Evening star., 1928-12-02

ETcSIutHG Ol TIE League Oh american
Pen Women, who presided at the first
celebrity breakfast, held at the Willard
Hotel Friday, November 80.
securing child-labor reform 1t lapSed
and then in 1925, through the efforts
of American representatives, it was
resuscitated and reorganized on basis
of representation of organizations
There are IL constituent groups repre-
Senting 10 different nationalities, In
cluding the American Womans Club
of Shanghai, the American Association
OF University Women, the British
Womens Association, the German
Woman's Club. the Danube Coun-
tries Woman'S Association, Netherlands
Woman'S Club, japanese w. G. I. u.
Chinese Woman's Club of Shanghai
Shanghai Y. w. c. A., Chinese Wom-
an Suffrage Association and the Portu-
gueSe Woman's Association. The coun-
Gil represents 5000 women.
There are SO many occasions when
we need united action that what we
are doing is creating civic conscious
ness in this group of women. Recently
we conducted club institute, and, while
much of the program was elemental to
the older group, it brought us all to-
gether and it was of inestimable value
to the younger groups It was really a
demonstration club meeting. as we set
up an organization right before their
eyes. We had "a delegates and held
morning and afternoon sessions.
THE American Woman'S Club goes
into its new quarters in Sasson House
January 1, where it will have IS square
feet of floor space on the fifth floor of
this fine, new modern building on the
Bund overlooking the entire river front.
We will have seven bedrooms with bath
in addition to club quarters. The club
has taken the lead in StreSsing inter-
national relations In the community
My inspiration for this work grew out
of the Los Angeles biennial. In fact, ]
absorbed SO much enthusiasm there
that have been going on it ever since.
I realized at the biennial that we people
in Shanghai were overlooking a great
opportunity In international relations,
as We live right in the heart of a great
international settlement under interna-
tional government We have practical
experience every day in international
relations, and up to that time the wom-
ems clubs were doing nothing
Il succeeded in persuading the pro-
gram committee of the American Wom-
ans Club to make the first meeting of
the season an international day. The
meeting was opened by the chairman
of the Shanghai Municipal Council,
who Is at present an American. His
subject was 'Women's Civic Response
bility in an International Community
This was followed by minute
speeches from the leaders of each
woman'S club In case of the language
barrier, musical selections typical OF
the country were given. The meeting
concluded with an address by the judge
of the United States Court for China
upon the World Court, and What II
Means in World Peace and Arbitra-
ton So successful was internationa,
day that 1t has become an institution
IN the calendar of the club.
For two years we had a pan-Paciflt
subcommittee doing work preparatory II
the Pan-Pacific Conference held durina
| the past Summer in Honolulu Thi:
conference, which attended, I reealC
as the most important thing of its KIND
that has occurred. Delegates came tt
consider their problems as Pacific
| women, but they soon realized that al
That happens in the Pacific has a worlc
lmpllcation. To my mind the sanity ot
the group generally was a striking anG
! outstanding thing. Women were not
willing to prescribe remedies witho,l.
knowing basic fundamentals. When ex.
pertS from many lands began to ex-
| change their knowledge and experience
with women from other countries, they
realized that with all their experience
even along technical lines, they were
unable 70 write prescriptions for human
ltyS Ills until more basic work Is under
| taken. Toward this end resolutions came
out OF this conference which call fol
the undertaking of certain projects.
DIR. Louise Stanley, chief of the
Bureau OF Home Economics, who repre-
sented President Coolidge at the con-
| ference, brought out in a very logical
manner the definite relationship of diet
; to any cost-of-living study. She urged
that the cost of living surveys under
| taken in Japan and China yielded
i desirable information along dietic lines
! In the government section it was
! brought out that suffrage had not
! brought the millennium, but that il
must be followed up with political edu-
cation in the broadest sense. In tbs
! discussion Of compulsory voting it wa;
! AOuAlO OttdV All dllds WIllCI Has
pulsory voting, 81 per cent of the
electorate vote. A fine of $40 is imposed
! on those who do not vote. In New
Zealand, which has had suffrage longer
| than any other country, 88 per cent
! OF the women vote.
| ITO me the most striking feature oi
! the conference was the six primary
! school teachers located in six remote
partS of japan, who attended the con.
J ference. They made all of the arrange.
! mentS for their TRANSFORMATION, financinS
| themselves individually. each one with.
out the knowledge of the other, unit:
| she. got on the Shinvo Maru, where shc
! found there were five others who hac
| had the same idea. Not one of then
could speak a word of English. yet the,
&, felt the urge for wider knowledge am
! greater understanding. One of them
with an INTERPRETER, went to the ofic!
to register, and said she had looked Owe
the program with great interest, bu
J failed to find where any provision haC
been made for a department of inter.
national education.
The outspokenness of the Japanes
women relative to the social and othe
evils in their country was a revelation
to Occidental minds. The Australian
and New Zealand women made mark
ed contribution to the conference b
bringing home in a very practical wa
what the League of Nations, the Worl'
Court and similar organizations are &C
tuallv accomplishing.
Miss Smith will speak at a meeting
of the National WomanS Party a
national headquarters, 21 First stree
northeast, this afternoon at o'clock
AS president of the American Woman
Club in Shanghai, Miss Smith attended