The evening times., 1895-08-24
CLUB MISSIONARIES.
More Helping Hands Working for the
Country Sister.

More Helping Hands Working for the
Country Sister.
A question that has been agitating of
late both general and State federations OF
women's clubs is how to more effectively
advance the cause of the woman whose
home is in the small country town or viii
lage.
The city-bred woman has at hand every
advantage, every opportunity for advance
nient and self help. All the new ideas and
contrivances for enlightening her mentally
or assisting her to more readily perform
her daily round of duties, whatever may
be the latter's character, quickly find their
way to all the commercial centers andspread
to the inhabitants.thereofb by means Of the
daily papers, libraries, clubs and other
mediums. Whereas in the out-ofthe-way
places, far from travel or daily inter
course to any extent with the outer world,
the members of the gentler sex must wait
for their new ideas and appliances until
the latter have passed through goodly
amount of time o space, or perhaps never
arrive at all
To remedy this state OF affairs the up
to-date members of the women's fedora
tiODS HdNt btth putting thNi2 titNti hNoes
together and trying to plan some way of
better equa;izing things generally in the
feminine world. They say that it is not
the place OF the federations as a whole to
do more than discuss the matter, because
not only are their officers occupied with
their immediate work, but they live far
away from such thinly populated districts
and do not know what is really needed.
sion the city clubs should be the motors;
and to adequately reach their country Sis
tiers, the members of these METROPOLITAN
organizations must, collectively and indi-
vidually lend themselves to the project
OF putting better opportunities in the
way of the woman who from choice or
necessity pass their lives in out-of-the-
way districts.
The most effective way of doing any
practical good is through the medium of
clubs or societies, where the greatest num-
ber of individuals can be reached with
least outlay OF time and effort.
So 1t has been suggested that as the es-
tablished city associations among the fair
sex are beginning 10 want some form of eth
ical work, q good opening is presented to go
and labor in forming clubs of all kinds In
distant suburban towns and villages, where
there is goodly supply of feminine ability
and desire, but lack of organization or un-
derstanding of just how to go aboutorgan-
izing. II is proposed that individual town
clubs undertake to form clubs similar in
character to their own in suburban places
within reach OF their members.
For instance, the president of literary
club will present the subject TO her col
leagues and ask for volunteers to found a
club devoted to the study of books. This
enterprise must necessarily be undertaken
by refined, genuine and enthusiastic wo-
men, willing TO put aside ease and go into
country districts to instruct and persuade
For women on farms and in villages some
times have narrow horizons, and might not
want a club unless they were persuaded
Very likely some of them would not realize
at once how great an advantage such
widening of their outlooks would in time
become TO them. This the city sister must
make clear. A great help in forming such
out-of-town clubs promises TO be the "tray-
cling library" which is already an accom-
plished fact in New York State, and prob
ably will soon be throughout the Union
The idea originated with the public IL
braries department of the State University
of New York, whereby taN-paying COM
munities without libraries, may, by con-
forming to certain rules borrow books for
a limited time from the State. Twenty
travelling libraries are now in circulation
in New York State, with 125 applications
within the first eighteen months, showing
how greatly the privilege is appreciated
by country citizens. Wherever the travelling
library goes the literary club can thrive,
and the possibility of getting at standard
and recent literature of all kinds will be
of the greatest assistance in founding and
sustaining clubs of various aims.
There is little doubt that the scheme of
the city women to aid and encourage her
out-oftown neighbor viii meet with i'm
mediate and efficient approval and practical
support The two classes will meet on COM
mon ground, and while aiding her neighbor
in one direction, the city woman will find
that she herself is being enlightened along
other lines and that the benefit will prove
mutual.