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NOTICES OF BOOKS* 63
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
The "Workwoman .. . "I? Cie Ouvriere ., ...
position out . If we we regard snail not the find actual its nature work demanded revolting , from althoug women h laborious in this .
"What we , have to direct our attention to is the evil influence exerted on the home of the artisan by the regular daily absence of
the wife . Furthermore , we must cast a glance at the mixed characa ter , ¦ " of mauvaise the women sujet emp " loye Existence d , and few in such of these polluted workrooms atmosp exist heres without cannot
but be baneful to the young mother , the mistress of the household . Any domestic theory siie may have formed will not be benefited by
the conversation heard during the long working hours of the day . Even supposing she escapes such danger , little can be effected
towards preserving properly house and children in the few remaining evening hours . The husband returns fatigued , to find his
room dirty , the fire dull , disorder rampant , and a wife almost a stranger to him . Nine cases out of ten , ill-tempered , he seeks the
attractive cabaret , which thirsts to consume the hard-earned francs . It is impossible to disguise from ourselves the fact , that so long as
the manufactory absorbs woman ' s labor , so long will family intercourse be broken upand ruin pursue the home of the workman .
How , then , is the mag , ic wand of Reform to be applied ? The wife is actuated to seek out-door work to increase the gain of her
husband . The remark probably suggested to the reader ' s mind we beg to anticipate . "Is it necessary she _shoLild do so ? Is not the gain of
the husband sufficient ? or surely the manufactory proprietors must under-pay their employes . " We refer such inquirers to M . Simon ,
who we imagine can throw some light on the matter . The substance of his paper tells us that proprietors cannot without direct
loss raise their workmen ' s wages above the current rate . Moreover , did prudence and economy reign in the laboring classes , the weekly
salary of the workman would be fully adequate to the maintenance of wife and familyexcepting of course cases in which sickness
or accident intervenes , . We have now to make tho melancholy statement that the laboring man frequently expends at the cabaret
during Monday a fourth or more of his weekly gains . Here we may fairly institute a comparison between English workmen and
their brothers on the other side of the Channel . Both suffer from this mania of periodical reckless waste ; and not only does this remark
apply to the poorer classes of the manufacturing towns , but equally to all working classes . Our watering-places afford a striking
. example of this reckless imprudence . During the season the boatmen realize more than enough to support themselves and their
families during the winter . Few on the advent of tlie dead season , however , can boast of possessing the necessary funds to last through
it ; and recourse must then "be had to the charity of the inhabitants . The only means at hand to correct this evil is the organization of
savings' banks , ( those about to be established by Government in also this country the formation will soon , of clubs enable and societies to judge affording their corrective support efficacy to mem -
Notices Of Books* 63
NOTICES OF BOOKS * 63
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Sept. 1, 1861, page 63, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01091861/page/63/
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