Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-28
URGE WOMAES TRAINING
NATIONAL COMMITTEE ADvo-
GATES NEW METHODS.
Remedy Is offered to Counterfeit
Evil Of Home Deterioration
Feared by Women.

Vital causes of the deterioration of the
American home are discussed in bulletin
No. of the National Society for the Pro-
motion of Industrial Education, Just fresh
from the press, which deals with indus
trial education for women 1t was pre-
pared as the result of a searching: inves-
tigation by the society's subcommittee on
industrial education for women, the mem
bers of which are: Mary Morton hehew.
chairman. president Women's Educational
and Industrial Union. Boston; Jane Ad-
dams. Hull House. Chicago; Sarah Lou
Use Arnold. dean of Simmons College, Bos-
ton; Emily Greene Balch, professor of
political economy. Wellesley College; So
phoniaba P. Breckenridge, Chicago Uni
versity; Susan H. kingsbury. assistant
professor history. Simmons College; Flor
ence NJ. Marshall, director Boston Trade
School for Girls. and Mary Schenck Wool
man, director Manhattan Trade School for
Girls.
The committee reports:
.Coincident with the feeling that the
Industrial welfare of the country is
threatened. If men and women are not
trained for the positions of trust and re-
sponsibility demanded of them in the on
ward march of industry, Is a. similar feel
ing that the American home. the institu-
ton whose development is due primarily
to the efforts of woman. Is rapidly de-
teriorating. and it's possible downfall is
looked upon with dismay, because by It
the unity of society is attacked at its
most vital point.
To Maintain Home Standard.
1T is but natural to trace these situa-
tions to one and the same cause. Former
~ both men and women knew how to do
things. and necessity was not only the
mother of invention, but it was the mo-
tive which made development possible. In
the changed conditions which have come
with the rapid growth of industry the
wants of the great mass of individuals
are supplied without any knowledge of
how things are produced Not only is
production concentrated in large factories
located in or near the great centers, but
special lines of production are limited to
definite parts of the country, so that an
appreciation of the variety of product and
process can be found in but few homes
Those nearest the centers are often most
ignorant of factory processes, while even
In the remote parts of the country the
larger part of home production has been
abolished. If industrial progress is to go
on and the standard of the home is to be
maintained, the lack of opportunity for
the understanding of industrial methods
must be supplied, and women as well as
men must be trained in the processes of
production. Whether they are to reduce
or to direct production, as they are con-
stantly doing through the demands which
they are making as consumers, they must
have knowledge of industry. They must
know both how things are done and how
to do things.
1.-THE richness of development which
came to the womans life when she was
q producer when she spun the flax and
wove the household linen. when she
for the family table, when she made
the candles and soap, and the numerous
articles necessary to the running of the
house, Is no longer possible for her under
home was then science and an art; it
gave the woman an enviable place in the
development of modern life and industry.
To Train Women.
"The problem for the training of wom-
en- Is complicated in great variety of
ways. The complexity of modern life
opens so many avenues for training that
the selection of what Is most vital Is not
easily determined. If home training is es-
sential for every woman. is 1t not also
essential that she be trained in some spe-
cial occupation, that she may be useful
in another sphere. if she does not marry?
who are obliged to work for pay outside
the home. either before or after mar
riage? Will not training for efficiency in
any line of industry make for better wom-
en- and better homes?
'The evolution of woman In industry is
briefly this: "a Her training has al
ways been primarily industrial: co When
the home was the center of industry she
was both a producer and a consumer; ca
Trained in the processes of production
she became an intelligent consumer; O.
The center of industry has changed so
far as production is concerned from the
home to the factory, while the home still
remains the center of consumption; 60
If woman Is still to be the intelligent con-
sumner she must have opportunity to I'M
derstand the ever changing processes Of
production.
I'm the United States census for 1900 we
find that out of more than %, 000. 900 wom-
en- over sixteen years of age in the United
States about 5000. 900 are employed in
gainful occupations. and a comparison of
these figures with those given by the CEN
sus Of 1890 shows that the number Of