THE SOCIAL ROUND

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 216, 16 October 1914, Page 4

THE SOCIAL ROUND

Miss Gossett was" a passenger for the North last night. Miss Cowlishaw was a passenger for the North last night. "Mrs G. Webster (Timaru) is visiting friends in Christchurch. Mrs Fenwick returned to Christchurch from Wellington yesterday. Mrs C. F. C. Wilson (Day's Bay) is amongst the guests at the Clarendon. Mrs David Friedlander (Ashburton) came up to town yesterday for a short visit. Mr and Mrs B. A. Armstrong, who have been spending the last few days in Christchurch, are returning to their home in Wellington by to-night's ferry steamer. Dr Jean Dawson, of Cleveland, U.S.A., was determined to rid her town of flies (for well she knew how they spread disease), eo she offered 10 cents per hundred for dead flies. The astonishing number of 500,000 flies were brought in by the children in a very short time. One boy killed from cellar to garret 800 flies, received his 80 cents, and prepared himself again for the fray. Dr Jean Dawson first organised the children into groups, battalions, and brigades, and called them the "junior sanitary police." These divisions had their different districts to work in. They visited houses, shops, backyards, where lumber, filth, and stagnant water encouraged the flies,vand either cleaned them or appealed to the owners to do bo. ' They began to feel that flies and dirt were a disgrace in their homes and lanes. Their parents, encouraged by the children, soon began to dislike dirt and flies, too, and,so fell under.the spell of cleanliness. TheV girls, too, had streets assigned to them, and in pairs entered the stores, markets, butchers' shops, and restaurants, and made a note on a report slip of the number of flies counted in three minutes' time. If more than three flies were counted in three minutes-the manager was requested to allow the employees to stop work and kill the flies. Those not having traps were asked to provide them. If these places refused to help they were noted and tabooed. Traps, poison dishes, and the cleaning up of refuse became so thorough that there were no places for" the flies to breed. The really wonderful results accomplished by Dr Jean Dawson's 4 ' clean-iip campaign,'' which made Cleveland practically a flyless city last year, are ably supported by merchants, business people, and citizens generally, for all have caught the fever of fly destroying. The "Australasian" tells this little story: —Dickson may best be described by saying that he has not so great a love for his country as he has a hatred for the piano when it is in unpractised bands, v.-So-'., when., he bour's little girl over the liedge as he was watering the garden, he remarked, somewhat gruffly,, "I say, Mabel, why, don't you give that piano of yours a few hours' rest a day?" "Oh, Mr Dickson," said Mabel proudly, "mother gives me a penny for each hour-I prac-i tise, and I give the money to the; patriotic fund." Dieksdn? ; "Mabel," he said, "I never, felt so patriotic in my life. I'll give you tuppence for every hour you don ?t practise." There .is now peace, and harmony in the neighbourhood,, and the local patriotic fund mounts '% higher daily. '-. •: --\7 '''They aTe all alike—the girls of the present day. They wear shoes two sizes too large for them, they don't require J to be taken care of, they call young men') by their Christian names. I don't think they even have headaches.'' Miss Abingdon sighed again over this lost art of womanhood. "There is my niece,, Jane; she might be a graceful and elegant young woman, whereas she is sunburned, and it is a dreadful word, of course but I ean only call her leggy. Perhaps it is the fault of those narrow skirts.'' — "Peter and Jane," by S. Macnaughtan. The thoroughly practical spirit which always characterises the Queen has been shown in marked fashion in two pronouncements which have been made by her Majesty within the last day or two, says the London "Sunday Times.'' One of these relates to the choice of convalescent homes for sick and injured, soldiers and sailors, and the other to the making of garments which should afford added comfort to the men when in these institutions or in hospital. " The former is a suggestion that the men should be sent to places which, as far as possible, should be near their own homes, and it will certainly commend itself to the sufferers and their friends. The other matter with whieh the Queen has dealt has reference to the operations of her Majesty's Needlework Guild. It was represented to the Queen that the provision of garments by voluntary labour might have the consequence of depriving of-, their employment workpeople who would have been engaged for wages in the making of the same garments for contractors to the Government. , To do this would be to cause distress in one quarter, while relieving it in another, and therefore her Majesty has expressed a wish that the operations of the Needlework Guild shall be confined to the provision of such articles as would not be supplied by the Government contractors. Queen Alexandra f is likewise displaying the keenest interest in the work of providing for the requirements of the wounded soldiers and sailors, and in this respect Princess Victoria is also rendering excellent service, while Princess Margaret of Denmark, who is now staying at Marlborough House, is affording cheerful help. The great dining room has been converted into a workroom and the tables are covered with the raw. materials for all sorts of garments which the Queen, the Princesses, and the ladies of the household are cutting out for the needleworkers. Another member of the Eoyal family, too, has been showing sympathy for the suffering, for

Princess Louis of Battenberg has been paying a visit to the injured sailors rescued from the Amphion. In fact, all our Royalties are assisting iu one way or another.