Evening star., 1895-05-28
WORK OF CIVIC CENTER
Committee Reports Made at the Final
Spring Meeting.
The President Tells of the Advances
Made Recently-The School and
Charity Work.

The third meeting of the recently organ
called to order last evening in the Fourth
Presbyterian Church by the chairman.
John NJ. Gregory, with the recording sec
retary, Mr.. John T. Doyle, officiating in
that office.
The meeting of the Civic Center was pre-
ceded by a meeting of the Center Council.
consisting of the chairmen of the several
civic committees and five councillors After
the recording of the minutes of the pre-
vious meeting, DIR. Robert Reyburn was
chosen chairman of the first committee on
public health. in place of DR.. George NJ.
Sternberg, who found 1t necessary to de-
cline the appointment. On motion, the fol-
lowing new members were elected: Mrs.
Ellen Spencer Mussey, additional member
of the committee on manual, industrial and
technical education: Mrs. H. f. Blount,
committee on art and home life; DR..
Maurice Miller. to be assigned to a COM
mittee later, and Dr. ]. o. Adams, COM
mittee on suppression of cruelty. Rev. d.
w. Skellenger declined the chairmanship
of the committee housing the people.
and G. Wallace w. Hanger was selected to
fill the vacancy.
The treasurer, Miss Katharine P. Hos
mer. made report. after which Frederick
l.. Sddons was elected a delegate of the
center 10 the coming convention IN tleVe-
land. Ohio. of the National Municipal
League, and then an amendment to the
constitution was offered by b. Pickmann
Mann, and adopted later. This closed the
man Gregory opened the session of the
Civic Center with an interesting address,
in which he said:
Presidents Address.
1--WE have organized fourteen of the
twenty committees, more or less perfectly
with an aggregate membership of over
seventy-fve workers.
ITO fill these committees to the maxi
mum number of nine members each we
must have 1sO members. When we con-
slider the work these committees are desig-
mated to do, we shall agree that every one
of them ought to be filled up to the full
complement with the best men and women
the city can furnish.
Our motto should be the betterment of
the city Of Washington. 1t is ours to study
the whole problem of public good, for all
sorts. conditions and classes of our citizen
ship.
Hundreds Of benefcent societies. not to
enumerate the hundreds of Christian
churches. are. each in it's chosen sphere
and place. fighting evil and promoting
good; it Is ours to survey the field, collect
needful information. help plan the cam
paign, replenish the ammunition and bring
up the reinforcementS."
on Leg1sint1On.
Reports from the chairmen of commit
mittees were next called for. the first to
respond being Chairman Edwin Willitts of
the committee on legislation and police.
After explaining that his committee had
as yet accomplished nothing, Mr. Willltts
went on to say that in his opinion Wash
ingto7 is a well-governed and compare
tive'J pure city, and Is not in need of a
burning reform, but, he added, the city Is
q friends n ha
Civic Center should take steps to better the
condition Of things. Mr.. Willitts took oc-
caston to express amazement at what he
termed the incoherence and patchwork of
the laws governing the District of Column
bia. 1t Is manifest, he said, that his COM
mittee should not charge itself with a rem
ovation Of the laws. as the committee re-
Gently appointed by the board of trade. so
Mr.. Willitts stated, Is better qualified 10
codify the laws than is the committee on
legislation and police of the Civic Center;
but, 1t was urged, the latter should fall
into line and assist. Mr.. Willitts gave sew
deficiencies in the laws, and closed his re-
marks by saying that to properly codfy
the same a committee of COOL level-headed
lawyers and business men was necessary.
School Affairs.
At some length. Mrs. Carl Barus, the
head Of the committee on schools, describ-
ed the work that has been done by her
committee in regard to air in the public
school buildings. A conference was held
vestgating the subject, while the building
Inspector, so 1t was said, has expressed
himself favorably> to Mrs. Barus, holding
that the present system of dry heating
could be so changed as to provide desired
moisture at a small expense. The COM
mittee, the chairman announced, hopes to
accomplish good results in that line.
Mrs. Barus further reported that her
In1 p-il tho Drtt t1y,
made to the board of school trustees at It's
last meeting by company which desires
the exclusive privilege of furnishing lunch
con to pupils in the public schools The
tee, and If adjudged praiseworthy Its ad-
vantages will be laid before the trustees.
Manual Work.
When the report of the committee on
manual, Industrial and technical educa-
ton was called for the chairman, Miss
Annie Tolman Smith, announced that
an effort would be made to establish a
summer industrial school for colored
youths between the ages of thirteen and
eighteen years. The time Is ripe, accord
ing to Miss Smith. for some such measure
to keep the larger colored boys from idle
ness.
The head of the committee on the indus
trious poor, Rev. A NJ. Hilliker, among
other things, declared that the day nur
sery Is not a success in Washington, the
conditions of the city not seeming to re-
quire such an institution. Rev. Mr.. Hill
ker characterized as demoralizing the con-
duct of the charity work during the past
winter. A fund was created, he said in
explanation, and then every one was in
vited to come forward and partake, many
undeserving persons thus receiving the aid
intended for the deserving poor. The
speaker thought the Civic Center could per-
form commendable labor in helping the
charity work of the city.
Other Business.
Rev. Alexander Kent spoke on the work
and prospects of the committee on the Ia
boring classes, and told of correspondence
held with civic centers in other cities.
After urging the members present to exert
themselves to create public sentiment In
the community in favor of needed reforms,
Rev. Mr.. Kent quoted the statistics re-
lating to the potato patch plan now in
opera ton in the city. and then expressed
the hope that all the measures adopted by
the center would be toward the preserva-
ton of noblest individuality.
Brief reports were received from other
committees and Mrs. Miranda Tulloch and
Mrs. Hannah B. Sperry were named as
mamherS of committee on art and