JANE ADDAMS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 293, 8 December 1923, Page 22

JANE ADDAMS.

_v reference to the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and to the part which the well-known Jane Addams has taken in organising and directing it, Mrs. Scholefield spoke recently in Wellington to an assemblage of university women. She said that the league was a federal body, with a very simple constitution, which was revised every three years, so as to keep it well in touch with the events of the world. The aim was to bind together women in all parts of the world, in the hope that they could and would use a great influence in the direction of peace of an international character. Jane Addams was looked upon in America as literally the foremost citizen. She had exerted a fine philanthropy for a great many years, and had a deep knowledge of social conditions. One of her sayings quoted was that there are "Xo old -women nowadays, for no woman has time to grow old." At the present time, said Mrs. Scholefield, Jane Addams is in America, working incredibly hard for the establishment of peace. Jane Addams had lived and worked among the poorer classes all her- life, and it was the opinion of the speaker that anyone who wished to know anything about the true life of a country must go among the poor people. Jane Addams did that, and therefore understood their problems. As well as mingling with the poor, however, she had been in contact with the leading people of the world, and the speaker quoted from a book which described the meetings which had taken place with this wonderful woman, at which problems of the people were discussed. As showing what a power in the land Jane Addams was, Mrs. Scholefield stated that the American universities sent for her to explain problems. During the war she was consulted by fourteen different nations, and she had written a book on the subject of peace, entitled "Peace and Bread." When the war came she felt that she must do something solid to help matters, so she called together the breat bodies of organised women, and gathered in as many of the unorganised as possible, and held a con-

ference at Washington. At this a most distinguished programme was drawn up, J which practically embodied the fourteen points afterwards presented by President Wilson. In a 1915 conference the women met at The Hague, /hen both neutral and belligerent nations were represented, all being given a fair and equal chance ! of presenting to the assembly the problems and disabilities of their own countries. Though there were many difficulties in the -way, it was arranged that two_ women were to visit the Prime Ministers of fourteen different countries and urge the calling of a great, united conference for peace. It was hoped that President Wilson would have taken the lead in this matter, but he did not see his way clear enough to do so. The 1919 conference was held at Zurich, and there it was found that the result of the war had been to make women very like-minded. Smallnes ß had fallen away from them, and the remits Bhowed that there was an extraordinary unanimity among them. The women discussed the terms of the Peace Treaty, and were of opinion that it dealt out great injustice, and was likely to be the fruitful cause of future war. Mrs. Scholefield said that they foresaw clearly what would happen if the terms laid down were closely adhered to, for they violated the principles of peace. At another conference held last year they had leading world economists to speak on the causes of war, and they are still calling for a world conference to revise the peace terms of the Treaty, hoping that if the world's opinions can be obtained much may be done by a better understanding of general and not exceptional conditions. One special effort on the part of the Women's International League was to forward education in the way of having the books of history which are used in the schools in the various countries revL-ed and fairer and mo-s truthful views placed before the children of many lands. The women of Austria have compiled a reading book from the literature of the fourteen countries and presented to the Government of a number of countries. The women of the Scandinavian countries have persuaded their Governments to accept civil service on the part of their young men instead of military service, while still having regard to the fine portions of militarism. The aim was not to allow mere selfishness to obtain in any direction, and no one could say that such an aim was not an admirable one, and better calculated for peace than any other which could be organised in a suffering world.