The herald., 1894-10-11

I sity OF sociability in the church, So there
is nothing so inspiring to man or
woman as a friendly shake OF the hand.
As an illustration ehe cited the incident
of Christ and the leper.
| Professor Dickinson spoke OF the folly
| and waste of energy, the draining
of spiritual power In giving picnics,
oyster-soup suppers, cake. bakings; ask
ing il it would not be better to direct
such energy to the homo and the spirit
ual work in the church, and if it were
an illustration of political economy to
spend rs cents on soup and cake, in
order to turn Is cents into the treasury.
He warned women not to make a mis-.
take in the sudden burst of the light of
their liberty, by undertaking the bur-
dens meant for men whose shoulders
had been made broader than theirs for
some good purpose.
Rev. Mr.. Pierce OF Pomona closed the
discussion by saying one of the great
difficulties now is that there are so many
churches. Some of them have to open
billiard halls to get money to pay their
debts. TIE reason women give work
and cake is because that is all they have
to give. Ii every man, woman and
child would subscribe a definite sum,
even though it be 10 cents year, and
give it, there would be less debt, less
need for bazaars and oyster.soup sociale.
With few we'll chosen and deserv-
edly complimentary words Mrs. Ste-
phens introduced the next speaker of
the morning, Miss Tesss L. Keso, whose
clever paper, pathetic and humorous by
turns, all true. and treating of her life
work, delighted her audience, whose
undagging interest she held from the
fret word.
every request for a book of real
value, every request for culture books
comes from women. Men use specialized
books, and read magazines and novels.
Most men consider the studiee OF their
wives as q joke-a fad. Every intelli-
gent foreigner visiting America speaks
of the fact that American women are so
much moro cultivated than the men.
This monopoly of culture may be
gratifying thing TO women, but it affords
room for serious thought. The women
have acquired or developed those at
tributes to go to make up civilization,
and tho men have all the responsibility
and opportunity for action left to them.
Domestic women have no more leisure
than men and yet they find timo to
read the best books. Women should
put an end to being considered faddists,
and insist upon including husbands,
sons and brothers in their reading,
etudies and discussions.
There is steadily increasing use of
books on political economy and social
science, by women. In Los Anee,ee
there are several hundred women who
have studied and read along these lines
fnr &.
such efforts should accomplish so little.
1t is not necessary when the ballot, in
order to use the knowledge so acquired
without library, it is out of the ques-
tion to develop study and culture;
among an adult population it is the sole
means for such development on an sx-
tensiye scale.
Reading and etudy along such lines as
political economy, history and social
science should result in soma definite
action and application, such as q body
of earnest, thoughtful. well-equipped
citizens to make careful study OF the
municipal administration in the school
department, in the jails, parks and
streets. It is all the better that
these citizens be women, and
a joint recommendation coming from
a group OF euch women would have
great weight. DIR. Parkhurst has issued
cali to the women to come to his aid.
now that the more difficult part of his
work is approaching.
Another great field OF library useful
mess, o field in which it stands alone in
it's ACHIEVEMENTS, is with those who come
to US after the gas is lighted, on Sun
days and on Christmas day, when we
have to DO with homeless men and boys,
young mechanics who have been in
shops all day long. cash boys who have
been kept for ten hours on the Jump.
in fact. that rs per cent which had to
leave school at y years OF age to 20 to
work, to whom the local high school is
as remote as Harvard college in the
range OF possibilities, but who mean to
get on and who come to the library
to fairly dig out their future,
py pouring over abstruae books
on chemistry. mathematics and other
studies that the average boy with time,
aid, encouragement and training quails
before. Come to the library few even
ings, look over the shoulders of those
earnest students in the reference room,
see what they are doing night after
nient' dhen 20 into the reading rooms,
oo, 40, lOO men and boys in the company
and under the influence of hooks.
megazines, light. quiet, warmth, human
society. Your boys don't need it, but
your boys are the few among many. 1
claim for mine that boy that the home.
the church. the Y. M. G. A., the uni
versity settlement cannot touch. have
the only thing that tends to give him a
notion for better things, and that is the
library. Ill admit that my greatest rival.
the theater, gets him every time he has
cent, but he is ct his worst when he
hasn't that cent-and then he's mine.
The library must have suitable quarters.
we'll furnished, attractive rooms and a |
spirit OF home. Can any intelligent
citizen be in doubt whether he would
rather pay taxes for iaila, reformatories
sad penitentiaries, than pay taxes for |
library? The largest share of taxes
must go for safeguards against class
that comes from that army of rs per
cent, where all the elaborate and expen-
slve school machinery is unavailing
after II years of age. and to whom the !
only hope OF education 10 in the library. |
The tremendous influence that can
be exerted by means OF the H. |
brary Is just beginning to be felt.
and its possibilities are barely /
realized. Very few OF the libraries'
patrons trouble themselves about the |
mission or work OF the library outside of
its furnishing the immediate book want
ed. The possibilities are worth investi-
eating.
1t was 80 near noon at the conclusion