The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1926-07-16
WITH OUR WOMEN-Why the
Modern Woman Enters Business Life

uaIly became more profitable to buy
ready-made garments " until to-
day, it is the exception when any
garment is made at home. This rad
ical change has revOlutiOnized the
whole economic scheme. To buy gar
ments takes money. Labor no lOng-t
er required in the house is potential
wealth, but must be converted into
cash. To convert this potential pur-
chasing power into money, women
have been forced into gainful Occu-
patiOns and are working today, not
from caprice, as some would have
us believe, but as a result Of econOm-
ic pressure"
This change in the condition of wO-
men has taken place in much less
than a hundred years. 1 can recall
when a man of even moderate e
would have considered it disgrace
full. and a reflection upon his ability
as a prOvideT, if any Of the female
members of his household worked
outside the home. Today all this is
changed. Wives are compelled fire.
quently to engage in work outside
their homes, in order to buy for their
families, what their great-grand-
mothers made. In Akron, Ohio, my
early home, the spinning-wheel was
laid aside long before it ceased to be
used in other parts Of the state.
This was due to the towns being a
manufacturing center, and as Miss
Madden says, it cost less to buy ma
terials for clothing than to make
them. I saw spinning-Wheels in my
- -nnnA% h~nE nnrnm
saw one used, until an elderly rela-
tive invited the children of the neigh
borhOod, myself among the number,
to see her use the big wheel.
= = =
Within my recollection, no man of
any standing in the community
where he dwelt, would have permit
tied his wife to be without a hired
Igirl-they were not then called
maids-and the term as used today
leaves it doubtful whether a house
? maid or a ladiesmaid is meant. Now
all this is changed, as few families
can afford to keep servants, and
when they can afford them, are un-
liable to get them. I often wonder how
mothers can manage as most do, tC
J care for their children and theil
households unaided, and slight Meth.
er.
I made this remark to a woman
mot long ago., who replied, "BU-
, think of the cOnveniences we have
eyes, but compare the demands
71lupOn the modern woman, with wha
was expected of her a little over
half a century ago." I returned
''Then literally, a wOman's place wa
home, and she staid there. If sh
shopped for two or three days in sue
cession, she was spinning stree
yarn in the slang of the day, an.
Twas the subject of ridicule. Sh
went to church; to prayer meeting
to the Ladies' Aid possibly, and t
an occasional party. That was tn
sum of her outside activities. Loo
around yOu now, and e what is ez
pected of herr"
I might have added that the ma
chine has not always lessened wOrI
When the sewing machine was il
vented, it was hailed as a labOr-savel
Garments formerly made by han
could now be run off in no time. II
stead of bringing about that result
Immediately tUcks, ruffles, and val
iOus trimmings were devised, whic
to make required, even with the al
p of the machine, more time an
strength than the old-fashiOned han
work.
= = =
Women were not then upon libraT
and school boards; they did not b,
long to Voters Leagues or any {
the countless organizations of today
even clubs were unheard of. The
"staid at home and took care of the
husbands" as a woman member of
California school board has declare
a woman should do. The difficult
however, of complying with this dut
call, lies in the fact that if she sta!
at home, in many instances the resu
will be the home will be sold to sa
isfy the mortgage.
A Butte minister recently Gale
attention to the importance of Il
home, and urged a ''back to Il
home" movement. His talk befo.
the Rotary Club members and the
wives, is spoken of as being eco
structive." It would have been CO