Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-02-19
ITALIAN WOMEN
DISCUSS PROBLEMS
At CONVENTION

The National Convention of Won-
en-, which met recently in Rome, Italy,
took up many of the questions con-
corning women in industry, which are
interesting such committees in Ameri-
ca at the present time. The Novem-
Der issue of the "Bolletino dell .Uf-
flclo del ~14avora" gives the following
report OF the three days conventions:
THE subjects treated were the fol-
lowing: Inquiry into paternity; abol-
itlon of married authorization and
the right to practice all the liberal
professions and to enter upon all pub
lie Offices; participation in religious
works; woman suffrage: inquiry in
the field Of social legislation in favor
of working On the latter
question the following order of the
day was approved as a first step.
The congress recognizing the fact
that almost wherever woman has
been called upon to take the place of
man in industries, she has accepted
a lower rate of compensation and
that she has thereby injured her dig
nifty as a human being n has neg
lected her duty of solidarity towards
her companion in labor, lowering the
value of mans work and creating a
state of unemployment; recognizing
that "sweating'' the woman is fur
thermore an injustice to herself and
a social injury because the made
Quate compensation does not allow
her to recover lost energy to the detri-
ment of the future mother; recogniz-
ing that for the reasons mentioned
above such questions are less femin-
ist than they are clearly humanitari-
an, the members of the congress
pledged it to an active propaganda
to ecure for women equal salary or
equal compensation for equal work.
Furthermore. it vas brought out
that in recent tests the women have
proved themselves superior to the
men in certain special fields Of labor,
a fact that must be taken into con
sideration also for industrial condi-
women to cooperate in formulating
labor laws was insisted upon.
Next the necessity was pointed
out for creating women inspectors
and inspectorships Immediately ven
for other than war industries. EN-
phasis was laid on the unhappy state
Of domestic servants and it was ex-
plicitly requested that it should be UNI
derstood that they also should be in
women" The congress further took
into consideration the harm done in
families by the removal of the wom-
an. and the necessity on the part Of
the state to solve the problem Of
! working at home and to try to decide
the recompense they could offer to the
women-to her advantage or her re-
turn.
Elm recognition Of the participation
of women in the consulting bodies of
the state the vote was approved that
'in h composition OF the royal COM
missins for the study of conditions az
ter the war. an equal share be grant
ed to women"
"In regard to the establishment of
school loans the following order of
the day was approved: While we
regret the lack of foresight in the la
boring classes it would be advisable
to establish, with the idea of making
obligatory. the institution Of school
loans at least for those pupils whom
the teachers meet frequently. and so
to inculcate in the children the idea
of thrift and Of saving, which If prac-
ticed on a small scale in youth grows
later into a habit already formed
when utilized in adult life"