[1] The Position of Women in Primitive Society.

[2] See note at the end of the chapter.

[3] The number recorded as killed up to November 9, 1914, was 109,723.

[4] H. G. Wells, Mankind in the Making, p. 88.

[5] The towns with the highest percentages are as follow: Morley 31, Chadderton 32, Bacup 38, Stockton 34, Liverpool 38, Salford 32, Stockport 39, Mansfield 49.

[6] These quotations are taken from the Report of the Board of Education, p. 70.

[7] Night work in the textile trades was prohibited for women by the factory legislation of 1844. The custom disappeared gradually in Great Britain and other countries. Then it was finally banished by international agreement from twelve European countries at the International Conference of Bonn, 1906.

[8] The three systems of employment adopted are as follows—

• One shift of 13-14 hours (the overtime system);
• Two shifts of 12 hours;
• Three shifts of 8 hours.

The report strongly recommends the universal adoption of the 8-hour shift system.

[9] See The Truth about Woman (pp. 247-270), where this difference between the sexes is treated from a different point of view.

[10] “The Insects’ Homer,” by Maurice Maeterlinck, Fortnightly Review, October 1912.

[11] Fabre, “The Leaf Cutters,” English Review, March 1915.

[12] These cases are taken from Pycraft, The Infancy of Animals, and the different works of Fabre, Social Life in the Insect World, The Life and Love of the Insect, Insect Life, etc.

[13] See article by J. Arthur Thomson in The New Statesman, November 1915.

[14] Not all the scarabees live to see the adult growth of their children. This is done, as Fabre’s observations have established by the Spanish Copris and some related dung-beetles, which are unique among non-social insects, inasmuch as the mother survives to see the emergence and complete metamorphosis of the family for whom she and her husband have so unremittingly toiled.

[15] In this connection the reader is recommended to consult C. Lloyd-Morgan’s works, in particular Animal Life and Intelligence. See also the interesting remarks on “De L’Amour Maternal,” in SociÉtÉs Animales, by Alfred Espinas, pp. 172-180.

[16] See Espinas, Des SociÉtÉs Animales, especially Chapter V, “SociÉtÉ domestique paternelle,” pp. 236 et seq.

[17] These cases, as well as many others in this and in the next chapter, are taken from Pycraft’s Infancy of Animals. I would wish to record my indebtedness to this fascinating book. To prevent continuous reference notes, wherever it is not otherwise stated, the reader will know the cases I quote have been taken from Mr. Pycraft’s book.

[18] The reader is referred to a small book by St. George Mivart, The Common Frog.

[19] I quote from Mr. Pycraft’s account of this incident, Infancy of Animals, p. 193.

[20] Pycraft gives a short account of their habits, ibid., pp. 200-206.

[21] Problems of Sex, by J. A. Thomson and Prof. Geddes, p. 20.

[22] Pycraft, The Infancy of Animals, pp. 215-216; G. J. Romanes, Animal Intelligence, pp. 243-245, 246-247; J. A. Thomson and Prof. Geddes, Problems of Sex, p. 20.

[23] Animal Intelligence, p. 242.

[24] Pycraft. These cases, with those that follow, are again taken from The Infancy of Animals, pp. 217-219.

[25] Animal Intelligence, p. 242.

[26] Romanes refers to Silliman’s American Journal, February 1872.

[27] These cases would seem to contradict the statement made on p. 82 that small families occur when the young are protected by the parents. I cannot explain this exception. But what I have stated about the dependence of the birth rate on the amount of parental care is commonly true. In this connection I would quote Mr. Pycraft (Infancy of Animals, p. 214): “A careful survey of the facts shows us that the production of large numbers of eggs and young produces the same result as obtained where but few eggs are laid, and are either carefully guarded by the parents or are specially protected by some other means.”

[28] Quoted by St. George Mivart.

[29] Pycraft, ibid., p. 218. The story of this excellent father and also several of the other cases given are taken from Yarrell, Brit. Fishes, 2nd edit., ii. p. 436.

[30] J. Lewis Bonhote, British Birds, pp. 314-315. See also The Truth about Woman, pp. 107, 249, 265.

[31] P. Chalmers-Mitchell, Childhood of Animals, pp. 70, 109, 157.

[32] Several examples are mentioned in Darwinism, p. 281. Wallace, however, brings them forward in quite a different connection to prove his theory of the protective duller colours of the female birds.

[33] P. 136 et seq.

[34] See p. 221, which is evidence that, perhaps, may be held to give some corroboration.

[35] An interesting account of the family qualities of birds is given by Espinas in Des SociÉtÉs Animales, pp. 234-292.

[36] P. C. Mitchell, Childhood of Animals, pp. 157, 158. See also about the ostrich, The Truth about Woman, p. 94.

[37] This is done to my knowledge by the male wood-pigeon, missel-thrush, blue-martin, buzzard, stone curlew, curlew, dottrel, sand-piper, common gull, black-coated gull, kittiwake, razorbill, puffin, stormy petrel, great blue heron and black vulture. There are probably good fathers among other species whose names I have missed.

[38] Pycraft, Infancy of Animals, p. 62.

[39] Pycraft, Infancy of Animals, pp. 77-78.

[40] Mitchell, Childhood of Animals, pp. 160-162. Pycraft, Infancy of Animals, pp. 63, 68, 70, 71, 75, 76.

[41] The scene was witnessed by Miss Turner. I take my account from Mr. Pycraft, who quotes from Miss Turner.

[42] Mr. Eliot Howard calls attention to this remarkable conduct in his fascinating book on the British Warblers.

[43] Mitchell, Childhood of Animals, pp. 149-150, 159.

[44] For a much fuller account of these bad fathers among birds see The Truth about Woman, pp. 90, 104-111, where explanation is attempted. See also The Position of Woman in Primitive Society (American title, The Age of Mother-Power), p. 63.

[45] J. G. Millais, Natural History of British Ducks, p. 8.

[46] The habits of the penguins were first noted by the late Dr. Ed. A. Wilson, the distinguished naturalist of the Discovery Expedition, and on his death his work was ably carried on by the Staff Surgeon, Murray Levick. He has come nearer to the life of the penguin than any other discoverer. See Natural History of the AdÉlie Penguins. Also article in The New Statesman, April 17, 1915.

[47] The lowliest living mammals, the duck-billed mole and the anteater of Australia, still lay eggs, which they retain within their bodies until nearly ready to hatch.

[48] This case is recorded by Mr. Chalmers Mitchell in The Childhood of Animals, the fascinating book from which I have gained so much assistance.

[49] See The Truth about Woman, pp. 102-114, also The Position of Woman in Primitive Society, the theme of which book follows and develops this theory.

[50] Mitchell, Childhood of Animals, p. 225.

[51] Mitchell, Childhood of Animals, pp. 164, 166, 225.

[52] Letourneau, The Evolution of Marriage, p. 32.

[53] Mitchell, Childhood of Animals, pp. 170-171.

[54] Espinas, Soc. Animales, pp. 120 et seq. The reader should consult this work on the three stages of domestic societies: “the society conjugal, the society maternal, and the society paternal.”

[55] Letourneau, Evolution of Marriage, p. 327.

[56] In this connection see The Truth about Woman pp. 110-111.

[57] Darwin, Descent of Man, p. 443.

[58] Espinas, Soc. Animales. See the introductory and concluding chapters of this admirable book.

[59] Havelock Ellis, Psychology of Sex, vol. vi. p. 422.

[60] J. C. Houtzeau, FacultÉs mentales des animaux, vol. ii. p. 394. This work should be consulted, in particular, for the comparison it gives of the mental faculties of the animals with those of man.

[61] Darwin, Descent of Man, p. 399.

[62] Letourneau, Evolution of Marriage, p. 33. See also The Truth about Woman, p. 109 and The Position of Woman in Primitive Society.

[63] Mitchell, Childhood of Animals, p. 171 et seq.; p. 176.

[64] English title, The Position of Woman in Primitive Society: A Study of Matriarchy.

[65] I am not giving any references in support of the statements made in this chapter. The reader is referred to The Age of Mother-Power.

[66] The Age of Mother-Power.

[67] I would wish to say here that I did not consider this question sufficiently when I wrote The Age of Mother-Power. I was, perhaps, carried away by the advantages to women of the maternal system of reckoning descent. Such a system could be preserved only under the conditions of the communal clan. This necessitated the absorption of the individual family, which must consist of father, mother and children. I hold this to be a greater evil than the wrongs—great as those wrongs undoubtedly were—that came in family relationships with the re-establishment of the patriarchal home.

[68] The reader is referred to a new book on feminism that has come into my hands while reading the proofs of this chapter, Towards a Sane Feminism, by Wilma Meikle. The book is instructive as expressing the views of the younger suffragists. Note especially the three chapters, “Simplifying Sex Problems,” “How to be Moral though Married,” and “Between the Home and the Labour Market.” One short sentence I quote which clearly shows the opinions held by the writer, “The truth is that Motherhood is one of the most casual of all relationships and one of the shortest-lived.” Any comment from me on this smart folly is unnecessary.

[69] The quotation is taken from the well-known book of Mrs. Perkins Gilman, who gave the earliest expression to this false view of what is good for the child.

[70] Years of Childhood, by Serge Aksakoff, trans. by J. D. Duff.

[71] See note on p. 155.

[72] These were the numbers given in the debate in Parliament, April 4, 1916, at the time of writing this chapter. They will be much, much larger before my book is finished and published.

[73] For a full description of these early experiments in communal dwellings see The Age of Mother-Power, pp. 48, 103-131, 151.

[74] See p. 112.

[75] See p. 119.

[76] See The Age of Mother-Power, pp. 127, 173, 178, 177-180.

[77] See Iwan Bloch, Sexual History of our Times, p. 196, who quotes from Josef Kohler.

[78] See pp. 229-254.

[79] The reader is referred to the chapter on “Divorce” in The Truth about Woman, pp. 352-359. I may, perhaps, also state my intention of devoting my next book entirely to the urgent question of Divorce Reform. For this reason I have said very little about the subject in this work.

[80] See pp. 229-254.

[81] See p. 347.

[82] The reader is referred to the chapter on “Reproductive Differences” in an instructive little book, Preparation for Marriage, by Walter Heape.

[83] See p. 339.

[84] See The Truth about Woman, pp. 326-328. Also article in the English Review, September 1913, republished as a small book in America under the title Women and Morality.

[85] The Truth about Woman, p. 191.

[86] See p. 51.

[87] This estimate of the number of Women War Workers is given by Sir Leo Chiozza Money.

[88] See p. 155.

[89] Sir Leo Chiozza Money, in an article in Tit Bits (October 21, 1916), “Women’s Share in Winning the War,” says, “Assuming peace to come by the end of 1917, the country will probably contain about two millions more women than men of marriageable age.”

[90] I am here in agreement with Mr. H. G. Wells’ forecast, “What is Coming?” See his essay on Women and the War, already referred to, p. 167.

[91] On this question see The Truth about Woman, pp. 372, 373. An article by Mr. W. L. George, “Women after the War,” appeared in the English Review of December 1. Mr. George gives some very interesting statistics as to the disproportion between the numbers of the two sexes, treating the question from a very new point of view. He shows that the number of unmarried men in England and Wales at the last census so greatly outnumbered the extra women that there were “nearly three men for every superfluous woman!”

[92] I related this incident first in The Truth about Woman, p. 347.

[93] Very interesting statistics in this connection are given in an admirable monograph by Dr. Max Marcuse, Uneheliche MÜtter (Berlin, 1907, vol. xxvii. of the Documents of Great Towns, edited by Hans Ostwald).

Taken from Jahrbuch fÜr das deutsche Reich. This table clearly shows a steady increase in the illegitimate birth-rate in direct proportion to the decline in the number of marriages.

In Bavaria, again, up to the year 1868, the parishes (Gemeinden) held a power of veto over all wage-earners desiring to marry. In 1868 most of these restrictions were abolished, and at once the illegitimate births dropped 12.6 per cent.

[94] The reader is referred to the chapter on “Prostitution” in The Truth about Woman.

[95] By the Affiliation Order Act, 1914, two important changes in the law were gained (see p. 276), but little has been done in comparison with the wise changes made in other States.

[96] In this connection the reader is referred to a statement made in the Report of the Royal Commission of Venereal Diseases (p. 17), with regard to “the high prevalence of syphilis among unmarried mothers.” An examination made by Dr. Mott as to the presence of syphilis in poor unmarried and working-class married women found that among the former 27.6 per cent. of the mothers were infected, while for the married the percentage was as low as 6.6. The Report states: “The tests in the above cases were carefully carried out, and the results, although based on too few cases to justify sweeping generalisations, must be regarded as extremely significant.” See also the next chapter, “The Dangers of Sexual Diseases.”

[97] Feminism in Germany and Scandinavia, by Katharine Anthony. This interesting little book gives a full account of the splendid Norwegian bill, as well as considerable information on other matters connected with the unmarried mother.

[98] By the Affiliation Order Act of 1914, two important changes in the law were gained—

(1) The compulsory interval of six days (a period which gave the man opportunity to escape) between the summons and the appearance in court of the putative father was abolished.

(2) The amount of the affiliation order was made payable through an official of the court (formerly it was left to the woman to collect the money), who has power, with the consent of the woman, to take action in case of non-payment.

[99] The Truth about Woman, pp. 359-374.

[100] In proof of this, see the letters from the Mothers of the Co-operative Guild quoted on pp. 40-44.

[101] The Education Committee of the London County Council, for instance, have just agreed that in spite of the Report on Venereal Diseases and with its recommendation to schools to give sexual instruction, they would in no case advise teachers to give class instruction on such matters, but, at the same time, they advise teachers to give such instruction privately to “individual” pupils.

[102] “Three Contributions to the Sexual Theory,” The Infantile Sexuality, p. 38. Eng. trans., New York, 1910.

[103] See p. 100. Also p. 222. For further information on this subject, the reader is referred to the works of Mr. Walter Heape, especially Sex Antagonism and Preparation for Marriage.

[104] See pp. 185 and 298.

[105] See pp. 100-102.

[106] This is the opinion of Stanley Hall, whose wise work on Adolescence should be read by all mothers. In this connection he beautifully writes: “In this way the girl will be anchored in time to what is really the essential thing, viz. reproduction and the carrying beneath her heart and then bearing children, which are the hope of the world.”

[107] I find it estimated that by the end of 1917, of the persons aged from fifteen to forty-four in the United Kingdom, the females will exceed the males by nearly two millions.