The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-25

it's splendid purposes and unselfish aims. Article No of its constitution gives an l idea of what it stands for:
 ""The object of this league shall be to disseminate information pertaining to and | to safeguard through education and pub licity, the rights of the American people against unnecessary, unjust, oppressive, paternal and un-American laws ostensihly | related to the subject of health'
 q remember a good many years ago
 when I was president of the Woman's
 club of Birmingham" continued Mrs. Smith, there came a most charming
 English woman to this city, Miss Irene Ashley of London. It was at a moment when Alabama club women were espe- cially interested in the condition of child labor. Miss Ashly was sent south by ,.e Federation of Laoor to investigate conditions in cotton mills of the south.
 In her talk with me, remember she told
 me this was her first viist to America and
 that she had longed to visit our coun- try, which she had heard of, as the Land of the Free.' Her work for the laboring classes in England or on the continent had saddened even her youthful spirits and enthusiasm and she remarked:
 "'But my investigation of conditions
 among the labor classes Tn your country, in the north and east, and now in the south, leads me to affirm that the people of the United States are in the most ab- solute industrial bondage of any that l have seen.' '
 Miss Ashly was a college bred woman, a careful, wise thinker and many will remember her wonderful personal mag netism when she addressed the legislature aL Montgomery along the lines of her deep into my thoughts and I have pom dered it many times and have wondered | from what possible direction relief and l freedom could come. l have my answer to give you today. found it at the con- vention in Chicago, at the meeting of the representatives of the National League for Medical reedom. There was a time when a mans religious freedom was as- sailed; today the machinations of greed and graft seek selfish control and domi- nance through the effor, to legislate away the med1cal IreeuOI1 or our country, but | it can never be done; not since the Ma tional League for Medical Freedom has become a marvellous, splendid reality. 1 DO you remember in the years gone by a magazine called The Arena? The editor was Benjamin o. Flower, whose
 masterly editorials always stood for free- l dom-for all that was broad and pure
 and good and right, and whose every ar
 ticle in his magazine matched his own 1 high plane of thought? l was a silent
 admrer of the writer then. and this week I met him personally as the president oi the national organization for medca | freedom"
 ''Is the league in any way the result ot | certain legislation of medical bills in Con gress, known as the owen bill?"iI asked
 "Through the owen bill' Mrs. Smitl answered, 'it was proposed to create a National Health Bureau as part of the
 Federal Government. whose chief should
 he member of the Cabinet. The fac' was known to a very, very few people
 but there were those at Washington wht
 would not stand for such monopoly leg
 islation. for you may readily believe thu
 promoters of the bill were the old schoo