The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-05-03
ROOM FOR CRITICISM.
A Topeka Lady at the Social Sci
ence Federation.
IT'S NOT UP TO THE STANDARD
| OF the Old Social science CIub-TOO
Many Papers on UnimpOrtant sub

Many Papers ON UnimpOrtnnt sub
Jects.
8. Topeka lady who attended the meet
ing of the Social Science federation al
Kansas City yesterday, contributes the
following:
Several fair Social Scientists are much
disturbed because they discovered thai
their secretary, who is zone of the sweet
est women, you know as was told the
reporter, had somehow fai lied to obtain
railroad rates for the meeting of the So
cial Science federation at Kansas City.
One strong minded woman openly re-
| viled the 'progrum," Chats what they
| called it, said il might have had little
| less semi-original poetry and more in
formation as to accommodations. But
| then she was a woman who expected to
vote this fall, and was no doubt aggra-
waited by the naughty men who were
buying their wives tickets.
1t seemed almost too bad that the men
| should have obtained one fare round
! trip to all their meetings and conven-
tons while the poor downtrodden women
had to pay full fare both ways and en-
dure In addition the sly wlnkS and grins
of the lordiy males they muttered to
one another 'just like women"
! There was more disappointment when
the Federation was finally reached. 1t
was said of Franklin Pierce as governor
! of Vermont, that he was excellent;
spread out as president OF the United
States he was rather thin and the YER
dict of the Strong-mInded woman was
that while the Social Science Club was
unique, interesting and delightful the
Social Science Federation had diluted it
to state OF such tenuity that its chief
characteristics were a great deal too
shadOwy for genuine pleasure.
The president who is unanimously
pronounced just too sweet for anything
and who certainly is like an eastern
women's club president in that she leaves
the fabled bees of Hybla honeyless-
had her sweetness pretty severely tested
by a woman from Kansas City who per-
sisted in asking admittance into the
Federation for the suffrage clubs.
Now the social scientists have resolved
steadfastly for years that no argument on
female suffrage has should ever
disturb the even tenor of their investi-
cations into social science-sO when this
bold woman like a naughty child
crying bool at her staid and dignified
elders in an unguarded moment, kept
insisting that female suffrage was phil
anthropic question, charitable question,
an educational question:, etc, there was
quite little huttering and trem bling of
ribbons on spring bonnets, and an agita-
ton that extended even to the scolding
locks of all the women present before
she finally silenced and the president
with "Now it's really too bad" express
sion appealed to the house who sus-
tanned her by 30 to IA vote out of a
possible 75O and declared that suffrage
clubs could not possibly be allowed to
federate.
Then the question of how many
votes an individual member of the feder-
alton should have, should she also hap
pen to be a delegate from federated
club, caused another wave of excite
ment, mainly because women in the
background could not hear what was GO
ing on in front, and vigorously cried out,
Louder" and Turn around this way"
to which the speakers responded with a
lofty contempt and cutting sarcasm that
would have done honor to a member of
congress.
It was finally settled by allowing her
only one vote; whether individual or rep
resentative, she should decide for herself.
BY this time the more impatient ones
were beginning to sigh for change of
programme, but glimpse at the order
of business showed that they were in for
five papers on clubs and club federation.
Some fed, some summoned the patient
endurance characteristic of women to
their aid and determined to sit it out
Mrs. Scammon reread the able pa
per delivered in Topeka a week |
ago, which received rising |
vote of thanks. This rising |
vote of thanks was occasionally repeated /
readers of those papers who did not re-
ceive this ovation TO imagine that their
efforts were not appreciated.
Mrs. Charlotte Emerson Brown, being |
evidently a wise woman, sent a brief /
communication on the advantages of |
federation. Miss Winans' paper was de-
ferred, and thus the programme began
to give symptoms of being reduced to the
limit of mortal endurance, but a sedate
and dignified motion to adjourn received
no second, and it was not until a deter
mined woman rose and said: at is after
twelve o'clock and we are hungry, and L
think we had better quit" that the
house dismissed itself for the noon re-
cess.
Refreshed with luncheon, the paper
on Kansas Mosses was listened to with
sleepy and serene attention, and one
bright eyed little lady kept enough
awake to express her satisfaction at
finding that certain moss was called
spnsmodium hydriatrum. The opinion
was impaired in a soulful undertone to a
neighbour Then followed what some de-
clared to be the ablest paper of the day, |
on Tenny5on. 1t was nearly an hour
long, and SO thoroughly exhausted the /
subject and the hearers, that discussion /
was impossible. A somewhat briefer |
memorial of Mrs. Allerton, was followed
by IA paper on The Modern Short
Story, by Miss Barlow of Fit. Scott,
which declared that the modern short
story was dangerously materialistic in its
tendency; compared lola and Ruskin
much to the delight of two scoffers in
the background, who confided to each
other that the only ground on which lola
and Ruskin could meet was that they !
neither one wrote short stories.
The paper concluded with an eXhOrta-
ton to read LongfelIow, Whittier, Low