THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF WOMEN.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 196, 19 August 1899, Page 3 (Supplement)

THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF WOMEN.

<A GOSSIP ABOUT ITS MANIFOLD

DOINGS,

'AMUSING SCENES AND INTEREST-

ING PAPERS.

FIRST ARTICLE

(From Our Special Correspondent.)

LONDON, July 7

Last week I promised a gossipy account of the International Congress of Women, commonly referred to in the press as -the Women's Parliament." You have so many privileges in the colonies and take so much interest in all movements for the elevation of woman's status and the extension of the iield for her activity that you will. I am sure, be anxious to know all about the diverse doings of so cosmopolitan an assembly. THREE HALLS FULL OF WOMEN. The Congress, has been a much bisrger thing than most people could possibly have imagined. You can e-et some idea of its activity when I tell you that in the eight days of its session it held more than GO metings, ut which more than 400 papers were read and discussed, and some id \a of its cosmopolitan character by the fact that besides Great Britain and her eolo.iies, America, all the principal countries of Europe, India, China, the Argentiiie, Persia, and Palestine were represented. Men who oppose all women's movements are very ready to say that women don't want votes and take very little interest in all these schemes that faddists are for ever bringing forward. The attendance at the Congress should have disposed of that argument once and for all. More than 2000 women purchased the 7/G tickets admitting to all meetings of the Congress, and day after day ""the five halls in Avhich the meetings were held were filled by enthusiastic audiences of women. In several instances the meetings that ■were specially attractive were so crowded that people Avere turned away from the doors, and in one case at least, the evening meeting in the Westminster Town Hall on the Ethics of Wage Earning, the crush was so great that an overflow meeting was held in the smaller hall of the building, in which the speakers re-delivered the paper and speeches they had just read and made in the main meeting. And remember, that these halls were no insignificant tin tabernacles, but three of the largest halls that London can provide. There must have been an average total attendance each day of between 1700 and 2000 at the different sectional meetings and at the opening meeting of Welcome of the Congress in the large Convocation Hall of the Church House at Westminster the "uncertain, coy 'and hard to please" section of humanity must have numbered quite 2500. THE OPENING SCENE—MAN IN "SPLENDID ISOLATION." Let me for a moment picture to you the scene at the opening session. It will give you a good idea of the kind of women who made up the Congress. Man was there only in "splendid isolation," a dark islet in the midst of a foaming ocean of drapery. While this very meeting was sitting the House of Lords was amending the London Government Bill by providing that "no woman should be eligible for the office of Alderman or Councillor." "Hear the other side" is a favourite maxim of men, but instead of saying to themselves "Let us see what sort of women these are who want an equal share in our work and government; let us hear Avhat they have to say for themselves and how they say it,"" they adopted an attitude of "It pleases them and it doesn't hurt us," and contented themselves with reading the very brief summary in their morning paper —if they did that. FRIVOLITY AND FASHION. Had they looked in at the Convocation Hall at this sea of faces and these1 billows of dress would they have found a serried array of the shrieking sisterhood, short haired and spectacled, stern of visage and slovenly in attire? Not much. They would have seen just such a gathering of women as majr be witnessed at a matinee or a fashionable garden party. Their masculine frown must have | softened into a smile of approval as their gaze rested on smart frocks, foulards, muslins, silks, on chic toques and elegant picture hats, on ribbons or laces, and pretty faces, j "Why," they would have exclaimed, rubbing1 their eyes, "this is frivolity j and fashion, not faddists and j fanatics!" They would have realised j that in order to be a supporter of women's rights it is not necessary to J g-o to a third class dressmaker, and that even the butterflies of society can take an intelligent interest in politics and economics. __ A COSMOPOLITAN GATHERING. All classes of society however were represented. There was a countess ! in the chair controlling the meeting with admirable patience and delight- , ful tact. There were Salvation Army lasses in their blue poke bonnets a few seats below her, nurses in their j uniform, titled ladies and leaders of | fashion, journalists and teachers, fac- j tory inspectors and organisers of West End Clubs, actresses and mem- j bers of poor law and education boards, women who gloried in being daughters of the people, and Indian, Chinese, and Japanese women in their picturesque national costumes. On the platform grouped round the Countess of Aberdeen .were such diverse professional women as a Russjan doctor, a Belgian doctor of laws (not allowed to practise), a lawyer, a parson, a principal of a ladies' college from the United States, the head of a typewriting establishment in New South Wales, a Chinese doctor and Oriental lecturer, and an Argentine doctor. So you see \t was a pretty representative gathering, and this was typical of all the meetings of the Congress. DUTY AND DISSIPATION. The serious business of the Congress began the second day. Each section hpfd its own meetings in its own hall according to the elaborate pro-g-nmme that had been drawn up. In the evening there were receptions by the Duchess of Sutherland at Stafford House, and Lady Battersea at Surrey House, public meetings at the Queen's

Hall, at which speeches were made and resolutions passed in favour of International Arbitration and the Parliamentary Enfranchisement of Women. Then towards the end of the session there were garden parties given by the Bishop of London and Lady Rothschild, a big- farewell social gathering by the Countess of Aberdeen at the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colour, and a lunch at Cassiobury Park to the delegates. If after all this you had any leisure left innumerable clubs, hospitals, societies, associations for charitable purposes, and private individuals were all bursting to offer you hospitality and information. Even for Sunday there was a programme of special services in connection with the Congress. THE ORDER OF THE DAY. The morning meetings lasted from 10.30 to 1 o'clock, the afternoon from 2.30 to 4.30. The Chairman, readers of papers, invited speakers and delegates took their seats on the platform.. Punctually at the hour for commencement (for punctuality was a feature of the Congress) the Chairman opened the meeting- by a 10 minutes speech on the particular subject of discussion. Sh e then introduced the speakers or readers of paper. To the first 20 minutes was allotted, to the others and the formal openers of the discussion 10 minutes, while those members of the audience who sent up their cards had to compress their respective remarks into 5 minutes. About half-an-hour was allowed for this general discussion. THAT '-BEASTLY" BELL. A minute before the speaker's time had expired, the secretary rang a bell, at the appointed hour a second bell rang, and the spea.ker had to sit down. Most of those who read papers had practised before-hand so that they concluded before the final bell rang, j but a good many were so full of their i subject that they were nipped in the i bud just as they were getting-' into : their stride, to mix the metaphors a little. Their behaviour under these j circumstances was as amusing as it ■was varied. The United States lawyer ! though in her last sentence stopped short without finishing the word she was speaking, an excellent example of discipline. A Swede who had absorbed a considerable part of her time in an explanation of the effect of the country's . configuration tipon its people, heard with dismay th e bell ring just as she was reaching the marrow of the paper, and with a reproachful glance and a word or two more slowly subsided. A Liverpool lady at the first warning ting gasped, "I must speak quicker," and put on a tremendous spurt, and when her time expired was still pouring forth a cataract of words, so that the Chairman had to cry "Time," and the bell be rung again. Finding1 that her appealing glance which would have moved the heart of an executioner was in vain, the speaker retired to her chair, breathing defla.nce as she went. Another, her eye on the watch, was so greedy of every second that when the audience, approving her sentiments burst into applause, she waved her hand impatiently with an exclamation of ''Don't waste my time." Occasionally the audience was so enraptured that they insisted on the paper or speech being concluded, a favour the Chairman granted as a rule if there were only a sentence or two left. A BEAUTIFUL ETHICAL ORATOR. The American delegates stood out conspicuously, and perhaps the most striking personality was Mrs CharI lotte Perkins Stetson, the grand niece of Henry Ward Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe, whose verses "Similar Cases" in "The Nationalist " and essay on the labour movement are well known. She managed a weekly paper in San Francisco, and has done splendid work in connection with clubs for women. But it was as an authority on the Ethics of Work and Wages that she came before a crowded meeting in the Westminster Town Hall. Imagine to yourself coming forward on the platform in answer to a round of applause, a tall slender woman in a close fitting dark claret dress with a classical face and fig-ure, such as a Greek sculptor would have delighted to model, her rich hair coiled down ion the nape of the neck. Pausing a moment like a well practiced speaker, she began in a full, round voice, that ; carried easily through the hall and was tinged with a characteristic but not unpleasant American accent to give a "little talk" on the justice of "Equal pay for equal "work." Every point Avas deliberately driven home by striking but simple gesture and effective forcible pauses between the words. Indignation was followed by > epigram, sharpened by the accent. | Women individually were painfully | conscious of the fact that they were ! underpaid, but collectively indifferent !to it. How could we expect women to combine to raise their wages, when | they were used to doing all they could for nothing. "Why women worked for centuries,' and the rich voice rose I scornfully, "while men did nothing ! but kill things." Woman's work be- ! gan through the maternal energy, ! then she worked as the wife or slave, which was pretty much the same thing. Industrially to-day she was almost where she began. "Think," said that voice to the accompaniment of an unlifted arm, and pointed forefinger, of the state of civilization that exis|fid "when-men-worked-at-home- ' for-their-own - immediate. - relatives." Every word told, and so while she satisfied reason she called forth pity, ! indignation, laughter, ■as she impressed upon those present that while i the private house is needed for the ' private family, ("Please credit me j with that"), there will be no more 1 need to have a kitchen attached to it than a smithy, and that cooking and ' scrubbing are no more connected with matrimony than the making of soap. One half the world is in a primitive condition as long as it remains at home and performs for its own immediate relatives a variety of functions that should each be entrusted to specialized labour. I don't think throughout the congress I heard such a long* burst of applause as greeted this speech. A VETERAN PIONEER. A great contrast to Mrs Stetson was the veteran Miss Sus,an B. Anthony, already in her. 80th year, weatherbeaten by 58 years of service in the cause of Women's liberty, but as full of vigour as some grand old oak. She is of the Quaker Puritan stock that proved the backbone of England and America, and to-day as she adjusts her gold-rimmed spectacles and smooths down the undiminished silver hair that is drawn over her ears, she is as full of fight as on the day when forbidden by the men to speak, at a convention of Tern- | perance Societies to which she was a delegate, she proudly marched out, followed by the women, and formed

a convention of her own. Those who are inclined to sneer at early pioneers of the women's movement as old fogies should read Ida Husted Harper's biography of Miss Anthony. Another prominent leader of the Congress was Mrs May Wright Sewall, who acted as vice-president.

Her ability is undeniable. She is principal of a classical school 'for girls, and has a record in the development of woman's domain only second to that of Miss Anthony. The plan of International and National Councils was drawn up by her, although the. idea originated in England. Ever since she has been a high officer of the National and International Council, which she has represented at different meetings she has from time to time carried on an active propaganda on the Continent to better women's condition there. But she is built in a commoner mould than Mrs Stetson or Miss Anthony, and is a type of the aggressive American who talks as if

he owned all the world, including the British Empire. She is a clever speaker, but on rather commonplace lines, and I must confess that she rather got my back up.

PARSON AND LAWYER

The Rev. Anna Shaw, a Congregational minister, I did not have an opportunity of hearing, but I believe she is a forcible preacher. In appearance she is a buxom, healthy-looking matron. The sound health of the delegates was one of the most convincing arguments that the Congress presented for the opening of all occupations to women. I can't recall a single unhealthy or morbid looking woman amongst those on the platform. Their vitality was unquestionable.

Another of the successes and what I might call arguments in persona of the Congress was Miss Octavia William Bates, 8.A.L., L.8., one of the first, graduates of the University of Michigan, a lawyer of the United States, and the Chairman of a Stands ing Committee in the National Council to deal with questions connected with "Domestic Relations under the Law." She cannot have remained "Miss" for want of suitors, for she is a remarkably handsome type of the beautiful, well-dressed American society woman. Perhaps as an expert on "Domestic Relations" she is awaiting the alteration of the law before entering into them.

BUSINESS-LIKE BRITONS

The leaders of Great Britain will be better known to you. In the chairmen (Madam Chairman, as they were usually addressed) were some capital managers of meetings. The Countess of Aberdeen is an ideal chairman, and presided at some meeting or other every day at the Congress; Mrs Creighton is also precise and business-like; the young and pretty Duchess of Sutherland is attractive if somewhat timid when presiding; the Countess of Bective. who has done so much to encourage the lace workers of Ireland, is perhaps the most aristocratic of all the chairmen. Lady Stanley (Dorothy Tennant), who presided over Art, looked very pretty and sweet; while of Mrs (Wrton, Mrs Kendall, Miss Clifford, Mrs Lvttelton, and Lady Battersea I have already told you. The English speakers as a whole were practical and to the point. They knew what they were speaking about, and had not the*same tendency to indulge in generalities, "the benefit, of humanity, and so forth, as the foreigners. Mrs Sidney Webb, who has been in the Colonies, was perhaps the best example of the business-like woman. Dealing with the subject of special labour legislation for women, she declared that the British Parliament was always business-like, and it was entirely 'on that footing that she dealt with the whole question. Other Englishwomen who struck me as conspicuous were Mrs Fenwick Miller, who has charge of the ladies' column in the "Illustrated London News. ' who looks a stout motherly party, but speaks forcibly: and Mrs Bedford Fenwick, who founded the British Nurses' Association, took charge of and reorganised the nursing at the military "hospital in Athens during the Graeco-Turkish War, and now edits the "Nursing Record." She is a striking woman, but a trifle hard in manner, as you see when she snaps out "There is no sex in nursing. Miss March Phillipps. too. who is an authority on women's industrial life, and a "commanding personality, and spoke on the Economic Position of Women Journalists and the Pocket Money Wage, Lady Henry Somerset, and Mrs Bramwell Booth, represented three distinct types.

CONTINENTAL CHARACTERISTICS. Of foreign countries France, Holland and Belgium. Sweden. Germany and Russia were the best represented. None of the Continental women seemed to have the same distinct individuality or to impress themselves ho much on their audiences as the AngloSaxon speakers. They were neither so smart nor so striking1, nor did they shine as platform speakers. But they spoke wonderfully correct and idiomatic English. Only the Dutch and French representatives spoke in French, which seemed readily understood by the majority of the audience. The other nationalities were quite at home with English. The most accomplished linguist in English was undoubtedly Fraulein Nina Mardon, a sweetly 'pretty fair-haired German actress, in a black frock, with Eton jacket "and lace collar and revers, ornamented with hand-painted roses, whom every one turned to look at. Her English was liquid and musical, almost without the trace of an accent, and she made two capital little speeches, one on music and the other on the inferior position in Germany of the actress compared with the actor, and her liability to instant dismissal on marriage.

The French delegates were mostly elderly ladies, whom I should be tempted to call "old frumps" did I not know the splendid work they have done to ameliorate the lot of suffering and afflicted women and of discharged female prisoners. But they struck me rather as philanthropists and organisers than as orators or platform speakers. The Scandinavians were marked by plainness of demeanour, dress and speech, and seemed particularly strong on educational matters.

They, the French and Belgians, were all too much inclined to begin at the year 1 of the history of a movement or with too many introductory remarks instead of going at once to the points they wanted to make. Austria was represented by Fraulein Teilor, the first woman journalist in that country. Only a year ago did she get a footing, when three columns of a newspaper were placed under her charge, and more than once she nearly relinquished the struggle, as her male colleagues made things so unpleasant for her, opening drawers, abstracting

letters, and keeping her salary in arrear. -

The Prussian, Dr. Kasakevitch Stefanofekaia, a stately, white-haired woman, who read a paper on "Women's Work as Doctors," looked far above the average Continental woman, and the Baroness Gripenberg1, the treasurer of the Council, a huge woman with short hair and a firm face, which lights up with kindness when she speaks, was perhaps the most distinguished of all the Continental representatives. She comes of an old noble family of Sweden, who espoused the national side in Finland and has travelled and studied women's position in many countries. She is editor of the official organ of the Finland Women's Union, an earnest tem-pez-ance reformer, and read two thoughtful papers on "Labour Legislation for Women and the Responsibilities and Duties of Women in Public Life."