LEAGUE OF MOTHERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 230, 28 September 1935, Page 21

LEAGUE OF MOTHERS.

ANNUAL MEETING HELD. Tlie report of the League of Mothers, presented at tlie annual meeting held at the Y.W.C.A. and presided over by the provincial president, Mrs. S. 0. English, yesterday, showed that satisfactory progress had been made. Mrs. F. W. Whyte, provincial secretary., reported 011 the whole of Auckland and also gave individual reports of each branch. It was stated that there were 135 new members and three new branches had been formed during the year at Pukekohe, Whangarei and Kihikihi. The financial statement was read by Mrs. E. R. Allen, and "other reports were read by Mrs. C. H. Furness, stationary secretary, and Mrs. Harvey Turner, magazine secretary.

The election of officers resulted: — President, Mrs. S. 0. English; vicepresidents, Mesdames John Cook, P. A. Lindsay, A. Messer, J. T. F. Mitchell, John iteid, M. Turner, J. W. Williamson and F. W. Wilson; secretary, Air,-;. F, W. Whyte; treasurer, Mrs. E. K. Allen; stationary secretary, Mrs. Fulness; magazine secretary, Mrs. Harvey Turner; reporter, -Mrs. R. M. Webber; executive, Mesdames English, Whyte, Allen, A. M. Ferguson, Mitchell, Lindsay, Turner, Fleming, Furness, McCallum; representative to Mothers' Union, Mrs. John Cook; representative to tlie New Zealand Council of Religious Education, Sister Grace. Life members appointed were: Lady Gunson, Mesdames Talbot, Hiddlestone, Messer and Miss Robertson.

Address on Education. At tlie conclusion of the business a luncheon was held in the cafeteria. There was a large attendance of members, and an address on some aspects of broad educational work was given by Mr. D. M. Rae, principal of the Auckland Teachers' Training College. Mr. Rao said that as a teacher he •sought -toestablish contacts with all those social agencies, such as the League of Mothers, whose ell'orts were directed towards the school and the home. The schools to-day endeavoured to give the child something to take away with it to life outside, and this end was also ..the desire of social movements. In "recounting his experiences of education abroad, Air. Rae said he was impressed with the way in which America realised that its capital should be invested in its youth. This was also the state in Canada and Britain. In Winnipeg the State schools were used by approved groups of leaders for adolescent guidance in dangerous areas. This work, financed by the "Community Chest," was organised by service clubs like the Rotary, the Kiwonis and the Elks. The Minnesota University, with its 18,000 students, was used not only as a place of education but a place where various social problems were also solved. For instance, the unemployed problem concerned the university as well as the populace, and both did their share to work out a solution.

The way in which the unemployed were encouraged to use their leisure hours in a constructive way in New York was also touched upon by the speaker, who explained .that the effect of this was an improving of the morale •of the natioil. By this means adversity 'Was turned'into the encouraging of cultural talents. Mr. I-iae instanced the case of a domeetic eervant who used her leisure to learn carving. The fact that had, staggered America about its "lost generation," that is, young people 'between the ages of 10 and 25 years, was that when figures were taken they disclosed that 1,000,000 of those young people were at school, 2,000,000 in colleges, 1,000,000 at work, and 10,500,000 neither at work nor at school. It was then that they decided that something must be done to preserve the morale of the 'large number who were unemployed. These young people were adrift physically, morally and economically, and to capture the imagination of this group was the aim. Something great, said Mr. Kae in conclusion, would coine out of a race whose imagination had been controlled and trained in sucli a manner.