Washington Conference.

White Ribbon, Volume 42, Issue 493, 18 October 1936, Page 1

Washington Conference.

Mrs I'atei son, the Vice-President of the I >ominion W.C.T.U., has just returned from this great Conference. The following account is taken from the bannevirke “Evening News”:— There was a very good attendance of women, representing various organisations of town and country districts, at Knox Hall to meet Mrs H. Paterson, of l'ahiatua, and to hear her account of her visit to Washington, as representative of the country women of New Zealand. The meeting, which was held under the auspices of the local W.C.T.V., was presided over by Mrs S. T. I'aviourSmith, who warmly welcomed Mrs Paterson, and introduced her to the gathering. For an hour Mrs Paterson kept her audience enthralled with her cleverly condensed account of ihe trip. At Honolulu the traveller was met by the famous temperance worker, Mrs lan*Cowie. who showed her the sights of the city. Vancouver, the Rockies, a two days’ stay at Banff, to recover from the effects of the journey in the bracing air, and restful surroundings; several days at Calgary with friends and meetings with women’s institutes; then on to Chicago, with a memorable visit to the home of Frances Willard, the founder of the W.C.T.U., and, incidentally, the only woman to be honoured with a statue amongst famous Americans in the Capitol at Washington. Arrangements for the conference of the Countrywomen of the World had been made for 100 delegates, from L’3 countries, but two or three days before the opening day women from all over U.S.A. and Canada arrived in the city, and the Conference opened with 7000 delegates! This necessitated consider-

COUNT RY WOMEN OF THE WORLD

able reorganisation and the use of the huge Constitution Hall. The first gathering of delegates was held in the beautiful cathedral on the Sunday afternoon, world peace being the theme of the impressive service.

The official opening of tin* Conference, which was held under the auspices ot the U.S.A. Department of Agriculture, was conducted by heads of this department, and delegates were present from Great Britain, Canada, various States of U.S.A., Australia and New r Zealand, the South African colonies, Ceylon. Gel - many, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark. and Latvia, the last-named dele-

gate representing also the Balkan States. Mrs Roosevelt spoke, briefly at this ceremony ,and later in the afternoon, with the President, entertained the women at a garden party in the grounds of the White House. They found Mrs Roosevelt very friendly and informal, and in chatting with Mrs Paterson she showed a keen interest in New Zealand. Thenceforward the Conference broke up into separate round table discussions on various aspects of women’s interests, those in which the speaker was concerned i>eing the use of natural resources and health questions. A visit to the old home of George anil .Martha Washington, which has been preserved by the women of America, was an interesting interlude. The Conference concluded with a most impressive sunset service held by the Water Gate, looking out over the Potomac to the national war cemetery. Here the delegates from Finland and Germany spoke most fittingly upon world peace and woman’s responsibility. The U.S.A. delegates escorted the British and European delegation as far as Niagara, taking leave of them on the famous Peace Bridge. Mrs Ihiterson, who was to visit her mother in Scotland before returning home, went on through Canada with these delegates, visiting various institutes. The work of the league of Nations greatly impressed the traveller, who said that one should not think that prevention of war was the only function of the League. At Geneva there are 7000 fully qualified officials, who might he called international civil servants, who attend to such important matters as the health of nations (as in China), child welfare, children’s c urts, and so on. Mrs Paterson also spoke about the League of Nations Union. At the conclusion of the talk, the Mayoress, Mrs Glbbard, on behalf of

tin* Townswomen’s (lui!<l, thanked the speaker for her interesting report. Mrs A. H. Hansen spoke for the Te Itehun.ua Women’s Institute, Mrs Nhholson for the local W.(’.T.l\, and Mrs Howarth moved a vote of thanks on liehalf of those present. This was carried by acclamation, after which Mrs Starnes pronounced the benediction. Mrs <l. L. Shaw sang “bless This House,” and Miss Ehhett played a violin solo, Mrs L. bell and Miss A. Carston playing the accompaniments. Lad> Hansom presented the visitor with a bouquet of beautiful flowers from her garden, and flowers for the hall were provided by Mrs .1. A. Johnson and Miss .1. Young. Afternoon tea was d. .pensed by meml>ers of the l W.C.T.r The organisers are gratenil to Mr H. A. Nicol for the loan of crockery.