THE WORLD'S WOMEN

Evening Post, Issue 30, 4 August 1936, Page 15

THE WORLD'S WOMEN

SEVEN BEST CHOSEN

OTHER WOMEN'S OPINIONS

. That women when assembled to- \ gether should spend part of their time i in voting for the best of their sex, ac- c cording to the ideas of those repre- l, senting many organisations who at- ( tended the Congress of the Interr < national Federation of Business and , Professional. Women, is rather a quaint notion. However, they did it recently, when < in Paris, and the results are most in- ■ tcrqsting'to those who follow up the : international side of the life of women " of the day* Miss Francis Perkins, the ; American social worker, who,' after graduating in 1910, was secretary to public welfare institutions in Philadelphia and New York, then became a lecturer on sociology, and held the" position of executive secretary of the Committee of Safety in New York from 1912 till 1917, taking on the work of the Factory Commission later still, was the first chosen. She held a number of other important executive positions, and after Roosevelt's election to the Presidency of the U.S.A. she became Secretary for Labour, a position she still holds. • • The second choice; was.' Alexandra Kollontai, the.Soviet diplomat, a daughter of a Russian General who had been adjutant to the Tsar. She studied in Zurich and married a millionaire, Kollontai, of Petrograd, but held to her Socialist views which she had imbibed at Zurich. After the' Revolution she returned to Russia arid joined the Bolsheviks, and had some "ups and'dbwns" as had most of the leading people of the time. She then married aY stoker named Dybenko, ■ who later became Admiral of the Russian Fleet in the Black Sea, and now holds an important position in the Army Department. His wife was sent as Soviet Minister to Norway, and did good'-wprk, including the formation of an advantageous trade agreement. She is said to be a fine looking woman, and always well1 dressed.

The. name of Madame .Irene JoliotCurie is better known to-most people. She worked with her wonderful father and mother, at 20. obtaining her doctor's degree with a thesis on the "alpha rays" from polonium which had been discovered by Madame Curie. ' She is at present one of the three women appointed to the Blum Cabinet and holds the portfolio of Scientific 'Research.

Another well-known name is that of Amy Mollison, the pioneer woman in making a solo flight from England to Australia. She has done'good work in flying since, and none will grudge her the honour bestowed on her by her fellow-women. \ Selma Lagerlof, who' has written some fine novels, has been-read largely by those who' read translations, her work being acknowledged as outstandingly fine. She is,an old woman, having been born in' 1858, arid, spent her early years in teaching in a school at Stockholm. Mrs. Roosevelt is a woman of extraordinary enprgy, able, versatile, and popular. She was born to wealth and luxury, but early announced, that she had "acquired a lasting distaste for formal society." She has acted up to this saying, Jias taught, edited a magazine, and helped her husband in a marked degree. Lady Astor, an American by birth, is an immense favourite with women all over the world. A generous woman, she offered to give up her seat to Mrs. Pankhurst if that veteran champion of women,would have accepted the sacrifice. Lady Astor has wit, humour, and versatility, and has held her place in Parliament although she has all the force of strong organisations against her. Her last majority over her opponents (2) was 9203.

Another selection is that of Margaret Bondfield, the woman who rose from the ranks, and was the first woman in all time to hold office as a British Cabinet Minister and a Privy Councillor. Though Miss Bondfield is no longer a member of Parliament she holds", a high position in the councils of Labour, and,is greatly respected and liked.