A WOMEN’S CONFERENCE

Otago Witness, Issue 3726, 11 August 1925, Page 59

A WOMEN’S CONFERENCE

The National Council News for July contains a report of the recent conference of the International Council of Women, •which was hold at Washington in the first week of May. The International Council represents the various Women’s National Councils throughout the world, thirty countries being thus represented at the recent conference. Conferences of delegates from the various national bodies are held at intervals of five years, and this is the sixth conference held. At a recent meeting of the Dunedin branch of the Women’s National Council I had the pleasure of hearing Mrs Fraer, of C'hristcnurch, one of the vice-presidents of the New Zealand Council, give an account of the Washington assembly, which she attended as delegate, and from her address and the published report I am combining some particulars of what was done at this importantgathering. Women’s National Councils have been established with the object of uniting all organised societies of women for mutual counsel and co-operation, with the view of furthering the legal, civic, and political equality of women, and aiding human progress generally. The New Zealand National Council was established about 30 years ago. Within the last ten years it has entered upon vigorous life and has branches in most of the chief towns of the Dominion. It represents no less than 70 organised women’s societies, and thus forms a unifying body through which women may work for the promotion of the progress ol women and of social improvement generally. The National Council of each country holds an annual conference attended by delegates from the various branches, and the International Council, in which the various national bodies are represented, meets at some world centre at five-yearly intervals. The recent Washington assembly was presided over by the Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair, and New Zealand was represented by Miss Kane (Wellington) the Dominion President, and delegates from each centre, while Mrs Carmalt Jones, late President of the Dunedin Council, went over from England to the conference. The New Zealand delegates were lodged at the Grace Dodge Hotel in Washington, a building designed for women exclusively, under the management of the Y.W.O.A. of the city. There also some of the British and also foreign delegates were quartered. The American Council had made great preparations for the gathering, and much pleasant hospitality was shown to the visitors. It was a remarkable ga/thering of representative women from so many lands, all united in the main aims of furthering social jnitice and progress and world-peace and

friendship. It is pleasing to find Germany represented at the conference and to hear that her delegates impressed the assembly with the earnestness of their desire for peace. Several countries not yet represented sent requests for affiliation—Poland, China (which has established national councils in six centres), and India (where councils have been formed in the chief towns). Palestine was also an applicant, a small council representative of the various peoples of the country having recently been formed. In Australia a Federal Council, representative of all the National Councils of the Commonwealth, has been formed, and Miss Broad, of New South Wales, attended the Washington Conference as its head delegate. In Russia a Women’s National Council was established some time back, but recent conditions in Russia have evidently been unfavourable to the growth of the National Courfc.il system in the country. A letter was received from the nominal president stating that the council was practically non-exist-ent, as the affiliated societies were mostly scattered or«disbanded. Reports furnished by the delegates gave particulars of the activities of the various National Councils and of progress along lines in which women are especially interesting themselves. It is interesting to learn that in Germany every seventeenth woman belongs to the National Council. The Latin countries, which are the most backward in feminist progress, reported increased interest in women’s questions. Manv countries have feminist papers, of which several belong to the National Council, and some are otherwise conducted. The National Council of Greece has a paper of its own, and so has the Council of the Irish Free State. The report oh Suffrage gave some interesting particulars. In Sweden women obtained equal suffrage with men in 1921, and last year four women were elected to the Upper Chamber of the Swedish Parliament. Germany, in 1919, had 41 women in the National Parliament, out of a total of 423 members, and at present has a percentage of six-and-a-half women representative®, while at last elections the women voters equalled the men. Denmark has equal suffrage, with three women in the Lower House and six in the Upper. Holland has equal suffrage, and its women are eligible for Parliament. In Italy Mussolini has promised to grant women the suffrage. Austria is still suffering too much irom the war for much feminist activity ; nevertheless considerable interest is taken. In Hungary women were enfranchised by Government order in 1916. Norway is to the front in feminist advance; at present 10 per cent, of her legislature is composed of women, and, as Mrs Fraer mentioned at the recent meeting of the Dunedin Council, the Norwegian Government is so favourably dis-

posed to women’s political activity and so onvinced of the usefulness of the operation of women nationally and internationally that it paid the expenses oh the Norwegian delegates to the Washington Conference. In many countries people are working for the extension of the suffrage ; in others both men and women are very commonly indifferent to the rights they possess. It is stated that in the United States barely one half of qualified men and women voters used their power. Among the leading subjects dealt •with at the Conference were the legal status of women marrying aliens, immigration regulations, public health, education, child welfare, equal moral standard for the sexes, and international peace. The report on education stated that interest in education is generally increasing, and that in many countries a strong effort is being made to break down class distinctions by promoting common elementary education in national schools. One interesting departure is the establishment of working schools in Germany, Austria, 1 and Czecho-Slovakia. One would like to hear more about the objects and methods of these schools. The discussion on peace was particularly interesting, and while all speakers manifested a very strong desire for peace and international friendship, there was a decided cleavage of opinion as to the means nations should adopt to avoid war. ,A motion was proposed and ultimately carried:— “That the International Council of Women, while recognising that general disarmament is the ideal to be aimed at, considers that it might be preceded by a gradual simultaneous disarmament under effective control to be agreed upon by the respective Governments and the League of Nations. They recognise that nations .'will not agree to disarm till they feel some sense of security. This Council believes that the way to establish peaceful relations among nations would be through a policy which regards neighbouring peonies as natural friends and not as possible enemies/’ Some delegatee felt the question eo beset with difficulties that they abstained from voting—among them the American representative*, their head stating that their Council was too divided on the question of a practical peace policy and about the League of Nations to give a vote. The Polish delegate said it would be suicidal for Poland to disarm at present. One American delegate voiced the traditional view that the surest way to main, tain peace ia to prepare for Iwar: “the most criminal wrong was an inadequate preparedness.” On the other side, Mrs Corbett Ashby, president of the International Suffrage Alliance, made a stirring speech, pointing to past history as showing that preparation for war brings war, and urging that the way to havo

peace is to prepare for peace.. The last war occurred because people voted for men with a military policy. What use, she asked, were their resolutions to promote child Welfare, improved education, higher morality, and other human good, if national wealth and human lives had to be devoted to piling up armaments? Among the entertainments arranged for the pleasure of the visiting delegates was an excursion to the home of George Washington, at Mt. Vernon, which is preserved intact as a national memorial. All the farm buildings remain, with implements in use in Washington’s time, much of the old furniture of the house remains and the old-fashioned laundry and the spinning house are relics of bygone domestic activities. The American Federation of Women’s Clubs, which has a delightful home in Washington, gave a reception to all the delegates on the Sunday afternoon. The concluding hospitalities were an evening banquet and an afternoon reception given by Mrs Herbert Hoover, on May 14. All foreign delegates were delighted with the cordiality of their American entertainers, and will have pleasant memories of a gathering which should have fruits in promoting international friendship and the cooperation of women for social improvement and world peace.