Melodrama the First Favourite By a Trade Unionist, An account of what working women read is even more depress. ing than the story of what is read by working men.
To take the newspaper first—usually brought home at dinner time or in the evening by the breadwinner. The average working woman will read the serial story first, then examine the pictures, after that, the criminal, divorce and inquest reports, a glance at the other headlines for something sensational and should it be a local paper, the births, deaths. and personal column, and that is the end of her interest in the day's doings.
No Time ror Porrrics.
It is very exceptional to find any working woman with an interest in the home or foreign political news, although most working women have parliamentary votes now. Young unmarried women who read the newspaper are in a minority, the average workwoman has no clear idea of ourrent events, exe pt those scraps of news she picks up in the factory or home from conversation with better informed individuals.
Most working women from the age of 18 upwards, buy, week, one or two of the period: published for them, Woman's Weekly" or "Peg's Paper" type; copies of which with similar publications seem to be the chief stock in trade of the little newsagents in industrial neighbourhoods Inquiring for 2 copy each of two of the most popular women's papers, the two papers mentioned above were supplied, and a brief description of their contents is essential in any accurate account of what working women read. as they are representative of a whole class of similar publications.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.