WOMAN'S WORLD

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2544, 19 August 1915, Page 3

WOMAN'S WORLD

9 (Continued from page 2) ' WOMAN.S LABOUR & THE WAR i ORGANISING RESOURCES. [By Imogen,] i While tho Volunteer Nursing Sisterhood is organising the energies of a ; number of women throughout New Zealand for tho purpose of assisting in tho work of nursing and caring tor the sick and wounded of our soldiers, another organisation that has but recently coma into existence, that of the Women's National Reserve, is doing work in still another direction, and one that will possibly be recognised later on as being of extreme value to the country at large. This special object of the Women's National Reserve is, in addition to supporting the loyal work of. citizens during the war, to compile an accurate register of. women prepared to undertake some branch of work whereby they may set freo ; for active scrvico the men, at present employed in those particular fields of activity. The national register which is being compiled will not, it appears, include women, according to a statement just made, so that the work of the Women's Reservo will be of all the greater value if properly organised, as it will be the one and apparently only source from, which information can be obtained as to the Qualifications of women for the filling of the vacancics caused by men leaving ' their occupations for the wax zone. When men are taken in numbers from work of every kind, and when the industries of the country havo still to be maintained, then it must bo of great value to have an organised and accurate register to refer to in regard to tho labour which women can offer. With th 6 summer only a very short time away from ns, and with all the additional work which it brings in the country, ; the, outlook for the farmers and for the fruit-growers is not very encouraging when they scan the outlook for the supply of labour, and in all probability women may be asked to fill tho breach in some way or another. It is quite true they cannot shear, but there are many other kinds of farm and station work which they can do, such, for instance, as milking, harvesting, harrowing (which is really quite simple, according to the. writers experience, so long' as tho driver, can hold on over humpy ground), milking, dairy work, fruit, and hop-picking, and all kinds of work in cheese and butter- factories. Farm work such as mentioned' in the foregoing is quite within a woman's scope, and in fact it was not so long ago since it was largely in her hands, before tho advent''of machinery. These are all forms of farm work that are being depleted of man-labour owing to the'exigencies of the war, and since we are so often told and iecomiso for ourselves that the farmer is the backbone of the country, such depletion lias or is likely to have serious consequences unless every provision is made for filling their ranks, should the need arise. As for, all other forms of work, such' as clerical, professional, manufacturing, i and mercantile, there should be no difficulty in finding supplies among women for any of them, save perhaps tho second. _ ' White a national register is made of the men of the country and their occupations, it would be a very simple thing ' and the natural complement one would think, to make one of the women, so that it could be seen at a glance what they could to do in fdling men's places when the time ajrrived. With a compiled register there would be no delay, and men could be freed all 'the quicker. ! So advanced a country as New Zealand should bo the last to fail in its realisation of what a great reserve of assistance and co-operation can be found in its women. All over the country they ' are burning to do something ; if not in nursing and caring for the sick and the wounded, then in some other capacity, and it would be a jiiatter of great regret' not to have that enthusiasm and that energy organised into some practical form by the authorities,, such as this movement appears to offer. Eulogistic speeches of all that women have done are very nice, hut won)en, many of tlieni, are anxious that at this time their capacities in every direction should be. recognised and made use of. It is just, because of thisthat the Women's National Reserve haa been formed so that they can prove that they, too, have a deep realisation of the needs of the time, perhaps deeper than the authorities quite comprehend. In this direction of marshalling the resources of their women and their labour in every capacity, from the highest to the lowest, Germany has led tho way, ■ and yet the war means as much to us in New Zealand" as it does to the people of ' those countries whose soil is red with the blood of their best Women's fullest work in every direction, co-operating in every way with that of the men, is j : ; i

absolutely necessary if this dreadful waste of precious human life, if this great flood of desolation, of suffering and of misery is to be quickly lessened.