Solving Besetting Problems of Cities

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 243, 4 January 1928, Page 8

Solving Besetting Problems of Cities

EDINBURGH’S LEAD SOCIAL WELFARE WORK ABROAD > Attempting to solve the problem* unemployment, disease and Pov*M» Edinburgh has originated a scheme | centralised social welfare, which is markably successful. ! This is one of the advances in 1 fare work which impressed I Dorothy Rosnor, late principal of ti* Kindergarten Training College. Bri* bane, who is in Auckland after . world tour, during which she help* : to represent Australia at the Gene** conference of the Inter-Nation^ , Council of Women. 1 Describing the Edinburgh sy*tm Miss Rosner said that all branches j welfare work, child-training, disease. • prevention, maternity work, the reli* of unemployment, charitable aid aaj hospitals were all managed by a cea. tral executive, which even control!** the voluntary workers. The Govern, raent subsidised in cases which it hai approved. Every family receiving teh was indexed under this compulse** system and the result was that thers . was no “double-banking ' and neediest expenditure. U.S.A. SCHOOLS SYSTEM i Montreal was following on tho® i lines, although the system was not * compulsory one. All through America Miss Rosner found an intense interec in child welfare work. Hugo sums ! money were being spent and re-conk I and data were kept in regard to quesJ tions of the health. ' In the schools classes were greater than 30 children. Miss Ro». ner visited schools which were practi. j cally run by the children: they gov. : erned themselves, made strict rules, j and considered questions of interest fa* debates in the school forum. Th*r learnt civics by practice: and the. took an intelligent interest in thea education. Museums, moving pictw* shows, and cafetarias were often pro. vided. Leaving Australia in 1926, Miss Rosner travelled in Swh. zerland, France, Belgium and Hollai*. “I was particularly interested in chfl, dren’s games,” she said, “but the strange tiling was that none of the children played until we reached Holland. where we found the childm typically Australian in regard to thefr games.” WILL OF THE WOMEN Two things impressed Miss Rosn* at the international conference of women. The first was the will of the women to build on firm foundation! the life of the people. Continental women had said they envied the colonial women because they had nothing to pull down and they might go forward with the work of instn» tion. The second was the international spirit which desired to prevent the causes of war. The keynote was tha intelligent co-operation of women foe the mutual benefit of mankind. Attending a conference of the Na* tional Council of Women of Great Britain, Miss Rosner found that arnaa ing things had been accomplish*! ; there. Some branches had built j houses for workmen and were lettinj them for 4s a week and making 3 ra cent.; others had put up spinst3 1 fiats. 1 Scotland, Italy and Northern Am«e> ica were toured by Miss Rosen, w ho * ; now going to Melbourne to becow! acting-principal of the Kindergarta , Training College there.