NOT INFRA DIG.
WOMEN ON SOAP-BOX “There seems to be a feeling that.it is infra dig. for women such as me standing for Parliament. Miss Melville stands on a soapbox so that cannot be too bad.” Mrs. Louisa Paterson, Independent Labour candidate for Grey Lynn, made no apology for her presence under a shop verandah at Western Springs last evening. The 20 women, six or eight men, and three or four boys were quite interested for half an hour. “This is the twelfth night I have been speaking,” said Mrs. Paterson, “and I have no committee tp help me. It’s not until to-night that I could get a chairman.” The candidate deplored the apathy of New Zealand women toward their franchise and politics in general. “We have had the vote for 33 years, and it is high time we were represented in the House.” What was wrong with the country was that the men in politics have squandered the nation’s money and the women had to pay for it. The sooner women got a share in the managjjjnent of the Dominion, the sooner the workers would get food, clothing and shelter —the things Mrs. Paterson stood for. AU things summed up, the women couldn’t make a worse mess of government than the men. To-day the worker was not in the least secure. The present administration was apparently trying to break down arbitration and unionism, “and then,” warned Mrs. Paterson, “you men will be fighting each other.” The bobby calf industry came in for a trenchant indictment. If it continued its depredations much longer there would soon be no beef for the people. Mrs. Paterson thought it a disgrace that a country like this, capable of supporting four or five millions, should be sunk in the depths of soup kitchens. After touching on land problems and unemployment, Mrs. Paterson ended with a vigorous plea that the womenof the Dominion should wake up to their responsibilities. “If you vote for me I will thank you for it.” she said. “If not. I will not be disappointed.” she wound up, philosophically.
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Bibliographic details
Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 510, 13 November 1928, Page 9
Word Count
348NOT INFRA DIG. Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 510, 13 November 1928, Page 9
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