THE IGNORANCE AND INDIFFERENCES OF WOMEN.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2510, 11 August 1888, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE IGNORANCE AND INDIFFERENCES OF WOMEN.

(.Julia War» Howe, in "Woman for. May ) Tun present administration of social interests is largely founded upon the supposed ignorance and indifference of women regarding all questions of an outside and gpneral scope. Men arrange for themselves tlie convenience of vice. They set their trap and dig their pitfall for the young, the ignorant, the unwary. Unworthy as they know this course to be they consider it safe. , Deceut women will never venturo so far from their own bounds as to come where they can take personal cognizance of these offences and of their victims The deadlock between cnpit.nl and labour is another matter in which the ignorance and indiiterenco of women is relied upon by men. Look at the slop shop work, and at the wretched women who do it at. starvation prices, thankful, indeed, to get it, since the choico for them, if thoy would bo honest, lies 'between that and death. Their employer cannot pay them better wages because he is bent, not upon earning a comfortable living, but upon accumulating a large fortune. So he takes the working woman by the the thro:ii, and compels her, through her poverty, to give him the maximum of work for tho minimum of recompense. He is safe in doing this—his wife and daughters will not care, will not inquire. Tho society ladies will not get farther than to say they are very sorry, but suppose it must always bo so. See the female teacherdoing tho same work that tho male teacher does, doing it as well or better, and receiving a salary equal to half of his. Tho old supposition which excused this state of things is no longer evan a supposition. It is known that the womenworkers of the community not only havo no men to maintain them, but are themselves often obliged to support infant sons or-brothers and aged parents. Men have no better account to give of this than their very imperfect theory of supply and demand. Women are, in most communities, more numerous than men. This lowers their market value. They are more easily overreached and intimidated —this makes them weaker. They nan be got to work and live upon a - pittanoe, which the most worthless man would reject. Who is then to prevent their being ground down to this extremity P Tho powerful among their own sex will not step in to protcct them. To oppress them is not only safe, but reputable, aye, even necessary, sinco wealth is not t;> be attained otherwise. This safety, this immunity, has «ickediress all tho world over. Women, if they can have money, and what it gives, will not 1)3 over-nice as to where it comes from, and how it was got. Now lam far from saying that women could by any effort or exertion of theirs, at once make all of these things hotter, but I do think that they are as well able as men are to make thorough and scientific enquiry .into all the evils which surround them, and especially into all the forms of law and custom by virtue of which the strong oppress the weak and drive them to the wall. May they not undertake this in the hope that their united study will bring them in sight of some finer principle than this mere market maxim, which equally with undisguised slavery, consider.? human beings merely in tho light of merchandise? How would tho golden rule, " Do as you would be done by,' answer in place of ' A thing is worth what it will bring,' i.e., worth the cash that can be got for it P What would be, by this estimate, the value of a crying baby, of a sick neighbor, of a superannuated parent P