THE WORK OF THE GIRLS

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 144, 15 December 1922, Page 9

THE WORK OF THE GIRLS

AN INSPIRING ADDRESS.

Miss FitzGerald, principal of Chilton St. James Girls' College (Lower Hutt), in. speaking at the free kindergarten meeting last night, gave the girls of the Dominion a wonderful ideal, but one quite possible to live up to. Her first remark held the attention of her audience, for she spoke of "the glory and magnificent of the work of girls." Miss FitSGerald remarked humorously that -when she and the girls of her time were at college they used to be talked to about the duties of the future mothers of the race, but they were far more interested in cricket. Still, she said, it was a duty to keep before the girlß the fact of their essential greatness, and their .value to the country. She wondered at times, when she saw some of them painted, powdered, and' over-dressed, looking at the'mselves-in the shop windows as they walked along the street, whether they were merely "puffed out with egotism" or if they had been taught to play the game as they could and should do in the interests of the world. The real importance of the girl is the fact that on her rests the greatness of the country. If she has poor ideals, this land, which was people with such fins pioneer settlers from the Old Country, and which was instrumental in keeping* the world free in the late war, would never rise to the heights which . might be attained, for lack of her help. Miss FitzGerald spoke of the people "who leave the dirty work to others and live trying to get as much play as possible." She wondered if such people would wait till starvation came, in crises of the world, before they would turn to, ana' take their fair share of work. It was a truth that the young people were the ones on whom the rehabilitation of the world would.fall. They were the ones who had to "cany on," and their opinion was of great importance. They only could restore to the world the proper balance, of work and pleasure which had been largely lost, and the girls were the pivot on which the country would turn. Miss FitzGerald spoke of the history of the world, which showed in how many cases the mothers of men were largely responsible for their greatness, and in the inverse ratio, how many might have been ruined by want of proper help from the mother. The influence of sisters was great, and the ■well-being of the world was very largely the responsibility of the women, therefore, they should be. built up into fineness, and given every opportunity.