t^ff^^e" -^^^^*f;*- THE MARTIN P. CATHERWOOD LIBRARY OF THE NEW YORK STATE SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR RELATIONS AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY Carnegie Endowment for International Peace DIVISION OF ECONOMICS AND HISTORY JOHN BATES CLARK, DIRECTOR PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC STUDIES OF THE WAR ^*V- DAVID KINLEY lor of Folitical Economy /'University of Illinois ^ of ^QMjqii^ee of Research of the Endowment EeONOMIC EFPECTS OF THE WAR UPON ^OMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN BY ANDREWS ^.Assistant Secretary of "the American Association for Labor Legislation ASSISTED BY MARGARETT A. HOBBS ifff- V\«' M%i ^^^^^ NEW YORK OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS AMERICAN BRANCH: 35 WEST 32nd STREET Lpndon, Toronto, Melbourne and Bomba\' t 1918 "• COPYRIGHT 1918 BY THE CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE. 2 JACKspN Place Washington, D. C. ^ Press of Byron S. Adams Washington, D. C. Property of MARTIN P. CATHERWOOO UB''^^.V HEW YORK STATE ^UH Of INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR REUTiONS GN-nell University INTRODUCTORY NOTE BY THE DIRECTOR The Division of Economics and History of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is organized to "promote a thorough and scientific investigation of the causes and results of war." In accordance with this purpose a conference of emi- nent statesmen, publicists, and economists was held in Berne, Switzerland, in August, 1911, at which a plan of investigation was formed and an extensive list of topics was prepared. An •elaborate series of investigations was undertaken, and, if the war liad not inten^ened, the resulting reports might have been ex- pected, before the present date, in printed form. . ;, Of works so undertaken some aim to reveal direct and indi- rect consequences of warfare, and thus to furnish a basis for a judgment as to the reasonableness of the resort to it. If the ■evils are in reality larger and the benefits smaller than in the common view they appear to be, such studies should furnish convincing evidence of this fact and afford a basis for an en- lightened poHcy whenever there is danger of international con- flicts. Studies of the causes of warfare reveal, in particular, those ■economic influences which in time of peace bring about clashing interests and mutual suspicion and hostility. They show what policies, as adopted by different nations, reduce the conflicts of interest, inure to the common benefit, and afford a basis for international confidence and good will. They tend, further, to reveal the natural economic influences which of themselves bring about more and more harmonious relations and tend to substi- tute general benefits for the mutual injuries that follow unin- telligent self-seeking. Economic internationalism needs to be fortified by the mutual trust that just dealing creates; but just ■conduct itself may be favored by economic conditions. These, in turn, may be created partly by a natural evolution and partly iv INTRODUCTORY NOTE BY THE DIRECTOR by the conscious action of governments ; and both evolution and pubHc action are among the important subjects of investigation. An appeal to reason is in order when excited feelings render armed conflicts imminent; but it is quite as surely called for virhen no excitement exists and when it may be forestalled and prevented from developing by sound national policies. To fur- nish a scientific basis for reasonable international policies is the purpose of some of the studies already in progress and of more that will hereafter be undertaken. The war has interrupted work on rather more than a half of the studies that were in progress when it began, but it has itself furnished topics of immediate and transcendent importance. The costs, direct and indirect, of the conflict, the commercial policies induced by it and, especially, the direct control, which because of it, governments are now exercising in many spheres of economic activity where formerly competition and individual freedom held sway, are phenomena that call, before almost all others, for scientific study. It is expected that most of the in- terrupted work will ultimately be resumed and that, in the interim before this occurs, studies of even greater importance will be undertaken and will be pushed rapidly toward comple- tion. The publications of the Division of Economics and History are under the direction of a Committee of Research, the mem- bership of which includes the statesmen, publicists, and econo- mists who participated in the Conference at Berne in 1911, and two who have since been added. The list of members at present is as follows : Eugene Borel, Professor of Public and International Law in the University of Geneva. Lujo Brentano,^ Professor of Economics in the University of Munich; Member of the Royal Bavarian Academy of Sciences. Charles Gide, Professor of Comparative Social Economics in the University of Paris. ^Membership ceased April 6, 1917, by reason of the declaration of a state of war between the United States and the Imperial German Government. INTRODUCTORY NOTE BY THE DIRECTOR V H. B. Greven, Professor of Political Economy and Statistics in the University of Leiden. Francis W. Hirst, London. David Kinley, Professor of Political Economy in the Uni- versity of Illinois. Henri La Fontaine, Senator of Belgium. His Excellency Luigi Luzzatti, Professor of Constitutional Law in the University of Rome; Secretary of the Treasury, 1891-3; Prime Minister of Italy, 1908-11. Gotaro Ogawa, Professor of Finance at the University of Kioto, Japan. Sir George Paish, London. Maffeo Pantaleoni, Professor of Political Economy in the University of Rome. Eugen Philippovich von Philippsberg,' Professor of Political Economy in the University of Vienna; Member of the Austrian Herrenhaus, Hofrat. Paul S. Reinsch, United States Minister to China. His Excellency Baron Y. Sakatani, recently Minister of Finance; present Mayor of Tokio. Theodor Schiemann,^ Professor of the History of Eastern Europe in the University of Berlin. Harald Westergaard, Professor of Political Science and Statis- tics in the University of Copenhagen. Friedrich Freiherr von Wieser,^ Professor of Political Econ- omy in the University of Vienna. The function of members of this Committee is to select col- laborators competent to conduct investigations and present re- ports in the form of books or monographs ; to consult with these writers as to plans of study ,' to read the completed manuscripts and to inform the officers of the Endowment whether they merit publication in its series. This editorial function does not com- iDied, June, 1917. ^Membership ceased April 6, 1917, by reason of the declaration of a state of war between the United States and the Imperial German Government. ^Membership ceased December 7, 1917, by reason of the declaration of a state of war between the United States and Austria-Hungary. Vi INTRODUCTORY NOTE BY THE DIRECTOR mit the members of the Committee to any opinions expressed by the writers. Like other editors, they are asked to vouch for the usefulness of the works, their scientific and literary merit, and the advisability of issuing them. In like manner the publica- tion of the monographs does not commit the Endowment as a body or any of its officers to. the opinions which may be ex- pressed in them. The standing and attainments of the writers selected afford a guarantee of thoroughness of research and accuracy in the statement of facts, and the character of many of the works will be such that facts, statistical, historical, and descriptive, will constitute nearly-the whole of their content. In so far as the opinions of the writers are revealed, they are neither approved nor condemned by the fact that the Endow- ment causes them to be published. For example, the publica- tion of a work describing the attitude of various socialistic bodies on the subject of peace and war implies nothing as to the views of the officers of the Endowment on the subject of social- ism; neither will the issuing of a work, describing the attitude of business classes toward peace and war, imply any agreement or disagreement on the part of the officers of the Endowment with the views of men of these classes as to a protective policy, the control of monopoly, or the regulation of banking and cur- rency. It is necessary to know how such men generally think and feel on the great issue of war, and it is one of the purposes of the Endowment to promote studies which will accurately reveal their attitude. Neither it nor its Committee of Research vouches for more than that the works issued by them contain such facts ; that their statements concerning them may generally be tnisted, and that the works are, in a scientific way, of a quality that entitles them to a reading. John Bates Clark, Director. EDITOR'S PREFACE The following work on the "Economic Effects of the War upon Women and Children in Great Britain" by Mrs. Irene Osgood Andrews, Assistant Secretary of the American Associa- tion for Labor Legislation, is the second in the series of pre- liminary war studies undertaken by the Endowment. Mrs. Andrews' monograph is a sympathetic study of the situation by one who has long been familiar with working conditions of women and children in this country and abroad and the methods undertaken for their improvement. The author points out the difficulties and evil results of the hasty influx of women and children into industrial fields vacated by men who had gone into the army, but reaches the conclusion that on the whole the per- manent effects are likely to be good. Such a conclusion by an author whose sympathies with laboring women and children are deep and whose outlook is broad is hopeful and cheering. In the opinion of the editor, Mrs. Andrews has done her country a service in preparing this monograph, for her recital of the difficulties and evils of the British readjustment will enable our people to meet the same crisis when it comes upon us, as it surely will if the war continues, in the light of the experience of our allies. If we go about the matter intelligently in the light of this study we should be able to avoid some of the diffi- culties and evils of British experiences in this matter and open the way for a larger industrial life to women, while maintaining and indeed even improving, as we should, the conditions under which they are called upon to work and live. David Kinley, Editor. ^JS/ Cornell University Library The original of tiiis bool< is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924069088791 CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I Introductory Summary 1 Increase in numbers 1 Wages 4 Recruiting new workers 4 Removal of trade union restrictions 6 Control of labor by the Munitions Acts 6 Safety, health, and comfort 7 Effects of war work 8 After-war problems 9 The American situation 11 II Work of Women and Children before the War 14 Statistics of women's work 14 Legislative protection for women 16 Child labor 17 Laws affecting children's employment 19 III First Months of the War 21 The unemployment crisis 22 Organization for aiding unemployed women 24 IV Increase in the Employment of Women 29 First year of war 30 Second year of war 35 Third year of war Z7 V Organized Efforts to Recruit Women's Labor 44 Munitions work 44 The "Treasury Agreement" 46 The Munitions Acts 48 Organization for "dilution" under the Munitions Acts.... 49 Propaganda by the Ministry of Munitions 52 "Dilution" in other industries by trade union agreement. . . 54 Other measures to increase substitution — Industrial 56 Other measures to increase substitution — Trade and com- merce 62 Campaign for substitution in agriculture 63 Summary 67 VI Source of Additional Women Workers " 68 Transfers from non-essential industries 68 Transfers between districts ? 71 Care of transferred workers 73 X CONTENTS CHAPTER PACE VII Training for War Work 76 VIII WoiVf EN AND THE TrADE UnIONS ^^ IX Control of Women Workers under the Munitions Acts.... 82 Prohibition of strikes |ind lockouts 82 "Leaving certificates" 83 Munitions tribunals 87 X Wages 89 Governmental wage regulation in the munitions industry. ... 89 Wage fixing for "women on men's work" 92 Wage fixing for "'women not on men's work" 92 Revision of award for "women on men's work" 95 Extension of award covering "work not recognized as men's work" 96 General increases in the awards 97 Wage awards for women woodworkers 98 Criticism of governmental wage fixing in munitions work. . 99 Wage fixing by the trade boards 101 Wage changes under trade union agreements 102 Wages in other trades 104 The equal pay question 105 XI Hours of Work Ill The demand for overtime Ill Women's working hours in 1915 114 Later developments 119 XII Safety, Health, and Comfort 128 Organized efforts 129 Welfare supervision 135 Attack on the welfare movement 138 Improvements in conditions outside the factory 140 XIII Effects of the War on the Employment of Children 145 Extension of employment 145 Relaxation of child labor and compulsory education laws. . 146 Changes in occupations of boys and girls 151 Wages !.."!!'.! 153 H°"" 153 Safety, health, and comfort I57 Effects of war work on boys and girls. . ^ 159 Position of working boys and girls after the war 162 XIV Effects of War Work on Women I54 Health of women war workers I54 Effects of night work jgo Effects of war work on home life 170 Development of personality in women war workers. ..' ^ ! 172 Appendices - _. ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR UPON WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN CHAPTER I Introductory Summary Under the conditions of modern warfare the industrial army in factory, field, and mine is as essential to national success as the soldiers in the trenches. It is estimated that from three to five workers are necessary to keep a single soldier at the front completely equipped. Accordingly it is not surprising that Great Britain during three years of warfare saw what was little short of an industrial revolution in order to keep up the supply of labor, to heighten the workers' efficiency, and to secure their co- operation. No changes were more interesting and important than those which concerned working women and children. Increase in Numbers Upon women and children fell much of the great burden of keeping trade and industry active and of supplying war demands when several millions of men were taken away for military service. "Without the work of the women the war could not have gone on," said representatives of the British Ministry of Munitions while in New York in November, 1917. Before the increased demand was felt, however, the dislocation of industry during the first few months of war brought far more suffering to women workers than to men. In September, 1914, over 40 per cent of the women were out of work or on short time. The "luxury" trades, which employed a large proportion of women, were most severely affected, and the women could not relieve 2 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR the situation by enlisting as the men did. The pre-war level of employment was not reached until April, 1915. Between that date and July, 1917, the number of females gainfully occupied increased by more than 1,000,000 over the number at work in July, 1914. It is more difficult to ascertain the exact increase in the num- ber of working children and young persons under eighteen, but apparently more children left school for work directly at the end of the compulsory education period and more were illegally em- ployed. In addition in August, 1917. Mr. Herbert FisHer, presi- dent of the Board of Education, admitted in the House of Com- mons that in the past three years some 600,000 children under fourteen had been "put prematurely to work" through the relaxa- tion of child labor and compulsory school laws. The earlier ex- emptions, statistics of which have been published, were almost entirely for agriculture, but judging from Mr. Fisher's state- ment a considerable number of exemptions were made for min- ing and munitions work during the third year of war. One of the most notable effects of the war was the number of occupations which women entered for the first time, until, in the winter of 1916-1917,. it could be said that "there are practically no trades in which some process of substitution [of women for men] has not taken piace." According to official figures, 1,392,000 females were taking men's places in July, 1917. During the first year of war, however, women took men's places for the most part in transportation, in retail trade, and in clerical work rather than in manufacturing. In factory work, while some women were found to be undertaking processes slightly above their former level of skill in establishments where they had long been employed, the most general change was a transfer from slack industries to fill the expanding demands of firms making war ecjuipment. There women were employed in the same kinds of work they had carried on before the war. The rush into the munitions industry, where women engaged in both "men's" and "women's" work, was one of the most important features-' of the second year of war. VAHnile a few additional WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 3 women had begun to be taken on very early in the war, the in- creases were not lai'ge until the autumn of 1915 and early winter of 1916. During 1915-1916 also a decline was first noticed in the number of women in domestic service, in the printing trades, and in such typical "women's" trades as confectionery and laundry work. In the third year of war the substitution of women for men on a large scale was extended from munitions to numerous staple industries having a less direct connection with the war. In many cases, of course, the women did not do precisely the same work as their masculine predecessors. Especially in the engineering trades almost an industrial revolution occurred between 1914 and 1917. Skilled processes were subdivided, and automatic machinery was introduced, all the changes tending toward greater specialization and the elimination of the need of all round craft skill. Early in the war it was generally considered that women were not as efficient as men except on routine and repeti- tion work. But as the women gained experience it was observed that more and more of them were undertaking the whole of a skilled man's job, and the testimony as to relative efficiency, on work within a woman's strength, became far more favorable. It is conceivable that the changes in the kinds of work carried on by women may cause an entirely new conception of the proper vocational education for girls. In the summer of 1916 there was, for the first time, a marked increase in the number of women agricultural workers. Women even engaged in work ordinarily a part of soldiers' duties. Be- sides thousands of military nurses, a special corps of women under semi-military discipline was recruited for work as clerks, cooks, cleaners, chauffeurs, and mechanics behind the lines in France. In October, 1917, 10,000 recruits a month were wanted for this special corps. The women were able to take up their new lines of work with surprisingly little formal training, the chief exceptions being short practical courses for farm workers and semi-skilled munition makers. 4 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR Changes in the work done by children were considerably dif- ferent for girls and for boys. For girls the choice of occupa- tions widened much as for adult women. But for boys, though a few received earlier promotion to skilled men's work than would ordinarily have been the case, on the whole training for skilled trades declined. With the men drawn into the war and with, the increasing cost of living, it was natural that an increase should take place in the number of child street traders, and in the num- ber of children vi^orking outside school hours. Wages Under war conditions the wages of both women and children were raised, some of the largest gains being made by boy and girl munition makers. The smallest rise seems to have occurred in the imregulated, so-called "women's trades," like laundry- work. The trade boards made a number of increases in the industries within their jurisdiction, but the changes barely kept pace with the rising cost of living. The economic position of the women who took men's places was undoubtedly improved,, though, even taking into account differences in experience and efficiency and the numerous changes in industrial method, the- plane of economic equality between the two sexes was not gen- erally attained. The government had the power to fix women's- wages on munitions work, and in so doing it accepted the "equal pay" principle and set comparatively high standards. Where- other industries were covered by trade union agreements, women- in most instances received "equal pay," but in the remaining cases of substitution, for instance in agriculture, though considerable;- increases were gained, the men's rates were by no means reached. Recruiting New Workers It is of interest to learn how England secured women workers- to meet the demands of war. The women came for the most part from three different groups. First, workers changed from the low paid "women's trades" and various slack lines of work to- WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 5 xnunitions and different kinds of "men's work." Second, the additional women workers were mainly the wives and other members of workingmen's families, most of the married women having worked before marriage. Soldiers' wives often found their separation allowances insufficient. In general both patri- ■otic motives and the rising cost of living undoubtedly played a j>art in sending these women and many young boys and girls into industry. Finally, a comparatively small number of worhen •of a higher social class entered clerical work, agriculture, and the munitions factories, in many instances in response to patri- otic appeals. Many of the women and children were recruited through the activities of local representative "Women's War Employment Committees" and "County Agricultural Committees," formed by the government, and working in close cooperation with the na- tional employment exchanges. A large number of women, about 5,000 a month in the winter of 1917, and even a good many joung boys and girls were sent through the exchanges from their homes to work at a distance. According to representatives of the Ministry of Munitions, the securing of their well being -outside the factory under such circumstances was the most serious problem connected with their increased employment. Efforts to provide housing, recreation, and improved transit facilities were at first in the hands of the voluntary committees, but later it -proved necessary for the Ministry to appoint "outside welfare -ofificers" to supplement and coordinate this work. The "hostels" -with their large dormitories and common sitting rooms which ■were frequently opened in munition centers for the women ■proved unsatisfactory because of the rules required and the diffi- culties of maintaining necessary discipline. In an attempt to -solve the housing problem the government, in the summer of 1917, was forced to enact a measure making compulsory the ■"billeting" of munition makers with families living in the district. 5 FXONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR Removal of Trade Union Restrictions Trade union restrictions on the kinds of work women were al- lowed to perform were set aside for the war period and "dilu- tion" was made widely possible by the munitions acts, in the case of munitions of war, and by agreements between employers and employes in many staple industries. In all cases the agree- ments included clauses intended to safeguard the standard wage rate and to restore the men's places and the trade union rules after the war. Even where the munition acts gave the govern- ment power to force "dilution" it proceeded mainly through con- ferences and agreements. Officials of the Ministry of Munitions believe that whether in England or America, the substitution of women or any other im- portant change intended to increase production can only proceed peacefully if labor's consent and cooperation are secured. They believe also that provisions to safeguard labor standards are essential to gain such cooperation, and that anj'thing in the nature of coercion or a "labor dictatorship" will necessarily fail to reach the desired aim of enlarged output. Control of Labor by the Munitions Acts Considerable irritation was aroused among the munition makers, both men and women, by the control exercised over them through certain features of the munitions acts. Strikes were forbidden and provision for compulsory arbitration was made. Special munitions tribunals were set up which might impose fines for breaches of workshop discipline. In order to stop the need- less shifting from, job to job which was hampering production, a system of "leaving certificates'" was established. Workers who left their previous positions without such cards, which could be secured from employers or from the tribunals only under specified conditions, might not be employed elsewhere for six weeks. The clearance certificate system was obviously open to abuses, espe- cially during the first few months of its operation, before a number of safeguards were introduced by the first munitions WOMKN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN / amendment act, in January, 1916. It created sO' much unrest among the workers that it was abolished in October, 1917. The British government's experience with these features of the muni- tions acts which approach nearest to the conscription- of labor illustrates the difficulties attendant upon such devices for obtain- ing maximum output without interruption. Safety, Health, and Comfort The effect of the war on the working hours of English women and children centers in the changes made in the restrictive legis- lation in force at the outbreak of the war. This legislation for- bade night and Sunday work, and hours in excess of ten and a half daily and sixty weekly in non-textile factories; and ten daily and fifty-five weekly in textile factories. But from the beginning of the war up to the latter part of 1915 hours were lengthened and night and Sunday work became frequent, both by means of special orders from the factory inspection depart- ment and also in defiance oi the law. Two special govern- mental committees were finally created to deal with the unsatis- factory situation. The scientific studies by one of them, the Health of Munition Workers Committee, on the unfavorable effects of long hours on output, were a determining factor in securing a virtual return to pre-war standards of hours. En- glish experience should i>rove to America the wisdom of main- taining unchanged the laws limiting hours of women and chil- dren, if production is to reach its maximum. The introduction of women into factories and offices for the first time often led tO' the making of special provisions for their safety, health, and comfort. In the interests of output, the Min- ister of Munitions fostered such developments in the establish- ments under his control, encouraged the engagement of "wel- fare supervisors" for women, girls, and boys, and gave special attention to the well being of munition makers outside the fac- tory. The Ministry allowed owners of controlled establishments to deduct the cost of special welfare provisions for women, such ;g ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR as wash rooms and rest rooms, from what would otherwise be taken by the excess profit tax. It provided housing accommoda- tions on a large scal^-for 60,000 workei-s, it is said, between July, 1915, and July, 1916, and subsidized similar iwojects by cities and private organizations. That the war brought increased recognition of the importance of measures for safety, health, and comfort was evident from the passage of a law in August, 1916, •empowering the Home Office to make special regulations for ad- ditional "welfare" provisions in factories. Effects of War Work It was hardly possible to judge the full effects of war work on women and children by November, 1917. Among women, while individual cases of overfatigue undoubtedly existed, signs of in- jury to health were not generally apparent. The effects when the excitement of war work is over and the strain relaxed were still to be reckoned with, however. Higher pay, which meant warmer ■clothing, sometimes better housing, and especially better food, was believed to be an important factor in counteracting injury to health. It doubtless accounted for the improvement in health which was not infrequently noted in women entering munitions work from low paid trades and which is a sadly significant com- mentary on their former living conditions. Among boy muni- tion makers the evidences of ovenvork and a decline in health were much more striking. Particularly in the crowded munition, centers, home life suf- fered on account of the war. Overcrowding, long hours spent in the factory and in traveHng back and forth, an increase in the work of mothers with young families, the absence of husbands and fathers on military service, and the more frequent depar- ture from home of young boys and girls for work at a distance, all contributed to the undermining of the home. Yet even the additional responsibility placed on many \\'omen by the absence of their men-folk seems to have been one of the : stimulating influences which are said in three vears of war to WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 9'' have "transformed" the personality of the average factory- woman. As a class, they have grown more confident, more in- dependent, more interested in impersonal issues. The more varied and responsible positions opened to women, the public's appreciation of their services, their many contacts with the gov- ernment on account of war legislation also helped bring about the change, which promises to be one of the most significant of the war. Among the younger workers, on the contrary, it was feared that the relaxation of discipline, unusual wages, long hours of work, the frequent closing of schools and boys' clubs, and the general' excitement of war time were producing a deterioration in charac- ter. "Had we set out with the deliberate intention of manufactur- ing juvenile delinquents, could we have done so in any more cer- tain way ?" said Mr. Cecil Leeson, secretary of the Howard Asso^ ciation of London. A marked increase in juvenile delinquency was noted, particularly among boys of eleven to thirteen, the- ages for which school attendance laws have been relaxed and' premature employment allowed. After-War Problems The fact that the women who took men's places did not, on the whole, obtain men's wages, though they were by no means always less efficient, promises to create one of the most 'serious of the difficulties likely to arise after the war emergency is over. The danger is that the women substitutes may be used to under- cut the men's wage rates, and thus undermine the standard of living of a large part of the industrial population. The indus- trial reorganization which hasj occurred, involving, as it does,, greater specialization and subdivision of skilled processes and decreasing the value of craft skill, facilitates their utilization in this way. Other important post-war problems include those of the chil- dren whom the war forced prematurely into employment, and of the industrial dislocation which will occur when demands for war- 10 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR equipment cease. It is estimated that at that time, when millions of soldiers will be seeking employment, half the people now at work will have to find new places. The need for the services of most women making war equipment will come to an end, and, if the terms of the agreements with the unions are carried out, most of the women substitutes in staple trades must be dismissed to make way for the men. The women who have taken men's _ places form a problem, therefore, whether they hold their jobs or are dismissed. And while a considerable number of women are likely to withdraw from industry at the end of the war, the increasing disproportion between the sexes makes it almost cer- tain that for a generation the number of women workers will remain larger than before the conflict. Fortunately the English government, and' also private indi- viduals, are giving much attention to plans for "reconstruction" after the war, which shall not only tide over the transition period but put the relations between labor and capital on a permanently improved basis. In dealing with the question of the women sub- stitutes, it is hoped that the men's unions will not continue their policy of exclusion, but will allow the women to enter all suitable occupations and the appropriate labor organizations, thus keep- ing them in employment, but providing machiner)^ to prevent the lowering of wage rates. It is suggested further that \\age rates might be determined through an extension of trade boards in the unorganized industries and through the creation of joint representative industrial councils in the organized trades. In behalf of working children a measure was introduced in Parliament in August, 1917, requiring compulsory school attend- ance until the age of fourteen without exception, and continua- tion school for eight hours a week during working time up to the age of eighteen. Governmental schemes for dealing with unemployment durin- the period of readjustment immediately after the war were fairiv well advanced in November, 1917. A law passed Julv 1916 extending unemployment insurance to most munition workers over the period of war and readjustment promised women WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 11 workers the largest measure of direct help during the time of transition. Schemes for extended and improved maternity protection are ■being brought forward, the losses of war having stimulated in- terest in methods of human conservation. The unusual strain to which women workers have been subjected during the war makes such plans an important element in any complete program of "reconstruction." 77irtion of females in "domestic" occupations and in the dress and textile trades were not entirely balanced by smaller increases in the proportions in professional and clerical work, non-textile fac- tories, paper and printing, and food and lodging. The propor- tion of girls between ten and fifteen at work had also fallen. The author of the above studies believed that the relative decrease was to be found among the industrial classes and that it was due to the commencement of work at a higher age and to a some- what lessened employment of married women. Recent increases in the proportion of gainfully occupied fem.ales carried out this theory, since they were found largely in the age group between sixteen and twenty-five. Over half the girls of these ages were at work in 1911, and 70 per cent of those from fifteen to twenty, which has been called "the most occupied age." The proportion of these young workers to older women rose considerably in the decade from 1901 to 1911, though during the same period the number of married women and widows at work increased from 917,000 to 1,091,202. For thirty years the proportion of men to women workers had remained practically stationary, be- ing 2.3 males to one female in 1881, and 2.4 males to one female in 1911.= / Especially in industrial occupations women had been largely confined to the least skilled and lowest paid lines of work. To a deplorable extent they had been the "industrial drudges of the community." It is, for instance, officially estimated that out of the 100,000 "home workers," whose work has become almost synonymous with "sweating," three-quarters were women. An estimate by the English economist, Sidney Webb, of the wages of adult women "manual workers" in 1912^ placed their average 1 Dorothy Haynes, "A Comparative Study of the Occupations of Men and Women," Women's Industrial News, Oct. 1913, pp. 398, 399. 2 Margaret G. Bondfield, "The Future of Women in Industry," Labour Year Book, 1916, p. 259. 3 Fabian Society, "The War, Women and Unemployment," Fabian Tract No. 178. 191S, p. 5. 16 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR full time weekly earnings at lis. 7d. ($2.78). Making allow- ance for an annual loss of five weeks a year from sickness, unem- ployment, and short time — a conservative estimate — average weekly earnings throughout the year would be about 10s. lOj^A ($2.61). Only 17 per cent of the women regularly employed were believed to receive more than 15s. ($3.60) weekly, and those averaged only 17s. ($4.08) for a full time week. The average full time wages of adult male manual workers were estimated by the same authority at 25s. 9d. ($6.18) a week. Legislative Protection for Women Since the forties, however, much special legislative protection had been extended to women workers mainly through the fac- tory acts. There were numerous regulations to protect their health and safety. They might not be employed in cleaning^: moving machinery, nor in underground mines, nor in brass cast ing nor in certain processes exposed to lead dust. In other lines where women were in danger of contracting lead poisoning, they were allowed to work only if found in good condition through monthly medical examination. In some unhealthy trades separate rooms for meals were required and in some dangerous- ones women were obliged to cover their hair. Separate sanitary accommodations were compulsory in all factories and workshops. A provision which had proved of less value than anticipated be- cause of the difficulties of enforcement, foi-bade a factory em- ployer knowingly to give work to a woman within four weeks after the birth of her child. Wherever women were employed as "shop assistants" one seat was to be provided for every three assistants. For factories and workshops an elaborate code limiting work- ing hours had long been in existence. No work on Sunday or at night was allowed, and only a half day on Saturday. The maximum weekly hours permitted were fifty-five in textile fac- tories and sixty in "non-textile factories and workshops." Daily- hours were ten in the former, and in the latter ten and a half WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 17 with, in certain cases, a limited amount of overtime. The time -.to be allowed for meals was also strictly regulated. The latest phase of regulation of working conditions, the fix- mg of minimum wages, was begun in 1909 by the trade boards act. Minimum wage rates might be fixed for trades in which wages were "exceptionally low" by boards made up of employers, employes, and the general public. Though the wage fixing •covered both men and women, the large proportion of women employed in the trades first regulated made the law of special importance in a consideration of women's work. The trades ■ covered up to the outbreak of the war included certain branches of tailoring, shirt making, some forms of chain making, paper box, sugar confectionery and food preserving, and certain pro- cesses in lace finishing. The minimum rates fixed for experi- ■enced adult women in these trades varied from about 2j^d. (5 cents) to 3j/2d. (7 cents) an hour, amounting on an average to approximately 14s. a week ($3.36) for full time work. The awards appear to have been effective in raising the wages of a considerable number of low paid women. Chdld Labor In matters of industrial employment the English recognized not only "children" under fourteen, whose employment was in great part prohibited, but also a special class of "young per- sons," whose employment was subject to special regulation. Boys and girls under eighteen whom the law allowed to work were in the latter group. The 1911 census returned 98,202 boys ■ and 49,866 girls, or a total number of 148,063 children between ten and fourteen years as "gainfully employed" in Great Brit- -ain. Mr. Frederic Keeling, an authority on English child labor conditions, believed, however, that this number was an under- estimate because it failed to include many children employed out- side of school hours. In 1912 he set the number of working chil- -dren under fourteen in the United Kingdom at 577,000, of whom •jg ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR 304,000 were employed outside of school hours, and the rest under special clauses of the factory and education acts.^ The great majority of the boys and girls in Great Britain went to work before they were eighteen years old. There were 1,246,069 male "young persons" and 902,483 female "young persons" gainfully employed in Great Britain in 1911.' In En- gland and ^^'ales in that same year 309,000 boys and 241,000 girls of seventeen were at work, and only 20,600 boys and 87,- 400 girls of that age were "unoccupied." The 1911 census figures covering the principal lines of work in which girls and boys under eighteen are employed had, in November, 1917, been published only for England and Wales. For boys these occupations were the building trades, the metal trades, textiles, agriculture, mining, outdoor "domestic service," messenger and porter work — which is in most cases a "blind alley" occupation — and commercial employment, whereas for girls they were textiles, clothing, domestic work, and commer- cial employment. The girls, it may be noted, were found-nminly in the same kinds of work as were adult women. While, as has been previously mentioned, there was a relative increase in the number of young working girls between fifteen and twenty, the number of working children under fourteen was falling off. There were 97,141 boys and 49,276 girls under fourteen, a total of 146,417, employed in England and AVales in 1911. In 1901 working boys under fourteen numbered 138,000 and working girls 70,000, a total of 208,000. In Scotland there were but 1,600 young children of these ages at work in 1911, and 17,600 in 1901. Most children and "young persons" were, of course, receiving very low wages. Sidney Webb estimated the average earnings of girl manual workers under eighteen to be 7s. 6d. weekly ($1.80) and those of boys to be 10s. ($2.40). 1 Frederic Keeling, Child Labour in the United Kingdom, 1914, p. xxviii. 2 These girls are also included in the number of "females gainfully occu- pied," previously discussed. See p. 14. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 19 Lazvs Affecting Children's Employment The chief forces in bringing about this diminution of child labor \\ere, naturally, the laws forbidding child labor and re- quiring compulsory schooling. Children were required to attend school until they were fourteen unless they were thirteen and could secure a certificate of "proficiency" or of regular attend- ance. They might not work in factories until they had com- pleted their school attendance, except that "half timers," girls and boys of twelve, might work not more than thirty-three hours a week and were compelled to go to school half the time. Most of the "half timers" were found in the Lancashire cotton mills. Children under eleven might not sell articles on the street, boys tmder fourteen might not work in coal mines, and the local authorities might forbid all work by children under fourteen, 4hettigh unfortunately the power had been but slightly exejrcised. ' The health and safety regulations afFecting "young persons" under eighteen were similar to those for women, but somewhat more stringent. The lead processes which were forbidden women were also forbidden girls and boys under eighteen, together with a few other very unhealthy trades. In others where women might be employed, boys and girls under sixteen were forbidden to work. Children under fourteen might not be employed "in a .manner likely to be dangerous to their health or education." In factories and workshops the same regulation of dail)'^ and weekly hours, night and Sunday work, applied both to adult women and to "young persons." In addition the hours of boys under sixteen emjjloyed in mines were limited, and a maximum of seventy-four hours a week was fixed for shop assistants under eighteen. The minimum rates set by the trade boards for boys and girls under eighteen generally rose year by year according to age from about 4s. weekly at fourteen (96 cents) to 10s. ($2.40) or 12s. ($2.88) at seventeen. Girls with the necessary experience in the trade received the full minimum rate for women at eighteen years of age; but the boys, who' sometimes began at a higher 20 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR rate than the girls, did not reach the full men's rate till they were twenty-one or more. Almost all these working conditions — the principal kinds of work women and children were doing, the rate of increase in their numbers, their wages, and the legal regulations protect- ing them — were changed during three years of the world war. CHAPTER III First Months of the World War — Labor's Attitude toward! the War — Unemplo5mient among Women Workers August 4, 1914, was a momentous day for the working women and children of England. On that date the nation entered the great conflict which was not only to throw their men-folk into military service, but to affect their own lives directly. It was tO' alter their work and wages and to come near to overthrowing the protective standards built up by years of effort. What was the attitude of the women and of organized labor in general toward the war and the industrial revolution which it brought in its train ? Shortly after the opening of hostilities the majority of the- workers swung into line behind the government in support of the war, despite the fact that the organized British labor movement had earlier subscribed to a resolution of the international social- ist congress that labor's duty after the outbreak of any war was- "to intervene to bring it promptly to a close." Indignation at the invasion of Belgium was apparently the determining factor in the change of attitude. The Labour Party did not oppose the government war measures. It joined in the- parliamentary recruiting campaign, and in the "political truce," by which it was agreed that any vacancies occurring in the House of Commons should be filled by the party previously in posses- sion without a contest. On August 24, 1914, the joint board of three of the four important national labor bodies, namely, the Trades Union Congress, the General Federation of Trade Unions and the Labour Party, declared an "industrial truce," moving for the termination of all existing disputes, and for an effort to settle all questions arising during the war by peaceful methods, before resorting to strikes and lockouts. The principal women's labor organizations fell in with what may be called the- 22 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR official labor attitude toward the war, and the Independent Labour Party stood almost alone in continuing to advocate an early peace. In July, 1914, just before the war, British business had been in a reasonably prosperous condition. There was somewhat of a decline from the boom of 1913, and a considerable depression in the cotton industry, but on the whole the state of trade was good. The first effect on industry of the outbreak of war in August was an abrupt and considerable curtailment of pro- duction. Orders both in home and foreign trade were with- held or canceled, large numbers of factories went on short time, and in a number of cases employes were provisionally given notice of discharge.^ The Unemployment Crisis That the crisis of unemployment would be but a passing phase, soon followed by unprecedented industrial activity, seems not to have been anticipated. "If the war is prolonged, it will tax all the powers of our administrators to avert the most widespread distress," said the Fabian Society.^ A "Central Committee for the Prevention and Relief of Distress," headed by the presi- dent of the local government board was organized as early as August 4; local authorities were asked to form similar local representative committees, and the Prince of Wales sent out an appeal for a "National Relief Fund." Plans were made for starting special public work, additional government subsidies to trade unions paying unemployment benefits were granted, and the War Office broke precedent and pennitted the subletting of government contracts as a relief measure in districts where there was much unemployment. In the industrial depression women were affected far more severely than men and for a considerably longer time. The oltfb'r'Si^^S^""^ °' ^'"'^'' '^'^°''' "" *^' ^""•' "f Employment in ^^|abian Society, "The War and the Workers," Fabian Tract Ko. 176, 1914, WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 23 trades which were hardest hit were for the most part those in which large numbers of women were employed. Those trades which for want of a better name are some- times called "luxury trades" — dressmaking, millinery, blouse making, women's fancy and children's boot and shoe making, the silk and linen trades, cigar and cigarette making, the umbrella trade, confectionery and preserve making, cycle and carriage making, the jewelry trade, furniture making and French polishing, the china and glass trades, book and stationery making, as well as printing — these were the trades which at the beginning of the war suffered a very severe slump. In some trades a shortage of raw material or the loss of enemy markets only added to the general dislocation . Thus the shortage of sugar caused very con- siderable unemployment in jam preserving and confec- tionery. The chemical trade was affected by the complete cessation of certain commodities from Germany. The prac- tical closing of the North Sea to fishers absolutely brought to a close the occupation of those thousands of women on the English coast who follow the herring round. The clos- ing of the Baltic cut off the supplies of flax from Russia upon which our linen trade largely depends. . The cotton trade was especially hit ; before the war a period of decline had set in, and Lancashire suffered in addition from all the disadvantages incidental to an export trade in time of naval warfare. Casual houseworkers such as char- women and office cleaners and even skilled domestic ser- vants, such as cooks, found themselves out of employment owing to the economies which the public was making. The unemployment of good cooks, however, did not last many weeks.^ Nearly half the total number of women in industry (44.4 per cent or 1,100,000) were unemployed or on short time in Sep- tember, 1914, while among men workers the corresponding figure was only 27.4 per cent. The provision of public work helped ' men rather than women, and the rush of enlistments was another 1 British Association for the Advancement of Science, Credit, Industry, and the War, 1915, pp. 70, 71. 24 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR important factor which helped relieve the situation for working men. Among the women, on the contrary, many relatives of men who had gone to the front were obliged to apply for work for a time, since separation allowances were not immediately available. In October, 1914, when enlistments were taken into account, the net decrease in the number of male industrial workers was only 6,500, but that of females was 155,000. By December, when 80,000 fewer women were employed than in July, and girls in dressmaking, machine-made lace, silk and felt hat making, pot- teries, printing, and fish curing had not yet found steady work,^ there was a net increase in the employment of men and boys, and a shortage of skilled men. It was not until April, 1915, eight months after the outbreak of war, that the number of women employed reached pre-war levels.^ Organisation for Aiding Unemployed Women During this period the chief agency helping unemployed girls and women was the "Central Committee on Women's Employ- ment." The committee mainly owed its origin to the War Emergency Workers' National Committee, which was formed as early as August 5, 1914, to protect the interests of the workers during the war, at a hastily called conference of nearly all the important national socialist and labor organizations. In the first days of war an appeal to women was sent out in the name of the Queen asking them to make garments and "comforts" for the troops. The workers' national committee protested against such use of the voluntary labor of the well-to-do at the ver\' time when thousands of working women in the sewing and allied trades were in need of work. As a result of such protests an announcement appeared in the newspapers of August 17 to the effect that details of the Queen's plan for raising money to provide schemes of work for unem- ployed women would soon be announced. It was stated that "it zz) ployes, clerks, cooks, cleaners, chaufifeurs, and even as other sorts of mechanics. Earlier efforts of the "Woman's Section" for another registration of women for vi^ar work and for a uni- formed "army" of women for agricultural work seem to have been of but little value. Other Measures to Increase Substitution—Trade and Commerce The chief governmental reports covering non-industrial lines of work are those of the "Shops Committee" and the "Clerical and Commercial Employments Committee," both formed in the spring and reporting in the fall of 191 5. The former stated that 1 The New Statesman, April 7, 1917 p 4 =i/6«d., July 21, 1917, p. 372. 3 The Woman Worker, April, 1917. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 63 it was organized to see how Lord Kitchener's demand for "more men, and yet more men" could be met by releasing men employed in stores. In the judgment of the committee very few men needed to be retained, except in the heavier branches of the wholesale trade. The committee distributed circulars to shop- keepers throughout the country asking how many men could be released for the army and calling attention to the emergency. A large meeting of representatives of the unions and the employers' associations was held in London and fifty-five local meetings for the trade through the country, at which resolutions were passed pledging those present "to do everything possible" to substitute women for men. "What we feel we have done," said the com- mittee, in summing up its work, "is to bring home to shopkeepers in England and Wales the necessity (and the possibility) of rearranging their business so as to release more men for service with the Colours." The other committee, on "Clerical and Commercial Employ- ments," was formed to work out a plan for "an adequate supply of competent substitutes" for the "very large number of men of military age" still found in commercial and clerical work. The committee estimated that 150,000 substitutes must be secured, and that they must be drawn mainly from the ranks of unoccu- pied women without previous clerical experience. It recom- mended the securing of such women from among friends and relatives of the present staffs, the starting of one and two months' emergency training courses by the education authorities, and the placement of the trained women through cooperation with the local employment exchanges. The committee went on record in favor of the reinstatement of the enlisted men after the war, and meanwhile "equal pay" for the women substitutes. It brought the need of substitution before the various commercial and pro- fessional associations whose members made use of clerical help. Campaign for Substitution in Agriculture Propaganda efforts in agriculture were numerous, but judging from the comparatively small increase in the number of women i4 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR vorkers, they were relatively less successful than those in indus- ry and trade. Prejudice on the part of both country women tnd farmers was held partly responsible, but the chief cause seems o have been the failure to raise wages materially or to improve iving conditions. Organization along similar lines to that de- 'eloped in industry by the Board of Trade and the Home Office I'as worked out by the Board of Trade and the Board of Agri- ulture in the spring of 1916. "Women's county agricultural ommittees" were formed in close connection with the "war .gricultural committees" which had been organized in each ounty. The committees were made up of "district representa- ives," who, in turn, worked through local committees, or "vil- ige registrars" or both. In the late autumn of 1916 there were ixty-three county committees, 1,060 "district representatives" nd over 4,000 "village registrars." The Board of Agriculture ormed a panel of speakers for meetings, and the Board of Trade ppointed women organizers for various parts of the country, ^ocal meetings to rouse enthusiasm were followed by a house- o-house .canvass in which women were urged for patriotic mo- ives to enroll for whole or part-time work. The village regis- rar then arranged for employment of the women listed either hrough the local employment exchange or as they heard of acancies. The women were told that "every woman who helps a agriculture during the war is as truly serving her coimtry as he man who is fighting in the trenches or on the sea." Each egistrant was entitled to a certificate, and after thirty days' ser- ice might wear a green baize armlet marked with a scarlet rown. During the season of 1916 it was estimated that 140,000 romen registered. Seventy-two thousand certificates and 62,000 rmlets were issued,^ although many of the regular women rorkers on the land refused to register for fear of becoming in ome way liable to compulsory sei-vice. Women registrants ^ere said to be found in almost every kind of farm work, even ploughing, but were naturally more often successful in such 1 Labour Gaccttc, February, 1916, p. 43. WOMEN AND CHIIJ)REN IN GREAT BRITAIN 65 lighter forms as weeding, fruit and hop picking, the care of poultr)-, dairy work, and gardening. They were considered especially good in the care of all kinds of animals. The elaborate plans of the government and the low wages paid were commented on in characteristic style by The Woman Worker.^ Women on the Land It is announced in the papers that the government have decided to start a recruiting campaign for women to work on the land. Four hundred thousand are wanted ; and they are to be registered and to be given an armlet. Now, work on the land is useful work, and much of it is suitable to women; but there are points about this scheme which we should do well to look at. It is said that a representative of the Board of Trade at a meeting at Scarborough, said that the wages would be from 12s. to 1 lb. Twelve shill- ings is not a proper living wage for a woman ; and our mas- ters seem to know this. The Daily News, in explaining the government scheme, says, "It is frankly admitted that much of the most necessary work is hard and unpleasant, and by no means extravagantly paid. That is why the appeal is made exclusively to the patriotism of the women. There is no question {as in the army itself) of any really adequate reward." Well, why not? The farmers are doing very well The price of corn is higher than has ever been known before. \\'hy should women be deprived of "any really adequate reward" ? Why should women assist in keeping down the miserably low wages of agricultural laborers? If there was "no question, as in the army itself," of any really adequate profits, then there might be something to be said for the government. As it is, no armlets and no "patriotism" ought to make women work at less than a living wage. In January, 1917, the Board of Agriculture further developed its organization by starting a "Women's Labour Department." Organizing secretaries were placed in the counties, grants were made to certain voluntary organizations, and sixteen traveling 1 The Woman Worker, March, 1916, p. 3. (£ ECONOMIC EFFFXTS OF THE WAR inspectors were sent out to advise on grants, inspect living con- ditions, and so on. Plans were made to mobilize still larger numbers of women for the season of 1917, but complete reports of what was accomplished were not available in November of that year. Another minor but interesting development of 1916 was that of organized gangs of women farm workers under a leader. Several of these were successful in doing piece-work jobs for different farms in rotation. Others cultivated unused allotments and waste lands. The principal women's colleges provided 2,890 "vacation land workers" in gangs for fruit picking and the like. Two successful bracken-cutting camps were also main- tained at which women worked for eight weeks under semi- military discipline. The only English organization dealing with agricultural work by women prior to the war was the "Women's Farm and Garden Union," which promoted the training of educated women for gardening. In February, 1916, this body secured land for a training school from the Board of Agriculture, and formed the "Women's National Land Service Corps," which was joined by about 2,000 women in the course of a year or more. Members received six weeks' training and were then sent out to the farms; preferably in groups of two or three who could live in a cottage together, "perhaps with a friend to do the cooking.'" Others ' lodged in the villages or with their employers. The memibers of the Corps were said to be "educated girls who had gone into the work mostly from patriotic motives." Girls entirely dependent on their earnings were not encouraged to join, "because of the low rate of pay." The Corps refused to send out workers, it should be noted, unless the pay covered living expenses, unless, considering the women's ability and experience, it was equal to men's rates, or if their workers would undercut or supplant local women. The Corps believed that it had accomplished more than Its numbers would indicate, in that its carefully chosen members had^ften convmced doubtful farmers that women could do more 1 Boston Christian Science Mointor, May 14, I917. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 67 agricultural work, and that several workers had organized the village women into whole or part-time gangs. In the spring of 1917, the National Service Department planned to use the Corps as the nucleus for a "Women's Land Army." Women were to enlist for farm work, and, if found suitable, were to be given four weeks' training with pay, and railway fare to their places of employment. When once at work they were not to be allowed to leave except with permission of the "district representative." But, as has been previously stated, the scheme did not prove effective. Sumtnary In trying to sum up from an American point of view the value of the different organized attempts to extend the employment of women in England, it is well to note that what was probably their most important and certainly their most difficult problem, namely, the removal of trade imion restrictions, will not be en- countered in the United States in as definite a way. American labor organizations have not as generally adopted restrictive policies, and not as many trades are strongly organized. Ac- cordingly perhaps the most valuable conclusions America can draw from the situation is the somewhat general one of the wis- dom of securing the cooperation of labor in making industrial changes by which it is vitally affected. In industry a system of local representative committees under central official control brought much better results than in agriculture — a fact which points to satisfactory wages and working conditions as an essen- tial addition to propaganda for more women workers. And, naturally enough, such methods as the use of photographs, per- sonal visits by persons familiar with local needs, and the trial of a few expert women workers, all proved effective when gen- eral printed appeals had but slight effect. CHAPTER VI Source of Additional Women Workers The question naturally arises, where did the increased number of women workers come from ? Who are the thousands of muni- tion workers, the girls undertaking men's jobs, and all the army of a million women who were not at work in July, 1914? Transfers from N on-essejitial Industries The increase during the first months of war in the industries equipping the troops was met for the most part by a transference of workers from slack to busy lines. "So great has been the passing from industry to industry," said the factory inspectors,^ "that at the beginning of the New Year it seemed almost as if women and girls had gone through a process of 'General Post.' " For instance, makers of high class jewelry in Birmingham trans- ferred to light metal work for the army. Silk and linen weavers went into woolen mills and dressmakers in the west Midlands were taken on in light leather work. In other cases slack indus- tries took up government work. The activity of the Central Committee on Women's Employment in securing contracts for uniforms for idle dressmaking establishments has already been mentioned. The Scottish fish workers were relieved by knitting orders. Certain carpet mills took up the weaving of army blankets, corset makers were set to making knapsacks, girl workers on fishing tackle were used in the manufacture of hosiery machine needles, previously imported from Germany, and an effort was made to provide the manufacture of tape and braid for uni- forms for unemployed lace makers in the Midlands. Army shirts were made by many of the Irish collar factories. In letail trade also there was often a transference from slack to busy shops, as WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 69 from dressmaking- and millinery to the grocery trade. Middle- aged professional women whose ordinary occupations were un- fax'orably affected by the war frequently took the positions in banks, insurance offices, and other business offices which had for the first time been opened to women. Yet in the two trades which suffered most severely from unemployment, namely, cotton tex- tiles and dressmaking, there was a much "less general movement of the workers to find a livelihood in other direction.^." This was considered due in the one case to "relatively high wages and specialized factory skill," in the other to "deep-rooted social tradi- tions and special craft skill." Very early in the war, also, married women who had worked before marriage returned to industry. A large proportion of the expanding needs of- the woolen trades was filled in that way. In "drapery" — that is to say, "dry goods" — shops, many of these "dug-out" married women also appeared. .Municipalities, when substituting women for men on tram-cars and in other services, frequently gave preference to the wives of men who had enlisted. Soldiers' wives likewise entered munitions work in large num- bers. \^'hilfe probably the reason for their reentering work was largely economic — rising food prices and "separation allowances" insufficient to maintain a skilled worker's standard of living, par- ticularly if the family was large — yet their choice of occupations appears to have been at least partly dictated by patriotic motives. As the war went on, the transference of women from "nor- mal" women's occupations, such as domestic service, dressmak- ing, textiles, the clothing trades, and laundry work to the more highly paid lines, especially munitions work, became more and more noticeable. The actual decline in numbers in these occu- pations has previou.sly been described.' In addition to the de- creases in these trades, a considerable change in personnel was observed, involving "the loss of skilled women and the conse- quent deterioration of the quality of labor.'" For example, 1 See pp. 36. 39. 2 British Association for the Advancement of Science, Labour, Finance, find the War, p. 71. ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR killed women left laundry work, and their places were filled by harwomen, or young girls fresh from school. Not infrequently he skilled women went to almost unskilled work, as from textiles munitions. On the other hand, war conditions have occasionally kept vomen at home who were previously employed. In districts vhere large numbers of soldiers were billeted women were kept rusy at home attending to their needs. Especially in colliery dis- ricts where married women were thrown out of work at the >eginning of the war the rise in men's wages caused them to be- :ome indifferent to obtaining new positions. In some cases, lotably in the Dundee jute mills, separation allowances placed he wives of casual workers who had enlisted in a state of com- parative prosperity, and they ceased to go out to work. But on he whole the war doubtlessly increased the employment of mar- ied women. ^ In spite of impressions to the contrary, the proportion of pre- viously unoccupied upper and middle class women entering "war vork" was by no means large. Some young girls from school vho would not normally have gone to work and some older vomen who had never worked before entered clerical emplo)'- nent. A limited number of well-to-do women took up such tem- )orary farm work as fruit picking from patriotic motives. Many >f the women working behind the lines in France and as military lurses were from the "upper classes." And an appreciable num- >er of munition workers were drawn from the ranks of educated vomen. One such worker estimated that in the large establish- nent where she was employed, about nine out of 100 women be- onged to that class.' The "week-end munition relief workers," »r "W. M. R. W.," who worked Sundays in order to give the ■egular staff a rest day, were rumored to include among their nembers "dukes' daughters and generals' ladies, artists and luthors, students and teachers, ministers' and lawyers' wives,"" 1 Monica Cosens, Lloyd George's Munition Girls 1916 p 114 ^llTm" ^- ^'''*""' "^^""'*'°" '^°'^''' '" ^"S'^^d," Munition Makers, WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 71 but this class of workers was, after all, small and was not in- creasing. Mainly, however, the new needs of industry have been filled by working w6men or the wives of working tnen. Former fac- tory hands, charwomen, and domestic servants are found on the heavier work, and shopgirls, dressmakers, and milliners on the lighter lines. A fairly large proportion of the increase may, moreover, be accoufited for without the recruiting of new workers. Numbers. of home workers, of half-employed charwomen and of small shopkeepers and other employers have voluntarily become regular employes. Fewer women have married and fewer seem to have left industry on marriage since the war. A writer in The New Statesman noted of certain women munition workers that "a large majority of them — even girls who look scarcely more than. sixteen — wear wedding rings."^ Transfers between Districts In connection for the most part with the expanding munitions industry there has developed a phenomenon rare on any large scale in the history of women in industry, namely, the trans- ference of women workers from their homes to other parts of the country. The British government has naturally not encouraged detailed statements of the building of new munition plants and the extension of old ones, but occasional glimpses reveal revolu- tionary changes. In a speech to the House of Commons in June, 1917, the British Minister of Munitions said: But the demands of the artillerv^ programme, as it was formulated in the latter half of 1915. were such that it was necessary to plan for the erection of large additional fac- tories. . . . They were erected at such a pace that what were untouched green fields one year were the sites a year- later of great establishments capable of dealing with the raw materials of minerals or cotton, and of working them mto- finished explosives in great quantities every week. ^ The New Statesman, January 13, 1917, p. 346. 72 ECONOMie- EFFECTS OF THE WAR Moreover, firms in operation before the war have frequently doubled and quadrupled their capacity. In Barrow, for instance, a somewhat isolated town in the northwest of England, the popu- lation grew from 75,000 in 1914 to 85,000 in 1916 on account of the enlargement of a munitions plant. To meet the needs of such •centers it was necessary to secure workers from many other localities. Effort was made to center any transference of women workers in the employment exchanges. The Ministry of Munitions" hand- book of "Instructions to Controlled Establishments" recom- mended application to the employment exchanges for all female labor instead of engaging it "at the factory gate" in order that the supply might be organized to the best advantage and "any unnecessary disturbance" of the lalx>r market avoided. But the recommendation was not universally adopted. An undated cir- cular of the Ministry complained that in cases where the ex- changes were not used skilled women, such as power machine operators and stenographers, for whom there was an "unsatisfied demand" on government work, had been hired for unskilled munitions work where unskilled women were available. Women had been brought into towns where lodgings were almost im- possible to obtain while suitable local women were unemployed. Such occurrences and the "stealing" of skilled men by one em- ployer from another caused an order to be made under the De- fence of the Realm Act on February 2, 1917, which forbade the ■owner of an arms, ammunition, explosives, engineering, or ship- iDuilding establishment to procure workers from more than ten miles away except through an employment exchange. The employment exchange figures of the number of women obtaining employment in other districts, which therefore prol> ably cover an increasing proportion of the movement, are for 1914, 32,988, for 1915, 53,096, and for 1916, 160,003.^ In TVIarch, 1917, the number of women workers being moved to a distance through the exchanges was between 4,000 and 5.0O0 a month. In FebruarA^ 1917. 5,118 women from some 200 differ- 1 Labour Gazette. March, 1917, p. 92. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 7S ent exchange areas were brought into eight large munition cen- ters alone. In this one month, 1,641 women were brought from sixty-three different districts to a single munitions factory in the south of Scotland, and to another in the West Midlands 772 women "were imported from centers as far apart as Aberdeen and Penzance." Official judgment ascrilied the increased mobil- ity of women labor to the rise in wages and the appeal of patri- otism, which together supplied an incentive previously lacking. Besides the munition workers, the transfer is noted during 1914 of silk and cotton operatives to woolen mills and of tailor- esses from the east coast to Leeds uniform factories, and in 1915 of fiisher^vomen and others from the east coast resorts to the Dundee jute mills to replace the married women who left to live on their separation allowances. Some women substitutes for men in clerical and com.mercial work and in the staple industries, and agricultural workers, especially for temporary work, were transferred in 1916 as well as the munitions workers. Care of Transferred Workers The work of the "local committees on women's war em- ployment" in recruiting ^vomen from non-industrial areas, meet- ing strangers, arranging for their lodging, and promoting "wel- fare" schemes has previously been outlined. For the women transferred under their auspices the employment exchanges were able to guarantee that such arrangements had been made. All women applicants for work in national factories were required to pass a medical examination before being allowed to leave home.^ In all ca.ses the working conditions and living expenses to be expected were fully explained, and the exchange had the power to advance railway fare. But even with such precautions serious problems arose in transferring large numbers of women and girls long distances from home. Additional strain was involved in working among strangers. Tn one case where women munition-workers were thrown out of work bv a strike of the men, their plight was the 1 Labour Gazette, March, 1917, p. 93. 74 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR more serious because many of them were miles from home and had hot the money to return. For young girls the absence from home restraints and supervision was often harmful. One of the later reports of the Health of Munition Workers Committee of the Ministry of Munitions suggested a still more difificult situation in the following :' The arrival of mothers in a town accompanied by quite young infants, or three or four young children, having travelled long distances, is becoming more and more com- mon — the mother is attracted, in the absence of the father on active service, by the prospect of high wages in munition works, and brings her baby or children with her. So pressing had the problems become that the committee, while recognizing the valuable work done by the local volunteer com- mittees, felt that the time had arrived when the state should ap- point officials to "supplement, complete, or coordinate their work." In accordance with this recommendation a number of "outside welfare officers" were appointed in 1917 by the Min- istry of Munitions, who aided the local committees and were held responsible for completeness in their arrangements.^ Can more women be obtained if the industrial needs of the nation demand, or has the expansion in the number of workers come near to exhausting the supply? The question is one to which it is hard to give an accurate answer. It has l)een pointed out that the number of women at work continues to increase rapidly. Late in 1916 the Board of Trade estimated that there Avere still 1,500,000 women with industrial or commercial ex- perience who were not working. Women labor leaders replied that 1,000,000 of these women were over thirty-five and that almost all were married. To take such women away from homes and children "will not be to the national advantage."^ ^;'.2r^L^"*^'" l^'"'\*f'' °^ Munitions, Health of Munition Workers Com- C^TdefhrSty?' m?/'' '''^'* ^"'^ "^'"'^'^ °' ^""''■°" ^^-1^-^ P:S'7pF'rL?/rS:Vtrr*"^' ^^--^"'^ organisations, The WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 75 In November, 1917, representatives of the Ministry of Muni- tions likewise thought there were plenty of women available, and called attention to the thousands of women registered at the em- ployment exchanges. Over 29,000 adult women were on the "live register" on July 13, the latest date for which official figures were accessible in America in November. On the other hand, as far bade as January, 1916, officials of the exchanges stated that a third of the unfilled applications were those of women not previously employed, and another third those of women in situa- tions who wished to change. An interesting discussion of the subject was found in the re- port of the chief factory inspector for 1916. Except in a few localities, it is there stated, "the .supply of women labor still appeared to be practically unlimited."^ The only acute scarcity was in the "normal" women's trades, which women had left for men's work and in which the "low pre-war standards of wages and welfare persist."^ Considering that in 1911, over 12,700,000 "females ten years of age and over" were returned as "unoc- cupied," and only 5,800,000 as "gainfully occupied," it would seem that even with an increase of a million women workers, a considerable number of women might still be available to answer the call of the nation. 1 Great Britain Home Office, Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops for 1916, p. 6. CHAPTER VII Training for War Work It was with remarkably little organized training- that the women took up their new lines of work and fitted into the men's places. The most extensive development of special training was to be found in the munitions industry, under the auspices of the Ministry of Munitions. An official circular of the Ministry, dated November, 1915, outlined a scheme for producing semi-skilled workers by strictly practical courses of thirty to one hundred hours' duration, intended to give the learner "machine sense" and to teach him to use some one machine tool. It was realized that this type of course was not in harmony with the best edu- cational principles, but the necessities of the case demanded that nothing more should be tried tlian to turn out competent workers in the shortest possible time. The comparatively small demand for women munition workers at this time was suggested by the fact that while the classes were to be open both to men and women, it was recommended that the local authorities should be sure of employment for the latter before training themi. The pupils were required to agree to work in munition factories at the end of their course. By February, 1916, in the pamphlet on the "Employment of Women on Munitions of War" it was stated that over 10,000 persons had been trained in the courses, mostlv educated men who were unfit for military service. The Ministry was now anxious "to apply and extend the methods indicated above" to women, who were entering the courses in increased numbers. In June, 1917, Dr. Christopher Addison, then Minister of Muni- tions, told the House of Commons that over 32,000 workers had been trained by more than sixty classes opened in existing tech- nical colleges, and that five special factories were utilized solely for industrial training.^ Dr. Addison did not, however, indicate 1 Christopher Addison, British Workshops and the War, p. 36. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 77 the proportion of women thus trained. According to representa- tives of the Mmistry of Munitions, women were always trained "to order," and not "to stock." Next, perhaps, to munitions work in frequency though much less extensive were the courses oiifered in agriculture. In con- nection with the \\omen's county committees it was ai-ranged that women should be admitted to the county farm institutes, and short emergency courses, some of only one month's diu-ation, were started. During the season, of 1916, 390 women completed such courses. In almost every county also large landowners and farmers ga\e free training to some women. In 1917, 247 "training centers" were reported and 140 farms had registered for the work.^ Efforts were also being made to instruct the wi\'es of farm laborers who could not leave home. \^ocational courses for other lines of work were much more scattering. The London County Council carried on short emer- gency courses along the lines advised by the "Shops" and "Clerical Employments" committees to prepare women for retail, groceries and for business. It also carried on a successful course in gardening for six months, but had to drop it because housing accommodations were not available. Classes in the shoe trade were opened at Leeds, Bristol, and London, and in the manufac- ture of leather cases and equipment at London and Walsall. The Liverpool authorities began to teach women power machine oper- ating and toymaking, the last being a trade expected to grow in England with the cessation of German imports. A course which attracted considerable attention because it provided skilled work at comparatively high pay after two or three months' training was the class in oxy-acetylene welding managed by "Women's Service," a private organization of women for war work. Women were not sent out as London bus conductors until they had sev- eral weeks of careful instruction in schools conducted by the com.- panies. An interesting development in special training which accompanied the growth of welfare work in munition and other plants was the opening of several courses for would-be "welfare 1 The Sunn of Women Workers gave its attention to these occupations. Its membership was stated to be about 20,000 in 1913. Since the war the number of women trade unionists seems to have grown at a comparatively rapid rate. The female member- ship was reported to be 356,092 on December 31, 1914— about the same as in 1913— and 400,919 on December 31, 1915, an in- crease of 12.6 per cent.' During the same period the male mem- 1 Labour Gazette, June, 1917, p. 201. 80 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR bership rose but 5.3 per cent. This situation is doukless due, however, rather to a drawing off of men workers into miUtary service than to a proportionally greater interest in union organiza- tion among women. Complaints were made that it was even harder than usual to interest some of the new workers in trade unionism because they were so consciously working only for the duration of the war. Women have been found who believed in the value of organiza- tion sufficiently to keep up' the dues of the men whose places they were taking, but who refused to join themselves. But some ob- servers predict an unprecedented spread of union organization among women if, after the close of the war, \\age-cuts affect those who, for the first time, are undertaking responsible and fairly well paid work. The principal agency concerned with imionizing women dur- ing the war period has been the National Federation of Women Workers, which, at its biennial convention in May, 1916, an- nounced that its membership was then 40,000, having doubled since 1913. The federation was especially active among muni- tion workers. Under its energetic secretary, Miss Mary Macar- thur, it vv'as credited with securing legislation and official action in behalf of the women war \\'orkers, in addition to its organiz- ing work. Its breezy little monthly paper. The Woman Worker,. which shed much light on the point of view of the woman trade unionist toward events of the day, was started in January, 1916. The substitution question, it has been shown, emphasized the unfriendly attitude of many unions in the skilled crafts toward the women worker. In a number of caseai even where they were forced to permit "dilution," they seem to have retained an atti- tude of hostility or suspicion. Numerous individual instances of this kind may be found in tlie pages of the Dilution Bulletins.- In some cases tools have been purposely set wrong or have not been supplied at all, and unfavorable reports of the women's work have been made without substantial basis. In spite of the munitions acts the Amalgamated Society of Engineers refused to admit women to membership, though it offered to cooperate with WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 81 the National Federation of Women Workers. The value of its help was somewhat problematical. The federation ' praised it. highly, perhaps for tactical reasons, saying that several new branches were "literally made by A. S. E. men,"^ while a writer in the Women's Industrial News stated that the one or two cases of A. S. E. action in behalf of the women "have had no pressure behind them," and secured only "negligible" results.' The two tramway unions also were among those voting down the admis- sion of women. Other unions — apparently on the whole the newer and more radical bcxiies — did let in the women workers. The waiters' union even opened a class to train them to replace the interned foreigners. The steam railway organizations admitted them, though not exactly on the same terms as men. The women substitutes naturally appear to have had a "smoother path" under these circumstances than where the policy of exclusion was main- tained. Persistence in the policy of excluding women after the war seems to many observers likely to result in undermining the strength of the skilled craft unions. Even though employers may be forced to turn ofif the women for a while, they will not fail sooner or later to turn to such a force of experienced female labor. And the women, many of whom will probably have been suffering from unemployment, unorganized, and without machin- ery for holding up the wage scale, are not likely to resist suc- cessfully the undercutting of the men's rates. It is even sug- gested that some of the women, indignant at their treatment, may be willing to see the men driven out. A growing bitterness be- tween unskilled and skilled men is already reported over a like issue. From this point of view it is urged that the wiser policy for the unions is to admit women and to require them to be paid the equivalent of the men's wage scale. ^ The Woman Worker, January, 1916, p. 13. 2 Women's Industrial News, April, 1916, p. 19. CHAPTER IX Control of Women Workers under the Munitions Acts The munitions act set up an unprecedented degree of control ver the workers through three different methods — the prohibi- on of strikes, a restriction of the right of the individual to leave ^ork, and the establishment of special "Munitions Tribunals" to egulate the leaving of work and to punish breaches of workshop iscipline. Prohibition of Strikes and Lockouts The prohibition of strikes and lockouts was the most inclusive if the three: It applied not only to all "munitions work" as de- ined by the act/ but also to all work done "in or in connection vith" munitions work, and to any other work to which the act hould be applied by proclamation on the ground that stoppage ►f work would be "directly or indirectly prejudicial" to "the nanufacture, transport, or supply of munitions of war."^ strikes or lockouts were forbidden unless a dispute had been re- erred to the Board of Trade, which for twenty-one days had aken no action toward settling it. Further provisions for a more >rompt settlement of disputes were included in the second amend- ng act, in August, 1917. The penalty for violations by either ;mployer or employe was a fine which might be as high as £5 'about $24) per man per day. Disputes might be referred by he Board of Trade for settlement to any one of several sitbor- linate bodies. Ordinarily the one used for men's work was the 'Committee on Production in Engineering and Shipbuilding."* \fter the passage of the first amending act* in January, 1916,. 1 See p. 93. 2 Munitions of War Act, S and 6 Geo. 5, Ch. 54, Part I, 2(1). 2 See p. 45. * 5 and 6 Geo. 5, Ch. 99. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 85 the "Special Arbitration Tribunal" authorized by it to advise regarding conditions of women's work, was the body generally chosen by the .Alinister of Munitions to settle disputes involving women. • « The clause prohibiting strikes was undoubtedly the result of the strikes of "engineers" on the Clyde early in 1915, and other disturbances on war work which followed after the "industrial truce" had once been broken. The prohibition was roundly de- nounced by the labor and radical groups as having "given rise to more strikes than it has prevented."' The South Wales coal strike in the summer of 1915, a few weeks after the passage of the act, which was settled, not by penalties, but by concessions to the men, is the best known example of the failure of the act. In June, 1917. according to the statement of the Minister of Mmii- tions himself, over a hundred "disputes accompanied by short ces- sations of work,"^ came to the attention of the Ministry each month. Strikes are comparatively infrequent among women workers, yet even there they occurred in defiance of the law. The Woman Worker recorded a case at a shell filKng factory, where because a canteen attendant was, as they thought, imjustly dis- missed, the girls refused to go back to work after the noon hour, and began to throw about the china and food in the canteen.* Yet, while the strike prohibition was not a complete success, it was probably increasingly effective in reducing the number and seriousness of disputes. In the first five months of 1917, 540,- 700 days were lost through disputes. The number of days lost during the same period in 1916 was 1,559,000 and in the first five months of 1914 over four times as many.^ "Leaving Certificated' Since the keen demand for labor had arisen in the industry, the "labor turnover" of experienced workers in munition fac- tories had reached abnormal proportions, causing loss of time 1 Women's Trade Union Review, July, 1917, p. 1. 2 Christopher Addison, British Workshops and the War, p. 39. ^The Woman Worker, February, 1917, p. H. 54 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR ind often of skill. The frequent changes and the resulting inter- ■uption to production had become the subject of serious com- )laints from employers. To diminish this "labor turnover" a system of "leaving cer- ificates" or "clearance cards" was put into effect. No person eaving munitions work could be given work by another employer "or six weeks unless he or she had a "leaving certificate." The :ertificate was required to be granted by the employer on dis- :harging the worker, and might be granted by a Munitions Tri- mnal if "unreasonably" withheld. This was the only condition nserted in the original act to prevent a certificate from being vrongfully withheld. The giving of employment contrary to hese provisions, or the falsifying of a "leaving certificate,'' were lerious offenses under the act, punishable by a maximum fine of ■50 (about $240). "Leaving certificates" might be required "in )r in connection with munitions work" in any kind of establish- nents to which the regulations were applied by order of the Vlinistry of Munitions. In July, 1915, an order was issued re- [uiring them in all engineering, shipbuilding, ammunition, arms md explosives establishments, and establishments producing sub- •tances required for such production. In May, 1916, all "con- rolled establishments" not previously included, and certain places )roviding electric light or power for munitions work, were added o the list. The leaving certificate requirements were said to be the only eature of the munitions acts approved by employers, but -no >art was more unpopular with the workers. It was charged that ikilled workers were tied to unskilled jobs and thus rendered )owerless to move to better wages and working conditions. The ■ollowing quotation from The Woman Worker^ illustrates the abor point O'f view : The first Munitions Act came quietly — on tip-toe, like a thief in the night, and not one woman worker in a thousand knew of its coming. 1 January, 1916, pp. S-7. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 85 Their shackles were riveted while they slept 'If vou don?ri; 'f^ '° the complaining one is no longer: n } oil don t like it you can leave it." She can't It she tries, she will find that no other employer will be allowed to engage her, and unless she can persuade a Muni- tions Court to grant a leaving certificate, six weeks' idleness must be her portion. And we kno^^^ what that means to many a woman worker. Long before the six weeks are up, her then ^'"^'''"'^'' '^ '^^ ^^' "'"y- are gone and God help. . . . One great danger of the new conditions is that sweating and bad conditions may be stereotyped. The other day a munition worker, who was being paid 12s. weekly, had a chance of doing the same work for another employer at 1 pound weekly, but the Court refused her permission to make the change. And thus we have a concrete case of the State turning the lock in the door of the sweaters" den . . Some people hold very strongly that these leaving certifi- cate clauses of the Munitions Act are altogether unneces- sary. They hamper and irritate men and women alike, and so far from accelerating output, may actually diminish it. Under the Defence of the Realm Act, it is already illegal for employers to incite munition workers to change their employment, and that should have been sufficient. So stringent were the "leaving certificate" clauses in their original form, that in the amendment act of January, 1916, it proved necessar}^ to add several conditions making them more favorable to the workers. If an employer refused a certificate- when a worker was dismissed, or failed to give a week's notice or a week's pay in lieu of notice, except on temporary work, the tri- bunal could now make him pay as much as £5 (about $24) for the loss of time, unless it appeared that the worker was guilty of misconduct to secure dismissal. A number of other conditions under which a certificate must be granted were laid down by the amending act. They included failure to provide employment for three or more days, failure to pay standard wage rates, behavior of the employer or his agent toward the worker in a way to just- ify his leaving, end of apprenticeship, and existence of another 56 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR jpening where the worker could be used "with greater advantage o the national interest." Even The Woman Worker admitted of he amendment act : "Certainly in many ways it is an improve- nent over the old one. The workers have new rights; and if hey are strong enough and clever enough to take advantage of hem much can be done." Difficulties still arose, however. Though on some government :ontracts, such as clothing, the system was not in force, it was )ften believed that the cards were required on every form of government work. They were indeed necessary in so many fac- ories that employers hesitated to take workers without them, vhich made it hard to secure work in a munitions plant for the irst time. Often the workers did not know their rights under :he act to seaire certificates or damages from the tribunals under ;ertain conditions. It was finally decided that dismissal because >f trade union membership was illegal, "tending to restrict out- >ut." By the help of the Federation of Women Workers three ^rls dismissed for joining the federation secured compensation tor. their dismissal from the local Munitions Tribunal, and the irm was finally fined for the act by the central court. Nevertheless, in spite of all concessions, which officials of the VEinistry believed had removed the admitted injustices of the act n its original form, the certificate system continued to cause much rritation among the workers. The official commissions to inves- igate the industrial unrest prevailing in the summer of 1917 lamed the operation of the system among its chief causes. It was )ecause of the workers' protests that the second amendment to he munitions act, passed August 21, 1917, gave the Ministry )f Munitions power to abolish the "leaving certificate" system if t thought it could be done "consistently with the national inter- est." Trade union leaders informed the government that they :ould not keep their members in line unless the system was given ip. The Ministry issued an order abolishing the certificate after Dctober 15, 1917.^ Workers were merely required to remain on «me kmd of war work, except by permission of the Ministry, 1 Labour Gazette, September, 1917, p. 314, WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 37 and at least a week's notice or a week's wages was necessary be- fore leaving. Munitions Tribunals In addition to appeals for leaving certificates, the Munitions Tri- bunals dealt with breaches of workshop discipline, and with cases of disobedience to the instructions of the Ministry of Munitions. These courts were set up throughout the country. Each con- sisted of a chairman chosen by the Ministry of Munitions, and four or more "assessors," taken from a panel, half of whom rep- resented employers and half employes. The "assessors" served in rotation, a session at a time. There were two classes of tri- bunals, "general," dealing with all offenses, and "local," with those for which the penalty was less than £5 (about $24). The latter handled the great majority of the cases, settling 3,732 be- tween July and December, 1916, whereas the general tribunals took up only 182. Under the original munitions act the gene- ral tribunals had the power to imprison for non-payment of fines, but this aroused such resentment among the workers that it was taken away by the first amendment act. The Mimitions Tribunals, like leaving certificates, were a source of much annoyance to working women. Complaints were made that the representatives of the Ministry of Munitions had no understanding of the labor point of view, so that there was always a majority against the employes. Fines, unlike those imposed by employers, did not have to be "reasonable" in the legal sense of the word, and their size was not known to the workers beforehand. An employe summoned before a tribunal lost at least a half-day's and sometimes a full day's work, or sev- eral hours of sleep if a night worker. Previous to January, 1916, women workers might be obliged to appear before a tribunal com- posed entirely of men. But by the amending act, as "the direct outcome' of a scandalous case" in which three girls who had left their jobs because of "gross insult" were obliged to explain the circumstances with no woman present,' it was required that at 1 The Woman Worker, January, 1916, p. 7. 88 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR least one of the assessors representing the employes should be a woman in every case in which women were involved. Whatever the justice of the employes' contentions, certainly the decisions rendered by the tribunals during their first few months of activity, for which alone figures are available, were generally unfavorable to the workers. From the beginning of their work to November 27, 1916, 814 cases involving 3,672 per- sons were heard against employes. Convictions against 2,423 of these were secured, and fines amounting to £2,235 were im- posed. Against employers there were but eighty-six cases in- volving ninety-four persons, fifty-six persons convicted, and a total in fines of £290. Out of 3,014 requests for leaving certifi- cates, only 782 were granted. CHAPTER X Wages Probably no factor in the working conditions of women is more vital to tlieir welfare than the wages they receive. A study of the changes in wages brought about by the war is therefore of special importance. Ordinarily women seldumi do precisely the same work as men, and they ordinarily receive wages not more than half as high. Did the difference continue when the women took up men's jobs? The fear that the women would lower the rates established by the men's trade unions was, as we have seen, one of the main reasons for the opposition of male trade unionists to "dilution." In what measure was the women's demand for "equal pay for equal work" attained? The replace- ment of enlisted men by women and the extensive use of women in the manufacture of munitions invested women's work as never before with the character of a national service, and this led to a demand for more adequate wage standards. In considering the subject of wages it should always be kept in mind that, roughly speaking, wages and prices are about half as high in England as in the United States, though the difference in prices was prob- ably somewhat lessened during the third year of the war. Governmental Wage Regulation in the Munitions Industry In fixing wages on munition work government control of wages was extended to a new group of industries, and some novel precedents were established. A good many complaints were made of inadequate wages paid woman workers on ammunition and ordnance in the first months of the war, before the "dilu- tion" movement had started. In the Clyde district, 15s. weekly ($3.60) was said to be a common rate. A "women's war interests committee" at Manchester found the women getting 12-1 5s. weekly ($2.88-$3.60) when the "standard rate" of the 90 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR district was 20s. ($4.80). The committee initiated a campaign for a guaranteed minimum of 20s. ^ Three of the forces enumerated above seemed to have played a part in forcing up the wages of women munition workers, namely, public recognition of their services to the state, the women's belief in "equal pay for equal work," and the effort of the men's unions to maintain their wage standards. The last was perhaps the strongest motive with the trade unionists who secured in March, 1915, a clause in the Treasury Agreement to the effect that "the relaxation of existing demarcation restric- tions or admission of semi-skilled or female labor shall not affect adversely the rates paid for the job." Miss Sylvia Pank- hurst immediately sent an inquiry to Lloyd George, asking for an interpretation of this somewhat ambiguous statement. She received the reply : Dear Miss Pankhurst : The words which you quote would guarantee that women undertaking the work of men would get the same piece-rates as men were receiving before the date of this agreement. That, of course, means that if the women turn out the same quantity of work as men employed on the same job, they will receive exactly the same pay. Yours sincerely, (Signed) D. Lloyd George. She then asked if they were to receive the same war bonuses and increases as men, and what was to be paid women time workers ; but her second letter was not answered. The complaints and agitation continued. Mrs. Pankhurst escorted a procession of women to interview the Minister of Munitions about wages on munitions work. Examples of sweated wages were cited in Parliament. Finally, in October, 1915, the Mmistry sent out to all "controlled establishments" a circular of recommendations for wage rates for women "on men's work," drawn up m consultation with the Central Labour Supply Com- mittee. The circular, which is always referred to as "L2," fixed ' B. L. Hutchins, Women in Modern Industry, p. 295. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 91 a prescribed (not a minimum) time rate of £1 ($4.80) weekly and the same piece-rates for women as for men. A special para- graph emphasized that women doing skilled men's work should be paid the men's rates. The Ministry had no power to enforce the recommendations, however, and they were by no means uni- versally observed. Opinions as to their efficacy vary from the official view that "National factories were instructed to adopt these provisions, and many, though not all, private firms put them into force,"* to the radical criticism that the "recommendations might have been of value had there been any means of enforcing them. As it was, the circular was merely an expression of opin- ion which [tended to lull the public] into a state of security un- justified by facts. "^ The Woman Worker even went so far as to say that "In January last [1916], a very important firm stated that they were the only firm in the United Kingdom that were paying wages in accordance with Mr. Lloyd George's circular."^ In the fall of 1915 the trade unionists entered on an active campaign to give the Ministry power to fix wages for women and unskilled and semi-skilled men, the men's imions fearing the permanent lowering of their standard rates, and the women's organizations being perhaps more concerned in behalf of the underpaid women themselves. In Januar)'-, 1916, the men's unions demanded, as the price of their continued help in promoting "dilution," that the provisions of "12." should be made compul- sory. By the amending act of January 27, 1916, the Minister of Munitions was empowered to fix wage rates for all females and for semi-skilled men on skilled work in munition plants where clearance cards were required.* The National Federation of 1 United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly Review, August, 1917, p. 123. 2 Women's Industrial News, April, 1916, p. IS. 3 The Woman Worker, April, 1916, p. 9. * The amendment act of August, 1917, gave the Minister of Munitions further power over wages for all workers. He might give any directions regarding pay for all time workers on munitions considered necessary to maintain or increase output and might apply any special wage awards which covered the majority of the employers in any trade to *e whole of the trade. No information about any use of these powers to alter women s wages was at hand at the end of November, 1917. 92 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR Women Workers was active in securing the change, and magazine describes the struggle in its usual picturesque style.' Wage Fixing for "Women on Men's Work" In a month the provisions of Circular L2 were made compi sory.' The directions were "on the basis of setting up of t machines being otherwise provided for. They are strictly cc fined to the war period." Women time workers eighteen a over on men's work were to be paid a pound ($4.80) for a we of the usual hours worked by men in engineering. Rates f piece work and for work ordinarily done by "fully skilled" re were to be the same as those customarily paid men, but worn were not to be put on any form of piece work until "sufficien qualified." The principle of "equal pay for equal work" w further laid down specifically in the following clause : "The pr ciple upon which the directions proceed is that on systems payment by results — equal payment shall be made to women as the men for an equal amount of work done." Further safeguai of the rates included giving women the same overtime, ni| shift, Sunday, and holiday allowances as the men, and providi that piece rates should not be cut. Women were to be paid the rate of 15s. a week ($3.60) for time lost by "air raids" other causes beyond the workers' control. The order was appl: only to controlled establishments in engineering and allied ind tries, as it was designed primarily to meet conditions in th( trades.* Wage Fixing for "Women Not on Men's Work" The regulation of wages for women doing men's work covei only part of the munition workers, however. As The Won ^ The Woman Worker, January, 1916, p. 7. 2 Great Britain, Statutory Rules and Orders, No. 181, February 24, 1916 3 The list of establishments to which the wage orders are applied is ne published, as it is considered "contrary to the national interest." Infori tion as to their scope comes mainly from an article in the United Sti Bureau of Labor Statistics Monthly Review, "Women's Wages in Munil Factories in Great Britain," August, 1917, for which many facts were s phed by an administrative officer of the Ministry of Munitions WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 93 Worker remarked, "What about the women who are doing im- portant work not recognized as men's work? There are many more of these; they are, generally speaking, much worse off; they are less able to protect themselves; and, therefore, this claim on the Minister to fulfil his pledged word is even stronger than for the others.'" In March, 1916, under powers given the Min- istry of Munitions by the munitions amendment act, a "Special Arbitration Tribunal" was established to settle disputes regard- ing women's wages referred to it under the anti-strike clauses of the munitions acts, and to advise the Minister on wage awards for women munition makers. The tribunal consisted of a secre- tary and half-a-dozen members, two of whom were women. In Miss Susan Lawrence it had a woman long active in behalf of the women workers, and in Mr. Ernest Aves an expert on mini- mum wage regulation. The tribunal is said to have been "per- haps more important and successful than was expected."^ The National Federation of Women Workers at once brought before it several cases dealing with the wages of munition workers in individual factories on "work not recognized as men's work." In general the awards made in these cases gave time workers about 4>4d. (9 cents) an hour, and piece workers a guaranteed minimum of about 4d. (8 cents), with the provision that the piece rates should yield the ordinary worker at least a third more. The Minister of M-unitions then asked the special tribunal for recommendations as to a general wage award for females on "work not recognized as men'-s work." Because precedent and data were lacking it was said to be extremely difficult to fix these rates. But finally the tribunal made a recommendation along the lines of its special awards, which was issued as an order on July 6 1916^ Four pence (8 cents) an hour was guaranteed piece workers of eighteen or over and adult time workers were given 4>4d (9 cents) . A half penny an hour additional was given for work in the danger zone, and special rates might be fixed for 1 The Woman Worker, April, 1916, p. 9. . , . ^r tt/ e Joh„rndTatherine Barrett. British Industrial E.perunce during tke War. Sen. Doc. 114, 6Sth Cong., 1st Sess. .,447 T„1v fi 1916 3 Great Britain, Statutory Rules and Orders. No. 447, July 6, 1916. 94 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR dangerous or unhealthy processes. Special rates could be set fo workers of special ability. The rates were expressly limited t( the war period, "depending on exceptional circumstances arisinj from the present war." The award was applied to about 1,40< arms, ammunition, explosives, and shipbuilding firms, coverin| these trades with a few exceptions of firms in the rural districts Its provisions aroused a storm of criticism from women trad' unionists, for Lloyd George had just announced his policy in re gard to the payment of women munition workers as follows : The government will see that there is no sweated laboi For some time women will be unskilled and untrained ; the; can not turn out as much work as the men who have beei at it for some time, so we can not give the full rate of wages Whatever these wages are, they should be fair, and ther shbuld be a fixed minimum, and we should not utilize th services of women in order to get cheaper labor. The women charged that the fixing of standard rather thai minimum rates was in contravention of this promise. The offi cial retort to this was that "the only undertaking . . . by th Minister . . . related to the wages of women on men's work." No special allowances for overtime, night and Sunday work o for time lost by no fault of the workers were included. Th piece work rates were not arranged so that the average worke could earn a higher rate. Only munition work in the narrow sense was covered, and important" war industries where leavini certificates were required were omitted, such as the chemica rubber, cable, and miscellaneous metal trades. The Women' Trade Union League and the National Federation of Wome Workers immediately organized a deputation of protest to th Ministry. As a result, a revision of the award was issued ii September which restored the extra payments for overtime an- night work, and stated that unless a special exemption wa tJnn^Ki^.^.'li'''*^' r "'■?'?, °^ ^^^°L Statistics, "Wages of Women in Muni tion Factories in Great Britain," Monthly Review, August, 1917, p. 123. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 95 granted by the Ministry, piece rates must be such as to yield a worker of "ordinary ability" a third more than her time rate.^ Revision of Azvard for "Women on Men's Work" By this time also, according to the official view "it had become increasingly apparent . . . that the provisions of Circular L2 . . . were too rigid." No time rates between the £1 a week and the skilled men's rate were allowed, and women doing especially laborious or responsible work could not receive special pay. A violent controversy was likewise going on as to the pay- ment of women doing part of the work of skilled men. The unions claimed that the understanding was that women should receive the skilled men's rate no matter how small a part of the work they did; the employers said that such an arrangement was entirely unreasonable. The Central Munitions Labour Sup- ply Committee, the author of the original "L2," was called on for advice. Recommendations acceptable both to it and to the Special Arbitration Tribunal were finally worked out and issued as an order January 1, 1917.^ Even the trade tinionists acknowledged that an improvement had been made, and that the standard time rate was less likely to be used as a maximum. The £\ time rate was payable for a working week of forty-eight hours. Any overtime up to fifty-four hours was payable at 6d. (12 cents) an hour, and beyond that at men's rates. Special rates, not laid down in the order,' might be fixed for women time workers on "work customarily done by semi-skilled men," on specially la- borious or responsible work, or where any "special circumstances" existed. Under this clause a number of appeals were carried to the Special Arbitration Tribunal, and special awards made. The clause giving women on skilled work the same rates as men was reenacted, but it was stated that "a further order on this sub- ject will shortly be issued." This was done on January 24.' The compromise adopted set off a special class of women who 1 Great Britain, Statutory Rules and Orders, No. 618, September 13, 1916. ^Ihid., No. 888, January 1, 1917. s Ihid., No. 49, January 24, 1917. 96 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR did only part of a skilled man's work. In this class were to be placed all women who did not do the "customary setting up" of the machines, or who required supervision beyond that usual for the men. Such women were to serve a three months' "proba- tionary period," receiving the specified time rate for four weeks, and then rising by equal weekly increments to the skilled men's rate at the end of the thirteenth week. But, by special permis- sion of the Minister of Munitions, a maximum of 10 per cent of the skilled men's rate might be deducted to meet the additional cost of extra setting up and extra supervision. The time rate, which remained f 1 for a forty-eight hour week was to be the min- imum in all cases, however. A woman doing all the work of a skilled man was still to be paid his rate. Other clauses relating to overtime, cutting of piece rates, allowances for lost time, and so on, were the same as in previous orders for "women on men's work." The order was apphed to some 3,585 "controlled estab- lishments" in arms, ammunition, ordnance, various other forms of "engineering," and miscellaneous metal trades. Extension of Award Covering "Work Not Recognized as Men's Work" Meanwhile, in October, 1916, "munitions" establishments not included in the outstanding wage order for women and girls on "work not recognized as men's work" were notified that they would shortly be covered unless they could s\iow reasons to the contrary. Many protests from employers resulted, but early in January the former order was reissued with slight modifications and made applicable to a wider range of establishments.^ It now covered about 3,875 "controlled establishments," including other fornis of engineering, miscellaneous metal trades, and chemicals, asbestos, rubber, and mica, as well as munitions work in the narrow sense of the term. The chief modifications were a probationary period (one month for adult women) during which a half penny an hour (1 cent) less might be paid, and 1 Great Britain, Statutory Rules and Orders, No. 9, January 6, 1917. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT 'briTAIN 97 permission to apply for a special rate for girls in warehouses as distinct from factories. A companion order fixed rates a farth! ing an hour lower for a few factories in rural districts.^ General Increases in the Awards In March, 1917, the National Federation of Women Workers began agitation for an increase of 2d. (4 cents) in hourly rates and Ss. ($1.20) in weekly time rates. The rising cost of living and the general increase of 5s. weekly granted men in engineer- ing and shipbuilding were among the principal reasons cited for the change. The Ministry stated that increases were already under consideration, and on April 16 announced that they would go into effect as of April 8. Women time workers on "men's work" received 4s. a week more or a total of 24s. ($5.76).^ For work "not recognized as men's work" the gain for adults was Id. (2 cents) an hour for time work, ^d. (1>4 cents) few- piece work.' It was stated that on April 19, 1917, the only trades left outside this order which the Minister had power to cover were the bolt, nut and screw, which was under consideration; tin box and paper box, which were regulated by the trade boards; oil and seed crushers, in which women were mostly doing men's work; glass, emery and aluminum works, which were unimpor- tant; soap, in which were few, if any, women, munitions work; and pottery, hollow-ware, brick and fire clay. On August 16, still another general advance was made of 2s. 6d. (60c.) for women eighteen and over for a week of the cus- tomary working hours.* In the autumn of 1917, it was reported that the arrangement for revision of the wages of men in the engineering trades was to be extended to women. The men have the right on application to have their wages altered three times a year according to changes in the cost of living." 1 Great Britain, Statutory Rules and Orders, No. 10, January 6, 1917. ^Ibid., No. 489, April 16, 1917. 8/6«rf., No. 492, April 16, 1917. */6«rf.. No. 893, August 16, 1917. = Boston Christian Science Monitor, September 20, 1917. 98 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR An award by the Special Arbitration Tribunal during the summer of 1917 was of special importance in that it reaffirmed the equal pay principle. The tribunal found that after two weeks women crane drivers for a Scottish firm could undertake the whole of the work formerly done by men and perform it with equal efficiency. They were therefore given the men's rates and allowances. Wage Awards for Women Woodworkers Besides "men's" and "women's" work, a third set of govern- mental wage awards covered women in the woodwork industry where large numbers were employed, especially on woodwork for aeroplanes. The trade unions had agitated the question vigorously on the basis of maintaining their standard rates. But the administration felt that "the aircraft industry has extended enormously since the war began . . to legislate for women's wages on the customs existing prior to the war might unduly hamper the development of the trade." The wages fixed in September, 1916, on the basis of recommendations by the Special Arbitration Tribunal were 5d. (10c.) an hour for experienced adult time workers, and a guarantee of 4i^d. (9c.) for piece workers.^ These rates were about J/^d. (Ic.) an hour higher than those for women not on men's work, thus approximating the "men's work" awards. Extra rates were payable for over- time, and the various precautionary clauses of the earlier awards were repeated, except that no recognition of the equal pay prin- ciple appeared. The order covered some ninety establishments. Early in 1917 the Special Arbitration Tribunal was asked to ad- vise on rates for woodwork in general. The tribunal found it difficult to preserve the scheme of the men's rates in the trade, and finally drew up a concise interim order with minimum rates similar to those for ordinary processes on woodwork for aero- planes.^ Meantime the April general increase was decided on WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 99 SO that the award was modified on that basis, giving an hourly rate of at least 6d. (12c.) to an adult woman with eight weeks' experience. Unlike previous awards, this was neither a stand- ard nor a fixed rate but a true minimum. The order covered about 300 establishments. The rates for woodworkers on air- craft likewise shared in the general increases of April and Au- gust on the same basis as in other munitions work.^ Criticism of Governmental Wage Fixing in Munitions Work The governmental policies in the wage fixing outlined above were the subject of some sharp criticisms. That the govern- ment did not cover all munitions work and not even all con- trolled establishments was one grievance. Under the wider application of the "leaving certificate clauses" it was. said that some firms could continue to pay sweated wages while tying the workers to their jobs. However, by April, 1917, 90 per cent or about 380,000 out of the 400,000 women in controlled estab- lishments were covered. In May the national shell factories in Ireland agreed voluntarily to adopt the wage scale of the awards. Though the letter of the law would indicate otherwise, the Min- istry does not believe it has power to fix wages outside controlled establishments. Most of the rates, it will have been noticed, were not "mini- mum," but "standard" wages. That is, they were to be paid unless special circumstances existed and special awards were made. Trade unionists said that only minimums should have 'been fixed, and that the time rates, especially, were taken as a maximum. In some cases it was alleged that women were kept on time work, and not allowed to earn piece rates. But the Ministry believed that "experience justifies the adoption" of a standard rate, which checked constant agitation for changes. On work of a temporary character, as much munitions work is, it considered it advantageous both to employers and employes to know the rate definitely. ~^eat Britain, StaMory Rules and Orders, No. 491, April 16, 1917. 100 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR It was also charged that the orders were frequently not obeyed and that piece rates were illegally cut. Without first hand in- vestigation it was naturally impossible to estimate how far these charges were true. No doubt instances of the sort have occurred, but certainly the Ministry has made efforts to get its orders obeyed. In April, 1917, it was obtaining information concern- ing present wages and wages the year before from all controlled establishments, and preparing another inquiry "designed to see that evasions . . . are reduced to a minimum."^ In Jtme, 1917, the Minister of Munitions stated that the average weekly wage of women in munition works was 25s. ($6.00) — sufficiently high, if accurate, to denote compliance with the orders. An in- fluential group of women trade unionists admitted, in the winter of 1916-1917, that wages in the engineering industry were "con- siderably higher than the ordinary women's rate," and that in the fuse and powder trade they had been "revolutionized."^ The newspapers, of course, were full of the high wages earned by women munition makers— £3, £4, and £5 a week. Apparently a few very capable piece workers did sometimes succeed in earn- ing as much as this, but these cases were undoubtedly exceptional. Another indication of at least a frequent observance of the or- ders was the report, by a committee of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, that where two sets of women were working in the same shop, the one on work subject to wage regulation and the other on work not so controlled, "even although a similar amount of skill was involved, two sets of wage rates were in operation. A double standard of wages as between men ahd women has long been a well recognized fact of mdustry; but a double standard, as between one set of women and another, m contact with each other, and on work involving similar powers, is a new phenomenon."" sitio:7f7olTa?t7Th:^^^^^^^ W°--'^ Organizations, Tke Po- */»' K!'p:'ir"*"" '°'- '''' Advancement of Science. Labour, Finance, and WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 101 Still, in estimating these or any other wage increases, the greatly augmented cost of living must not be overlooked. The rise was estimated at 40 per cent in February, 1916, when the first compulsory award was made, 70 per cent in April, 1917, at the time of the first general increase, and 85 per cent in August, 1917. Rents were held to their former levels by a law which forbade raising them unless structural improvements were made, but fuel, shoes, and clothing were all higher, the tax burden was greater, and food had more than doubled in price. The rate set for time workers on "men's work" in munitions in February, 1916, £1, was equivalent to 14s. 3d. before the war, and later changes, barely kept real wages from falling. The 24s. of April, 1917, corresponded to 14s. 2d. ; and 26s. 6d., the August award for substitutes for. men on time work in munitions amounted to scarcely more than 14s. at the pre-war scale of prices. Yet all in all it would seem that the Ministry of Munitions was justified in its claim that, "When consideration is given to the diverse nature of the trades, the absence of any data on which the department could work when it first took up the question of regulating women's wages, the absolute novelty of wage regula- tion by a government department, the extreme urgency of the many difficulties which arose, the reluctant attitude of employers and the interdependence of commercial work and munitions work, the department feels justified in claiming a very considerable adjustment in the matter of women's wages."^ Wage Fixing by the Trade Boards The trade boards, authorized in 1909 to fix minimum wage rates for the sweated trades, afford an excellent example of the maintenance of legal standards in war time. In no case where they had taken steps toward fixing minimum rates did they allow the war to be used as a pretext for interrupting their. work. The boards which had been established prior to the war for confec- tionery and shirt making in Ireland and for tin boxes and hol- "uj^lited States Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Women's Wages in Munition Factories in Great Britain," Monthly Review, August, 1917, pp. 119-120. 102 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR low ware in Great Britain continued their work, and made awards which went into effect during 1915. Partially effective orders for confectionery and shirt making in Great Britain became ob- ligatory during the same year. Moreover the scope of two boards was extended, of tailoring to cover certain branches of retail work, and of lace finishing to include "hairnets and veil- ings." A new board was even set up proposing rates for linen and cotton embroidery in Ireland, which lines had been put under the jurisdiction of the trade boards act before the outbreak of war. But since the war the act itself has not been extended to any new industries. The more direct effect of the war, however, was to cause all of the existing boards except those for chain making and linen and cotton embroidery to make considerable advances in their minimum rates in an effort to meet the rising cost of living. For instance, the British tailoring board raised the rate for expe- rienced women from 2>j4d. (6>4 cents) to 4d. (8 cents) an hour in January, 1915, and proposed a further increase to 4j^d. (9 cents) in July, 1917. A special minimum rate of 6d. (12 cents) for experienced women cutters, a class of work in which women had replaced men since the war, was fixed in April, 1916. Simi- larly confectionery and tin boxes had been raised from 14s. Id., weekly ($3.38), to 16s. 3d. ($3.90), and a minimum rate of 19s. 6d. ($4.68) was proposed. But it should be remembered that 19s. 6d. was in August, 1917, roughly worth but 12s. 8d. before the war, and 4i^d. was equivalent only to 2i^d. Even the most considerable of these changes failed to keep pace with the rise in the cost of livinsf. Wage Changes under Trade Union Agreements A third method by which the wages of many women were' regulated was through agreements with the trade unions Such agreements really formed a phase of the "dilution" question. Women must be prevented from becoming unfair competitors and from undercutting the standard rates. Consequently, as has been described, the agreements usually prescribed that women WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN " 103 substitutes should be paid the men's rate. This was the stand- ard used in admitting women to men's jobs in such important industries as cotton, woolen and worsted, china and earthen- ware, and boots and shoes. Women were for the first time ad- mitted to work on the more important knitting machines on con- dition that they should receive the men's piece rates. In such instances the real wages of the women were undoubtedly mate- rially improved. Another important wage agreement made by the railway unions in August, 1915, secured for the women in grades where they had not been employed before the war the minimum, pay given mien of the same grade. The agreement did not cover women taken on as clerks, however. In October, 1915, the men's war bonus was increased to 5s. a week ($1.20) and a number of women applied for it. The companies claimed that the Au- gust agreement tacitly excluded the women from participation in the bonus, and the Committee on Production, to whom a test case was referred, agreed. But when the men's bonus was in- creased to 10s. ($2.40) in September, 1916, it was "generally felt that it would only be fair to grant the women^ something." Accordingly, in November, 1916, those over eighteen were given a bonus of 3s. weekly (72 cents) and those under eighteen. Is. 6d. (36 cents). In a few cases, the trade unions were satisfied, because of the reorganization of the work, with something less than the men's rate for women substitutes. In the agreement for the bleaching and dyeing trades, a minimum of four-fifths of the men's rate was fixed for time workers though where women turned out the same quantity they were to be paid the same piece wages as men. The Shop Assistants' Union was content with four-fifths of the men's rates for the women, since a few men had nearly always to be retained for heavy lifting. As a matter of fact, in many cases the organization was not strong enough to secure even as much as this. ijohn and Katherine Barrett, British Industrial Experience during the War, Sen. Doc. 114, 6Sth Cong., 1st Sess. 104 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR Wages in Other Trades Other government departments were not on the whole as generous as the Ministry of Munitions, though the Admiralty advanced its rates in April, 1917, in response to a trade union appeal, the new level corresponding roughly to that in munitions work. The minimum time rate was ,24s. ($5.76) instead of 20s. ($4.80). The new rate for a "fully skilled laborer," . 46s. ($11.04) was the same for men and women. Variations were permitted under special circumstances at the discretion of local officials. Previous to this time, in 1915, the Admiralty, like the War Department, had given women workers a war bonus of only 2s. a week (48 cents) when they had given male mechanics and laborers 4s. (96 cents). Wage increases in the Postoffice Department were given in the form of war bonuses, which were larger for men than for women. The war bonuses granted all low-paid employes in 1915 were 2s. or 3s. (48 cents or 72 cents) for men and only half that amount for women. Perhaps the strongest complaints of women's wages in gov- ernmental service were made about the women clerks taken on by the Civil Service. They received only 20 to 26s. ($4.80 to $6.24) for ordinary clerical work, and 30s. ($7.20) for super- vision of clerical work which involved considerable responsibility. Women were found who were paid 20s. ($4.80) for the. same work for which men had been receiving 30-40s. ($7.2(>-$9.60). The Women's Industrial Council even found it advisable to call a conference on the matter, and to form a committee to take up the question with those responsible. The results of its work were not available in October, 1917. The wages paid women substitutes for men in trades in which neither legal regulation nor agreements existed are difficult to discover. Agriculture, bread, rubber, confectionery, and saw- millmg are important examples of trades of this sort. In such cases the Jomt Committee of Industrial Women's Organizations believed that "rather more is gained than the current wage for women. There is no reason whatever to suppose that the rates WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 105 approximate to the rates of the men displaced."^ The factory inspectors in 1916 stated that in a few cases there were com- plaints of very low wages, and women replacing men in bottle works were said to be earning only lis. a week ($2.64)."' On the other hand, an investigation of clerical workers' war wages showed that many bookkeepers replacing men were receiving the same pay. The wages of stenographers had increased perhaps 10s. ($2.40) a week during the war.' The failure of the low wages oflfered in agriculture to attract a sufficient number of workers has previously been commented on. The smallest increases in wages appear to have occurred in the trades in which large numbers of women were employed prior to the war. In some cases, to be sure, as in power machine oper- ating, steadier work and overtime made earnings considerably higher. But actual changes in wage rates were small, and were generally in the form of a "war bonus" of 2s. (48 cents) a week or less, which obviously was not sufficient to cover the rise in prices. Wages for learners were said to have increased more than those for experienced workers. The necessity of a decided rise in wages to keep workers from transferring to men's trades made itself felt but very slowly. The only lines in which wage increases of this nature had been noted up to the end of 1916 were high class dressmaking and millinery in London. The Equal Pay Question The question as to how far women substitutes received pay equal to that of the men they replaced is not as simple as it may appear. It is necessary to ascertain whether the work has been reorganized, or if not, whether a woman substitute is doing the same amount and variety of work that the man did. The goal desired by the advocates of "equal pay for equal work" would 1 Standing Joint Committee of Industrial Women's Organizations, The Position of Women after the War, p. 8. 2 Great Britain Home Office, Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops for 1916, p. 6. 3 Women's Industrial News, October, 1916, p. 64. 106 ECONOMIC EFFF.CTS OF THE WAR perhaps be more accurately expressed by the term "economic equaHty between men and women." This goal would be reached, not necessarily by the same rates of pay for men and women in every instance, but by rates for women which would prevent their displacing men because they were cheaper. Opinions as to the relative efficiency of men and women on work within the limits of a woman's strength vary, but seem to grow increasingly favorable as the war goes on and women gain experience in their new positions. The average woman can not, of course, do as heavy work as the average man. The judgment of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, in August, 1915, was that on the whole adult women were less productive than men. The Association held that they showed less judgment and initiative, had less strength and more sickness, and because they expected to leave work on marriage they were less ambitious for training. The last fact, however, made them more willing to do routine, monotonous work. These limitations applied especially to adult women. Young girls were generally considered more helpful than boys of the same ages. In April, 1916, in its second report, the British Association was not so certain of the lesser capability of women workers. It quoted one railway official to the effect that women car cleaners could not get through as much work as men, but other railway officials believed that "what women lacked in quantity of work they made up in quality." They could do a surprising amount also "if they had sufficient wages to feed and clothe themselves properly."^ Women shop assistants were found as satisfactory as men on all work within their strength. But it was believed that the managerial positions in stores would continue to be re- served for men, who were more willing to train for them and more likely to be permanent. The factory inspectors said in their 1916 report that where women were found unsatisfactory., it was generally the case that wages were too low to attract com- petent workers. a»7£''!^at P."2m°" ^^ *' ^' as to the efficiency of women. He said : There is one thing that the war has taught us here in Great Britain. ^ That is the capacity of women for industrial work. I am satisfied, from my experience, that if we started to train women when they are quite young, at the age when we make boys appreritices, they could do an immense amount of work in engineering trades, apart from machine minding, and the simpler duties they now perform. The same thing applies to clerical work. Women are do- ing the clerical work in the London City and Midland Bank, of which I am a director, with the greatest possible success. Some of these young women, I am informed, have become managers. Here again training is all that is necessary to equip for very important work.^ Some of the strongest tributes to women's industrial efficiency came from the Ministry of Munitions. Lloyd George stated that "The country has been saved, and victory assured by the work of women in the munition factories." From timie to time the Dilution Bulletins contained examples of an actual increase in output when women replaced men. For example, at an east coast aeroplane factory, twelve women were said to be making twnce the number of pulleys formerly made by sixteen men. The output- of a horseshoe manufactory increased 7j4 per cent after ninety women replaced the same number of men. Frequently when women failed in their work the cause was found to be out- side their control. In one case spoilt work was due to the setting of tools wrong by men who were opposed to "dilution." Lack of proper lifting devices was not an uncommon handicap. The question is of course greatly complicated, especially in industry, by the fact that women are probably not in the majority of cases doing precisely the same work as the men who preceded them. At least four different forms of substitution can be dis- tinguished, in all but one of which the woman's work is not ~^wo Important Lessons from England's Experience," System, June, 1917, p. 567. 108 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR identical with the man's. These have been called (1) complete or direct substitution, (2) group substitution, (3) indirect sub- stitution, and (4) substitution by rearrangement. "Complete" or "direct" replacement occurs only when a woman takes up the whole of the same work that a man has been doing. The frequency of this form of replacement has probably been overestimated because it necessarily occurred when women took men's places in such non-industrial positions as postmen, drivers, and tramcar conductors, with whom the public comes in daily contact. Until perhaps tJie third year of war, however, such complete replacement was for the most part found in the lighter forms of comparatively unskilled work, for instance, sweeping in bakeries, filling sacks in chemical plants, and some light, unskilled work in munitions and other metal trades. Even in clerical work women were substituted for men largely in the more routine, less skilled branches. But in 1916-1917 an in- creasing number of women proved able to do the whole of a skilled man's work, even, in some cases, to "setting up" and re- pairing their machines. Women were found who seemed to be "natural mechanics" — a quality formerly thought to be entirely lacking in the female sex. "Group" substitution is said to take place when a group of women do the work of a smaller number of men. It is the' method of substitution often used in provision stores and other forms of retail trade. In some cases it has proved to be only a temporary arrangement, followed in a few months by "com- plete" or "direct" substitution, as the women gained in expe- rience and efficiency and became able to do as much work as the men. The so-called "indirect" form of replacement has bben com- mon m the metal trades, especially when additional women were first bemg added to the force. An unskilled man or a boy was promoted to skilled work, whose place, in turn, was taken by a woman. This form of substitution, it is said, is particularly easy to overlook. The equal pay situation becomes most complicated under the form of substitution most frequent in the skilled trades, namely. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 109 substitution by rearrangement. In this case the trade processes themselves are changed on the introduction of women workers. Excellent illustrations of this form of substitution may be drawn from the munition branch of the engineering trade, which has been revolutionized by such methods since the beginning of the war. The purpose of the reorganization is to simplify skilled processes so as to bring them within the capacity of less expert workers, all the changes tending toward greater specialization and greater repetition. A skilled man's work is sometimes analyzed into its various parts and a woman put on each separate part. Or simpler parts of a piece of highly skilled work may be set oiif for women to do, while a man spends his time exclusively on skilled operations. Thus in many munition factories, where formerly each machine was "set up," operated and repaired by a skilled man, now each is operated by a woman, while half-a-dozen are supervised and repaired by a single skilled man. In especially exacting work it has sometimes been possible to carry "substitution by rearrange- ment" no farther than to substitute for two skilled men on two machines one skilled man and two women. Another very com- mon method of "substitution by rearrangement" consists of the introduction of automatic or semi-automatic machinery, in place of hand work or machines requiring considerable attention and initiative on the part of the operator. Thus a machine for cloth cutting is advertised, which, according to the testimonial of an employer, "does the work of four hand cutters and is operated by a girl with the greatest ease. Until its introduction it was impossible to employ women at the actual work of cutting, but where this machine is in use it is now done. It has helped us to carry on six government contracts and has reduced cutting costs by more than 50 per cent."' Through the use of such devices, women in large numbers are becoming cutters even of heavy garments. From one point of view it would not seem essential that women should receive men's rates if "substitution by rearrangement" has ^Labour Gazette, April, 1917, p. xxiv. 110 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR taken place. From another viewpoint, however, if the lower rates decrease the total labor cost of the job, as is almost always the case, the danger remains that lower rates for wom^n will pull down the men's wage standards. More obvious is the men- ace to the men's rates if women are not generally inferior as workers, and if they are employed at a lower wage scale under the other forms of substitution. The evidence obtainable on the relative wages received by men workers and by the women who replaced them shows that just that danger exists. While most of the women substitutes have gained an improved financial position, they have not, on the whole, reached a plane of economic equality with the men whom they have replaced. In January, 1916, the Labour Gazette, looking back over 1915, said that "The extensive substitution of women and young persons for men has tended to lower wages per head for those employed."^ The nearest approaches to the men's level seem to have been attained in occupations covered by trade union agreements which require the payment of the men's wage scale to the women. The government, in the mimitions industry, has definitely gone on record in support of the "equal pay" principle, and has, to some extent, put it into actual effect. Changes in industrial method and non-observance of the awards have worked against the complete reaching of such a standard, though unquestionably the wages of women substitutes in muni- tions work are much higher than the former level of women's wages. In trades covered neither by union agreement nor legal regulation, women are generally receiving what is high pay ac- cording to their previous wage scale, but investigators believe that the men's level has not even approximately been reached. 1 Labour Gazette, January, 1916, p. 5. CHAPTER XI Hours of Work Since the working hours of women in English industry have long been regulated by law, the discussion of the effects of the war on working time centers in the modifications in the legisla- tion made because of war conditions. The main facts are com- paratively well known in America. The early war time extension of hours, the discovery that the previous limitations had operated in the interests of industrial efficiency as well as humanitarian considerations, and the final restoration of almost the pre-war limit of working hours, are fairly familiar. Certain modifica- tions in the daily hour standards are still allowed, however, and night work by women continues common. At the outbreak of war permitted hours were ten daily and fifty-five weekly in textile factories, and ten and a half daily and sixty weekly, with a limited amount of overtime, in non-textile factories and workshops. But the Secretary of State had the power to modify these restrictions "in case of any public emer- gency." The factory acts allowed him at such periods to exempt work on government contracts and in government factories from hour limitations "to the extent and during the period named by him."^ The Demand for Overtime A demand for the exercise of this power to extend women's hours and to allow them to do night and Sunday work was made by manufacturers of army supplies in the early days of the war. While the greatest rush of government orders came to firms making munitions, clothing, and camp equipment, the number of trades affected was "unexpectedly great, extending from big guns 1 Factory and Workshop Act, 1901, 1 Edw. 7, Ch. 22, Sec. ISO. 112 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR to boot nails, from blankets to tapes, from motor wagons to cigarettes."^ The factory inspectors felt that they were facing a difficult problem. Obviously it was necessary to secure the greatest pos- sible output, but it was equally apparent that labor would soon tweak down if unrestricted overtime were permitted. Moreover, "was it right that one set of operati\'es should be working ex- cessive hours, while others were without work at all?" It is well to keep in mind also that at this time the Germans were fighting their way through Belgium and advancing on Paris, and that the expeditionary force must at all costs be kept supplied. In the emergency, overtime orders, good for one month each, were granted individual firms who requested them on account of war demands. These orders usually permitted women to work either in eight-hour or twelve-hour shifts during any part of the twenty-four hours, or, as an alternative to the shift system, two hours of overtime daily on each of five days were allowed, mak- ing a seventy-hour week. Permission to work Saturday over- time or Sundays was rarely granted. Additional meal periods were required if overtime was worked. As the unemployment crisis passed, "the sole problem" came to be "what scale of hours was likely to give the largest amount of production." Steps were then taken to replace the first indi- vidual permits for exemptions by uniform orders for an entire trade. The latter were still issued, however, not for the indus- try as a whole, but only to individual firms applying for thero. The permits were largely based on joint conferences with em- ployers and employes, and allowed women to work at night or some eight or nine hours of overtime weekly. The latter meant a working week of about sixty-five hours in textile factories, and between sixty-five and seventy in other forms of factory work. The demands of employers had often been for a far greater amount of overtime. ^e most extensive modifications of the law were made for fF'.SXV?y£".f.rp^.^5^"' '''^"'^ "f '^^ Chief Inspector of Factories and WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 113 munition plants where, on account of the "urgent demand" the mspectors^_ recognized that latitude on a very wide scale must be permitted. Night work under either the two or the three-shift system was allowed, or as an alternative five hours of overtime u-eekly or seven and a half in cases of special urgency. But women were not to be employed on Sundays except for ni^ht work. From August 4, 1914, to February 19, 1915, a total of 3,141 overtime permits of all kinds were issued.^ Only fifty-four per- mits allowing night work remained in force at the end of 1914, though the number was considerably increased iii the first quar- ter of 1915. But overtime by women workers was unfortunately not even confined to that sanctioned by special orders. There is consid- erable evidence that long hours were also worked illegally, some- times entirely without permission, in other cases above the per- mitted modifications. In September, 1914, the belief spread about that the factory acts were wholly in abeyance until the end of the war, and the factory inspectors admit that undoubt- edly many cases of "long hours without legal sanction" occurred. Yet "these have been steadily brought untal output attains a maximum when a 12-hour day is adopted.^ Two Other scientific reports on the subject dealt with The Question of Fatigue from the Economic Standpoint, and were put out by a committee of the British Association for the Ad- vancement of Science in September, 1915, and September, 1916, respectively. The monographs emphasized the importance of an observation of fatigue in the workers and adaptation of the hours of labor thereto. The memoranda and reports of the Health of Munition Workers Committee are the best known of this group of studies, no doubt because besides being the work of scientific investigators, they were carried on to form a basis for official action, and contained definite recommendations for, the shortening of hours in order to improve output. While they dealt with munitions work alone, the principles brought out are equally applicable to any form of industrial occupation. The first memorandum published in November, 1915, covered the subject of Sunday labor, and recommended without qualifica- tions a weekly rest day for all classes of workers. • . . If the maximum output is to be secured and main- tamed for any length of time, a weekly period of rest must be allowed. Except for quite short periods, continuous work, m their view, is a profound mistake and does not pay —output is not increased. . . . Some action must be taken in regard to continuous labor and excessive hours of work If It IS desired to secure and maintain, over a long period, the maximum output. Should the early stoppage of all' Sunday work be consid- ered for any reason difficult if not impossible to bring about, dow'rTr ' trust that it will at least be practicable to la; shnluJ'TJ" *^^ ^™^^y ^^b^"- i« ^ serious evil which stricted. systematically discouraged and re- SundL"°"r 'f '" "'°""^ P"^"'^^'" *^ "^^d of abolishing Sunday work and granting week-end and other holidays was even WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 121 more urgent than for adult males. "The committee are strongly of opinion that for women and girls a portion of Saturday and the whole of Sunday should be available for rest, and that the periodic factory holidays should not, on any account, be omit- ted."^ The committee went on record in favor of a return to the pre- war legal standard of weekly hours. "Continuous work in ex- cess of the normal legal limit of sixty hours per week ought to be discontinued as soon as practicable," though the hours permitted in any one day might vary somewhat more than the factory acts allowed.^ There was, for instance, "little objection to such mod- erate overtime during the week as can be compensated for by an earlier stop on Saturdays." But, in general, "The need for overtime amongst women and girls is much less pressing than it is for men, they are rarely employed on highly skilled work, and where there is still a good reserve of labor there should be little difficulty in gradually introducing shifts. . . . [The committee] strongly urge that wherever practicable overtime should be aban- doned in favor of shifts." Three systems of hours were found in operation in munition plants. There was the single shift of thirteen-fourteen hours including meal times, which was known as the "overtime system," two twelve-hour and three eight-hour shifts. The committee considered that in the long run the latter yielded the best results with women workers. The committee recommend the adoption of the three- shifts system without overtime, wherever a sufficient supply of labor is available. Where the supply is governed by diffi- culties of housing and transit, the committee are of opinion ^The latter quotation comes from Memorandum No. 4, Employment of Women and Girls," which appeared in January, 1916, and discussed daily hours, night work and rest periods, as well as Sunday labor. 2 A later report by the committee stated that the hours "provisionally" fixed were probably too long, except for very short periods or for very light work carried on under exceptionally good conditions, while the hours which produced the largest output varied according to the nature of the work, age and sex of the workers, and conditions inside and outside the factory;, in general, "the time was ripe" for a further marked reduction m hours. Memorandum No. 20, October, 1917. 122 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR that every effort should be made to overcome these diffi- culties before a less serviceable system be continued or adopted. . . . They [eight-hour shifts] involve little or no stram on the workers ; the periods during which machinery stand idle for meals are Aery much reduced, while significant statements have been put before the committee claiming beneficial effects upon output. Observations were later made for the committee of a group of nearly a hundred women over a period of about thirteen months, during which time their actual weekly working hours were re- duced from sixty-six on seven days to forty-five on six days. Yet output rose nine per cent. The committee concluded : For women engaged in moderately heavy lathe work a 50-hour week yields as good an output as a 66-hour week, and a considerably better one than a 77-hour week.^ In regard to night work, however, the committee felt that the exigencies of war time prevented a return to a really desirable standard. "The employment of women at night is, without ques- tion, undesirable, yet now it is for a time inevitable." It de- manded special care and supervision and the use of such safe- guards as would reduce its risks to the minimum.. "In no case should the hours worked at night exceed sixty per week." Whether continuous night shifts or alternate day and night shifts should be worked was a matter to be settled by local consider- ations. Another interesting point in the Health of Munition Workers Committee memoranda was the recognition of the value of brief rest periods within working hours. "Pauses, well distributed and adapted in length to the needs of women workers, are," it was said, "of the greatest value in averting breakdown and giv- ing an impetus to production." Particularly with night work "adequate pauses for rest and meals are indispensable." On twelve-hour shifts, two breaks of three-quarters of an hour each mittee' M~"«1^'"'1P of Munitions, Health of Munition Workers Com- OuS i^ZlSt"to Surf o7Xt" mtti '"'°™^*"" ^°"""'"" WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 123 for meals should be taken out, while on an eight-hour shift a half hour for one meal was sufficient. Though the statutes allowed five hours of continuous work in non-textile and four and a half in textile factories, many managers believe that four hours is the longest period during which a woman can maintain continuous work at full vigor. Within this period a pause of ten minutes has been found to give excellent results. The reports, showing as they did that "the hours which con- duce most to a satisfactory home life and to health conduce most to output," have already had a notable influence both in this countrj' and in England in strengthening the scientific basis for labor legislation. For instance, on October 3, 1916, a significant clause was added to the order permitting overtime work, allow- ing it where necessary on account of the war, only if "such ex- emption can be granted without detriment to the national in- terest.'" The interdepartmental Hours of Labour Committee used the reconmiendations briefly outlined above as the basis for its work, formulating a new general order regulating overtime, which was finally issued by the Home Office September 9, 1916, after pro- longed criticism by all the supply departments. The order ap- plied to all controlled establishments and national workshops and might be extended to any other munitions work. In other cases there was to be a return to factory act hours. Hours not allowed by the factory act or the order in question are not to be worked after the 1st October, 1916, unless expressly sanctioned by special order from the Home Office. Applications for such special orders will not in future be entertained save in exceptional circumstances and in respect of work of a specially urgent character.' Three schemes of working hours were provided for, a three- shift system, two shifts, and a rearrangement of statutory hours. Under the first plan no shift might be longer than ten hours and a weekly rest day was comptflsory. Weekly hours under the 1 Great Britain, Defence of the Realm Act, Order No. 702. ^ Home Office, General Order, Sept. 9, 1916, p. 1. 124 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR two-shift system were not to exceed sixty, and a maximum of six shifts was to be worked in any one week. The third scheme also hmited weekly hours to sixty, and required working hours to fall between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., but as much as twelve hours might be worked in a single day. Hours for meals were fixed according to the Health of Munition Workers Committee recommendations. In cases of special emergency in naval ship repairing women might work a maximum of sixty-five hours weekly. They might only be employed at night if supervised by a woman welfare worker or "responsible forewoman." Except for the night work, the order was practically a return to pre- war standards.^ The Ministry of Munitions supplemented these efforts by ordering the "investigating officers," of the labor regulation section of its labor department, who had charge of all labor matters except dilution and the supply of labor, to report cases of excessive overtime and unnecessary Simday work in con- trolled establishments, with a view to having an order issued prohibiting it. An official circular of March 17, 1916. urged that more use be made of "week-end volimteers," so that all workers might have a Sunday rest, "both in the interest of the work-people and of production." But the numbers of "week-end munition relief workers" remained small, due to the attitude both of the firms and of the workers, who could not afford to lose their Sunday pay.^ How far did investigations and orders result in reasonable hours of work in munition plants and other factories? This is a question naturally hard to answer from documentary evi- dence alone. But apparently the situation has in many cases been improved. The Ministry of Munitions gained more direct con- trol oyer the regulation of hours in January, 1916, through the munitions amendment act, by which it was empowered to fix women's hours on munitions work in all establishments where "leaving certificates" were required. 1 See Appendix H. 2 Women's Industrial News, April, 1916, pp. 17, 18. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 125 Some complaints of unreasonably long hours still persisted. The Woman Worker reported during the winter of 1916 the case of a Scottish factory making cores for grenade bombs which opened at 6 a.m. and closed at 8 p.m. the first five days of the week and at 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, making a work- ing week of eighty-two hours exclusive of meal times.' Investi- gators likewise stated that the labor shortage and the urgency of the demand have "frequently" caused the recommendations to be exceeded.- On the other hand, both in the Clyde district and around Bir- mingham the British Association for the Advancement of Science stated, in April, 1916, that the working week varied from forty- four to fifty-six hours, fifty-four hours being the most common period. In August, 1916, the then Minister of Munitions, Dr. Christopher Addison, said in Parliament in response to questions that the interdepartmental committee was taking steps to bring the working week within the sixty-hour limit in all controlled es- tablishments. And an investigation by the factory inspectors in 1916 foimd that out of 243 "controlled establishments" 123 were working within the regular sixty-hour limit and only fifteen were working "irregular and excessive" hours, though in nineteen the breaks for rest periods and meals in some way violated the con- ditions of the order. Mr. H. W. Garrod of the Ministry of Munitions, while in the United States in November, 1917, gave the average working hours for women munition makers as fifty-two to fifty-four, with one to four hours of overtime. He said that the Ministry wanted to do away with overtime altogether, but that the wom.en objected, because it would reduce their earnings. Much attention was paid to the question of Sunday work by the interdepartmental hours committee. In January, 1916, it ob- tained a weekly rest period for all women in explosives factories under continuous operation. It soon secured the entire discon- 1 The Woman Worker, Feb., 1916, p. 10. 2 John and Katherine Barrett, British Industrial Experunce during the War, Sen. Doc. 114, 6Sth Cong., 1st Sess. 126 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR tinuance of Sunday work by "protected persons" in national pro- jectile and shell factories except a short shift in the projectile es- tabHshments for "rectifying" shells and cleaning the shop. In April, 1917, almost all Sunday work by all classes of workers was abolished in every controlled and national munition plant/ The Ministry ordered that the customary factory holidays be ob- served by all controlled establishments in the summer of 1917. Night work for women, which has never been recommended for abolition during the emergency, of course persisted and even tended to increase, as more and more plants went into continuous operation. Especially in shell factories large numbers of women worked at night. In 1916 at least eight-hour shifts had failed to "make much progress" and twelve-hour shifts were still "predominant."* The latter, it should be noted, meant not twelve but ten and a half hours of actual work over a twelve-hour period. Certain large mimition establishments, including at least one government fac- tory, even changed from the eight to the twelve-hour shift in 1916.^ Besides the shortage of labor it was said that the workers disliked the necessary changes in meal times and living arrange- ments under the shorter system, and that transportation schedules were not conveniently adjusted to it. It was alleged that young girls preferred the longer hours because they then escaped help- ing with the housework! By April, 1917, however, an investiga- tor for the British government was said to report that women were working eight-hour' shifts in all government plants, not through any general order but through the action of various local committees to whom the power of regulating hours had been entrusted.* ^^ Outside the munitions industry the factory inspectors reported "numerous applications" for overtime orders in 1916, involving, p.'lfa""^"" ^' ^^''''' "^""'''°" Workers in England," Munition Makers, a:a''wfrS^:tTffrT.6%^f: ""'""" "^ ''' ^''^^ ^"^^^^^ "^ ^-'-^ ' The Woman Worker, May, 1916, p. 12. ^ *H^enriette R. Walter, "Munition Workers in England," Munition Makers. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 127 however, a rearrangement of daily hours rather than a weekly total beyond the statutory limit. Much that was abnormal and bound to be injurious to health if long continued has been brought within manage- able limits. Excessive overtime and Sunday labor have been checked and as nearly as possible abolished. ... In general the experience of war emergency work, far from making employers in love with extended hours, appears to be producing a contrary effect and bringing about a sense of the importance of so limiting the period of employment as not to produce any feeling of exhaustion or even of marked fatigue. Fewer factories were working overtime without permission, though some prosecutions were necessary in the woolen industry. The idea that the factory acts were in abeyance till the end of the war was disappearing. With an increased recognition of the injury done to both quality and quantity of work by fatigue the powers available tmder overtime orders were in some cases not fully used by the employers. One employer remarked that overtime orders were "like a drop of brandy, a useful thing to keep in the house, but you didn't want always to be taking it." While a woman labor leader asserted as late as July, 1917, that "the factory act was in ruins" and that dangerous privileges "had been accorded to certain classes of employers,"^ it is prob- able that for the later months of war this is an unduly pessimistic point of view and that the more cheerful outlook of the factory inspectors is the better grounded. Even in 1915, when working hours were probably longest, some regulation of hours existed. The factory acts were seriously modified, but never repealed. Since that time, with the exception of night work, there has been a virtual return to pre-war standards. Along with this has come a much improved knowledge of the effects of fatigue, which will after the war make possible the revision of hour standards on a more scientific foundation than ever before. ~^san Lawrence, as reported in The Women's Trade Union Review, July, 1917, p. 12. CHAPTER XII Safety, Health and Comfort A considerable improvement in other working conditions for women frequently accompanied the change for the worse in hour standards. As women were brought into many workshops for the first time a general cleaning up often took place, and special accommodations in the way of cloakrooms, washrooms, and rest- rooms became necessary. The long hours, the increasing dis- tances which many workers lived from the factory, and the in- stitution of night shifts made some provision for getting meals there almost imperative. It became much more common for men and women to work together, especially on night shifts, and in many cases an effort was made to solve the problems thus raised, and those coming to the front wherever large numbers of women were taken on, by appointing woman "welfare supervisors." Where large numbers of women were brought from a distance to work in munition centers, considerable attention was paid to the betterment of living conditions outside the factory. V^Tiile there is every indication that the lengthening of hours will be abandoned after the war einergency has passed, the improvements enumerated seem likely to mean a permanent rise in English standards of working conditions. The 1915 report of the chief factory inspector noted that: The introduction of women into works where they have not hitherto been employed has been often accompanied by a striking degree of solicitude on the part of the managers for their welfare and comfort. ... A question arises . ._ . why has the manufacture of munitions of war on a terrible scale led at last to systematic introduction of hy- gienic safeguards that factory inspectors have advocated for many years, such as supervision of women by women m factories, provision of means for personal cleanliness, proper meal and rest rooms, and qualified nurses? Probably It IS m part due to a recognition that wages alone can not WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 129 adequately reward those who serve the State in time of need but It also points again to the new general awakening to the dependence of efficient output on the welfare of the human agent. Similarly, many large business offices, when they hired women for the first time, made special arrangements for their health and comfort. Organised Efforts Except for the requirement by the Home Office that "canteen" (restaurant) facilities should be provided wherever women were employed at night, the efforts just described were not in the be- ginning the result of any organized propaganda. But soon "wel- fare work" came within the scope of the seemingly boundless energy of the Ministry of Munitions, which is responsible for stimulating many of the improvements, as it was for much of the new spirit in hour regulation. As early as November, 1915, a circular of instructions by the Ministry of Munitions contained recommendations for the com- fort of women munition workers.^ A list of appropriate occu- pations was given. Lavatory and cloakrooms with female at- tendants should be provided for the exclusive use of females, and they should be supplied with aprons and caps, to be washed with- out charge. Later Instructions to Investigating OMcers urged that it was "of the first importance that the conditions under which [women] work should be thoroughly good." Suitable ap- pliances, such as lifting tackle for particularly heavy work, should be provided to lessen the physical strain. The Minister of Muni- tions was prepared to give "liberal financial help" to welfare ar- rangements by allowing them to be paid for out of what would otherwise be taken by the excess profits tax.' 1 Great Britain Home Office, Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops for t()I5, PP- 14, IS. 2 Great Britain Ministry of Munitions, Circular L 6. » Under this head were included (1) cloakrooms having separate pegs and arrangements for drying clothes, (2) wash rooms with hot and cold water, soap and towels. (3) sanitary conveniences, (4) rest and first aid rooms separated, if the latter were used by men, (5) chairs or stools, (6) caps and aprons. 130 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR The Health of Munition Workers Committee laid great stress on provisions for safety, health, and comfort, as well as on the limitation of hours. Of female workers the committee said in January, 1916, "The effect upon the health and energy of women and girls which results from clean, bright and airy workrooms, well warmed in winter can hardly be exaggerated. The factory act secures a minimum of these essential things, but the highest standard attained in the best factories is not too high. . . . The provision of washing accommodations . . . has become increasingly important . . . cloakrooms should also be pro- vided. . . . The provision of adequate and suitable sanitary accommodations is a matter of special importance."^ At that time it was the judgment of the committee that "if the present long hours, the lack of helpful and sympathetic oversight, the in- ability to obtain good, wholesome food, and the great difficulties of traveling are allowed to continue, it will be impracticable to secure or maintain for an extended period the high maximum out- put of which women are undoubtedly capable." The committee attached high value to "canteens" or factory restaurants, remark- ing that "the munition worker, like the soldier, requires good rations to enable him to do good work." Three of their memo- randa dealt with the subject, and gave complete directions for setting up and equipping a canteen, with model bills of fare. Other memoranda covered "welfare supervision," which will .be discussed in the latter part of this section, and "washing facili- ties and baths." In January, 1916, also, the munitions amendment act gave the Ministry of Munitions more definite control over the introduc- tion of these provisions, such as it had over working hours. The Ministry was empowered to regulate working conditions for females in establishments where the leaving certificate system was in force. In matters already regulated by the factory acts the concurrence of the Secretary of State was required. Coincident with its enlarged powers and with the recommenda- ,^-!5'''^^nV^"*^'"j^'"'?J''5' of, Munitions, Health of Munition Workers Com- mittee, Menwrandum No. 4, "Employment of Women," p. 7. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 131 tions of the Health of Munitions Workers Committee, the Min- istr}' started, in January, 1916, an extensive "welfare depart- ment," as part of the labor regulation section. Its director was Mr. B. Seebohm Rowntree, a manufacturer well known for his social studies and for the development of welfare schemes in his own establishment. The aim of the department was to "raise the well being" of women and child munition workers to as high a point as possible in all factories in which the Ministry had power to regulate working conditions.^ Numerous special- ists were attached to the department, such as physicians for work on the prevention of industrial poisonings, and "welfare officers" to visit the factories. After their inspections these officials made recommendations for changes, which the department then urged on the firms. It was said that it seldom proved necessary to use the legal powers. The department worked in close cooperation • ' with the Home Office, which was in charge of factory inspection. Some of the principal factors in working conditions to which the department was directed to give attention were clean work- rooms, the suitability of occupation to individual workers, fac- tory "canteens," proper hours and rest periods, wages, and the prevention of dangers to health and safety. The department's standard for hours was a working period which "conserved strength, gave a chance for rest and recreation," and was not longer than those recommended by the Health of Munition Workers Committee. Wages must be sufficient to cover "physical , . needs and reasonable recreation." "Amenities," washing ac- commodations and cloakrooms, for instance, should also be pro- vided, "such as men and women coming from decent homes may reasonably demand." The department was to "enquire" into all these matters, but not necessarily to deal with them all directly. For instance, the interdepartmental hours committee was the final authority on cases of reduction of hours. In industry outside munitions work the growing importance ascribed to "welfare" provisions was reflected a few months later ~^hn and Katherine Barrett, British Industrial Experience during the War, Sen. Doc. 114, 65th Cong., 1st Sess. 132 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR in a part of the "Police, Factories, etc. (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act" of August 3, 1916.^ The Home Secretary was empowered by this measure to issue special orders "for securing the welfare of the workers" when the nature of the work or "special circum- stances" made it advisable. Such orders might cover either a single establishment or a special class, all the workers in the es- tablishments in question or merely some special class. The wel- fare provisions might be compulsory only when applied for by some specified proportion of the workers. Such improvements in working conditions above the ordinary statutory requirements might include "arrangements for preparing or heating and tak- ing meals ; the supply of drinking water ; the supply of protective clothing; ambulance and first-aid arrangements; the supply and use of seats in workrooms; facilities for washing; accommoda- tions for clothing; arrangements for supervision of workers." In one respect, however, labor leaders believed that the bill ' contained a backward step. It permitted deductions from wages to pay for the additional benefits, though during its passage through Parliament the labor members secured considerable safeguards of this power. Contributions could be used only to pay for benefits "which, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, could not reasonably be required to be provided by the employer alone, and if two-thirds of the workers affected ... as- sent." Aside from the dangers of abuse under this provision the measure seems to provide a method for securing decided im- provements in working conditions and for arrangements better- suited to the varying needs of different industries than is pos- sible under general statutes. In 1916 and 1917 also steps were taken to minimize the two worst risks of occupational disease which menaced the woman munition worker. She was liable to contract toxic jaundice from the "dope" (tetrachlorethane) used in varnishing the wings of airplanes and from "T. N. T." (trinitrotoluene), an explosive with which many women were filling shells. In the year 1916, 1 12 cases of toxic jaundice among female workers and thirty-one 1 6 and 7 Geo. 5, 1916, ch. 31. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 133 deaths were reported to the Home Office. Up to the summer of 1916 the majority of the cases seem to have been caused by "dope poisoning." On August 8 of that year a representative' of the \\"ar Office and Admh^lty stated that several satisfactory non- poisonous "dopes" had been discovered and that contractors were no longer to be allowed to use tetrachlorethane if the sub- stitutes could be obtained. At the beginning of 1917 Dr. T. M. Legge, the chief medical inspector of factories, and Sir Thomas Oliver, the well known expert on occupational disease, both stated that poisonous dopes were no longer in use for government work in Great Britain. \\'orkers on "T. N. T." sometimes contract an annoying eczema as well as the more dangerous toxic jaimdice, and it is feared that the substance renders some women permanently sterile.^ It is particularly unfortunate that the task of filling shells with "T. X. T." is so light and easy as almost always to be given to women, if it is true, as alleged, that "men and boys seem com- paratively unsusceptible to the poison."^ Even when they are not sickened by the poison, the hair and skin of workers handling "T. N. T." often turn bright yellow. For this reason workers on the' substance have received the nickname of "canaries." Instructions for the prevention of "T. N. T." poisoning were issued by the Ministry on February 19, 1917. They were designed to prevent the absorption of the poison through the skin, which was believed to be the principal means of infection. Working "costumes," to be washed at least weekly, and washing accommodations were to be provided, and each worker was to receive free daily a pint of milk. After a fort- night of work on "T. N. T." processes at least a fortnight ov. other work was to be given, and a weekly medical examination was compulsory, with removal of any workers found affected. A special person was to be appointed in each work place to see that the rules were carried out. In October, 1917, no figures had yet been published which would determine the effectiveness 1 The New Statesman, February 3, 1917, pp. 415-416. 134 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR of these provisions. No regulations were reported at that time on the use of cordite in shell fiUing, which was said to have caused several cases of suffocation among women workers. How far the various rules and recommendations actually re- sulted in better working conditions is an interesting question. Apparently considerable gains were made, though further ad- vances were still practicable. In the munitions industry, for in- stance, national factories are said to have "naturally adopted welfare in all its phases,'" while the arrangement that improve- ments could be made out of what would otherwise be taken as excess profits tax was a strong inducement to action by "con- trolled" establishments. But in the early months of 1916 soon after its formation the welfare department of the Ministry of Munitions undertook, in cooperation with the factory inspectors, a survey of "controlled" and "national" munitions plants to see which ones most needed its attention. At that time, out of 1,396 plants covered, 31 per cent graded "A," 49 per cent "B," and 20 per cent "C." It is well to grasp the point that B and C conditions meant in varying combinations partial or complete lack of mess- room accommodation or facilities for cooking food; inade- quate or non-existent cloakrooms and washing appliances even for dusty and greasy occupations; lack of supply of seats ; need of first aid and rest rooms ; supervision even of numerous young girls by men only, and other defects in factories mostly working twelve-hour shifts, and reached often by considerable journeys from the workers' homes.' Allowance must be made, however, for "great progress" dur- ing the year. "Undoubtedly a number of the factories classed B . . . have qualified for class A, and to a lesser extent this is true of class C."^ In a similar vein the Women's Industrial News said in April, 1916, that the standard of comfort advocated ' John and Katherine Barrett, British Industrial Experience during the War, Sen. Doc. 114, 65th Cong., 1st Sess. 2 Great Britain Home Office, Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops for igi6, p. 9. »Ibid. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 135 by the Health of Munition Workers Committee for rest rooms, cloakrooms, and canteens was "rare" but that "it was possible to hope for a gradual improvement in conditions." In June, 1917, Dr. Addison, then Minister of Munitions, reported can- teen accommodations in national and controlled establishments for about 810,000 workers, there being a total of some 1,750,- 000 persons employed. In October the Heahh of Munition Workers Committee stated that canteen accommodations had been provided for 920,000 or 45 per cent of all munition makers. To be sure, women workers have had not a few grievances about the canteens. A delegation of organized women workers called on government officials in December, 1916, to protest against the poor food and the "rough and ready manner" in which it was served.^ One canteen was described as so third-rate that "any bloomin' good pull-up for carmen is a regular Hotel Cecil to it." But the numerous canteens run by one of the re- ligious organizations for women were highly praised by the workers themselves. The Dilution Bulletins give some interesting and significant re- sults secured in munitions work through betterments in working conditions. In one factory it was estimated that 2,500 hours' work weekly was saved by prompt attention to slight accidents and illness. Another firm declared that free meals more than repaid in increased output. In another, output improved after good washrooms and cloakrooms were put in. Seats with backs increased production 10 per cent in one case. In non-munitions industries there was some grumbling at al- leged delay by the Home Office in taking advantage of the "Police, Factories (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act." But after all, the act was not passed until August, 1916, and before the end of the year formal conferences on future welfare requirements had been held in the pottery and tin plate industries, and changes m the latter begun in advance of an order. Without use of the act, the factory inspectors reported "great progress" m 1916 m im- proving conditions in a most varied group of industries: sugar 1 The Woman Worker, January, 1917, p. 13. 136 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR refineries, confectionery, breweries, oil-seed crushing, rope works, paper mills, woodworking, 'cloth and webbing making and to- bacco. Advances in these trades were believed to have been greatly assisted by the publicity given "welfare" in the munitions industry. The first order under the act went into effect on October 1, 1917. It required a supply of pure drinking water and drinking cups in all factories employing more than twenty-five persons. A second order was issued in October, to go into effect December 1, 1917. It applied only to blast furnaces, copper and iron mills, foundries, and metal works. In all such establishments having more than 500 employes, an "ambulance room" in charge of a trained nurse must be provided, and the provision of "first aid" outfits was made compulsory wherever twenty-five or more per- sons were employed. Welfare Supervision In the improvement of working conditions of women dur- ing the war much stress has been laid on what is known in England as "welfare supervision." The chief duties of "welfare supervisors" within the factories as outlined by Mr. Rowntree, the head of the welfare depart- ment,^ and by an official circular of the Ministry of Munitions included the following: The supervisors should hire or keep in touch with the hiring of new workers and the choosing of fore- men, and investigate dismissals, resignations, cases of sickness and lost time, and of poor output caused by ill health. They should have a general supervision over working conditions, espe- ciall}'- over night work, and over canteens and rest rooms and should cooperate with the plant doctor and nurse. They should keep watch of the wages received, should investigate complaints by the workers and help in the maintenance of discipline. No woman's case should be brought before a "Munitions Tribunal" until the welfare supervisor had been consulted. ijohn and Katherine Barrett, British Industrial Exhcricnce duriyin the War, Sen. Doc. 114, 6Sth Cong., 1st Sess. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN ' 137 The first steps in this direction were taken by the Home Office, in its early permits allowing night work, which were made de^ pendent on the supervision of women by women. Under the Ministry of Munitions the idea of "welfare super- vision" has been extensively developed, and has, in fact, become to a large section of the public the most prominent feature of the Ministry's campaign for better working conditions. The Health of Munition Workers Committee devoted one of its first memo- randa to the subject.^ The committee spoke of the need, as an aid in obtaining the best possible output, of some special ma- chinery for taking up grievances and matters of discipline and personal welfare: The committee desire to record their unanimous conviction that a suitable system of welfare supervision ... is es- sential in munition works where women and girls are em- ployed, and, they must add, urgently necessary. The welfare department also emphasized the importance of "welfare supervision," and one of its chief functions came to be the introduction of "welfare supervisors" or "lady superintend- ents" into munition plants. Such officials were appointed in all national factories. The departments encouraged the establish- ment of the numerous training courses which have been opened, and formed a "board of qualified women" to interview applicants and to recommend to employers those found suitable.^ It was advised that the "welfare supervisor" be "a woman of good standing and education, of experience and sympathy, and having, if not an actual experience, at least a good understanding of industrial conditions." Experience as a teacher or forewoman was valuable. The worker was to be selected and paid by the employer— in government factories by the Ministry^ of Muni- tions—and "her duty was to the firm." Her success would be found to be dependent on her employer's recognition of her im- lilfemorandMmATo.^, "Welfare Supervision," 1915 ^B. Seebohm Rowntree, "The Value of Welfare Supervision to the Em- I^oyer," System (Eng. ed.), June, 1916. 138 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR portance and her own personality. It has proved difficult to find a sufficient number of women with suitable qualifications, and some attempts at welfare supervision are said to have been "futile and misdirected" because of a poor choice of supervisor. Par- ticularly where untrained relatives of members of the firm were employed, there was danger of undue interference with the per- sonal affairs of the employes. The justification of "welfare supervision," according to the ■official point of view, lay in an increased output. A supervisor coujd look out for details for which the management had no time, but which insured good conditions for its women employes. "Working on this line, lady superintendents perform a most useful service, relieve the management of a large mass of diffi- cult detail ; and increase the firms' output by promoting the health, efficiency, and happiness of the workers." The factory inspectors described a plant where discipline was unsatisfactory, the factory acts violated, and women night workers were not provided with meals or supervised by women. At the end of five months of welfare supervision it was "improved almost beyond recognition. Irregularities had disappeared; a good mess room and excellent kitchen and an ambulance room had been built; satisfactory first- aid outfit provided." Attack on the Welfare Movement Nevertheless the whole program of "welfare work" and espe- cially "welfare supervision" was the subject of fierce criticism from the labor movement and radicals in general. The feminist , Rebecca West even went so far as to say of it that "to women the capitalist can do with impunity all the things he no longer dares do to men."^ Mary Macarthur, the secretary of the Na- tional Federation of Women Workers, described "welfare" as "the most unpopular word in the terminology of the factory worker." The aim of increased output was attacked. The betterment -1/ ^oh^'^'^^r,^^^' "^o^ering the Munition Maker," The Nctv Republic. Oct., WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 139 of industrial conditions should be directed toward "improved health, comfort, and development" for the workers as ends in themselves, instead of regarding the worker as a means of greater production. But in most cases a distinction was made between "structural improvements" and better hours and wages on one side and "'welfare supervision" on the other. The former were considered "desirable and even imperatively needed," though it was not test that they be gained through any "welfare movement." "Struc- tural improvements" should resuh from factory legislation and^ the action of factory inspectors ; wages and hours should he. fixed by collective bargaining between employers and trade unionists. But there were few kind words for "welfare supervision." The ideal of the "welfare supervisor" was "docile, otedient, and ma- chine-like" women workers. "The good welfare worker was the most dangerous" because she was most likely to be successful in reducing independence and turning the workers from trade union- ism. As long as she was responsible to the employer, she might be obliged to use her position only to become "a more efficient lrought out a memorandum on "Health and Welfare of Muni- lion Workers outside the Factory." In this it stated: The necessity in the present emergency of transferring workers from their homes to distant places where their labor is required has created an unparalleled situation, and prob- lems of the first importance to the nation are' arising simul- taneously in munition areas in various parts of the kingdom, especially as regards women and girls. The committee are of opinion that the situation calls for some more complete and systematic action than can be taken locally by isolated bodies of persons, however public spirited and sympathetic they may be. ... It is, therefore, from no lack of ap^ preciation of the work of these committees that the Health of Mimition Workers Committee must express the opinion that the time has now come to supplement and reinforce them by a larger degree of State action than has hitherto been deemed necessary. In accordance with their recommendation the welfare depart- ment of the Ministry of Munitions appointed a number of "out- side welfare officers" who aided the committees and who were Tield responsible for the successful accomplishment of the work. The picture of transportation difficulties given by the commit- tee forms an interesting sidelight on conditions in and about the new munition centers : 142 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR Health, timekeeping, temper, and output all suffer, when . to the da/s work is added the discomfort and fatigue of a lone walk to and fro in bad weather or m darkness, or a scrLble to squeeze into a crowded railway carriage, tram, or omnibus, with a long journey in a bad atmosphere. In the darkness of early morning and at night, when no lights are allowed to be shown on the railway, separate compart- ments for women are desirable, and no traveling without a light inside the carriage should he allowed; m some places carriages without blinds or other means of shading the win- dows are used for the convenience of work people of both sexes. Under these circumstances artificial light can not be used and the journey is made crowded together in total darkness.^ In the more crowded centers living accommodations were equally overtaxed. "The sudden influx of workers in several dis- tricts has so overtaxed the housing accommodation that houses intended for one family are now occupied by several."'^ And "beds are never empty and rooms are never aired, for in a badly crowded district, the beds, like the occupants, are organized in day and night shifts."' High charges and poor service added to the discomforts of the overcrowding: About eighteen months ago I visited a Midland town where the girls, although they were earning from twenty- five to fifty shillings instead of the fifteen to eighteen shil- lings which was their weekly wage in peace time, were living in conditions more unhealthy and uncomfortable than they had ever endured before. It was common for a girl on the day shift to go back to a bed from which a worker on the night shift had just arisen. Girls on a twelve-hour shift would have to lodge an hour and a half from the factory, so that their working day amounted to fifteen hours. To get a roof over their heads they would have to put up with dirt, bad cooking, rowdy companions, and above all extor- 1 Great Britain Ministry of Munitions, Health of Munition Workers Com- mittee, Memorandum No. 17, "Health and Welfare of Munition Workers Outside the Factory," 1917. 2 Ibid., Memorandum No. 2, "Welfare Supervision," p. 3. 3 Ihid., Memorandum No. 4, "Employment of Women,'' p. 5. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 143 tionate charges; the poor also can cheat the poor, I have known the wives of foremen earning over five pounds a week to chai-ge a girl fifteen shillings a week for bed and breakfast.^ The housing situation, however, was taken in hand by the Min- istr}- of Munitions on an extensive scale. It is claimed that in the first year after the passage of the munitions act accommodations for 60,000 people were provided, and that "whole villages were built."^ In some cases the government advanced money to local -authorities or philanthropic organizations for permanent build- ings. In other instances the Ministry itself built temporary "hos- tels." It also put up "vast numbers of small wooden cottages — known as huts." Existing buildings like board schools were fre- quently remodeled for use as hostels. Nevertheless, representatives of the Ministry of Munitions de- clared in November, 1917, that on the whole the hostel system, which involved large dormitories and common sitting rooms, was a failure. The chief objections were the rules and regulations necessary when large numbers of women were brought together, and the difficulties arising if even one woman of questionable character got into a dormitory. For these reasons, and because the hostels lacked privacy, and were not homelike, they generally were not particularly popular with women workers, who were said to prefer lodgings in a family even in cases where "they had to pay 12s. a week ($2.88) for a third of a bed." Efforts were made by welfare workers and local committees to supervise and compile lists of approved lodgings, but the problem had not been entirely solved in the summer of 1917. Parliament then passed a measure adapting the "billeting" system used for soldiers to the needs of munition workers, butin November nothing could be learned about the operation of this law. ~:i;becca West, "Mothering the Munition Maker," The Ne^ Republic. ^^MntTKa'thSine Barrett, .n../. Industrial Experience ,urin, tUe War, Sen. Doc. 114, 65th Cong 1st Sess^ householders may 3 A number of soldiers may be f„«'f,"f J°,oVK°ng at a fixed rate. te required to furnish them with board and locigmg at 144 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR Other interesting points in the work of the Ministry of Muni- tions for "welfare" among women workers outside the factory- included provision for recreation, for day nurseries, and for the care of sickness and maternity cases. Clubs were formed, and en- tertainments organized. At Woolwich Arsenal a "recreation ground" was provided. Many new day nurseries were opened to guard against neglect of the children of working mothers. The nurseries were generally organized by the "local committees" but were aided by grants from the Ministry. The Health of Munition Workers Committee called attention to the need of better provision for sickness, and advocated the build- ing of cottage hospitals in some localities. The committee also advised the formation of special committees, including women doctors and married women, to make arrangements "without un- due prominence" for maternity cases, which in some centers was- not a small problem. Welfare workers were frequently embar- rassed in dealing with such v^romen whom they were obliged to discharge at an early stage of pregnancy because the work was- heavy or involved contact with explosives or poisons. The women were dependent on their wages and were often "unable or un- willing" to return home. A committee could provide a "hostel" under charitable auspices where such women could be cared for and work as much as they were able, and could arrange for their confinement and the after-care of their babies. In summing up the effectiveness of the new "welfare" move- ment, it is of course much easier to cite laws and recommenda- tions than to determine the extent of improved conditions from a documentary study, such as the present one. All that can be safely said is that seemingly a good deal has been accomplished, but that even in munition plants, where the "welfare" idea is best developed, probably much remains to be done. CHAPTER XIII Effects of the War on Employment of Children Extension of Employment The effects of the war were not limited to a gain in the number of adult women workers alone, but led also to a large increase in the number of young boys and girls at work. The demands of employers, economic necessities, and patriotic motives undoubt- edly all played a part in the movement. During the unemploy- ment crisis of the autumn of 1914 it was, for a few months, difficult to find places for young workers. But on account of the acute demand for labor as more and more men were. taken into military service a strong demand for boys and girls at rising wages soon succeeded . the depression. As was the case with many married women, the rising cost of living and the inade- quate separation allowances received by soldiers' families fre- quently made it an economic necessity for boys and girls to seek work at the earliest possible opportunity. Notably on munitions work patriotic motives proved a strong incentive to attract many young people. Moreover, the natural desire of not a few children to be through with school restraints and to enter adult life was reinforced by the excitement of war time and by the taking over of numerous school buildings for military purposes. Yet it is much more difficult to give accurate figures showing the increased employment of children under fourteen and "young persons" under eighteen, than of "females." The changes are not heralded in official quarterly reports, but can be gathered only in incomplete form from a variety of sources. Three different classes of employment must be considered — that which would have been permitted previous to the war, that involving the relax- ation of child labor and compulsory education laws, and that which remains entirely illegal. In all three classes, the war has brought an increase in numbers. 146 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR Of the first class, boys and girls legally entitled to work under ordinary circumstances, the British Board of Education esti- mated that in 1915 the number of children leaving the elementary schools at the age of fourteen or thereabouts was increased by about 10 per cent, or 45,000. For 1916, Mrs. Sidney Webb put the increase in the number leaving in this way at 50,000 to 60,000.^ An increase in the employment of children before and after school and in the number of child street traders was also noted.^ On the other hand, Mr. Herbert Fisher, president of the Board of Education, stated in the House of Commons in- April, 1917, that with the greater prosperity of the working classes since the war, the enrollment in secondary schools had' increased.' Relaxation of Child Labor and Compulsory Education Laws An increase nothing short of appalling has taken place in the number of working children between eleven and fourteen who, prior to the war, would have been protected by child labor and compulsory school laws. In 1911, according to oflficial figures, only 148,000 children of these ages were employed in all Great Britain. In August, 1917, Mr. Fisher said in the House of Com- mons that "in three years of war some 600,000 children have been withdrawn prematurely from school and become immersed in industry. They are working on munitions, in the fields, and in the mines."* Probably nine-tenths of the exemptions were for agricultural work. They were the result of the activity of the farmers' associations, which had always opposed compulsory education for the children of their farm laborers and which in most cases con. La\?;i"«^Li%tr'l9f7!'r7^:''"^ ^"''''°°'^ '^ ^-^ -^^ war,- Child ^London Times, Educational Supplement, March 15 1917 Bureau fnd to Ms Ann^Shester o'fThe^p' ^""" .^''"■°P' '^'^'^^ °f ^^^ vance copy of the report '^°'''"^^'^ °^ ^^e Bureau, for access to an ad- * House of Commons, Debates, August 10, 1917, p. 790. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 147 trolled the local school boards.^ Farmers of North Wilts recom- mended that eleven-year-old children be released from school for work for which women "were not strong enough." Though probably extra-legal, the exemptions were sanctioned under specified conditions, in a circular of the board of educa- tion to local authorities issued in March, 1915.^ Children of school age were to be exempted for_"light" and "suitable" agri- cultural employment in cases of special emergency, when no other labor was available. There was to be no general relaxa- tion of standards, and exemptions were to be made in individual cases and for limited periods only. Even before the publication of this circular, between Septem- ber 1, 1914, and January 31, 1915, 1,413 children under fourteen, some of them as young as eleven years, were released from school for farm work. Between February 1 and April 30, 1915, 3,811 children were exempted for this purpose. The number holding excuses on January 31, 1916, was 8,026; on May 31 was 15,753, and on October 3 1 was 14,915. These figures, moreover, showed only the number of children formally excused by special exemp- tion, not the number actually at work. About half the counties made special by-laws lowering the standard of compulsory at- tendance required before the war. In Wiltshire, for instance, all children of eleven who had reached the fourth standard were not required to attend school, and only those below that grade who were specially excused appeared in the official lists.^ Then, too, in some places schools were closed at noon or altogether at times of special stress, and in others headmasters were directed to let children of eleven and over leave without record when needed for farm work.* It is noteworthy that the policy of granting exemptions was not uniformly followed throughout the country, since some local authorities refused to relax the attendance laws. Twenty-five 1 Labour Year Book. 1916, pp. 88-89. 2 Great Britain Board of Education, Circular 898, March 12, 191S. 3 United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly Review, June, 1917, p. 889. * The Woman Worker, May, 1916, p. 3. 148 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR county councils reported that no children had been excused be- tween February 1 and April 30, 1915. The policy of exemption was strongly opposed by the agricultural laborers' union, and by the whole labor party which brought the matter up in the House of Commons in the spring of 1915, but to little efifect. It was charged that the farmers were making use of child labor in order to keep down wages, and that the supply of adult labor would be sufficient if proper wages were paid. The Board of Agriculture advocated relieving the situation by an increased use of women instead of children. "The Board of Agriculture have expressed the opinion that if the women of the country districts and of England generally took the part they might take in agriculture, it would be unnecessary to sacrifice the children under twelve."^ In the spring of 1916 the Board of Education itself admitted that in some areas exemptions had "been granted too freely and without sufficiently careful ascertainment that the cpnditions prescribed by the government . . . were ful- filled.'" A circular of February 29, 1916, laid down additional restrictions on excusing children from school.* Children under twelve should "never" be excused except for very short periods when the circumstances were "entirely exceptional." Persons wishing to hire school children should be required to specify the work for which they were needed and to prove that the need could not be filled in any other way, especially by employing women. A register of all children exempted should be kept and the exemptions reviewed at least once every three months. The power of granting exemptions should be kept in the hands of the central committee and not given over to district committees or local truant officers, which policy, it had been found, "involves great divergency in practice and gives rise to considerable laxity of administration." 1 Great Britain Board of Education, Retort ni th^ ru;^-t \/i„j- i ^^ of the Board of Education for ms p 106 ^ ^ ^^'^""^ ^^"'' 2 Ibid., p. 103. = Ibid, Circular 943, February 29, 1916. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN .149 An interesting clause of the circular "suggested that the urgency of the need for the labor of school children may, to a certain extent, be tested by, the amount of wages offered, and as a general rule it may be taken that if the labor of a boy of school age is not worth at least six shillings a week to the farmer, the benefit derived from the boy's employment is not sufficient to compensate for the loss involved by the interruption of the boy's education." In an earlier report the board had noted that only one of the twenty school children reported engaged in farm work by one county was receiving as much as 6s. ($1.44) weekly.^ However, the board had no direct power over the local authori- ties except to reduce its money grants when the number of chil- dren in attendance decreased. The number of children excused, according to the statistics just quoted, reached its highest point in May, 1916, which would indicate that the circular had little influence with local officials in reducing the number of country children deprived of schooling to work on the farms. In 1917 the board again became more favorable to a modifi- cation of school requirements. On February 2, in answer to a question in the House of Commons, the president of the board of education stated that "greater elasticity" was to be allowed in the school vacations, so that boys over twelve might engage in farm work. For this purpose the Board of Education would give money grants for 320 school sessions annually instead of 400, as usual, provided vacation classes for the younger children were organized. Fewer children seem to have been released from school for industry or miscellaneous work than for agriculture. Between September, 1914, and February, 1915, only thirty-one children were officially reported excused from school attendance for fac- tory work and 147 for miscellaneous occupations. None of these was less than twelve years old. On account of the small num- bers excused the Board of Education did not repeat the inquiry. Efforts were made, indeed, as early as 1915 to secure exemp- 1 Great Britain Board of Education, School Attendance and Employment in Agriculture, Returns ist September, 1914, to 31st January, 1915, P- 3. ISO ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR tions for factory work similar to those in agriculture. Employ- ers' associations urged that children of twelve and thirteen be excused from school. The cotton spinners' and employers' associations sent a joint petition to the Home Secretary asking that children be allowed to begin work in the cotton mills at thir- teen instead of fourteen years. The spinners' union preferred such a lowering of child labor standards to allowing women to become "piecers." Certain government contractors also asked the local education authorities for permission to employ boys of thirteen. But at the time the official attitude was much less encouraging in regard to exemptions for factory work than for agriculture. The Home Office refused to consent to any relaxation unless the Admiralty or War Office certified that the observance of child labor laws was delaying work necessary to the war.^ The an- nual report of the factory inspectors for 1915 mentioned an im- portant prosecution for illegal child labor. The board of edu- cation was a little more lenient, allowing the local authorities to excuse boys of thirteen under certain prescribed conditions, which included the restriction that the work must be within the boys' physical capacity.^ But during at least the earlier months of war "generally in urban areas, the information furnished ap- pears to show that there has been no great variation from the usual practice in the matter. At all times children have been granted exemption in very special circumstances, and the only effect of the war has been that such special circumstances have arisen a little more frequently than they did in normal times."' The statement of Mr. Fisher in August, 1917, that school children were working in mines and munition factories would suggest, however, that these comparatively rigid standards were not main- tained in the later months of the war. ^Labour Year Book, 1916, p. 89. 2 Great Britain Board of Education, Annual Report for IQ15 of the Chief Medical OMcer of the Board of Education, p. 106. ^ Ibid., Summary of Returns supplied by Local Education Authorities for the period of September i, 1914, to January ji, 7975, p. 4. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 151 In addition, it is probable that there has been more than the usual amount of illegal child labor. A note in The Woman Worker of January, 1917,' said that the "attention of the Secre- tar}'- of State has been directed to the prevalence of illegal em- ployment, in factories . ... of children under 12 . . . and children who have not obtained exemption from school at- tendance. . . . It is not countenanced by any of the depart- ments concerned, nor can it be justified by any pretext of war emergency." It was stated that official action against these con- ditions had been secured. In several cases penalties had already been imposed. "The inspectors of factories are instructed to take rigorous action in respect of any similar offences in future, and without further warning." Changes in Occupations of Boys and ,Girls Certain effects of the war on boys' work were noted very early. By the end of 1914 it was observed that in factories strong boys, who had been apprentices or helpers, were being pushed ahead to the work of skilled men, while women and girls were taking their places. Such "indirect" substitution continued frequently to be the first change made when women were introduced into new lines of work.^ The Ministry of Mimitions made some effort to keep boys away from shell and fuse making and other forms of purely repetitive work, and to encourage them to take up lines which would make them skilled artisans.* But on the whole the number of boys entering skilled trades and starting apprentice- ships declined, for unskilled work at high wages was offered by munitions plants and other forms of war equipment, and many parents, under the unsettled conditions of war, were unwilling to have their sons bind themselves for a term of years. Girls, like adult women, entered many new lines of work for the first time during the war, and there are but few facts to iP. 4. 2 See p. 108. 3 Great Britain Ministry of Munitions, Dilution of Labour Bulletin, Febru- ary, 1916, p. 2. 152 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR distinguish between the two groups of workers. The girls were used in boys' places for running errands, on wagons and other forms of delivery work — which had been much complained of as a "blind alley" for boys— in banks, and in retail shops. There appeared to be a greatly increased demand for them in some cities in clerical work. In the new openings on munitions work and other forms of army equipment their work has not been clearly marked off from that done by adult women. Complaints were made in March, 1917, that it was difficult to induce young girls to enter anything but the munitions industry.^ The glamor and excitement of direct assistance to the war undoubtedly made its strongest appeal to girls of this impressionable age. A feature almost unknown previous to the war was the move- ment of boys and girls under seventeen years of age from their homes to work at a distance. The Labour Gazette stated of the movement : It has, to a limited extent, been found desirable to draft boys and girls from areas where their services are not much in demand to districts where there is a scanty supply of labor for essential industries or where opportunities for training in skilled employments are available. Where such migration has been carried out through the exchanges spe- cial arrangements have been made to secure the welfare of the boys and girls in their new sphere.^ Supervision of the boys and girls thus removed from home care and training, naturally a most serious responsibility, was carried out mainly by the advisory committees on juvenile em- ployment, which had been formed in connection with many ex- changes before the war for the vocational guidance of young workers. In the case of young girls the work also came under the duties of the local committees on "women's war employ- ment." As "welfare supervision" was developed by the Ministry of Munitions, the supervisors, and later the "outside welfare officers," were likewise instructed to give attention to the matter. ''■London Times, Educational Supplement, March 15, 1917. 2 February, 1917, p. 49. WOMEN AND CHIIJ5REN IN GREAT BRITAIN 153 Wages According to information from labor sources^ the rise in wages during the war was perhaps more marked among boys and girls under eighteen than among any other class of workers. Boys and girls in munitions factories in certain parts of the country were often able to earn from f 1 ($4.80) to £2 ($9.60) a week — the latter as much as many skilled men received previous to the war. The wages fixed by the Ministry of Munitions for girls under eighteen indicated the high level reached in boys' and girls' wages. For girls under sixteen they were roughly equivalent to the minimums fixed by the trade boards for adult women, and were somewhat higher for girls between sixteen and eighteen. Following the increases of August, 1917, the standard weekly time rate on "men's work" was 19s. 6d. ($4.68) for girls under sixteen, 21s. 6d. ($5.16) for girls of sixteen, and 23s. 6d. ($6.64) for those of seventeen. On piece work thirty per cent for girls under sixteen, twenty per cent at sixteen, and ten per cent at seventeen was deducted from the rates of adult women. On work "not recognized. as men's work," rates varied from 4j^d. hourly (9 cents) f»r girls of seventeen to about 2j/^d. (5 cents) for those under fifteen. Hours Along with the relaxation of hour limitations on women's work, the similar restrictions on "protected persons" under eighteen were modified. The result of the relaxation of stan- dards was described by the Health of Munition Workers Com- mittee : The weekly hours have frequently been extended to 67, and in some instances even longer hours have been worked. The daily hours of employment have been extended to 14, and occasionally even to 15 hours; night work has been 1 The Labour Woman, August, 1916, p. 44. 154 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR common; Sunday work has also been allowed, though lat- terly it has been largely discontinued.^ Working hours for boys under eighteen were given more spe- cifically in an "inquiry into the health of male munition workers," made for the committee between February and August, 1916. The investigation followed the same lines as its companion study on the health of female workers, including an examination of over 1,500 boys under eighteen and their working conditions. It was found that "large numbers of boys," many of them just over fourteen, were "working a net average of sixty-eight and one- half hours per week." In some cases 'boys under fourteen had a forty-eight-hour week, "but in others boys of eighteen were found to be working an average of over eighty hours per week and it was ascertained that they had worked ninety and even a hundred hours per week."^ It is not surprising that the investi- gator concluded that "hours tend to be too long for the proper preservation of health and efficiency." In most cases the Home Office had allowed Sunday work only under rather strict conditions. "The Home Office, as a rule, only authorizes Sunday work on condition that each boy or girl employed on Sunday shall be given a day in the same week, or as part of a system of 8-hour shifts in which provision is made for weekly or fortnightly periods of rest. Apart from this, per- mission for boys over 16 to be employed periodically on Sunday was on July 1 last [1916] only allowed in seven cases, and in three cases for boys under 16. In only one instance are boys employed every Sunday, but this is limited to boys over 16 and the total weekly hours are only about 56. In only one case are girls employed periodically on Sunday, and there the concession IS confined to giris over 16."' The employment of girls under 16^t night had been permitted only "in one or two cases " Ibid., Interim Report, 1917, p. 103. ' ' *'• • 3 Ibid., Memorandum No. is, "Juvenile Employment," p. 5. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 155 . . . through exceptional circumstances." In March, 1916, it was stated that the cases were "under review with the object of arranging for the discontinuance of such employment at the earUest possible moment." The recommendations of the committee called for a consider- able improvement in these standards. "The hours prescribed by the factory act [sixty] are to be regarded as the maximum ordinarily justifiable, and even exceed materially what many ex- perienced employers regard as the longest period for which boys and girls can usefully be employed from the point of view of either health or output." Nevertheless, "In view of the extent to which boys are employed to assist adult male workers and of limitation of supply, the committee, though with great hesita- tion, recommend that boys should be allowed to be employed on overtime up to the maximum suggested for men, but every efifort should be made not to work boys under 16 more than sixty hours per week. Where overtime is allowed substantial relief should be insisted upon at the week-ends, and should be so arranged as to permit of some outdoor recreation on Saturday afternoon." But for girls "similar difficulties did not often arise," and the committee advised weekly hours of sixty or less and ibrought forward the claims of the eight-hour, three-shift system. Under the exceptional circumstances existing, the committee believed that overtime might be continued on not more than three days a week for both boys and girls, provided the specified weekly total of hours was not exceeded. The absolute discontinuance of Sunday work was strongly advised. "The arguments in favor of a weekly period of rest apply with special force in the case of boys and girls; they are less fitted to resist the strain of unrelieved toil, and are more quickly afifected by monotony of work. ... It is greatly to be hoped that all Sunday work will shortly be con> pletely stopped." In regard to night work, an earlier report of the committee,^ "T57eat Britain Ministry of Munitions Health of Munition Workers Com- mittee, Memorandum No. 5, "Hours of Work, pp. 7-8. 156 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR published in January, 1916, held that girls under eighteen should not be employed on a night shift "unless the need is urgent and the supply of women workers is insufficient. In such cases the employment should be restricted to girls over 16 years of age, carefully selected for the work." But for boys, "It does not seem practical to suggest any change of system, but the committee hope that care will be taken to watch the effect of night work on indi- vidual boys and to limit it as far as possible to those over 16." In the subsequent memorandum on "Juvenile Employment," the committee "remained of the opinion that girls under eighteen and boys under sixteen should only be employed at night if other labor can not be obtained. Wherever possible it should be stopped." The interdepartmental committee on nours of labor, organized late in 1915, which based its action on the recommendations of the Health of Munition Workers Committee, was instrumental in securing improved regulations for protected persons in muni- tion factories as well as for women. The general order of Sep- tember 9, 1916, made special arrangements for boys and girls over and under sixteen, respectively. Sunday work was abolished for each of these classes of workers. The maximum working week for girls was to be sixty hours, as before the war. But girls between sixteen and eighteen, like adult women, might work overtime on three days a week, provided the weekly maximum was not exceeded. Boys over sixteen were permitted to work as much as sixty-five hours a week, on three days a week as long as twelve hours and a quarter, and twelve hours on other week days. Under this scheme work on Saturday must stop not later than 2 p.m. In "cases where the work was of a specially urgent character," the twelve-hour day and sixty-five-hour week, but not the overtime, might be worked by boys of fourteen." The undr°e°gteln: '^^ '''''°" °^ """ ^'"'"' °"^''' regulating hours for boys Scheme D. (Overtime for Boys.) This scheme applies to male young persons of 16 years of ase and over provided that the superintending inspector of factorie^ shall hafe power in cases where the work is of a specially urgent character to lT.-tlT,H S.T^ Lu cation of the scheme to male yo'ung p'ersoL beSeenl" lnd^6 years of '£ WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 157 committee had already forbidden the employment of girls under sixteen at night. The prohibition was extended by the general order to boys under fourteen and girls under eighteen, and boys under sixteen were allowed to do night work only in "urgent cases." Long as these hours seem according to American stan- dards, they undoubtedly represented a considerable reduction from the hours worked by many munition plants during the early months of the war. Safety, I^ealth, and Comfort The action of the Ministry of Munitions looking to the better- ment of working conditions for women and girl munition work- ers, and the "welfare" movement which followed in other indus- trial occupations were described in the section on women workers. The Ministry of Munitions urged the extension of "welfare supervision," on which it laid much stress, to boys as well as to women and girls. Such action was among the recommenda- tions of the Health of Munition Workers Committee: In the past the need for the welfare supervision of boys has not been so widely reeognized as in the case of women and girls; present conditions have, however, served to call atten- tion to its urgency and it is receiving the attention of an increasing number of employers. Boys fresh from the dis- cipline of a well-ordered school need help and friendly supervision in the unfamiliar turmoil of their new sur- Such young persons may be employed overtime on week days other than Saturday subject to the following conditions: (1) The total hours worked per week (exclusive of mtervals for meals) '''(2)"ThrdaUy S'riod of employment (including overtime and intervals for "^^'^\a) Shall not commence earlier than 6 a.m. or end later than 10 p.m. Cb") Shall not exceed 14 hours. ^. , j • ^u- Provided that where overtime is worked on not more than 3 days in the week Se period of employment may in the case of boys of 16 years of age '"fsHntervals to' meals amounting to not less than I/3 hours shall be "'(55 SrS^iyKV=ri"?.°SSA«AS »<> no' '«" *» 2 P-m. 158 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR foundings. They are not men and can not be treated as such. On the other hand, high wages and the absence of the father have frequently tended to relax home control. Long hours of work prevent attendance at clubs; healthy and organized recreation is seldom available. As might be anticipated under these circumstances, complaint is often made of boys leaving their work after a few days or play- ing truant; this may be the result of slackness and discon- tent, or the cause may be found in fatigue, sickness, or per- haps home troubles. If smooth working is to be secured, the real causes of such discontent and trouble must be as- certained and appreciated. Experience, however, shows that the problems involved are outside and distinct from those of ordinary factory discipline, and they are likely to remain unsolved unless someone is specially deputed for the pur- pose.^ The Ministry's instructions to the "investigating officers," who visited munition plants for the labor regulation department, also drew attention to the need for "welfare supervision" of boys. "Since it is recognized on all hands that there is a danger of deterioration in the working boy between the ages of 14 and 18, it is of urgent national importance that the boy should be brought under careful supervision during these critical years of his life." The duties of such a supervisor as outlined in this and other official circulars, were similar to those of the "welfare workers" for women and girls, with perhaps more emphasis on training and advancement. A "welfare supervisor of boys" or "boy visitor" should attend to their hiring, discipline, and dismissal, and should watch their progress and recommend for promotion, arrange opportunities for recreation, technical education, and saving, and take charge of the health arrangements. A number of such officials were appointed, notably in national factories, but owing to the fact that most of the suitable candidates were in military service, welfare supervision for boys was much less widely developed than that for girls and women. •\P''^^,*r^"^^'"i^'"'fr''y °^ Munitions, Health of Munition Workers Com- mittee. Memorandum No. 13, "Juvenile Employment," p. 6. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 159 Effects of War Work on Boys and Girls War work seems to have had sotne most unfortunate effects on both the health and the character of a considerable number of boys and girls. The high wages for unskilled work, absence of fathers in the army and of mothers in munitions work, excessive hours of labor and greater pressure of work, interruption of club and other recreational and educational provisions, the darkened streets and the general excitement of war time were among the principal factors blamed for the change. "Had we set out with the deliberate intention of manufacturing juvenile delinquents, could we have done so in any more certain way ?" said Mr. Cecil Leeson, secretary of the Howard Association. Complaints of the waste of abnormally high wages by boys and girls became sa serious that even certain labor organizations, which are generally opposed to such plans, advocated attention to schemes of com- pulsory saving or deferred payment.^ But no plans of the sort • seem actually to have been put into effect. A vivid summary of the situation was made in March, 1917, in the Final Report of the Departmental Committee on Juvenile Education with Special Reference to Employment after the War, which gave a depressing picture of the effect of the war on work- ing boys and girls. Upon this educational and industrial chaos has come the war to aggravate conditions that could hardly be made graver, and to emphasize a problem that needed no em- phasis. Many children have been withdrawn at an even earlier age than usual from day schools, and the attendances at those evening schools which have not been closed show a lamentable shrinkage. We are not prepared to say that much of the work which is now being done by juveniles in munition factories and elsewhere is in itself inferior to the work which most of them would have been doing in nor- mal times, but there can be no doubt that many of the ten- dencies adversely affecting the development of character and efificiency have incidentally been accentuated. . . . Parental control, so far as it formerly existed, has been 1 The Labour Woman, July, 1916, p. 34. 160 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR relaxed, largely through the absence of fathers of families from their homes. Wages have been exceptionally high, and although this has led to an improved standard of living, it has also, in ill-regulated households, induced habits of foolish and mischievous extravagance. Even the ordinary discipline of the workshop has in varying degrees given way; while the withdrawal of influences making for the social improvement of boys and girls has in many districts been followed by noticeable deterioration in behavior and morality. Gambling has increased. Excessive hours of strenuous labor have overtaxed the powers of young people; while many have taken advantage of the extraordinary de- mand for juvenile labor to change even more rapidly than usual from one blind alley employment to another. Among, boy and girl munition workers evidences of a break- down in health were perhaps not general, but in a good many cases children working at night or long hours were found to show signs of exhaustion. In the 1915 report of the chief inspector of factories the principal lady inspector stated : Miss Constance Smith has been much impressed by the marked difference in outward effect produced by night em- ployment on adult and adolescent workers. "Ver}' young girls show almost immediately, in my experience, symptoms of lassitude, exhaustion and impaired vitality under the in- fluence of employment at night." A very strong similar impression was made on me by the appearance of large numbers of young boys who had been working at muni- tions for a long time on alternate day and night shifts. The special investigator of the "health of male munition workers" noted that 51 per cent of the 900 boys in one large factory complained of sleepiness and weariness on the night shift. "It is contrary to the laws of nature for young children — for such many of these are — to be able to turn night into day without feeling an effect. ... On the night shifts, boys do not toler- ate well long hours. It has to be borne in mind that the average age of the boys examined would certainly not exceed 15 years, and it makes one consider very seriously the future of the rising / generation." WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 161 The same inquiry brought out the unfavorable effects of long daily hours of work on young boys. While among all the 1,500 boys examined "no very gross degree of ill-health was prevalent," 10.6 per cent of those working more than 60 hours weekly, and only (i.7 per cent of those working less than 60 hours, were not in "good" physical condition. "This difference is a serious one." In the heavy trades "the effect upon the boys was commencing to show itself. Many though little more than fourteen were work- ing twelve-hour shifts and doing heavy work. The boys in these shops manipulate heavy pieces of steel at a temperature of 900° F. They struck me as being considerably overworked; they looked dull and spiritless, and conversation with them gave the impression that they were languid. In fact, all the boys in this . group were working far too hard." The investigator contrasted with the poor condition of many boy munition workers the "healthy and intelligent appearance" of the boys in one factory where comparatively short hours, no night work, and free Saturday afternoons and Sundays gave them time for outdoor play. "On the other hand, many of the boys I examined at other factories are showing definite signs of the wear and tear to which they- are subjected. Pale, anemic, dull, and expressionless, their conditions would excite great com- miseration. Conditions outside the factory contribute their share and if the war is to continue for a long time and these boys re- main subject to conditions such as described, the effect upon their general health will be difficult to remedy." As with women, long periods spent in transit, insufficient sleep,, and overcrowded homes, in addition to excessive hours of factory work, often affected the health of working boys and girls. "While engaged for twelve hours per day in the factory," it was said of boy munition makers, "they spend in a large number of cases from two and one-half to four hours traveling to and from their homes. . . . These hours, added to the working hours, leave very little time for meals at home, recreation, or sleep."^ Many 1 Great Britain Ministry of Munitions, Health of Munition Workers Com- mittee, Interim Report, p. 103. 162 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR boys and girls failed to get enough sleep because of "the tempta- tions of the cinema and the amusements of the street." In many cases, even when wages were high, the Health of Munition Workers Committee found that three persons occupied a single bed, and four or five shared a room. The following cases were given as typical. A boy of fourteen, earning about 19s. weekly ($4.56), slept in the same bed with two young men, while two young girls occupied another bed in the same room. A boy of sixteen, with wages averaging 22s. a week ($5.28), shared a bed with another boy, while another boy and girl slept in the same room. The deterioration in character among working boys was appar- ently even more marked than the decline in health. According to Mr. Leeson juvenile delinquency was 34 per cent greater dur- ing the three months ending February, 1916, than for a similar period in the previous year. In Manchester, the increase was 56 per cent; in Edinburgh it was 46 per cent. The delinquency of boys twelve and thirteen, the ages for which most of the school exemptions were issued, had increased in greater proportion than that of any other age group. Position of Working Boys and Girls after the War Almost the only hopeful feature of the effect of the war on working children is a changed point of view regarding their future needs. At the armual convention of the National Teachers' Union, in April, 1917, the president said in his address: "This great war, with its terrible wastage of human life and material, has brought into bold relief the economic potentialities of the child. As never before, the nation now realizes that efficient men and women are the best permanent capital the State possesses. Hence greatei- national concern is in evidence for the care and upbringing of the child." In the case of working children, it is recognized that many of them should be taken out of the 'labor market altogether, that their opportunities for education should be improved, and that their first years of work should be better supervised. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 163 The official proposals, which were strikingly like those for- mulated by several groups of workers' organizations, were put forward in March, 1917, in the Final Report, previously cited, of the Departmental Committee on Juvenile Education in Relation to Employment after the War. Their purpose, according to the committee, was to replace "the conception of the juvenile as pri- marily a little wage earner ... by the conception of the juvenile as primarily the workman and the citizen in training" and to make "the educational purpose the dominating one, with- out as within the school doors, during those formative years be- tween twelve and eighteen." Measures recommended toward that end were the establishment of a juvenile advisory committee in connection with every employment exchange, a uniform school leaving age of fourteen, with all exemptions abolished, the amend- ment of the factory acts to correspond, and day continuation classes, eight hours weekly and forty weeks a year for all work- ing children between fourteen and eighteen years old, the time for which was to come out of their working hours. A bill embodying these recommendations was introduced in the House of Commons during the summer of 1917, by the presi- dent of the Board of Education, Mr. Herbert Fisher. Beside provision for compulsory continuation school and for full-time schooling up to the age of fourteen, without exemptions, the measure included a number of other improvements over existing standards. Children might leave school only twice a year, at the end of the term in which fell their fourteenth birthday. Local authorities might raise the compulsory school age to fifteen, in that case allowing children to be excused for cause during the additional year. All gainful employment by children under twelve was forbidden. Children between twelve and fourteen might work on school days only between the close of school and 8 p.m., and on other days between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. The bill passed' its first reading in the House of Commons in August, 1917, but was postponed in the autumn for action at the follow- ing session. If the measure is enacted into law the final effect of the war on English child labor standards will be to lift them to a higher level than had been attained at any previous period. CHAPTER XIV Effects of War Work on Women At this time, when the World War shows few signs of draw- ing to a close, it is of course impossible to write with assurance of the effects of war work on the woman workers themselves. It will not be until two or three years after the struggle is over, when the strain and excitement are past, that many women will feel the full physical effects of their war time efforts. And the new independence and interest in impersonal issues which seems to have arisen among many factory workers may not survive the stress of the necessary post-war industrial readjustments. All that can be done is to suggest a few striking points already notice- able in connection with the effects of war work on the health, home life, and personality of working women. Health of Women War Workers Definite investigations of the health of women workers were mainly confined to the munitions industry and were made by the Health of Munition Workers Committee. The general conclu- sion of the committee that by the latter months of 1915 the health of the munition makers, both men and women, had been injured through overwork, has been much quoted in the United States : Taking the country as a whole, the committee are bound to record their impression that the munition workers in general have been allowed to reach a state of reduced effi- ciency and lowered health which might have been avoided without reduction of output by attention to the details of daily and weekly rests. The committee's statements about female workers alone were of similar tenor : WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 165 The committee are satisfied that there is a significant amount of physical disability among women in factories which calls both for prevention and treatment ... the lifting and carrying of heavy weights and all sudden, vio- lent, or physically unsuitable movements in the operation of machines should, as far as practicable, be avoided. . . . Prolonged standing should be restricted to work from which it is inseparable. Conditions of work are accepted without question and without complaint which, immediately detrimental to out- put, would, if continued, be ultimately disastrous to health. It is for the nation to safeguard the devotion of its workers by its foresight and watchfulness lest irreparable harm, be done body and mind both in this generation and the next. The committee desire to state that, in their opinion, if the present long hours, the lack of helpful and sympathetic oversight, the inability to obtain good, wholesome food, and the great difficulties of traveling are allowed to continue it will be impracticable to secure or maintain for an ex- tended period the high maximum output of which women are undoubtedly capable.^ The conclusions of the factory inspectors in 1915 as to the health of women munition makers and the results of later inves- tigation under the auspices of the committee reiterate similar though perhaps slightly more favorable conclusions. "Reports of inspectors from all parts of the country" did not show that, as yet, the strain of long hours had caused "any serious breakdown among the workers," though there were "indications of fatigue of a less serious kind." "Individual workers confess to feehng tired and to becoming 'stale' ; there are complaints of bad time- keeping, and there is a general tendency towards a reduction of hours."' Between January and July, 1916, a study of the health of 1,326 women chosen at random from eleven munition factories was made for the Health of Munition Workers Committee. The 1 Great Britain Ministry of Munitions, Health of Munition Workers Com- mittee, Memorandum No. 4, "Employment of Women, pp. 3, lU. 2 Great Britain Home Office, Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories and Workshops for 1915, PP- 9-10. 166 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR inquiry included an investigation of home and working condi- tions and a physical examination. Of the women examined, 57.5 per cent were classed as "healthy," 34 per cent as "showing slight fatigue," and only 8.5 per cent as "showing marked fa- tigue." These findings were regarded as more satisfactory than had been anticipated. "Most of the inspectors had expected to discover far more fatigue directly attributable to the conditions of work, and were agreeably surprised at the general physical condition of the workers." Moreover, it was believed that subse- quent to the investigation the dangers to health were reduced by many improvements in working conditions. On the other hand, it was noted that "those who felt fatigue most may have left the factories, and so failed to come under review." Among a com- paratively small group of workers, 134 in number, increased evi- dences of ill health were found among those who had been at work more than six months. Moreover, many women who are able to keep up as long as the excitement of war work lasts, may feel the strain when the war is over and they relax. It will not be until several years aftei; the end of the war that the health results of munitions work can be fully measured. Other factors likely to be injurious to health included the fre- quent twelve-hour shifts and the premium bonus system of pay- ment. There were numerous complaints of the strain of twelve- hour shifts, which usually entailed ten and a half hours of actual work. Particularly in the case of married women with children the strain of these hours appeared to be excessive. It has been noted that the system is increasing rather than decreasing. The factory inspectors stated in 1915 that especially at night the twelve-hour shift "for any length of time for women is undoubtedly trying, and permissible only for war emergencies, with careful make-weights in the way of good food and welfare arrangements."' The last hours of the twelve-hour night shift were often found to yield but little additional output. Such a judgment is not surprising when the nature of the work '^^uf *A"*f'".,^°'"'^ ^^T.' ^'^°''* °f '^^ C-;it>/ Inspector of Factories and Workshops for 1915, p. 14. j i- r i^j 1 ut.oiic WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 167 frequently done by women munition makers is considered. To be sure, such work as filling shells with explosive mixtures was easy and semi-automatic; but other tasks, for example, examin- ing and gauging, although light, took much attention and exacti- tude; and some work, such as turning shells, was comparatively heavy. In lifting shells in and out of the lathe women were obliged to stretch over the machine, which involved a consider- able strain on the arms with the heavier shells. For shells over 40-50 pounds, special lifting apparatus was supposed to be pro- vided, or a male laborer used to lift the shell, but women, in their haste to proceed, sometimes failed to wait for help. A number of compensation cases have arisen in which women were seri- ously injured by heavy lifting. Obviously, ten and a half hours of the heavier work might be a serious strain. Moreover, long train journeys were frequently necessary, adding two or three hours to the time spent away from home. Out of seventy-five women whose working hours began at 6 a.m. and ended at 8 p.m., none had time for more than about seven and a half hours' sleep, and many of them less than seven hours. Only nine- teen of these women were over twenty years of age. The premium bonus systems of payment, which have become more and more common, provide increased rates for increased output. In some cases such systems were said to have proved "a strong temptation to injurious over-exertion." One ex- ample was that of a woman who had "won a 'shift' bonus by turning out 132 shells (nose-profiling) in one shift where the normal output was 100 shells, and had had, as a result, to remain in bed on the following day. When it was pointed out to her later that she had acted foolishly, her reply was that she knew,, but she 'wasn't going to be beat.' "^ As counteracting influences to these strains, several factors were brought forward. Improved pay, and the more nourishing food, better clothing, and living conditions which it often enabled women workers to secure were most frequently mentioned. "The 1 British Association for the Advancement of Science, Labour, Finance. and the War, p. 117. 168 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR dietary was in most cases more ample and suitable than the work- ers had been used to previously," said the investigators for the Health of Munition Workers Committee. It has been observed that many well paid women gave up the supposedly feminine habit of living on bread and tea for substantial meals of meat and vegetables. The British Association for the Advancement of Science noted a higher "physical and mental tone" due to the better standards permitted by higher wages. The health of low- paid workers frequently improved after entering munitions work.' The improvements, in factory sanitation encouraged by the Min- istry of Munitions were likewise helpful in decreasing the risks to health, and the patriotic spirit of the women also received men- tion as a partial preventive of fatigue. "The excitement of doing 'war work' and making munitions added a zest and interest to the work which tended to lessen the fatigue experienced," said the physicians who investigated the health of women munition workers for the Health of Munition Workers Committee. Effects of Night Work It is generally believed that the wisdom of forbidding night work by women has been clearly demonstrated by experience during the war. Women, especially married women, did not stand night work as well as men. The British Association for the Advancement of Science said, in April, 1916: It would be well if the experience of those industries in which night work has become a temporary necessity could be made widely known. The adverse effects on output, not to mention the lowering of the health of the workers, should be a sufficient safeguard against any attempt permanently to remove the factory act restriction.^ The earlier investigations of the Health of Munition Workers Committee also confirmed the dangers of night work for women. Inone factory visited at night fatigue was found to prevent many ^Labour, Finance, and the War, p 129 2 Ibid., p. 84. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 169 of the women from getting a meal at the rest period. In another "several women were lying, during the meal hour, beside their piles of heaped-up work, while others, later, were asleep beside their machines."^ The night work in munition factories had once more empha- sized, said the committee, the "half-forgotten facts" about its injurious effects on women. "In a working class home the diffi- culty in obtaining rest by day is great; quiet can not be easily secured ; and the mother of a family can not sleep while the claims of children and home are pressing upon her; the younger un- married women are tempted to take the daylight hours for amuse- ment or shopping; moreover, sleep is often interrupted in order that the mad-day meal may be shared."^ It must be acknowledged, however, that in its later interim report the committee was somewhat less unfavorable to night work by women. While it was found that continuous night work reduced output, a group of women on alternate weeks of day and night work lost less time than when on continuous day work. The committee did not, to be sure, consider night work desirable, but inevitable during the war emergency as long as production must be increased to its highest point. Because they were espe- cially likely to do housework during the day and to get very little sleep, the physicians who examined women munition workers believed night work to be "too heavy a burden for the average married women." Aside from munitions work, the principal evidence as to health conditions concerned women who were replacing men on outdoor work. Observers generally expressed surprise at the improve- ment in health and appetite which took place, even when the work was heavy. Fresh air, better wages, and better food were believed to account for the gains in health. Some of the women who be- came railway porters found the work too heavy, however, and 1 Great Britain Ministry of Munitions, Health of Munition Workers Com- mittee, Memorandum No. 4, "Employment of Women," p. 4. 170 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR the nervous strain often proved excessive for women tram- drivers. Summing up the necessarily slight evidence, it may be said that three years of war work has hardly caused any serioiis general breakdown in health among women workers, though some ill effects were noted in a considerable number of cases. The unde- sirability of night work for women was confirmed. Higher wages seemed to be one of the most important factors in offsetting the evils of overwork. But in spite of better wages and working conditions and some reduction of the abnormal hours frequent in the early months of the war, 'many women, especially in muni- tions, seem to have worked under a severe strain. This will make the provision of a first grade factory environment increasingly important, if the women are not to suffer when the excitement of war service is over. Increased maternity welfare provisions will also be acutely needed when the young girls who have gone through the strenuous days of war service become mothers. Yet if "proper care and foresight are exercised," in the judgment of the physicians who examined women munition workers, "there seems no reason why women and girls, suitably selected and supervised and working under appropriate conditions, should not take their place in munition factories and carry out many opera- tions hitherto considered fit only for men without permanent detriment to their future health."^ Effects of War Work on Home Life Unfortunately it seems probable that conditions of work in the munition centers have been such as to have a disintegrating effect on home life. Long^ working hours, frequent long train trips in addition to those hours, overcrowded houses, the increased em- ployment of married women and of women at a distance from their homes have all contributed to this result. Two quotations, one from official, the other from labor } Great Britain Ministry of Munitions, Health of Munition Workers Com- mittee, Intenm Report, p. 119. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 171 sources, illustrate the way in which home life was too often disrupted by munitions work. According to the first : While the urgent necessity for women's work remains, and while the mother's time and the time of the elder girls is largely given to the making of munitions, the home and the younger children must inevitably suffer. Where home conditions are bad, as they frequently are, where a long working day is aggravated by long hours of traveling and where, in addition, housing accommodation is inadequate, family life is defaced beyond recognition. . . . Often far from offering a rest from the fatigue of the day, the home conditions offer but fresh aggravation. A day begun at 4 or even 3:30 a.m., for work at 6 a.m., followed by 14 hours in the factory and another 2 or 2J/2 hours on the journey back, may end at 10 or 10:30 p.m., in a home or lodging where the prevailing degree of overcrowding pre- cludes all possibility of comfortable rest. In such condi- tions of confusion, pressure and overcrowding, home can have no existence.^ Since January, 1916, attention to the "welfare" of women workers outside the factory by the Ministry of Munitions no doubt often improved the conditions. But early in 1917 a com- mittee of women labor leaders still felt that home life had in many cases been disorganized. '&'■ The result of war conditions has naturally been very marked in its effects on the health and well-being of the women and children at home. The demand for the work of women . . . has been such that a large number of married women have been pressed into industrial employ- ment. This means, on the one hand, a certain neglect of the duty of keeping their homes, and on the other an extra and heavy burden on their strength in order to fulfil, how- ever inadequately, some part of these necessary duties. The children, as well as the women, have suffered from these results.^ ^ Great Britain Ministry of Munitions, Health of Munition Workers Com- mittee, Memorandum No. 4, "Employment of Women," p. 5. 2 Committee of Industrial Women's Organizations, The Position of Women After the War, p. 9. 172 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR To be sure, in the first months of the war the increase in family income had often meant better food, but even this advantage was disappearing with the rapid rise in prices. Development of Personality in Women War Workers Nevertheless, surprising as it may seem in view of the harm which war work appears often to have done to home life and sometimes to health, the development of the woman industrial worker under it may prove to be one of the most important changes wrought by the conflict. An interesting article in The New Statesman^ suggested that "three years of war have been enough to effect an amazing trans- formation," in the average factory woman, especially in the muni- tion centers. They had gained an independence and an interest in impersonal affairs seldom found before the war. "They appear more alert, more critical of the conditions under which they work, more ready to make a stand against injustice than their pre-war selves or their prototypes. They seem to have wider interests and more corporate feeling. They have a keener appetite for experience and pleasure and a tendency quite new to their class to protest against wrongs even before they become intolerable." It is "not that an entire class has been reborn, but that the average factory woman is less helpless, and that the class is evolving its own leaders." The writer ascribed the change in the main to a wider choice of employments, occasional gains in real wages, praise of the women's value in war service, and their discontent with the operation of the munitions acts and other government measures : Again, the brains of the girl worker have been sharpened by the discontent of her family. She is living in an atmos- phere of discontent with almost all established things. There is discontent because of the high prices of milk and meat, because of the scarcity of potatoes, sugar, butter or mar- garine, because of the indigestible quality of the war bread, 1 June 23, 1917, p. 27l. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 173 ■because of the increased railway fares and the big profits of many employers and contractors. There is discontent with the discipline of the army, with the humiliating position of brothers and husbands and sweethearts who are privates, with the inadequacy of army pensions and the delay in giv- ing them. There is rage against the munitions act, against munitions tribunals and mihtary tribunals. Every member of the family has his or her grievance. The father perhaps is a skilled engineer and is afraid that he is being robbed of the value of his skill by the process of dilution. The eldest son is in the army, and perhaps sends home tales of petty tyrannies, and minor, avoidable irritations. Another son. with incurable physical defects, is forced into the Army and falls dangerously ill. One daughter goes to another town to work in a munitions factory, can not get a leaving certifi- cate, and barely earns enough to pay for board and lodg- ing. Thus the women of the family are being brought more than ever before into contact with questions of principles and rights. Questions of government administration are forced upon their notice. And in the factory the very men who used to tell them that trade unionism was no concern of theirs are urging them to organize for the protection of men workers as well as of themselves. . . . The woman worker who was formerly forbidden by her menfolk to interest herself in public questions is now assured by poli- ticians, journalists, and the men who work at her side that her labor is one of the most vital elements in the national scheme of defence, and that after the war it is going to be one of the most formidable problems of reconstruction. Flatter}' and discontent have always been the soundest school- masters. The factory woman was a case of arrested develop- ment, and the war has given her a brief opportunity which she is using to come into line with men of her own class. Though naturally more guarded in expression, the factory in- spectors' report for 1916 reflected a very similar opinion. The change was noted principally among women substitutes for men. There, especially in heavy work, "the acquisition of men's rates of pay has had a peculiarly enheartening and stimulating efifect." On the northeast coast in particular, where pre-war opportunities for women had been limited and their wages very 174 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR low, their replacement of men in shipbuilding, munitions, chemi- cals, and iron works had "revolutionized" the position of the woman worker. "The national gain appears to me to be overwhelming," it was stated further, "as against all risks of loss or disturbance, in the new self-confidence engendered in women by the very considerable proportion of cases where they are efificiently doing men's work at men's rates of pay. If this new valuation can be reflected on to their own special and often highly skilled and nationally indis- pensable occupations a renaissance may there be effected of far greater significance even than the immediate widening of women's opportunities, great as that is. Undervaluation there in the past has been the bane of efficiency, and has meant a heavy loss to the nation."^ Already the nation's appreciation of the value of women's war work is reflected in the passage of a measure of woman suffrage through the House of Commons. The old traditions of what women workers can do are broken down, a fact which may have a marked effect on the vocational and technical education of girls in future. But the working women seem likely to have need of all their new bom confidence and their new weapon of the vote — which, incidentally, is not to be given to the younger women — to hold their gains without injuring the position of working men in the industrial readjustment which will follow the war. It is estimated that the cessation of war demands will throw half the working population of the United Kingdom out of work, besides which, several millions of soldiers must be restored to civil em^ ployment. It is likely that working women will suffer in these changes even more severely than working men. Probably a larger proportion of the women are in war industries, and many who are taking men's places both in war work and the more staple lines hold their positions under agreements which limit their employ- ment strictly to the duration of the war. Even though many women will return to their homes or marry at the end of the \^u^^\^l'^f'"^^°"'^.^^''%' ?^^'"'' "f '^^ C^'<'f Inspector of Factories and Workshops for igi6, pp. 6, 7. j t j WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 175 war, and though the losses in military service will make places for not a few of the increased number of women of the present generation who must jremain single and support themselves per- manently, yet a serious problem remains. The government is, to be sure, taking steps in the matter, and has appointed a "Ministry of Reconstruction" to work out plans for meeting the situation. Nearly all the munition workers will be covered by unemployment insurance for some time after the war. Methods of demobilizing the army and of releasing munition workers so as to cause as little industrial disturb- ance as possible are being worked out, and the employment ex- change system is to be expanded to help in the process. Schemes for public work, for cottage building, and for land settlement on a large scale are being developed, which will assist women work- ers indirectly by reducing the competition for jobs in lines they can undertake. The official view is that the problem will be in great part solved by the revival of the luxury trades and domes- tic service and the return of the women who came from these occupations. But such readjustments take time and at best many women are likely to look for work in vain during the period of dislo- cation. On this account, if the policy of exclusion from "men's work" and from men's unions is kept up, even though the men regain their places for a time, the unemployed women will form dangerous competitors, whose needs may drive them to undercut the men's wage rates. A solution of the difficulty has been put forward by those interested in an after-war "reconstruction" which aims not simply to tide over industry from a war to a peace basis, but also to utilize the period of transition to put the labor problem on a permanently better basis. These persons advocate the opening to women of all suitable occupations, access to the appropriate labor organizations and the payment of the women on a scale which would not tempt employers to hire them merely because they were cheaper than men. Owing to differences m strength, permanency, and organization of processes for men and for 176 ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE WAR women, such a wage scale might not in every case mean equal rates for the two sexes. The Ministry of Reconstruction brought out a plan, in the summer of 1917, for "joint standing indus- trial councils" representing employers and employes to consider working conditions, wages, and industrial methods for each occupation and workshop. The government has endorsed the idea, and is pressing it on the organized trades. Through such industrial councils and through an extension of minimum wage boards in the sweated, unorganized trades, it is believed that the problem of keeping the new opportunities open for women with- out undermining the men's standards might be solved. Conditions which have created the evils of over-strain, exces- sive hours, and damage to home life will end with the war. In higher wages, better working conditions, more varied and in>- teresting occupations, and most important of all a broader and more confident outlook on life, there is promise of permanent gains. Thus, if the transition period after the war is safely passed, it appears that on the whole the war will have placed English working women on a new and higher plane. APPENDICES Appendix A The following table, from a "Report to the Board of Trade on the State of Employment in the United Kingdom," of February, 1915, compares the number of males and females on full time, on overtime, on short time, and unemployed, between September, 1914, and Feb- ruary, 1915. STATE OF EMPLOYMENT IN SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER AND DECEMBER, 1914, AND FEBRUARY, 1915 (Numbers Employed in July = 100 per cent.) Full time Overtime Short time Contraction in Nos. employed Enlisted Net displacement ( — ) or replace- ment ( + ) September, 1914 M 60.2 3,913,000 3.6 234,000 26.0 1,690,000 10.2 663,000 8.8 572,000 —1.4 —91,000 F . 53.5 1,337,500 2.1 52,500 36.0 900,000 8.4 210,000 —8.4 —210,000 October, 1914 M 66.8 4,342,000 5.2 338,000 17.3 1,124,500 10.7 695,000 10.6 689,000 —0.1 —6,500 F 61.9 1,547,500 5.9 147,500 26.0 650,000 6.2 . 155,000 —6.2 -155,000 December, 1914 M 65.8 4,277,000 12.8 832,000 10.5 682,500 10.9 708,500 13.3 864,500 +2.4 + 156.000 F 66.6 1,665,000 10.8 270,000 19.4 485,000 3.2 80,000 —3.2 —80,000 February, 1915 M 68.4 4,446,000 13.8 897,000 6.0 390,000 11.8 767,000 15.4 1,010,000 +3.6 +243,000 F 75.0 1,875,000 10.9 272,500 12.6 315,000 1.5 37,500 —1.5 —37,500 Appendix B The following table indicates some of the processes formerly reserved for men on which the factory inspectors found women employed by the end of 1915: INDUSTRY PROCESSES Linoleum Attending cork grinding and embossing ma- machines, machine printing, attendmg stove, trimming and packing. Woodworking — , , , j t, • Brush making Fibre dressers, brush makers and on bormg machinery. Furniture Light upholstery, cramping, dowelling, glueing, fret-work, carving by hand or machine, staining and polishing. Saw mills On planing, moulding, sand-papering, boring, mortising, dovetailing, tenoning, turning and nailing machines. Taking off froni circular saws; box, making, printing and painting. Cooperage Barrel making machines. Paper mills In rag grinding and attending to beating and breaking machines, and to coating rnachines, calenders and in certain preparations and finishing and warehouse processes. Printing Machine feeding (on platen machines and on guillotines) and as linotype operators. Wire rope On stranding and spinning machines. Chemical works Attending at crystallising tanks and for yard work. Soap As soap millers and in general work. Paint At roller rnills, filling tins and kegs, labeling and packing. Oil and cake mills Trucking, feeding and drawing oflf from chutes, attending to presses. Flour mills Trucking. Bread and biscuits Attending to dough-breaks, biscuit machines, and at the ovens assisting bakers. Tobacco Leaf cutting, cigarette making, soldering, truck- ing and warehouse work. Rubber At washing rnachines, grinding mills, dough rolls, solutioning, motor tube making. Maltmg Spreading and general work. Breweries Cask gashing, tun-room work, beer bottling and bottle washing. Distilleries , J n the mill and yeast houses. Cement Attending weighing machines, trucking Foundries ..■ Core making, moulding. Tanning and currying At the pits, in finishing and drying and in \Ar^^i»n ^iitc r, °'''"^' ^^"i"^ "P- ^^f^^S and staining. Woolen mills Beaming and overlooking, attending drying machines, cardiAg, pattern Veaving. WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 181 INDUSTRY PROCESSES Jute mills On softening machines, dressing yarn, calen- dering. Cotton mills In blowing room on spinning mules, beaming, twisting and drawing, and in warehouse. Hosiery Folding and warehouse work. Lace Threading. Print, bleach and dye works Beetling, assisting printers at machines, ware- house processes. Appendix C The following tables from the second report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science bring out in detail, first, the gradual dis- appearance of unemployment and short time and the increase of women's numbers in industry from September, 1914, to April, 1916; second, the changes in numbers of women in the various occupations, both mdustnal and non- industrial in December, 1915, and April, 1916, compared with July, 1914, and, third, similar details as to the number of women who were undertaking "men's work." STATE OF EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AT VARIOUS DATES SINCE THE OUT- BREAK OF WAR, COMPARED WITH STATE OF EMPLOYMENT IN JULY, 1914 ("Industrial" employment only. Numbers employed July, 1914 = 100 per cent.) Sept., 1914 Contraction ( — ) or expan- sion (-f") i^ numbers employed — 8.4 Employed on overtime 2.1 Employed on short time ... . 36.0 Oct., 1914 —6.2 5.9 26.0 Dec, 1914 —3.2 10.8 19.4 Feb., 1915 —1.5 10.9 12.6 Oct., 1915 + 7.4 13.9 5.6 Dec, 1915 +9.2 14.5 6.1 Feb., 1916 April, 1916 -1-10.9 +13.2 12.8 4.6 EXTENSION OF THE EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN DECEMBER, AND APRIL, 1916 Occupations Group Building Mines and Quarries Metal Trades Chemical Trades Textile Trades 'Qothing Trades Food Trades Paper and Printing Trades Wood Trades Other Trades All "Industrial" Occupations Commercial Professional Banking and Finance Public Entertainments Agriculture Transport Civil Service Arsenals, Dockyards, etc Local Government (incl. Teachers) . . . Domestic Service Totals for "Non-industrial" Occupations Totals for all Occupations Estimated Industrial Population. July, 1914, Females 7,000 9,000 144,000 40,000 851,000 654,000 170,000 169,000 39,000 96,000 2,180,000 474,500 68,500 9,500 172,000 9,500 63,000 2,000 184,000 983,000 3,163,000 Increase (+) or Decrease ( — ) of Females in Dec, 1915 -t- 3,600 + 800 + 71,700 + 19,400 -I- 29,700 + 6,700 + 31,700 -f-' ' 7,466 + 25,400 + 196,500 + April, 1916 6,400 2,300 126,900 33,600 27,800 11,700 30,900 900 13,200 + + 35,700 +287,500 + 181,000 + 13,000 + 23,000 + 14,000 -i-' 16,666 + 29,000 + 13,000 + 21,000 -f-310,000 +597,500 WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN GREAT BRITAIN 183 EXTENT OF SUBSTITUTION OF FEMALE FOR MALE WORKERS IN DECEM- BER, 1915, AND APRIL, 1916. Occupations Group Building Mines and Quarries Metal Trades Chemical Trades Textile Trades Qothing Trades Food Trades Paper and Printing Trades Wood Trades Other Trades All "Industrial" Occupations Commercial Professional Banking and Finance -. Public Entertainment '. , . Agriculture Transport Civil Service Arsenals, DockyardSj etc Local Government (incl. 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