The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-10-08
AWFUL JERSEY CITY.
The Woman's Club Is Told
of Its Horrible Con-
ditlon.
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO Be PROUD OF
Miss Ballou Speaks Of The Public
Schools, Mss Hewitt Of the
Poor, and Miss Philbrook
Gives Statistics.
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO BE PROUD OF

The Jersey City Woman's Club held the
| first meeting OF the season yesterday al
ternoon in Hasbrouck Hall. A large num-
Der of the ladies were present. For haii
an hour prior to the meeting, Mrs. Johh
l.. Scudder, President of the club, and the
other officers held an informal reception.
| welcoming the members. Summer expert
ences were exchanged, and the members
had a very enjoyable social The Presl-
dents table on the platform had the
usual bunch of cerise carnations and the
| gavel was still tied with cerise ribbon.
The Seeretary's table was decorated with
asparagus fern. Promptly at $50 Mrs.
Scudder raped with the gavel and babe
the members come to order. On the
platform were seated First Vice-Presi-
dent Mrs. A. J. Newbury, Second Vice
President Miss Jennie ". Horsley, Record
ing Secretary Miss Haight. Corresponding
Secretary DR.. Florence De Hart, Treas
| urer Mrs. Spencer Weart, Auditor Mrs.
Scion Palmer, Chairman of Literature
Mrs. John A. Walker and the speakers OF
the afternoon, Miss Ballou and Miss Mar
garet Hewitt. The Chairman of the day,
| Miss Mary Philbrook, was unable to be
| present until after the opening exercises.
After the minutes had been read there
was no routine business; the reports were
held over to the regular business meet
ing in November. Miss Gaines asked
| that she might speak to the club, and
she read to the members a communication
from herself as President of the State
Federation to the club in which she rec
commended that the clubs start travelling
libraries of speeches. She said there are
many clubs with members who are
specialists. and the papers prepared by
them would be Of incalculab1e benefit TO
clubs less fortunate. At her suggestion
it was decided to have a committee to
gather these papers. The delegates to the
Federation meeting to be held in Camden
the latter part of the month were then
appointed. They are Mrs. Seudder, Mrs.
Spencer Weart, Mrs. DR.. NJ. T. De Hart
and Mrs. Hudspeth-Benson.
Mrs. Seudder made a graceful little
speech of welcome and said she hoped the
club would do great things in the year
to come. The club had a musical treat
in the person of Miss Alberta Fisher, of
Minneapolis, who sang for the club at
Mrs. Newbury's request. She sang, Thy
Beaming Eyes, IF l But Knew 'The
Sweetest Flower and For All Eternity
Miss Fisher has a voice of exquisite
quality and she sings sympathetically.
Her facial expression is charming. She
sings songs in the soft tones, lately
become popular and she sings the soft
high notes in an excellent manner. She
mad a decided hit and was repeatedly
encored.
Mrs. Scudder then gave the afternoon
to the Chairman of the Town Improve
ment Committee, Miss Philbrook. Miss
Phiibrook opened the discussion with a
paper on the present condition of Jersey
City.
Miss Philbrook said that railroads own
231a per cent. of the land of the city and
% per cent. OF the rest OF the
land is marsh. h said:-We have
Ell tenements, covering more than
z persons each, While Newark, a
city of greater population, has only
go. Statistics show that we spend less
per capita for the ordinary expenses OF
government than any other city in this
state. Atthe end OF the last fiscal year
its debts. Were over eighteen millions OF
dollars. We pay less for schools, more for
police and almost twice as much for
hospitals than Newark. We pay but
about 500 for the poor, where Newark
pays 5000, but we nave 300 children in
the AlmShouSe, where Newark has but a
dozen. I have been trying 20 recall for
some days some one thing in Jersey City
of which we might be proud. We have
| 10 ciedH Streets, DO lU1pOSi1lS DuiitluSS,
our water is unfit to drink, our tenements
and rear and rear, rear tenements are
crowded and filthy, the nuisances which
surround US are obnoxious.
1T is worthy to observe that the Board
of Health has at last passed an ordinance
against expectorating in the cars. 1t is
some two months since, but the Traction
Company has not yet pasted the notice
of the ordinance. A few days ago ]
wrote to Mr.. Fuller, who is superinten-
dent of the road, asking what action the
company intended to take and he replied
tina the order for the signs has already
been given. | wonder what it would look
like to have clean streets in Jersey City,
Mayor Hoos wrote me the other day and
said all the appropriation is expended and
we cannot have any cleaning done unit.
we get the next appropriation. That is ]
think, next June or July. He said, how
ever, that If there were n special cases
of un~cleanliness that we might report tc
his Office and he would look after it. II
one quarter of the vigilance that is Sc
kept up in the meanwhile good govern.
nlent people might accomplish a great
deal. The great trouble here is with the
people. The good men don't vote, bil
are perfectly willing to let the saloor
element do it all. Once in a while honesi
citizens awaken to the condition of thing
and they revolt, but this is only a few
days before election and after the cleo
ton, and until the next one comes we
hear nothing from them-then Bob Davis
reigns supreme.
we hear about the same charges by Judge
Lippincott to the Grand Jury. 1t is time
the women were up and awake. This
committees has been organized for the
n1Irnose and every woman should feel Il
her duty to assist in the work. 1t is al
very we'll to tell women to stay at nome
and keep out of politics. When politics
are so clean that we can afford TO stay
out OF them / would gladly acquiesce II
such sentiment. The work in this cit,
for the women is enormous ana IN az
i Il 4 -~.- 4 ~.,A rttl a. 40 r-Nnnr r L