574 TRANSACTIONS OP SECTION F. 



returned to the trade. The industry has been seriously handicapped since the 

 War by the shortage of skilled men — the women in the trade being for the 

 most part unskilled. 



In Trade-Union shops women are employed only on brush drawing, the Trade 

 Union objecting to their employment on other processes on the ground that it 

 would tend to lower wages. None of the Unions appear to admit women to 

 membership. 



In the process known as panwork, i.e., the fastening of the hair and fibre into 

 the stock of the brush by means of a mixture consisting largely of pitch, women 

 previously worked fibre only, but since the War they have worked in both fibre 

 and hair. In some cases, however, women now do this pan-work on Army hair- 

 brooms. The women cannot, however, finish the process entirely. The work is 

 ' trimmed off ' by men, the women boring the holes and ' knotting ' and ' fixing ' 

 in the bristles. Some instances have occurred where women do the ' knotting ' 

 and ' trimming ' themselves. 



Printing and Bookbinding. 



This trade was investigated by Miss E. Ashford. The following table shows 

 the increase or decrease of persons engaged in the printing and bookbinding 

 trades in England and Wales during the period 1901 and 1911. 



It will be seen from the table opposite that the entry of women into the 

 printing trade has for some years been a normal feature of the trade and that 

 their numbers have rapidly increased in a much greater proportion than those 

 of the men. In the bookbinding trade, on the other hand, there has been 

 a diminution of women's employment and an increase of the employment of 

 men. 



The absence of particulars given in the 1901 Census makes it impossible 

 to correctly estimate where the increase of women's labour has taken place. 

 The small number of women, however, in all grades of printers except 

 ' others ' make it extremely probable that the increase is not in the processes 

 usually done by men, but among ' folders,' &c., who are usually women and 

 would be included under 'others.' The large increase in lithographers is pro- 

 portional rather than numerical and would refer chiefly to the 'feeders.' 



Although not all branches of the trade have been equally affected by the 

 War, this industry, as a whole, has suffered as severely as any, and in view 

 of the fact that they are in no sense war material, some branches may for 

 the duration of the War practically be classed among the ' luxury ' trades. A 

 general depression was felt almost immediately on the outbreak of war and 

 short time became general, but especially in the bookbinding trade. This 

 depression lasted through August and September, the exports for these months 

 being only 76 and 79 per cent, of the figures for the corresponding months in 

 1913. Government orders, however, for the printing of banknotes, mobilisation 

 orders, and various handbills and instructions to troops, did something to 

 relieve the depression in the first months. From this point an improvement 

 set in, the shortage of paper, which at first was stated to be an important factor 

 in the trade depression, and especially in newspaper printing, was being 

 readjusted, and at Christmas time something like the usual seasonal revival 

 took place. Compositors, however, continued throughout to suffer severely, 

 and there is no doubt that unemployment, or short-time employment, has been 

 responsible for much of the enlistment from the printing trnde. That, and 

 the transference of workers (especially bookbinders) to other industries, appear 

 to have balanced almost exactly the contraction of employment in the trade, 

 and the month of July has been the best month since the outbreak of war. 

 Unless, however, the drain of enlistment upon the supply of labour becomes 

 excessive, there can be no question of the importation of women into the trade 

 in large numbers, as there is no prospect of any considerable revival during 

 the War. There is, therefore, a twofold reason why no change in the position 

 of women in the printing trade is likely at the present time : 



(1) The heavy, difficult, and unhealthy character of much of the work 



