Presidential Address

White Ribbon, Volume 21, Issue 2, 1 March 1949, Page 2

Presidential Address

Delivered 17th February , 1949 , by Mitt* C. F. Kirk. J.P.

ln July of 1248, Lucretia Mott, who was a Quaker leader, with some other ladies and gentlemen, called a convention to discuss the “social, ci\il and religious condition and 'he rights of women.” When they made their first attempt to frame a resolution they found it so difficult that Elizabeth Cady Stanton (who was later to become a wonderful speaker and leader), said “On the first attempt to frame a resolution, to crowd a complete thought, clearly and concisely into three lines, they felt a> helpless and hopeless as if they li?d suddenly been asked to construct a steam engine.” There is overwhelming proof in the following statement that, even if they were faced with a very difficult problem, they knew what they wanted and were prepared to def> tyranny for the sake of a better world. The statement reads : “RIGHTS OF WOMEN “ We hold these truths to be sell evident; that all men and woman are created equal ... “1. The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her. “ 2. He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation ol which she has had no voice . . . “3. After depriving her of all rights as a married woman, if single and the owner of property, lie has taxed her to support a government which recognises her only when her property can be made profitable to it . . . “4. He has denied her the facilities for obtaining a thorough education, all colleges being closed against her . . . “3. He has created a false public sentiment by giving the world a different code of morals for men and women, by which moral delinquencies which exclude women from societv, are not only tolerated, but deemed of little account by men . . . “6. He has usurped the prerogative of Jehovah himself, claiming it as his right to assign to her her sphere of action, when that belongs to her conscience and to her God ...” 1 have quoted the above that you anq I may be reminded, and may also realise, something of what we owe to those women of a hundred years ago. How do we stand in the matter of rights now' ? Equality of men and women—well we have not quite achieved that standard of justice yet.

There are still noticeable cases in which men still seem to think that they have all the knowledge that is worth while and now and again we meet the woman who really seems to bc'ieve that if she tells you that “her Bill bolds the opinion that such and such is the case you are hound to belieN e it too I ha\e observed that the simple faith of such women is markedly stronger n. the early days of the marriage than it is after twenty or even ten, years of living with “Bill.” We have a number c* positions in which the woman receives les> pay than the man for exactly the same work, judged by the same standards.

We now have a direct voice in the making of our laws in that we can exercise our vote either toward electing the man or woman who shall sit in Parliament, or recording our vote against the candidate who does not come up to standard; as W.CT.U. members we should make every effort to see that suitable women as well as God-tearing men. are elected next polling day. It should be our business to know something of these men and women who come forward seeking our vote. If they have conducted their own businesses dishonestly or without proper business sense it is useless to expect that they will run the affairs of the country either honestly or well; if their general and private moral standard is not high they are r.ot fit to manage our beloved country.

Also we now have the Married Woman’s Property Act whereby a woman can still keep her own money or property, though Heaven help her

What Are Our Rights ? How Far Have We Made Use of Them ?

if she is so unfortunate as to marry! an unscrupulous man. More thaiil once or twice I have seen a woman I simply nagged out of her belonging" I A nagging woman i.s someone to be I avoided but a nagging man is someone I to run from. Woman’s position in the realm ot I education is wonderful compared with I the facilities available to those w'ho I first realised that women had the right I and the ability to be as well educated I as men, and were- prepared to fight ] for that right. All these rights and many more, too I long a list to be dealt with here, I which have been built upon the I foundation laid by Lucretia Mott, Mr" I Elizabeth Cady Stanton and others, in I are ours today. W hat are we doing with these rights' First—are we guarding the I sanctit) of the home? Frequently wc hear pecole deploring the fact that there is * no home life now-a-days.” Why and how has this condition* of aftairs come übout ? Does not common honesty coirot) us to reply “because the older people have not faithfully, and as a whole, adhered »o the standard of right as set out in the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount; have not acknowledged the voice of con science which definitely indicated the white path of Right and the black path of Wrong, allowing: themselves and their children* to think that there is a nice little grey path in-between, along which they can travel without harm to themselves or anyone else and without danger ot side-stepping into the biacl: oath Want of a realisation of our respond bility to the youth in our homes and in our neighbourhood is blazoned forth ir. a certain amount of disregard for truth and honesty; by the consumption of alcoholic liquors, although it may be very moderately and although they know full well that their example may, and frequently does, bring many | a fine lad and lass to a dishonoured grave. Again the example of gambling has been set before the youth of our country by the light way in which those who know better take ticket" j in Art Unions, striving to white-wash themselves by saying “Oh, it was for a good cause. I nevei expected to win anything.” If that is the truth, why take the ticket, why not give a straight out donation of a shilling or half crown? What of the literature that is brought into our homes ? Have parents and guardians been sufficientl} interested in the books and paper" the children and young people read There is plenty of good and amusing literature for children and young

people and if it is easily available they will read it, but, for goodness sake, see that it is suitable, that is, see that it honestly says what it has to say in an amusing or attractive and above all, in a clean way. In an extract taken from the “Chicago Daily News,” November 9th, ISNB, and reprinted in the “ Union Signal,” December • 11th, 1948, we read as follows: “ The comic book threat to decency and even to the very lives of children is causing trouble as far away as Australia —strips featuring sex, violent crimes and murder probably will be banned in most cf the larger cities ‘Down Under,’ Melbourne, the ‘Boston ’ of Australia, will be the first to remove the books from the stands. Many Melbourners believe an illustrated comic book to have been the inspiration behind the recent death of a young teen-ager who hanged himself by using a leather strap. His eight-year-old sister discovered the body.” That is the end of the quotation but by no means the end of the sorrow’ of the parents, or of the nerve shock of the little sister, What occurred there can easily, just as easily, occur here. We have the Right to prevent the circulation of such literature. Let us use it. Our Right to Peace. World peace must surely begin in the heart of the individual; it can only be there by the steady cultivation of the virtue of goodwill, goodwill toward those in our homes, toward our neighbours, then to the community and so, in an ever widening circle, to our country and the world. Our children and young people are in dire need of a sense of security and if there is not peace in the home how are they to obtain it? It is not so much material security that is needed as security in the fundamental truths of life—such as the real, and if need be, sacrificial affection of those who are supposed to have their welfare at heart. There can only be mental and spiritual security in a home where the parents set for themselves a high standard of rigl . and happy living. There is no need to lower one’s moral standard because one has to live in a crowded room or fiat. I suppose we are all at times shocked and unhappy when we read of the large number of divorced couples each year, and we grieve for those, generally young couples, who have come to such a sorry pass, but what of the children, and there are frequently one or two, w T ho are the outcome of such marriages? Are they likely to have that sense of mental and spiritual security and peace which is their birthright? The only way, as far as I can see, to prevent the frequency of divorce is for children to be taught the value of a promise and, as they grow older, the sacredness of the marriage vows. Both these teachings will be infinitely helped by good example. Let young people be taught that marriage is not just a jaunty little picnic with w’hite satin and iced

cake, but that it is something to be w’ell considered beforehand. Both man and woman giving good thought to the fact that they won’t always be dressed in their best clothes attending parties, but that they must, of necessity, “ go back to old clothes and hard work”—the woman to the washtub, sweeping, polishing, etc., and seeing that she has three good meals a day ready for the “ good man ” of the house. Very often all this, and much more, is required of her without previous training. Probably she went straight from school to factory, shop or office and has never had time or opportunity to learn how to un a home. How would any one of us feel if we were, suddenly, set down to a very varied job, requiring a considerable amount of skill, patience and judgement ? Married life is certainly not a joke. So much for some of the woman's difficulties but the man has to do some facing up too. There is the fact, and it is no negligible one, that however hard he is willing to work it will be impossible for him to spend as much on sport, or generally having a good time as he used to do because it really does take more to keep two than one. Both parties have the right, and the responsibility, of making the marriage successful and very happy. Therefore I would say to all young men and women get married, if you want to, but make sure that you are marrying not the one you can live with, but the one you cannot live without; remembering that marriage is, or should be, a life sentence. What of our rights and responsibilities toward the chief, and chief by a long w’ay, factor in destroying marriage and the happiness of children, affecting their health, mental capacity, and even their very lives. Just at this minute, now, and I wish with all my heart that I could make that now, coupled with the words Right and Responsibility, ring in the hearts and minds of all our members so loudly, and so insistently, that eacli one will be afraid to let slip any effort within her power, that will bring 'ictory at the polls next month. Perhaps you cannot address meetings or go from house to house delivering literature but you can talk. I have heard you. See that each person you talk to knows without a doubt that six o’clock closing means less drinking; that open bars in the evening will mean more drinking. If it did not mean a greater consumpton of alcoholic poison would the brewers want it? In view or the difficulty of obtaining staff it may seem as if the hotel proprietors and managers would not welcome the change. But don’t count on their support; the Devil and the liquor traders will leave no stone unturned. Get to work and turn them back again. Undoubtedly there is a large amount of evening drinking now, but so long as we allow this privileged trade to serve alcoholic liquors to “boarders,”

very much so called, and very little care taken to differentiate between “boarders” and “casual callers,” this drinking will go on, but do not let us add to it by approving open bars in the evening. l sometimes wonder what would happen to grocers and other respectable tradesmen, if they took in a boarder or two and then threw open their sitting-rooms in an evening so that anyone who cared to do so might come in; the boarders, by right oi claiming to be such, demanded the right to buy an unlimited amount of tea, buttter, sugar, etc. Surely it would not be very long before at least some of the casuals got mixed up with the boarders at the counter, buying as heartily as any boarder. A grocer might as well put sand in the sugar and chips in the tea and think to get away with it as try to turn his sitting-room into a late market. A clarion call for us to join the fight against this diabolical trade is the need for the defence of the rights of our Maori people, who surely have a prior and definite right to say whether they will have liquor sold in certain areas or not and certainly it is a very ugly stain on our boasted British justice that they should be obliged to fight, yes and even to beg, that we, the people who brought the Gospel of Christ to this country, shall see to it that a solemn pact signed just 109 years ago on February 6th, by seventyeight persons—the number increased to five hundred and forty-one by June of that same year, shall be honoured. There are four classes of people who arc ready and willing that this pact should be broken: — One—those who make money from the manufacture and sale of alcohol. Two—those who are deliberately urging the sale of alcoholic poison in the King Country because they “like a drink ’’ when they visit that part of New Zealand. Thus proving themselves to be lacking in self-control and to be the slaves of appetite. Three—those who have not enough backbone to either contradict, or cut loose from class two. Four—those who are too bone lazy to think or understand what is taking place. Quite a number of them are Church members. It just means this — those who either by wrong action, or by lack of action are, as Billy Sanday is reported to have said. “ laying up a very difficult matter to explain when they appear before the Judgement Seat.’’ When next general election conies you and I must see to it that we vote for men and women who are so strong in their belief in God’s justice that they will not allow themselves to act under the direction of a power which they know to be evil. Madras Province, India, celebrated Gandhi’s birthday by instituting legal Prohibition of intoxicating liquor. “ Time ” reports that Prohibition is gaining ground in self-governing India. “ About one-seventh of Travancore, half of the Central Provinces,

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