Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-02-20

Antiquity, hereby signify my willing
ness to become a member and assist In
it's support to the extent, at least, OF the
| fee.
We are also asked to publish the fol-
lowing statement from Mrs. c. c. Bald
win, chairman of the "woman's depart
ment' Of the Worcester Society Of An
| tiquity:
The invitations to the Society Of An
| tiquity meeting last Friday contained
the words, "woman's department" be-
cause In past years that has been the
wording in the list Of committees. AS
the Hon. Stephen Salisbury said at the
meeting, Changes will be necessary to
make appropriate rules for this great
influx of new members and probably
the title Of this important committee
Will seem more appropriate If called, per-
maps, social committee. AS in the Art
society the women members will have
vote as well as the men. AS the COM
m1ttees have not been made up hereto
fore of men only, it is likely that a
greater proportion of women's names
will appear in the next edition Of the
society's list Of committees. From pres
ent indications, there will be no dis
tinotion of sex in any committee, which
must lead eventually to change of
name Of the one which has borne the
name, woman's department
(The invitation received by the writer,
in common with a large number of other
women, was an invitation ito join the
Woman's department Of the Worcester
Society of Antiquity" and to meet at
Salisbury Hall Friday morning for the
purpose Of considering this matter. If 1t
was not the intention to invite the
women to join the woman's department,
why were they invited to join it? 1t
would certainly have been less ambigu-
| Gus and more accurate to invite them
to join the society if that was what was
| intended. But we do not believe that this
was intended. One of two things has
| happened: Either one thing was said
while another was meant, or else the
| thing which was first intended is no
| longer intended.
The fact appears to be that until a
voice was raised at the meeting in OBJ
lection to joining the woman's depart
ment, the idea of any other kind of
union for the women whom it was de-
sired to attach, had not occurred to the
promoters President Hutchins' address
referred solely to a woman's depart
ment, and so did Mrs. Baldwin's in SO
far as it referred at all to the matter in
hand. If the woman's department is not
! referred to in the following quotation
! from her address, 1t is hard to see what
! is meant. Many times in the past two
years have been asked to take up the
| forming Of another woman'S club, and
of late it has been urged more upon me
| To my mind there are enough such in
| Worcester, and I feel that there is even
more honor and more profit and certain
| ly more pleasure in belonging to such a
society as this, where the woman's de-
partment offers every advantage Of a
woman's club.
| A comparison is made above between
the status Of women in the Art Society
and the proposed status of the women
| to be admitted to the Society of An
| tiquity In reality there Is no similarity
between the two. In the Art Society
women are admitted as persons, not as
women. They are elected in the same
way as the men, and not-aS will be
the case in the Society Of Antiquity
according to the president of the society
who states that women candidates to
election must first receive approval by
| the committee upon the woman's de-
partment" In the Art Society there is
no woman department, but women
| serve as officers or on committees as dc
| the men. Even IL the name of the wom-
ans department of the Society of An
tiquity is changed to social committee
or, as appears not unlikely, to "woman's
committee" the fact remains that it is
this COMMITTEE to which it Is pro-
posed, according to the second of the
| two letters printed above, to elect the
women VINO may now apply.
In Saturdays Spy occur several para
graphs regardin the movement under
discussion. They were paraphrased
from the words of the president of the
society, and state the object of the pres
ent movement to be "to increase the size
and effectiveness of the woman's de-
partment in the Worcester Society Of
Antiquity. Such a department there
has been" And further on occurs the
expression: From the size of the wait
| ing dist of the Woman's Club and other
| indications, there would seem to be
room for another club for women in the
city. Certainly, the historical club
which it is hoped to form would find it.
self in possession of a most delightful
and appropriate club room, etc" Is this
| the club which Mrs. Baldwin says she
was asked to form?
1t seems to us that if any nisunder-
standing exists, 1t is on the part Of the
promoters of this enterprise, who do not
appear to have known where they were
at If they know now, the feminine
part of the public is probably ready tC
accord them the same respectful atteu-
ton as before. That it would be an i'm
mense advantage to the Society of An
ttiquity, financially if in no other way
to have 100 or more women join it, is
! sufficiently clear; the advantage to be
derived by the women is not so appar-
ent. But it would be we'll, in view OF
the conflicting statements that have
gone forth from the heads of the move
ment, If some authoritative statement
as to what has been meant and is meant
and is going to be meant with respect
to the admission of women to the so
ciety, might be made. ED
Miss Frances G. Morse gave an old
fashioned luncheon for eight ladies Sat
urday. 1t was served at [ o'clock. and
her choicest old china and silver were
used.
Mr.. and Mrs William Taylor gave a
party for their daughter Wanna at their
residence, IS West Boylston street, Fri.
day evening, to celebrate her eleventh
| birthday. The evening was spent in
games and music. About forty young
people were present. A number OF
pretty and useful gifts were presented
to Miss Taylor.
Uncle" the three-act English come.
dy which was successfully given by the
young people of All Souls Universalist
Church, will be repeated by request in
the lecture room Of the church FRIDAY
evening at O'clock.
Lillian Russell Della Fox and Jeff