New-York tribune., 1909-07-05
THE WOMEN OF CANADA
achievements of Their Organisa-
tions- International Council.


ment This third Quinquernial congress of a |
remarkable body which represents twenty !
three countries and practically the Wornahhooo |
Of the world includes about one hundred wom- |
en- who seem to shrink at no issue, however |
serious profound and far-reaching 1t may be. |
Leo by the Countess of Aberdeen. herself a re- |
markabie personality and founder of the Cana |
dian National Council in 1893; by Mrs May
Wright sewaIl of the United States and Nine
Jules Siegfried of France; by Mrs. Edwin Gray |
OF England: Mrs. Ogilvie Gorden. of Scotland, |
and Frau Marie Stritt. Of Germany; by Baroness
Gripenberg, Of Finland, and Mrs Willoughoy |
Cummings. Of Canada, the congress has dis
cussed with freedom. capacity and certain dis
elimination the varied elements Of art and ed
ucation. health and physical training Industrial
life and conditions, the laws Of nations as they
affect women and children, literature and phi
lanthropy, women's place in the professions ana
social work and moral reform.
In the discussion on international peace there
was a practical and rather curious embodi-
ment of the feelings of the countries con-
cerned. AS TO the theory of peace. all were In
harmony: nominally all nations desire peace
IN the dNision which took place on a pro-
posed celebration Of specified peace days py
each nation concerned the United States, Can
ADA and Australia. where wars and errnarehls
are regarded by many as unmixed evil and
rnously III favor of the idea; the German leader
in the congress, Frau Stritt- declared that II
was useless undertaking anything Of the kind
sn her country as there was no public opinion
IN its favor; Great Britain. now in the mlost Oh
strenuous military ana naval oiscusSloiA'
voted by 10 10 against the proposal and IlaiS
objected with an expressed fear of undermining
the patriotism OF its young men In the vote
ss whole however, the proposal carried by a
-so-1- of ipPr
discussed by the congress, from tuberculosis 10
the self-centred selfshness Of men in connection
with pz,blic affairs The following is q summary
Of the objects which TO be striVen 1or III
the next 1--WE years before the congress meets
again in Italy, with Lady Aberdeen once more
its presiding officer:
Ftrst-That the laws be changed SO as 10 per
-rit search for the fathers Of luegltirrate chill
second-That women be allowed as guardians
"a TTIr6NThat marriage laws be reformed and
simplified.
Fourtb-A definition and enlargement OF the
powers of married women.
Fiftb-Independence OF married women and
their property - , ~
juries In criminal cases
Seventh-Wider powers for women IN the ad-
rninistratiou of state civil and other courts. as
justices of the peace and on boards OF com
Fsighth-wounans suffrage and the declared
eligibility CT women TO be members Of Parlia-
Ninth-That the nationality of married women
be decided
Tenth-That the age Of consent be raised
IT may be said that socially and legally the
position Of Canadian women is approximately
that Of their American cousins They are a
little less free in social custom and life, but the
margin OF difference is growing snghter every
day: they have not cheap and easy divorce, but
many avail themselves Of the laws in such Of the
neighboring states those conditions prevail
In; they have. as property owners a vote in
municipal affairs il most of the provinces. and
might, perhaps. obtain the wider suffrage if
they showed any aggressive and general desire
for ii. Quebec must be eliminated from this
statement and from the area Of probability IN
this respect At Ottawa, far only tentative
and slightly supported suggestions looking to
women suffrage have been made; in the On
tario Legislature such proposals have been liter
ally laughed out Of court; in Manitoba, Nova
Scotia and British Columbia they have been re-
5ected by considerable uajorities. Even mem
bers Of the National Council Of Women have not
In Canada been active advocates Of the prin-
cipIe
In these respects, therefore the women Of
canada oiffer in degree from those Of the United
States in other respects the similarity is
notable They take thezr fashions from New
York; they take their slang" and idioms and
current popular expressions Of all kinds from the
United States; they take, in an ever increasing
degree. their views Of life and society and
morals from the overwhelming pressure of
American influence.
OF the National Council of Women and its
work in Canada nothing but coed can be said
In various directions and in all the provinces
by stirring up public opinion or by the practical
step Of obtaining legislation. it has done excel
lent service to the community BY resolutions
speeches. papers and Individual influence it has
srraVen for improved practices and better laws
affecting the protection of women and children:
regarding the printing and publication of OBJ
3ecuonable books, newspaper matter, postcards,
etc. as 70 the care of feebleminded women and
the care of aged and inflrm poor; concerning
immigration and the protection Of ignorant
strangers in midst: in the advocacy Of
practical instruction for whose life is
thrown into the region Of farm work and by
general training in the principles of citizenship
and public morality; urging the desirability Of
supervised Fairgrounds for children in schools
and elsewhere; concerning the white slave
traffic and its varied ramifcations influence
operation and suppression; regarding peace and
arbitration public health and education; as to
the relation Of servant and mistress and the
training Of girls in domestic science; concerning
the wages Of women. of whom 100000 in the
United States and a proportionate number in
Canada are said TO be engaged in some form
Of paid labor.
A more localized work is done in Ontario by
the womea's institutes To these societies 600
women belong-chiefy in the rural parts Of the
province They organized in 50 electoral
districts with z65 branches, and their object is
te meet together from time to time for the dis
cussion OF all topics which make for the better
naent in home conditions in daily life. To quote
the Ontario Minister of Agriculture (Mr Mon
teith) in recent speech at the annual conven-