WOMEN AND FAMILIES.

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 400, 6 April 1937, Page 2

WOMEN AND FAMILIES.

Heated Disagreement. Women delegates of the National Council Equal Citizenship disagreed heatedly at iheir annual meeting. Mni E. M. Hubback, on behalf of the executive committee, moved that a campaign should be undertaken to check the declining population.

She advocated: —Establishment of family allowances; provision of such an increase in social services a.would make the economic position of people with children at least as favourable r-s that of those wi.hout; and provisim of a more adequate maternity service. Several 'delegates protested against the resolution on the ground that it was advocating enormous families in order to provide “cannon fodder” for the next wa ’. Mrs Hubback said nobody suggested there should be large families; families of eight or 10 children were not Wanted. “It is not a question of bribing people to have children, but at present we are penalising people if they do. I want to remove the joke about h iving a large family. If a couple do have a large family to day they are laughed at.” Mrs Helena Normanton strongly opposed. She thought the resolution was in line with what Hitler and Mussolini wanted. She had been in 'he drilling grounds of Italy, -where hoys of 10 v.fere given real machineguns with which to practise, and boys of three had toy muskets. Even the copy books of the school children i had lines like: "The wound;d- soldier |is the rue citizen of Italy.” I ‘‘Why worry about what is going | to happen in 1955?” she asked. "Let us worry about what is. hap- : netting right now. I “We don’t want it to get out that J this country stands for the whole- ' eale supply of cannon fodder.” I The resolution was carried by 29 eotes to 12.