to undersell them in this way to such an extent that thousands of men are tramping the streets looking for work, whilst their daughters, for half the money they could command, are doing the work which should have been theirs. It is the business of the Trade Unions to organise the women and compel them to demand the same wage for the same work. Then men will be employed, except in those occupations where women are obviously more fitted for the work than men. It is quite certain that if the Lancashire Textile Unions had not brought the women into their Unions the whole of the Lancashire cotton trade might have passed into the hands of women. As it is, there are more women engaged in this industry than men.
The argument just put forward to persuade men to accept the principle is the argument which women opponents of the proposal use against it. They do not want to lose their work. They cannot afford to lose it, and this is precisely what they fear from the equalisation of the rate of pay.
Of course, equal pay for equal work must mean what it says. If women permit themselves privileges which are denied to the men workers in the same business or trade, regular days off for sickness, shorter hours, less responsibility, they must not call it 'equal work.' If women work hard and fit themselves
