CONSCRIPTION OF WOMEN

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3119, 25 June 1917, Page 3

CONSCRIPTION OF WOMEN

WHY NOT CARRIED AT HOME

In the last issue of the "Forum," Elizabeth Robiii wfites interestingly upon the great question of compulsory service fov women in. England, <% question that profoundly , stirred the great majority of working women of all classes. Incidentally some rather.'striking , ' information waa given as to the'rates of. pay in some of thVraunition faotorios, the hours that were worked, and the das of work that ttffe women were engaged upon. She writes:—"By a thousand signs- we see / how little "is known of 'xhe working woman's attitude towards compulsory service ,, " for! women. If this wero not so we should have in the Press somo stronger reflection of her objection and of. its grounds. We should not- havo 'Tho Times' ongaged at columns' length in preparing the way for universal national service, 'setting out the ■ advantages of registration for all purposes and inquiring towards the. close with- a. bland' impartial air.'Would the Englishmen's inherent objection 16 being registered, dock-, clod, and numbered prove fatal to-such a scheme?' That writer is , evidently quite guiltless of any knowledge .either of the greater objection felt bj- a laTgo class of Englishwomen, or then , far graver grounds for such objection. "It is well for us_ to know that the people most important to enlist from the point of view of industry, those who know most about the matter as.it.affects the mass, regard the suggestion of con-' Eoription for women with a passionate aversion. Gravo trouble is in store for

those who, ignorant of or heedless of this fact, or failing to apprehend its gravity, shall undertake the coercion of women.. 'Few, if any, men havo tlie least idea of the bitterness that would bo ongondered and the troubles that, would arise upon any attempt on tho part of men. to ,forco conscription upon the other sex. This is. no impeachment upon the loyalty of British .lvomen or the good intentions of British men. It is a restatement of the axiom that you cannot legislate- safely for people whoso conditions., you dont' krioiv. . • "There has for some time now boon a. disposition v not only to praise women, but to get tho most out-of them. To treat them, therefore, reasonably well. Tho more significant, then , , were those discussions in Parliament which revealed amongst other facts that not only wa3 a groat munitions firm altering the eighthours shift for girls to twelve, but had the audacity'to ask Government sanction for the change With what sorry confidence must employers trust to legislators' incapacity -to represent the immediate interests of iho girls or the futuro interests of the Tace. "'The Times', quotes expert'opinion'as saying: 'At. the very lowest calculation there are over 100,000 women working on munitions of various kinds who are not yet granted a living wage.' The debate in tlfte House of Commons elicited -the fact that 'in a. conltplled firm in Southampton a Government award decreed th'at r a .woman of eighteen might begin at 2d; an hour, and if her work were satismight after a year receive 2Jd. an hour, a problematic bonus of 2s. being paid only on certain conditions. Owing to the Government award being in tho ambiguous form of 'if. tho work is satisfactory,' it was'.at the discretion of tho employer to withhold tho estra farthings if ho chose. ■ "Dr. Tehaykovsky tells of women em-

ployed wholly or partially on Government work who aro- paid as follows:—Safety fuses, lla. a weetf, now raised by arbitrato 13s.;' linen cloth, Government award of 2:Jd. an. hodr to certain day workers; electric firms, day rates commencing at 2d. an hour, rising after a year's satisfactory work to 23d. au hour. (N. 8.—52 hours a. week at M. an hour, Ss. Sd.; 52 hours a week at 3d. an 'hour, 135.) Again reverting to 'The Times,' wo road on December 23,, in relation to tho Munitions Amendment .fit of 1915, that Section 7 makes it impossible for any woman to learo work in a controlled establishment without a leaving cafe. If she does so, no employer can give her work for six weeks. As leaving certificates aro constantly refused to women on wages as lon , as 10s., their, case is very hard if they have the offer of better work in their neighbourhood. They cannot ufl'ord to remain out of work for eix weeks. It has been urged that these conditions are merely temporary, a concomitant of war destined to disappear with tho comiug of peace. To believo that is to be blind arid deaf. If from this quarter and that comes praise of women's work, como also whispers of a. fixed intention to keep these armies of docile workers at their post. When munition-making was a. thing of tho past (compared to what it is now), other work performed by women will take its placed 'Girls were so easily managed.

1 . . .' Working mon fear this flood of new labour, ami- they .ire taking a.'suro way of making it formidable by shutting it out of the great unions and leaving it lifi choice, but to be chenp. When ilien realise that injustice to women is a menaco to men they will look more carefully into it er they wi),l ask qualified women, to help them to prescribe for the common evil. "A summary of-the reasons ot women's aversion to' tho idea of conscription arises from three chief causes: I'irst, the docility of women; second, lack of organisation. (Unorganised women will bo compelled to keep hours which hayo overtaxed tho strongest men and will submit to conditions against which men have appealed fo their unions and been sustained iu striking.), Inevitably the thinkers Among women ai'o enemies of conscription by a power that will nnt apt against; the interests of the rich, that will not coerco enemies and distillers for the country's good, a power which (through ignorance rather than ruthlessuess) is ready to coerco tho future mothers of tho nice in tho -nation's undoing. Third and crowning objection to woman-con-scription; lack of. direct representation. Her hours, her day are bargained for between threo bodies—employers' assoc'ia-, tions, men , !) unions, and tho Board of Trade. In not *>ne of theso is a. woman, there, nor any representative of women. .. .

Whatever may bo said in favour of democracy agreeing to conscript men who have 'a voice in the decision, there can be no palliation of tho outrage of 'conscripting an entire sex which is prevented from having the smallest share in making so momentous a decision."