PLAIN SPEAKING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22259, 11 May 1934, Page 10

PLAIN SPEAKING

WOMEN AND THE LAW PROFESSOR'S PERTINENT QUESTIONS (Special to Daily Times.) _. AUCKLAND, May 10. Some plain speaking as to what he considered were the motives which promptedlwomen to obtain positions as women police and as jurors was indulged in by Professor R. M. Algie when addressing the Lyceum Club. "You are asking vociferously for women police because you say you want every avenue of employment open for you and because you want to protect a certain section of the community," Professor Algie said. "There is, however, in my opinion no social function that a woman policeman could discharge that could not be better done by the existing 'force of men. , . " What are you going to ask your women police to do, anyway?" Professor Algie asked. " You say, *To care for young women and children who are about the city streets.' First, might we not ask our womenfolk if they are exercising the correct influence in the home? Is it not a bit late to get at these young people on the streets, and ar* they not there because their homes are not the place to which they want to go? Are you quite satisfied as womenfolk that discipline in your own homes is such as to entitle you to go out in the world and say you are going to discipline young people you find in the streets? I,doubt it. If you only knew what men think of the realm and spheres of influence in which you can exercise your full energies I think jou would let women police go for a bit." The speaker said that while he believed that a great percentage of women did not want to be jurors there were many others who did. "Why do they want to get into this?" he asked. "Many of you who do are actuated by motives of restlessness, a desire for novelty, possibly curiosity, and any motives other than the desire to see a due administration of justice. You eay you can handle better than men cases dealing with young women and children, but as long as you yourselves continue to command as you do the sympathy and respect of -men, you need not worry that your children and your fellow-women will suffer at the hands of any common British jury."