The Scheme Of Things

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 115, 17 May 1930, Page 19

The Scheme Of Things

(By M.H.C.)

' A subject discussed at the International Conference which has just met 'at The Hague was the nationality of married women, and it would have been interesting to many women had any mention of this been made by cable. .Women are fairly well used to being placed in difficult and unpleasant positions for the sake of^ convenience to others, but nationality nowadays is a real concern,. and women have become so much more "citizens," with ideas and knowledge far beyond those of former generations, that they require more consideration. An interesting reference to the attitude of the. Brit-> ish delegation on this question is made in "Time and Tide" of 4th April, is which issue it states that the question -was asked in. the British House of Commons as to the, attitude of the delegation. It was pointed ojit that the Chilean delegation had brought forward a proposal that the contracting parties in a marriage should agree that there should be no distinction between sex iv the matter in law or practice regarding nationality. The reply given by Mr. . Henderson was to the effect that His Majesty's Government was in favour of the principle that a British woman who marries an alien should not lose her nationality without her consent, and instructions had been given to the ■ '... delegation of ,the United Kingdom ac- ■ cordingly. ■ The proposal of the Chilean '■■ Government involved tho nationality of .-•' the children, and that was a subject which would need special consideration. The Liberal member for Flintshire gave -. a good resume of the difficulties which : faced women with either a double nationality or complete "StatelesSness," i- either status being possible;and occurring under the present involved, con--i. fusing, and difficult regime. It would '■' be interesting to read the reasons which r prompted the Act of 1870 which de,':prived British^ women of'their right of .-'■ nationality and placed them in the difr flcult position of the "shuttlecock," A when difficulties arose in; European ■A States in regard to marriage laws, tho : "battledores" being the arguments - used, which drov.e the unlucky "shuttlecocks" hither and thither without any will or volition of their own. i: 'It is quite pathetic to read-in. English and American papers of the frantic efforts made by bodies of women to escape from the cruel thraldom of fashion. "Women realise that their health '■ and a good deal of their, joy in life is ; being threatened -by the incursion of ' long skirts. There will certainly be : a great increase soon in motor acci- ■ dents—terribly numerous as they are ■ already. But, in the present, with the •light-coloured stockings, girls and women are much more easily seen by motorists —and as someone recently intelligently remarked: "They don't, kill 'people because they like, to, but be- ' cause they can't help it." Motorists !■ wilLbe much, less able to help it when ;the stockings are concealed by long, draggling skirts, and the ■ unfortunate !?wbmen,will.not bevnearly so well able. s to get out of the way, in moments of ■ danger. ' Let anyone who doubts this ' statement make an experiment; borrow 1 a long, old-fashioned skirt, and get someone with a motor-bicycle or car to chase them around a yard or lawn, and see how handicapped they will be with ■ the skirt! Then comes the undoubted ;■ difficulty of smart appearance. There ;is no smartness in it, because to setv ':'\ out a long skirt to advantage there ::; must be a waist. A long skirt depend; ■/■ ing from a wide, natural waist is; plainly...dowdy —there is no other word for •■■ it. And if women are to be relegated again to sweeping up the unspeakable, messes of the streets, and with compressed waists to ensure smart- • ness, they are indeed in a parlous case. Fashion is such a" cruel mistress, too. Let a girl -or woman' determine to dress herself as, she likes, in comfort and health, and have a short skirt and wide . waist, and she will soon become a figure of fun —a remarked-upon person, later on laughed at-for peculiarity, and finally compelled-to either conform or be an outsider altogether. These facts are no doubt influencing the women in London and New York and other places, who are inaugurating campaigns for resisting the fashion arbiters —men who do not have ;to wear the ridiculous clothes they are designing, but who. have the of 'the.great ateliers ani markets, and who have been for the past .five years steadily working to get Weir own way, and, most unfortunately for the health and well-being of women, succeeding. , Another effort they seem to be making, now they have been bo largely successful in' placing the long skirt on the market, is to do away with the small felt hat. Many paragraphs are appearing to the effect that women are returning to the millinery hat. But practically, so far, this is not the case. The most that appears in photographs of real people in the magazines is the wide, beautifully-shaped, perfectly plain hat with just a band of ribbon, or a diamond buckle for adornment. Still, these :efforts, to- bring into being many expensive additions to women's equipment are very serious; ■. they are so hard to resist —as the ' "short-skirt war" has shown. If women had been let. alone and the .materials changed and improved, colours developed, and.the short, comfortable, healthy styles encouraged, instead of being, the subject of a direct and blighting influence, they'would certainly not have called for a return to discomfort and risk. It is to be hoped that strong support will be given to the women who are endeavouring to stem the tide of unpleasant change, and that an everwidening circle of women will be found to adhere to common-sense, allied with the smartness and beauty ,of form which has been such a pleasure for sometime. The fact that there are exaggerators who have reduced their garments ridiculously must be admitted; but exaggerators always exist, no matter what the fashions are. Those who have gone about with skirts that look like a silly little frill or tube around their waists will be the same persons who later on will drag the longest length of material about the floors or streets, or who will boast the extreme in the wideness of — should the fashion arbiters decide to force them on the world. However, there are some good names on the British women's committees for rational dress, and it is to be hoped that their good counsels will prevail. Quite recently a writer in an ex- " change (in referring to the story that came from Scotland awhile ago about the quarrel between men and women undergraduates,- and which caused the men to hurl denunciations at the girls and accuse them of want of .charm, etc.) states that he thinks it would be a good thing to get some of these Scottish lassies out to New Zealand. It seems that some education boards are " finding great trouble because so many '■ of their girl teachers got married, and are of opinion that the teachers of the

day are much too attractive to fit in with the educational system. Therefore it is suggested that if the Scottish girls are really so unattractive they would be more permanent as employees. A difficulty, which is not far to seek, is that which would occur when the choice of candidates for tho New Zealand positions came to be made., The "Judgment of Paris" would be nothing to it.