A LETTER FROM LONDON

Evening Star, Issue 25429, 9 March 1945, Page 2

A LETTER FROM LONDON

[By MiiLANiE S. Primmer.J Resurrection. There is jubilation and a hope lor the future in Dover, Margate, Hamsgate, and a round dozen of such towns which ' were, in pre-war days, scenes of holiday crowds.- Gone is their nightmare of guns, bombs, and evacuation. But their troubles are not really over; they've only taken another turn. The Government has lifted the ban on them, mines are being cleared away as quickly as possible, likewise barbed-wire. But who is to rebuild the broken houses? London claims first attention in giving homes to her bombed folk, for they still must carry on war work; holidays can wait. At the same time, factory workers are nearly at an end'of their strength, and need a change of air, if only for a day. Then what of landladies? (Many have gone; others are ruined; still more have few goods and chattels left to offer their guests. Tme, the powers that be are offering a sort of bonus to start them off again, but what is £l5O in these days, of costly furnishings, let alone actual furniture. Brighton, anyhow, is making a bravo hid for renewed prosperity. Already she has done away with blade-out; shops, cinemas, dance-halls, lights are till there. Business booms; you can get even razor blades and combs, and a nip of whiskey for ls.6d, if you are sensible and go to the small, back-st»eet pubs. Would-be visitors throng back, only to be turned away from board and residence, owing to absence .of" sheets and towels. Food is available, but not plates, cups, knives, and forks; some have been stolen, some blitzed, some worn out. Those who would like to settle afresh in the town cannot buy, or find houses, or, if by chance there is one vacant, its price is prohibitive. Prefabricated houses will hardly solve the great question of guest houses, as these need many bedrooms to make business a success. And when all is said, and done, the last and most urgent problem remains—ladle of labour. Yet such is the resilience of mankind that these towns are experiencing an exhilarating resurrection of hope, backed by growing bank balances. A Silver Jubilee.

The last war gave women the vote. You women in New Zealand cannot imagine what a revolutionary measure tiiis was. It was for this that Suffragettes and masculine well-wishers fought, even, as you may remember, to militants tieing themselves to Parliament railings, and popping up at all sorts _ of inconvenient times in public meetings and shouting, " Votes for women." The greatest tragedy was when a Suffragette threw herself' under a horse at a race meeting and was killed. Yet in spite of all this courage and determination, Parliament stood adamant and male. Then came 1914, when women were indispensable. Certainly there was not definite conscription, as in this war, but pressure was brought to bear to such an extent that after the war no one with a spark of honesty could deny the vote to those who had so nobly helped in various war departments. Next Friday women celebrate the silver jubilee of their " liberation," for'it was in 1911) that women first entered the hallowed precincts of lite House of Commons as members, not as visitors hidden away in a dark little gallery. Half-hidden smiles accompanied questions as to what Lady Astor (who has sat .throughout the whole time as M.P.) and others would weaiv Would they keep strictly feminine, or would they ape men? Lady Astor, always elegantly dressed, chose black, with neat white collar and cuffs soft, not starched, Surley a symbol., this?. To-day none is more ready than the male M.P. to recognise the fine work done by these pioneers. They have opened politics and its adjuncts as a career for women; they have tackled questions that deal with the home and family, with social problems; indeed, with all aspects of " woman's life." And' now they are on the war path about adequate housing when the soldiers come home. On the whole, their work lias been definitely practical, for women do not indulge unduly in abstractions. In all, they are said to have influenced the drafting and passing of some 50 Acts. A fine record, indeed. What will this war give to women ? Certainly much more equality with men in pay, extended facilities for entering careers hitherto almost closed to them, a warmer welcome in important administrative jobs iii " big business," and, more important than all, the almost extinction of " your job in the homo " and " my job at the office," for. with our terrible domestic labour shortage, daddy has had to help mummy with the children and turn his hand to any old job while she is at fhe factory.