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The club may also help the village church or, rather, churches. These are a problem in every farming community, for there are usually too many for the population, and no one of them is well supported. It may be that some clubs may be successful in having a union church; but, if not that, at least they can frown on the spirit of jealousy between the churches and establish coöperation. The buildings may be freed from their mortgages, the interiors freshened, the choirs improved, the minister's house papered, the Sunday school modernized, the women's societies assisted. There is always plenty to be done to help a struggling country church.

A town library may be started by the gift of one book by each family, and club women may take turns in giving out the books one day a week and providing entertainments to raise money to buy more.

Clubs may also help the town celebrate fête days: Arbor Day, the Fourth of July, Harvest Home, and the birthdays of local celebrities or of Washington and Lincoln. The schoolhouse may be used for such meetings.

The motto of every rural club should be: Coöperation. As one kind of work is taken up after another it will soon be seen how much women can do if they work together for the good of all. The little club nucleus may draw to itself the men of the community, the young people, and even the children, and together they may build up something fine, something of substantial value. Country life has its problems, but far more, it has its great, glorious opportunities.

These are some of the helpful books to be bought, or borrowed from the State Library:

"The Report of the Commission on Country Life." (Sturges and Walton.) "Coöperation Among Farmers," John Lee Coulter. (Sturgis and Walton.) "The Rural Problem in the United States," Sir Horace Plunkett. (Macmillan.) "How to Live in the Country." E. P. Powell (Outing Publishing Co.) "A Self-Supporting Home" and "The Earth's Bounty." Kate V. St Maur. (Macmillan.)

CHAPTER XII
The History of England

In studying the subject presented, for general reference use "The Short History of England" by E. P. Cheney (Ginn & Co.), and Halleck's "English Literature" (American Book Company). All topics can also be looked up in the Encyclopædia Britannica.

I – DRUIDS, CELTS, ROMANS, AND SAXONS

Begin with some idea of the prehistoric conditions in Great Britain, and have a map study. Follow with a sketch of the Druids, the Celts and their folk lore and the Arthurian legends.

The Roman conquest comes next. Read Tennyson's "Boadicea." Discuss: What did Rome give England of permanent value?

The early Saxons will bring in the coming of St. Augustine to England and the history of early Christianity there. Read of Cædmon at Whitby and the Venerable Bede, as the beginnings of English literature.

Following this will be the stories of Alfred and his reforms, of Edward the Confessor, and Harold. Read from the "Death of Columba" (Bede's Ecclesiastical History, Bohn's Library), Bulwer's "Harold," and "Beowulf" (translation in Riverside Literary Series, Houghton Mifflin & Co.).

II – THE NORMANS AND PLANTAGENETS

The economic and political changes of this time should be especially emphasized. Domesday Book, Magna Charta, the development of the feudal system, chivalry, the rise in power of the nobles, the hardships of the poor, the Normans on the Continent, and the Crusaders, with their effect on commerce, are all to be taken up. Have readings from Charles Kingsley's "Hereward the Wake," Scott's "Talisman," and Maurice Hewlett's "Richard Yea-and-Nay."

The list of the Plantagenet kings is long and their reigns are full of interest, but the main emphasis here, as under the Normans, belongs to the development of the nation. Take the subjects of the building of universities; the growth of Parliament; the increase of learning among the people; and Chaucer, with the "Canterbury Tales" as pictures of the life of the times.

In studying Edward III read of his relations with Scotland and France, and give an account of his famous battles. With the reign of Richard II comes the Peasants' Revolt. Discuss: How did it represent the spirit of the age?

An interesting account may be given of Henry IV and Henry V. Give some idea of the Wars of the Roses, and close the period with an account of the Princes in the Tower, Caxton and printing, and the English Bible. Read from Shakespeare's Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, and Richard III; also Stevenson's "The Black Arrow," Rossetti's "The King's Tragedy," De Quincey's "Joan of Arc."

III – THE TUDORS

At this point the story of Modern England begins. Under Henry VII notice the attempts of pretenders to the throne. Read of some of the famous men of the time.

Henry VIII is one of the best known characters in history. Speak of his tyrannical rule, his matrimonial ventures, his quarrel with the Pope and its results; the Field of the Cloth of Gold; of the English Reformation, Tyndale's New Testament and More's "Utopia." Tell of the brief reign of Edward VI.

Mary and the terrible persecutions follow this, with the connection of England and Spain. Notice the fate of Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer; read the tragic story of Lady Jane Grey.

The reign of Elizabeth is one of the wonderful periods of history. Have papers on her religious and political policies; her relations with Mary, Queen of Scots; the war with Spain; relations with Holland; the Invincible Armada, and kindred subjects. From a literary standpoint the age is of supreme importance, with Shakespeare heading a long list of famous names. Discuss the Elizabethan stage. Have brief sketches of Marlowe, Ben Jonson, Bacon, and Spenser, with readings.

IV – THE STUARTS AND CROMWELL

The study of the Stuarts begins with James I.

When studying Charles I, take up the struggle of the King with Parliament, the "forced loans," the King's favorites, and the beginning of the Civil War.

At this time Cromwell becomes the most conspicuous figure in European history. Have several meetings on the Commonwealth, and a study of Cromwell as a man and a leader. Notice that Home Rule in Ireland first comes into prominence. Subjects for papers may be: Milton and his influence; Lovelace and his verses; The Women of the Civil War (see Traill's "Social England"). Read also from Carlyle's "Cromwell," "Evelyn's Diary" and Browning's "Strafford."

With Charles II disaster came again to England. Read from "Old St. Paul" by Wm. Harrison Ainsworth (Everyman's Library). Have a paper on James II and another on the coming to England of William and Mary, the Battle of the Boyne and the new régime. Read from Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress," Dryden's "Annus Mirabilis," Scott's "Peveril of the Peak," Blackmore's "Lorna Doone."

The time between this period and that of the Victorian Age should have several meetings. Study the Bill of Rights and its effect; also the reign of Queen Anne, the writers and the politics of the day.

V – THE GEORGES

Then turn to the Georges and give an account of their curious court life.

The reign of George III touches on our own history. Take up our Revolution and that of France. Notice the great industrial changes in England, and read from Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations." Napoleon, the war in Spain, Wellington and Waterloo, England and the Slave Trade, and Lord Nelson, should all be emphasized.

Study among others, the painters Gainsborough, Romney, and Reynolds; have one meeting on these and another on the furniture of the times and its famous makers, and Wedgwood china. See "The Secret History of the Court of England," by Lady Hamilton (The Page Company).

VI – THE AGE OF VICTORIA

Several meetings must certainly be given to the reign of Victoria, one of the most celebrated in history. The first paper may deal with her as a woman in her home. Then take up the politics of the times. Have papers on the different wars: the opium war in China, that in Afghanistan, the Crimea, the Sepoy rebellion, General Gordon and his work.

Add to these, papers on the expansion of England's colonies and their development; social and moral progress; the Reform Bill; the growth of democracy; the increase of industry through invention, and the great expansion in scientific fields, physics, biology, botany, medicine, and sociology.

The Victorian period is remarkable for its writers. Trace the development of the novel as shown in the works of Thackeray, Dickens, and George Eliot, with readings. The trend of poetry and the influence of Tennyson, Browning, and Swinburne may follow this, and then have the Pre-Raphaelite movement with its ideals of art and poetry, and a study of the Rossettis. The essayists must be noticed, especially Macaulay, Carlyle, Ruskin, and Pater, and the subject of painting and music studied with its various exponents.

VII – THE PRESENT

Last of all comes the study of England in our own time. Begin with papers on Edward VII and George V, and their ministers, especially noticing Lloyd-George and Asquith; speak of the Welsh Disestablishment Bill, the Education Bill, and the Ulster Question. Notice the English laws concerning women and children; speak also of suffrage. Close with the great war which began in 1914, its causes, leading men and principal events.

Have several meetings on the novelists, poets, playwrights, and artists of to-day. A special study might also be made of the cathedrals of England. See "The Cathedrals of England," by Mary J. Tabor (The Page Company).

CHAPTER XIII
Woman's Problems of Work

INTRODUCTORY

The outline given here may be amplified by taking up in the same general way the conditions of life of women in several representative countries, both the rich and poor, the workers and the women of leisure, closing the year with an outlook on the whole woman question of the world.

The first point to be taken up is the life of the primitive woman. She was the great laborer. The man hunted and fished and fought, and the woman sowed and reaped, did the drudgery of the home, made clothing, prepared food, and bore the responsibility. As civilization slowly crept in she relinquished many of her out-of-door tasks and developed greater ability to meet the steadily increasing problems within doors.

Notice where savagery still persists, women remain in the same condition as in primitive times. Read of the African women, and the Bushmen of Australia.

The study of the Hebrew women is the next point, for they advanced from a comparatively obscure position to one of honor. The Greek women may be compared with them. Read of the life of the Roman women. Next will come the study of the Anglo-Saxon women, working with their hands, but intelligent and forceful. Study the women of the next period, that of the Crusades. Read of the romantic lives of some, and follow with a paper on the women in convents and their occupations. From this point on, women's work remained much the same for the leisure class; but as life grew socially more complex, work became more intricate and varied.

The study of cottage industries may be mentioned here. Have several papers showing the life of the time our own colonies were established, and the work done by women. The important thing to be noticed is that all women worked; idleness was not in fashion. They spun and wove, they knitted and dyed, they made candles and table linen, and cotton and woolen clothing. Some few still carried on cottage industries or taught dames' schools, and a few managed farms or kept shops or taverns; but most of them were employed in the home exclusively.

About the middle of the nineteenth century came the great world-wide industrial revolution which forever changed women's work, and for a time the work of men. Read of the introduction of machines into the English districts where the hand looms had been in use. Have papers or talks on conditions everywhere in this transition period. This was the beginning of the great work of women in factories. Especially in New England, factory work became a large part of life. Daughters of farmers, of shop-keepers, of the owners of the mills themselves, and many school-teachers in vacation, were employed from five o'clock in the morning until seven o'clock in the evening. There was no social stigma put upon them. Read from the early history of Mount Holyoke.

Mill towns were considered models of quietness and morality because of the presence of hundreds of women. Their life was full of intellectual stimulation; lyceums brought the best lecturers: Emerson, Lowell, and other great writers and orators often spoke; the women edited and published little newspapers of their own. Lucy Larcom was a mill girl; read her poem called "An Idyl of Work," and her paper published in the Atlantic Monthly, volume 48, called "Mill Girls' Magazines."

But the hours of work were too long, the boarding houses too poor, the pay too meager. Gradually the American girl was replaced by the foreigner, and this period of work was at an end.

From this point factory work, as we know it, will open before the club. Study it especially in relation to cigar and cigarette and candy making, and in clothing industries of all sorts. Describe conditions as factory inspection has discovered them; notice the unsafe buildings, the long hours, heavy fines, and low pay. Discuss what should be done to remedy such evils. Have some of these questions taken up: Should Women Enter Trade Unions, or Is Organization Unnecessary? Do Strikes Pay? Should Women Insist on Compensation for Injuries and Old-Age Pensions? Can a Woman Work All Day and Still Bear Healthy Children and Bring Them Up Properly? Should There Be Mothers' Pensions? What of Night Work for Women? Describe the life of the night scrub-woman in a city. Read "The Long Day."

Turning to the work of women in shops, notice that it was about 1859 when the first women took this up. Compare the conditions then with conditions to-day. Describe welfare work. Discuss the "living wage," and question whether this should not depend on competence. What of lack of recreation and social life? Does the low wage drive girls to immorality? What can be done locally to better conditions in our shops?

This all leads up to the enormous subject of women's work to-day. It is said that three hundred lines of work are open to them, and clubs should select what they prefer to study. Among the many books of reference to be found on these and similar topics are: "Woman and Labor," Olive Schreiner (F. A. Stokes Co.); "Women and Economics," Charlotte Perkins Stetson (Small, Maynard); "Women in Industry," Edith Abbott (D. Appleton & Co.); "The American Business Woman," J. H. Cromwell (G. P. Putnam's Sons); "Women's Share in Social Culture," Anna G. Spencer (Mitchell Kennerley); "The Long Day," D. Richardson (Century Co.); "Woman and Social Progress," Scott and Nellie Nearing (The Macmillan Co.); "The Girl Who Earns Her Own Living," Anna Steese Richardson (Dodge); "How Women May Earn a Living," Helen C. Candee (The Macmillan Co.); "The Business of Being a Woman," Ida M. Tarbell (The Macmillan Co.); "Mrs. Julia Ward Howe and the Suffrage Movement," by Florence Howe Hall (The Page Company).

CHAPTER XIV
Women's Problems of Work – Continued

I – TO-DAY

Clubs may begin this study with the problems of the woman in the tenement. There is the home itself. She is hampered by a small, crowded space in which to bring up the family; there is insufficient light and air, it is too cold in winter and too hot in summer; there are few conveniences for washing or cooking; beds are generally uncomfortable, the walls are cumbered with clothing, there is no space for the children to play and no privacy.

The first paper may describe the home in detail and be followed with a reading from "How the Other Half Lives," by Jacob Riis.

The next paper may take up certain difficulties of management the woman in the tenement must contend with. If she takes in work, tailoring, or flower making, or anything of the kind, space is even less than before. If she goes out to work, the care of the house falls on the children, who are overworked and neglected. She seldom knows how to buy economically, or cook appetizingly, or make clothing for her family. If the husband loses work, she must feel the stress of need. All the tenement life tends to send the children to the streets for amusement and air, the husband to the saloon for entertainment. The boys are apt to grow up without the instincts of home, and the girls often become immoral.

The third paper may present some solutions of her various problems. There are laws requiring space and air in tenements, and landlords who neglect their buildings may be made to better them; the work of the Legal Aid Association in these and other respects is to be studied.

Then women of the tenements should be brought into touch with Friendly Visitors and settlements, taught to clean up, to sew, to buy, to cook, to make home attractive. The children must be put into day nurseries if the mother goes out; the school teacher must come in to advise about the growing children; the music settlement may possibly give a hand; certainly the classes for boys and girls in the settlements, and the libraries, and evenings of recreation there may help them. The Little Mothers' Aid Association, and the fresh air work, the recreation piers, the small parks, and many other helps may be drawn upon. All these and others should be described.

Read from the report of the "Housing Reform," published by the Charities Publication Committee at 105 East Twenty-second Street, New York; also from the pamphlet on "Remedial Loans," National Federation of Remedial Loan Associations, 31 Union Square, New York, and the report of the Little Mothers' Aid Association, 236 Second Avenue, New York, and from material from the National Federation of Settlements, 20 Union Park, Boston.

II – THE SICK POOR IN CITY AND COUNTRY

The second meeting may be on the subject of the sick poor, in country and city. One paper may be on personal experiences among the poor in country districts – what their conditions are, what is lacking, how to help them without injuring their pride. Discuss how relief can be given without pauperization. If possible have some one speak of the work in the country, such as is done by the neighborly settlement of Keene Valley, New York.

The state of things among the city poor is even worse than in the country. Mention the trouble if the man of the house is sick and out of work, and there is no other wage earner. Speak of the state of things when there is a new-born baby; describe the sick child alone all day with few toys or none, and the chronic invalid in the slums. Read "The Lady of Shallott," by Elizabeth Phelps Ward in Little Classics.

The third paper or talk may present the brighter side of the picture. It may tell of what individuals have done in great gifts for hospitals, clinics, and work for cripples and babies, of pure milk and free ice, of dispensaries, of food for convalescents, of floating hospitals, and parties of mothers and babies at the seashore. Read from descriptions of these and other helpful society work.

Notice also what is being done in teaching consumptives to live on the roof, in keeping babies safely on the fire escape, in the work of the visiting nurse, the care of the cancerous poor, and the general wave of helpfulness going out in every quarter. Information on all these points and others may be had by writing to the charity organization of any large city, or to a settlement. Club women should make practical these two subjects – of the tenement-house woman and the sick poor – by discussing what the club can do to help.

III – THE WOMAN WHO WORKS FOR PAY IN THE HOME

The third problem for study is that of the woman who works for pay in the home. This naturally falls into two divisions:

There is first the woman who takes in sewing, either by the piece or by wholesale, making trousers or cloaks, or artificial flowers, or conducting any of the home trades. Have a presentation of each of these, with the hours spent on the work, the pay, the effect on health, and the lack of care the children receive.

The second part of the subject is that of domestic service. One paper should be on employment bureaus, their worth, the morals of many of them, and the laws governing them.

A second brief paper may be on references and their ethics. The subjects of the supply and demand of servants, of the relation of mistress and maid, of the hours of work, of wages, of the maid's room, her time off, her friends, the care of sick and old servants, may all follow. Discuss: What can be done to give us better servants? Do servants' unions help matters or make them worse? Are clubs for servants desirable? Can employers combine to make relations between mistresses and maids better?

IV – WOMEN WORKERS IN MILLS

Work in the factory is the problem which follows next. The sweatshop work is of great importance. Note how many women are away from home all day; how there is a season of overwork and a dull season without pay; the steady use of the sewing machine, with or without power; the poor ventilation and sanitation of the shops; the dim light, causing loss of eyesight; the fines; the effect of noise and confusion on the nerves of the women; all these are of deep interest. Read from the reports of the National Consumers' League, to be obtained by writing to Mrs. Florence Kelley, 106 East Nineteenth Street, New York, and let the club women decide to insist on the use of the white label on the garments they buy.

The work of manufactories and mills may be divided into as many papers as there is time; there is the work of women in the canneries with its hours of labor and often with night work; the work in mills, the danger from machinery, and the impaired health of employees. Read from "Woman and the Trades" by Elizabeth B. Butler, published by the Russell Sage Foundation, 105 East Twenty-second Street, New York. Discuss the condition of women workers in mills and manufactories, and the strength of their children. Where mills are near at hand clubs may find out if the machinery is protected, if there is accident insurance or an employers' liability, and whether there are pensions.

There may be a paper, to close the subject, on strikes of women workers and how much they have accomplished. Read from "Fatigue and Efficiency," by Josephine Goldmark.

V – THE PROBLEM OF CHILD LABOR

The problem of child labor properly comes under the problems of women, for the mother is responsible for the child's health and development. The first topic is that of the child at home who must take the mother's place, do the housework, care for the children, assume the responsibility. What of her health and schooling?

Then there is the child who does paid work at home, extracts nut meats, makes artificial flowers and the like. What of its pay? Is it a fair one? What of the effect of long hours of confinement?

Street occupations come next; these are largely taken by boys, and the work of the newspaper seller, the district messenger, the boot-black, the errand boy, should all be studied. Is their health impaired? Are their morals endangered? Are the boys educated?

The work of children in mills and factories is often most distressing. Conditions in glass factories, mines, canneries, silk mills, in the shrimp industry, and in the Southern cotton mills are all to be studied. Note the great numbers of children so employed: in Pennsylvania in 1914, 33,000; in Massachusetts, 12,000; in North Carolina, 10,000, and in other States large numbers. Discuss the future of such children. Compare the work of bound-out children on farms and in the country generally. Read Mrs. Browning's "Cry of the Children" and E. K. Coulter's "Children in the Shadow."

One meeting should take up the laws of the State on child labor. See "Some Ethical Gains Through Legislation," by Mrs. Florence Kelley, which gives valuable material on this point, and a pamphlet by Josephine Goldmark, called "Child Labor Legislation," published by the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Philadelphia. The Child Labor Committee at 105 East Twenty-second Street, New York, will send pamphlets free of charge.

VI – THE SHOP GIRL AND HER LIFE

The next great problem of woman's work to-day is that of the workers in retail shops. This may be made extremely interesting if the chairman of the program will arrange to have the club members interview in advance a number of shop girls, and find out something of the conditions under which they work, of their pay, their home life and other points, and give personal reports.

One paper or talk may be on the usual hours of work, the kind of work done, the hours of overwork, the pay, the prospect of advancement. A second paper may be on the rest-room, the noon hour, the luncheon provided for pay, and especially on what is known as "welfare work," which many large shops do.

A third paper may discuss the relation of the girls to their employers, or to the floor walker; telling of care or tyranny, of fines, of the sanitary conditions of cloak rooms, of the effect on health of long standing.

This may be followed by a third paper on the cost of a shop girl's living; of room rent, food, clothing, car fares and recreation; how does the result compare with her pay? Discuss the minimum wage. Is it fair to pay alike the competent and incompetent? Is immorality due to a low living wage? Can a girl save for illness? Read "An Unfinished Story," by O. Henry, in "The Four Million." (Doubleday.)

Have different women suggest what can be done to help the shop girl. Describe what is called "preventive work," done largely by girls from college in the evening, and the work of the Y. W. C. A., and settlements. What can club women do by way of personal acquaintance and interest? What of short shopping hours and early Christmas shopping?

Read from a paper called "The Club Worker," published by the National League of Women Workers; address, Hotel Savoy, New York; and from "Saleswomen in Mercantile Stores," by Elizabeth B. Butler, published at 105 East Twenty-second Street, New York.

VII – THE BUSINESS WOMAN

The problems of the business woman in a larger way will naturally follow this. One paper may speak of women who are managing farms and ranches, others who have become the heads of business houses or real estate offices; some who are chemists, or designers or decorators; those who have tea rooms, who buy for importing houses or engage in catering. The work of the great army of stenographers and private secretaries would also come under this topic.

Present the different fields of work, and illustrate with examples as far as possible, and then discuss these and similar questions: Do women naturally incline to business? Is their home training at fault for the many mistakes of the average woman? Should fathers see that their daughters understand something of banking, of keeping accounts, of investments, of managing an income? How much should a girl know of business? Should every girl be able to earn a living?

VIII – THE PROFESSIONAL WOMAN AND HER DIFFICULTIES

The problems of a professional woman may be made the subject of several meetings. Present the lives of the doctor, the nurse, the lawyer, the professor, the school teacher, the writer, the artist, the musician, and discuss in each case the difficulties she has to contend with.

Such questions as these may follow: Should professional women marry? Are their home lives well developed? Are they fitted for the career of the law? Do writers and artists tend to become bohemians? What are the relations of men and women in the same profession?

IX – WOMAN AND THE STATE

The last subject for the year's study is the relation of women and the State. One paper may take up some of the laws which govern her, concerning property; a second may speak of divorce, and show the diversity of the laws of different States; a third may tell of the influence of women on legislation, of lobbying and appearing before committees. The desirability of placing women on certain state and municipal boards such as health, sanitation, care of defectives, vice commissions, reformatories, and schools should be fully presented.

The subject of equal suffrage will develop from this last topic of the year and both sides should be taken up as fully or as slightly as the club desires. Reports of the progress of suffrage in different States, what has been accomplished where it is established, and kindred themes, will suggest themselves. Read from Olive Schreiner's "Woman and Labor" (Stokes); Ellen Key's "The Woman Movement" (Putnam); and Ida Tarbell's "The Business of Being a Woman" (Macmillan).