The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-09-19
be in position to compete with men | on equal terms.

be in position to compete with men
 on equal terms.
 With this economic success of women
 will go social and political successes.
 Woman as worker will get bigger share
 in labor administration. In Germany the
 workman has a share in labor insurance
 He helps to guide the insurance com
 mittees. Woman, once she plays dom
 inant role in labor, must gain member
 ship to these boards. The factory wom-
 en will become democratic; they will prob-
 ably lean towards socialism, and they
 will aim at emancipating themselves from
 state from male. and from capitalistic
 tutelage. skilled female working class
 must follow on the lines of the male work
 ing class. Such a class will in no way
 resemble the tame children, church and
 kitchen women of today. Women In in
 dustry have hitherto had no success in
 organization. They have been too few
 and the industries they follow are. in
 most cases, not essential either to the
 state or to the community. When women
 in vast numbers throng the important in-
 dustries. their agitation for social eco-
 homie and political rights will be as ef- fective as the agitation of men. The agitation will aim at higher wages and
 at political rights. Armed with all the weapons which have hitherto been in the hands of men only. 1t will march to success.
 Equality for women, perhaps domi-
 nance by women. will be brought still nearer by the enormous moral gains
 which women will gain from the war Men are discredited. Whatever views he
 held of the causes of the war and of it's conduct, 1t cannot be held to have shown the male civilian populations ia
 good light In the opinion of impartial
 men, that Is, mainly of men in neutral
 states the diplomacy. politics and lit- erature and Journalism of all the bellig- erents have badly lost in reputation Tho soldiers have mostly shown themselves to be decent men. The civilians have shown all possible weaknesses ferocity credulity, intemperance. belicose para noia, and a total lack of sense for the real problems of war and policy. This degradation of man is woman's sharpest weapon. Superior man will no longer be able to point to woman's unfitness to handle great national problems. He proves his own unf1tness day by day and woman will In future have sharp retort. She will say that after centries of striving for better things the saying of the Swed. ish chancellor, Oxenstjierna, about the foolish way in which the world Is gov. erned (by mem rema ins true. She will point to the diplomatic blunders of states men. the ridiculous miscalculations O. ones own and the enemy's strength the insane daily absurdities of the military experts, the universal waste, muddlins end self delusion. She will say that woman at her worst never made such a mu6dle of her affairs as man makes of his. She will be able to quote Frau Goeben: If woman managed her sphere, the home, as insanely as man manages his sphere of politics. the world would return to chaos In a week. In the chaos and anarchy of Europe today only one thing stands firm. That Is woman in the home. Women have succeeded in their sphere; men have failed in theirs. D Woman in Europe has now the great chance in her history. She has a chance to establish herself in economic independ- ence; to force an entry into politics. to introduce some saving principle into the European civilization which has so la mentally collapsed. Will she rise to the occasion? Will she avoid the pitfalls into which man has fallen? Will she repeat the history of man. producing a new an- archy. backed by both sexes and doubly worse than the old? Will she bring into Europe new sense. moderation idealism: and will she see to it that this war is the last war? Tn Europe's peace move
 men. women SO far have been the only sirgle pacifists; with men, pacifism is a doctrine for use during peace to be throw away the momnt war begins. Will women use her coming dominance to make sure that no wars shall be?