We have quoted at length from Mr. Devine's discourse because it
is recognized as the classic statement of the case and because it
is warmly commended by such women as Mrs. Ellen H. Richards, of
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, whose skill as
scientist and vision as philosopher have made her the most
authoritative personality in the American Home Economics
Association. (That association, by the way, has some fifteen
hundred due-paying members.)
The scales fall from our eyes now and we see at least one thing
which we had not seen before. We had supposed that sewing and
cooking were the vitals of the Home Economics movement. Not at
all! The home woman might cease altogether to sew and to cook
(just as she has ceased altogether to spin, weave, brew, etc.)
without depriving the Home Economics movement of any considerable
part of its driving power. Sewing and cooking are productive
processes. They add economic value to certain commodities;
namely, cloth and food. But it is not Production, it is
Consumption, which the Home Economics movement is at heart
devoted to.
This is plainly set forth by some of its most zealous workers.
Pages:
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357