St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-10-05
Even the Scoffers Have
Ceased Their Prattle
About Them.
Club Life Slowly but Surely
Polishing OFF the Rough
Edges.
An Enemy Of Gossip--How to
Organize a Good Wom-
ans Club.

The club idea which has so spread the
the country since the formation OF the
two pioneer clubs, the Sorosis in New
York and the New England Woman's
club in Boston, has begun to receive
the approval and support of quoudam
scotfers, and there are few women in
America who do not belong to some or
ganization which confessedly or uncon-
essedly embodies club principles.
For the few who have not come I'M
der the spell of union and cooperation.
as for the many who have, Mrs. Olive
Thorne Miller'S little book, "The Wom-
ans Club" will be found helpful and
suggestive.
Herself a member of Sorosis. Mrs.
Miller has made thorough study. not
only of the causes which found their eff
feet in the organized association of
women, but of the history and methods
of individual clubs as we'll.
Pointing out how naturally and easily
the club woman has developed from the
hOuSekeeper, preserving inViolate the
hOmemaking instincts that are her heri-
tage, Mrs. Miller reviews briefly the
uses of the Woman's club.
She says that club life is broadening.
Its first blow is at the petty prejudices
which the old manner of living apart
from her sisters has fostered in woman
A club takes off the sharp edges. Wom-
ell, III their comparatively solitary lives
solitary as regards each other, | mean
where each one has been a mistress of
her own kingdom, evolving and admin
istering her own laws, have naturally
grown in individual ways, all angles
and sharp corners. The club is the
power that quietly but surely polisheS
off the rough edges and tones down the
corners.
The club. again, is cure for "brood-
ing and magnifying the annoyanceS
that every child of Adam, son as well as
daughter, must suffer, for it places ones
private and particular trial IN it's proper
relation to the woes of the world, and
shames one into admitting its insig-
nificance.
Nor is that its only or its most impor-
tant cure. By giving her something bet
ter to think and to talk of it takes away
her enjoyment of gossip, and by expos
ure of It's crueltieS and meanneSS it de-
stroys her relish for scandal. The club
is enlightening in many ways. 1t is
comforting.
There is the pleasure-how great no
one knows until she has tried it-of in
innate association with other women:
the happiness of warm friendships; the
JOY of sympathy in sorrow or trouble
the help of good counsel from those
who also have suffered. 1t is refresh
ment, change of the mental atmo-
sphere quite as beneficial as a change
of air in the natural world. It trains a
woman in sef-reliance and courage:
teaches her that she is something more
than a mans shadow In life and his
rellct at death: makes her true help
meet and companion, not a mere echo
or helpless burden.
one of the best excuses for being that
the WOman'S club has is to be found i'm
its cultivation of love and sympathy
with other women all over the world.
Mrs. Miller ventures to say that every
trIIe elub-woman in America felt a thrill
of deeper interest and an unwonted
nearneSS to her sisters of India when
she learned of the formation in Bombay
of the first Woman'S club of the East.
From many methods of the various
clubs Mrs. Miller has chosen the best
and broadcast as fngerposts for the
women who desire to keep their clubs
abreast of the times or to form clubs
that shall do effective work. SOrosiS. the
cago Fortnightly, the Chicago Woman's
club. the Saturday"club, of Columbus,
O.; the indianapolis Woman's club, the
= Friends i'll Council" of Quincy, ILL.,, the
Working Girls clubs, the BROOKLYN
Woman's club, are only few of the or
CARNATIONS she discusses in a bright
and breezy fashion. Some of these are
'seed-Sowing" clubs, some couture
clubs" some performing Clubs" some
clubs for study pure and simple. but all
are full of interest in that they show
what women are accomplishing for
themselves and for each other under
the inspiration of the "club idea"
Perhaps the most practically helpful
characters in Mrs. MiIler's book are
those that give directions for starting
clubs and suggestions for their manage
ment.
On the subject of formation Mrs. Mil
Ter says:
Nothing is easier than to start club
nowadays, when women are eager for
intellectual stimulus and association.
To found it wisely, however. requires
thought, for it soon gets beyond the
control of its founder. and it is much
better to think the plant out thoroughly
before opening the subject to others,
who have it not SO deeply at heart.
The course / recommend is this:
First, decide what is wanted; whether a
broad general club, one for special
study, to help others, or for intellectual
culture. Then consult one, possibly
two (but no more), thoughtful women;
together fix upon plan of work and a
constitution, even name if possible
Study the subject carefully, and decide
exactly how it shall be conducted in
every particular, and commit the whole
plan to writing.
'Then-and not till then-invite a
few friends, perhaps a dozen, to your
parlor. State your plans fully, without
reading the constitution, and ask them,
if they approve, to help organize the
new club. Those who agree to do so
will then nominate a chairman and pro-
ceed TO begin work. If any decline,
they can do no less than leave
AT this meeting constitution may
be adopted and officers elected. Club
work being usually unfamiliar to ladies,
they will readily adopt the constitution
prepared, and naturally elect the found
er president. Understand me: | do
not advise what is called 'one woman
power, but it IS right that
the one who plans and starts
club, having studied and
worked it out, should decide what she
prefers, and begin on those lines. Be
fore the members have worked long
enough to have definite ideas of club
management they will have tried her
plan, and in general they will be salts
fed. But if they are not. they will at
least know what they do want, and
then will be time to alter or amend.
"a club of this sort should have a
president, wee president (to take her
place il absence), secretary lone is
enough in small club and treasurer
Sometimes one'person can do the work
of both secretary and treasurer. 1t is
very desirable to begin careful record
of meetings and of business done from
the very first"
In the matter of management Mrs.
Miller wisely insists upon conducting
meetings in strict accordance with the
formal method or by parliamentary
rules. She advocates strict obedience
TO rules, business-like way of doing
business the middle course in the mat
ter Of rotation in Office, the frequent