WOMAN'S WORLD

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 220, 15 March 1912, Page 6

WOMAN'S WORLD

(Conducted by "Eileen.") FRENCHWOMAN POLITICIAN. London, January 26. Mme. Marguerite Durand, the eminent French writer, has brought an action before the Council of State in order to determine whether the authorities of that body, who, a couple of years ago, refused to allow her to stand as a candidate for the Chamber, were acting within thei* legal rights. The case is not yet completed, and is exciting not a little interest. WOMEN POLICE. There are now 14 women policemen on duty in the State of Indiana. A SCHOOL CLINIC. It has been decided by the West Ham Town Council to open at Canning Town —a very poor district—a clinic for the 1 treatment of school children suffering from defects disclosed by medical inspection. An additional medical inspector is to be appointed, who will devote the whole of his time to the duties of school medical inspection and the clinic, and the appointment, it is good to note, is open to men or women. The salary 'begins at £250 per annum, and rises by annual increments to £4OO. A dental surgeon (salary £250, rising to £300) and two trained nurses are also to be appointed in connection with the clinic. LADY HAIRDRESSERS.

The committee of the Edinburgh School Board o* Continuation Classes have just decided to form classes in ladies' hairdressing next winter session in one of their schools. A WOMAN JUROR. ! Mrs. Gideon Fraser, of Washington, is the first woman to serve on a jury along with her husband. Mr. Fraser was the first juror drawn in the case and Mrs. Fraser the sixth. CATHOLIC WOMEN'S GIFT. 1 A magnificent metropolitan processional cross, now being prepared by the architect of Westminster Cathedral, is to be presented to his Eminence Cardinal [ Bourne, in recognition of the high eccle--1 siastical honor conferred dn him recently Iby the Pope. It will bear on the back this inscription: "To the glory of God, and in homage to Francis Bourne, Cardinal Archbishop, this cross is designed and offered by the Catholic Women's League of Westminster, 1912." I JUSTICE TO MOTHERS.

A Bill has just been passed by the I Legislature in New Hampshire which j gives mothers full parenthood over their j minor children, an example that might well be copied in this obstinate country. WOMEN WORKERS. Recent statistics supplied by the Ger-; man Government show that a fourth of] the entire population of English women j are engaged in employment outside their ! own homes. A QUEEN AMONG WOMEN. | The Women's Labor League, which' was founded by the late Mrs. Ramsay Macdonald, has just issued a remarkable tribute ("Margaret E.. Macdonald") to the extraordinary influence wielded by the deceased lady, her power of commanding devotion and her unselfish, enthusiastic and loving interest in all working women. It has been said of her: "She was the kind of Woman who makes life easier for the rest of us by merely sharing it." A CAPITAL LAW. A capital Swiss law came into force with the birth of this year, and settles the duties of paternity in a manner that surely should have been adopted years ago, one would think, in a conscientious and progressive little country like Switzerland. The new law insists upon the husband supporting his illegitimate child ind its mother for a certain period, and :!so registering himself as the father of the child. A WOMEN'S CONFERENCE.

I It is hard to imagine a conference of | the Women's Labor League without the I hand of Mrs. Ramsay Macdonald, who i founded it, at the helm, but it is pleasant to note that the good work started I will be carried through now with even ! greater energy and enthusiasm as a tribute to that beloved founder, and this week, when the conference is sitting at Birmingham, some capital suggestions have been made by eminent women. ' "Women's organisations," said one speaker, with not a little truth, as all will acknowledge, who have studied questions of the day in England for the past few years, "surpass those of men in displaying greater living force, for women go on and on till the thing is achieved—they never know when they are beaten." A suggestion brought forward by one of the delegates was that there should be a sufficient number of women magistrates created to deal with matrimonial and other disputes of special interest to women. On matters of State there was another important suggestion, a member moving, on behalf of the Executive Committee, a resolution on "secret diplomacy," urging that no treaty, agreement, understanding or entente be entered into with any foreign Power by any person whatsoever on behalf of the British State until such proposals had been brought before the House of Commons. This lady deplored the Foreign Office methods to bring about a so-called balance of power, holding that co-opera-tion with Germany would be more useful to this country than with France and Russia. A Scottish delegate advocated women constables to deal with certain cases. All those concerned, as most of the Labor League enthusiasts naturally are, with the troubles of laboring men and women, predict a much harsher, more discontented time ahead than anything we have yet seen. Foremost among these was Mrs. Anderson (nee Miss Mary 'Macarthur), of the Women's Trade Union League, who represented no less than 214,000 women workers, and should know what she was talking about. For some time, Mrs. Anderson pointed out, the newspapers had been trying to discover the cause of the unrest. There was only one cause and one remedy. The cause was that the workers did not have sufficient of the good things of life. The remedy was to give them a fair share of the things they earned. Altogether, an agenda of some 50 resolutions, showing the vast interests of women in the life of the people, was dealt with. ,

UNIVERSITY AND DOMESTICITY. It was decided at a meeting of the Senate of London University, held this week, that since £50,000 has been promised towards the provision of the teaching of home science and economics, such a scheme should come into operation at King's College for Women under a special committee. This includes Queen Mary's Hostel, an institution hoth for practical training in domestic duty and as a residence for w#men students.