LOST IN THE WILDERNESS

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2162, 30 May 1914, Page 11

LOST IN THE WILDERNESS

[Br Imogen.]

NO DOCTOR, NO NURSE

Tucked away in the middle of a body of resolutions carried by the Wellington Conference of tho Farmers' Union this week was one that occupied a small corner of space, but yet was one that dealt with a crying want of tho back-l blocks farmnr and his family—that of the ,lack of medical aid. The proposal was that local bodies shall be authorised to declaro a district over which a rato may bo struck to subsidise medical men working in the outlying portions of tho district; An amendment, that was brought forward, was to the effect that local bodies should also have power to. strike a social rate for subsidising a district "vrsc in the back-blocks. This' ameiC.rorfj was carried at tho mooting, and will figure'in tho proposed Local Government Bill that is to be brought before Parlamenfc next session. Of all tho nightmares of dread that sometimes ongulf tho mind of the backblocks' wife and mother—and there are many, nightmares—is that of sickness. Loneliness, , hard work, monotony—terrible though they sometimes are, especially to a nervous, imaginative, highly-strung woman—are nothing compared to this hovering, constant dread of sickness or of accident in which life depends upon tho quckness with which medical aid can be obtained. Women living in .the cities and in the towns, with all tho advantages that doctors, nurses, and hospitals can give, cannot realise, and possibly have never given a thought, to the lot of tho settler's ,wifo and family in theso hinterlands of the Dominion. Unless one has been brought into contact .with it, one way

or another, or personally knows women who aro facing these odds, it is impossible) to realise it, even faintly. Many towns have their hospitals subsidised by the state, and their maternity nurses, but there is nothing of tho kind for the country man, woman, or child, who has to bo brought for long distances, over rough roads or' tracks into the nearest township for medical aid and nursing. At this confcrence it was pointed Out that tho Government had adopted a system of medical inspection, etc., throughout the schools, but, in a large number of. country' districts, children wero dying because of tho inability of parents to obtain medical services for tho sick in the outlying districts. District nurses have been sent to some of tho outlying portions of tho country, but far too few for the work which Ihey havo to do, and, tho distances which they havo to cover, and their experiences are sometimes rather startling to tho mind of tho comfortable, well-cared-for town-dweller. To build Hospitals in every district might prove too expensive just now, but, with more district nurses, and with subsidised medical men, much might be done to minimise tho dangers and the hardships of the men and women in the wilderness, and, no doubt, tho Government will see its way to make this possible when the Bill is brought before them. The, recent strike brought home to niany people tho realisation of the close interdependence of town and country, and, since life has been shorn of many of, its hardships for tho city-dweller, it is but a slight return to show some interest and concern im tho lot of tho country man and women, especially in such a matter as this.

WOMEN PLAYWRIGHTS

SOME WHO HAVE WON SUCCESS. Although we have at present several woJl-known women playwrights who havo given good work to the world, women, as a rule, have won their highest triumphs as exponents rather than as writers of the drama, states an Aus-. tralian writer. Actresses who have the brains to combine the double art of acting and writing plays. are few and far .between. One'lady must, however, •bo made i tho actual exception—a lady known and greatly , admired upon the British stage—Miss Cicely Hamilton, a woman gifted with wonderful talent in both'her arts, to which, strange to relate. sho has also combined journalism. Miss Hamilton wrote "Diana- of Dobsou's," a play that probed deep into the soul of the down-trodden shop girl of London. It is said that this drama did much to improve tho position of the shop girl. Ono of Miss Hamilton's greatest successes was in Bernard Shaw's brilliant sketch of "Fanny's Firs h Play," .

Forty Plays to Her Credit. Among the most prolific .woman playwrights is Mrs. Madeleine Lucette Riley, the author of no less than-forty plays, including that charming. little production called "Mice, and Men." Mrs. Oscar Beranger is. also famous for "A Bit of Old Chelsea," while many of us .will remember that Mrsi Henry De La Pasture is responsible for "Peter's Mother," which was played at tio less than four London theatres in its run of two years, and .'was also commanded by the late King Edward to be performed at Sandringham. Its production in Australia was made memorable by the late Mr. Fleming and Miss Beatrice Day. But what was "probably some of the best work ever written by a woman dramatist of our time was • from the witty pen of the late John. Oliver Hobbes (Mrs. Oraigie), whose play, "The Ambassador," found for her many admirers. ; ; Studied the'swoatlng Problem. Another Englishwoman who is well known is Mrs. Alfred Lyttelton, Her. last play, "Peter's Chance,". has been called "a species of English Turgenioff." This clever lady, daughter of a clover houso. and married into one of the best-' known families of England, has made an exhaustive study of sweating. It is perhaps little wonder that there has crept into her plays a pessimism, expected in Russia, but extremely unusual in English drama. Mrs. Lyttelton belongs to the House of Baifour, where brains are the rule, and not tho exception.

. Miss Gertrude Sowerby is another woman celebrity to whom the phrase of "fame in a night" is particularly ap-. plicable, through the production of a remarkable play only produced within the last year or so in England, called "Rutherford and Son." The strength and power of the play led many critics into the error of thinking that it had bcoH'written by a man, but the secret' leaked out the day after its first appearance. An extraordinary fact regarding the success of this play lis that it was the first one • from the pen of this clever lady. Although she had not studied stagecraft, she had mastered th© difficulties of construction in an almost wonderful way. Miss Sowerby belongs to Northumberland, where the material for "Rutherford and Son" was gathered. Woman Who Founded a Theatre. The subject of dramatic art amongst women would .be incomplete without som<> refercnco to tho excellent work of Miss Horniman, ■ who, though neither actress or playwright, has the distinction of being the founder of tho first Repertory Theatre in Great Britain. She has also devoted her money and timo to tho elevation of the stage. The Gaiety Theatre, in Manchester, England, which Miss Horniman practically rebuilt and opened upon repertory,lines has .proved a success.