Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 8.djvu/727

 REVIEWS 707

Therefore the conclusion is reached that it is very unwise for the pro- fessional woman to assume hastily that her own experience holds good for her working-class sister, and in particular it appears that the estab- lishment of women's trade unions under the patronage of " ladies " has been a complete failure. The working-woman should rather culti- vate solidarity with her own class, by acting, not in opposition to, but in concert with, the men of it. And for the same reason factory legis- lation is not to be considered, as it frequently is in England, in the same light with the restrictive legislation which now shuts out middle-class women from so many spheres. It is, Frau Brown maintains, in reality a restriction, not on women's labor, but on the power of exploitation of capital a power which has fewer terrors for the brain-worker, with her higher standard of life, and her " rent " of ability and education. She discusses at some length the question of married women's labor in factories, holding that, save in some few trades, it would be both unwise and impossible to exclude them altogether, since such a course would lead to increase of home work and to concubinage and conceal- ment of marriage. It may be noticed that the latter result is said to have already come about in the post-offices of England and America, as a consequence of the civil-service rule forbidding the employment of married women. She would instead advise stringent regulations concerning work before and after confinement, combined with a gen- erous payment from the sick-insurance fund. In England and America this might be replaced by the provision of lying-in hospitals a method more in accordance with our traditions. The general sketch of factory legislation is very well done, being both full and readable. It is accompanied by several tables showing the condition of factory legislation and of insurance in the various countries.

In short, this is by far the most thoughtful, thorough, and compre- hensive work that has appeared on the subject, and, though we may not always agree with the author, especially when in the last chapters her bias toward Social Democracy becomes evident, her treatment always shows accurate knowledge of the facts and a careful considera- tion of general principles. Her book is also remarkable because it for the first time sets forth and endeavors to reconcile the different motives and aims which underlie the women's movement in the middle and the working classes, respectively.

MABEL ATKINSON.

BRYN MAWR COLLEGE.