The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-03-19

away. But they had woman's Weapon
the tongue. They talked. They talked at
the Sunday evening receptions of the Cary
sisters. They talked to Kate Field, then
on the Tribune, they talk d to Mrs Vim
'cenza Botta. They talked about blue
Stocking Club" "N oman's League" q
Columbia Club" and the "Spuinx,"
which. was Alice Cary's suggestion. Ten Of
them organized Sorosis Alice Cary was
the president, Mrs. Croly the vice president,
and Kate Field the secretary. Ella Clymer
Dietz and Nine. Demores5, one now preSl-
dent, The 9th r an active member, belonged
to the original ten. Kate Field did not like
the name and left when she could not change
it. Nine. Demorest stood by the SISTER
hood and christened it with a basket of
white carnations and upon this "Sorosisn in
letters of vlolets.
The Press Club gave a "hreakfast," in
vitei Sorosis aud let it sit still and eat and
be talked to. Then Sorosis gave a "tea" TO
the Press Club and let it sit still and eat ard
be talked to. Not man was allowed to
open his mouth, even in response to the
toast 1.-THE gentlemen" Theh the Press Club
and Sorosis gave "dinner" together, shar-
ing the eating and talking. This was the
first public dinner ever given at which
women sat down on equal terms with
men, paying their own bills and dividing
the honors of the exercises. Alice Cary
wrote poem about it, four lines of which
ran:
Let lightning harnessed to the cable.
Trample old ocean into spray
With news that women sit at table
Above the salt to day.
In less than one month came the New
England Woman's Club in Boston. In
less than two years the Brooklyn Wo mans
Club became number three. The club
idea, in spite of the ridicule that was heaped
k@l. 10 oil
fornia.
The Association for the Advancement of
Women, which has held an annual Con
gressn since 1878, assembled in answer to
call from Sorosis The social life of the
club has been restricted by the fact that
unlike some of the young progressive west
ern womenS clubs, it has no clubhouse,
meeting in parlors at Delmonico's, but de-
spite this fact one of its special functions
has been the social recognition of good work
done by women as some Offset to the social
marks of distiction bestowed by men on
men. 1t has offered receptions to almost
every famous woman who has visited New
York in ten years Alice Cary, Mrs. Will
bour, Jennie June and Mrs. M. Louise
Thomas have been its Presidents, and its
membership comprises all sorts, mostly good
sorts, and conditions of women. A partial
list of its new set of officers to be installed
Monday includes, besides the poetess Ella
Dietz Clymer, as president, Jennie June as
first vice president; Olive Thorne Miller,
the bird lover and nature writer, as mem
Der of the executive committee; Mary E.
Bryan, the southern novelist and editor of
MEnroes publication, as chairman of the
literature committee; Mrs. Ravenhill, Kath-
ryn Kidder's grandmother. as chairman
of the committee on the drama; Anna Ran
dali Diehl. on education; Marion Harland,
on house and home; Mrs. Ella A. Hitchcock,
ON business women.
If anybody should ask what is the use of
Sorosis, what has it ever accomplished, the
answer is it has established freemasonry
among women, with chances for discussion
of subjects which promise to influence their
future and the welfare Of society. When
the club was founded there were no women's
exchanges, no industrial unions, no work
ingwomen's clubs, no church or missionary
societies differed and carried on solely by
women, no purely woman's societies at all.
Now there are 100 organized and incor
pora ed wome IS clubs, and the projected
federation of these may form the basis of q
united woman hood, which shall make the
history Of the woman's club the record of
what is being done for and by women.
ELIZA PUTNAM HEATON