"IF WOMEN RULED."

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 235, 3 October 1936, Page 18

"IF WOMEN RULED."

PREVENTION OF WAR IDEAS,

The leading women of some 20 countries at the International Women's Congress in Paris recently," rounded, off a week of vigorous discussion of themselves by a banquet at wliich they'discussed the subject "If Women Ruled." England was represented by ' Mrs. Yevonde Middleton and the United States by Miss Frances Perkins, the Secretary of Labour, and by Miss Lena Madesin Phillips, president of the International Federation of Business an* Professional Women. . England's trees and countryside, including the . absolute prevention of ribbon building, -would receive special attention from ruling women under the direction of Mrs. Middleton. "I would also tackle unemployment," she said, "though I do not know yet how this could be done." Assuming that she had the, dictatorship of Europe for a moment, as a woman, she would enact the following laws in the cause of peace, which was her first consideration: — 1. To prevent lack of understanding everybody would have to visit -every other country for at least one month of his or her life. . , 2. Taking a leaf out of the historybook of past dictators; who .married their children, to. the children of other (to theni, dangerous) dictators, she would compel about . 3 per cent of the youth of each European liation (chosen by ballot) to inter-marry with a similar proportion of the youth of every other European nation. "Thus we should all become related." said Mrs. Middleton,' "and though we may hate our aunts an<j uncles we at least do not want to shoot them." Miss Perkins begged women not t" weigh their achievements too heavily. "If women were in control of government," she said, "the first thing we should do would be to invite men to share the responsibility and opportunity of government." Women, she went on, would be in clined'more to look after the cultural and' artistic-side of life, such needs as child welfare. "But we do not wish to exercise a right to govern without the other part of , the human race— which also primarily has at heart the welfare of human beings."

Miss Phillips was re-elected the federation's president for next year. Mies Caroline Haslett, electrical engineer, was elected England's president for 1936-7.