Shanghai Women ins of the autumn and winter by the young society girl of Shanghai. From a Hongkong college girl Miss Botzner also obtai led a paper on her prospects ote, which will be read by Jher repre. sentative at the dinner," and she false has collected a few typical programmes of Shanghai's many women's organizations will be the Pageant Within the Four Seas," which will take place here towards the end of October and in which eleven dij us Organizations of seven nationalities are interesting themselves folk songs, translations of which will be sung, and a folk tale or typical short story which may also be told at the dinner. and taking The Clubs responsible for this Pageant will be those which are members of the Joint Committee Shanghai Women's Organizations and will include the American Association of University Women, 'American Women's Club, British Women's Association, Portugu Women's Association, Japanese Christian Temperance Union, Shanghai Women's Club, Chinese Women's Suffrage Association, Danube Countries Women's Club, German' Women's Club, Foreign Y.W.C.A, and the Shanghai Chinese For some time the Joint Committee has had in mind the idea of a pageant to be given by al the members but the difficulties of staging one successfully were hard to overcome. The National Board of the Y.W.C.A. in New York was finally approached in the matter and Miss Era Betiner, director of the Drama Service Board, there was asked to come to Shanghai to undertake the ge matter was brought before the Na-0 tional Board in America it was felt that an idea worth developing had been presented and they accordingly agreed to send Miss Betzner out on a double mission.
Miss Betzner, who has much experience of Successful pageant and" other production behind her, was accordingly invited by the National Board of Y.W.C.A. to, make a tour of the world and to collect typical costunies and. properties from each country, visited, so that on her return, a arid Education Programme" might be arranged by the Board.
ile on her tour it was ranged for Miss Betzner to arrive "in Shanghai at this time and. to remain here long enough to produce the pagent proposed by the Joint Committee of Shanghai Women's Organizations.
The general outline of the page cant will be to show how the past ayes, the discoveries and inventions which have taken place and those which are as yet in the future, tre bringing the Whole world into unity, "The Spirit World Unity," being with "Youth," "Timo! and the "Tides" the dominant figure of the pageant. "Time" at first denies that "World Unity" is ax yet anything but a dream, but "Unity" replies that all things were dreams before they were ree ized and the Confucui dreamt of her when he said "Within the Four all_men are brothers," and, by Youth who loyally supports her she succeeds in making her entry and comes through the Arch of Time, Miss Betznor, who arrived in Shanghai on September 1, has with her some designs of costumes repre senting such figures as Science, Religfon, Art, Migration and others to take part in the pageant, and although these may be changed, it is obvious that the show will be one of delightfully harmonies and gay curing, "The designs suggested for "The Spivit of World Unity" is especially attractive in its simplibeing a long flowing robe of pure white, with a head dress which falls into a train, 8 feet in length {nd which suggests in its gay col-curing all.the flags of the world's nations.
Miss' Betuner having only been in Shanghai so few. days the details of the pageant programme have not yet progressed very far, and the site of the pageant has yet chosen, among many other matters which will be arranged within the course of the next. week: #0, when rehearsals and the making of the costumes will begin in This part of Miss Betzner's programme is naturally of clos interest to the women of Shanghi but her other work connected with the tour is not without its attrac active part. tion; and China will be be well represented when the programme of the Board in New York comes to fruition, The opening of this programme will take place early cext spring at dinner in New York when each of the countries visited by Miss Betzner will be represented in costume, at separate tables, with table decorations and fittings in harmony to carry out the right atmosphere of each, After dinner shorts speeches will be made from each table telling of the economic and social position of women and girls in that particular country and their prospects of education and careers, For the table at which China will bbe represented Miss Betaner has already collected in Hongkong and Peking some delightful specimens of typical costumes, the wedding outfits of a Chinese' bride Jand groom of conservative families particularly delightful. The costumes consists of the heavy silk skirt of brilliant red embroidered in green wheat ears, with a short black coat on which the symbols of happiness and Prosperity again appear, From The other countries, (India, Malay, Egypt ete.) will all. be represented in exactly the same manner and after this initial dinner the costumes and properties will be rented or sold to. branches lof the Association in various parts of America who are interesting themselves in this delightful programme of visualizing before their membership the customs and lives lof the inhabitants of other lands. Miss Betzner will be charge of all the plans for this dinner' in New York and judging by those she pas already formulated it. should be one of the most interesting and successful of its kind.
Miss Betzner, a Canadian, has been successfully producing pageants and similar shows for the past 10 years in the United States, Canada, and Mexico for conventions and national organizations, visualizing the history and achievements of various cities, or the aims of the organizations. Miss Betaner also the author of several short lays and operetta which have been successfully staged by little theatres in New York, and there is no doubt but that in her capable hands the Pageant conceived by the Joint Committee of Shanghai Women's Organzitions will be a_ brilliant success,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.