The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-08-19
Helsingfors, Finland.

porn ID Alaska. Her IdLneE was guy ernor of Sitka when that territory belonged to Russia. This was in the latter part of the sixties. When the Czar proposed to sell Alaska to the United States for something like two cents an acre, the governor objected on the ground that it was bad bargain. The governor then lived in the great log house which formed the official headquarters. It is still standing and l saw it when l visited Sitka. a few years ago.
 After Alaska was transferred to the United States, the little girl who Is now leading the women of this coun- try, was taken with her parents to Finland, where the family had large estates. As time went on she be- came one of the live. active factors in the demand for liberty and inde- pendence for women. She holds that position today, ranking high among the representatives of the suffrage movement the world over.
 A Talk With Annie Furnhjelm.
 The woman I refer to is Miss Annie Furnhjelm, one of the leading con gresswomen of the Finnish republic, and one of the most up-t date amongst the new women who are aid ing in running these new countries of Europe. l met Miss Furnhjelm to- day In the Parliament building. She came from her seat in the house of representatives out into the restau- rant devoted to the members to see me and we chatted together for half an bour. Miss Furnhjelm speaks Eng fish, and she expresses her views as to women's rights without reserYa- tion. She says: gro get woman suf- frage is a little, but to make some thing out of 1t Is much harder and far more important."
 She tells me the women make stump speeches ao delectioneer just as the men, and that they have an equal say with the men In the making of all legislation. There are 19 female members in the congress of Finland. They are not 1olned to- gether in one woman's party but are scattered through the six pohtcaI narttes which form the national con eress. She does not believe in a woman's party pure and simple, put favors the custom they have here or the women standing on the same platform as the men, and Worklng side ,bv side with them for the is- s,,ae/ those platforms represent Just now the women are especially in terested in new marriage law whlcn would equalize the property rlghts or wives with their husbands. Accord ing to the present law the huspaho pains the control of his wifes estate after parental right over the children
 asked her If the republic of Fin land would last She replied: There Is no doubt of it. Our indepenuence has come to stay and it's foundation IS as firm as the granite upon which the country is built. l expect thls gov ernuent to grow in its giving equal rights to all men and all women, ana as it is we are doing quite well. Ihe Tinted states has been a republic for 1A7 wears. and so far 1t has had only one woman at a time among us mem bers of Congress. Finland has been republic for less than six years and is women legislators already number 19."
 Prohibition Among the Films.
 The conversation here turned to prohibition. the laws coneernlng s which are much the same as those Of tbe United States. No liquors, ex- cent ? per cent beer, can be sold, and the result is that they have about as much Illicit distilling as one 1lnds in America Many homes have their private stills Alcohol preparations under different names are sold Tn the stores, and one can buy the in- gredients with the accompanying recipes, to make any drink he would give to his guest. At my hotel here I have seen some of the leading cap faing under the guise of cold tea, and when I asked the head waiter what drinks he could furnish, he mentioned Scotch whisky, sherry, claret and cham pagne. Practically every one meet tells me that prohibition has been failure, and it seems to be the con sensus of opinion that the law will be modified or repealed very shortly Miss Furnhjelm does not believe in it. She says: Tt Is a prohibition in name only and it does not prohibit. It IS a paper law and you cannot reform the world upon paper. It Is not practlcal and it is very demoralizing."
 The Marthas of Finland.
 1t was through Miss Furnhjelm that I became acquainted with some of the leading "Marthas" of Finland and learned of the wonderful work they are doing. The 'Marthas" take their name after Martha, the elder sister of Lazarus, who lived at Bethany with her affectionate but rather lazy sis ter Mary, and entertained our Lord at the time He raised her brother from the dead. Martha was good housekeeper but Mary seems to have been something of shirk. Martha believed it was her duty to serve, and "service" is the motto of the Mar thas" of Finland. They are doing all they can for their country and peo- ple The Martha movement was started about 25 years ago when the czar issued a manifestor deprtving Finland of many of it's rights. The women then organized themselves into bands, and did all they could to foment and maintain national spirit. As time went on they added to this patriotic work 8 welfare and educa- tional system which Is now more i'm portant than the stimulation of pa triotism.
 What the Marthas Do.
 These "Marthas" are trying to teach the women how to live better. They have schools for instructing them in household economies and gardening They teach sewing, cooking and can ming. and the dying with vegetable colors. There are altogether 80,0OO members, and the local branches number more than 300. Last year they established 15,000 new gardens and 466 new courses in cooking. They had many schools, the teachers trav- cling from village to village, going over the frozen lakes on skates and now and then on skis over the snow, They have popular elections and give prizes to mothers for healthy and well-bred children.
 They have exhibitions of home, in- dustries and in some respects take the place of the demonstration agents of our southern states. The Mar thas" have weekly social meetings and to some extent are a womens $ club organization. Last year they held more than 5000 meetings and had 1000 conferences on market days to which the delegates from the local societies came to discuss the advance ment of women.
 These 'Marthas" have their own weekly journal published in Swedish and Finnish, and besides they issue cook books and collections of songs They are now making dolls, an indus- try which is carried on in the home. They are slightly assisted by the gov ernment and the local associations of