Joseph Pennell's Pictures of War Work in America: Reproductions of a series of lithographs of munition works made by him with the permission and authority of the United States government, with notes and an introduction by the artist — John Shaqi
Joseph Pennell's Pictures of War Work in America: Reproductions of a series of lithographs of munition works made by him with the permission and authority of the United States government, with notes and an introduction by the artistPennell, Joseph
History
Joseph Pennell's Pictures of War Work in America: Reproductions of a series of lithographs of munition works made by him with the permission and authority of the United States government, with notes and an introduction by the artist
Pennell, Joseph
Lithography, American; Pennell, Joseph, 1857-1926; World War, 1914-1918 -- Pictorial works; World War, 1914-1918 -- War work -- United States -- Pictorial works
Not only have I seen the Wonder of Work in these three lands--but before
the war I saw it in Belgium, Germany and Italy. I have drawn it
everywhere, save in Luxembourg, and there, too, I have seen it--but made
no drawings--for it was so easy to get to that land--and so that country
was put off for a more convenient season--a season I fear which will
never come again. I am not going to make comparisons--but I am going to
say that the Wonder of Work is more wonderful in the United States than
anywhere else in the world to-day. True, we are not working with that
unbelievable energy which the French and English--yes, the English--have
put at last into their work--but we do so much more--with so much
less--appearance of work--we are working for the Allies--but they are
not working for us. And we are doing for them what they cannot do for
themselves. In Europe the war worker works all day and every day in the
year. Here most of the great industrial works have only added war work
to their peace work, in Europe scarce anything else but war work is
being done.
And also in America the women have not to any extent gone into the
factories, mills and shipyards of the country. And I hope they never
will. I have never seen a woman shell maker here, yet I know of
factories in France and England where there are scarce any work people,
save women, one where there are ten thousand women. Here they are only
making fuses and doing other light work, but I have not seen a woman at
a lathe as I have seen them in France and England. I have never seen a
woman ship builder here--yet I have seen women in shipyards abroad doing
work that men would have grumbled at when put to it--because it was
thought hard work--before the war.
And I am glad that our women are not forced to undertake such work, and
hope they never may be, for I have seen the black side of this work,
which already has led to strikes and labour troubles in Europe--and when
the war is over, will lead to greater trouble--for the Captains of
Industry in Europe tell me that women run machines better than men--they
devote themselves to the machine--never try to improve it--to make
changes in it--only to keep it going and in good order, while the man is
always trying to improve it, to make it do more, so that he can do less.
“Stick matches in it,” one manager said--while the women just run the
machines as they are shown how.
But making shells is more interesting than washing dishes, or waving
flags and marching in parades--and more exciting--but there will be an
end to that some day; and the lathes--which have been turned to war
work--will be turned back to peace work--and the question is, will the
women go back to their dishes?--and if they do not there will be more
trouble. I have seen a women’s strike--or a little of it--for with the
manager who was showing me around, I left at once. It was not an
orderly, peaceful, or womanly strike. That shop was no place for me.
Those women were not lady-like.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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