Fully believing that she should carry out in practice what she advocated in theory, Mrs. Bloomer secured early in the spring the services of Mrs. C. W. Lundy, of New York, as typesetter; previously to coming to Mount Vernon, she had had three months’ experience in the work. The fact of her employment and coming into the office was freely talked of in the presence of the employees, all of whom were men, and no word of dissent or disapproval, to Mrs. Bloomer’s knowledge, was expressed. It was agreed that her employee should receive all necessary instructions from Mr. Higgins himself, he being a practical printer, or from the men engaged in the office. It was soon seen that the men employed in typesetting, and especially the foreman, looked with disfavor on the movement and by various uncourteous acts and remarks endeavored to make the situation an unpleasant one.
A STRIKE FOLLOWED.
Mrs. Bloomer herself gave the following report of this strike of the male typesetters. After alluding to the employment of Mrs. Lundy and her introduction into the printing office of the Home Visitor, she proceeds:
“Nothing, however, occurred of sufficient magnitude for us to notice till the fourteenth of last month. On that day, in the absence of both Mr. Bloomer and Mr. Higgins, Mrs. Lundy asked our opinion in relation to the proper indention of a piece of poetry which she was at work upon. As we are not a printer, we could only give a guess at its correctness; so we advised her to step into the other room and ask one of the men about it. She did so, and directly returned saying they refused to give the desired information. We went directly in and asked an explanation of their conduct; when all hands, with the foreman of the office as leader, avowed their determination not to work in an office with or give instruction to a woman. And, further, they said they had drawn up a paper to that effect which had been signed by all the printers in town. The foreman also defied us to find a printer in Ohio who would give instructions to a woman.
“This was placing us in a ‘fix,’ truly. We must do one of two things: either break our word with Mrs. L. and sacrifice our preferences and principles, or else the place of these men must be supplied by others who were more gentlemanly and who did not despise the efforts of woman to place herself in a position where by her own talents and industry she could earn for herself an honorable independence. The question was at once decided in our mind, and we knew well that in their decision we should be sustained by the proprietors of the Visitor. We took the first opportunity to acquaint Mr. Higgins with the state of affairs; and, on Mr. Bloomer’s return the next day, we also informed him how things stood. They then repaired to the Visitor office and held a long conference with their workmen, telling them it was not their intention to employ women to set the type of the Visitor, but that Mrs. L. would remain and work on the Lily, and that they should expect of them that they should give her all the instructions she might need in her work. If they would do this willingly and cheerfully, well; if not, they might consider themselves discharged. They would not yield to such an arbitrary rule on the part of those in their employ. To this, the printers replied that they were firm in their resolutions and would not depart from them; whereupon all hands took up their march out of the office.
“This action on the part of the printers has resulted in the employment of women to set the type for the Visitor. Three women were at once engaged for that purpose. A journeyman was immediately procured from Columbus, and other help has since been engaged; so that the proprietors have been enabled to get out their paper regularly, without acceding to the unreasonable demands of the printers of Mount Vernon.
“We have removed our Lily cases into the Visitor office, and now the work on both papers is done in the same room, four women and three men working together peaceably and harmoniously. It does our heart good to see the happy change which has been wrought in the office by the attempt to crush woman’s efforts in her own behalf. The moral atmosphere has been purified, and superciliousness has given place to friendly and cheerful intercourse.”
LUCY STONE APPEARS.
While Mrs. Bloomer’s troubles with her printers were under way, Miss Lucy Stone visited the city and gave an address on “Woman and Her Employment.” Mrs. Bloomer says:
“This happened most fortunately in the midst of the excitement about our difficulties in our office, and her words were like soothing oil on the troubled waters. It seemed as though an overruling Providence had directed her steps hitherward to allay the excitement and to subdue the angry feelings, to plead the cause of womanhood, to proclaim the eternal principles of justice and right; and she was in a great degree successful. We have heard no word of dissatisfaction or disapproval, but on the contrary all were highly pleased with her remarks, and we trust those who heard her are wiser and better for having listened to her.”