COLUMN FOR WOMEN

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 144, 20 February 1915, Page 7

COLUMN FOR WOMEN

PARISIAN' WOMEN OP TODAY. AS CAPABLE AS MEN. The woman of France have shown | tk mselves to be admirable daring: these strenuous times, and have supplemented their own husbands whenever they have been allowed to do so. On the Tube lines of railway in Paris—the Metro and the Nord-Sud —the wives of the employees have been employed in their stead. At lower rates, alas! for the unjust principle of giving to women lower wages for performing identically the same work us men accomplish still prevails! But the wives of the Nord-Sud and Metro Rail wav s have been only too glad to accept three francs a day wages instead of the five francs their men used to bring them home each day. The female porter is as assiduous and as reliable as her male partner, and look far more pictureque in her trim black gown and overall, a scarlet band pinned upon her right arm bearing the initial of the railway she belongs to, and a white embroidered number upon her breast. A. serviceable and businesslike leather satchel that holds the railway tickets is swung around her shoulders by means of a strap. She is also provided with a mur-derous-looking instrument with which to clip the , tickets of the travellers — which act she accomplishes with a most severe and martial air. The earlyelosing hours of the Tube railways arc another check to social gatherings, fo: not only are the taxis greatly reduced in numbers since they have been largely ly commandeered for the war, and thus are scarce in Paris, but almost everybody being now in reduced circumstances, the cheap Tubes have become more necessary than over. It appears that a new petition has been made to the authorities asking that these railways should be kept open till 10 o’clock at night instead of 9.00, as restaurant? are now kept op’en till 10 p.m. There is even to be an attempt at reopening the theatres in Paris on certain nights of the week on condition that a certain percentage, of the boxoffice returns should bo devoted to the public charities.