RIOTOUS WOMEN

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3161, 13 August 1917, Page 6

RIOTOUS WOMEN

Describing the extraordinary scenes witnessed at the Federal Parliament House, Melbourne, last week, a telegram to the- "Sydney Telegraph" eays-.-A number of women, headed by Miss Adola Paukhurst, attempted to storm the House and demand work. The first intimation of anything untoward Ms a haSty summons from the doorkeeper at tho main entrance for assistance to cope with a crowd of about a hundred wircen who had appeared and demanded au interview with the Prime Minister. The crowd, led by a few excited women, snrged through a door on tlio northern sido of tho entrance lobbj% which is marked "Members only. Thence they rushed in a shouting, ges* ticulating mob to the doors oi tho Chamber. The tumult interrupted tho proceedings in the House. Mr. Gregory (W.A.), who was speaking on the Railway Hill, stopped, and every a-ailablo messenger and officer hurried 10 tho door to stave oli' the threatened invasion of tho Chamber. . . . The reinforcements arrived Hist timo to defend the doors, and, baulked at this point, the women crowded furward, and, ■ led by Miss PaiiKhurst, shouted in unison, "We want .vork; adjourn the House." The combined ef.orts of "the House staff and the available policemen at length cleared the immediate vicinitv of the Chamber, and the women, who had been reinforced by a number of men, among'whom one member declared that he recognised _an 1 W.W. agitator who had been t'rivon oiit of "Western Australia, assembled in the entrance lobby again. Mounting a. chair there, Miss Pankhurst addressed them, declaring that they had Lome to Parliament to "speak for the starving people of Australia." Sho hud scarcely begun however, when sho was removed from tho chair by a policeman. for quite a quarter of iin hour women continued shouting and hooting shrilly M-ninst all who were set: m authority. Cries of "We want work" were 'interspersed witli "We want our boys. Eventually the police were successful in clearing the lobby, but this was no sooner done than a rush was made jot tho main north entrance. A ten women penetrated there, but they were quickly ejected. It is understood that a number of the women present had been dismissed from the ammunition works recently.