THE WOMEN WORKERS 
Since the human factor in industry naturally is the most im: 
portant from the point of view of production, the workers’ energies, 
which contribute so essentially to output, should not be subjected to 
undue wear and tear in the industrial field. Too frequently the 
management is prone to overemphasize the importance of care and 
improvement of machinery and neglect the care and consideration 
of the workers who operate such machinery. In consequence the 
employers suffer the penalty of crippled production arising from the 
fatigue, ill health, or other disaffection of employees whose interests 
have not been sufficiently considered. 
Apart from the poor mechanics of the question, the nature and 
requirements of the workers are of much greater significance than 
are the structure and care of machines, since the well-being of the 
workers is imperative not only for the success of industry but for the 
structure that is at the foundation of industry, namely. a healthy 
society. 
The wages, hours, and working conditions of women are the great- 
est questions concerning the central figures which all these things 
affect, the women themselves. But the public is interested to know, 
also, whether those women are native born or foreign born, young or 
old, married or single. Do they live at home, with home duties and 
responsibilities, or do they board, with only their own livelihood to 
consider? These also are important questions affecting the woman 
worker, and no one can appreciate fully the problems connected with 
women in industry who does not regard the women not only as wage 
earners but as human beings. To understand the needs of women at 
work it is necessary to learn the conditions under which they live, 
to analyze their home responsibilities in addition to the responsibili- 
ties of their work in the factories, to know their obligations to 
dependents and their requirements of living. Such facts have been 
presented in most of the 60 reports published by the Women’s 
Bureau since its inception. In addition to wages, hours, and work- 
ing conditions, personal data have been secured by means of cards 
distributed among the women, who themselves answered the ques- 
tions. More important still were the visits made by the agents of the 
bureau to the women in their own homes, at which times were secured 
authentic data in recard to home conditions and responsibilities.