WOMAN'S WORLD.

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 134, 2 March 1920, Page 4

WOMAN'S WORLD.

SOCIAL AND PERSONAL A very quiet wedding was solemnised at the 'residence of Mr. mid Mrs. F. Jnnett, "Kaiwai," Hatnma—Hint of their daughter May .'to William. Ellii. eldest son of Mr', and Mrs. J. Ellis, Curraghalickey, Ireland. The bride wn f attended ■by her sister. Mi.-s Ena Janett, as lirid.es- . maid. The duties of the best man were carried out by Mr. Jack Ellis, brother of the bridegroom. The wedding ceremony was' conducted' by the Kev. Hodgson, of T<:kapau. ■ ■ • ■•■ Miss K. Gild, of the head office staff of tlie Ban), of New' Zealand, on severing her connection with the bank, -was presented' on Friday afternoon by the staff with i\ Morris chair, as a mark of esteem.' Mr. It. B. Rigg made the presentation. Mrs. Kettle (Napier) is. visiting Wellington: ■.:•■' •■' • ' Mrs. Norman Bebthnm .and. Miss Wardell (Masterton) ..are visiting Wellington. Mr;'and Mrs.'Eigar (FeatherstonO are visiting Wellington and are i'taying at the Royal Oak. The members of the AVomen's National' Reserve are notified by advertisement that all subscriptions are due on March 1, and they are reauesled to pay in s.imo by March 31. As" there are many vital questions to be'discusVed and considered and' only, financial •members may vote, members are asked .-to be good enough to register without delay. . The "Nation,"'of London, tells of the action which the workmen of Holland are taking to send food'to the children of Vienna. In the usual course of things, two days,' holiday falls ,to them, and they decided to work on one of them and devote their earnings 'to" the children's relief. At the time this particular issue of the "Nation" was going to press, the Dutch workmen's.plan had not reached realisation; but their decision, arrived at through the unions, was being placed before the owners of the factories, m order to obtain their sanction. Dutch labour (states the "hristian C\Scien'co Monitor in commenting upon this action) has set a good 1 example.•' • The'iiext'best thine is to follow the example as rrmckly and as thoroughly-as may be'..' There is no lack of •'urgency, to, expedite endeavour.

Miss Daisy Kennedy. the gifted violinist ~ivil]i; leave for Sydney on Thursday next by the. Riverina. She is to commence a concert season in Melbourne on March ll" : Her husband;' Benno Moisevitch, the Russian pianist, is to come out to Australia under engagement to J atid N. Taitin May, and later will tour New Zealand with Miss Kennedy. Xer first New Zealand' torn- has been an unquestioned success; and Miss Kennedy' says that she. looks forward to returning to the Dominion with her husband.

' Mrs. S. George Nathan ami her family, who 'have been spending u "I 0 . 11 * 4 Karaka Bay, returned to their Highland Park home'yesterday.

Mr. and Mrs. R. A. Cameron, who, have been staying at Lyall W, left loi Mastertou on Saturday.

; On December IG. at Christ Church. Lancaster Gate, London, Major Sydney. Murray Wren, R. 10., youngest son of Mr. .Tames "Wren, J.P., of Dunedin, was married to Miss Jean M'Lclland, daughter of Mr. R. A. M'Lelland, of Kingston, Canada.

Miss TTclen Rolleston, who was well known in Christchureh for her interest in social and industrial problem?, especially those .connected with , women; has been actively interested in a girls hand-weaving industry in London. Largely owing to Miss Rolleston's personal endeavour, this industry is now. run on a sound financial basis." and is giving employment and protection to-numbers ol otherwise friendless girls. Of the work produced, from a silken- theatre bag to a woollen jumper, everything, hjs the distinctive and individual note of air artistic designer. It is understood that, having steered the industry through dangerous waters into n safe and prosperous course, Miss Rolleston is now taking a less'active part, in its management.

THE MIDDLE CLASS

GROUND BETWEEN TWO STONES,

Here is a striking statement of the case for the middle class, as seen by an American nrofessor of economics in Delaware College—Professor Homer Hoyt of Newark.

' "The middle class is the battleground that is being trampled upon by the conteiuline hosts of Capital and Labour, and. like any other battleground, it receives the Mows from both forces. Tho strikes of trade unions for increased wages spell higher prices for every, class, but capital parries the effect of a successful strike-by raising prices, and the ranks of Labour dodge the. higher prices by higher wages. Thus the main shock of the high costof living falls upon tho middle class, that is bound by ethics, tradition, and law to its fixed salaries.

"WJiilo the horny-handed son 6 of tho ebons' and mines have increased their wanes about one hundred per cent, since 1915. the salaries of the engineer, the professor, the major, the doctor, the lawyer, the clerk, and the investor have been marking, time. The circle of higher Vases and higher prices has been particularly vicious to the middle class because it has -.depreciated the value of their fixed income without giving them any avenue, of escape.. No less diligent in the performance of their duties today than they were in 1915, tbe middle class finds that it is being crushed between its fixed income and'.rising prices. "If need and merit ever gave'the right to strike the middle class has the right on its siif.!. It has the right, but has it also the. might? Is--its, .bargaining bower so weak, its productive capacity so small, that it must gratefully accept any pittance that society doles out to it? Is the failure of the middle class to strike due to its weakness and its fear? Mo The middle class holds in the hollow of its band the greatest power of the nation-the health, morals, arid education of the people "The teachers control the future eihciencv of our industry and the character of-our civilisation; the courts and lawyers administer justice and guarantee the orderly processes of law that enable business to proceed without fear.of plunder or confiscation; the soldiers and sailors nrotect the nation from external aggression • and the doctors have in their keepine our health aiid our lives. Nor is the Tjyildle class impotent in the field ot everyday business. Without engineers mid technical men the industries of our country could not run for a day or for an hour, because modern industry is a network of complex machinery which onlv the trninerl engineer can control. ""[f is not lack of power that restrains the middle class from striking. The alternative of empty schoolhpuses, unprotected cities, unguidetl machinery, and disease running unchecked by doctors w unthinkable. But the middle class will not. use its great powers m its own selfish interests, for it holds them in sacred t.ni't for all mankind. The.members of the'middle class have allowed the lower ranks of labour, that make no profession of nnv duty to the public, to press selfish claims, while they-fmthful servants of their country—have stood by and said nothing. "Tf the middle class is barred by its liieh ideals from speaking, for itself and from claiming a return from society that will permit it to exist, shall not the nation exercise its organised powers in behalf of this fiddle class, and see to it that the incomes of teachers, doctors, lawyers. Judges, engineers, clerks and soon, advance, in_ proportion to the increased cost of living?"

Matters of interest from far and nea^ .(By Imogen.).

I After the War, .■'■. - Amusing stories are gaining currency in France as a result of the after-war relations of somo of the nation's combatants. One of these relates to a famous general and his cook, vho, on being reprimanded by the general because of some dish being not a perfect success, remarked, "You are wrong to speak, so severely, my General, I ani a Knight of the Lesion'of Honour." An,investiga-tion-followed, and it wa?-discovered that the cook had ..been-a, nurse at the: front, where she had shown'such.bravery, that the, red ribbon, .decoration had been awarded to her. . On. the termination, of the war, she. had' necepted' dismissal from the service .without complaint,' and) .having to earn her living, became a' cook, wearing the decora t'on only on Sundays. The "Echo' de Paris,"" which print; the story and vouches for'it. adds, "and since then the general' has riot allowed himself to make- remarks when any dish has'not been a' perfect success." Women in the Philippines. Mrs. de Veyra has been telling of woman's .achievements jin the_ Philippines, and as this is a country in which other than occidental wishes are centred, the figures that this lady gives are impressive (state? the "Christian Science Monitor"). There are now 307 women's clubs and ;issoeiat : ons where in 1917 there were 30, and when the Filipino women, pe.titioned'tfor the vote, there were found 18,000 to'sign that petition. That these significant facts are due to the American rule cannot be gainsaid, for certainly the Friars were not much interested in .woman suffrage nor were the Mohammedans. There, are schools in the' woman's prison' and . them ara police matron?, and : as now established the laws protecting women's property rights aTO liberal and wise. Mrs. de Veyra quotes her husband to the effect that matriarchy existed before the Spanish came and an examination on the ground? for this statement . would bo especially iiiterpsbini?. It .is'another chapter'in the history of the' limn ah race and one that shows the great inequality between the position of woman politically and her contributions ■to the common decency. Pensions for Women. .. An original'scheme, described as "combined income tax and national insurance," was suggested recently in England to the Royal Commission on the Income Tax. This scheme involved the 'graduated taxation of all incomes, commencing with a rate of Is. in the £ for tlio.se under ,£IOO a year, the present abatements disappearing. On the death of iny married male taxpayer, his widow would receive a pension o£ one-half the amount of, the average earned income, on which he had paid tax, provided that she had children under 18, or one-third if she had no . u ""h children. Spinsters reaching the age of 60 would receive pensions of one-half their average earned income, No pension should exceed .£250. It was calculated that the cost of the scheme would be met by a rate of 10.81 M. Income tax in excess of that rate would be profit to tho State.

CITIZENS' DAY NURSERIES All sorts of schemes are being devised to mitigate the hard lot of mothers who, with' young families to bring up, find that assistance of any kind is not procurable for love or money. A contributor wlio has come to the conclus.on that day nurseries would be of material assistance in lighting the mothers' burdens advocates their installation for the following reasons:—"There should be no doubt iii the minds of the citizens of Wellington as to' tiie rbenefit and help the day nurseries, which it is Hoped to establish in the near future will be to many mothers irho are feeling the great strain of bringing up little children and carrying out tlu duties that mothers must necessarily perform. Civilisation has made slaves of the mothers, those women to whom we owe our strength as u nation, and yet what consideration docs the community show to them in return. Wherever she goes ' with her little children, she is plainly told she is not wanted. 'No children allowed here,' are public notices which meet the eye everywhere, and domestic help cannot he procured where'there are little ones in the home. It is to bo hoped, however, that times are changing, and that the old saying, "Every dog'nus its day,' will once more prove true, so far as mothers are concerned. Humanity is awakening and we realise- that if the nation is to have strong men and women, we must turn our attention to the children, the men and women. of the future. • The most practical way is to help the mothers in their work—a labour of love, ill most cases, but a constant strain of hard work and petty worries which often turn the duties of motherhood into something to be dreaded and, if possible, avoided by the average woman to-day. All this strain and worry, to unnecessary in tho lives of- mothers, could be easily remedied and the much-needed help could be brought about by establishing day nurseries on modern and ' hygienio lines with resi>onsible matrons and nurses in. charge. The mothers would then bo freed from the unnecessary-worry of never having a moment to go anywhere, or to perform any duty without the constant strain of the care of their children. One lias often marvelled how some mothers manage with three and four small children when seeing them rushing- to cateh trams, endeavouring to get the family shopping done, laden with an infant in arms, and with paper parcels hanging all round them. ' But that is not tho worst feature. They:,-are. often scowled- and glared- at by the more 'leisured if not to.useful fellow-citizens, as if they'had no right to the ' samo privileges as n citizen. ■ With day nurseries much of that would lie done away with; mothers would-lie able to. leave their children in competent hands while they do the family., washing, ojf Ihftything else they may wish to do that-could be done more successfully wheiVftee from the- care of little ones.. The . natural reluctance which the average ; mother might feel at being separated from her baby for perhaps a whole day will be counter-balanced by the comforting reflection that while she is earning the bread and butter (a very regrettable fact to-day) h e r little one is in good hands and being eared for. These institutions are intended for the benefit of all mothers, the i>oor as well as those who would be able and willing to pay for the benefit of. leaving'their children in pleasant surroundings and with careful' and well-truiued nurses. There'is no reason why -these day nurseries should not be self-supporting; each suburb can have its own staff of children's: nurses, and a valuable work will lie performed, one that should prove of inestimable" valuo to the community."