The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-21
ENGLISH WOMEN IN
 WAR TIMES ARE NOT
 ALL IN THE HOMES
There Are Now 3,219,OOO Employed in the National Interest Helping Win
 the Great Conflict

London, December 1.-(Cprrespondence Of the Associated Press)-The saying that woman's place is in the home has little application in war time. There are now in the British isles 3219,O00 women em- ployed outside their own homes. It is generally recognized that their rally to work Tin the national interest" is going to make it difficult for Parliament to re- fuse the demand for suffrage which will be renewed when hostilities end.
 During the first two years of war the increase Of women workers, exclusive of
 purely feminine occupations, was S66 GOO.
 Of these 766,O0O directly left their homes to release that number of men for mili- tary service. In most instances the wom- en went into the munition plants, where considerable number of them have given up their lives in "doing their bit" There seems to be no limit to the class of work women can do. At first 1t seemed strange to see girl conductors on the huses girl window cleaners, van drivers and messengers. But as the war pro- gressed the field broadened and now even in building, mining and quarrying scores of women are employed. The metal trades also have claimed their share of the new industrial army. It must be un- derstood that this Is an army in skirts.
 AS & matter of fact, skirts are worn for the most part only in those occupations which bring women in touch with the
 public In most of the factories and shops, the breweries and the railway yards, jumpers and regulation overalls are the approved costume. The bus and tram conductors, or 'conductresses," are jaunty in their neat blue tunics and skirts reach just below the knees-low enough to overlap close fitting black
 leather puttees. There Is seldom a glimpse of stocking. The bus companies issued an order recently that no silk hos iery should be worn.
 It is stated that probably 100, GOO of the women war workers have been re- cruited from those formerly engaged in purely feminine occupations-domestics dressmakers, milliners, etc The servant problem is becoming more and more acute, for the demand for munition work CTS is increasing day by day, and the wages offered are far beyond the dreams of avarice to majority of the English donestics.
 The number of women employed in rafl- way work has increased more than 200 per cent Ordinarily the only railway posts open to women were clerkships and carriage cleaning tasks. Now there are women ticket collectors. porters, engine cleaners and workshop laborers. In Glas- gow and some other cities women are be- ing tried out as tram drivers or motor women.
 Interesting statistics regarding woman's part in war work have been collected by the employment bureau of the Board of Trade. The number of women recruited to industrial occupations between July, 1914, and July, 1916, was 362,0O0. Of this number, 2G3,000 directly replaced men. In commercial occupations the increase in the number of women workers was 1sS,- 0C0 while the number of women re- placing men in this class was POI, ,0O0 This apparent discrepancy is accounted for by the transfer of women from the femin- inc side to the male side of the establish