The nonpartisan leader. [volume], July 19, 1920, Image 12

About The nonpartisan leader. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1915-1921

Image provided by: State Historical Society of North Dakota

                
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5?»f
Was Mrs. H. A. P. Right?
A Few More Answers From Women of the
League States
DITOR Nonpartisan Leader: In the
Leader of June 14-you ask, "Is this
woman: right Emphatically, no.
"When did Americans turn to the rich
to select their statesmen Was Wash
ington the father of his country be­
cause he owned a large estate Was Lincoln elect
ed to the president's chair Because he came from the
wealthy class? Were McKinley, Garfield, Grant or
Cleveland reared by parents who belonged to the
leisure class?
'Germans have educated their children to'become
rulers pf men, but true Americans never. Art is
the product of genius, not wealth. Out of the pov
erty of the East Side of New, York comes Jo David
A sob and Jacob Epstein, sculptors. And in painting
there is Sterne and Haupert and WalkOwitz and
many others. East Side poverty is a social crime.
Tjj «But a certain, phase of American wealth is also a
social crime and a greater one. Was Caruso am
bitious to be rich' and: did that develop his vocal
chords.? I rather thitik not. He had a single con
suming ambition—to be "one of Di iBaris' postilions
and wear livery, but he was too fat and clumsy for
that, so. he sang when he groomed horses, arid still
sings
Surely the world of Mrs, H. A. P. and my-world
are far apart. Her husband is glad to give deservy
ing people work. My husband is glad to find men
who will do the work and pay them $6 to $8 a day
for common Jabor.^ I can not see the charity in giv-
ing people what belongs to them. When the Bible
says "The poor ye have always with you" the refer
ence was that spiritual things were above worldly
ones, not that the rich were above the poor. I am
not a millionaire, yet I am far from poverty-stricken
and hope never to belong to the "too leisure class."
Idaho. MRS. G. E. R.
MONTANA WOMAN BLAMES
"CLEVER" MEN FOR CONDITION
Editor Nonpartisan Leader: Mrs.. H. A. P. of
Pennsylvania seems to think there must be a leisure
class, of which she is one, gained by being a wife
of a.clever business man.
Now, I am just a farmer's wife. Maybe we are
not so clever as to have gained riches, as the harder
we work and the more we raise someone more
clever than ourselves gets the most of it and we -X
go back and raise some more. We must pay an
enormous price for seed, eatables and a little cloth
ing, then when we raise another crop maybe we can
realize enough to pay for the seed and interest, as
many of the farmers who have been raising food
for the nation have not a dollar except what they
can borrow. As.to educating our Children they, as
well as ourselves, have to woik for every day of
schooling and many never go higher than the eighth
grade. -pS':-
But we should worry. Were not Washington/'
Lincoln and many others just common laborers?
Even Governor Frazier of North Dakota was a
farmer and when he started in for labor men he was
called vicious, as .this lady puts it, andjy-e may all
have to appear vicious in just the same way, only
it is not one bit vicious—just demanding our rights,
and give us the privilege of saying whether
As to art and literature, the art of making $1 do
j- the duty of $5 or even $10, is an art we have to
try, anyhow^ And literature—say, we have the
swe
up a leisure class." If the farmers would just raise
enough for themselves where wouffl the rest be
Now, I am no crank "and. if one works and saves
for old age it is all right, but why hold the poor
down Sometimes only poor iri worldly goods but
very rich in spirit. I am very glad we-women in
Montana have the right to vote and hope we all
take the advantage .-of it, as I am sure every ~'k
farmer's wife will vote for the workingman's in.
terests.
Nonpartisan papers and a few cheap magazines and
if one can afford a daily at from $5 to $7 a year he
is-lucky. MRS. B. M. J.­
Custer County, Mont.
Editor Nonpartisan Leader: I read with great
interest (the word inadequately describes my emo
tion) Mrs.'H.-A.P.'ff-letter in your issue of June, 14.
keep
THE FARM WOMAN'S PAGE OF NEWS AND OPINION
The repljqp to her letter should shed much illumina^'
tion on her, regarding the "other half" for which
'she has such kindly feelings. I hope you see
she gets a chance to read all of them.
What makes her think there must be a leisure
class to educate our rulers and statesmen Most,
of our educators do not consider themselves as be
longing to that class. With her great "culture" did
she never hear pf {hat leader of men, the .carpen
ter's son, nor of Cincinnatus, who was called from
his plow to rule Rome, of Washington the farmer,
or Lincoln the Tailsplitter?
Why does she think we "envy" the rich? If she
demands back her purse, which has been stolen, does..,,
she "envy", the thief?
No, Mrs. H.
A.
Mrs. Arthur Horan (above) is secretary and treas
urer of the Sebeka Women's Nonpartisan club and
Master Horan would like to join a Junior Nonparti
san club. Mrs. Horan's father and'mother
likewise are enthusiastic boosters
foe the League.
Warning to Liars
Minnesota Wornan Recalls Saying ..pf,jQhi
nese Philosopher
DITOR 'Nonpartisan Leader: Here's .a
dream of what may happen to some
of the "plunderbtmd" outfit, as the
4
P., ye do not think'you "mean to
seem superior or harsh with the poor," Your re
marks first arouse bitterness, contempt and all
through the list of human emotions till we come at
last to pity—pity that there are people so unfor
tunate as to actually believe the things you write.
And with pity comes charity to say, "Father,' for-^,.-?
give them for they know not what they do."
Kenaston, N. D.
MRS. GEORGE W. 15IGLOH.
LEAGUE BOOSTERS ALL
Hibbing Daily News likes to call them.
For want of a better name we may
as well let it go at that. If it isn't
good enough to print give it to the devil—the
printer's devil, of course.
Walker, Minn. MRS. FRANK KESO.
WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN
If sleepless liars were forced to take
A dose of morphia, for "sweet sleep's sake,"
Such things as liars would never be
(A happy world, from lies set free).
Or if the liar would try, instead,
To picture himself among the dead
And see himself by the judgment seat
And the solemn words his ears could greet
Of judgment iipon his culprit soul—
That hell at last was to be his goal—
He'd tremble to "his very shoes
To know the devil would get his dues
He'd find the world, from his presence freed,
In happiness, its only creed,
W it a in
Freed from murder, wars and greedl
L'envoi -it.
What is the moral of this screed
It's not in the book of "golden deeds*
But if you really wish to heed
It was a Chinese heathen's creed
.'"Do not do unto others that which you would
got have done unto you."—CONFUClUS.y.^ ..
PAGE TWELVER
The Farm Woman's Home
What a Survey Shows About Conditions on
the Average Farm
HE waste of woman power is one of the
greatest menaces to the rural life of
the nation, according to Miss Florence
E. Ward of the United States depart
ment of agriculture, who has just com
pleted a farm-home survey in 38
northern and western states, covering 10,015 farm
homes.
1
The survey discloses
?a
MODERN CONVENIENCES^
IN FARM HOMES NEEDED
tramber^of the reasons
why many women do not find farm life attractive.
The working day of the average farm woman, .as
shown by the Survey, is 11.3 hours, the year round.
In summer it is 13.12 hours. And 87 out of each
100 women have no regular vacation during the
year. On the average, the farm woman can find
only 1.6 hours of leisure during the summer and
-only 2.4* hours in winter. Half of the farm women,
are up and at work at 5 o'clock in the morning.
Forty per cent have water in the kitchen, but the
other 60 per cent must go to the spring or the pump
to bring the water for cooking breakfast. Thirty
six per cent help with the milking. On the average,
the farm woman has a seven-room house to keep in
order. Seventy-nine per cent have kerosene lamps
to trim and fill. Ninety-six per cent do the family
washing, about half of them having' washing ma
chines and the other htilf doing the work with tub,
washboard and boilers. Only 26 per cent have gas
or electric irons to make more comfortable the task'
of ironing. Ninety-two per cent do some'or all the
family sewing. Garden work is done bj£ 56 per
cent, 94 per cent make all or part of the family
bread and 60 per cent have churning to do. Eighty
one per cent of all poultry flocks stre cared for by
.women. .One-fourth of the farm women" help to
feed and bed the livestock and 24,per cent of them
spend over six weeks in the year assisting with
some part of the field work. All of this is in.addi
tion to cooking the family meals and during for the
children.
Miss Ward joints out-that the farm woman's
working hours might be shortened if the principles
of modem business were applied t? the farm home.
Running water for the 60 per cent who now must
carry„ water, and bathrooms for the 80 per cent
who now have none would lighten the woman's
labor srnd add to her comfort and contentment.
Labor could be lessened if the farmhouse were as
well equipped as the up-to-d^e barn, which the
farmer looks upon as so much euixency with which
to buy efficiently. The installation of modern light
ing systems would release some of the time of the
women in the 79 per cent of homes where kerosene
lamps are used. The initial cost would be
when weighed against convenience and comfort.
"As power on the farm is the greatest of time and
labor saver? for the farmer," Miss Ward's' report
says, "so power in the home is the greatest hoon
to the housewife." Forty-eight per cent of farms
covered by the survey reported power for operat
ing farm machinery, but only 22 pear cent have this
advantage for the home. The washing machine is
another labor saver. Selling the cream to a cream
ery wherever, possible instead of churning it,at
home is still another.
But neither Miss Ward nor the' department of
agriculture tells what is to be done if the farmer
does not make sufficient money to install labor
saving machinery. That, is a task for. the organized
farmers and their wives, who sihould also, be or
ganized.
Ifgr-
FROM A FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD
Editor Nonpartisan Leader.: I am answering the
letter written by Miss Frieda-Gramm, and wh^t I
think of Mr. M. T. Bean. I'm sorry to see that Mr.
Bean wants to knock the Nonpartisan league, be
cause at the time he is doing it he is knocking him
self. But it might come a day that Mr. Bean will
open his eyes and see the mistake he has been mak
ing.
I, as a girl of 14 years, can see light in th? future
the Nonpartisan league.
Little Falls, Minn. DORA E. JOHNSON.