The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-10-25
WOMEN WHO GO TO CLUBS
ARE BECOMING INTERESTINGLY
NUMEROUS IN NEW YORK.
sorosis is Conservative But Radicals

"
Sorosis is Conservative But Radicals
are Plenty-Why Women Haven't
Club Houses-A Great Lecture Man
ager-Is Your Library Glass .f1ed?-
Rough on the Minister.
New YORK, Oct. 24.-Clubnbleness has
always been considered desirable virtue in
a man. What is to be said Of this char
acteristic in a womans
Everybody is not agreed as to whether a
woman has a right to be clubable. And
even those who might be disposed to admit
that woman had every personal trait I'M
piled by the designation. are not always
ready to admit that she should exercise
these qualities by actually belonging to a
club. Certainly good many men think a
wcman's clubableness need not be brought
into play beyond the circle OF the home.
where the head of the house will make use
of it as he may see fit.
But it Is characteristic Of the modern
woman that while people are worrying
about definitions and casting about in his
tory, sacred and profane. in search Of pre-
cedents for this, that and the other PROPOSE
ton concerning the gentler sex, the gentler
sex is going ahead to do about as it pleases.
The precision with which the modern
woman does not stay put" where the con-
sentative places her is always charming.
Just now the startling fact presented by
New York life is Just this: That the num-
Der of women who belong to clubs is equal,
if not more than equal, to the mum or of
men-this, of course, not including trade
unions.
What does this mean? 1t means that
women, while not using the ballot, are con-
corning themselves with every phase of
civil aud social llfe-yes, l know a club of
women that is up TO its ears In John Fisk's
Civil Government in the United States.
These clubs that we encounter at every
turn are no longer notifications of the
sewing circle of old. Embroidery is mot
in it." These women are studying, debat-
ing, petitioning, organizing. A good many
of them, alas are what Andrew Lang has
aptly described as societies for badgering
the poor. But the majority of them might
be credited by anybody but a cynio who
denied the fundamental propriety of any
sort of organization effected by women,
with being useful in more than prophetic
sense.
Sorosis is the most famous woman's
society in New York Socially it cuts
wide swath. 1t is picturesquely divided
into sets-into literary, musical, dramatic,
ch1rchly and aristocratic ciiques-bur the
sum Of dissension is phenomenally small.
In fact, Sorosis seldom has what you might
call genuine row. For one thing, it is ex-
tremely conservative. IL has avoided about
rs per cent. of the possibility of row by
banishing the subject of woman suffrage.
The exclusion of this vital topic seems anom-
alous under the oircu instances, and many
OF the members think it uniustitiable, but
probably experience has die lated this pro-
vision. And then. there are so many c ubs
of women in New York that discuss nothing
else.
If Sorosis is conservative there are suf-
1ciency of radical clubs. Some of these
radical clubs are so very radical that no
sane person that had their welfare at heart
would think OF divulging their topics and
conclusions. But their radicalism will be
the conservatism OF the next decade. The
world moves.
The wor king girls societies of New York
have developed an influential Official organ,
Far and Near. No interest of city life
from civil service reform and higher edu-
cation down to street cleaning escapes the
interested attention OF the organized
women. One of tie results of this multi
plicatioa of clubs is that every topic of
direct or indirect interest to women is soon
discussed throughout q wide representation
of the most thoughtful and energetic
women in the community.
women's clubrhouses. The club-houses do
not seem to be altogether feasible. The
Women's Press Club has quarters and other
societies have rooms and even houses of their
own. But there are difficulties in the path
Of out-and out club-houses.
asked a well-known woman why women
do not have club. houses. man fashion.
well. l can tell you" she said, without
hesitation. "When a man goes to his club
he is in an atmosphere that confers upon
him the highest degree Of personal liberty
consistent with human companionship. He
can DO things at his club that he does not do
in mixel company. things hat we cannot
fcasibly do at home. But no club-room can
confer similar privileges on a woman. What
could We do at club that we could not do
elsevher
What could we do alta club other than
what we habitually do. without losing our
reputation f r propriety3 We could not
drink wine there. We could not smoke.
We don't play billiards. don't take partlcu-
lar satisfaction in playing cards by our
selves and have no hankeriua for putting
our feet on the mantlepiece. You can see
at once that the rdisoB d'etre for a woman's
club house is very slender"