WOMEN'S CLUBS IN SMALL TOWNS

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 184, 29 April 1908, Page 3

WOMEN'S CLUBS IN SMALL TOWNS

, Some reflections published in the "Daily Graphic" with regard to -the establishment ,of women's clubs in'provincial towns'apply as well to Wellington as to. those towns in the English counties. When'one remembers the success which of late years has characterised such resorts in .London, it is certainly" astonishing (says the " Graphic") to firicl that-.ladies':.clubs aro still so. few ;and t far' between in the provinces. . There the need of them, it would appear, is far greater than in the metropolis, where women are all suffering ' from jaded, over-worked . the result of a surfeit'of pleasure. In a large provincial town there are. so many conditions 'that should combine to make such a venture successful. In the first place, a ladies', club would supply a felt want.. It could also be run on comparatively cheap lines! Not only would the cost,.of house'rent,; provisioning and house ...maintenance be far less-than it' is in Londbnji'but'.theigreat stumbling'block of .competition, -which all ladies': clubs in London have to fight'against, would be practically .nil.. ", 'Even the, question, of the nccessary limited • 'mofribbrshi'p ;_iieed- riot- : prove' eo serious a drawback as it may at first, appear. For the old - reproach levelled against 'that' they were'pre-eminently unclubablehas long' since • been rembved. The woman of to-day - has proved herself to be of a distinctly, clubable 'nature. Freed from the trammels of domestic duties, she has plenty of time to enjoy .the, hospitality offered by a club. Certainly 'there is nobody, who, has proved her "inclination and ability to mate the most practical use of such resorts as the woman who. lives in the country ; for were the.'lists of the best-known ladies' clubs in London to be examined it ■- would bo found that a large percentage of their' supporters were made up of country members. _ Cli(]uisiii. so prominent a feature of country , life, is undoubtedly, the great obstacle to be overcome. Still, this'is not an overwhejming one. The same difficulty hadtto.be'met, ' and • has been successfully. solved, as regards ' .men'sclubs in the provinces; so why need it : prove a fatal /barrier to success iii the case of a club devoted to women? Ladies wlio read the papers, have their lunch, entertain their friends, ' and write letters in the same room are by. no means obliged to become intimately acquainted with their fellow members who enjoy the same privileges. , Taken altogether, the • ad-, vantages 'of a: well-managed ladies' drib should prove an attraction to many a provincial town. Were the experiment given a thorough trial it would undoubtedly prove a success, -for the ordinary provincial town provides no place where women can come .across, their friends,- see the .papers, lunch, or spend that half-hour which, so' often .has to be. whiled away between the day's appointments.. Apart from the social side and the convenience such a club would afford ,to many women, it might, like many clubs in London, become a centre for lectures and debates that might tend to relieve the present state .of monotony that makes so many country towns abodes of desolation from a. woman's point of view. Few people cultivate the art of. being good listeners, and 3'et to'listen well is perhaps even more desirable than for one to talk well. The good talker is often over-eager to' have his say, to utter his witticism, to tell his anecdote, and ,his conversation is - often . a monologue. The good listener inspires the talker by strict attention to all he says and, above all, by looking at him while he speaks. The Baroness Clifton of Bromswold, who, made one of the earliest appearances on record on the amateur stage the other day, when 'she danced herself into the affections of tho spectators with her little partner, Lord Hay of Kinfauns, has made an even more memorable first appearance (says the " Westminster Gazette She figured—in her uncle's arms, to bo sure—at the King's Coronation; and she and her nurse probably supply tho only instances of a peeress thus attended at such a function.