New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-12-05
Suffragists and Other Liberals Say
Opening AL ProfessioDstoW Women
Would Create Trained Reserve--
Fight Attempts to Tie Them
to Home Drudgery

institutions, sanitary and factory inspectors,
etc. Many work in the poor law and the in
spection of children. They do social state
service. For the rest, of course, il would be
very useful to make all those standing apar,
now, wasting their time and leading an idle
life do something. If compulsion is absolutely
needed, therefore, let US have il, with the
necessary restrictions, but far more believe
in the power of example and education, in
the whole spirit of our age and think that
the female drones of society will be overcome
by the natural progress of women.
Considering the advantage social nstitu-
tons might have by the compulsory social
soldiers 1 am very skeptical l think the
great number of social students focking into
our hospitals and asylums, our institutions
for the blind and defective, our homes for
mothers, babies and children, our orphanages
and kindergartens, etc. would prove more Of
curse than blessing.
Social work needs people who stick TO il,
becoming in the course of years thoroughly
informed with their special branch of work
and the people they work for. The fewer
changes the better heap of students
dropping in for short periods in order to learn
a little of everything. would be the most
serious impeachment to really good social
work.
AGE IS A BENEFIT.
Besides the military service of man demands
physical strength, therefore the period OF
full grown youth has been fixed in all coun-
tries Social service of women needs expert
- ChlTaC-
ters A great number of our women would
be most available, and fit at a later age, when
their own children are grown up and need
them less
We all passionatey wish that we shall be
spared by war for all future, but the wishing
and hoping of women has, alas, not pre-
vented European war which, before 1914,
we all believed an impossible event SO we
must face the question to woman's place
in case OF future wars. / do not see that
millions Of women trained for social work
could be Of any great use to the country. II
there is still certain lack of fl workers
now, it can b, avoided without any compul-
sion for the future, and | do not doubt that
Germany the country of superior organizs-
ton, would be able to have sufficient women
helpers by simply registering in peace time
the women offering their services voluntarily
for war. This time nothing was prepared
There is no obstacle to keeping exact lists
for the future, so that every willing
TO serve will know where her post is
The greatest and most important task Of
women in is very different one-it IS
10 keep up the whole national life in spite
of millions of men wanting. We have ex-
perienced this time that industry and agri-
culture traffic and commerce, school and
national health could not have been kept up
without the work of women; they have now
willingly been admitted to professions eagerly
kept from them before, as for instance the
teaching in boys schools. In most branches
of work women have been able to FIJI the
gaps, and this Is all the more surprising as
they have taken up many things they have
never been trained for. OF course they
would have done far better had they been pre-
pared.
Yet, this war ought to teach US, that
country is all the more sure to keep up its
strength during war, if it has not only pro-
vided for the military training Of its men, but
also for the professional training OF its
women. We feminists think that opening all
professions to women and giving them
chance everywhere would create reserve OF
workers in all professions sufficient to keep
everything going smoothly even in war.
Moreover we believe that a question so seri-
ously concerning all women Of the nation
cannot possibly be decided by men alone and
that before making any new laws Of that
kind we certainly ought to have woman
suffrage.