WOMEN & THE LIVING WAGE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1605, 23 November 1912, Page 11

WOMEN & THE LIVING WAGE.

AN ADDEESS BY MISS, DOROTHEA BAIRD. : One of tha speakers at the National Union of Women. Workers' Conference, held last month in Oxford (England), was Miss Dorothea Baird (Mrs. H. B. Irving), whose acquaintance was made by many Wellington women during tho tour of her husband's company in New Zealand some' months ago. Miss Baird took for her subject the question of "Women Workers and the Living Wage," n question which is being brought before the public, of lato with' considerable 1 persistency . (and. rightly so). Miss Baird reminded her hearers that sho knew personally more professions than onis, for she had tried her .hand at teaching, and) after that had known what it was to live .on but a small, salary as an actress and have to make a single guinea a week suffice for. most of her. professional and. travelling, expenses. V "Many people, she observed, "think that luck has more to do with getting on than anything else. I am not going to deny that there is a tide in stage careers that, "taken at the flood, leads on to fortune,'or o psychological. moment which may do away with two or three years of obscurity; but, on the whole, given a personality and a talent, even a small,one, it isigrit. whioh tells,, never letting' an op-.' .portunity pass, and being ready for everyoccurs. There is no doubt the stage is fearfully, overcrowded, but it is no,easier than-it used to be to cast plays and find the right people; 90 I would never deter aspirants on that account, merely warning them that a' home is: a.necessity in the early career, when one is feeling one's feet and living on a quite inadequate salary. And this brings roe back to the question, of the living wage.. / . 'Actors have been fighting for a long time, for a minimum salary of-.£2 per week, and I hope they may attain their end. But this applies to those who have learnt their business. What is one to say about those who. are . entering' the profession as absolute novices? , • Payment for Novices.: . . "There-.is only one royal road to learning,, acting, 'and. that is to act;-there-fore the manager who trains, a few novices

each tour and .gives them the attention ho must to enable. them to appear with any credit to.him, probably thinks it' unnecessary to give them salaries-which would make them, absolutely self-support-ing straight away. I am awre that this system is open to criticism on the grounds of its- being unfair to experienced people, 4 unfortunately, the .conditions of learning acting in this country, are eminently unsatisfactory,: though of late years they have beeD to some, extent improved by the opening of schools of dramatic aTt,- In no other- art or profession is it expected that one should become, a skilled wage-earner before one has learnt the rudiments of one's business, and the guinea a week that will pay board and lodging on tour is.not an unjust payment for a beginner's services." She turned to some of the other difficulties with which the stage is surrounded, and met.them boldly. "There is an unspoken question which it is my duty to answer. Does stage life make for steadiness character, and', has. it greater temptations than other professions in which the sexes are oh equal terms and are perfectly free to make 1 , one another's acquaintance? I cannot answer this moro strongly in the affirmative than by telling you that, having a daughter, I should in no way regret her taking up this work provided her character and health were sufficiently established to stand .the strain of leavinig home and malting her way in the world. 1 Equal Pa# For Equal Work. And Tevertinff to tho wage question, she added: "The truth is that women are very often paid less than imen for just the same quality and quantity of work. There are many facts that combine tocausa this underpayment, the chief one being that in the eyes of the public the woman worker has not so many calls on 'her salary.as a man. It.is probably true enough in the main, but it has nothing to do .with the question. "Wage is not bestowed in any relation to the private expenditure of the recipient; for instance, a workman does not receive extra wages because he has seven children ami a wife to keep, and the size of his domestic .establishment neither hinders nor helps him when he draws his money. The inferiority of woman's pay does not, of course, exist in all professions, it chiefly occurs among clerks, civil servants, typists, and some teachers. SUPERFLUOUS HAIR. Superfluous Hair destroyed by "Rusma" (reg.). A guarantee given with each case undertaken. -See testimonials and letters. Mrs. Hullen ' (over Economic), Lambton Quay. 'Phone 10i7. ' (Testimonial.) Clyde Quay, Wellington. Dear Mrs. Hullen.—l write to let you 'JEnow how delighted I am with your new preparation "Pi-usma." After a real good trial it is taking splendid effect and my disfigurement is fast becoming obliterated. Enclosed please find £1 os. Od., including the cost of skin food as well, j Original copy of above can bo seen at my address, I*

carried. Mr. Zangwill wrote expressing sympathy with the protest, ana said, "Marrying an heiress may be the ruin of a man." A WOMAN'S FACE. . -Every woman's face is a living index of the treatment she gives it! It is Bernard Shaw .who. describes-a character in one of-iis plays as a woman "who. has ; neifer known the cares, the re-sponsibilities,-jealousies, and- anxieties oi personal beauty. She has*the complexion," lie adds, "of a never-washed gipsy, incurable by any. detergent." This .is one side of the medal—extreme, of course. It is not the side one cares to look upon' ,• Then there is the other side of, the picture—more hopeful certainly, but still with something to be desired—and gained. In this instance the woman has struck up a bowing acquaintance with the cares and charms of beauty. She at least is alert. Now, something can. be done for her. She must engage'in improvement of skin and in cultivation of complexion—a few minutes a day suffices. Then shall we not see her emerging with added grace, and—most marvellous of all—with what can only be termed "quite a new face," She has used "Valaze"! ■ The tonic properties of Valazo Skin Food keep the. skin in healthful stimulation, with the result that it becomes sound and supple, free from lines, muddiness, blotches, and freckles. It gains in attractiveness all the while! Price, is. and 7s. Mllo. Rubinstein ,is the first complexion -specialiste to differentiate between a norraal skin, a dry skin, and an oily, skin in face powders. Valazo Powder is for a sreasy, over-moist skin, and Novena Poudre for a dry and a normal skin. Each is m three tints. Price, 2s. 6d. Novena Cerate is an emollient skm clcanser. When the skin is delicate and sensitive, or intolerant of soap and water, it should be cleansed with Novena Orate. It is rubbed well into tho skin, allowed to remain on. as long as convenient, then wiped ?-! a f°ft towel." The result is a delightful skin bath —one which ip quite a new experience. Price, 2s. and 3s. Od. Valaze Blackhead and Ope i Pore Cure overcomes even the worst cases of these blemishes. Beneficial for greasv, coarse, over-moist skins. Price, 2s. 9d.' . Valaz« Skin Tonic is an anti-wrinkle lotion; astringent, .antiseptic, soothing, and stimulating. It is a safeguard against lines and looseness of the skin. Price, 3s. 9d. - ' ] All Valaze preparations obtainable from leauinfr chemists, or direct, post free, from Mile. Helena Rubinstein, liaison Advt® 3 ' Brandon Street, Wellington.— ZOUTH Green Pills "Drivo away Uric Acid, neutralise all rheumatic acidity, by removing the offouding matter from the system. Blood is purified, kidneys relieved, joints became supple, there is a general freedom from pain. The new, cure for Rheumatism, Backache Kidney Troubles, eto. Store prioe, ia. Ik' (60), No Cure, Money Ectuniodi