The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-11-04
TO IMPROVE THE TOWN
Woman's Club Held an En-
thusiastic Meeting at
Hasbrouck Hall.
MRS. BENSON HITS w. c. 7. Y
Asks White Ribboners and
Endeavorers What They
Are Doing--More Co
operation Needed.
MRS. BENSON HITS w. C. T. U

etc, were the cries of the Woman's Club
when it met yesterday afternoon at Has
brouck Hall. 1t was town Improvement
day, and nearly every club woman
turned out to hear how this dirts city
could be improved. Mrs. Hudspeth Ben
son is at the head Of this movement, and
she managed yesterday to fire the Wom-
ans Club with some of her own enthusi-
assn on the subject. After Mrs. Scudder,
as President. had properly opened the
meeting with a few appropriate remarks.
The reading of the minutes of last meet
ing, by Mrs. Hough, Secretary, and a
piano solo by Miss Martha Sevan of New
ark, who rendered Chopin Nocturne, No.
2" most charmingly, the meeting was put
Ia Mrs. Benson'S hands to do what she
would with it, and she did her full duty.
Her first movement was to use her
tongue, like a true club woman, in a witty
striking and interesting speech, without
notes.
just before his speech, however, the
Treasurer reported a balance on hand,
s2i1-27, which called for applause from
those present, and gave an account of the
fifty dollars appropriated for the club
breakfast. which was also reported in full
by Mrs. Hough. Mrs. NJ. A.. Davis sang
Scene Und Arie," La Traviata, beautl-
fully, to the piano accompaniment of Mrs.
Robert Lyle.
When ] was first elected as chairman
of the Town Improvement Committee. .
said Mrs. Benson, II felt highly honor
ed. | thought l should clean up the
town at once. I went to the Board Of
Street and Water Commissioners and
found them very polite-too politei They
have not done much for us since. We
must call upon our police to enforce the
people to keep their cutters clean. The
streets where the Weather classes live
are all right because they can pay a
man so much per month to keep the
cutters clean, but where the poorer
classes live it is different Mrs. Benson
then spoke Of the beauty of the sur
rounding landscape, mentioning the Pali-
sades, etc, and the dirty uliattractive-
ness of our city brought out all the
more forcibly by comparison. She said
We had d City Hall, handsome indeed,
but with scarcely a single memento TO
remind US of Jersey City, only four por-
traits OF Mayors. She suggested that
| the Art Committee might take this mat
| ter in hand, hang a few pictures and
| Improve the interior of the building.
Also in regard to the Library she. said
I understand there, is a room N the
ing relics such as the first newspaper
published in Jersey City, etc. But where
are they? Way up on a shelf where
nobody can get at them.
Mrs Benson hit the W. C. 7. u hard
when she said:-"What are the white
ribbon women doing? Not q place in
Jersey City where a man can SO, sit
down in his jumper and get a cup Of
coffeei Oh, these conventions! And this
money spent to meet together and be-
Christian ~Endeayorers, What are they
doing? When I heard of the Christian
Endeavor Convention at Asbury Park,
where four thousand people met. |
means $4,000, Just 10 get together ana
| hear themselves taik!'
After a few more hints from which
even the Won1an's Club itself did not es-
and speaking of the benefits de-
rived from the liquor license to our pub
lie schools.etc. saying: .We would never
~license.e Mrs. Benson closed her address
with the quotation, Let US Their pc up
and doing"
| speak. She said: Il am going to speak
OF two or three things which Jersey City
needs. First, we need grass and trees, :
then after dwelling upon the beauty. as
well as the shade and usefulness OF trees,
another thing we need particularly IS
a playground for the children. which
| would not only be a benefit to them, but
to us poor citizens who have to put up
with their noise on the streets in the suns
mer. A few years G | was told that If
q number Of ladies would apply to the
Mayor of our city, ne would gladly set
aside grounds for this purpose. Still am
other thing we need here in Jersey City
is more parks Mrs. Eaton spoke OF the
large number of children now in the aims
| house. at Snake Hill. and spoke Of the
necessity of having an Industrial home
! for these boys and girls. She spoke very
| highly of the Children's Home, and the
good work it was doing in Jersey city,
/ giving it no more praise than 1t deserved.
! Her entire speech was terse and interest
ing.
! was perhaps a trile less pessimistie IN her
view of the state of town improvement IN
our city. 1T IS an odd and quaint say
Known by his friends. So is a woman
known by her house, and a city by It's
| buildings and streets. A man must oe
| familiar with his friends. q woman with
her house, and the city with its buildings
and streets. We have many buildings OF
which to be proud" Miss Bradford here
Hudson County Bank. the Reformed
| Church on Grand street. and the new City
| Hall, which is an ornament to any town.
1--WE have ali these things to be proud of.
| some beautiful streets, but we have some
streets that you ladies know very little
d dngy streefs5 Firsf, 60 to the Mayor.
| who. | understand, is anxious to help US,
/ and nextAto Mr.. George T. Bouton, who
has just returned from a trip West, | ara
told. where the streets are clean.
When Colonel Waring first began his
work in New York, he commenced with
the East Side, where disease turks So
let US take the lower part Of Jersey City
ard nave the streets asphalted.0
Indecent posters were mentioned as a
| nuisance which club women might aboi-
ish, and the mixing of garbish with
ashes then dumping it somewher to MI
in marshy or low ground was spoken
| against as being conducive to the spread
| ing of disease. Miss Bradford also spoke
| Of enforcing the law with regard to spit
ting upon the floors of trolley cars. etc,
saving it was the duty of every club
! woman to cooperate with the conductors
in putting a stop to this nuisance.
"We can only do these things. said
Miss Bradford in conclusion, by Coop
| erative work. Take hold of this work
| earnestly, comparatively and Systematic
| callv. then I think we car offer that
prayer, with a slight change, From All
These N~uisances, Good Lord Deliver
Us"
Mrs. Davis here sang a second charms
ing selection, Jamie, by Molfoy, and
Mrs. Scudder made a brief iinpromptu
address IN place of Mr.. Wingate or New
York, who failed to materialize. Mrs:
Scudder called for a large committee OF
women just as enthusiastic as Mrs. Ben
son 10 ioin the town Improvement move
ment. spoke of the new schools and how
proud the club felt not only of these
schools but also of their superintendent,
Mr.. Henry Snyder. She spoke Of having
a day set aside for the study OF music
as there are a large body OF women. IN
the Woman's Club enthusiastic in that
li,a and IF starting q class for voice