WOMEN AND MEDICINE

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 July 1936, Page 3

WOMEN AND MEDICINE

PIO NEE R ’ S CENTE N A R Y

LONDON. June G

Arrangements to celebrate next week the centenary of Mrs. Elizabeth (Jarrett founder ol the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital for Women in London, has directed widespread public attention to the career of a very remarkable woman. Mrs. Garrett Anderson, who is one of the managers oi the Oiient Line and a director oi the Bank ol England and of the London. Midland and Scottish Railway, and of Dr. Louisa Garrett Anderson, who was the joint organiser of the Womens Hospital Corps in the world war and chief surgeon of the military hospital at Endell-street. London. The campaign which Mrs. Anderson and two other women waged for increasing the status oi women started with discussions among a number of young women with whom Mrs. Anderson was staying in lhe north of England soon after site left school and was still in her teens. One of these women. Emily Davies, believed that women would never progress very far unless they had as good a general education as boys. She •founded the famous Girton College and established the modern view tliai it is right that women should be trained to think.

Elizabeth Garrett, several sears younger than Emily Davies, left strongly that it was important for educated women to be able to make a good living for themselves, and. further, that to earn an income a woman as well as a man must have not merely a general education but also a special knowledge of a profession. She opened the medical profession for women. She developed a School of Medicine which was started by Miss

Jex-Blake and which now nourishes as the London Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine for Women. Women now receive their clinical training at the Royal Free Hospital and afterwards are appointed to posts on the staff. Elizabeth Garrett also founded a new hospital for women which is now called after her and which from its inception lias been organised and staffed by women. It was her pioneer work which enabled women to-day to earn good incomes in professional and administrative work. Third in order of age among I lie ,young women was M illiccnl Garrett, 'Elizabeth’s younger sister, afterwards Dame. Milliren! Fawcett. Sim believed that women could not except fair treatment in the economic competition of the modern world unless they had a vote. For many years Dame Millicent Fawcett was leader of the Constitutional Branch of the Movement for Women's Suffrage. Although she never approved of iim methods of violence which led to the granting of the vote to women, most, people would probably agree that

even violent methods would have, failed if public opinion had not been prepared Lor the change by Emily Davies at Girton college, Elizabeth Jarrett and tier work for women, in the professions, ami Millicent. Garrett's campaign of propaganda for women's suffrage. B. was during one of her holidays that Elizabeth, on a visit to triends in the North of England, made the acquaintance of Emily Davies., afterwards principal of Girton College, Cambridge. Miss Davies at once decided that Elizabeth, strong, physically attractive, public spirited, and enthusiastic. was the person to open the profession of medicine to women. Elizabeth, who. according to her son. Sir Alan Anderson, always referred io Emily Davies as her "spiritual mother." determined to be a doctor. Iler mother, however, became ill with distress at the thought of such an iiniialoral proposal 1 rom a young

lady. Finally, however. Elizabeth pre-, vailed. Mr. Garrett also capitulated, and eventually became an enthusias-! tic supporter of his daughters work.! .Mr. Garrett, however, knew nothing' about, medical training. He had no in-I t roduct ions to leading doctors, but-! having agreed to lielp Elizabeth, he ( was determined to storm the tort, j Father and daughter paid endless and j discouraging visits up and down Har-, lev-street. London. One consultant) asked her why she did not become a j nurse. Sire replied that she preferred j to make £lt.'UP a year to £2V a year.) Eventually, she went, dressed as a; nurse and advised not to look intelli-i gent, to Middlesex Hospital. Her |

training was apparently very haphaz-1 ard, taken partly at Middlesex and 1 partly at the London Hospital. i When readj’ to sit tor her examine-i I t ions, she found great difficulty in | getting anybody who was willing to examine her. She threatened a law suit against the Society of Apothecaries. which allowed her to sit tor its examination and then altered its i charter so as definitely to exclude any | other woman, tn HS6S, however. St. | Mary’s Dispensary was opened and Miss Garrett was appointed general medical attendant. For many years

she did all the work there. Later, she founded the hospital 'which bears her name in Euston-road, _ London. Sin? raised the money for- it almost sinble-handed. In 1870 she was elected at the head of tiie Roll of St. Marylebone School j Board, securing 47.000 votes against the 13.000 of the very eminent ProI lessor IJtixlev. Elizabeth Garrett was i married in 1871 Io .1. G. S. Anderson, a London ship-owner, hut she continued with her medical practice. She I was the first woman to be elected I Mayor in England, this being in 1908. , i On the occasion of the centenary, 'an appeal is being made for funds to . extend the work of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital.