The Modern Woman's Rights Movement Part 4

English Federation of Women's Clubs.

Woman's Suffrage League.

"England is the storm center of our movement," declared the President of the International Woman's Suffrage Alliance in the Amsterdam Congress.

This was the conviction of the Congress, which therefore resolved to hold the next International Woman's Suffrage Congress in London (in April, 1909). The fact is undisputed that the English suffragettes--whether one favors or opposes their actions--have made Great Britain the center of the modern woman's rights movement. England is a European country, an old country with rigid traditions, which, nevertheless, are the freest political traditions that we have in Europe to-day. For fifty years the English women have struggled for the right to vote. In spite of the fact that their country has neither Salic Law nor continental militarism (two of the greatest obstacles to all woman's rights movements), the English women have not as yet attained their ends. This is an indication of the tenacity of the prejudices against women in the countries of older civilizations.

The opposition offered to the political emanc.i.p.ation of women in England is all the more remarkable since the English women were able to exercise the right to vote on an equality with men in national elections till 1832, and in munic.i.p.al elections till 1835.[32] To that time we find the same conditions prevailing in England as prevailed in the nine American commonwealths previous to 1783. This parity of circ.u.mstances is explained by the English principle of representation: _no taxation without representation_. In 1832 and 1835, however, the English women, who as taxpayers were qualified to vote, had the right to vote in national and munic.i.p.al affairs taken from them; for the word "persons" the expression "_male_ persons" was subst.i.tuted in the election law. When this disfranchis.e.m.e.nt took place none of those concerned cried out against it.

For two hundred years the women had made no use worth mentioning of the right to vote. But a part of the women, especially those of the liberal and cultured circles, saw the significance of this retrograde step.

The political struggles of general concern during the following period (such as the antislavery movement and the anticorn-law movement) furnished these women an opportunity to educate themselves in political affairs, and, like the American women of that time, they in many cases learned their political ABC by means of the same questions. Such men as Cobden, Pease, Biggs, Knight, and others were the advance guard of the political women in England. The earliest pamphlet on women's suffrage preserved to us appeared in 1847. It is a small leaflet and says among other things, "As long as both s.e.xes and all parties are not given a just representation, good government is impossible" (which is a paraphrase of the American principle--every just government derives its powers from the consent of the governed). The contrary view had been stated in the _Encyclopaedia Britannica_ as early as 1842 by the father of John Stuart Mill: "It is self-evident that all persons whose interests are identical with those of a different cla.s.s are excluded from political representation without injury." Certainly from such an arrangement the "representatives"

will suffer no injury. That select group of intellectual women who trained themselves politically during the antislavery movement and the struggle for free trade consisted of the mothers, the sisters, and daughters of liberal politicians and academically trained men. Many of these women were themselves students and teachers. No antagonism ever existed in England between the woman's suffrage movement and the movement favoring the education of woman.

Such were the conditions in 1866. A new election law was to be introduced in Parliament; a new cla.s.s of men was to be granted the right of suffrage by the lowering of the property qualification. The women decided to present a pet.i.tion to the House of Commons requesting the right to vote in national elections. The women had decided to act thus publicly because of the presence of John Stuart Mill in the House of Commons, and because of an utterance of Disraeli's, "In a country in which a woman can be ruler, peer, church trustee, owner of estates, and guardian of the poor, I do not see in the name of what principle the right to vote can be withheld from her." Four pet.i.tions (one signed by 1499 women, one by 1605 taxpaying women, and two more signed by 3559 and 3000 men and women) were sent to the House of Commons; and on May 20, 1867, John Stuart Mill, after he had presented the pet.i.tions, moved that the right to vote be given to the qualified women taxpayers. His motion was rejected by a vote of 196 to 73.

Thereupon there were formed for systematic propaganda, woman's suffrage societies in London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, and Bristol; these cities are still the center of the movement. The new election law gave women a further advantage--the expression _male_ person was replaced with the generic word "man."[33] Since an Act of Parliament (13 and 14 Vict., c. 21) declares that in all laws the masculine expression also includes the feminine, _unless the contrary is expressly stated_, the friends of woman's suffrage believed they could interpret this expression in favor of women. The attempt to do this was now made. A number of qualified women demanded that they be registered with the voters; they were determined to have recourse to the law if the government commission refused to register their votes. At this time the first public meeting of women in England was held in the famous "Free Trade Hall" in Manchester. But the courts and the Supreme Court interpreted the law _against_ the women,--"they are disqualified neither intellectually nor morally, but _legally_." Then a methodical propaganda by means of public meetings was begun; the first victory was won as early as 1869,--the women taxpayers were given the right to vote in munic.i.p.al affairs in England, Scotland, and Wales.

Between 1870 and 1884, the political organization of the women was strengthened; the women of the aristocracy (Lady Amberly, Lady Anne Gore-Langton, and others) were won over to the cause of woman's suffrage.

A "Central Committee for Woman's Suffrage" was formed, and a number of excellent women speakers (Biggs, Maclaren, Becker, Fawcett, Craigen, Kingsley, Tod, and others) spoke throughout the country. A further success was achieved when the Parliament of the Isle of Man[34] (House of Keys) gave qualified women the right to vote.

In 1884, the property qualification was again reduced through a new election law; the friends of woman's suffrage took advantage of this opportunity to present a motion in Parliament favoring woman's suffrage, in support of which the following statements were made: "Two million men, many of whom are ignorant and uneducated, and possess only a small plot of ground, are to be given political rights. On what principle is the same right withheld from 300,000 women who are educated and who are landowners?" This motion was lost also. In 1885 the English women, in order to make their influence felt in political affairs, formed the "Primrose League," which supported the Conservative candidates in the election campaigns; and in 1887 was formed the "Women's Liberal Federation," which supported the Liberals in a similar manner. The next attempt to secure woman's suffrage was made in 1897, but it was unsuccessful. During the Boer War woman's suffrage receded into the background, and not until March 14, 1904, was a woman's suffrage bill again introduced; this bill did not become law. At that time the woman's suffrage movement was lifeless, and in a thoroughly hopeless condition.

All the usual means of propaganda had been exhausted,--meetings, pet.i.tions, and personal work during campaigns made no impressions either on the members of Parliament, the government, or on public opinion. It was no longer possible to educe arguments _against_ the right of _qualified_ women to vote (it was not a question of universal suffrage, but, just as in the case of the men, it was a matter of granting the franchise to women holding property in their own name and earning their own living).

Governments, however, wish to be _coerced_ into granting the franchise, and the representatives of the woman's suffrage movement were not determined enough to exercise the necessary coercion. Therefore, the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies transferred the leaders.h.i.+p of the movement to the National Women's Social and Political Union, whose members are known by the name of suffragettes. This transference of leaders.h.i.+p took place during the autumn of 1905.

The suffragettes then adopted militant tactics, making the government their point of attack. This was a good stroke, for since 1905 England has had a Liberal Cabinet, and several of the ministers and over 400 of the 600 members of the House of Commons have declared themselves as friends of woman's suffrage. "Then why don't you grant us our political freedom?"

asked the suffragettes.

The women are heads of families, they pay rent and taxes, just as the men.

All their conditions of livelihood are as dependent upon the laws as are those of the men. A _liberal_ government and _liberal_ members of Parliament ought to be liberal towards women and grant them the suffrage.

Many of these ministers and many members of Parliament owe their political careers, their election, and their influence to the practical campaign activities of women or to the woman's suffrage movement, which they supported in order to enlarge their political influence. They have made use of the woman's suffrage movement and now wish to do nothing in return.

The fate of all woman's suffrage bills introduced since 1870 (13 in number) proves that it is hopeless to have such bills introduced by private members. _Women must turn their hopes to a bill introduced by the government._ The present Liberal government needs only to treat the matter seriously; then a woman's suffrage bill will be pa.s.sed.

But the government has not treated the matter seriously; hence the suffragettes have declared war. It is their determination to fight every ministry which is not kindly disposed toward the suffrage movement.

The struggle is carried on by the following means: organization of societies; meetings throughout the country; street parades and open air meetings (especially significant are those of June 13 and 21, 1908); the employment of first-cla.s.s speakers, who make concise, clear, ingenious, and stirring speeches; the raising of large sums of money (20,000 pounds, _i.e._ $100,000 annually; there is a reserve fund of 50,000 pounds, _i.e._ $250,000); the publication of a well-managed periodical, _Votes for Women_.[35]

The leaders are Mrs. and Miss Pankhurst, Mrs. Drummond, Annie Kenney, Mr.

and Mrs. Pethick Lawrence. These and the most determined of their a.s.sociates undertake to send deputations to the Liberal Prime Minister, Mr. Asquith, and to ask the question in all public meetings in which members of the Cabinet speak,--when will you give women the right to vote?

The deputations go to Parliament _because women, as taxpayers, have the right to speak to the Prime Minister_, who continually receives deputations of men. Since the Prime Minister does not wish to grant women the right to vote, the deputations of women are prevented from entering the Houses of Parliament by strong squads of police, both mounted and on foot; and if the women do not desist from their attempt to make known to the Prime Minister the resolutions of their meeting, they are arrested for the disturbance of the peace, the interruption of traffic, or the instigation of tumult and riot; they are arraigned in the _police court_ and are sentenced to imprisonment in the ordinary prisons. The Liberal government stubbornly refuses to regard these women as political offenders and to punish them as such.

The woman's suffrage advocates, who ask the Cabinet members questions in public meetings, direct their questions to both friends and opponents of woman's suffrage. For, they inquire, of what use are our friends to us if they do nothing for us? The members of the English Cabinet have a joint responsibility for their political programme. If the friends of woman's suffrage treat the matter seriously, they must either convert their colleagues or resign. As long as they do not do that, they are merely playing with woman's suffrage and the women think it necessary to "heckle"

them. The women who ask the questions are often ejected from the meetings in a very rough way.[36]

The suffragettes give the government conclusive proof of their political power when they oppose Liberal candidates at all by-elections and contribute to the defeat of the candidates or cause a reduction of their votes. To the present this has occurred in fourteen cases. It is due to the success of these tactics that the whole world is to-day speaking about woman's suffrage, which has become a burning political question in England. All along the people and the press are giving greater support to the suffragettes who have the courage to brave the horrors of the London prison, and there become acquainted with the distress of the poor, the dest.i.tute, and the helpless.

During the last three or four years of the activity of the suffragettes a great number of woman's suffrage organizations were founded: The Woman's Freedom League (Mrs. Despard), The Men's League for Woman's Suffrage, The Artists' Suffrage League, The Conservative and Unionist Women's Franchise a.s.sociation, The Actresses' Franchise League, The Writers' League, etc.

Scotland and Ireland have their own woman's suffrage a.s.sociations.

In opposition there have been formed the National Women's Antisuffrage a.s.sociation and a Men's League for Opposing Woman's Suffrage (those are supported chiefly by the aristocratic circles). They declare that woman does not need the right to vote since she exercises an "enormous indirect influence"; that woman does not _wish_ the right to vote; that her subordination is based on natural law since brute force rules the world; woman's suffrage would result in England's destruction, if a majority of women voters (England has a majority of women) were permitted to decide questions concerning the army and navy.

The leader of the suffragettes, Mrs. Fawcett, recently established the fact that the newly formed a.s.sociation has a considerably smaller number of prominent names among its members _than the organization formed two years ago_, which soon came to an inglorious end. She emphasized the fact that the two important women, who at that time still favored the antisuffrage movement,--Mrs. Louise Creighton and Mrs. Sidney Webb,--have since gone over to the suffrage advocates. On the occasion of Mrs.

Fawcett's public debate with Mrs. Humphry Ward, the leader of the antisuffragists (in February, 1909), it happened that 235 of those present favored woman's suffrage and 74 were opposed.

The argument against the brute force statement was treated in three excellent articles in _Votes for Women_ under the t.i.tle "The Physical Force Fallacy."[37] The most influential of the English women, together with the women in the industries, the students of both s.e.xes, the workingwomen,--in short, the intellectual and professional women are in favor of the suffragettes; and the woman's suffrage advocates have "the spiritual certainty" that moves mountains. Let no one believe that the appeals made on the streets, the parades of the women as sandwich-men, or the noisy publicity of their tactics are gladly indulged in by the women.

These actions are entirely opposed to woman's nature. But the women have recognized that these tactics are necessary and they act accordingly because it is their duty. Such movements have always been successful.

Women do not possess the right to vote in parliamentary elections; but, if taxpayers, they can vote in munic.i.p.al affairs in the whole of Great Britain and Ireland. The _married_ women of England and Wales have a restricted right of suffrage, however: they are "persons" and therefore voters in parochial elections, in the election of poor-law administrators, and of urban and rural district councillors; but they are not regarded as "persons" and are not voters in elections for the borough and county councils. In one single case, in the County of London, by the law of 1900, married women were given almost the same rights as those exercised by married women in Scotland and Ireland.[38] The right of single or married women to hold office (pa.s.sive suffrage)[39] has prevailed in England and Wales since 1869 in respect to the offices of guardians of the poor, overseers, waywardens, churchwardens,--and since 1870 (Education Act) in respect to school boards.[40] At the very first school elections women were elected, which induced women to have themselves presented also as candidates for the offices of poor-law administrators. In 1875 the first unmarried woman was elected to that office, the first married woman in 1881. In the discharge of their duties in both cla.s.ses of offices the women have acted admirably. Nevertheless, the reactionary Education Act of June, 1903, took away from the women the right to hold office as members of school boards in the County of London. They can still secure administrative offices by governmental appointment, but no longer by an election. In 1888 were created the county councils for England and Wales; the county councils were at the same time organs for the self-governing munic.i.p.alities. Since this law, like those of 1869 and 1870, did not specially exclude women from the right to hold office, two women, Mrs.

Cobden and Lady Sandhurst, presented themselves as candidates for the office of county councillors of London. They were elected. Thereupon Mrs.

Beresford-Hope, whom Lady Sandhurst had defeated, contested the legality of the election. In 1889, the Court of Appeals declared that women were eligible to public office only _when this is expressly stated_.[41] This decision of the Court, which was in conflict with the English Const.i.tution, also brought about the loss of the right of the women of Scotland and Ireland to hold office as county councillors.

As a result of this judicial decision, when the new Local Self-government Act for England and Wales was enacted (1894), it was necessary expressly to state the eligibility of women (unmarried and married) to hold the minor local offices (parish, urban, rural district councillors, poor-law guardians, etc.). Article 22, however (in spite of historical precedents), excluded women from the office of justice of the peace. In 1894 the same thing occurred in Scotland, and in 1898 in Ireland.

In 1899, the attempt to secure the eligibility of women to the metropolitan borough councils (for London only)[42] failed, owing to the opposition of the House of Lords.

The law of 1907,[43] known as the _Qualification of Women Act_, grants unmarried women the right to hold office in the borough and county councils (councillor, alderman, mayor). Married women have this right only in the County of London; elsewhere they can merely vote for these officers.[44] On the occasion of the first elections under this act twelve women presented themselves as candidates; six were elected (one as mayor); hitherto the women had been elected only in small places, and then owing to exceptional circ.u.mstances. Whoever investigates the struggle of the women to secure their rights in the local government and studies the att.i.tude of the men toward these exceedingly just demands will comprehend the exasperating circ.u.mstances under which the women are to-day struggling for the right to vote in the English parliamentary elections. In questions of power and of gaining a livelihood [_Macht- und Brotfragen_] the n.o.bility of man can really not be depended upon.

The woman's suffrage movement has led to the consummation of a number of legal reforms: the property laws now legalize the separation of the property of husband and wife[45]; in the United Kingdom the wife administers her own property and disposes of it, and has full control over her earnings. The remainder of the laws regulating marriage are still rather rigorous,--in England at least; the wife has no _hereditary right_ to her husband's property. If she economizes in the administration of the household, the savings belong to the husband. The wife cannot demand any pay in money for performing her domestic duties; the mere expenses of maintenance are sufficient remuneration, etc. In normal cases the _father_ alone has authority over the children. It is made very difficult for a woman to secure a divorce, etc.[46]

The women that have labored so untiringly in political affairs have very naturally made it a point to promote the educational opportunities of their s.e.x. Since 1870, the elementary school system has been regulated by the school boards, which have introduced obligatory public instruction. In these inst.i.tutions the boys and girls are segregated (except in the rural districts). On an average there is one male teacher to every three women teachers in these inst.i.tutions. The secondary schools are private, as in Australia. Hence it was not necessary for the English women to wrest every concession from a reluctant government (as was the case in Germany); but private initiative, combined with the devotion of private individuals, made possible in a few years the full reorganization of England's inst.i.tutions of learning for girls. This reorganization began in 1868 and led to the following results: the establishment of higher inst.i.tutions of learning in all English cities (these are called girls' public day schools, most of them being day schools. They are governed by committees consisting of the founders, the princ.i.p.als, and the qualified advisers).

Latin and mathematics are obligatory studies in the curriculum. The schools are in close relations.h.i.+p with Oxford and Cambridge universities, the universities inspecting the schools and supervising the various examinations (including the examinations of the students upon leaving the schools). In England these schools are for girls only; in Scotland, girls attend similar schools which are coeducational. The number of women teachers is estimated at 8000.

Admission to the universities was secured with difficulty by the women. At first a number of women requested the privilege of attending lectures in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Since these universities are resident colleges, it was necessary to provide boarding places for women.

This was done in 1869 and 1870 in both places, through the work of Miss Emily Davies and Miss Anna Clough. Both of these beginnings developed into the women's colleges of Girton and Newnham. Since then, St. Margaret's Hall, Somersville Hall, and Holloway College have been established for women. These inst.i.tutions correspond to the German philosophical faculties [the colleges of literature and liberal arts in the United States]. An entrance examination is necessary for admission. The course of study is three years. The final examination, called "tripos," embraces three subjects; it corresponds to the German _Oberlehrerexamen_,--examinations given to candidates for the position of teachers in the _Gymnasiums_, the _Realgymnasiums_, _Oberrealgymnasiums_, etc. Theology, medicine, and law cannot be studied in these woman's colleges (any more than in the American woman's colleges). Part of the teachers live in the woman's college buildings; part of them belong to the faculties of Oxford and Cambridge.

The former are women tutors and professors.

The English colleges for women are maintained by private funds. Many women not wis.h.i.+ng to take the "tripos" examination or to become teachers attend the university to acquire a higher education. Others prepare themselves for the degree of Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, or Doctor of Philosophy. These examinations are accepted by Oxford and Cambridge universities, but the women are not granted the corresponding t.i.tles, because the use of such t.i.tles would make the women _Fellows_ of the University, which would ent.i.tle them to the use of the university gardens and parks, and to live in one of the colleges. All other universities in England, Scotland, and Ireland, with the exception of Trinity College, Dublin, admit women to all departments, accepting their examinations and granting them academic degrees.

The women's colleges are centers of sport,--incidentally they possess their own fire department. To arouse an interest in political affairs and to develop facility in speaking, debating clubs have been organized. More than 1300 women have graduated from Cambridge, and more than 1200 from the University of London. When Mary Putnam wished to study medicine in 1868, she had to go to Paris. Jex Blake, who attempted the same thing in Edinburgh in 1869, was driven out by the students. She went to London and was there at first given instruction by the n.o.ble Dr. Anstie. As early as 1870 there was formed in London a special School of Medicine for women, to which a hospital for women was later attached, being directed and supported entirely by women physicians. To-day, 553 women doctors are practicing in Great Britain. Of these 538 have expressed themselves in favor of, and 15 against, woman's suffrage. In England, women were first permitted to take the public examination in dental surgery as late as 1908; while the Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Irish Royal Colleges of Surgeons had admitted them long before. Women can study law in England, but as yet they have not been admitted to the bar. If this privilege were granted to women, they would have to affiliate with the London lawyers' a.s.sociations, such as the _Inner Temple_, the _Middle Temple_, _Gray's Inn_, etc.

Members of these organizations must several times a month attend the dinners or banquets of the lawyers. These corporate customs of the English Bar are said to exclude women from the legal profession just as similar customs have excluded them from tutors.h.i.+ps and professors.h.i.+ps in Oxford and Cambridge.

In spite of this, Miss Cave recently sought admission to _Gray's Inn_, but was refused _because she was a woman_. She appealed her case to the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, but they declared that they had no jurisdiction; the matter will be pursued further. The first woman preacher in England, a native of Germany, Miss v. Petzold, studied theology in Germany and graduated there. After her trial sermon in Leicester she was elected in preference to her male compet.i.tors. Later she accepted a call to Chicago.

The Congregationalists have four women preachers; the Salvation Army over 3000. Except in those callings where personal ability is determinative, the salaries of English women are lower than those of the men. The women have a large field for their efforts in the public schools (where there are three women teachers to one man teacher). In the secondary schools for girls, instruction and control are entirely in the hands of women; their salaries are quite sufficient (the minimum being 100 pounds sterling, about $500). As we have seen, the higher inst.i.tutions of learning also offer the women well-paid positions (the tutors being paid $2000, with board and lodging; the princ.i.p.als $2500).

The _well-paid_ civil offices are reserved for the men. Although there are more women teachers and more female students in the schools than males, there are 244 male inspectors of public schools and 18 women inspectors; the male inspector-general is paid 1000 pounds sterling annually, the woman inspector-general 500 pounds. In the secondary schools there are 20 male inspectors and 3 women inspectors with annual salaries of 400 to 800 pounds, and 300 pounds respectively. The women teachers of the elementary schools (of whom there are approximately 111,000) draw on an average two thirds the salary of the men teachers, though they have the same training and do the same amount of work.

In spite of the fact that there are two million women engaged in industry, there are 900 male factory inspectors and hardly 60 female factory inspectors. Here again the men are paid 1000 pounds and the women only 500 pounds a year. In the postal and telegraph service the same injustice exists: the men begin with a minimum wage of 20 s.h.i.+llings a week, while the women are paid 14 s.h.i.+llings; the men increase their salaries to 62 s.h.i.+llings a week; the women to 30 s.h.i.+llings. The male telegraph operator begins with 18 s.h.i.+llings and is finally given 65 s.h.i.+llings a week; the woman telegraph operator begins with 16 and reaches 40 s.h.i.+llings. The male clerks of the second division of the civil service are paid 250 pounds and the women 100 annually. In 1908, the number of women employees in the postal and telegraph service of Great Britain was 13,259; the number of women supernumeraries, 30,476: total number, 43,735. The highest positions (heads of departments, staff officers) have been attained by 4 women and by 178 men.

In recent years many new callings have been opened to women living in the cities. They are engaged in the manufacture of confectionery. Prominent and wealthy women have established businesses of their own, in which fine confections are produced,--in many cases by dest.i.tute, nervous, and overworked women music teachers. Women are active as bookbinders, stockbrokers, bills of exchange agents, auditors, teachers of domestic economy, instructors in gymnastics, ladies' guides, wardrobe dealers (the costly robes of the women of fas.h.i.+on are sold on commission through agents), paperers and decorators, etc.

The Woman's Inst.i.tute[47] has published a complete handbook on the occupations of women. This book does not omit the occupation of explorer, in which Mrs. French Sheldon has distinguished herself (by exploration in the interior of Africa). In London, the number of women engaged in gainful pursuits is naturally very large, many of the women being alone in the world. The women journalists and auth.o.r.esses in London have been numerous enough to organize a club of their own,--the Writers' Club, in the Strand. The number of women employed in commercial houses is very large,--450,000. The weekly wages, especially the wages of the saleswomen in the shops, are often quite moderate, 20 to 25 s.h.i.+llings where exceptional demands are made as to attractive dress and appearance. The women have organized the Shop a.s.sistants' Union. For women with this weekly wage the securing of good rooms and board at a reasonable price is a vital question. There are three apartment houses for workingwomen,--the _Sloane Garden Houses_, and the apartments for women in Chenies Street and in York Street. Women teachers, designers, artists, bookkeepers, cas.h.i.+ers, secretaries and stenographers obtain room and board here at varying rates.

There are bedrooms (with two beds) for 4-1/2 to 5 s.h.i.+llings a week for each person, furnished rooms for 10 to 14 s.h.i.+llings. The dining room is a restaurant. Only the evening meal, dinner (served from 6 to 7), is served to all at once. This meal costs 10 pence (20 cents). In Chenies Street living expenses are somewhat higher: 6 pence for breakfast, 9 pence for luncheon, 1 s.h.i.+lling for dinner; which is about 55 cents a day for board.

For suites of two to four rooms $15 to $30 a month is charged. The _Alexandra House_ in Kensington offers women artists similar privileges; the _Brabanzon House_ (under the protection of the Countess of Meath) accommodates employees of the shops only. Since the English women are--fortunately--independent in spirit, these inst.i.tutions lack the scholastic, monastic, or tutelary characteristics that are unfortunately found in many similar inst.i.tutions on the continent.

Very few of the English women have become industrial entrepreneurs.

However, they have directed their attention to agriculture as a means of earning a livelihood and have organized agricultural schools for women.

Here the women engage especially in poultry raising, vegetable and fruit growing, which in England are very lucrative; England annually imports 41 million pounds' worth of milk, eggs, poultry, vegetables, and fruits. The councils of London, Berks.h.i.+re, Ess.e.x, and Kent counties support the Horticultural College for women in Swanley, Kent, which was founded privately by wealthy and influential persons. In England 100,000 women are engaged in agriculture. The demand for trained women gardeners to-day still exceeds the supply. Trained women gardeners are frequently engaged for a long term of years to teach untrained gardeners. Women are employed in the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew and in Edinburgh. Holloway College has a woman gardener. In 1898 a model farm for women was founded by Lady Warwick in Reading. The inst.i.tution began with twelve women students, who cultivated two acres of land. Within a year the number of students was quadrupled; and then eleven acres were cultivated instead of two.

The woman that wishes to learn stock feeding and dairying is sent to a special farm. The course requires two years. The _Agricultural a.s.sociation for Women_, founded by Lady Warwick, aids the women agriculturists and finds positions for the pupils. In Great Britain there are eight public schools in which women can learn agriculture and gardening. Many county councils have established courses in gardening, to which women are admitted.

Agriculture is encouraged in England because the migration from the country to the city has increased extraordinarily. Agriculture is restricted in favor of stock raising, which gives employment to fewer laborers than agriculture. In spite of the great increase in population, the number of agriculturists has steadily decreased since 1851. On the other hand, the industrial population (and it is predominantly urban) has increased significantly. Every industrialization means a pauperization to a certain extent. It produces the army of unskilled laborers, the victims of the sweating system, who in a dest.i.tute condition are left to eke out their wretched existence in the "East Ends" of the large cities. There is no corresponding misery in the country districts. A marked industrialization therefore causes a degree of general pauperism such as is unknown in the agricultural regions of western Europe. The pursuit of gardening among women has a social-political significance. The English laboring population is estimated at 4,000,000 people, among whom the trade-union movement has made considerable progress. The English trade-union statistics of 1904 show 148 trade-unions having women members.

There are all together 125,094 female members, _i.e._ 6.7 per cent of all organized laborers. The greatest number of these are in the textile industries (almost 100,000). The total number of women laborers in this industry is 800,000.