husband and father is a
breadwinner challenges attention. Is
it because she must, Or because she
wants toy"
But after raising this interesting
question the bureau report calmly con-
cludes that without information on
family income, which it is not possible
to secure from census schedules, d def
mite answer to this question cannot
be given"
The work done by the women would
indicate that necessity rather than a
desire for a career guides the oma
workers of Passaic. 1t is a manufae-
turing town and the majority of the
women are employed at spinning and
weaving in the textile mills, at running
machines in handkerchief factories or
at productive work in other manufac-
turing plants. Women do not ordin-
arily leave babies under five years
for such work unless under financial
How the mothers dispose of their
is not, of course, shown by the
census records, but the woman's bu-
rcau made a survey of 800 representa-
tive homes containing working moth
with small children to find out how
they provide for their babies during
working hours. OF these mothers, 107
burn the candle at both ends, working
in factories or other places at night
in order to be at home in the day to
for their children. In 11S fam
lies the children, all under IA years.
look out for one another. while %
mothers keep store with babies tag
sing at their heels.
Except for a few families where a
daughter, mother. or neighbor helps
the homework, all of the en-
mothers cook, clean and wash
for the families after working
Nhle the Women's bureau does not
draw any general conclusions, the mar
RED woman who works for Injuries
does not seem to be in evidence in
Passaic. Out of some 10000 working
women only LOO hold clerical posi-
tons, and less than 500 are in pro-
fessionai or managerial service.
SO far as unmarried working women
are concerned the women's bureau
that 10 per cent were either
sole breadwinners. or one of two. or
.ne of three or more breadwinners in
families having no male breadwinners
living in the family. More than 30
per cent of the single breadwinners
Passaic were boarding or lodging,
living with employees or with relatives. |
were domiciled in institutions. In
words, nearly half. of the single
breadwinners apparently had
or family support"
American farmers use 200, 900. 900
of binding Irvine annually in