THE OUTSIDE WORLD

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8338, 25 January 1913, Page 9

THE OUTSIDE WORLD

"I’ll put a girdle round about the earth In forty minutes.”

“Europe ia agoing,” General Beyers tells a Dutch paper, “and it seems to mo that her armies lack the power of endurance. European soldiers may be able to display astonishing energy for a while, but then their steam will work itself out. When our young South Africans are trained, they will bo better than European soldiers of whatever nationality. At present the Germans seem the most powerful of them.”

Mr Gokhalc stated in a recent address that tho situation of Indians in the Transvaal had become worse since the overthrow of tho Boers. Ho enumerated their grievances, but admitted that the European point of view could ho understood, as Europeans wore dominated by the fear of evontu ally being swamped out by coloured people. Ho believed that a further complication would be introduced by Indians. . It might astonish his hearers to know that Indians in South Africa, like Europeans, did not desire more, Indians to come into tho country. Ho had been told thac it was his duty to stand up for the open door, but that was not a question of right; it was a question as to what was best for the people. The best was for the door to remain open theoretically, but that only sufficient Indians should enter tho country to repair the waste. Indians must respect tho reasonable apprehensions of Europeans if they expected reasonable treatment. A Union Minister had promised him that the question would have the most favourable consideration, and he anticipated that the Immigration Law would he operated more considerately, and that the licence-tax would bo repealed.

The bulletin for November, issued by tho Italian International Institute of Agriculture, contains tho results of the harvests in the Northern Hemisphere. Tho ryo and oat crops of Russia in Europe exceeded the October estimate in rye by 14,802,204 quintals, and oats 9.517,921 quintals. The maize crop of tho United States reached record proportions, and was 38,992,460 quintals in advance of the October figures. In the following 23 countries: Prussia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, France, Great Britain and Ireland (Scotland not included). Kingdom of Hungary, Italy, Luxemburg, Norway, Netherlands, Roumania, Russia in Europe, Switzerland, Canada, United States, India, Japan, Russia in Asia, Algeria, Egypt, Tunis, the production is estimated at 879,392,238 quintals, against 826,743,580 in 1911. That is to say the production for 1912 is equal to 106.4 per cent, of that for 1911.

The Canadian wheat yield exceeded the winter estimate by 74 per cent., and that of tho United States by 5\ per cent. Tho barley crop of the countries referred to above shows an increase of 5.7 per cent, on tho return of 19H. There have been substantial increases in oats, maize, and rice. Australia is regarded by Australians as a great wheat-producing country, and yet tho total output of the Commonwealth and New Zealand is under two bags to every 100 bags of the world’s production.

The “Journal dea Debats” (Paris) publishes the late Count Tolstoy’s will, which was written in 1910 on the stump of a tree a few miles from Yasnaia PoUana, leaving his entire literary property, published and unpublished, to his daughter Alexandra. The first clause aays: “Bury mo where I die, if in town then in the cheapest cemetery, in the cheapest coffin, like a pauper. No flowers, no wreaths, no speeches, without priests or liturgy if possible, but, if this is distasteful to those burying me, bury mo according to custom with liturgy, but as cheaply and simply as possible.” THo final clause reads: “I have had moments when I felt that I was a conductor through which passed the Divine will. 1 have often been so impure, so given up to personal passions, that tho light of that truth has been obscured by mv own darkness. In spite of all.' I have sometimes been the intermediary of that truth, and these wore the happiest moments of my life.”

In a lecture delivered at The Hague By Afadame Valeton-Kjeldgaard on the occasion of a congress or the league for Women’s Electoral Rights, some extremely interesting particulars of the present economic status of women in Denmark, and especially in Copenhagen, wore given. Young women, who would be of the student class in other countries, make it their special object to gam complete control of industries in which women have not preponderated, and to adapt them to the exigencies of modern technical progress. Thus in Denmark tho manufacture of cakes and sweetmeats has become entirely “a woman’s industry.” Women of good family become generally photographers, jewellers, bookbinders, house-decorators, hairdressers—and in every case they receive the same pay as men. One of the four largest restaurants in Copenhagen belonni to tho daughters of a Cabinet Minister.

There Is an outstanding point of difference between tho activities of women in Denmark and in other countries. In Denmark the solo aim is economic independence for women throughout their life. Tims in Copenhagen more than 1000 married women work as clerks in offices. By far the majority of actresses arc married. In order to enter the schools of the corps de ballet it is necessary Co bo of good family. The greater part of tho husbands of ballet-danc-ers are in very high positions; 350 to 400 of the teachers in the free schools in Copenhagen are married. They receive 'exactly the same salary as tho men teachers—that is, ICOO kronen yearly (£64). A head teacher, man or woman, commences with 4000 kronen (£160) and rises to 5200 kronen (£203). In the gymnasiums and secondary schools many of the professors nro married women, who also form a considerable proportion of theprivatdocenten in the universities. Tho Municipal Council of Copenhagen has ton bers. In brief, in Denmark it is tho rule rather than the exception for the married woman to be economically independent through her own labours.