Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-02-28

! I
Countess of Aberdeen.
the signal for enthusiastic applause, the
audience rising to acknowledge the in
PRODUCTION. which was made by Mrs. May
Wright Sewali. In response, she said:
Madam President: thank you for
your greeting. and, ladies and gentlemen,
/ thank you for your very cordial response
to the too kind words in which that greet
Ing has been conveyed to me. thank you
all, in behalf of that which I have the
honor of representing and which has been
described by your president. First Of all,
for the National Council Of Women Of Can
ada. the council Of whose work I have rea-
son TO be very proud; and, in speaking of
that council. allow me to thank you, Mad
am President, and those who are associ-
ated with you. for your kindness to our
Canadian delegates, a kindness and hospi-
tally which / know they feel deeply.
and. then. let me thank you, too, for
your greeting to me In my character, in
my honorable position of president Of the
International Council of Women, council
to which we all here belong and in which
we perceive vast possibility for the good
of the world.
II may not detain you tonight because
I hope to have the opportunity Of speak
ing to you again before your council closes.
But, believe me, I am grateful for this re-
ception.''
Lady Aberdeef's Work.
Lady Aberdeen Is conducting work
which has made her name well known as
q benefactor Of her sex. The object Of the
Haddo House Association, founded by her,
is to benefit young servant girls, both NOR
ally and mentally. Haddo House, Lady
Aberdeens country seat, Is an extensive
estate with a large force Of women en-
ployed in household service. Lady Aber-
deem became deeply interested in their
needs: their home training and morals were
%Ixg- 1ao1
ing variety, their reading matter insult
able More than this, they were constant
ly changing situations. All this made
deep impression on Lady Aberdeen's SEN
sitive mind. The result was she called a
meeting Of the wives and tenants of the
estate to consider what should be done to
better the condition Of these farm girls.
This was in 1891; now this association
numbers 1000 members, with fifty-eight
branches, most of which are in the north
east of Scotland.
No religious profession is required Of the
members. Both mistress and servant be-
long, and the endeavor is to reach both
and arouse a mental interest. This is done
by means Of papers, which each month are
cent out from Haddo House, treating Of
Bible history. biography and general sub
jects, and prizes are offered in needlework,
knitting and writing. Medals are given to
members who remain in one situation for
a number of years. Where practicable,
cooking and laundry classes are estab-
lshed.
Lady Aberdeen's own household club was
established last year among her domestics.
Both men and women belong. There are
classes in singing, drawing, wood carving,
home reading and sewing. In summer they
form into fire brigade, tennis club and
foot ball club: any distinguished guest
who may be staying at the house is in
vited to lecture before the club.
Besides this work. Lady Aberdeen is ac-
tive in doing all she can to help the Irish
industries; she is also president Of several
nf ha IN niz
lions.
She is president of the International
Council Of Women and president of the Ma
ticnal Council of Women of Canada In
this latter capacity she has worked with
phenomenal energy and success in forming
local councils of women throughout Cana
da.
The countess will speak tonight on the
subject of Peace" She is accompanied by
an aid de camp, Mr. Moncure Ferguson,
who occupied box last night.
Last Nights Session.
The subjects for discussion at the meeting
of the council last night were vivisection
and moral reform.
Mrs. Caroline Earle White of Pennsyl-
vsnia, president of the Anti-Vivisection So
ciety, made the first address, in the course
of which she roundly attacked vivisection.
first, because 1t Is wrong and ethically a
sin In the sight of God; second, because it
has never accomplished any benefit to
humanity commensurate with the suffering
1t entails; and, third because of the de-
mcralizing effect the practice has on the
vivisectionists, and consequently upon the
community.
Some Sample Cruelties.
Mrs. White described some of the cruel
ties against which she protested. The in
cidents she described, she said, were nearly
all taken from the accounts of the vivi-
sectors themselves.
''Dr. Wertheim of Vienna" she said,
rubbed dogs with turpentine and then
set them on fire, to see whether they could
live after such burnings. The result was
that they all died, but what must have
been their sufferings before they were re-
1ieved by death? The commission of pro-
fessors from the Royal College Of Physi-
clans and Surgeons, in London, In their
stopped the windpipes of animals with
corks. kept others forcibly under water
until nearly dead; then by equally cruel
means restored them to consciousness:
held the heads of guinea pigs in basins of
quicksilver, crammed the mouths and
larynxes of dogs with liquid plaster Of
paris and allowed 1t to solidify. Fancy
the agon,zing struggles for breath as the
plaster slowly solidified! In experimenting
to see II 1t was possible to produce hydro
phobia other Psychologists have attempted
to unite animals by binding their bleeding
and previously excoriated bodies together
although the excavations made with the
knife are not nearly so painful as binding
the creatures in the necessarily con-
strained position for the length Of time
thought necessary to insure the success
of the experiment; have closed the natural
vents, have kept the ears of living dogs
In the stomachs of others until eaten away
by the gastric Juice. Have torn out the
nerves of the kidneys, have scared the
brains with hot irons. have selected partic-
uiarly sensitive portions of the body and
squeezed them between steel pincers, as
was done by Prof. Mantegazza, with the
avowed intention Of infiicting the greatest
suffering he could devise; have expert