This constitutes a sign that these people do not deem free sexual intercourse to be immoral but rather natural, the satisfaction of a natural instinct that must never sink to the level of income earning.
I knew one girl who had recently worked for a physician, that is, before she was dismissed for hanging around with soldiers at night. She always dressed very nicely, wore genuine silver jewelry, and ate better than the others. She was also hired for piecework and didn’t really mind skipping work for a day or two; she worked with obvious nonchalance. Even on the first day, I noticed that everyone treated this blonde more or less harshly; they did not drink from the same pitcher and never took a bit of her food, although she was always abundantly supplied with it. I asked the girl next to me to explain this curious behavior. “Oh well,” she commented disdainfully, “Lydia is a rotten kind of person; she is seeing lieutenants, and she does not care for work!”
On the whole, the female workers had a general dislike for the military, especially common soldiers and lieutenants; anything in between was regarded with less disapproval, since there was the possibility of marrying a non-commissioned officer or sergeant.
But their hatred of “ink wipers,” as they dubbed clerks and businessmen working in offices, is downright fanatical.
I remember that one morning an older female worker, about 30 years of age, gave a rousing lecture on morals, which closed with the following words: “And let me tell you, a proper factory girl knows what she owes herself, she does not associate with any damned ink licker of that sort; don’t even look up at them when you see them on the street. And you had better gather up your skirts so that ink from these rascals doesn’t get on them. They don’t even wash themselves; these paupers lick the ink from their paws, and still they wear a pince-nez. I am telling you, better the dirtiest, blackest worker than such a vile loafer and toady!”
I could well understand those girls’ aversion to the young businessmen; indeed, as long as I myself was a worker I shared their sentiments wholeheartedly. I would present those people with the following accusation: that they are largely responsible for the demoralization of females; that, if a working girl refuses to give herself willingly to them, they use intrigue, slanderous remarks to the director, malicious suppression, and harassment to force her into the arms of Social Democracy, all the more since the Social Democratic male factory personnel treats the girls better, more politely, and more humanely than others.
Source: Frau Dr. Minna Wettstein-Adelt, 3½ Monate Fabrik-Arbeiterin [3½ Months as a Female Factory Worker]. Berlin: J. Leiser, 1893, pp. 24-26.
Translation: Erwin Fink
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