the hardships of unemployment. She, likewise, is shown the door by the capitalist; she, likewise, joins the ranks of the industrial reserve army; she, just like a man, is liable to undergo moral degradation. Associated with this we have prostitution, when a woman sells herself to the first comer in the street. Nothing to eat, no work, hunted from everywhere; and even if she has work, the wages are so low that she may be compelled to supplement her earnings by the sale of her body. After a time, the new trade becomes habitual. Thus arises the caste of professional prostitutes.
In big towns, prostitutes are found in very large numbers. In such cities as Hamburg and London, these unfortunates are reckoned by tens of thousands. Capital uses them as a source of profit and enrichment, organising vast brothels on capitalistic lines. There is an extensive international commerce in white slaves. The towns of Argentina used to be the centres of this traffic. Especially repulsive is child prostitution, which flourishes in all European and American towns.