294 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



The most important part of the social and moral education of a child 

 normally situated is the conversation especially the table talk with the parents. 

 It is here the children get their views of life before starting out into the larger 

 world they must enter — I must add also just here that the most valuable part 

 of the child's industrial training is his cooperation with parents either by labor 

 or by economic use of their means in maintaining and promoting the interests 

 of the home. 31 



As long, then, as there is a demand for the influences of home life, 

 the home in some form will continue, for we have not yet outlived the 

 beneficent influences of home life, even though we have outlived some 

 of its former customs. 



3. A Prevention for Divorce 



The subject of divorce is one which much concerns the sociologists 

 and theologians to-day because of its demoralizing influence on the 

 development of efficient personality in the family. 



Satisfies tell us that during the period from 1900-1905, while the 

 population increased 8.7 per cent., divorces increased 22.1 per cent. 32 



It is not the purpose of this paper to enter upon a discussion of 

 divorce except in so far as it is affected by woman's specialized industry 

 in the home of food preparation and resulting necessities. Statistics 

 are wanting on the subject, because as yet the sociologist has not known 

 how to collect them, but a careful observation extending over fifteen 

 years has led to the conclusion that many of our archaic home condi- 

 tions are prolific causes of discontent and incompatibility. For one 

 thing a woman who must work sixteen hours a day at unspecialized 

 industry with the attendant fatigue, is unable to compete in charm 

 oftentimes with the leisure parasitic class whose lives are devoted to 

 pleasing men. Such overworked women are too tired to be interested 

 in men's affairs or themselves interesting. Oftentimes because of this 

 lack of leisure the discordant note is struck which later grows into 

 utter lack of harmony. 



Sometimes too the duties of married life are so taxing in the early 

 years when the children are small that women, because of their excess 

 of physical work, begin to feel a mental deterioration, and this con- 

 sciousness of a lack of growth or of cumulative happiness often is the 

 pathway leading to the divorce court. On the other hand, if a woman 

 by means of any previous training is enabled to keep in touch with the 

 mental life of her family as well as the physical life, she has in her 

 work of motherhood found the one thing in life worth while, and in 

 her work then she can feel a sense of satisfaction in her own growth 

 and activity or " cumulative happiness," for she has found her share 

 of the world's work. All the learning she can acquire will be none too 



81 "Charities," Vol. 11, 1908, p. 151. 



82 "Marriage and Divorce," Special Census Eeport, Department of Com- 

 merce and Labor, 1909. 



