Evening star., 1933-10-15
DESTINYOF BRITISH NATION
RESTS In WOMAN'S HANDS
Even Physical Weakness Has Brought
Her Power, but She Has Failed to
Use 1t to Cure Worlds Ills.

violence with violence-plus imprison-
ment. But martyrdom has always been
the supreme form of advertisement, and
hunger strikes gained thousands Of SYM
pathizers and adherents to the Women's
Emancipation Movement. From the
parliamentary disappointments IT 1911
onward British women maintained their
policy Of violence. disorder and passive
resistance until the outbreak Of war in
1914
Both Lords and Commons met during
1916 to consider the question of q re-
form bill which should alter the basis Of
the franchise and include the admission
OF women. The conference reported in
favor Of woman's suffrage. A bill estab-
fishing the right Of women to vote at
parliamentary elections passed through
the House Of Commons in December,
1917, and became law in February, 1918.
Although this act did not give the vote
to women on absolutely equal terms with
men-s1nce 1t imposed q minimum age
OF 30-it heralded the first real step
toward womanis equality of status. The
age limit was imposed with q view to
preventing an excess of the female over
the male electorate depleted by the war,
and was afterward removed by the
misguided Mr.. Stanley Baldwin in the
hope that the grateful women of Britain
would vote Conservative. Woman.
standing free from her shackles at last
promptly voted Socialist as . gesture Of
independence.
Practically All Barriers Removed.
The improvement Of woman's status
In Great Britain during the last decade
is probably the most remarkable of
many social changes that have taken
place during the postwar years. Prac-
tically every barrier against the advance
OF women has been removed, so that
they now enter industry and the profess
sions on equal terms with men. The
advance OF education, the establishment
OF high schools, the admission OF women
to university teaching, and equal rights
Of suffrage have placed her sex on a
level footing except where they are
handicapped by family cares and in
ferior strength. Thus those who trouble
to look on at the pageant of world af-
fairs today are witnessing one Of the
most stupendous experiments in re-
corded history.
But woman's challenge to male su-
premacy Is not made on such equal
terms as may first appear, for from the
beginning nature loaded the dice
heavily In her favor. The fact that she
Is his mother as well as his wife gives
woman tremendous influence for good or
evil over man, and this alone Is suff-
cient to insure her victory. Moreover,
in most cases her inferior strength
makes such an appeal to his manhood
that he refrains from becoming q sert-
GUS competitor In struggle for mate
rial advantages. When, in addition to
these formidable influences, woman's
longer span Of life Is taken into consid-
Grafton, the issue is no longer In doubt,
for such wealth as he may possess Is
invariably left to the weaker" sex to
meet the responsibilities man Is forced
to relinquish at death.
Balance Of Power Shifts.
Statistics gathered for both census
and insurance purposes reveal that
woman's expectation Of life exceeds that
Of man by i've years, and, slight as the
difference may seem to be, it IS . factor
which makes woman's ultimate domin-
ion inevitable. The balance Of wealth
changed hands during the years 1914
10, when the flower OF British manhood
was wiped out and widows In abun.
dance were left with money and the
responsibility Of its disposal. Since that
time, and In addition to the millions
they acquire automatically by reason Of
longer lives women have not only In
herited vast fortunes from aged rela.
tives with no sons but have gained all
CONTINUED On Third Pase.)