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43
less capable of making an effort than the woman who goes out to
work, and probably by so doing broadens her view of life if only
to a small extent.
Where the mother is a wage earner, the most satisfactory
conditions prevail amongst the "Homeworkers."
In this district the general condition of the homes in which
the mothers take in work is good.
The infants are as a rule well cared for. The homeworker
has a tendency to bring up her children and look after her home
in a more methodical and regular manner than many unoccupied
women. The mothers who go out to work daily have inevitably
unsatisfactory homes. The babies are as a rule left to the care of
incompetent people, and the homes are usually neglected. It is
not possible for any woman to work twelve hours a day at laundry
work, and still keep her home clean. Instead a woman returning
after a hard day's work to a dirty house loses all heart, and spends
the short remaining time between work and sleep anywhere
rather than at home.
The extra amount gained by the mother going to work is
squandered in other ways, and indeed when the expense of bottle
feeding and the cost of having baby "minded" is deducted, the
remainder is very little. Where the mother goes out to work,
charing, &c., during a portion of the week the general conditions
are usually better. The better food which the woman gets on the
days she goes out is a distinct advantage. In many cases the
child is still entirely breast fed, the mother often being allowed by
her employer to take the child with her to work.
Previous Life of the Mother.—The life of the girl after leaving
school and before marriage, appears to be of great importance in