'The launching of the Domestic Workers' Union took place at Caxton Hall this week, speeded on its way to revolutionize domestic service in Great Britain by Sir Walter Citrine, secretary of the Trade Union Congress, and Miss Marie Burke the actress. She described how she and some others, through being stranded during a theatrical tour at Glasgow, were led to form Equity, the actors' union, the benefit of which, she said, is now recognized by managers as much as by "the profession." As I said last week that mistresses would welcome a union of maids wholeheartedly if it led to some sense of responsibility in the maids, no comment is needed, The Domestic Workers' Union begins with 1500 members and eight branches which though small compared with the total num ber tf such workers, is pretty good.
Sir Walter Citrine thought that the servant problem (though servant Is, word we must not use) would eventually be solved by having maids who came in for so many hours each day. Part of the trouble undoubtedly is that neither mistresses nor maids go out to their work ax men do, and' living continually under the same roof friction develops, But the supreme difficulty is the social one that service in a house is considered (among the girls and their boy friends") as a grade below service in a shop or factory, And how the Do-mastic Workers' Union will deal with that I don't know.
Speaking to the Society for the Oversea Seitiement of Women last night the Dowager Marchioness of Reading said that if she were a young woman again, she would go to Australia tomorrow, and would take on any job—domestic service if neces sary, The statement cannot, of course, be tested. But the number of girls who are going to the Dominions is rather remarkable, The Society mentioned is sending 1,000 this year and says thay it could easily place 2,000 who had the necessary training, There are, of course, too many women in England, and although the tendency for several years has been for more boy babies to be born than girls, it obviously useless for them to wait {ill the former are grown up.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.