I 1
MKS. II. M. DISIINELL OF LINCOLN,
AUDITOR NE UK. A SKA FEDERATION
OF WOMEN'S CLUBS.
I
VST where and when the woman's
club movement of NY I taska had
Its origin Is one of the bits of
valuable and interesting infor
mation that will probably never
b added to the unfortunately meager
early record of the present prcsporous
Stale Federation of Women's Clubs, but It
U safe to suppose, Judging from the com
parison of hopes and efforts that always
attends the annual meeting of that organi
zation that it began long ago and was the
natural outgrowth cf that craving for some
other woman's sympathy and companion
ship in the homesickness that was a part
cf the experience of the great majority of
the women wno gave up their eastern
homes and the various luxuries that at
tended them to make new homes in Ne
Lraka years ago.
The story of the evolution of the woman's
club Is an old one now, and Its particulars
In Nebraska afford little variation aside
from those incidental to locality, but by the
( loi-e of the spring of 1S!4 the clubs of the
state had attained such importance in
heir .respective communities, with bucu
marked results for betterment and Im
provement, that the women, seeing the pos
sibility of further and more extended good
by co-operation, determined to unite their
(Torts.
With the advantages that naturally at
tend educative and progressive work iu
the large towns and citleB, the Omaha
Woman's club, though but little over a
year old, was the strongest club of the
3tate and having in its membership Mrs.
Z. T. Lindsey, then state chairman of cor
respondence for the General Federation,
was perhaps in closer touch with the other
towns than any, and it was but natural
that some definite plan for state organiza
tion should come from this club. The plan
was talked over and on July 26 a commit
tee was appointed to locate aud communi
cate with the clubs of the state. Mrs.
I.indsey was made chairman of this com
mittee and for want of a more definite
Necessity of
(' ipyrlgbt
19ft2. by J. Q. A. Ward.)
a material standpoint alone
J I there is nothing so important to
our pet p.e at ints lime as a
thorough education In art. WY
have become the greatest agri
cultural and manufacturing nation on earth.
We raise more corn and wheat and beana
and barley, we turn out more steel rails,
steam engines aud brljges than any other
nation on the face of the globe. In that
respect, then, we have reached the ulti
mate. Tho only field In which development
remains, and, I repeat, I am now speaking
from a material standpoint only, in art. In
that we still lag, and In that there lies
more wealth, more comfort and more en
during greatness than in all the other pur
suits beside. France today Is a great na
tion of artists. Its centuries of education
in art developed a hundred great and prof
itable industries that without this education
would have been impossible. Hei feather
workers, milliners, silk weavers, all owe
their existence and prosperity to the fact
that art .took a strong foothold In France
long before any of these industries were
dreamed of. They are simply an offshoot,
or rather an evolution of the art sense that
was intimated in the masses through the
example of the masters.
Let our people, as a rule, become art
lovers, and all our conditions and rtlations
in life will be improved and beautified. The
surly, brutal policeman will pacs away. He
cannot survive In such an atmosphere. Even
the complaints of bad street car service,
over-crowding, under-lighting, the barbar
ous worries cf a city, etc., will disappear.
But it Is in our industrial life and prog
ress that the greatest Improvement will
come. As an illustration of what can be
done by applying art and an art sense to
ordinary avocations, I can think of no bet
ter example than that of a well known car
riage builder. This carriage builder found
that in order to get really handsome car
riages he had to import his trimmings and
finishings fro.a France. He could build as
ood a carriage as any man In the world,
liut he could not compete with the French
artistic finish. So be brought over a
Nebraska Federation of Women's Clubs
MKS. ELLA BELL OF ST. PAIL, Neb.,
TREASURER NEBRASKA STATE FED
ERATION OF WOMEN'S CLUBS.
nuans of locating the clubs, st nt a cir
cular letter to the postmasters of all towns
of over a certain population, requesting
them to give the inclosed letter to the rep
resentative of any club, society or other
woman's organization of which he knew.
The letter to the clubwomen explained the
plan for organization and asked that a
delegate be sent to a convention to be held
In Omaha on December 10.
The response to this letter surprised
even the most sanguine members of the
committee. Everywhere enthusiastic co
operation attested the eagerness of the
clubs and about fifty women attended the
December convention, of which Mrs. Lind
sey was appointed chairman and Mrs. A.
B. Somers, also of Omaha, secretary. Mrs.
France M. Ford, then president of the
Omaha Woman's club, made the address
of welcome; Mrs. Elia W. IYattie, Mrs.
Belle M. Stoutenborough, Mrs. C. S. Lang
worthy of Seward, together with the able
representatives of the Lincoln club and
others, contributing to the enthusiasm and
the plans that were- the foundation of the
organization.
An executive committee was elected con
sisting of Mrs. J. H. Canfleld of Lincoln,
wife of Chancellor Canfleld of the Uni
versity of Nebraska, president; Mrs. Elia
W. Peattld of Omaha, vice president; Mrs.
C. S. Langworthy of Seward, secretary;
Mrs. J. W. Dawes of Crete, treasurer, and
Mrs. J. N. WYodford of Weeping Water,
auditor. During the first year the consti
tution was drawn up, definite communica
tion established among the clubs and plans
made for the first annual meeting, and
only those who have had a part in the ex
ecutive work of the Federation can have
any idea of the hard, unselfish work that
task entailed.
The first annual meeting, which was
held in Lincoln, left the work well estab
lished, with Mrs. May C. Field of Lincoln
as president. At the second meeting, held
in Fremont, Mrs. Belle M. Stoutenborough
was elected president, and re-elected the
Art Education
Frenchman, who was an artist In his line,
and set this man to work teaching the rudi
ments of the art to the workmen in the
American shop. The result Is that today
tho manufacture of carriage trimmings is
a great industry in the United States era
ploying thousands of workmen and cutting
off practically the necessity for importing
from France. This is practical art.
All this bears on the material aspect or
art. Quite as important Is the intrinsic
value of art in developing and enlarging
and improving mankind. If literature bene
fits him and if music benefits him, then art
certainly benefits him. Of course there is
bad art and harmful art, but so there is vile
literature and harmful music, and bad
knowledge. But wholesome art Is one of the
great factors In elevating the human char
acter. The foolish assertion that art weak
ens the character of a nation, an assertion
that has at times been advanced,
Is so utterly absurd that it should
hardly be seriously discussed. It
has been pointed out that when
art was at its highest in Greece, the state
was at its lowest; that the love of art had
begotten sensuousness and Indulgences; that
all forms of vice were rampant and that
the manhood of the nation had been sapped.
What folly! Nations have their duration
of life Just as Individuals, as the tries of
the forest have. The sensuousness cf the
decaying energies of the Greeks debased
their art, ins ead cf their art debasing them.
Greece became decadent not because of art,
but In spite of it. The love of art main
tained it for a long time at Its best.
The nation in Its political, commercial and
industrial development had cone to a
standstill. Art alone remained to offer
a stimulus to make possible progress. When
the acme was reached In art, then began
the retrogression which had been arrested
and stayed by art alone. No nation, any
more than an individual, can stand still.
A people must go forward or else back
ward. It was so with Greece. It is so
with every nation. But what monuments
has Greece left behind to testify to Its
greatness? Is there any trace left of Its
S
A
:-
-.1
v
MISS MINNIE F. BECKER OF COLUM
HI'S. Neb.. RECORDING SECRETARY
NEBRASKA FEDERATION OF WO
MEN'S CUBS.
MRS. F. H. COLE, PRESIDENT OMAHA
WOMAN'S CLL'B.
following year at Beatrice. The tourth
meeting was held in Omaha and Mrs. Lang
worthy of Seward became president, Mrs.
Anna L. Apperson of Tecumseh succeeding
her by election at the fifth convention, held
at York. At Lincoln, two years ago, Mrs.
Draper Smith of Omalit became president
and was re-elocte at the seventh annual
meeting held In Wayne last year. At the
tlghth annual meeting, held in Columbus,
October 7, 8 and 9 of this year, the affairs
of the Federation were given into the
management of a new set of officers, whose
pictures accompany this article.
Durirg the eight years of Its existence
the Federation has increased from an as
sociation of ten clubs to ninety-nine, with
an approximate membership of 4,000 women,
representing seventy towns of the state.
in America
commercial or industrial development 7
Even in engineering, are there examples
that testify to its skill there? No. The
things that remain to us of thfl
highest civilization reached by the
Greeks are the production of art
and literature. They alone endure.
Therefore it must be manifest how
important a factor art is. The entire world
has been influenced and moulded by the
work along these lines of the old Greeks.
And so we will Influence and mould the peo
ple who come after us, the rising genera
tion, if we surround them with works of
art.
We will elevate their ideas. We will
make of them better mi n and women, nobler
citizens. Every statue that Is erected to a
great man is in itself an inspiration to the
right-minded boy. He doesn't know wheiher
it is good art or bad. He sees that thn
pecple have honored a man who did his
duty, who made sacrifices for his country
and his fellows, and he Is Inspired to da
likewise. We have fine pictures, good stat
uary, and other productions of art, and the
y. s of our peopie are trained Involuntarily,
so that they become better workmen In
their own line, bringing to bear a finer
sei:se of the beautiful. This sense will Im
press Itself upon the most ordinary things
that these tunic people may produce. Al
most before we know It, if we beautify our
cities with statuary and art galleries, we
will be a nation of art workers instead of
mere manufacturers. Nothing else In the
world creates such value as a fine art sense.
Yiu take a piece of bronze that Isn't worth
thrte cents, put It in the hands of a French
art worker and he changes it into some
thing that is worth twenty dollars.
This is not a call to thousands of young
people to rush into art for its direct lucra
tive results. Unless, with true artistic
humi'ity, they are willing, after proper
training, to take positions in the industries
where art may be applied, the great ma
jority will be not alone doomed to disap
pointment themstlves, but they will In in
wise benefit the community.
J. Q A. WARD.
V ' . ' v ' i. :
k )
MKS. BELLE M. STOUGHTENROKOl till
OF ri.ATTS.MOl'Tll. Neb., OENERAL
FEDERATION SECRETARY NEBRASKA
WOMEN'S CIA' US.
Nineteen, if these clubs hold individual
membership in the tJeneral Federation, the
Statu Federation having Joined it immedi
ately after Its own organlzat ion.
"Not to ilemund success, but to deserve
It," has been the motto and the women
have lived up to this, working unostenta
tiously for everything that was uplifting.
There are at present eight standing com
mittees for the advancement of special
lines of work, including art, household
economics, civic, education. Industrial,
music, library extension and a reciprocity
bureau. In addition to these there are
seven special committees appointed an
nually. Of the ninety-nine clubs in the Federa
tion thirty-two have included library work
with their other efforts, several tuning
established town libraries. Through the
efforts of Mrs. Belle M. Stoutenborough
and others the Federation traveling library
of 320 volumes was established and main
tained for several years, but realizing the
nccissity of an extension of this work, th.)
women set to work for the creation of a
state traveling library commission and
when this was established by the last legis
lature they turned over to it their collec
tion of books. The reciprocity bureau In
cludes IrtO manuscripts and the names of
twenty-five lecturers, while one of the most
complete collections of art portfolios In the
country is In constant circulation among
the clubs of the state.
In addition to stimulating a general in
terest in domestic science among the clubs,
the household economics department Is
working for the improvement of the food
laws of the state with encouraging pros
pects. The efforts of the educational commit
tee were largely instrumental In securing
the new compulsory educational law and
this winter th Industrial committee Is
promised the co-operation of many of the
state legislators in securing the estab
lishment of a court for Juvenile offenders.
The entire Federation will work this year to
Mirth from
IN A RURAL Justice court In
Georgia recently an old negro
whose testimony had beeu ques
tioned by a lawyer said in his
own defense;
"Jedge, I'm a good man. I been a-llvln'
"round heah ten years. I ain't never been
lynched, en de only hoss I ever staled
th'owed me en broke my two legs!
"Billy" Saunders is a natural born wit,
relates the New York Tribune. He Is in his
80th year, living in New York, and is still
working at his trade, painting. On a recent
occasion "Billy" and one or two of his
mates were beautifying a lawyer's office.
The younger partner, thinking to take a
"rise" out of "Billy" said:
"I say, 'Billy,' did you ever know of a
painter going to heaven?"
"Yes," replied "Billy." "I knew of ono
once."
"But do you think he stayed there?"
"Well, I did hear that they tried to put
him out."
"And did they not succeed?"
"No. According to latest accounts, they
bad not succeeded."
"Why, how was that?"
"Well, sonny, it was this way: They
couldn't find a lawyer In the place to draw
up the papers!"
A brief for the state in an early Nebraska
case indulges in the following:
"Plaint il'fs in error are afraid that the
honor and dignity of the state will suffer,
and they invoke for the claimants broad
principles of natural equity, and the claim
that neither the laws governing courts nor
the constitution apply to them. The logical
sequence is this that persons hi hold
claims against the state are a favor d class,
who can alone make wings cf 'Justice and
right' to fly to that mystic region above
aud beyond th tramme ls of law, and where
such unjust things as contra ts and written
c nstltutit ns do not exist; but where for
them a straight and narrow pathway leads
to the treasury, whose doors, without stint
or delay, turn softly on golden hinges to
VF WfM XVJ
!
MRS. NELLIE BEACH. MILLER OF
DOCOLAS. Neb., CORRESPONDING SEC
RETARY OF WOMEN'S CLUBS.
secure a more equitable property rights
law for women. With n mo t cvedl a' le list
of attainments back of it and an abundance,
of enthusiasm and de enniiuit ion for tho
work before it, the present year promises
to be one of the most important In the
history of the Federation.
In the past the clubs have been largely
made up of women from the towns of the
state, but with the work reaching out Into
the tiranehes, the women on the farms and
in the most remote neighborhoods are be
ginning to feel Its effects and recognize
Its possibilities and the town clubs are
being swelled by members who have many
miles to come. This Interest is Illustrated
by a club of women In the extreme western
part of the state, ranchmen's wives and
daughters, who live so far apart that they
can only meet from May until November,
when the weather will admit of their mak
ing the long trip. There is another club
in Saunders county, whoso members live
from two to five miles apart.
From these small towns and the rural
districts have come some of the strongest
women of tho state, and In the selection
of its president this year, tho Federation
promises to do more to Interest, help and
encourage these women than ever before.
For several years past Mrs. Pago has been
Identified with the work of t lie standing
committees and as a member of tho club
extension committee, last year she did much
to interest the women In the smaller
villages and on the farms, In organizing
clubs. Her own home, which Is ono of ex
ceptional completeness, Is located about
three miles from Syracuse, and Is tho center
of a club Interest that extends for miles
about, stimulating the women to the Im
provement of self and everything with
which they come in contact. Her Interest
in the women of tho remote districts prom
ises to draw many into the organization
that have in the past held uloof while her
wide acquaintance will be most valuable
In extending club work and club Interest
to those who are in most need of It.
the Courts
udmlt them. Yet If I do not very much
mistake this court 'these wings' will un
f eat her In their flight and claimants against
the state must fall to a common level with
all other litigants, and stand up to the
rack where Is fed that good old fodder of
'Justice and right' as administered by our
courts."
If tho late Justice Gray was noted for
one characteristic more than another it
was for his absolute Independence of Judg
ment, a thing upon which be prided himself
especially. One day he received a letter
from a devout Methodist preacher who was
in the habit of printing at the top of his
writing paper various texts from the Bible.
This time his stationery bore the legend,
"Ye are bought with a price."
Justice Gray's acknowK-dgment was
coldly formal ami at Its close he wrote:
"Allow me to suggtst that when I next
have the pleasure of reading one of your
letters I may also have the pl asure of
reading a more apposite quotation."
The clergyman did not continue the cor
responde nee.
Sometimes Judge Rufus B. Cowing loses
his temper with lawyers who needlessly
and at great length cross-examine wit
nesses, reports the New York Times. Re
cently an Italian was on trial before him,
charged with stabbing a fellow-countryman.
On direct examination the complain
ing witness, with much precision, de
scribed how and where tho stabbing oc
curred. A young lawyer Btarted In on a
very minute cross-examination, and asked
the witness:
"Were you stabbed In the hall?"
"No, sir."
"Were you stabbed In the backyard?"
"No. sir."
"Were you stabbed In the cellar?"
"No. sir."
At this point the Judge, with a smile,
broke In with the remark:
"Counselor, what Is the use of asking all
those questions when the witness has told
us over and over again that he was stabbed
in the stomach;"