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THE PIbGRIM LEGACY.
one if weary, lies in the offlog the May
flower they call it. This ship baa come
Annual Address to Members of the Ne- apon this coast amid December frosts
braska State Federation of Women's
Clubs, Oct 21,1898, by the Retir
ing President, Mrs. Belie M.
Stoutenborough.
and nova but warm-hearted, refined
and cultured men and women and little
children are in those household groups.
Back to that little strip of shore our
thoughts may well run. We are a vst.
Members and guests of tbe Nebraska rich, prosperous country, extending
Federation of Women's Clubs: At tbe from ocean to ocean, from the great
fourth annua! meeting, held in Beatrice lakes to the gulf, and today under God
October, 1807, you listened attentively we owe the quality of our heritage to
to the fundamental rules of arithmetic, these men and women. Strange do you
explaining addition, subtraction, multi- say that the vaEtness of three thousand
plication, aad division, as applied to the miles of wilderness and prairie should
club and federation affrirs, in which I have become vocal with human voices
submitted to you the equation Enthus- in so short a time? Yet more strange
iaan plus information, minus aelnsbnesa. the quality. In the very heart and
multiplied by activity, divided by 70, center of this great country Nebraska
equals our state organization. Your sits a queen. Notwithstanding the fact
close attention at the time together with that at different times she has been
the spirit manifested du'ing the past clothed with sackcloth; born, too, in the
year to solve other problems, encourag- very heart and centre of this great cen
ed me to outline a map re-adjusting the tury in 1867, her geography foreordained
boundaries of our club domains in Ne- her to preeminence in the history of our
braska but the Denver meeting which nation. Nowhere, I believe, is there so
was perhaps the greatest convention much of general thrift, intelligence,
of women ever held in our land since it comfort, opportunity for advancement,
represented all the diverse phases of liberty of intellect, of conscience, expres
true Americanism shadowing forth the sion and action. Nowhere schools more
index of the coming hour, the universal thronged, churches more amply sustain
sisterhood, which is no email element in ed, legislation more equitable, a press
modern progress convinced me that more independent, enlightened and out
the time was not yet ripe for geographi- spoken, household life more wholesome.
eal changes. Poraibly thire .came to sweet and sac ed. Nowhere such a fair
some of us a clearer vision in tbe high white city whose influence from an edu
altitude of our neighboring state,Mwhose catlonal standpoint will be felt for a
statu'es (as Gov. Adams says) recognise generation to come and whose gates
that the Creator made no mistake when siring wide open today to admit the
ife placed man and woman side by side president of these United States never
ia the Gardes of Eden." so united as today under his administra-
Then, too, I fully agreed with the di- tion than in nor own fair state.
tor of one of our daily tapers who wrote In this reference, or if j ou please, this
last July, "This is no time for changing inventory of the totality of our posses
geography text books. Wait until aions, it is not my purpose to foster pride
Dewey, Sampsoo, Schley. Shaf ter, but rather, in viw or all of this, what
Miles, Brooks and Coppinger are sort of woman ought we to be.
through with re-adjusting Uncle Sam's To be a Pilgrim woman today it
domain" Is it not true that was M not necessary that one should
Americans have feared to change the come over in the Maj flower, but
old map even when we might have tak- I believe you will agree with the
en peaceable possession of islands covet- statement that looking at the modern
ed by other nations. It I am not mis- Pilgrim woman her new surroundings,
taken the incoming century will extend new duties, the new influences at work
new lines in the foreign policy of our upon her, that she is a direct evolution
country, for the purposes of wsr have of her Pilgrim mother just what, given
widened beyond our desires and our the conditions, a prophetic eye might
dreams. Daring tbe recent conflict have foreseen she would be! that she
while we who were so fsr from the noise baa entered in and possessed the Prom
aaddiaof war, waited anxiously for ised Land which her mother only saw in
news, it stay be of one dear lad whose vjgjo,, trota fsr off Pirgah's heights,
welfare overshadowed tbe liberty of a . The changes that have taken place in
hundred anknown Cubans tbe clock of woman's world within the last fifty
time was striking the hour which tells TMn have amounted to one of the great
er human progress. It has beea truly t and most consequential of all revolu
aaid that "America has been dictating tioBB We say that Mary Lyons' place
to the Aagel of History so rapidly of late -in history is secure not alone for her ex
thatahs is taxed to the utmost to make traordinary genius but from the fact of
the record,- and conditions have ch rg- having her life identified with the be
ad so rapidly that tbe one who would ginningsof a great movement of wom
tedaymake the address prepared for an's right to be educated. Geo. Wm.
yesterday might be obliged to make Curtis some years ago wrate: "It is set
many changes, tied that Juliet may study but msy she
Before taking a fresh, look forward, Btudy with Romeo." Today tbatques
rather in order that we may look ahead tion is settled by almost all the newer
discerningly aad wisely, almcst everyone colJegea-eas. west, north and south nn
is moved just bow to pause, aad turn, ty only here and there dees some "be
far aa earnest, a searching look back- htedowl lift up his sorio-comic hoot
ward. against it."
Let as in imagination visit a winter The Woman's club movement that has
scene, which has much to do both with gained such headway in recent years is
what we are and what we ara doing at by no means confined to America. In
the present time. The spot is a dreary England, Germany, France, and otb
aertkera coast. The tiaae is chill De- er European countries it stands for the
The background ia a drear, new ideas and the new moral forces that
, lsaiess ferast. The foreground is are gathering themselves into closer co
al pitilsss eeeaa with ke margins along crdinatioa and so into greater power.
itaaaade. A little ship, of which every- Rightly directed tbe combined influ
enceofsomany wosaea will tell on the
centers of social aad political power.
And who can have better reasons for be
ing interested is bettering the condi
tions of life in the cities and in tbs
country tow?s .than those who would
protect aad make sacred the homes of
tbe people. At any rate the time has
past when intelligent and really high
minded women can afford to shirk per
sonal responsibility of thk kind.
Columbus dk'.overed a new world and
we think we can not celebrate the event
too much. The newly found realm was
interesting because of the new resources,
the new opportunities, the new possibil
ities, which it represented. The v Con
gress of representative women held in
Chicago during the world's fair marks
the time of woman's arif discovery.
Gradually tbe more enlightened women
of the world are discovering new contin
ents of resources, of opportunity, of duty
and hope. -The enthusiasm shown in
that great meeting extended into every
state in our land and the following aut
umn our state chairman of correspond
ence issued a call through Miss Fair
"brother's paper, the Woman's Weekly,
for a meeting to form a state organiza
tion. Delegates frm nearly all of the
clubs of the state met in Omaha Dec. 10
of that year and perfected an organiza
tion, electing Mrs. Canfield, wife of the
chancellor of our state university, as
president. Perhaps no other woman
west of the Missouri river has answered
so many letters containing the one ques
tion, "How shall we start a club?" as
Mrs. Lindsey, to whom we owe so much
for the extension of the club idea into
the interior of our state. The women
who were so fortunate as to attend that
first meeting went home with new ideas
and new purposes for ideas, and moral
impulses are more contagious than any
disease and can no longer be shut up in
any kind of quarantine. All honor to
the women who were the first to feel the
importance of developing an alliance for
the purpose of uniting more closely tbe
club women of our state.
As I recall that first meeting some
thing of the old Pilgrim spirit stirs with
in me. Did not we blsze the trees as
we passed, as we formulated plans for f u
ture guidance? Although we were not
in the forlorn conditions of the pioneer
woman whose sole cooking utensil was a
bake kettle.In which the lady of the house
on one occasion preparing a meal for
company, tried out lard, fried cakes,
baker, bread, stewed venison, brought
water from the spring, made tea, and
served it gracefully too laughing the
while as she recounted her many luxur
ies. But you will bear me witness that
in the beginning of this organization
there were no chafing dishes or Trans
Mkmssippi home-makers on the side
board of our experience. Mine the proud
distinction in that meeting to second a
motion a privilege which I shall ever
appreciate.
Tonight we turn the searchlight upon
the work accomplished by this organiza
tion during the years which have inter
vened since we enjoyed your hospitality
the number counted upon the fingers
of one hand, the number representing
the age of tbe N. F. W. O. Tbe women
who with some hesitancy called the
meeting for organization never dreamed
of such success. To be sure success
does not lie in a mere aggregation of
numbers but the most casual observer
cannot fail to see that the united influ
ence of the representative women of our
state has become a real power for good.
It is a comradeship more and more dis
tinctly conscious and increastnglyinfluen
tial which the members of this federation
now constitute, and I repeat that this
great co operative movement among our
women is not without its significance.
I might tell you that in the beginning of
this movement we had twelve, perhaps
fifteen clubs. Today we have eighty,
rep'reeeatisg some four thousand women.
At the biennial ia 1896 Nebraska was
represented by two federated organiza
tions; at the Denver meeting last June
there were nine additional clubs belong
ing to the General Federation, making
eleven ia all.
Forty of our clubs study literature;
thirty-two, history; twenty-seven, current
topics; twelve, art; eleven, child study;
thirteen, parliamentary law; eleven,
household economics; while the Lotus
club of Lincoln has for one of its study
topics arboriculture, and many of our
younger club women are studying music
I might tell you of our circulating libra
ry which no longer skulks about bare
footed. No longer an experiment, but
an important outcome of our state or
ganizationof the art portfolios, num
bering three hundied photographs of
tbe old masters, at th service of the
library patrons. I might tell you of tbe
work of our educational committee, of
the work accomplished by the members
of our larger clubs, wielding the broom
ia city sanitation, banging pictures in
school rooms to encourage or promote
the study of art and art history. The
work of the women also in the smaller
towns, beautifying their little public
parks or the square on which stands the
court house, opening rest rooms in the
market towns, and reaching out the
helping hand to the farmer's wife in the
country, interest shown in organizing
classes for young people and opening,
reading rooms where only good reading
may be found and I miirht go on enum
erating the benefits which have come to
us through this organization. All of
which goes to pro re that the women of
Nebraska do not sit complacently under
their vines and dream that this state
meant nothing ip God's plan except to
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We are Sole Agents for
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I 112-122 N. Tenth St.
"1-gjfeer-y &&&&