A WORD
WITH THE WOMEN
Elia W. Peattie.
A committee from the Knights of
Labor appointed to investigate the con-
dition of women in the sweat shops of
New York, brought out some interesting
evidence the other day. Evidence was
given that the Italians usually got their
little children to make the coats for the
clothing trade. Children only 5 years of
age were taught to do certain parts of
the work, and spent all of their time sew-
ing on the heavy garments in the close
room of a tenement sweat shop. Many
of the older working girls work twelve
and fourteen hours a day, but when the
inspector comes around the girls, in-
structed by the contractors, swear that
they work but ten. In some places the
girls work in cellars under the buildings,
and very many of them never go to school
at all. Miss [Lottle Perpky], the leader of
the women in the recent strike among
the cloak manufacturers, said that the
coatmakers were on the piece work sys-
tem and as a general rule "seldom take
any time for their dinner, because they
would lose time if they did. They gen-
eraly eat while they work. The con-
tractors pay 4 cents a coat generally, and
the highest price paid is 10 cents." She
was asked how many coats an indus-
trious woman could make in a day, and
replied: "About seven coats a day by
working very hard; that is 70 cents a
day." There was much other evidence
as to the lack of all proper conveniences
for women, and the absence of cleanliness
and sufficient room, the badness of the air
and the relentless oppression of the con-
tractors. The Italians do not belong to
the union, and are so numerous that
they [force] prices down to the lowest.
The committee intends to continue its
work.
Over in Germany the ermperor is bend-
ing his kingly energies to opposing the
new woman. he is of the opinion that
the fully duty of woman is to act as the
helpmeet of man and to defer to him in
all things, and to confine herself exclu-
sively to domestic duties and occupa-
tions. He abhors the development of
woman as he does anarchy. So he has
caused the arrest of the leaders of the
woman's emancipation movement in
Berlin, and, being brought before magis-
trates, the women were heavily fined for
being members of an unlawful society.
An ancient law was resurrected to fit
the case- a law prohibiting minors and
women from belonging to any political
society. Thus does his majesty en-
deavor to nip in the bud the suffrage
movements of Germany. But he has
really performed a tremendous service
for sufferage. All great causes live upon
persecution. The kaiser has made [suf-
fragists], by this act, in households where
the idea would not else have entered.
For even in Germany where maid and
matron are full of domestic laws refer-
ring to the subserviency of woman to
man, there is a growing understanding
of the fact that it was the man who
made these proverbs, they will not stand
investigation. Something more than
proverbs will be needed in the twentieth
century to convince women that they
are happier without their full liberty.
The women who work in sweat shops
for $1 a week- as one woman testified
that she did in New york- and the
women who are arrested because they
assert that they are [citisens], entitled to
have a voice in the Laws which govern
them, are not going to be quieted by pro-
verbs, not affrighted by prejudices, no
lulled by flattery. One says this is no
spirit of hostility. For, indeed, these [op-
perations] do not fill one with light anger.
They are the faggots which will
presently be kindled into a great re-
volution. Or, more properly speaking,
they are the rungs of the ladder up which
evolution will mount.
