PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 143, 12 March 1920, Page 4

PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS

r WORK AHEAD FOE WOMEN. >' ' The presidential address given by Mrs., 2 Crabbe at the W.C.T.U. Convention ves- - terday covered a great deal of ground : and touched upon many interesting matters. Mrs. Crabbe commented upon the • last two liquor polls, and said that the • union must formulate plans for the next three vears that would result in. the realisation of their leaders' prophecy of j prohibition being carried by , a largo J working majority. During these years ' they had to educate the young people of the country so that they might realise the consequences of the. decision which. ' they would be called upon to make in 1 connection with the liquor traffic, a thing that had bfoij neglected till now. That America curried prohibition was largely ■ due to scientific teaching in the schools- ■ concerning 'the .effects cf alcohol upon " the hitman System, and in New Zealand the women had to insist that this teachin-,' was given in the military and 1 secondary schools, in the colleges and in i the universities. On every side in " America tha general trend of opinion was that the country had done a very excellent thing in carrying prohibition, Oilier 1 countries were waking up to the realisa- ) tion of the evils done to the pcoplo by I drink, and were making efforts either to - sweep it. awuv or to diminish its power. 1 In the face of the fniluro to carry • prohibition in this country at tho last > two polls, it was necessary to seek the 1 reasons for that. There had been gieat ■ enthusiasm; for the first time unlimited l funds had been placed at tho disposal i of the prominent business n'en . gavo money, advice, and practical help; 1 they had had the assistance of the "Y" ■ branches; the .leaders of the Alliance b. and tlife W.C.T.U. had thrown them- , selves into the work with unsparing . energy, and some of the. best speakers in ' Canada and Australia had spoken all over the place, and tho country had been flooded with literature while llio news- '■ papers had been used without thought of > the cost. Then why had they failed? 1 .Some said that they .had forgotten God! The churches and the women'surely J:rcl not. Others blamed the soldiers, but ' tho soldiers had belonged to the ; churches, the Bible elasscs, the schools, etc. If some blamed the Government > had they not to remember that- Cabinet Ministers,.- were once attending the schools? It all came back to-the central ' point that if they had. had scientific ' teaching in the,schools in regard to the ' effects of alcohol,;' the result ;of the polls would probably have been very different. The conclusion that Mrs. Crabbe arrived at. was that (hey—the women—were to blame, because the.y had not 'ought and insisted (hat this training" should bo given The.y had to change that now. Another subject upon which Mrs. Crabbe touched was- the work <>f th» Moral and Social Hygiene Department, dealing, with venereal diseases. Not mucj "headway had been made as yd. an'-l this product of alcohol was si ill ill our midst. The fact that the attention of the authorities was being given to this scourge was somewhat comforting. Not only did adults.suffer from these diseases, but the children did also, and yet every child had the right to l-e lxu'n sound in mind and body. The association founded by Josephine lir, tier slated that the old ' C.D. Acts were still in existence in K';lla. in Tndia, and in cc-inin of the Crown colonies. Mrs. Crabbe' told her hearers of measures that had been | taken in regard to the suppression of brothels and of segregated areas in some ol our Eastern possessions, owing to the agitation that had been' raised against them: The reform of this, evil .'had to come from the hearts of. the people: The Government must refuse to countenance it or condone it in any shape or form. The present position here was that rill known eas»s among returned men were being treated in the hospitals, the services of specialists having been secured for this purpose, nnd it was proposed to.extend this work to the civilian part of the population. It was at least some satisfaction to note that there, was a greater tendency now than in the past to treat both sexes in this matter alie;' One of (lie preventatives to wrong-doing, the appointment of women police, was still refused them in this country. It-was their intention to make another effort, and if the authorities refused to recognise tho changing conditions of life. the. greater freedom which life now accorded young people, they,.would have to face the responsibility of lowered morals and ideals . amongst our people, and the evils that, accompanied such a state of things. Rev. J. Dawson Speaks ef America, 111 the afternoon the Bev. J.'-Jlnwsnn snoke after the tea interval, and described some of his. impressions of things in America. One of his greatest pleasures' had been to meet some of .America's great women, and among • them none was greater than .Anna A. Gordon, president; of the W.C.T.U. in the United States, lie h»ll "Wn to see-".Pest Cottiw." in Illinois, the home of Frances Willard. where to this day her room was kept ju«t as she le,ft it, wjtl) .the books in the rack and the- ornaments' as she had placed them. The three, greatest, names in .America were Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Koosevelt, and Frances.- Willard. A tiling that -had struck him very much was to' see so manv of the American schools call-, ed after Frances Willard. The system : of compulsory scientific 1 instruction- re- , "nrding alcohol was wondcrfullv fine. I Every child had to take "the subject, the. teachers had";tp. qualify .in it. and the scholars had to pass in the subject, and '• for from 2ft to 25 years such had been the case. This was brought about by Airs., .. Marv ITunt, nnd gradually every Statn | adopted the teaching, the'last State com- , ing in 20 years ago.

Death of Mrs, W. H.'P. Barber. Somewhat unexpectedly, after nil operation, Mrs. Barber, wife, of Mr. AY. It. P. Barber, (lied at her residence,- Coroma'ndel Street, at on early hour yesterday mforni)ip. . TJi© -la te Mrs. .Barber was of .a quiet, retiring disposition, and did not take any great part in public affairs, though she'was .1 .consistently good warworker during the year? of stress so lately ended. The deceased lady, who was (iii years of atfb",'leaves a family of three' eon's (Alfred, Leonard, and Roy) and two daughters (Mcsdames Mountier, of Wellington, and J)av, of Palraerston North).' The interment, • which is to be private, will take place at 10 a.m. to-dny. The flag of the Wellington Woollen Company (ofwhich'Mr. W. H. P. Barber is chairman of directors) was flown at half-mast yesterday os a mark of respect for the deceased lady.