THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 1912. DOMESTIC TRAINING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10712, 4 September 1912, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 1912. DOMESTIC TRAINING.

There is no subject that has a hibvo pressing coiiceiu. for the housewife of New Zealand at the present time than that of the domestic training of : our. girls. It may, indeed, be said with a degree of a.ifety that there is no subject that so vitally affects the domestic happiness of the people of the Dominion than the equipment of the female youth with that knowledge that is essential to the proper economical management of our households. Deplorable though the admission may be, it is nevertheless a fact that the whole of our social and educational environment in recent years has had a I tendency to unfit the future mothers and housewives of the State for those occupations which fhey are destined jby Nature to fill. Nobody would for I a moment suggest, that the life of the female should be one of drudgery or menial servitude. Nobody would urge that the doors of the professions should be closed against the brainy and ambitious woman. At the same time, it is necessary for the preservation of human happiness and the propagation of the species that tho ideal of women should be to appreciate their responsibilities as citizens rather than to aspire to positions which they are neither mentally inor physically designed by Nature to fill. And I what are tho responsibilities of women as citizens? Is it not their privilege and their duty to equip themselves in hygiene, physiology, cooking and home management generally? Is ! not the home the palace of the woman ? Is it not here that {nations are constructed, individual careers moulded, health conserved, and happiness made or marred ? Who shall saj that it is menial to perform household duties upoti which tho very fouiivdation of our social existence depends? And yet, what has been the trend of jour education and our' social c.us-. Toms ?'. IJas it not' been' to create a distaste, a disinclination' for thoso doimestic occupations which breed Health, happiness and refinement? Have vhs | not been educating our girls to despise 'ho very essentials ta properly-ordaiu-

od v.cnanhocc? Why -is there r. dearth

of-domestic servants ce-'dny? Why do our girls se-:-k positions :-.3 eltrks, typistes, t;;:i',!'ci-se,v, iV.ctory-hai.'.ls, jtud refuse service in the homer Why are J heads of households devoid of all know- i lodge of domestic economy? Is it not that false pride and an incorrect appreciation of the do-tiny of woman | has created a demand for accomplishments of a non-utilitarian and useless character? It is gratifying to observe that a movement has been initiated i" some of our larger cities to place the occupation of domestic ser- j vice upon a higher and better footk.g, and to thwart the deterioration in the race which is the inevitable result of our present insane methods. The first step iiii the direction of reform will ' 1)5 to give adequate instruction in do- | mestic science in our primary and so- ) condary schools. When t-hip is accomplished, girls may be admitted to j training hostels, where they will qatili ifv for diplomas. The young woman who holds a diploma, in domestic economy, will be of infinitely greater value to the rState than the girl who has -a i teacher's or even a nurse's certificate. She will be equipped for the more seri--1 ous and more noble avocations of life, I and will be able to take her place—her proper place—as mistress of a housejhold. The responsibilities of housewives, though lessened in some directions, will be increased in others. They j will bo compelled to regard tho professional domestic as more than a menial. They will have to provide her "with proper accommodation, ample relaxation, and good food, and will require fo lessen her hours of employment. These, however, will be the natural outcome of the dawning of a new era in the life of domestic woman. It is gratifying, we repeat, to find , that the importance of the sub-' ject of domestic service is being,recognised in social, political and educational circles, and there is reason to , hope that the deterioration of our* race and the elimination of the higher attributes of woman, which is the natural corollary of a non-Tecognition of the responsibilities of citizenship, will be thwarted by the common-sense of the people.