The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-03-01

by itself In ccf history. Unlike many of ITS
kin East aid WfS' shs / w. G is not an
aesthetic by profession or by practice Min
riotous living and luxurious bslongin gs il
also eschews all merely orr amental or deco.
rative themes. holding itself rigldly TO both
sides o. that lofty model--''low living and
high thinking"
Unlike most Women's Clubs OF the graver
sort the /. w. G. is not a University for the
pursual OF post graduate study, or for 'hs
exchange of the re6t cEions of maturity
upon miscellaneous themes; II Is rather a
supplementary Academy and az such can
compete with the best In the laud, notably
in point of industry and discipline.
The /. w. G. is not Ike some OF its older
and Younger sisters, revolutionary. Every
now and then all Boston is stirred to It's GEN.
ter by the announcement that the New Eng
land Woman's Club has resolved to run one
of its members for q place on the School
Committee; the Board of Health in New
York is said TO fear nothing bat Sorosis, bat
rs officers are On the alert whenever IL is
advertised thata committee from Sorosis has
been appointed 10 investigate the sanitary
condition of TIE crowded districts. In none
of these ways does orr 1. w. y. excite the
suspicion Of cur city council or incur
the luminosity OF local politicians.
Rule out society, sociality, hospitality and
atstheticism and with them is ruled out ex-
tIavagance; rule out from society that med
oleEome spirit which drives it's possessor
into philanthr0plc and into social and polit-
ical reforms, and with il are expelled host
OF dangers. Though With what We have
ruled out by these negative propositions our
club may seem 10 have missed some appsr-
ent graces and some transitory virtues, it
need not regret their exclusions, for what
We are not is the indispensable condition. 10
greater than what We are not.
Towhat affirmative do all our negatives
then lead?
First, our club is prominently respectable.
a clear tit to this claim may be found in
its apparent endorsement OF the sentiments
of that ancient and highly reputable author
ity who declared: .'Sne Is the best wo-
man OF whom least is known" Thus il
happens that OF the women in our city distin-
guished for high public service, of the wo-
men in our city whose names stand on
the title pages of creditable volumes OF verse
and prose, or are found on the editorial staff
or in the contributors corps of leading maya
zines. very few are found within our club
membership The validity OF our title 10 this
distinction may be farther proved by the ar
guments which, on the lips of Thackerays
Country Gentleman were so ire sible; it
will be remembered that as final proof that
his claim to respectability Is beyond ques
ton ne ayers that no one can accuse him of
ever having feasted vagabond Lord. shell
tered dissenter, approved q Reform Bill or
written sonnet. The |. w. Z. Is equally
removed from the possibility of these invid-
ious accusations.
To Iespectability the ]. w. c. adds balance.
The Solar system is not a better
example OF centrifugal and centripetal forces
il nice equipoise. In our midst are women
whe reach ever toward the future; who
would anticipate its revelations and precipi-
tate its blessings; oyer against there are they
whose arms eneifce with tenderness the
past, whose affectionate veneration would
resurrecL the PROSTATE, exhume tbs buried,
vi'alizs the extinct BY the exsrtion of the
powers of both the 1. w. c., is kept Just
br' asst CT the best present.
The current programme OF the /. w. O..
weli illustrates this nice balance and shows
how the progressive and the retrogressiye IN
our ranks are made in turn {. q, both roles
Ia the programme proper you shall
t End each hr,,s- subject o1 followed ,.n Oy
Here the Mrs Johns, Mrs. Williams and
Mrs. Georges who shrink from the grossly
masculine fashion of exposing their own
feminine signatures, boldly figure as Marys,
Elias and Hannahs. Between the same
covers. however, that hold this startling
array OF women's names. advance TO the
member list and you shall End that all, even
those who think that Mary, Eliza and Han
nah are sweet and true womanly appella.
tions, and who feel the wearing of mems
names and titles to be lntolerably masculine
and crushing proof of social tyranny, you
shall find them labeled Theodore, Charles
and Gilbert.
The l. w. c. adds to balance obedience.
II is Law abiding, and 1 believe that ths ga.
credness aid invioia5ility of no
instrument or organic law known
TO historic nations has ever
been guarded with greater fiislity, re-
Used with greater caution, expoundsd with
more logical clearness, defended with more
moral earnestness, barr,caded with more in
genious safeguards OF prOviso ana bylaw, or
In case of fir al nee d evaded with more di plo-
matte tact, and detied with more cons ,ien-
ll0us and scrupuOus adherence to form than
has the constitution of 1. w. @.
To obedience we add courage. The I. w.
G. without misgiying wrestles with problems
OF government and duty which statesmen
and Bishops, dying left unsolved; it hest
tates not to grapple With the most serious
topics If only they belong to dead time; it
Affects to revive. to discuss, and to adjust ma
tioDal onarrels, whose causes are intsn
gible, the parties to which with
their contemporary allies have been das
for ages; without tremor il sits in iudg
ment upon Kings. reversing with confidence
or CONFIRMING with complacency the verdict
OF historian and biograpner; nor is this ths
limit nor this the severest test OF its courage
The /. w. T., is q company OF hsroines Win
3 spirit before which the Wanted vaior Of
the Amazon at the head OF her troops, tn:
Empress at the head of her army pales it
shrinking cowardice; for after all, Empress
and Amazon faced only dsmigod5 and men
the members Of |. ". c., face each other, ant
to-day do this with q degree of saugfr0id
which decade since would have been a
once the envy and the despair of every
charter member.
To cou age We add industry; no servics
| can De exscte d for the Clubs sake hich il
not willingly rendered; more than ones t.
| elucidate the subjects assigned in our pro
| grammes have the libraries of distant cite:
been laid under tribute; and we have amons
rs women to whom Lord Bacons feat o
serving on twenty-eight committees at ons
time, would seem mere child's play
1t Ia sometimes uttered IS complaint tina
| the members Of /. w. G. are SO miscsllane
| Gus: that they do not mees elsewhere; tina
| they have been brought hitler from so many
| different groups, in our scattered city. Thi
simply ILLUSTRATES that as Club members ",
have outgrown neighborhood preferences
| hsye moved beyond sectarian affiliations
have freed ourselves from that petty ant
| contemplate geographic aristocrscy
| which 50 frequently divides q city into sat.
| and cliques; it proves that as club member
our judgment is stronger than the whims @