WOMEN IN PRINT.

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 34, 9 August 1921, Page 9

WOMEN IN PRINT.

Miss Barnett presided at the', monthly meeting of the Royal New Zealand Society for tho Health of Women and Children, when there was a large muster ot committee members. The nursejs repdrt was read, showing big satisfac: fcory attendances at the rooms, in spite of the bad weather; 1071 visits had been paid to the rooms, including the outlying districts, and there were 71 new cases. The following subscriptions and donations were gratefully acknowledged :— Subscriptions: Meadames S. Kirkcaldie, D. MiUigan, and Culford Bell, £2 2s each; Mesdames Litchfield, Hodson/ M. A. Speers, Corrigan, H. B. Bridge, W. Luke, Dr. A. Patterson, and Lady M'Gaviri, £l Is each; Mesdanies Dyett, Buckleton, White, £1 each; Mrs. A. Levy, 10s 6d;'Mesdames J. M. Richardson, Wells, and Ponsonby, 10s each; Mesdames E. Meek, W. Kennedy, Donald Gillies, and Miss Nelson, 5s each. Donations: Mr. Mazengarb, £5 ss; Miss Sybil MacGregor, £3 10s; Mrs. J. Hannah, £3 3s; Mesdames Solomon anil J. M'Rae, £1 Is each; Mesdames Marshal!, L. Blundell, and Richardson, «&1 each; Miss Chapman, 10s 6d; Mesdames Clark, Pears, Conneli Howo, Raesick, and C. H. Taylor, 10s each; Mrs. W. R. Boyd, 7s 6d; 'TTox at rooms, £1 3s. A-letter was received from the Auckland i branch saying that one result of tho posting by the Health Department of a large number, :of copies of the "Expectant Mother" pamphlet had been to cause more ' than twenty extra mothers to seek advice and help of the Plunket Nurses in the course of the month. The society was very gratified at this immediate and striking result. ' The following letter received by the hon. secretary was much appreciated by the committee:—"Dear Madam,—For some montliß I have been intending to express direct to you that appreciation of k the work of your society, which I have often expressed to the Plunket Nurse. When Nurse — '• — '< first called at our house our baby was but a few ounces more than her weight at birth (silb), and was giving that trouble and anxiety which arose from a condition bordering on hurigfer. As a result of Norse 's visits she soon ceased to give any trouble, and began to thrive. Baby has been entirly /breast-fed throughout, and at six month's''her weight was 161b. My wife and I are both confident, that there is not a more happy nor a" more healthy baby in this district than ours. Yon and your ■ committee will, doubtloss, be glad to know that wo attribute this almost entirely to Nurse 's careful attention and practical advice. Her services are appreciated more than we can express. Attached please find a small cheque. It is sent for, the funds of the society,'not as a measure; but merely as a -mark of our appreciation. Would you please also enroll my wife s as a member?' :—."

Mrs. Don, Dominion president of the W.C.T.U., will give an address this evening at the Baptist Church, Vivianstreet, at 7.45 o'clock. Mrs. Hallam and Miss Ward will give solos on the occasion. To-morrow an address will be given to young people at the Newtown Library, also at 7.45 p.m. Mrs. Don's eloquence as a speaker is well" known, "and she has a great deaf of interesting matter gathered for the information'of those who realise the importance of the W.C.T.U. movement.

The death occurred last week of Mrs. Freeman, a very old settler, wife of Mr. William Freeman, late of Moles-worth-streot. She was born in Salop, England, on the 14th February, .1628, and was married two weeks before she sailed for New Zealand in the ship Now Era, which arrived in Wellington in the year 1855 sifter a voyage of 99 days. She is survived by her husband and two 1 daughters. «.Her only son, wjho waß married, died in Palmerston North some years ago. The picturesque play, "Paolo and Francesca," which is being produced by Miss Hardinge-Maltby and a number of Wellington amateurs, promises to bo a great success. The frocks are specially designed and are very handsome, while a background of peacock-blue drapery will enhance their beauty. A change has been made in the caste, Miss Eva Butts taking the part of Constanza in place of a lady who is obliged reluctantly to give it up, although late in the day. Some' specially-designed friezes are a great and attractive feature of this production. . . .. • ■ • !

Many mothers who are in business, o» engaged during the'mornings and afternoons, -will be glad to hear that the Plunket Rooms will be open. continuously all day, instead of being closed at the lunch hour. The nurses are wrapped up in the growth of the good work, and finding that there is an increasing demand for their valuable services they are making an extra sacrifice; of time and effort. There is no doubt that the extra hour will bo much appreciated and bo full of usefulness., as practically , is every moment of the time .of the nurses belonging to this admirable society.

. A writer on "Paris fancies" discoursed as follows:—Fashion rule's the shape of our face a*, she does everything else, and we —poor women!—are '. slaves to every one of her whims. The vogue i» for long faces—not in tho moral rsjjnse, but in the actual physical meaning of the word. And long our face must- become by every possible means. How to man ,age it? Principally by our earrings, which are lengthening more than ever. Some of tho pendants seen in Paris at present reatok quite three inches' from the lobe of the ear. Dealers in antiques, privat6 collections under glass cases, and family jewel caskets (Stored away for years, out of sight) are visited with the object of discovering- a set of earrings our ancestors may have'worn.

From a lady correspondent in Bohar comes the story of a strike among her [domestic staff, which shows that , ad- | vanced methods have reached bven tho ■ .unchanging East. All these household j workers had been, for many years in her and most of them~he had | trained herself. One day recently they came to her, and in approved manner 'demanded that their pay should be raised. The lady demurred to this as 'their-"wages weve up to the best stand'a.rd of tlio district, but she ascertained ■ that during her brief absence an agitator of tho Gandhi school had. been among tlacm ;mcl had bidden them lo .strike. Failing this he luid upon them a most alarming curse, to the effect that all thb Hindus' food would be as bcuf to them, and all that of the Mohammedans .as pork. Tho servants ■themselves were frightened lest, tbciv j brethren should believe that they had accepted such a dreadful fate, and might use their knowledge revengefully or for blackmailing purposes. \ Happily, two or three of the oldest and wisest of the men went to the lady and. suggested that if she gave them a pice each all | round (the smallest of Indian' coins) they could truthfully state that their wages had been increased, and thus tho malediction would be . ineffective. It appears from this correspondent's letter that the party of sedition are using this or similar curses upon large masses of the working population if they do not dany thsnuelves their little luxuries oE i tobacco, sweets, or parched grain, and I hand over the .money saved thus to tho : ; propagandists of discontent. :. .

Mrs. R. Bird (nee Miss Dora Wilson) is leaving next week on her return to India, to rejoin her husband, Captain 1 Bird.

Mrs. and Miss Meadowcroft (Mountstreet) have returned from a visit to Dunedin:

Mrs. "Peter Harrison has returned to Masterton after a visit to Wellington; Miss Carey has also Tetnrned to Masterton.

Miss Hilda Williams, who has been visiting Mr. and Mrs. Algar Williams in Christchureh, is at present in, Wellington, staying at the Midland Hotel. .

News from Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Grif-fiths^''-and who are staying at Leura, Bhie Mountains, x\ustra-lia, • states that a great number of New Zealand people from all parts have visited Australia this winter.

At a meetings of the Plunket Society a vote of sympathy was passed with Mr. A. R. Atkinson, in consequence of the death of Mrs. Atkinson, who was one of the original members of the society in Wellington.

A specially nice- way of cooking carrots is as follows ;—Choose smallish carrots, and scrape them. Split them in quarters lengthwise, so afthat you get pieces'more or Jess like your little finger in size and shape. Boil them in salt water until they/are tender, and draw ibem carefully, "taking care not to break them. Now melt a. good tablespoonful of dripping in a frying-pan, slice in a large onion, and fry if? till tender. Then add the cawot fingers, and toss them with the onion till they aore nicely greased, all over and well warmed. Serve hot, sprinkled with parsley.

Concerning "littlo ills" and the weak link in" public health, a writer in the Auckland Star mentions the fact that of the minor ills the common "cold" or "cold in the head" is one of the roost unpleasant and the most infectious: Yet children with this unpleasant ailment are permitted to visit others, or invite others to come in when they are suffering. The same applies to grown-up folk who have no conscience about carrying round catarrh germs and distributing them broadcast; The same writer emphasises the importance of the antiseptic • dressings of small cuts, bruises, and burns, which often would avoid much further trouble. Neglected sore throats are dangerous, and a mild antiseptic gargle again- would be a sensible and easy precaution. Bad smells should be carefully investigated with promptitude, and such should not be allowed near any house. These 1 are all "little things," but if everybody regarded them in the sune light aa the writer, there would be considerably less sickness in the world. ' '

For some time past the Employment Exchanges have been doing a considerable amount of work in placing domestic servants in employment, says the London Daily Telegraph. Quite, a large proportion of the employment found has been in private houses, but there is a marked tendency 'amongst applicants to ask for "non-resident" work in preference to work which entails' "living in." During the first quarter of this year over 120,000 women were registered at the exchanges for domestic work of various kinds. During the same period over 70,000 vacancies were notified by. employers, and over. '40,000 of these vacancies were .filled. Women asking for "non-resident" domestic work and for employment as charwomen were far in excess of the vacancies, notified to the exchanges, while, on the other hand, thevacancies notified for servants in.private houses to "live in" greatly exceeded the number of persons applying for. this kind of work. Thus,, to give the actual fig. ures, the exchanges received 25,000 vacancies of the "living in" type, but less than 18,000 applicants; while 33,000 registrations were received for "nonresident" work, and less than 15jOOO vacancies were notified for this class of worker. As to charwomen, 47,000 applications for work were registered, but the number of vacancies notified was less than 22,000.

■ The question of the endowment of motherhood, it is stated in the London Daily Telegraph; engaged the attention of some ladies of < tho Fabian Society. These urged with vigour that "it v just at the period of child-bearing that the shoe of poverty pinches most. Not only are its effects then more disastrous, bnt actually there in a greater proportion of families in poverty at that time than at any'other. Men and. women can, while single, keep themselves with comparative, ease. After fifteen or; more years of marriage the elder children begin to bring money into the homes to supplement the parents' earnings; but io -the earlier years the earnings are smallest and expenses highest. Miss Eleanor Rathbone, J.P., ,of the Liverpool Municipal Council, has issued, a ■mall pamphlet on! "Wages plus Family Allowances," in which she deals with some of the issues involved in the New South Wales scheme, lately formulated. Miss. Rathbone says that the situation is that on the one hand employers are clamouring for an all-round reduction of wages as a necessary means to the revival of trade; while on the other, the workers reply.; that this is impossible if their homes are to be. maintained at ,a reasonable standard of comfort and their wives and children properly clothed and fed. Her booklet has a table that is of value in forming some estimate of the claims that might be made in this . England for such benefits, where, obviously, the problems ~ would be far more 'complicated than in a newer nation like an Australian State. She shows that of men workers over 21 in England, roughly speaking 27 per cejit. avo bachelors or widowers without dependent children ; 24.7 per cent, aro married couples without children or with no ■ dependent child below 14; 16.6 per cent, have one dependent child; 13 per cent, lifivo two dependent children; 9.9 per cent, have more than three dependent children. In other words, she asks: "Can the country afford out of its present resources to go on paying a family .wage to the whole of the 52 per cent, of men who have no families or the 48 per cent, of men whoj have families?"