Page:Meta Stern Lilienthal - Women of the Future - 1916.pdf/18

 The European War, that has hurled the foremost nations of Europe back into a state of primordial savagery, was forced upon the people by their rulers and exploiters solely from the greed of gain. The workers of Europe had no cause for conflict. They were driven into the slaughter in the name of that vicious patriotism that means profit, power and glory to the ruling classes, and suffering, misery and death to the dumb, submissive masses. Neither did the women of Europe have any cause for conflict. The best, noblest, most progressive women among all the belligerent nations even continued to exchange pledges of sympathy and good will while their men were engaged in mutual destruction. But the women were not consulted. They were merely compelled to suffer and to sacrifice. In the name of patriotism they were exhorted to bear heavier burdens of toil and increased burdens of maternity, When the workers of all nations, who have no interest in the objects of war, who have nothing to gain and everything to lose by it, will be the rulers of their fate, then the end of war will be at hand.

When all will be workers and all will enjoy the fruits of their labors, there will be no incentive to rob one's fellowmen. Warfare will be stripped of all its romance and glory, and will be recognized in all its naked horror and bestiality. The toiling nations of the world will refuse to slaughter one another, and militarism will die a natural death when private ownership of the means of subsistence has been abolished. That will be the woman's hour. She, whose sphere throughout the ages has been one of peaceful productivity, wilt come into her own at last in a world where universal peace will reign, and where productive labor will be the basis of organized life.

The coming changes and adjustments in the position of women are being foreshadowed in the many changes and adjustments going on in present-day society. Ever since industry was taken out of the home and socialized, women have gone forth and become social producers. They have continued to become social producers in steadily increasing numbers during a century of industrial development, and we still see their numbers swelling