'Mothers Of Men!

NZ Truth, Issue 847, 18 February 1922, Page 1

'Mothers Of Men !

"Mothers are the ladies, you live with, if you're not a orfan." .- That is what the little boy said.. ,They are also the loyal sports/ who rock babies to sleep, cook,: scrub, wash,, dust, iron, sew, mend, and generally bustle round the' place'^ we •, call home. 'The! ' male; Half of the niarriage contract bustles, off .to toil, on: the 'average at a reasonable ' hour .when the sun has >been up lpng>ehough to see that the streets are well* aired; But you can ■ stake youl- life, on it that a woman has been chasing found a long tim.e before that, so that dad' and -the kids can sally forth to, work and to school with the foundation of a'' good breakfast inside them. .They leave mum behind to " tackle • a mighty clutter of, multitudinous jobs which woulddrlve a mere man completely batty m a, very short time. Candidly we • 'honestly 1 admire - the mothers of men. Cheerful and uncomplaining, they tackle, the work that is never done, and always, have dad's tea ready at night. They even tfind time occasionally to; bring another little life Into the .world, .although this means heaping Felion on Ossa. so far as their Job is concerned. As 'for dad, he generally takes it all as a matter of course/accepts if as his just due, and doesn't forget to "go crook" if his slippers are not warmed for him when*- ho arrives home after* a- "fatiguing day at the office or shop.. We merely draw attention to these slight services rendered •, by the nations mothers m order to convince the nations" fathers that "mum" undeniably has a soft snap m the job line. What we. ..have never been able to understand is why, the patient, uncomplaining mothers 1 have neyer gone on strike. When dad flies off the industrial jhandle and downs tools muni gets no fun out of it at all. Not for mum >• the hectic excitement of the strike, the enthusiasm engendered by active participation m the fray. No. Mum just stays home.:, .and worries, where the' rent's tfc come from, arid wonders when the butcher and the baker will stop credit. What if mum, held a stop-work meeting, and then went on strike! A bright look-out vfor dad then! He would look a. big sook. Yes, the sooner a Housewives' Union is formed the better. They'd make the One Big Union idea of the hot-headed dads look a very pale circumstance. Get busy mum, become class conscious; x'emember you're a (wage slave without any wages, eight-hour day, time and a-half for overtime or dirt money. Yes, get busy mum, pull up your socks and affirm the principle!