The subject of "the American woman" has been, and remains, year after year, a favorite subject in the United States: Has the American woman ventured far into man's practical and professional world? Does she neglect her children? Have the modern age and its means of labor granted her a great deal of leisure? Does she have a great deal of money to spend? Does she take a conscious interest in public questions, and does she use her frankness wisely?

Defining woman's position in American society lies, of course, beyond the scope of debate, if only for one reason: it is almost impossible to know what kind of life the American woman leads. Her circumstances differ greatly according to the communities in which she lives: in the great cities, the small, or the middle-sized; in the towns, the villages, or the hamlets; on small farms or on large ones. The only definition of the

American woman's life that enjoys any measure of precision is this: unlike other women in civilizations of ancient standing, she belongs to no type of life, whether exceptional or traditional.

If we set aside the minority groups of women on the economic scale, we face two classes of women: First: the mothers and rearers of children. Second: those women, married or unmarried, who work outside the home. For the woman rearing children on an isolated farm is not the same as the one who lives in the city. Everyone acknowledges that women are indispensable as workers, as nurses, as typists, in offices, and in the work of social relief. Specialist observers have noted that woman is better suited than man to certain tasks that call for manual skill and precision, while in certain other fields of work women compete with man.

Besides the