The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1945-02-09

cultural work. In interesting won-
en- in such work, the bureau cooper
ated with other government agen-
cies concerned, and in addition for
mulated and helped put into prac-
tice standards for women's employ
ment on farms.
Today, women are being utilized
in three broad categories of jobs:
I. Those that women have always
done, now multiplied by the de-
mands of war.
2. Those where they have been
used as substitutes for men, either
as requirements or in expanding in-
dustries.
3. Those that are new processes
never performed by either sex
(some Of these are the result Of SUBJ
division Of skilled operations to ia
cilitate mass production, while 9TH
ers are the result of manufacture
Of new kinds Of equipment).
Though men are still found in most
Of the top and highly skilled indus
trial jobs, women to an increasing
degree are doing the more skilled,
difficult and disagreeable jobs, as
well as certain dangerous and some
times inappropriate types of work.
During World War I the question
was: Would women remain as work.
ers when the war ended? Many
people thought this question would
be answered by the return Of women
to their homes or their old occupa-
tons. This time the question is:
How may we best organize and car
ry out the shift from wartime to
peacetime employment?
Three Million will Quit.
The Women's Bureau believes that
at least 8 million women will vol
UNFAIRLY withdraw from the labor
market-young girls will go back to
school; older women at retirement
age or past, will retire; many of the
3,710,000 housewives who joined the
labor force for the duration only,
will be glad to take over full time
homemaking duties. This will leave
a force of about IS million women
workers for the immediate postwar
period.
Miss Frieda S. Miller, who became
Director of the Women's Bureau on
August II, 1914, believes the shift to
peacetime jobs is manageable
thing, If we are both forehanded
and farsighted as to planning. She
believes this planning must begin at
local levels, and provide for advi-
sorry counsels for all groups, and
facilities for training and retraining
of war workers for peacetime en-
ployment.
After the last war, the Assistant
Secretary Of War, acting as the Di-
rector of Munitions at that time,
paid this tribute to women.
"F0r the successful carrying out
Of our program for the production
Of vast quantities Of explosives and
propellants, as well as shell loading,
the women of America must be Civ
en- credit on account Of the highly
important part they took In this
phase Of helping to win the war.
Fully so per cent Of the number Of
employees i'm our explosive plants
were women, who braved the dam
gers connected with this line Of
work, to which they had been, Of
course, entirely unaccustomed, but
whose perils were not unknown to
them"
Miss Miller believes that women's
contribution has been much more
extensive in World War II. In the
postwar world, she says, ''Let US
dovetail the skills and experiences
Of men and women workers so as to
produce all the varied and numer-
Gus goods and services needed for a
well-balanced economy and we'll
rounded living for all our people,"
With the war still far from being
won, women of America give every
indication Of surprising all previous
goals In war production.