Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1882-10-12
BY TELE OR APH.
Associated Press kilograms to the Daily
KennebecJ Journal
THE woMAN's CONGRESS
Holding Their Tenth Annual Session n
Portland.
PORTLAND. Oct Il

IOhILASD. OCb IL.
The tenth congress Of the association for
the advancement of women met in Portland
a: 2 80 p. NJ. Wednesday in City Hall. The
first executive session met at 10 A. NJ.
Reports were presented from the commit
tee science by Prof. Maria Mitchell Of
New York; on reforms and statistics by Mrs.
E. L. Mason of Wisconsin; and IN art by
Mrs. Martha Mckay Of Indiana.
Prof Mitchell stated that the scientific pa
pers presented by women at the association
for the advancement of science in Montreal
were far above the average. Summer
schools of science were on the increase, and
women were more and more employed as
asssyers and naturaists.
Mrs. Mason's report emphasized the phi
losophy Of reform, which assumes that hu-
man promotion is not the all prevailing type
| and that certain persons and methods must
exist in order to reform deformed beings
that women must band together to attack
| vice, vanity and insanity.
Mrs. Mckay reported Ohio as leading in
while at the extreme West and South there
| l., little or no art work.
! The Association for the Advancement of
Women opened in City Hall at ESQ this
afternoon. Mrs. Julia Ward Howe pre-
siding. The hall was we'll filled and the
sage beautifully adorned with flowers. Mrs.
| Howe made an able address. saying that the
| congress was mainly instituted in order to
unite a body of workers. She alluded to the
| Importance of coming together and present.
| ing topics in a comprehensive manner. In
| regard to meeting so far east, she said she
| believed IN reciprocity. Two years ago lit
tie was expected of US, but our strained SEN
timent was united to an impossible assump-
ton. Now that so much is expected we
must do our utmost. She said the first step
to remedy the evil is to understand it. there
fore. she urged the women to study the ex-
isting evils. She condemned paartisn &C.
ton on the Chinese question, and urged the
women to side with Justice and the Chinese.
She closed with compliment to Prot. Ma.
ria Mitchell.
Miss Abbie W. May read a paper on
the Rights of Children" by Mrs. Emma C.
Bacon of Madison, Wis, in which she
argued that children had right to be well
born-that is mentally and physically. This
paper was discussed by Rev. Antonette
Brown Blackwell, N. j., and Kate Gannett
Wells, Massachusetts,.
Miss Eunice ID. Sewell, Portland, followed
with a paper on Vacations and Vacation
Schools
The evening session opened at O'Clock.
The afternoon session had been open to all,
but % cents admission was charged in the
evening and the hall was only about one
third full, mostly with ladies'. The stage
drapery and furnished like draw ing room,
| while the profusion of plants reaches from
floor to platform. The first exercises was
amateur concert by Portland young ladies.
At $50 Mrs Howe came on and introduced
Mrs. Mary L. Eastman, who read paper Of
Miss Laura NJ. Clay, daughter Of Cassius NJ.
| Clay, of Kentucky, previously stating that
Miss Clay and her sister carry on their
homestead themselves. The subject of the
paper was Rights of Women to Competition
as Laborers.' She held that among all the
claims pressed upon the world by that
universal stir called woman's movement,
there is none more vital ard far reaching in
its consequences than this right of free COM
petition as workers. Changes in the con-
dtion compel women to earn outside of the
home. Yet women are debarred from en-
| ployments which rank among the most re-
munerative, even by legal restrictions, As in
most States from practicing law. Besides
these positive restrictions there are negative
ones which are even far mere reaching and
| destructive. such as exclusion from colleges,
wholly or partly supported by the State.
abor. The greatest gain of the world BY
the employment of women will be the de-
| velopment of the women themselves. Now
when they see boys stepping into all the po-
sitions they think they are incompetent to
discharge the duties. This has been held to
be the innate quality. but Development will
prove otherwise. Higher developement and
,, education will also release the hopes of the
phlanthropics in improving the future of
spring. She closed by saying that many OBJ
Jrctions of the men were not worth answer
ing.
Mrs. Foster, of Michigan, discussed the
paper, highly commenting the Clay girls.
and endorsing its sentiments. She thought
| all slavery was not abolished BY Lincoln's
proclamation. She thought women we're
the worst enemies of this movement.
DIR. Maria L. Zakezwska, of Boston, fol-
lowed. discussing the relations Of marriage.
She held that woman can be permitted to
work hard as they please and support their
families, if able, and thought efforts ought to
be directed toward fitting girls to do that
work for which they are best qualified.
Miss Eastman admitted women always
could obtain employment, but thought their
choice too restricted. She had travelled ex-
tensively over the country and visited many
workshops and had found but one place
where the same work paid the came price,
whether done by men or women, that was an