The sun., 1898-02-23
WOMEN IN ANGRY DEBATE.
,,,r ptT1S DISTURBs THE sOCIETT
rOR POLITICAL STUDT.
m. southern Members Resent the imputat'on
Thnt the Lender or tho confoderacy was .
,-.,,or and n sharp Discussion Rspues.

-. .o,,I,trn Members Resent the tmputatton
rh,t the Lender or tho ConfodeTncy was .
Trp,tor. and n sharp Discussion Esnues'
r,. soc,c,v for Political Study held very
uhumorcd meeting in the Tuxedo, Fifty
n,r,h street and Madison avenue, yesterday.
A, the beginning Mrs. w. G. Brewster pro-
.osod that the speakers be limited to ivo min
.,o. ,hat no speaker be allowed TO speak moro
w. W. nnr, until every member present had q
shoncc. and that only one speaker bo permitted
~ sncol, At n time Tho motion didn't suit all
~ " n,,,,,r,,s. some Of whom are chronic talk
s-s hut It was promptly seconded. and rushed
.h.,n,b. Mrs, Phcbe A. Hanaford was In the
chair. ,-,..,.A
N,i,s Anna Maxwell Jones, the speaker OF the
,.,Vrco1 nm @ xhaustivo paper on the political ca
80 nj Jefferson Davis. She brought big col.
..ol man nIong and mixed up good deal Of
..oyrophy with her politics. Miss Jones said
~. had taken a special course at Harvard last
summer. and had then heard professor declare
that tho causes OF the civil war were abolition
literature the Territory question, and the great
roliti,al issues involved. She said that she
.rr.ed with him. and held that 1t was not
.no.,ion whether slavery was right or wrong.
MT the extension OF slavery, that had caused
the trouble.
pr Ellen Z. Miles opened the general dis
cpssion. and almost from the outset the remarks
from tho various members we're punctuated
with mutfIed Kisses and muttered words Of ap-
pr,yal or disapproval. DR.. Miles set the ball
IN motion by amiably remarking that the speak
AZ NJ the day had left her audience quito In love
With Jefferson Davis, but In thus concluding
Tr Miles reckoncd without her host. when
va know that he lived forty years with one OF
tbelovcliest and most beautiful women, we Know
that he couidht 90 any 'hihs o"' u ueisn''uA
man sls added.
maj 'aIhave some Impressions about the character
Of jefferson Davis, said Miss HarTistte Iis & key,
they arc few and far between. who are able to
see ahead. Davis didn't belong to that class
He was not a man OF swift or clear insight. He
aid belong to another class, which, am thank
mi TO say is also small, who are never con-
yertel by the Light Of logical Svent TO this
Character Most Southerners caim.that he was
a patriot. Many others in other parts Of the
pSSUSs not pass udgment but Will ask il we would
be willing to give his character to oar school
children as an example. That is test OF pa
When Miss Keyser sat down 1t wouldn't haye
taken Sherlock Holmes to pick out the South
ern members of the society and there there, are ante
WI The PAPER on Jefferl on Davis" said Miss
America Phillips, war most interesting one.
but it seems to mo that not much.was said about
the man. l only know him, as thousands OF
others do. as tho head Of the rebellion against
disappointed not to learn more about him.
Somebody said to me she hoped when We came
slavery III very wouldn't be brought up He was for
slavery and don't see why We can't discuss
slavery. Davis was an educated man, a man
never could understand how he took the posi-
was Jefferson Davis traitori" asked Mrs.
Thought his first duty was to his State. / am
not southerner, as many of you seem to think.
think that Davis was traitor. / am ono
woman who can look on both sides OF ques-
tion."
Mrs. Brewster, the Southerner who stirred up
such tempest at O recent meeting of the so.
fs for ascasson wasa In that paper JEFFERSON psvis
soldier sSsS and and good and true man. The great
1dson nf na fesuis Ms IN
his belief and did not take q universal view Of
aSo % but RS HS h asas, ass ssss ssss or
George washington. whose birthday we are
been tried condemned and executed as . traitor.
II Is said that any coward may fight o battle he
IS sure Of winning, but II takes truly bravo
take it.:was the courage Of the hero Of tho day."
There was faint kissing from the Northern
southerners, but the shoe was on the other foot
a lawyer, whom Mrs. Hanaford called tho
Jefferson Davis was a traitor. When that
grand man Lincoln pardoned all who had borne
bo rssd to fs parSona ao E she 1a
were to let them i've and die IN this countTy."
IF Jefferson Davis was traitor, why was
he not tried for treasonl" demanded Mrs. Rut-
Ter. Slrginian, in voice trembling with emo
tlon. W as 1t that the Government did not care
TO test the mattcrl"
, Mrs Lille Devereux Blake, ever .of pacific
bed waters "rhe war was t the or result SUI Of Of politi
cal antagonism." she began. There was no
sntaSo59ism ant n5 between the rank and file Of North
the summer and you went down there in the
winter and We treated each other with true
to aty ambition of TnS indTiaussIs GfiGagss on
Poltical leaders,, We have eyerysreason to be-
neve that war betweenthe United States and
spain & !, VIII be averted, because no such motives
5Ihen, Mrs Blake:told that Davis was Chair.
sh dssIgS Oh 1ne committee appointed to select tho
it,s Ih9 dome OF the Capitol and she made pretty
se r.ss1t st9T{ out Of his choosing woman TO rep
cap, the emblem of a freed slave. Davis said"
eonciuded the speaker. that an American rep
Geisentation riss Of Liberty must not wear Phry.
sme nt was born free. am only sorry to say that
enpfIeG wfsHeyer r. liberty comes to us women we will be
I've travelled through tho South consid-
sttEsoy," said Mrs. Morris, ''and the opinion
ates ners + that the leaders of the South preop
,,hs She mist have met only Yankees down
srers snere remarked Southern sister SO that
everybody around could hear.
h,, we must all agree" said Mrs. Hanaford, In
net net sweetest voice. that 1t was politics and
boh XII such politics as the women of this society
Ts,eE TTeueEe IN, that brought on the war. We be-
HeHe con,J IN justice and righteousness. Such war
CURED then II the:women had had their riehtfnI
fneTe for OF kno Wedge and influence. Women are