Omaha daily bee., 1916-04-23

vVYHAT is going TO be done about the excess Of Eng
w lish women after the warY
Alseady before the war the excess amounted TO
some 100000, and was increasing steadily. We have
already 10000 men dead from the flower OF the nation
and about 10000 permanently disabled and fear be-
fore all s over that we must face the loss Of nearly
million and half of British breadwinners and potential
fathers.
What is going to be the result after the warf
There are two principal effects that have to be
sidered The future generation and work II is almost
impossible to consider these questions separately for in
these days they are absolutely nterdependent and yet
all conditions will have changed so much after the war
that we must examine the factors in each question
before coming to the joint future.
What is going to happenf
Some three million men are going to return, after
months Of openair life in condition Of physical fitness
which they did not know possible; with an outlook
broadened to an incredible extent with minds that have
been toned and tuned by constantly facing death
Is the clerk going back to toll with bent shoulders on
an office stool for pittance, after perhaps, leading
platoon or company in the fedf Is the sergeant going
back to be an agricultural laborerf the lieutenant or
company sergeantmajor domestic servant2 the vic
torous soldier to the factory or minef
Some trades and professions, Of course, they will go
back to- but the conditions Of all forms Of work will
have to be materially changed although there going
to be thousands who will seek different form Of en-
ployment with more responsibility and more freedom.
And women in the meanwhile are working. They
have found that there is practically form Of
earning that they cannot do, and do satisfactorily Will
those who have just made this discovery go willingly to
rearing children in cramped and cherries quarters
Some may but most will not.
Yet the wastage Of lives must and will be replaced
and the enormous increase Of trade after the war
must be seen to- Women will undoubtedly in enormously
increasing numbers continue to be wageearnersi men
and women must earn higher wages have higher
standard Of living and enjoyment and yet chdbearng
must increase and infant mortality must decrease,
How is il to be donei How are women to rear chill.
dren feed children husband and themselves and yet
keep their jobs in factory and office,
The answer seems to be of necessity one word-co.
operation The cooperative dining room, the coopera'
tive nursery Think what difference TO the bulk Of the
popuaiion just these two things would make The clean,
wholesome food In light clean bright rooms prepared
by trained cooks instead Of badly cooked badly served
scraps in dingy kitchen, And then the saving Of ex
penss In the buying Of large quantities instead Of In
ha porhs In the fuel In the preparation aud in the pro
duriye force Of the workers properly fed instead Of
rtaryed or Nodgsd.
Then the children what h viii mean 20 the rate Of
infant mortality 10 have the babies hyecncally looked
alter aud ted is inealeulahle aud hat 3 enormous
gain n thp country whom pause to think that more
hahs dir every year thau the total % our ksd Ia the
MAR ~ date.
Add te iaese cooperative hundries and sou have
broken ths hs - domestic work and " o. u snFe "a
game ln tue Wg haye proper dwellings ID towns for
working pg9pa not ms dirty gloomy enemeni of FOR
meF days hl bright clean tasteful Han with bot
water anl heating from central furnace and electric
light, wheh hp operative plan could easily b. RUN
Al prise u saii m0dern wages and domestic dFudEery
would be practically done away with
You have hs foundation here ~ clean wholesome,