The history of combination among women lies within a narrow compass. Its action has been confined entirely to the working classes, and even among them the period of its existence is as yet but short. No organization fulfilling the purposes of a Trade Union is to be found among women of the cultured classes, and the corporations by which professional and commercial men secure the maintenance of a definite system of employment and a fixed standard of payment have no parallel among workers of the other sex. So far as women join the ranks of a profession already thus guarded—as, for instance, the medical profession—they share its privileges, and we are thus spared the spectacle of women doctors underselling their male colleagues, and earning their maledictions thereby. There are various associations of women engaged in teaching, but these as a rule are formed purely for educational purposes, and are powerless to defend or protect their members in any way. Indirectly, however, they may serve some of the purposes of a Trade Union. Thus the Association of Assistant Mistresses in secondary schools, though carefully disclaiming all title to be called a Trade Union, is able, by means of friendly conferences with headmistresses as well as by the information it disseminates among its members, and the publicity which it is able to give to matters in which their interests are concerned, to confer upon its members some of the minor benefits of combination. The National Union of Teachers in elementary schools (men and women) comes much nearer to the Trade Union type; but though affording its members valuable aid, and able through its Parliamentary Committee seriously to influence legislation, it is not constituted upon a Trade Union basis, and does not profess to fulfil its functions. The associations recently formed among men and women employed in shops are, however, Trade Unions, both in intention and in fact; but with this solitary, though important, exception, the progress of unionism among women has been entirely confined to the classes engaged in strictly manual labour.

Emma Paterson.—There is no difficulty in fixing the date of the first beginnings of Trades Unionism among women, or in assigning the credit of its foundation to the right quarter. The date was 1874, and the founder was Emma Paterson, nÉe Smith. I am here speaking of purely women’s unions, for it must not be forgotten that large unions of men and women had existed for many years in the textile trades of the North of England. Emma Smith was the daughter of a schoolmaster, and was carefully educated by her father. She gained early practice in organisation in connection with the Working Men’s Club and Institute Union, and gave such evidence of talent in this direction that when only nineteen she was appointed assistant secretary. After five years’ service Emma Smith became Secretary of the Women’s Suffrage Association, and her early practical experience, combined with the theoretical discussions upon the position of women to which she was now introduced, led her to think seriously about their industrial position also. In 1873 Miss Smith became Mrs. Paterson, and with her husband, a former hon. secretary of the Institute previously mentioned, and hardly less interested than herself in labour questions, she started for a tour in America, undertaken partly with a view to studying the operations of Friendly Societies in that country. She had been deeply struck with some remarks that had fallen from an American lady lecturer upon this subject, and the idea of a similar organisation at home for women took root and germinated in her thoughtful mind. In America she learnt with interest that experiments in women’s unions had already been made, and showed some prospect of success. On her return to England Mrs. Paterson wrote a paper, which was published in the Labour News, advocating the formation of a national union for improving the position of working women. The article contained a careful resumÉ of the question, and showed that the writer possessed a thorough insight into her subject. It was pointed out that women are almost always worse paid than men, even when equally skilled; that their isolation as workers exposes them to reductions of wages from unscrupulous employers, which their more honourable rivals are compelled to imitate. In support of the “benefit” side of Unionism Mrs. Paterson cites a curious case. “At a time of great slackness of trade among the bookbinders, in 1871, caused by a delay in passing through the House of Commons the revised Prayer Book, it was stated that during sixteen months two of the men’s unions had paid £2,500 in relieving their unemployed members, but that the women in the trade, having no union to fall back upon, had suffered the greatest distress.” Mrs. Paterson then deals with the popular scepticism as to women’s powers of combination. “At three successive annual congresses of leaders and delegates of Trades Unions the need of women’s unions has been brought before them, and each time someone present has asserted that women cannot form unions. The only ground for this assertion,” adds Mrs. Paterson courageously, “appears to be that women have not yet formed unions. Probably they have not done so because they have not quite seen how to set about it.”

Women’s Protective and Provident League.—The first result of Mrs. Paterson’s paper was that a conference was convened to consider her proposal. Many friends outside the ranks of labour attended the meeting held in the Quebec Institute on July 8th, 1874, at which Mr. Hodgson Pratt presided. Resolutions were passed to the effect—

1. That a Committee be appointed, to be entitled the Women’s Protective and Provident Committee.

2. That one of the objects of the Association shall be to enable women earning their own livelihood to combine to protect their interests.

3. That it shall be one of the objects of the Association to provide a benefit fund for assistance in sickness and other contingencies.

A committee was elected, and Mrs. Paterson was appointed honorary secretary, a post which she held until her death in 1886.

The resolutions here quoted indicate sufficiently clearly the objects of the Association. It was considered necessary, however, not to proclaim these too loudly to a world unprepared for their reception, and accordingly the use of the term “Trade Union” was carefully avoided. Public opinion had not then been enlisted in favour of the principle of combination for either men or women; employers were not likely to regard amicably a further extension of the methods against which they had already fought so obstinately, and working men as a class had not yet grasped the importance, in the interests of labour generally, of the complete adoption of unionism by workers of both sexes. Their attitude was to some extent one of suspicion towards women, on account of their readiness to undersell the labour of men. It behoved the friends of the movement to walk guardedly, and to disarm suspicion until their cause had gained strength. The cumbrous title “Women’s Protective and Provident League” first adopted, directed attention accordingly to one side only of the work—that of insurance against sickness—while veiling its trade union aspect under the vague adjective “protective.” More stress was laid than would perhaps now be the case upon the advantage to be derived from the sick benefit funds of the unions. The courage and hopes of the women were hardly raised to the point of making sacrifices for an organization of whose powers as a bulwark against oppression they were ignorant, but the prospect of receiving payment when out of work was something that the most timid could appreciate.

Bristol Association.—A Working Women’s Association was founded in Bristol in 1874 upon similar lines to those of the League, and under the influence of the same inspiration, Mrs. Paterson having circulated her paper and attended a conference in that city. The society is still in existence.

Bookbinders’ Union.—The progress made during the first year of the League’s life was slow; but, as all who have watched the growth of social organisms are well aware, a period of struggle and slow progress is the unavoidable preliminary of growth in any movement which is firmly grounded. The Union of Women employed in Bookbinding was formed in 1874, and was followed next year by that of the Upholsteresses and the Shirt and Collar Makers, societies which are all still alive, though not large in numbers. The bookbinding trade was selected for the first experiment, partly because a recent period of trade depression had made the want of a provident society severely felt, but still more because Mr. King, the secretary of the London Consolidated Society of Bookbinders, undertook to give the women all the help in his power in the work of forming a trades union. “There is no provision,” remarks the Report of the League’s work for 1874, “for the admission of women as members of the men’s societies either in bookbinding or other trades, with some few exceptions in the North of England. Nor would the women be able to avail themselves of such provision, as they could not pay the same subscription, their wages seldom being more than half those of the men.” Here we have the whole case in a nutshell—women completely unorganized, and disabled by their poverty from making use of the levers by which men had raised their position. It is gratifying to be able to add that several of the men’s unions have recently admitted women at a lower rate of contribution. About the same time unions of women were formed in Dewsbury and also in Leicester, where, it was stated, the stitchers and seamers in the hosiery trade received only 5s. a week. A meeting was called by some gentlemen of the town who recognised the mischief of allowing wages to diminish unchecked, and a union was formed, which was able almost immediately to obtain for its members a small advance of wages.

Trades Congress, Liverpool.—In January, 1874, the Trades Congress met in Liverpool, and Mrs. Paterson addressed a letter to the members upon the subject of combination among women. The letter was read by the President (Mr. Julian), and the Congress expressed hearty approval of the movement. Meanwhile the Committee of the League busied itself in stimulating the young societies by means of social gatherings and entertainments, and by holding meetings and endeavouring to arouse public interest. A room was rented in Holborn, and was used for small meetings and as a house of call for women out of work.

Provincial Unions. Women Delegates to Congress.—In 1875 and the following year efforts were made by the League to organise working women in the provinces. Meetings were held in Glasgow, Manchester, and Sheffield, and unions were formed in various trades; but though the co-operation of the local Trades Council was enlisted, not many of the societies then formed have survived. An event of more import was the admission of women to the Trades Congress at Glasgow in 1875, where Miss Simcox represented the Shirt and Collar Makers, and Mrs. Paterson the Bookbinders and the Upholstresses. A resolution pledging the members of the Congress to promote trades unions among women was moved by Mr. Shipton, of the London Trades Council, and carried unanimously. Since 1875 women have been present at each annual meeting of the Trades Congress, and have invariably been received with courtesy and goodwill. During the next few years unions of women were formed in London as follows:—

The societies thus formed were for the most part small, the total membership only reaching about 1,300 in 1879; but they held well together, and their financial position was sound. In 1879 the Society of Women employed in Bookbinding was able to report that after paying during the year benefits amounting to £37 10s. 6d., a balance of £218 12s. remained in hand. The Upholsteresses’ Society had paid £23 15s. in benefits, and had a balance of £98 18s. 6d. In all cases the societies had paid their own working expenses, the funds of the League being only employed in giving them a fair start.

Army Clothing Factory.—In 1879 the good offices of the League were employed in bringing the grievances of the women working in the Royal Army Clothing Factory at Pimlico under notice of the House of Commons, and in obtaining the appointment of a Committee of Inquiry. This is probably the first case in which the conditions of women’s labour have been investigated at the request of the workers themselves. Similar grievances cropped up in 1882, and once more in 1885-6. The League, as before, took up the women’s case, holding conferences and attracting public attention to the matter. The result was a searching inquiry into the management of the factory, undertaken by Mrs. Fawcett, at the request of Mr. Woodall, Surveyor-General of Ordnance. Mrs. Fawcett received the thanks of the Department for her labours, and the grievances of the women were in great part redressed.

Two trade societies were formed in Leicester in 1878-9—the Cigar Makers’ and the Worsted Spinners’. Members of the Trades Council again gave their aid, and the unions thus formed still carry on, under changed names, a flourishing existence. In the autumn of 1878 five women attended the Trades Congress held in Bristol, at which a proposal for the appointment of working men and women as sub-inspectors of factories was carried unanimously. The question was brought up again at the Congress of 1881, and at the instance of the League Parliament was approached on the subject.[15]

Results in 1882.—For some years the work of forming Women’s Unions went on but slowly, and in London, though persistent efforts were made, no new societies were permanently established between 1879 and 1888. By 1882 it was found that the seven London unions had received £1210 in members’ subscriptions, and had paid away £475 in sick benefits and grants at death. The total number of unions formed by the League was stated in 1883 to be nineteen, ten in London, and nine in the provinces. Meetings were held in many towns, and a few unions were formed, among which may be mentioned a Working Women’s Society in Oxford, founded in 1881. In Liverpool the Tailoresses’ Union would have collapsed but for the help of the League, and the case affords a good example of the dangers with which the work of combination is beset. The union was not constituted in a business-like manner, and the member of the men’s union (afterwards expelled), who was allowed to act as secretary and treasurer, “neglected,” as the report euphemistically puts it, to place the funds in a bank. Suspicion at once took possession of the society, and subscriptions ceased. The League promptly came to the rescue, deposited a sum equal to the subscriptions in a local bank on behalf of the society, and took means, which were eventually successful, for obtaining repayment from the secretary.

Nailmakers.—Attention was drawn in 1883 to the wretched wages earned by women in the nailmaking trade, by Mr. Broadhurst’s bill (promoted by the Parliamentary committee of the Trades Congress), prohibiting the employment in that trade of girls under 14. The bill was thrown out, but the fact of its having been brought in roused the women to a sense of their position, and an effort was made to form a union under the auspices of the League. Wages were then quoted at 3s. to 5s. a week. A large number of women nailmakers are now enrolled in the Midland Trades Federation, which contains altogether 1500 women. Unionism in the nail and chain trades has fluctuated greatly, for the difficulties in the way of combination are very great. Both Mr. Burnett’s Report to the Board of Trade and Miss Orme’s to the Labour Commission, show a wretched condition of life and labour in these districts.

It will be seen that the record of combination among women, where the support of men’s unions has not been available, is to some extent a history of abortive attempts. The experience thus gained, however, has not been wholly thrown away. It has shown where the attempt is likely to succeed, and where it is not. As a result, effort is now being concentrated on the most favourable fields, and recent events have shown the wisdom of this course. In spite of many failures, the examples of successful combination are sufficiently numerous to prove that the task of organising women’s labour, if difficult, is by no means hopeless.

Women’s Union Journal.—Among other agencies promoted or encouraged by the League during its early years were a monthly paper called the Women’s Union Journal (now issued quarterly as the Women’s Trades Union Review), a reading-room, where women out of work could consult advertisements, and employers send notices of vacancies, a swimming club (which owed its formation to the horror caused by the sinking of the Princess Alice in the Thames), a small co-operative society, and contributions towards a seaside house for members of the Unions.

Death of Mrs. Paterson.—At the end of the year 1886 the unions suffered an irreparable loss in the death of Mrs. Paterson. Her husband, who had been one of the earliest members of the League, and took the warmest interest in its progress, had died a few years before. Almost since her girlhood, as we have seen, Mrs. Paterson had striven hard for the advancement of working women, and her death, at the early age of thirty-eight, was attributed by her friends to her unwearying labours. She had been honorary secretary of the League from its foundation, and since 1875 had attended every meeting of the Trades Congress but one, besides giving unremitting attention to the affairs of the individual unions. Mrs. Paterson exercised a great influence over the working women with whom she came in contact, and she possessed two qualities which are not always found together—enthusiasm for an ideal and great business powers. To her quiet yet persistent efforts it is due that the movement did not collapse amid the many difficulties of its early years, and that the idea of Trades Unionism among women has been steadily kept alive. For a short time after Mrs. Paterson’s death, Miss Clementina Black held the post of secretary to the League, but resigned in 1889, and became connected with a new organization, similar in aim, called the “Women’s Trades Union Association.” Her place was taken by Miss Emilie Holyoake, daughter of the well-known co-operator, Miss Florence Routledge, B.A., becoming honorary secretary.

Match-Girls’ Strike.—The years 1888 and 1889 marked a great upheaval in the labour market. The first saw the match-girls’ strike, the second the dockers’ strike. The great silent mass of struggling, starving, unskilled labour then for the first time found voice, and its utterance, expressed in the unmistakable terms of a deadly struggle, and following hard upon the revelations made before the Commission on the Sweating System, brought home to the outside world the real state of things prevailing in the lower ranks of labour. Thus the public mind was prepared to show something more than passive sympathy with the rebellion which broke out soon afterwards among unskilled labourers. The strike of the girls in Messrs. Bryant and May’s factory, though dwarfed in interest by the dockers’ strike which followed, was still a remarkable episode, unique indeed in the history of combination among women. The beginning of the strike found the girls entirely without organization, its close left them with increased wages, a union nearly a thousand strong, and for some time afterwards considerably in excess of that figure. The strikers were ably and courageously led by Mrs. Annie Besant and Mr. Herbert Burrows, and their success was also due in no small degree to the support of the London Trades Council, which took the part of the girls, and sent a deputation to press their claims upon the firm. By thus gaining over public sympathy and winning the open countenance of the official element in Trades Unionism the match-girls’ strike may be said to have marked a new departure, for, though similar help had often been rendered by Trades Councils before, the publicity attached to this occasion made it specially noteworthy. Public opinion, too, though a fickle friend, is still a friend worth having, and whilst its frown is a penalty which employers do not willingly incur, its restraining effect upon hasty action on the other side is also not without benefit. A certain vague sentiment with regard to the physical weakness of women and their patience under poverty and suffering helps to keep public opinion favourable on the whole, while their disorganized condition prevents them, as a rule, from adopting the aggressive measures which shock and terrify society. So for the present the outside world looks kindly upon women’s unions, the more so as these organisations make no demands upon its purse.

New Unions. Women’s Trades Union Association.—Between 1888 and 1890 a number of new unions, including the Amalgamated Laundresses with several branches, Matchbox-makers of Shoreditch and Bow, Box-makers and Confectioners, were formed in London. Of these some were formed under the auspices of the new association mentioned above, the Women’s Trades Union Association. This society aims at promoting unions whose funds shall be devoted solely to trade purposes, contributions for sick and out-of-work benefits being either optional or non-existent. In the opinion of those who formed the new society the starvation wages paid to women in many trades render it difficult, if not impossible, to secure subscriptions upon a scale high enough to allow for sick benefits, and they consider it best therefore to devote attention entirely to strengthening the workers’ position in their respective trades. There is something to be said for this view of the question, and it is possible that, following the lines of the “new unionism,” women’s societies may come into existence which would hardly have been formed upon any other method. Some belonging to the older organisation, as, for instance, the Matchbox-makers’ Union, have already adopted a purely trade basis for combination. The majority however give sick and out-of-work benefits, and in many districts the “club” aspect of a union is that which appeals most strongly to women unexperienced in combination. The question is one with which men’s unions are much occupied at present, and its final solution cannot be foretold as yet.

Mixed Unions in the Provinces.—Meanwhile unionism has been spreading in the provinces, which offer a better field for combination than the ill-paid trades of East London, to which the efforts of the League had hitherto been directed. Some of the larger unions of men in the textile trades, as already mentioned, had long admitted women as members, such as the Northern Counties Weavers’ Association with 43,000 women members, and the Card and Blowing-room Operatives with 21,000 women. The Amalgamated Hosiery Union of Leicester has 2500, and the Scottish Mill and Factory workers the same number. The Notts and Leicester Cigar-makers’ union is an admirable example of a purely women’s society which early learned to stand on its feet, and was able to gain signal advantages for its members. It has a membership of 800, and is said to contain a larger percentage of those engaged in the trade than any other society. There are unions of women, either of a general or special kind, in Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Wakefield, Denton (where a union in the hat trade contains 4290 members), Glasgow, Belfast, and other towns. Particulars of their membership are given in an appendix. It will be seen that by far the largest number of women unionists are enrolled in the mixed societies of the textile trades. These constitute the models to which in time unionism will probably more generally conform in the future, since an organisation which includes both men and women is free from the sources of weakness attaching to unions of either sex singly. When the women of a trade are not included in the union, they are liable to undersell the men, and unions of women alone are necessarily weaker than the better equipped organisations of men. For the present, however, it is necessary to be content with imperfect forms of combination, and if women are ever to win a place in the older and stronger societies of men they must first give evidence of their quality by forming and managing their own unions. Every year those who make the effort are gaining increased support from the men’s unions, and in time there can be no doubt that the cause of labour will be seen to have no distinction of sex.

System of Tours.—The growth of provincial unions has been much quickened by the policy recently adopted by the League,—now called the Women’s Trades Union League. A scheme of annual tours has been mapped out, by which the officials of the League are enabled to visit periodically districts in which unions are forming, or are likely to be formed. Sometimes the men’s unions send to ask for the help of the League to organise the women, whose readiness to accept lower wages they recognise as a serious danger to the position of labour as a whole. Often the women themselves send a request for help, and occasionally outsiders have invited the League to come and rouse the impoverished and helpless workers of a district. Interest in the subject is sometimes awakened by a discussion at a political meeting, and various clubs and associations have from time to time invited a member of the League’s Committee to give an address upon women’s unions. If after some such beginning the ground seems ready for working, and especially if the local Trades Council advises, a meeting of women is called, and the officials of the League, aided by such friendly supporters as the district may afford, explain the advantages of combination. Afterwards the names of those willing to join a union are taken down, and a date is arranged for a business meeting, at which officers are chosen and rules formed. Members of the Trades Council are generally present at the second meeting, to put the women in the way of arranging their affairs. The society is now formed, and it may seem that everything is going well; but the difficulties in the way of successful unionism among a class so poor and so unaccustomed to the methods of combination as the majority of working-women are very great, and it is often found that in a few months membership has dwindled to a small number, and the hopeful prospects of the opening weeks have entirely disappeared. Often the committee is not up to its work, accounts are badly kept, or the collectors are unable to arrange a good working method for getting in subscriptions, a matter which is by no means easy when the employers or their managers and foremen happen to view the formation of the union with disfavour. Then again, if, as sometimes happens, suspicion arises that the hard-earned funds are being mismanaged, the union will melt away as if by magic, to be re-organised only with great difficulty. In order to avoid this danger as far as may be, and to give the newly-formed union an incentive to perseverance, the League promises a second visit at the end of a year to those societies which affiliate themselves to the central body. A plan of spring and autumn tours has been arranged, and by grouping a number of industrial centres in one part of the country the emissaries of the League have been enabled to cover much more ground than would have been possible in a series of detached visits. In this manner Lady Dilke, Miss Routledge, Miss Holyoake, and others, have visited most of the manufacturing districts of England and Scotland, and have even carried their missionary enterprise as far as Belfast, where, since the Trades Congress of 1893 great efforts have been made to organise the labour of the women working in the linen and flax mills. Many of the unions thus formed are affiliated to the League, including a number in Scotland and the large mixed union of West Riding Power-Loom Weavers, who have joined the League as far as their women members are concerned. Recently a further step has been taken, by sending out working women who have had experience in their own unions, as organisers into districts where new unions are being formed; and it is expected that this plan will be found extremely useful, as women who are already overworked and underpaid have little strength or leisure for arranging the preliminaries of organisation.

Difficulties of Combination.—The difficulty of forming unions among women is undeniably great. Women are inexperienced in combination, and they entertain a lively and by no means groundless fear of the resentment of their employers. Unionism does not, it is true, often meet with opposition from the better class of employers, who recognise in it a salutary check on the efforts of unscrupulous rivals to force down both prices and wages. Experience shews them, too, that unionism discourages rather than fosters strikes, and in cases of difficulty they would often prefer to deal with the accredited representatives of the workpeople. But in many cases the attempt to form a combination among women meets with the open hostility of their employers. It is not uncommon for a woman who has undertaken the secretaryship of a union to be summarily dismissed. The manager of a confectionery factory in a large provincial town recently attempted to turn away all those who had given in their names to a newly-formed union. Under these circumstances it is not surprising that women, especially in the worst paid trades, are afraid to join a trade union, and that even after joining they readily fall away from an undertaking which may possibly involve so serious a risk. If working women throughout the country were dominated by this fear the cause of unionism would be hopeless; but fortunately this is not the case, and we can only admire the courage which enables women earning a miserable pittance to risk its loss by identifying themselves with an unpopular movement. If the union were strong it would of course set its face against arbitrary dismissals, which are in themselves a powerful argument in favour of organisation; but the difficulty is to prevent their occurrence during the early years of the union. On this account it is useful, where possible, to collect a fund for the relief of women who may be temporarily thrown out of work owing to their active connection with a trade union; and the knowledge that such a fund exists helps in itself to prevent the occasion for its employment arising. The general public has little idea of the extent to which unscrupulous employers take advantage of the helpless position of working women. So widely separated are classes in this country that a man may grind the faces of the poor and pass for a saint among those of his own class. An employer remarked recently to a friend who was advocating unions for women that they were not necessary in his factory, as the women had already a fund to which they subscribed. Further questioning elicited the fact that the “fund” was derived from fines wrung from the women, and was managed entirely by the employers. The firm is known for zeal and munificence in connection with religious bodies, and the case is by no means an isolated one.

It is impossible to read the Report of the Lady Assistant Commissioners without becoming convinced that combination is absolutely necessary, if working women are to secure a reasonable modification of the scandalous fines and deductions to which their wages are subjected. The extent to which these iniquities prevail is now fully revealed for the first time, and if the unions could attack this one point alone with success they would have done much to raise the economic status of working women.

Attitude of Men’s Unions.—Much may be hoped for the future of unionism among women, from the increased support which it receives from the leaders of men’s unions; indeed, it is not too much to say that herein lies the key to the position. It has often been cast in the teeth of Trades Unionists that while struggling for freedom for themselves they have regarded with indifference the economic position of their working sisters, and have exerted their influence rather for the restriction of women’s labour than for the improvement of its conditions. It is a question, however, whether unionism in its early years, struggling hard to maintain its existence, could have undertaken the additional burden of organising the women. Sometimes the objections raised to women’s work were exceedingly flimsy, and it is small credit to a section of working men that they have shown themselves ready to raise the cry of impropriety, and even immorality, against women upon grounds which cannot bear the test of examination. Even were the conditions of women’s work such as ought not to be tolerated (and no one who knows the facts would say that this is never the case), the true cure lies in the formation of unions among the women, since one of the first things which a strong union would do is to stand out for decent arrangements and reasonable conditions of work. The general public often joins in and swells the cry against some particular employment for women, instead of casting about to see if its defects cannot be remedied. Thus, when the agitation was raised a few years ago against the employment of women at the pit brows in Lancashire, the charge of immorality was most unjustly raised against them, and even their peculiar but necessary costume was made the ground of serious indictments. The force expended upon this agitation might, if more wisely directed, have secured for the women improved arrangements for their comfort, which in some cases were much needed; but nobody thought of this. Wider views, however, are now beginning to prevail, and the generous support which is given to the claims of women by the responsible leaders of working men may be expected gradually to disarm the hostility which undoubtedly exists among a section of their class.

Of late years Trades Councils have repeatedly come forward with both money and personal help to organise the labour of women—notably the Councils of Aberdeen, Liverpool, Oldham, Huddersfield, Leicester, and the Midland Counties Trades Federation. The Manchester and Salford Trades Council has also taken the matter up, and is engaged upon a systematic attempt to organise the female labour of the district. The result of the experiment will be watched with interest.

Results Established.—The history of unionism among women, brief though it be, may claim to have established the following points:

(1) That unions can be formed and carried on upon a firm financial basis even in trades in which wages are very low.

(2) That the demands of a trade union are often sufficient to secure for the workers a rise in wages or equivalent advantages, such as shorter hours or the abolition of fines. Miss Collet, in her report of the Liverpool district, mentions a union of tailoresses which succeeded in obtaining a shortening of eleven hours in the working week. In the lace trade Miss Abraham notes that “In two instances where fines seem to have been heavy, the formation of a trade union among the workers has had the effect of checking the system.” Many other examples might be given.

(3) That unless unions are established, wages, especially in the less-skilled trades, tend to fall. The competition of one employer against another is generally sufficient in itself to bring about this result, unless the workers oppose a solid front to the pressure from above. The older members of badly-paid trades know this well, and it is among them that the keenest advocates of combination are found.

Factory and Home Work.—Trades carried on wholly in factories have hitherto proved the most amenable to combination. Low wages and irregular employment, though sufficiently serious obstacles, are not so prejudicial as the division of a trade into factory and home work, or the existence of domestic workshops. In those of Cradley Heath, near Birmingham, the isolation of the workers keeps down wages, and the home, instead of being saved by the workshop, as some would have us believe, is, upon the testimony of Miss Orme, Senior Assistant Commissioner, almost always “desolate.” Where work is done wholly at home it is difficult to bring influence to bear upon the women to induce them to combine, and yet it is here that combination is most necessary, since the workers have neither the support of companionship nor the protection of the Factory Acts. With regard to domestic workshops, it seems probable that legislation will in time bring these irregular divisions of the labour army into line with the main body. The first step has already been taken in the regulation which compels employers to post up a list of their outworkers. All progress in this direction is an aid to combination. In the joint influence of legislation and unionism, aided where necessary by a more efficient system of inspection, lies the chief hope of improvement in the less fortunate branches of labour.

An evil which appears to belong exclusively to women’s labour is the custom, prevalent among girls whose parents are fairly well off, of working for pocket-money. Even where the parents are poor the cheapness of boarding at home often induces girls to work for a rate of wages which would be cruelly low for those who have to maintain themselves entirely. Miss Collet’s report to the Labour Commission lays great stress on this point. In Bristol, girls working in a cigar factory often earn no more than 7s. 6d. or 9s. a week, pay 4s. or 5s. to their parents for weekly board, and seem “quite content” with their low wages. The disastrous effect of this policy upon the general standard of women’s wages needs no explanation. It is sufficient to point out here that the practice forms a serious obstacle to successful combination among women.

Foreign Competition.—Foreign competition is often advanced as an argument against raising wages, and it cannot be denied that in some cases it has force. It is safe, however, to say that there is little warrant for its employment in wholesale condemnation of attempts to raise wages in the worst-paid trades. We are told, for instance, that matches made in the east end of London are undersold by the still cheaper products of Sweden; yet match factories often pay high dividends, and it is well known that the profits in a trade bear little relation as a rule to the rate of wages paid to the workers. It is generally found that where work is concentrated in large factories under employers possessed of considerable capital fair wages are obtainable, and the wretched rate of payment which prevails in many of the East London trades is probably due more than is supposed to the hole-and-corner manner in which the business is carried on. Where foreign competition is not pressing, the necessity for producing cheap goods is often urged as a valid reason for abstaining from any efforts to secure reasonable wages for the producers. Desirable, however, as cheapness may be, it is possible to purchase its advantages too dearly. If the effect of combination among workers were to be a rise in the price of matches, slop clothing, or fancy boxes, the consumer would have little cause of complaint, and would soon acquiesce philosophically in the altered condition of things. Nor can purchasers, however well disposed toward the working classes, effect any change on their own account. Such devices as a “Consumers’ League,” whose members would bind themselves to deal only with firms paying a fair rate of wages, must obviously fail, or if conceivably successful must do as much harm as good until our means of obtaining information are much more perfect than they are at present. No such rough-and-ready way of forcing on reforms is of the slightest use; the workers themselves must improve their condition by slow and patient effort. Outsiders may aid and stimulate, but they cannot do the work.