The record-union., 1891-04-26
CLEVER WOMEN OF AMERICA.
Miss Mary F. Seymour, Editor,
Teacher and Manager.
Miss Grace II. Dodge and Her working
Girls-Miss Plummer-The Brainy
Qutntet-Miss Jane Meade welch-
Mrs. Annie Besant.
Especial Correspondence of SUNDAY ITSrocS
Copyright. 1911

Especial Correspondence of SUNDAY UNION.
| Copyright, 1S91.l
New York, April 2l, 1891.
If Miss Mary +. Seymour was man I
should call her "hustler," but as she is
a woman of the womanly type, / can
simply express my admiration by calling
her phenomenon, wonder. What
does she do? You ought rather to ask:
What doesn't she do?
In her Office in the Potter building she
employs from eight to twelve typewriters
and stenographers regularly, and again
as many outside occasionally. AS her
young ladies are all experts, she is not
obliged to do much overseeing. The
general supervision of the Office is in
charge of Miss Seymour's Secretary, for
the reason that Miss Seymour's time is
devoted to editorial work for the Business
Woma1e'S Journal and to the Union
School of Typewriting and Stenography
in the Stewart building. Where is there
a man who could successfully edit q
| periodical like the Business WOmdT'S
Journal. run a business college and type
writing business, and live? If a man
undertook to run three enterprises like
this-well, he just couldn't do it. No
man living would attempt to do it.
| w III bOSIuGSS dDlllIy, MISS OSy
comprises journalistic accumen and a
wonderful faculty for organizing and
| managing big schemes. When such
women as Susan B. Anthony, May
! Wright-Sewan and Frances Willard Sc
| lect woman to do a certain thing, it is
pretty safe to wager that that woman will
do that certain thing well. Miss Sey-
mour was the general press agent at the
recent council of women which met in
Washington, and she also performed the
same duties for the suffrage convention
which Immediately followed at the close
| of the council.
To her work Miss Seymour brings lots
Of enthusiasm and thoroughness. Then,
again, she is a woman of resources, if
| ever there was one. She has the knack
| of saying and doing things at the right
time. She Is fine conYersationalist, a
good public speaker, and as a tactician
| she could not be eXcelled.
Miss Seymour was born in Illinois.
Her first money was earned as a court
reporter. 1t is said that she is as well
| posted on law forms as q lawyer. The lady
is a Commissioner of the United States
Court of Claims and Commissioner of
| Deeds for New Jersey.
She is staunch advocate of woman
suffrage. but she was never known to
| wax wrothy because 1--WE poor women
have so few rights" She believes that
suffrage will be granted women by de-
grees, first on the school question, and
then each State will settle the question for
itself. In the home, Miss Seymour is the
best daughter and sister in the world.
Here again she illustrates that woman
can win great name for herself and yet
maintain that domestic charm and seren-
ity which are her highest attributes.
MISS GRACE H. DODGE AND HER WORK
| ING GIRLS.
If a gentleman OF the ''old schooP'
| could have seen the great concOurSe of
working girls who assembled in the big
hall of the Cooper Union on the evening
Of April 18th, / wonder what he would
have said.
| By gentleman of the ''old school," I
mean man who still insists that
woman's place is 'home," notwithstand-
ing the fact that in these three cities
! Brooklyn, New York and Jersey City
| there are more than fifty thousand women
! who must work, starve or commit moral
suicide.
Now, the two thousand girls who met
in Cooper Union to celebrate the seventh
anniversary of the formation of the
Working Girls Clubs do not need any Of
Ethe ''old SCHOOL, gentieman's commisera-
ton, and certainly none of his advice. In
the language to the comic poet, they
looked like girls thoroughly able to pad
die their own canoe" happy-faced in
dependent American girls. AT this sea-
son of the year, when every mothers
| daughter is sure to have flower or bud
on her bonnet an assemblage of women
is always a beautiful sight, and this
meeting was remarkably picturesque
| and spring-like.
! Miss Dodge, who was naturally the
| central figure of the affair, came in for
round after round of applause from the
| audience. These girls are wonderfully
| cordial and enthusiastic. Whatever may
| be said for and against the rich women
| who take a prominent part in this work
! ing girl movement, there can be nothing
! but the highest commendation for Miss
Dodge. AS the daughter of a rich man,
| she occupies position unique-an ideal
! positlon-ln the movement. Her dress,
her every gesture, walk and speech are
! all in perfect accord with the work
With her 1t is not a fad or a whim, as in
| the case of many other women. There is
none of that condescending, don't-come-
too-close air in her attitude toward the
working girls, and the GIRLS are just
sharp enough to see this. If the rich soci-
| ETY. woman who enters into charitable
and reform work from no higher sense of
| duty than that of conventionality could
| hear what some of the girls say about her,
| her hair would stand ION an end'' like
| the quilts on the traditional porcupine.
| The average American working girl is no
| fool and no object of charity. All she
wants is chance; give her this and she
will outdistance the average American
boy every time.
OTHER CLEVER WOMEN
Miss Alice Plummer, the daughter of
! John L. Plummer, is remarkably pret-
| ty, accomplished and sensible young
| lady. While not a pronounced brunette,
her hair and eyes are dark, her complex
ion exquisitely fair and her carriage
| ariStocratic.
AS the Plummers expect to spend the
next six months III Tacoma, where Mr..
| Plummer is to manage a big scheme for
Eastern capitalists, Miss Plummer, no
doubt, will be warmly welcomed by the
| young people of Washington.
There are five brilliant literary women
who make their home in Brooklyn, and
they are Kate Upson Clark, Olive Thorne
Miller, Mrs. G. Y. Terhune marion Har-
land), Laura G. Holloway -Langford and
Margaret Sangster. There are MANY
other brilliant women in this city of
| churches, but these five may be termed
the ''brainy quintet" A great manv
| "clever" women in these two cities have
| had ''la grippe.n Marion Harland was
very i'll, SO was Mrs. Frank Leslie and
Mrs. Harriet Hubbard Aver. Miss Jane
Meade Welch, Mrs. Grover Cleyeland's
protege, has been in this vicinity nearly
| all winter, lecturing on Hamilton, and
! other American statesmen. Wherever
| Miss WEIGH goes, she is sure to tell her
| hearers to try and be good Americans
| above all things. Miss Welch is slen-
! der young woman with an intellectual
| face and sweet, well-modulated voice.
| Mrs. Annie Besants lectures have been
| Well-attended. 1t is always pleasure to
| nsten 10 Well-lntormed English women,
/ Ior tnef voices are SO agreeable. 1t IS
painful TO sit and hear the voices of many
/ - I hi