Page:Meta Stern Lilienthal - Women of the Future - 1916.pdf/24

 needs the wife to keep house. On the contrary. Those marriages in which husband and wife have separate incomes and do not need one another for any economic reasons are often the best and most ideal even in our present society. But at present economic independence of wives is often dearly bought by work that is injurious to their motherhood, by unduly long separation from their families, by lack of proper provision for their young children, and by the added burden of household labor that women of our day cannot escape. Under present conđitions the economic independence of married women, gained by wage-work, is hardly a condition to be desired for the women themselves nor for their children; and yet married women are being forced into bread-winning occupations in growing numbers, and those to whom marriage and motherhood bring the greatest burdens are the very ones who must help to support their families. Under capitalism there is no escape from dependence and drudgery for the overwhelming mass of women. Either they are dependent upon wage slaves or they are wage słaves themselves. In either case they are not even assured of the bare necessities of life for themselves and their children in return for the hardest, incessant labor.

Women of the future will not be compelled to choose between wage slavery and marrying for a home. They will not know wage slavery. They will only know honorable labor performed under wholesome conditions for a very limited number of hours each day, assuring them of a decent livelihood and permanent economic security. They will not know marriage for any ulterior motives. To them marriage will only mean the perfect, physical and mental union with the men of their choice. The young maidens of the future, healthy in body and mind, will go forth from educational institutions to perform their life's work in their chosen trades and professions. Be they cooks or laundresses, weavers or dressmakers, type- writers or telephone operators, teachers or physicians,—they will be assured of a decent livelihood and of the wholesome enjoyments of life in return for their services to society. They will be young as few are young to-day, even among the favored classes. They will work and