The Dominion. SATURDAY, AUGUST 19, 1916. TRIBUTES TO WOMEN WORKERS.

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2854, 19 August 1916, Page 8

The Dominion. SATURDAY, AUGUST 19, 1916. TRIBUTES TO WOMEN WORKERS.

The -.women of Great Britain thoroughly deserve the tributes which havo just been paid to them by Mr. Asquith and Lord Montagu of Beaulieu for the splendid services they have rendered to tho nation since the outbreak of tho war. They have proved a tower of strength to the Empire. Their practical patriotism has been a fine example to the men. They havo made great'sacrifices and are willing to, t go-on making sacrifices until vicjtory, complete and) decisive, has been_ achieved. Th£ women of tho British Empire have never faltered in 'this tremendous struggle. They have borno their griefs and anxieties with Spartan fortitude. They experience the heart-ache occasioned by war more keenly than men. They know that victory must, he paid for at a great price,, and. they have iaced the sacrifice with- supreme courage. How splendidly have they responded to oyery call that has been, inado ■ upon them! Their capacity for war work is almost unlimited. They are doing their share —and_ more than their share—with an _ intelligence and enthusiasm which should put. many. a man to shame. The- Empire .owes; them, a debt of gratitude which can never be'- fully, discharged: "Where," asks Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, "is now the man who will deny' to women the civil rights which they have earned'!" Mn. Asquith, who has been a life-long opponent of women's suffrage, .now admits that hecannot deny their claims. He has not been convinced by argument, but by deeds. By national service they have established an unanswerable, claim to political rights. The experience of other parts of the Empire gives no support to the idea that the extension .of tho franchise to women, is a-magical panacea for all political and social- wrongs, but experience has also shown that the risks of tho experiment are not nearly so alarming as the opponents of women's suffrage have imagined. The war has taken the sting out of tho controversy in Britain. It' has deprived the. militant suffragette of her occupation. . It. is impossible to believo that after external peace has been restored, internal, strife will be resumed in the shape of war between the sexes. What could not be extorted from Parliament by threats ! and violence will probably be gracefully given as a token of tho nation's appreciation of the women's magnificent contribution ■ to tho fighting power of the Empire—given not as a bargain or a payment, but as the outcome of a better understanding and'-of a new'spirit of goodwilT'arising out of the co-opera-tion of men and women in tho .struggle against the common foe. ■ It is. only fair that tho women of Bri.tain, who are. bearing so. much of •the- burden of • war,- should share equally with men in the . work _ of political and social reconstruction which will have to be done when the Empire has sheathed its sword. The war has put new ideas, new hopes, and new aspirations into the minds of a -large - section -of the women of Great Britain. ' Many of them have been shaken out of their .old grooves. For -them former things have passed away, and all things are being made new. A woman worker,, 'm. an \article in a London paper," .declaresthat a- spirit of adventure is seething strongly in the ranks of the women workers. "Is it to be'wondered at?" she'asks. She goes" on to say that_"the same spirit which has taken our brothers : from their ordinary occupations, which has altered the course of their whole careers, has not' left us untouched. It has fanned stronger than ever the desire. in us. for adventure, and for scmethingTlifferent from the ordinary ..path mapped out for so many, girls. .The enormous opportunities open to- women .havo roused our ambitions.", Thousands of young women ■ aro now planning the new lives which they hope to. .live when the war 'is r over. * The belief is abroad. that wonderful things are ..about to happen, and that the war is the prelude" to a new and better era in the world's history. From Press, and pulpit, and platform there issues a continuous stream of ideas regarding the characteristics of the .world that is to be. A general expectation of momentous changes has thus been created. _ Customs, and institutions, and_ ideas arc being challenged to justify their continued existence. Wo are beset by problems on every side—moral, social, political, and industrial. Many thousands of women aro now doing work which was formerly done by men. No fewer than 400,000 womea are at present cmployed in making munitions, and women's sphere of work.has been largely extended in many other directions. -This far-reaching industrial change will form one of tho big after-war problems which i will have to be faced and solved. It will be necessary to find new work for large numbers of women without detriment to men. This :neans that labour will have to bo reorganised, and we- will have to revise some of our ideas about masculine and feminine employments. The Bishop of London is of opinion th.at it is not likely that tho-linen-draper's assistant home from the war is going to hand laces to ladies

again. He believes'that we 'have seen the last of young men in the prime of life doing that sort of thing, or acting- as footmen in private houses. He says that "the men who have, seen. what- a .'nan's' life, is will'refuse anything but a man's.life after the war."- .'The Bishop's reference to the work of the draper's assistant has evoked some criticism, but there can be no doubt that a very considerable'proportion of the men who have joined the colours will not go back to the desk, or the .counter, or the.workshop. They will seek' for a freer and fuller life. They have tasted of the spirit, of adventure, arid-they .will to disinclined to settle down to the old routine. - The Bishop of London is convinced that many of them will turn their eyes to the Overseas Dominions, which offer unlimited op-, portunities for living ;"a ' man's life.". .War is .generally followed by. an increase in the stream of. migration, from old lands to new,-and no previous war has caused anything approaching the unsettlement and . restlessness as that which, is now being waged.