WOMAN'S WORLD.

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 23, 22 October 1918, Page 2

WOMAN'S WORLD.

MATTEKS OF INTEREST FROM FAB AND NEAR, (By luoaas.)

SOCIAL AND PERSONAL Nurse Elisor, who came from Blenheim to join th'o staff of the Wellington Hospital some twelve months ago, died in that institution on Saturday afternoon after a brief illness. She wus '2fi years of age. , . ■ Mrs. F. Davies (Koputaroa) and children are visiting Auckland. Miss nelen Gard'ner, of Duncdin, wlio is to sustain the role of Gianetta in flio Wellington Amateur Operatic Society's performances of "The Gondoliers," lias arrived in Wellington. Sho attended the. rehearsal last evening in St. Peter's' Schoolroom.

A meeting of the Wellington Red Cross Shop Committee was held in the Mayoress's room of the Town Hall yesterday afternoon, Mrs. Luko (Mayoress) presiding. ■■ It was stated that ,£7OOO "had been handed over to the Red Cross Trustees for the benefit of New Zealand sick and wounded soldiers, and there" was now in hand a sum of J9GOO. It was decided to send out circulars soliciting the support for the coming year of all who had helped to mako. the shop so successful in the past.'

The dance for the men of the segregation camp, postponed from last evening until a later date, will take place tonight in the Sydney Street Soldiers' Club, and holders of blue tickets are asked to 1)3 at tho club punctually at seven o'clock or notify tho Dance Committee if .unable to attend.

Lecture to Women. i At the Y.W.C.A. rooms lust evening ; Mrs. Harverson repeated tho lecture which sho delivered recently before the Women Teachers' Association on "Women's Part in Reconstruction." Miss England was in the chair, and there was ft fair attendance. Mention was also made of tho idoa of providing a residential oluh for girls who come to fill positions in Wellington. , Teachers' Hardships. . At last night's meeting of the Wellington branch of the Women Teachers' Association a glaring instance of the utterly inadequate salaries that are paid to many women teachers was given. 'Die case in" point was that of a teacher who had been 18 years in the service, for ten of which she had been in country schools, and for three years solo teacher. Prom 1014 until 1918 the reports of her work made by the school inspectors had been either good or else very good; and in return for her faithful services sho was paid the niunificient salary of .£l2O. Several othor instances were also given and feeling waxed high among the teachers present, several instancing tho impossibility of making two onds meet upon their salaries. One teacher said that she had not been able to buy herself n new costume for three,years, so "hard did sho find it to cover.living expenses. .".''.'.

Need for Organisation. A point that was stressed by Mrs. Kineton. Tarkes in the course of her ad-, dress ut t.lio Pioneer Club yesterday afternoon was the need for sane sort of po- j litical organisation of women, not a j piirtv. organisation, for -parly politics should be barred when they were working for the conlmoh good, but one that would gather in nil societies and shades of opinion. Onco this was done, if tnero were anv Bill coining before Parliament tfhich was of special interest to women, they' could 'discuss 'it and place their vlows'aiid those of all .affiliated' societies ■before members of Parliament. Unless this were done the men who represented them in tho House could not know what wore the views of their women supporters. Mrs. Parkes added that she was very glad to see that there was a Women's National Council in . AYelhngton, and such a moans of connectins: women s societies should bo most' valuable and carry weight. Their views should be of considerable Kelp to politicians. Mrs. Parkes concluded by congratulating-the women upon tho good conditions under which they, lived in this country. Curtailed Public Services. " Much surprise was expressed by' Mrs. Kineton' Parkes at the Pioneer Club yesterday at tho fact that the public services, such a3 tho railways and. post offices, should have • been curtailed in the way they had been when there wero so many women eager to do the work. In England not only wero women sorting tho mail, but they wero deliveries it, and had done so for some time back. . It seemed a pity, sho considered, that efficiency and especially commercial elliciency should bo curtailed through the. refusal 1o employ women's labour in such, directions as these. ■ How Franchise for Women was Won,

In' the course of her speech, at tho Pioneer Club yesterday, Mrs. Kineton j'nrkes outlined the final act bv means of which tho franchise for women had . been won at Home. Mr. Asquith, sho told her hearers, had always been lrankly opposed "to giving women tho vote, and they knew exactly what to expect from him. All possible pressure had been put upon the Government by tho women's societies to gain their end, and thoy managed lo extract a promise from Mr Asquith that no extension, of tho franchise should be given to men without giving ,it to.women. At that timethere was not tho remotest idea that the timo would como when an insistent cry would bo raised for any kind of extension, as war was not at that time thought of by an unsuspecting public. In such circumstances the promise seemed quite a «afe one to make. Tho cry .of the women had been for the vote as it was, or might become, for a man. However, war broke out, and as timo went on possibilities of an election loomed upon tho horizon, and a demand arose for the extension of tho franchise to soldiers and sailors. In view of his promiso that there should be no extension made for men without giving the franchise to women, Mr. Asquith had to give in, and the loiig-fought-for goal was at last attained. „,,',',« i i \'et another difficulty to bo faced and surmounted lay in tho alarm which was lelt at enfranchising so large a number of women as Great Britain contained. A conference (the Speaker's Conference) was held, and it was finally decided alter much discussion that tho vote should bo confined to women of thirty yours ot a* B and over. let another conference w ls held, this time of all tho womens suffrage societies, to consider the conditions. From such opposite poles ot thought as Conservative women who considered that there should bo nropcrty qualifications for the vote and Labour ■o nen who considered that there should l,e no such qualification, a resolution was Sissed in favour of the Bill all m.ls,g that at such a critical time ;n the history of their country it was necessary t" el minute self, and work for he common good. The Bill consequently passed both Houses of tho Legislature.

THE RED CROSS A BATTLEFIELD SKETCH. (By Bessie Nina Watty.) On the edge of a cloud a single star trembled. But the night itself wus black as n wolf's throat—black as tho pit of suffering—wherein lie found himself. And how red was the giaro to eastward! The lurid light meant death—and living hell! Oh, God, that sucli things could he! Sharp, turbulent twists of wind struck him spasmodically. In tho brief cessations lie could hear the grumble of the guns. . . . Pain racked his weary body. His mouth was parched. Already . his lips were swollen. Sharp, stilled groans were unconsciously emitted from them. Now and then his head rolled from side to side. Once ho. screamed aloud as a burst of fury where the castward red glowed dully, Taokcd the air. For hours before the shell struck him ho had moved 'midst a devil's carnage. . . . Men had gone.down suddenly, cursing tho fate that had befallen them. Beneath his feet flesh and blood lay moving. . . • Dead bodies of gallant comrades made stumbling blocks tor the moving tribe of khaki-coloured figures that swarmed this way and that. Stumbling blocks! Those dear, gallant sons o' mothers. . . . Sobs checked him. ... He wept for the boys who had passed West. . . . He yearned for succour, and, yearning, strove to help himself. Life was so dear . . .and he was young! Vaguely, he visioned that far-away home set on the highest point of sweeping uplands, and again as though but yesterday he heard the thin, sweet voice of his mother blessing him as lie took his leave of her, 'way down by the white-barred gate. "God bless '■you, my son. My 'prayers go with you. : A safe journey over the high seas and j through the darksome nights. A safe : home-coming and your duty performed a - i vour father and I would wish it!" lhe j impress-of her lingering kiss still hngerled upon his lips. How bravo sho was!I He thrilled, even in that moment, of supreme anguish, with pride of her. Tho lovo of life, the desire to see that home once again and those whom it sheltered spurred him to heroic efforts to rea-ch safety ... to still have another I chance.

"The Chance in a Thousand." Crawling, squirming, dragging his wounded limb in slow, tortuous movements, sometimes groaning aloud, sometimes striving to deaden tho cries na they were emitted, ho progressed slowly. He felt the fever rising, now and then getting the upper hand. . '. • Only by suporhuman efforts could he now move. Every twist, every jerk caused him exquisite agony. Pain looked out from his anguished eves. Oh, for tho Red Cross body of men to find him! Once, as lus injured limb camo in contact with » twist of gnarled wood, he called aloud incoherently. ... In the brief intervals of normal thought he tried to reckon the chances he had' of being found. . . . "Ouo in a thousand," he muttered, "one in u thousand " for lie had diverged from tho usual lay tlio Red Cross men would take. Again, homo memories crowded upon his mind. A runnel of la'ughter; girls' voices echoing over sun-chased downs; n sweep of clear sunlight upon a sbadoi.-.v pool; pink blossoms on graceful trees; silver twilight on a shallow river; snow-crested ridges of distant Rim.ubkns. . '. • Hoiv peace dwelt 'mid those wooded ways .. . j)«ci>! i\"k'!\» ;* £i ':■:;» snwl, he wondered, could one find tho placo that lives within the home of ones youth? It is sanctity. , ~, Somehow the vision of his mother no!', his heart in grief. It bocanio so vivid he tried'to banish it from his mind. Jt gripped his heart now and twisted it with-white-hot misery. .Memories wero sheer anguish ... tears 'streamed down his grime-stained face. Oh, but thank God, she could not see . him now. . . . Brain and mind clouding, no talked aloud. And when a great'crash eastward split the air ho strove to lift himself, to run, ... '. s., ~„■ When he remembered again it was still night-deop night. But the dull red above the blur of- far sycamores was gone. A. chill wind struck.at him suddenly. A few hard drops of rain followed. A curious silence seemed to smito lum. , In. a detached way' he compared it with tho crashing anil rolliug of the artillery. ...

Tho Star of Hope. Once again, lie moved .cautiously. Instinctively ho niiule i'or the right. . ... and after long, laborious dragging ot Ins tortucd body,- he came into aji open space. It was'so sudden this passing beyond tho shadowy wood, that he exclaimed in dismay. I'or it might mean death, this open'space—or it might mean life, lint when his eyes searched his bearings, ho detected, ho fancied, a spark of liglit-golthm light-to tho left. •: It glimmered feebly and then went out, only vo leap to life again. .It .was a golden star—a star of earth—a' star of Hope! Sure, now, he laughed deliriously. Jlifl heart beat in swift, hammer strokes. It soemed to beat loud like the pulsing ot a great clock, one, two, three. . . . Hopo burned hercoly. No rndiauce'rn Heaven, no tire of—hell, could be so bright as was that speck of light ahead of him! Taking up tho burden of movement again, he crawled ahead, but the agonies of body were more acuto. The firo in his veins seemed to be consuming him. His body was stiff and heavy, andso slow was his progression that tho intenso. desire for life diminished. . . . only for his mother! Sho was his chief thought now-aii obsession. Delicately, narrowly, like a riband of thin gossamer, dawn broko in tho sky. Hut tho great star that had quivered on tho edge of tho cloud all tho night through had gone. Tho face of the ninn was drawn—the month set in one expression; the eyes sunken in their sockets were liko spots of lire. ... then through the pallid dawn n flare of-crim-' son set the eastward sky to. fire ngain. The screeching and tho fury of the working'.guns struck onco again sheer terror to" his soul, for ho saw tho red pools .... and tho twisted forms of'comrades '—happy, laughing comrades who once, side by side, had walked with him . . . Ho ceased that shuffling, awkward movement of body, lying quietly, only from his lips came the cry of ft man in delirium . . . and he did not understand when two men lifted him gently from tho dank, chill earth to tho stretcher that awaited him, the meaning of the crosses shining red upon their uniforms. •• • .

When ho a.woke to consciousness again ho had been in hospital three days. Dully, lifelessly, hardly caring, ho eyed his unfamiliar surroundings, and memory in leaps niid bounds camo back to hi:u. . . and ho saw that, without, a yollow. sun was shining that came splashing in through tho slats of the drawn blinds, but lie -knew that over the wounded face of Franco, it shouo on the blood of his gallant comrades, those comrades of tho days of (,1(1 . . . and then suddenly, ho wondered why life had been given back to him. . . . and like tho swift'leaping of tho lightning spear on the grty-odged cloud, ho kiicw. . . . Oh, tho blessed, blessed Red Gross.