THE GIRL OF TO-DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 177, 28 July 1926, Page 13

THE GIRL OF TO-DAY.

FRIENDLY SOCIETY'S WORK. EXTENDING ITS ACTIVITIES. (I^ tllink there is J usfc a da nger of the Girls* Friendly Society .becoming a little fossilised— continuing, its good work without branching out in other directions," said Archbishop Averill at the annual meeting of the society last evening. The conditions of the world had changed, said the Archbishop, and the society had to alter its methods in order to meet that change. There waa a tremendous amount of w%rk to be done among girls and there were many ways in which the society could-'launch out and do a very fine work in the future The society wanted to be a little more missionary. Thus it. would think not so much of what it was doing-for those in the society, but rather what it was doing for other girls. In a city like Auckland the society had an opportunity of doing a very large amount of valuable work. It was absolutely open being not limited to Church of England girls. Members wanted to cncoura<*e girls to go to the lodge and make full use- of its benefits. "Rubbish About Girls." "In these days some people have a good deal of rubbish to say about girls because they like to talk," continued the' speaker. "I think we can take them 'fifty-fifty' and let it go at that," he added. At the same time it was known, in revelations that cropped up from time to time, such as the case of Dixieland, that there was a great need to uphold the highest ideal «tf girlhood and the ideal of purity. /The morality of a nation could not rise...bi£her than the morality of its women. The Archbishop expressed himself as rather appalled at the small membership of the society. Members were not joining as they should, but by workin~ in with other girls' clubs, the society could show girls„ihat it was their desire to help them. Provided it stood firm, the society could be broadminded. When the time came for assisting girl immigrants, the society would have a big opportunity of extending its work. Finally, the speaker urged members of the society not to rest on their oars now that the first part of the new building was almost paid for. but to strive to have the old half replaced. • Home Not Entirely To Blame. "The girls of to-day are quite different from their sisters of twenty years ago. In my time courting was done in a very different way," said Mr. J. Rogers. The present day girls were more independent and decided things, for themselves. The society should take these facts into account. Although people deplored the looseness of girl control, they had no right to lay the entire blame on the home. In the struggle for existence, mothers were tired and worried to make both ends meet and they could not be expected to be in a state to give their children the same training as in the past. Then there were picture shows and cheap literature. The former took girls from their homes. f , Referring to the good effect the society could have upon girls, Mr. Rogers' suggested that it could now afford to pay an organising secretary, who could devote her whole'time in carrying out the society's work throughout the diocese. Such a secretary would be welcomed by many of the branches, which otherwise might fall away because they were not brought into direct contact with the society itself. .