WOMEN AFTER THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 76, 24 December 1918, Page 5

WOMEN AFTER THE WAR

YVOBK-SHAPJNG WTTH KETURNED SOLDIERS. As the result of two recent informal conferences of leading trades union women', held by the National Alliance of Emnloyers and Employed,! it has been decided to place before a Jorge conference of all women's societies in the near future proposals embodying the following points:—

* That women, while prepared to give up their present work to returning Foldiers, shall not. go back to their old jobs on the sweated wages that existed before the war.

That the Government should co-relate' the. questions of women's labour, the conversion of factories to peace industries, and the distribution of raw material in siifli a way as to make them interdependent.

That the hours of labour of. flic women and the returning men should'he reduced In six, five, and four hours nor day, so that all the women nnd all the men work 'half-time, and that as the social svstem resumed its normal course, and as the women went back to the pre-war industries, the hours of the men be increased to a maximum of eight. That any scheme introduced bv- the Government In prevent I lie disnblod or pensioned soldier from being exploited by low wages after the war be also made to apply to women. ,

Having placed these proposals before * conference of women's organisations, and of«trade, unions thnt have women members, it is proposed to !put lt.be results before tho men's trade unions, then before/the employers, and finally before the Government. A curious footnote to history is found in Simon Wolf's recently published "Presidents I Have Known." Mr. VVolf, a Washington lawyer, a loyal Unionist, and a friend of President Lincoln,' vns also acquainted with John Wilkes Booth, and resembled him in appearance. He says, concerning the assassination .of Lincoln: "After the- tragedy 1 was compelled to remain in my house until after ttcoth's capture, for, unfortunately, 1 resembled hi in very much in feature—so much so that Theodora Kaufman, the historical painter, asked mo to sit for him for his famous painting of tho assassination of President Lincoln." Besides being acquainted with several Presidents, Mr. Wolf met many celebrities during his career as a diplomatist. One of these was Arabi Pjisha. Hero is one of Arabi's stories.; A sheik was speaking in the mosque, and said, "All of you who are afraid of your wives stand up." All stood up except one man. Afterwards the shoik went to this man and said, "Evidently you are not afraid of your wifo," flie man responded, "She gave much such a beating this morning that I was not able to stand up." '