The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1928-04-05
Editorial Comment
Rural and City Women Workers
New York Times)

|
Blame of married women who are gainfull,
employed outside their homes is likely to he
more acute when men are having more diff
Guilty than usual finding jobs. Miss Mary An
derson. director of the women's bureau of tn
| department of labor, recently made a reply te
such criticism. Three-fourths of the 2,0OO..
600 married women with jobs have homes and
children needing their whole attention. How.
ever, few carry two jobs for the fun of it
Stark necessity is Miss Anderson's explana.
ton. The social problems presented by the
increasing permanence of married women in
industry are not going to be solved easily
This group, hurrying from eight hours at q
machine or workbench or desk to a stretch of
labor at home duties, presents q depressing
picture.
In strong contrast is another group, also
composed OF women whose jobs seem to run q
full twenty-four hours. But the tenor Of their
lives, as reported by themselves, is steadily
rising and generally satisfactory. They arr
women who live on farms, manage their own
homes, give their children as good an educa.
ton as they can afford and contribute TO the
LIE OF their community. Their neiQhbors
nave nominated them as Master Farm Home
makers" In no sense are they the winners in
any kind OF contest. The editor of The Farm
ers Wffe had observed how attention was To-
cused on successful farming methods by the
recognition of certain master farmers, and ne
presented plan for honoring the women who
are doing outstanding work in farm home
building. In each state where women were
CHOSEN, the cooperation of the agricultural ex-
tension division Of the state college was OBJ.
tanned.
External conditions vary greatly among
these women. Some live on rented farms
though most live on farms owned bv them.
serves ana their husbands Their ages are
from 80 to more than go. Their families vary
IN size from one child to eleven. Two who had
mo cnlidren OF their own are bringing up
adopted boys and girls. Some of the homes
are completely equipped with modern labor
saving devices. More women struggle with
lnconvenlences which they try to adapt to
simplfied housekeeping. In telling their own
stories, number said that they had had TO
choose between sending son or daughter to
the local agricultural school and buying mod
ern equipment.
One woman, typical of the most courageous.
determined to send her boys to college at any
cost. She might have had water piped through
her house, but she preferred to carry it in and
save the money toward the boys education.
AS soon as they were old enough they were
Taught to help. and she writes that she IS
sure the other things will come later" In ali
these homes the children are given definite
tasks, usually with an incidental chance to|
make money. TWO West Virginia boys have
saved the money from their potato raising toI
BUY purebred Shropshire ewes. Their mother
cans ner tomatoes for sale and writes with JUS
tifiable pride that they are solid enough for
salads. A Tennessee woman and her hus.
band bought their farm thirty-seven years aro.
The house is now surrounded by naples plant
ed when they settled. An Ohio woman bought
farm Of 1872 acres with house over 100 years
Old. She showed her remodeled kitchen in the
county contest, and though it did not win the
prize, It demonstrated how an old-fsslione.
kitchen can be made modern and convenient.
homes must be heartening to their neiehbors
Hard work is their portion, but it brings its