WOMEN'S INSTITUTE REPORT. 



Dormer, for Lethbridge. They were united in expressing the sentiment 

 that the coming of the Congress to Lethbridge was a great benefit to 

 the Canadian Northwest, Alberta bejng the first of the Canadian Provinces 

 to entertain a session of the Congress. 



Mrs. Stavert, in opening the Congress, said: "It is my great pleasure 

 to welcome you to Lethbridge and the sessions of this Congress, on behalf 

 of the Officers and Executive Boards of this organization. [W6 

 deeply appreciate your presence and heartily greet you.] I want to 

 thank the women for the sympathetic help given me in my share of the 

 work in this Congress. The purpose of our existence is to better rural 

 home conditions. Each nation, state, province and small community has 

 its own particular way to solve its problems, and that is why it is good 

 for us to come together and compare notes." 



The Congress was then declared open. 



Greetings were extended to the 'Congress by the President of the 

 International Dry Farming Congress, Dr. John Widstoe, of Utah. 



He spoke of the necessity of knowing facts concerning household 

 management, thus making it scientific, as farming had been made scientific 

 by the collecting of facts in that regard. President Widstow avowed 

 himself a suffragette, that is, he said he was perfectly willing to give 

 wom'3ii the ballot so they might go to the polls and vote for the men. 

 He stated that the Congress needed the co-operation of the women in 

 order to have the work done as it should be. People were realizing more 

 and more that the work of the men would not advance unless the women 

 were kept side by side with them. "I am not ashamed to state that I 

 am a 'Woman's Rights man.' In our State the government has been 

 bettered because the women have taken hold. 



Miso Ravenhill, of Victoria, brought greetings from the Mother Coun- 

 try, assuring the people of the keen interest felt by England on all 

 educational movements. She spoke of the importance of the interchange 

 of ideas to develop the individual and' the homes. 



Mr. Kulu Kahn, Persian ambassador at Washington, D.C., representing 

 his wife, an American lady, gavo a most interesting address, telling of 

 the part the women of Persia take in this work. He said we have wrong 

 ideas about woman's position in Persia. They always go veiled, because it 

 is a custom of the country, but they have as much freedom as women in 

 other countries. They are educated and cultured. The beautiful Persian 

 rugs we see in this country are made by women. They are wonderfully 

 gifted in this respect and weave the most intricate designs without a 

 pattern. He spoke of their bravery and gave an instance. Three years 

 ago, during the war in Persia, a band of two hundred defended their 

 position against fifteen hundred men. Eighty out of the two hundred 

 were killed and it was found that sixty of these were women. 



Hon. Neil Neilson, of Australia, brought greetings from the farm 

 women of Australia. He said Canada is the nearest white neighbor wo 

 have. He struck a note of enthusiasm in the audience when he said 

 there were no suffragettes in Australia. They do not need them as women 



