, of a good home, with easy labor and high pay, are open to every
young woman, whose circumstances oblige her to toil for her living, she
blindly refuses these true advantages and loses her health and too often
what is far more precious!--in the din and tumult of the factory, or the
dangerous exposure of the public counter."

Madam Weatherstone was much impressed at this point, and beat her black
fan upon her black glove emphatically. Mrs. Thaddler also nodded; which
meant a good deal from her. The applause was most gratifying to the
speaker, who continued:

"Fortunately for the world there are some women yet who appreciate the
true values of life." A faint blush crept slowly up the face of Diantha,
but her expression was unchanged. Whoso had met and managed a roomful of
merciless children can easily face a woman's club.

"We have with us on this occasion one, as we my say, our equal in birth
and breeding,"--Madam Weatherstone here looked painfully shocked as also
did the Boston Marrow; possibly Mrs. Dankshire, whose parents were Iowa
farmers, was not unmindful of this, but she went on smoothly, "and
whose first employment was the honored task of the teacher; who has
deliberately cast her lot with the domestic worker, and brought
her trained intelligence to bear upon the solution of this great
question--The True Nature of Domestic Service. In the interests of this
problem she has consented to address us--I take pleasure in introducing
Miss Diantha Bell."

Diantha rose calmly, stepped forward, bowed to the President and
officers, and to the audience. She stood quietly for a moment, regarding
the faces before her, and produced a typewritten paper. It was clear,
short, and to some minds convincing.

She set forth that the term "domestic industry" did not define certain
kinds of labor, but a stage of labor; that all labor was originally
domestic; but that most kinds had now become social, as with weaving and
spinning, for instance, for centuries confined to the home and done by
women only; now done in mills by men and women; that this process
of socialization has now been taken from the home almost all the
manufactures--as of wine, beer, soap, candles, pickles and other
specialties, and part of the laundry work; that the other processes
of cleaning are also being socialized, as by the vacuum cleaners, the
professional window-washers, rug cleaners, and similar professional
workers; and that even in the preparation of fo