WOMEN’S PART IN WORLD

Taranaki Daily News, 10 September 1934, Page 2

WOMEN’S PART IN WORLD

PAN-PACIFIC ASSOCIATION PERSONALITIES OF CONFERENCE. MISS ELSIE ANDREWS’ ADDRESS. Speaking on Saturday to the representatives of every wpmen’s organisation at New Plymcuth, Miss Elsie Andrews, the New Plymouth teacher who led the New Zealand delegation at the PanPacific Women’s Association conference at Honolulu this year, gave entertaining sketches of the outstanding personalities she met there and a concise outline of the organisation and scope of the conference’s work. “I am sure,” said the chairwoman, Mrs. J. Ruff, president of the Taranaki Women Teachers’ Association, “that the New Zealand representatives could not have had a more capable leader than Miss Andrews. Twice she has had the honour of representing her country abroad.” “I do not want anyone to think,” said Miss Andrews at the beginning of her address, “that the Pan-Pacific Women’s Association claims to be perfect. In the beginning we knew it would take a con-, siderable time for the organisation to find its feet. Perhaps it has not found its feet yet. After all, it was established only four years ago, after the conference of 1939.”

At Waitara, continued Miss Andrews, there was inscribed over- a Maori meeting house the phrase “The Day of the Woman.” It had Occurred to her as an extraordinary phrase, because to-day was no more the day of the woman than any other day. Woman’s claim was merely that she realised the cost of human life better than men. In fine weather a man might say, “It’s a fine day, Itt’s kill something!” but a woman would say, “Look, here is a living thing.” There was no place in the outer darkness bad enough for those who were apathetic in the cause of peace and good understanding among men. PERSONALITIES AT CONFERENCE. “I propose,” said Miss Andrews, “largely to hang the story of the conference on my impressions of the people I met there. Strangely enough, the guiding spirit of the conference was one who was not present, Mrs. Frances Swanzy, the chairwoman of the first conference in 1928. For seven months she has been ill, and it is unlikely she will be able to take part in further active work on behalf of the association.” Miss Andrews related how deeply she had been impressed by Mrs. Swanzy’s vitality and interest, despite her illness and said that, as far as possible she had kept closely in touch with the affairs of the conference. Another outstanding personality had been Dr. Georgina Sweet, Melbourne, the president who had so well discharged her difficult task of keeping the association on the way to a conference. The conference itself had been attended by 65 delegates whose strength had been added to by 30 or 40 representatives of Hawaiian women’s institutions.

Outstanding figures in those deliberations had been Mrs. Tsune Gauntlett, a Japanese delegate, who had presented the women’s petition at the world naval disarmament conference and who enjoyed the confidence and admiration of all present; Dr. Hildegarde Kneeland, an American representative, prominent in the Bureau of Home Economics at Washington, and the possessor of a remarkable keen mind and ready wit. The Chinese Government had sent three representatives, said Miss Andrews, and had paid four-fifths of their expenses—a height to which the Government of New . Zealand had never risen. "They don’t seem to realise,” she remarked, “that there really are women in Pacific countries!” Among other celebrities of whom Miss Andrews gave a thumb-nail sketch with a background of amusing anecdote were Miss Kao, the Chinese leade'r, Mrs. Davies, the Indian woman who represented Malaya, and Miss Dean Bolert, Canada. “A FINE TEAM.” “I must say this of our own representatives,” said Miss Andrews, “they were a fine team. We left New Zealand as individuals, but we arrived at Honolulu as a band of women who had learned to pull together. It was something ■ which the other delegates failed to do. Two hours study every morning of' the immense quantity of information which had been compiled for us before we left New Zealand did something to modify our individualism.”

Miss Andrews expressed keen satisfaction that two Maori-women delegates had been sent. There could not, she said, have been finer women for the job on hand. Their presence had attracted universal attention and, as one woman delegate had remarked, “New Zealand has a lesson she is teaching the world!’’ Nowhere in the world did native and white races mingle with such perfect amity. “I would commend to you,” said Miss Andrews, “a sympathetic consideration of the problems of the Maori race. Three Maori delegates should be taken to the next conference. Eventually Maori and pakeha women should be equally represented.” Explaining briefly the organisation of the conference, Miss Andrews said most of the work had been done in a series of round table discussions in which between 14 to 20 delegates took part. The necessity of absolute frankness in expression of opinion had been recognised and their method of discussion had been favoured above others. Her observation in these discussion groups had been that, whatever the Governments might be, the women of the world were peace lovers. Nowhere had there been evidence of national bias or enmity. The amount of information given at these discussions groups in industrial, international and educational spheres had been tremendous and to obtain eVen the sketchiest comprehension of every subject discussed had been an exhausting business. ATTEMPTING TOO MUCH. At the beginning a continuation committee comprising leaders was set up to listen to all criticism and the suggested improvements in the method of working the next conference. The first realisation was that the present conference was endeavouring to do far too much work and that more could be accomplished by limitation of subject matter. Finally the conference agreed that the next gathering should discuss and express its opinion oh world affairs. It was at last realised that to exercise influence was to take a bold stand. Equality of opportunity to express viewpoint must be concentrated on. “The welfare and happiness of all pedpies,” said Miss Andrews, “depend upon the justice given to the lesser peoples.” The fact that women to-day were a comparatively leisured class had been commented upon at the conference and the question had been asked, “Can we Cash in on this leisure?” Women at last had a golden opportunity of making their influence in the world left. Major problems discussed at the conference had been traffic in drugs and alcohol, the traffic in arms, pressure of population and measures to preserve a better balance, discussion of the problem of obtaining better films and the resentment engendered by the garbled

version of life in foreign countries so often presented in poor class mbtion pictures. Work for the next conference would be selected from 17 main headings of discussion including the political status of women, the effect of industrial home work, education, the social effects of unemployment, standards of living and labour standards as affecting international tension, and youth movements for peace. At the conclusion of Miss Andrews’ address a vote of thanks and appreciation was proposed by Miss Drew and seconded by Mrs. C. J. Harris, who remarked upon the evident interest of the audience and asured the speaker that the women present were far from apathetic in any of the major issues quoted by Miss Andrews.

The same address was given to a gathering of women teachers on Friday night at Hawera, where Miss Andrews answered a number of questions and a vote of thanks was carried by acclamation.