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The  world  is  growing  better.  The  strongest  proof  of  this  fact 
is  that  the  women  of  this  time  are  responding  to  the  crying  needs 
of  the  nation.  Laying  aside  the  conventions  and  traditions  that 
have  bound  them  since  time  began,  they  are  glad  to  stand  as  help- 
mates to  men  who  are  working  for  the  good  of  this  great  land. 
In  no  national  movement  has  there  been  such  a spontaneous  and 
universal  response  from  women  as  in  this  great  question  of  con- 
servation. Women  from  Maine  to  the  most  western  shore  of 
the  Hawaiian  Islands  are  alive  to  the  situation.  Because,  the 
home  is  woman’s  domain.  She  is  the  conserver  of  the  race. 
Whatever  affects  the  home,  affects  the  very  life  of  the  nation. 
So,  women  with  that  feminine  sense  of  caring  for  and  protecting 
all  that  is  sacred  to  them  are  ready  to  join  heart  and  soul,  in  the 
work  of  adding  to  the  security  and  prosperity  of  their  cherished 
possessions. 
In  far  distant  Hawaii  while  sojourning  in  the  mountains  of  the 
beautiful  Island  of  Kauai,  far  from  the  struggles  and  cares  of  the 
great  centers  of  our  Nation,  a call  came  to  me  from  Louisiana  to 
join  a small  band  of  women  organized  to  cooperate  with  the  men 
in  their  noble  efforts  to  preserve  the  Nation’s  resources. 
This  organization  was  formed  in  Shreveport,  Louisiana.  The 
Hon.  Joseph  E.  Ransdell,  President  of  the  National  Rivers  and 
Harbors  Congress,  realizing  that  woman’s  enthusiasm  and  zeal 
are  strong  factors  in  bringing  about  desired  results,  urged  the 
women  of  Shreveport  to  form  a Woman’s  National  Rivers  and 
Harbors  Congress,  to  work  in  cooperation  with  the  Men’s  Con- 
gress. A ready  response  was  found  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of 
the  women  of  Shreveport,  who  know  only  too  well  the  waste 
and  desolation  caused  by  the  Mississippi.  An  organization  was 
formed.  The  presiding  officer  chosen  is  Mrs.  Hoyle  Tomkies,  a 
refined  and  cultivated  woman,  whose  enthusiasm  has  set  aglow 
the  hearts  of  many  women  from  Maine  to  Hawaii,  to  work  in 
this  great,  comprehensive  cause. 
At  the  first  convention  of  the  Woman’s  National  Rivers  and 
Harbors  Congress,  held  December  9,  10,  11,  in  Washington,  D.  C., 
there  were  about  twenty  states  represented,  and  after  the  in- 
teresting sessions,  each  woman  delegate  returned  to  her  respective 
state  with  the  intense  desire  to  arouse  the  women  to  be  up  and 
doing  in  this  splendid  work,  by  talking  conservation,  by  coming 
into  the  organization,  by  educating  the  children  to  the  responsi- 
bility that  will  soon  be  theirs  in  saving  and  conserving  their  coun- 
try's natural  resources.  At  this  convention  some  of  the  strongest 
members  of  Women’s  National  and  State  Clubs  lent  their  influ- 
ence. 
Active  work  for  bringing  the  idea  of  this  organization  to  the 
women  of  Hawaii  was  taken  up  early  in  March.  The  Woman’s 
College  Club  of  Hawaii,  consisting  of  about  150  members,  called 
a meeting  of  Honolulu’s  rerpesentative  women  at  the  home  of 
Governor  and  Mrs.  Frear.  At  that  initial  meeting,  after  the 
