AN APPEAL TO WOMANHOOD.

Marlborough Express, Volume LII, Issue 285, 20 November 1918, Page 5

AN APPEAL TO WOMANHOOD.

AND A SCANTY RESPONSE.

URGENT NEED FOR VOLUN-

TEERS.

The poor response of the women of Marlborough to the Mayor's appeal for volunteers to render nursing

service during the outbreak is ;i regrettable feature and a. matter of severe public comment. There are surely more than twenty ladies in Blenheim and its environs whose domestic responsibilities are so light that they could be freed without inconvenience to render urgentlyneeded service to afflicted families? The Mayor's appeal was made only because- it was realised by the authorities and the medical profession that voluntary assistance was an imperative* and urgent necessity, and remembering that the work of the ladies has been an outstanding fcfj.fajre Of Ipcal patriotic effort, it is

regrettable to record tho fact that in this very human appeal they have failed to respond. One doctor this morning expressed the opinion that the state of affairs with regard to voluntary workers was a scandal. He related how last night in a local home a patient, in a state of delirium, had fallen out of bed, and being unable to find her bod again, curled herself up in the wardrobe and went to sleep. Recovering more normal senses later, cbe roturned to bed. This was a case, he said, where several members of the family were afflicted," and owing to the fact that voluntary assistance in this district was almost a negligible factor this family was without attention and the patient in question had been in a position to do herself incalculable harm. A neighbor called at the house previously, and on learning that "flu" was the family misfortune she also flew! It was a discreditable set of circumstances.

Another doctor remarked that in some cases complications ensued only on account of lack of attention in the early stages of the complaint. The organisation of a largo number of lady workers is clearly a matter of life and death, parallel to the necessity for organising the voluntary section of New Zealand's manhood when the .Cterjnan hordes threatened the Empire. < The question has been asked: What would New ' Zealand think of a response of 20 from a battalion of her'soldiers when volunteers were called for to save lives? Memories of. what New Zealand lads, Marlborough lads, have done in the interests of humanity alone should spur the ladies on to greater effort. It is to be hoped that this repetition of the appeal and a conception of the duty that womanhood owes-to the community .in such a..stressful time will mean _an immediate and substantial accession to the ranks of voluntary workers. Yeoman service is being done in many homes by the small band of volunteers. Besides the ladies whose names have been published previously, Mesdames Sowman and May, and Misses A. Coull, B. Chuck, and Anderson are assisting in afflicted homes: