Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-01-05
ny r. MARY GOODMAN,
Special Correspondence of The Star.


IN the day when King George
went down to the houses of
~ parliament to give his historic
message to the British empire
on the ending of the war six thousand
munition women came up from the
Woolwich arsenal to march under a
banner bearing the words, "shall peace
bring us Starvation"
Ihey had made no appointment to see
responsible minister; they did not
know that professions are Illegal in the
nelghborhood of Westminster while par
lament is sitting, but they had heard
That the $4,000 women working AT Wool
wren We're TO. be discharged i'm the near
future, ana they wanted to know what
was TO become OF them. Some had al
ready lost their employment since the
a!'hiStice was signed, some of those still
as WORK found that with the cutting off
OF overtime they were not earning
enough to pay for their lodgings They
.eiiethpereti, and they reminded us, that
' ,n.,i VOTE TX had saved the armies which
won the long deferred final victory.
X
Precedent and red tape were set
aside; the women were told to wait un-
OF the house of lords was over, and
theh twelve shop stewards, introduced
by Miss Mary Macarthur of the Ma
tionai Federation of Women Workers.
had an interview of two hours with the
minister of munitions They We're or
ganized and Miss Macarthur was tho
secret Ssecnetaty OF their union. Many OF
,nehl We're voters and Miss Macarthur
Is candidate for parliament So he
cause they were citizens. because they
mad done a citizens and a PATRIOTS
work and because they knew how to
bie I claim, which all admitted they
mao their way and got their interview
ms incident is an indication of what
WIZ happen to the women who are now
IN INDUSTRY when the problems of demo-
nIilHauoh are being solved. On paper
their position is bad enough. No prn,n
Uses have been made which affect more
tllah a small proportion of woman work
us Iney are SparSely represented in
the trades unions with which the gov
etlitienl mas made bargains and which
are now debating the manner in which
theSe government pledges shall be kent
a large number OF them have no or
gahizations of their own, and besides
d dns r,,'' th or so employed on war in
uustftes thefe are many thousands who
must lose their jobs when the bore
come back from the front
before the war the average, wornep,s
wage was 81 65 weekly: today that su,n
- 1s, worth less than half what it was in
LA III VIII buy a very little more
MAN dollars worth of goods No
Wohaer that questions are asked bout
ne future OF women in industry. Rut
tne women are, as the soldier saws
not downhearted." Is this hera,ssa
thsv are reckless or because they
KNOW that things are better than
they look? 'i'"
MISS Margaret Bondfield. one of the
nrt,a,,i brltlsh woman trade union
organizers, found time to talk fn ma
ABOUT 1t little. First she told abo,,t
the procession; the "starvationr hanS
her was hanging outside her room at
the Women's Trade Union I.eapue
MISS Bondheld has worked for the
league FOR twenty years and is now
MEMBER or the parliamentary COM
nnittee OF the trades union Congress-
ohe is woman who not only knows
%hat IS likely to happen, but can
no Eood. Deal to make it happen.
Ihough she Is one of the labor narty.s
recognized candidates for parIian,ant
she is not trying her luck now nra,
iefrlng to help Miss Macarthur in
her candidature IA
Miss Bondfeld said the munitton
"omen's procession had been a great
success. Their protest had induced
the government to announce without
further delay the day on which dis
charged workers should begin tn
ara" their IS a week unemployment
donations. These are payable from