The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-10-07
COMPULSORY SCHOOL LAW.
Council of Women VIII Ask Legisla-
ture TO Pass One.

The first meeting of the Local Council of
Women was held yesterday afternoon at
the Propylaeum. The first hour of the
meeting was given up to the hearing of re-
ports. The legislative committee asked
that the committee be authorized to Sc
cure an attorney to present it's requests to
the General Assembly. 1t wants school at
tendance compulsory between certain age
limits, and to secure school suffrage for
women of Indiana at all school elections.
There now twenty-one States that have
school suffrage for women. Mrs. j. S.
Jenckes's resignation as a member of the
municipal committee was accepted. The
president will fill any vacancies that may
occur. Miss Harriet Noble was made chair
man OF the information committee and win
choose her associates. The conference COM
mittee, which is to act with the CONNER
ciaI Club, will not meet until after the
election, when it will consider a movement
to secure a revision of the school laws
After Miss jacobs had presented the mat
ter of the university extension conference
in this city next month Mr.. c. s. Denny
was introduced by the president, Mrs. Emu
Wulschner. Mr.. Denny spoke of vice and
its reform, and he presented in a plain
ana practleai way some OF the great vices
and what he thought would or should Sc
cure reform. Twenty years ago people
soorned the work undertaken in the siums,
the mission chapeIs and that of the Saliva
ton Army but now these are acknowledged
powerful factors in reform. He commented
womenS cubs and the work of the Local
Council towards making the city and its
people cleaner morally and physically.
Among other things he would provide that
the dollhouse and the court for women be
under one roof. Over three thousand wom-
en- and girls have come under Mrs. Bu-
chanan's care since she became the police
matron, in 1880. Common decency demands
that female prisoners should be under the
care of women, and yet the Sheriffs of the
county do not always deputize a woman to
accompany such prisoners to jail or asy
lum, said he. Mr.. Denny spoke of the
bt neful influence of the wine room and the
social evil, the latter which he denounced
as the worst in the category of sins. The
remedy he believed to be only partial, but
the nearest to remedy would be the en-
forcement of the laws. IF the betrayer
be ostracised as the betrayed and the Wis
itor we'll as the keeper of the house,
then social purity would be half gained
said he. For a lesson in statistics, he
quoted ex-Superintendent or Polfce Powell.
women to whom he had spoken while super
intendent of police, there We're only two
who We're contented, and Mr.. Wheeler, of
the Rescue Home, has never found one.
ore remedy which he would suggest would
be a home, far from the cit where such
women could go of their own free will and
in this respect it would be unlike the Re-
forInatory. In this home all kinds of labor
would be taught. The one VINO would en-
dow such a home would probably be
laughed at, but it would be u great gain
toward a reform. Mr.. Denny thought the
council should memoraliZe the LeSiSa ture
to raise the age of consent, and he would
and ravishers to be not only imprisonment,
but lashing. AS a last suggestion to reme-
dying existing evils, he would desire
curfeW law, which would be the means of
saving many young girls. The curfew
law has a close connection between the
social and wine-room evils said he At
an informal discussion by different mem
bers of the council.