The herald., 1898-03-18
FEDERATION OF SOCIETIES
ANNUAL MEETING AT UNITY
CHURCH YESTERDAY
Development of Women's Clubs in
California-"Fathers and Moth
ers of the Twentieth Century"

The annual meeting of the Federatio of
| Societies was held in Unity church yes
| terday The morning session was de-
voted TO the usual business routine and
the election of officers for the ensuing
year, as follows:: President Mrs. Lucy
| Blanchard; vice-president-a t-at-larSe, Mrs.
E. Il. Stephens, both re-elected; financial
secretary, Mrs. Ellen Hewitt; recording
secretary. Mrs. e. p 'Rowell; treasurer,
Mrs. EAR. Threlkeld.
| The afternoon session was mainly de-
| voted to reports from clubs from outside
towns. Mrs. Ella G. Lunt, president of the
| Long Beach Ebell, reported for that So
cety. She gave a history of the founder
of women's culture clubs, DR.. Ebell in
| Germany, his visit to Oakland and death.
| which occurred almost in sight of his
| native land. In memory of him, the clubs
| adopting his class system We're given his
| name. The club in Oakland has grown
| to number AGO. with 400 on the waiting list.
| The Long Beach Ebell was founded two
years ago, and makes a special feature of
| its tourist section.
| Mrs. Laura ]. Pnney, vice-president of
the Oakland Ebell, spoke briefly, but enter
| taininSly. of the advantages of self-culture
for women afforded by study clubs DR..
Ebell started his system twenty-one years
| ago, and its growth testifies TO it's eff
| cheney
| Miss Parsons, vice-presdent of the Los
| Angeles Ebell, gave the history of its
beginning, inspired by Mrs. Harriet w.
| Strong its growth and the handsome new
| club house built and presented by Mrs.
Baker, the president of the society. Its
members number go of which 200 are
| studying in one or more sections.
| Mrs. w. S. Bartlett gave a favorable re-
port of the Ebell of the Santa Ana valley,
and urged the formation of study clubs
for women in country neighborhoods The
Oakland Ebell has been the inspiration in
starting all the others named.
Rev. w. D. p. Bliss made short ad-
dress on rs Socialism Practicable?" COW
ering essentially the same ground reported
| on other occasions.
Mrs. James Brown sang a vocal solo,
1.-THE Two Lives
Mrs. b. w. Diehl, a member of the Pasa-
dena Shakespeare club, gave an account
of its history, growth and gradual broad
ening of its lines of study other than the
works of the great dramatist. She then
varied the program with very compre-
hensive and intelligent outline of "The
Eastern Question" "The History of the
Bosphorus' "The Turkish Empire and
the situation as it is today and the re-
sponsibility of England in its deplorable
| history.
Mrs. Coleman, president of the club, de-
scribed the new club house that is being
erected and presented by a member, Miss
Stickney The building will be modelled
| n at f.
ford-on-Avon in its architectural style,
and will be equipped with all modern con-
veniences, ample accommodations. be-
sides a large room especially devoted TO
music and art, which it is hoped some
generous patron will endow.
The evening session opened with a duet
by Misses Grace and Matte Adams, He
Shall Feed His Flock and Come Unto
Me-" from "The Messiah after which
Mrs. Eugenia F. ST. John delivered an
address on 1.-The Fathers and Mothers of
the Twentieth Century"
Mrs. St. John is a fluent and earnest
speaker, using neither notes nor manu-
script. She traced the history and devel-
opment of the country for the past fifty
years from the OK team to the electric car,
from the sailing vessel to the ocean liner.
The points made by the speaker were that
the moral growth of the people had not
kept pace with the material development
and If the perpetuity of the republic is to
be preserved the fathers and mothers of
the twentieth century must maintain
higher standard of purity in public and
private life than their forbears of the
nineteenth. The present century closes
without honor in its moral strength The
standard of the next must be higher
in literature, the stage and in
sobriety than Is ours. The press
came in for the usual drubbing for
reporting the prize ring, etc, but the
speaker was fair enough to admit that the
! people We're to blame. Newspapers publish
what their readers demand
A duet from I'll Trovatore" by the
| Misses Adams closed the exercises.