The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-09-19

the war has destroyed hundreds of thousands of men. Up to date the great states engaged in the war have lost at least 6,000,000 in casualties. Most of the casualties, probably more than 4,- 000000, are wounds, and of the wounded d large proportion recover. The latest German report gives the figures of recovery as 90 per cent. The propor ton of dead is high in this war, and it Is increasing. In past wars seven men were wounded to every one killed; the present war began with about five to one; and it is now about three to one. The war develops more and more into trench fighting with high explos- i've shells; and that means a further increase of the ratio of killed. There is a high death rate among prisoners. Of the wounded, large proportion have lost partly of wholly their abil- ity to earn their living. They are blinded by shell gas; they have lost fingers, arms or legs; they are perma- rently weakened. or they suffer from traurnatic nerosis. As the war goes on, the number of killed, wounded, and incapacitated rises. If the war lasts three years, Europe will have lost for good at least 10.000,000 male workers; all men at the most productive ages,
 John Stuart Mill says that even in peace time in the struggle. for suprem-
 
 ulightly superior number of woman gives her an advantage. Great will be the advantage with 10.000,000 less men in Europe. The first effect will be to force a large increase in the number of women who provide for themselves and for dependents, The state will not provide adequately for the cripples, or for the families of the killed. The military pensions of Europe are never high enough to support life. and with millions of dead and crippled, finan- cial obstacles will make 1t impossible for the state to support The first re- suit of peace will be a vast rush of unprovided women into the 1abof market.
 Will Be Wanted
 These women will be wanted. The mar ket will absorb them; and probably it will call for more. Immediately after peace. there will be tremendous activity in all industrial and engineering works. Railroads, battered towns and Actresses must be repaired: the great reserves of manufactured goods which have been run ming short during the war must be res stored. The work to be done to put the belligerent states Into their old trim will be incalculable. And the labor will be short, for it is likely that the first re- suit of the war will be a vast increase of armies and navies The males set free
 
 towards all the heavier works. towards railroad building, fortress building, house building. If the work Is carried on at high tension all the male labor will hardly suffice. This is woman's chance Women must be taken on. and they must be admitted into many occupations from which they were excluded before the war Men will no longer object. It Is prob- able that women will get into some of the professions which were overcrowded be- fore the war, but will not be overcrowded after it. If few women break their way into new spheres of activity. the rest will follow. "Tt is highly likely" says Frau Goeben, that soon after peace is signed women will gain freedom to engaged in all occupations. This will not be because men will have grown more liberal than they were before. It will be because they will not be able to get along without woman's aid because 1t will need all the work of both sexes to replace the economic waste; to make Flu rope look as it looked a year ago; and to supply the world with it's normal re- serves of goods
 Already as a result of war man has been forced to admit women into many spheres of economic life from which he formerly excluded her. The belligerent states depend for their existence upon the collaboration of women; they invite | and even threaten to compel women to collaborate. Before the war. almost all munitions of war were made by men, l Today in all the warning states. even in England, where only a small proportion