126 SECTIONAL ADDRESSES. 



Here may be the place tO' obsei-ve that Mr. Kowntree's proposal to 

 treat widows with dependent children more generously than at present 

 is not nearly so open to the ohjections abo>ve enumerated as the endow- 

 ment of mothei'hood in general. 



vi. Some further suggestions may be obtained from the schemes 

 now under consideration in Australia. It is proposed to levy on every 

 employer a tax of so much per employee, and from the proceeds to 

 form a fund which is to- be distributed among mothers according to 

 the size (perhaps also the needs) of the family. The proposal — like 

 that of the Endowment Committee^ — protably owes its chance of being 

 accepted partly to the belief that the cost of the plan will not fall 

 on those who are benefited by the plan, but on the employer, or the 

 capitalist, or that supposed independent and abundant resource, the 

 State. 



But if equality of provision for children within each class is sincerely 

 desired — without the arriere pensie of equalising the incomes of different 

 classes — a simpler plan is suggested. It is open to any association of 

 men — a trade union, for example — to resolve that each member of the 

 association should contribute a quota of his earnings towards the forma- 

 tion of a fund which is to be distributed among the wives of members 

 in accordance with the size of their families. This plan would be much 

 less open to the objections above enumerated than thei endowment 

 of motherhood by the State. It would not disturb the labour market 

 or the financial system. It would not require legislation. Persuasion 

 would suffice. Those whoi believe that such equalisation is desirable, 

 and that there is a chance of its being accepted, should start a campaign 

 of argument and exhortation. Bachelors and childless husbands should 

 be persuaded to support a fund by which they may hope one day them- 

 selves tO' benefit as future fathers of families. 



22. To sum up; equal pay for equal work, in the sense of free com- 

 petition between the sexes, has been advocated, with some reservations 

 and adjustments. Desperate disordered competition, tending to' the 

 degradation of labour, is supposed to be excluded. There are suggested 

 compensations to families for the loss sustained by the male bread- 

 winner through the increased competition of women. Among such 

 compensations the endowment of motherho'od on a large scale by the 

 Stat-e is not included. The advantages weighed are economic in a 

 strict sense. The balance may be affected when welfare or well-being 

 in a wider sense is taken into account. 



APPENDIX. 



[The references are to the sections of the text and to the paragraphs of the 

 sections.] 



1. Locke considers that the ' complexedness ' of moral ideas renders 

 demonstration difficult. But 'clearly distinct ideas,' though moral, 

 admit of demonstration (' Human Understanding,' book iv., ch. 3, 

 ss. 8, 19). We may extend this remark from demonstration of certainties 



