As a result of the civil war many women were thrown upon their own resources, with children to support, and much suffering was endured in the effort to obtain adequate compensation for labor performed. The objects of the parent protective association—"to secure justice for women and children, to give legal advice free of charge, and to extend moral support to the wronged and helpless"—appealed forcibly to practical philanthropists, and there now exist similar agencies in many other large cities in America, such as Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Buffalo, and San Francisco. The women's educational and industrial unions, which work "to increase fellowship among women in order to promote the best practical methods for securing their educational, industrial, and social advancement," have all adopted the protective work as an important branch of their endeavor. To give detailed statistics of all that has been accomplished in this line since 1864 would be impossible; indeed, so much of the work is of a private nature which can never be revealed that one must "read between the lines" of the annual reports; suffice it to say that by the protective department of one women's union during a period of fourteen years more than twelve thousand dollars unjustly withheld from working women (mostly in small sums) has been collected, police matrons appointed in three local stations, women given places on public boards, a law passed compelling the appointment of women physicians in all the State insane hospitals, and a law making the guardianship of the mother equal to that of the father (passed by the State Legislature without a single negative vote). All this has been done with little expenditure of money, but through the wise effort of courageous men and women whose service has been rendered not for charity alone, but in the cause of justice, "that each should have what he has justly earned is the first necessity of social life."
One province of the protective work is to endeavor to make more clear the obligation of the employer and employee, and especially in the domain of household service to place the relation on a commercial basis. The problem of unskilled labor in the home is the principal difficulty in the way of such reform, and until the household economic and kindred associations shall bear more fruit it may prove an insurmountable barrier to complete success. During the last ten years the attention of the humanitarian has been frequently called to the injustice of our laws regulating the "age of consent." In some States the age has been raised to sixteen or eighteen years and penalties increased, but through widespread ignorance of the law it is often a dead letter in both small towns and large cities. A law so constantly broken and with impunity provides little protection for the young of both sexes, in whose interest it is framed, and it is a dead letter because of the indifference of the public. To spread abroad a knowledge of and help to enforce these laws, which so intimately affect the purity of the home, is worthy the consecrated effort of the noblest and most cultivated women in our land. For this and other like ends the number of protective agencies should be largely increased. In every town, or at least in every county, such an association might be formed. There are only required a few women with brave hearts and clear heads, willing to give one afternoon or evening a week, the free services of one or more able lawyers (which will never be found lacking), a small room for a meeting place, and the work can begin. Let notice be given through the press or in the churches that a protective agency is formed and stands ready to offer sympathy and advice to all women in need. Methods of work are very simple: printed blanks are important to properly record the cases, and letterheads which shall give names of committee and those of the attorneys; when a claim for wages is presented, a courteous letter stating the fact that the wage-earner has asked the assistance of the protective agency, and requesting the defendant to answer personally or by letter and to state his side of the case, will generally receive response; great care must be observed to be just to both parties, and not to make hasty nor unwarrantable decisions.
The laws affecting the rights and property of women of New York have been briefly compiled for the use of protective associations, and it is very easy to obtain in any State a copy of the laws regulating domestic service for reference in making decisions. The Legal Status of Women, compiled by Jessie J. Cassidy (a graduate of Cornell), will be found useful. If in the beginning the work of protection should be misunderstood and resented it matters not; in time it will win the respect and co-operation of the best elements in any community. What a moral force would an "endless chain" of such workers prove in the struggle for universal brotherhood! To give courage to the most humble beginning we have the word of our philosopher that "every reform was once a private opinion."
Domestic Training.—Scientific domestic training or household science is becoming a subject of great interest to all who believe that a truer development of home life lies at the foundation of all social and moral progress.
Three large institutions—Pratt, of Brooklyn; Drexel, of Philadelphia; and the College of Teachers, in New York city—present opportunities for the thorough training of teachers in this comparatively new branch of popular education.
Clubs for the study of household economics are multiplying year by year; the Association of Collegiate Alumnæ has given earnest thought to the domestic problem, and as a result, and in spite of much prejudice, courses of cookery have been made a part of the public-school curriculum in a few of our large cities. The Board of Regents of New York State has recently adopted a syllabus for a course in home science to be used in the high schools. While the movement, as yet, may be said to be in the experimental stage, it is safe to assert that sentiment in favor of the new idea is increasing. The difficulties in the way of a rapid growth are formidable and make the outlook somewhat discouraging.
To properly equip a school for scientific domestic training is in the beginning a considerable expense; the number of skilled teachers ready for the field is small, and their services too valuable to be given without adequate compensation. The cooking schools so far established have not proved self-sustaining, and until more sensible ideas as to the dignity of household labor shall prevail, limitations will continue.
In all reforms we must "dig at the roots" if we would insure a steady and healthful growth. The kitchen-garden idea, originated by Miss Emily Huntington in 1887 for "the purpose of giving the little daughters of the poor attractive instruction in housework," has proved one of the best means of practical philanthropy ever discovered. The New York Kitchen-Garden Association was formed in 1880, and from that, as its crowning work, we have the New York Training School for Teachers. The kitchen-garden lessons are very simple; they include how to make beds and take care of sleeping rooms, set and wait on table, wash and iron clothes, care of a baby and the nursery, how to build fires, clean lamps, sweep and dust, instruction in house-cleaning, marketing, and the care of the person—all taught by miniature utensils to the accompaniment of songs and exercises, which give enthusiasm and variety to the work. The training of the kitchen-garden teacher is not difficult, and young women in any community, by a few lessons as to the methods and a study of kitchen-garden literature, may soon become efficient.
Children of the ages of from five to eleven are eligible for the training, and both girls and boys enjoy the classes. After the various lessons have been mastered, the next step for girls is into the cooking class, and if on account of the expense or for any other reason the scientific teacher is not available, the courses may be given by housekeepers. Very practical results were thus obtained by one organization of women. A class of fourteen young girls graduated from a kitchen garden were given instruction for twenty weeks on every Saturday morning; the lessons were divided into four short courses; five each were given in the preparation of breakfast, luncheon, dinner, and supper. Every fifth morning was devoted to a practice lesson, when the little cooks prepared and served a meal without assistance.
While the number of kitchen gardens is increasing there are yet many localities where the good seed has not taken root; no better work in village or town could enlist the faithful service of King's Daughters or of societies for Christian Endeavor. An inexpensive outfit of kitchen-garden utensils can easily be procured and the work begun. When a class is ready to graduate from the kitchen garden the voluntary service of half a dozen notable housekeepers, who will give the simple lessons in cooking once a week, will yield a most satisfactory harvest. The unconscious tuition of the cultivated house mother is often of greater value than all else. A little girl of eleven years given such opportunities enthusiastically exclaimed, "I've taught my mother how to make bread!" The mother, a peasant woman from across the sea, had passed her childhood and youth in the fields, and, like many of her class, had received no training for the responsibilities of motherhood. To the large number of foreigners, who are constantly seeking homes in our free land, the privileges of the kitchen garden and the free cooking school would prove an inestimable blessing. When housework shall take its proper place among the professions, the chaos which now abounds in a majority of American homes will be forever banished. In home making, regarded as one of the noblest objects of every woman's life—in fact, the object whenever possible—lies the hope of the future. To this end God speed the kitchen garden and the cooking school!