The Dominion SATURDAY, MAY 15, 1920. AID FOR MOTHERS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 197, 15 May 1920, Page 6

The Dominion SATURDAY, MAY 15, 1920. AID FOR MOTHERS

Alike-with stay-,it-homos and with those -w.ho have travelled iar afield it is a matter of whole-hearted agreement that the finest feature of the celebrations organised in honour of the Prince of Wales was the splendid showing made b.v the children of the Dominion. ' Gay bunting, greenery, and coloured lights-are. well enough in their way, but New -Zealand' finds its best adornment in the tens of thousands of happy and healthy children who are taking everywhere so much delight in welcoming their future King. The pride that is taken universally in these sturdy young Britons ought to go hand in hand with an honest tribute of respect to the mothers who bore and reared them. Nor should the tribute be paid only in admiration. For the fact that its children compare so well with those of any country in the world the Dominion is indebted chiefly to the untiring devotion of wives- ■ and mothers,' too many of whom are burdened in a degree that i, overtaxes them in body and spirit. It would be little to the credit of the people, of the Dominion and' their political leaders' if the. pride and admiration awakened by the sight of the child-, ren who assembled in their thousands to welcome the Piunce of Wales did not quicken and lend new strength to the demand that is taking shape for an organised national effort to lishten the lot of -the overworked Tvife and mother. This questipn has better and deeper claims on. the. attention of the Government,- Parliament, and the people' than - many that at a superficial view may seem to be of greater urgency. An organised effort to lighten the lot of the wife and mother is demanded as vitally in the interests of the whole community as for the sake of those who have undertaken the supremely important duties of motherhood or . will do so as time cnes on Tt is a fact to be-faced frankly that such an _ effort' is called for as an. indispensable antidote to a more or less serious development of . race .suicide. Already the restriction of families, within narrow limits is common, and there are women who refuse to undertake the'burdens of motherhood. No one has any right to find fault with their attitude while they a-re called upon to face and accept such conditions as are the lot of the average wife and mother .-to-day. It may be hoped that Parliament will not allow the coming session to pass without giving serious thought to the problem of helping the wife and mother of limited means. At ; lho same time it is essential that every step in this direction should be'well considered. The problem to lie solved is complex as well as vitally important, ap.d hastv and ill-con-sidered action lyould be likely to J all far short-of what is neccssary, perhaps to defeat its intended purpose: ■

The evident fact that Parliament must approach _ by stages a full measure of justice to the wives and mothers of the Dominion gives special value to the efforts in this category that arc .being made by some public and scmi-public organisations. Here in Wellington, the Women's National Reserve has given a useful though tentative lead by organising a scheme of mothers' help under which competent women ■are available at a moderate fee to relieve mothers temporarily of the care of their children. The results of this experiment arc instructive both as showing how keen is the demand for such assistance and that many women of the right stamp—far more than have yet been employed—are ready to undertake the work. Good work .is being done also by bodies which have established .or are- preparing to establish nurseries at which mothers may leave their children for a time in the assurance that they will be weir looked after. A promising addition to other efforts on behalf of niot/iers is being made by an organisation whose aims and objects are outlined in our news columns to-day. Though it is beginning of necessity on a modest scale the working plans formed by this body —the Household Orderly Association—suggest that it is likely to render valuable service, both directly and in throwing light on what is possible under an organisation developed on more ambitious lines. The central idea is to establish a hostel which will be a home and headquarters, and where necessary a training centre, for girls and women who will undertake duties of household help on a whole or parttime basis as may be required. Apart from its immediate utility, this organisation ought to serve a useful purpose in giving definite shape to the new standards which the times plainly demand. There is no doubt that the conditions of domestic employment hitherto in vogue have often been objectionable and such as girls and women- ought not to be expected to endure. From such conditions the association proposes to effect a complete break. Under its employers as well as employees will be required to conform to right standards,\ and household service will be placed on the honourable footing it deserves. Trained and efficient orderlies will work for seven hours a day, and if they work longer will be paid overtime. If neccssary shifts will be

arranged. In their non-working hours the orderlies will be entirely free, and in their hostel they will enjoy the advantages of a pleasant community life. _ The association lays sound emphasis on the fact that the household employee is in every way entitled to a social status equivalent to that of any independent woman. It is undoubtedly ncccssarv to set up an entirely new standard in this respect. It may not be out of place to suggest that the basis for such relationship between employer and employee as the association envisages will bo found readily in the relations subsisting between the belter class of male employers and their employees, whether male or female. As far as can be judged at this stage the association is making a practical approach to the achievement of establishing household scrvicc on its true plane. The position is admirably stated by Hit. Agnes Bennet in the article which appears today. ■ The mother is doing high service to the State in bearing and rearing its voting citizens. The means .of aiding, her should'be available as a--matter of riuht and justice, and what can be better than that future mothers should come to

her assistance and thus get the training and experience fitting them for their own future'! Such an organisation of household help as the Household Orderly Association proposes to effect on a limited scale ought to result in great benefit alike to the mothers of to-day and to those who are looking forward to motherhood. The scope of a local effort of this character is of necessity limited, but apart from what it accomplishes directly, ' the work of the association ought to do something to point the way to a solution of the full 'problem that confronts the Dominion—that of aiding all mothers, more particularly in theirtime of greatest need, and not least those Whose means will not enable them to pay for assistance. The right of every mother to generous aid is established by her supreme service to the State. Activities, in themselves praiseworthy, which at the same time will help to show how this national duty may best be carried out in its full scope arc entitled to grateful recognition and encouragement.