II—THE SICK POOR IN CITY AND COUNTRY
The second meeting may be on the subject of the sick poor, in country and city. One paper may be on personal experiences among the poor in country districts—what their conditions are, what is lacking, how to help them without injuring their pride. Discuss how relief can be given without pauperization. If possible have some one speak of the work in the country, such as is done by the neighborly settlement of Keene Valley, New York.
The state of things among the city poor is even worse than in the country. Mention the trouble if the man of the house is sick and out of work, and there is no other wage earner. Speak of the state of things when there is a new-born baby; describe the sick child alone all day with few toys or none, and the chronic invalid in the slums. Read "The Lady of Shallott," by Elizabeth Phelps Ward in Little Classics.
The third paper or talk may present the brighter side of the picture. It may tell of what individuals have done in great gifts for hospitals, clinics, and work for cripples and babies, of pure milk and free ice, of dispensaries, of food for convalescents, of floating hospitals, and parties of mothers and babies at the seashore. Read from descriptions of these and other helpful society work.
Notice also what is being done in teaching consumptives to live on the roof, in keeping babies safely on the fire escape, in the work of the visiting nurse, the care of the cancerous poor, and the general wave of helpfulness going out in every quarter. Information on all these points and others may be had by writing to the charity organization of any large city, or to a settlement. Club women should make practical these two subjects—of the tenement-house woman and the sick poor—by discussing what the club can do to help.
III—THE WOMAN WHO WORKS FOR PAY IN THE HOME
The third problem for study is that of the woman who works for pay in the home. This naturally falls into two divisions:
There is first the woman who takes in sewing, either by the piece or by wholesale, making trousers or cloaks, or artificial flowers, or conducting any of the home trades. Have a presentation of each of these, with the hours spent on the work, the pay, the effect on health, and the lack of care the children receive.
The second part of the subject is that of domestic service. One paper should be on employment bureaus, their worth, the morals of many of them, and the laws governing them.
A second brief paper may be on references and their ethics. The subjects of the supply and demand of servants, of the relation of mistress and maid, of the hours of work, of wages, of the maid's room, her time off, her friends, the care of sick and old servants, may all follow. Discuss: What can be done to give us better servants? Do servants' unions help matters or make them worse? Are clubs for servants desirable? Can employers combine to make relations between mistresses and maids better?