A MINISTRY OF WOMEN.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20170, 24 February 1931, Page 13

A MINISTRY OF WOMEN.

TO THE EDITOB OF tHB SBESS. Sir, —I feel I owe an apology to your correspondent "Clarity" for not answering his question as to the use of the phrase "sob sisters" sooner. I can only plead that the press of other matters made me shrink from a newspaper correspondence. I was interested in his account of tho origin of the name, which ia quite new to me. I heard it firstifrom a returned soldier, one of whose heels was shattered' early in the war. He said that while he was in hospital a girl in nurse's uniform came into the ward, enquired what was the matter, and said:' "Oh, poor man,. I must have a look at it." She . then lifted up the bedclothes at the foot of the bed, grabbed at his wouhded foot, and held it up in the air. When he cried out at the pain, she shrieked and dropped it on to * the; jbed. Fortunately fhe sister came in arid marched the young lady out. Then it was he used the phrase: "I can't stand those sob sisters." ' I can imagine that such a thing eould only have happened early in the war, when organisation had not been perfected..A "sob sister" is one, I should imagine, whose emotions and sympathy are not harnessed to § knowledge, or ono who cannot control their expression, or again, one of those to whom our Lord refers in St. Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 13, verses 20-21. Of course I did not use the phrase as applying to any of our present women workers, who are trained, and whoso excellent work has shown that the phrase could not apply to them; but I was thinking of the possible danger of letting loose untrained and untested people to work in our parishes. ■ I quite agree that no one can do such work unless he or she is moved with a real, heartfelt sympathy, but surely "Clarity" does not take St. Paul's injunction to "weep with them that weep" literally* An operation, for instance, at which the nurses were/ weeping and the surgeon's eyes were misty with undropped, tears, would not be conducive to the welfare of the patient. I am thankful for "Clarity's" appreciation of the great value of women's work, and hoping that I have siiflifeiently explained my meaning to him.— j Yours, etc;, * ■ : ' ' J. A. JULIUS. The Deanery, February 23rd, 1931.