The San Francisco call., 1895-11-17
WoMEN's MASS : MEETING.
This Novel and Significant Gather
ing VIII Be Big One.

1t is strange thing in human affairs for
the good women of a great city to get to-
gether IN a big mass-meeting to denounce
social impurity in the community and a
4. grievous crime against society. but that Is
what the women of San Francisco viii do
to-day.
" The arrangements for the mass-meeting
. for women exclusively, to be held at Cen
tral Methodist Church on Mission street,
near. Sixth, at 8 Of clock this. afternoon,
were completed yesterday by the ladies of
the W. c. I. u, under whose auspices the
q meeting will be held. 1t will doubtless be
"a big and notable mass-meeting. The Ia
dies expect that the church will be packed
from pulpit to gallery, and arrangements
are being made to hold overflow meetings
i in the Sunday-school room and other de-
:. psrtments of the church, should the crowd
be large enough to make it necessary.
The meeting will be announced from the
pulpits of most of the churches of the City
: this morning, and the announcements will
doubtless be given with commendatory
words by the pastors. The ladies of all
women's societies are urged to come, and
the teachers in the public schools and.the
kindergartens are especially invited. A
great many ladies of Oakland are expected
TO attend, and it is said that a great deal
of Indignation and interest is being mani
tested over there. There will not be man
in the church while that meeting IS going
on. and the newspapers will have to send
their bright lady reporters and lady artists
to describe and picture the meeting.
1t was Mrs. Rose French, State. superin-
tendent of law enforcement for the w. G.
T. o., who first urged the terrible case on
the attention of the ladies of the Union.
Then it was Mrs. Luce, superintendent OF
the county organization, who suggested
the mass-meeting. The idea was taken up
and is being vigorously carried out. Then
the idea of large ard powerful organiza-
ton of women to take charge of such cases
and to generally protect children enforce
what laws there are for the protection of
women, and to generally strengthen public
morality and increase social purity, was
formed early in the discussion.
Thepurpose of the meeting to-day is pri-
marily to stir up PUBLIC sentiment, to show
the enormity of the offense at issue and to
lead 10 a general realization of the state of
affairs said to exist. At the meeting the
necessity of such an organization as has
been spoken of will be shown and ways of
forming and operating it will be discussed.
There will be fifteen minute addresses. by
Mrs. Sturtevant Peet of San Jose, State
president w. C. T. T.; Mrs. S. h. Snaford
president of the Oakland Humane Society,
and Mrs. r. W. Davis, president of the
Girls Training Home. Miss Ray Frank
of Oakland has also been invited to make
one of these addresses. Among those who
Will take part in what is termed synpo-
sum of three-minute speeches are Mrs.
Nellie B. Eyster, Mrs. Rose NJ. French,
Mrs. f. Benson, Mrs. Captain McFee, Mrs.
ID. l. Walker, Mrs. D: j. Spencer, Mrs.
Helen B. Thompson, Mrs. Norton, Mrs.
Kinoaid and others.
The plans for the organization contem-
plated are yet quite Indefinite and it will
be some days before the leaders and com
mittees will formulate plan of action.
Something that will have wide influence
and strong effect will doubtless grow out
of the meeting. Social purity is one OF
the things which the w. G. L. u. makes
one OF its chief aims, and out of the social
purity department of the w. c. t. u. work
have grown the orders of the White Cross
and the White Shield, for men and women
respectively, and other. organizations OF
similar nature. State legislation would
be one of the aims of such an organization.
The ladies at the w: C. T. U. headquar-
ters yesterday were anxious to correct
statement which appeared i'll one of the
morning papers to the effect that it had
been said at the meeting there the day be-
lore that the public schools were nests OF
immortality and that they had been in
some way condemned as such.
=: immortality among school boys was