Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-05-26
WOMAN'S CLUB GROWTH.
EVOLUTION OF THE NEW ORDER
OF THINGS ANALYZED..

partments of the Club.
That significant product of our day, the
woman's club, has sprung so rece ltly into
notice that its character and origin are Of
ten misunderstood.
To begin with, the name itself vas mis-
leading, and the world at once Jumped to
the conclusion that it was modelled upon the
only club it knew-the mans club That it
was place of revels was a natural il ference
Even the mildest view was of a scene of Cos
sip and wrangling, the assumption of man
nish ways and indulgences. The most gen
erous critics looked upon it as a violent
departure from womanly ways and wom-
anly traditions, aggressive in its tenden-
cies and one more distasteful sign of the
restlessness of the times, while new spapers
delighted to ridicule and the world to laugh
over the supposed or imagined doings be-
hind the scenes. In truth, if persecution
of a sort particularly repugnant to women
could have killed it, it would havCobreathed
its last long ago.
Happily, the club has outlived this phase
of its existence, and the truth is coming to
be known that woman has simply seized
upon the club idea from a woman's point
of view, and developed it in purely wom-
anly manner.
Home is and ever will be the chosen king
dom of woman. She could not if she
would eradicate the instinct that makes
her the homemaker of the race The
housewife OF 100 years ago, absorbed in the
affairs of her small world, directing its
varied industries and administering its
laws, overseeing the spinning and weay-
ing, conducting the cutting and fashion
ing Of garments, putting down its years
provisions, from jars of jam to barrels of
beef-in fact, personally superinte nding
the processes of what are now a dozen dis
tinct trades-even this busy housel;eeper
was the true ancestor of her clubmaking
| daughter of today.
WOMAN'S POWER.
Beautiful and orderly homes all over our
land, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and
| from the snow caps of Alaska to the Gulf
| of Mexico, testify that woman has lost
neither her power nor her love for the
| making of homes, though her life is so diff
| ferent from her grandmother's
| ct how striking the contrast between
! the two. 1t would seem that nothing less
| than a moral earthquake could etfec5 the
! transformation in the lives of women. If
! some prophetic soul had gone to our grand
! mothers, absorbed body and brain in the
! details of housekeeping, and proposed the
! woman's club, what would have been their
ubITOI- IlcNs 4utettl, lltl IleN treat every
| poor soul who ventured to whisper that
! woman. too, is an individual-Mary Wolf
! stonecraft, for example.
1t Is instructive as well as interesting TO
note the gentle processes of nature in
! evolving from the devoted hOuSekeeper of
! past generation the club woman OF to-
! day; but while considering it, let us not
forget that although housekeeping may be
declining art, hCnIemaking is an advanc-
ing one
Observe how gradually the change spo ken
OF took place. First, the hOusekeeper was
| relieved of her spinning and weaving ma
chinery doing both much cheaper and bet
ter; cutting and making of clothes followed
! for the same reason; the preservation of
| food became separate branch of industry;
tin cans dethroned the preserving kettle;
factories emptied the cheese press; diaries
superseded the churn; every household
| process tended TO consolidation
| These changes brought leisure into the
| lives of women, and with leisure arose The
desire for improvement. Glasses and re ad-
| ing circles, as giving better results than
| solitary work, were the outcome-the very
| first move toward union on the part of
woman. Indeed, the class, though it came
| so modestly and met no opposition, was a
more significant step than the club. 1t
! opened to woman the doors of college and
| university, and its best lesson was the
| ''sisterhOOd OF woman"
HOME IDEA IN THE CLUB
| Close upon the heels of the class came
naturally to the plying heart of woman
unions for charitable work Gradually, as
| interest grew and powers developed by
use, very large share of administering 20
| the worlds distresses fell into her hands,
| and by experience in this work she learned
| her second important lesson-the power Of
| combined effort, the strength in union.
Now she was ready for the club, the in
| evltable next step in her evolution and the
! progress Of civilization. Yet although, as
! has been shown, it was really the end of
series of revolutionary movements, it was
the first conspicuous departure from the
secluded home life of her grandmother,
and the world met il accordingly with or-
| position and ridicule.
Holding with all her soul to the home
| idea, woman formed her club, trembling
with doubts and fears, perhaps for SCOTS
| of husband and brother are hard to bearl
but inspired by the unconquerable convic-
! tion that she, too, was an individual, and
upheld by Il power that was stronger
| than she-the irresistible spirit of the age
! Nothing l. easier than to see the home
| roots from which the club has grown; the
several interests of the association proclaim
! them aloud. The home is first in woman's
| heart; in her club she has her home com
| mittee where in a symposium of home
makers thoughts are exchanged and meth
| DDS discussed to the benefit of all
The education Of her children is a moth
er's most serious care; the club accordingly
has an education committee, where moth
| er and teacher together evolve the best
| course of action. Books, music and art
belong to all intelligent homes; each has
| its committee and its special days for
study. From the days of almsgiving at
| the door to the modern institution, woman
has been moved to relieve the necessities
of others; in her philanthropic committee
| she is educated into wiser methods, and
| introduced to the thought of the foremost
men OF our time. The most conventional
will not deny to woman the duty of at
| tending to the "loaves and fishes" of the