The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-26
WOMEN CONSIDER BENTON.
4 PAPER AND 4 LIVELY DEBATE
At TEL q. p. 3. MEETING.

jackson. seuthern WAYS. Guardian Angels.
rensiops. Civil Service. and Other Topics
Were discussed IN Three-SHtnute Speeches.
The Society for Political study.made two nd.
missions at q meeting held in tho Industrial
building, at the corner OF acknowledgements
Forty.third street, yesterday. One was that
It was o pleasure to have the speaker Of tho
day stick to her text, and the other that the
speakers taking part in the discussion should
be muzzlod, 80 to sneak; In other words, that
they should be limited to three minutes. The
Rev. Phebe A.. HAnaford presided, and there
was a full house. After tho various officers had
made their reports. she introduced tho speaker
of the day, Mrs. May Benton Bedel, who read
q paper on the political career of Thomas Ben
ton, her kinsmnn. Mrs. Bedol dwelt particu-
larry on Benton's loyalty to the Union and on the
fact that he was the : strongest sound.money
man of his day, She described the tilt between
him and Calhoun over the slavery question,
and said IL was Benton's position in THE mat
tor that marked him as q leader among South
ernors who opposed slavery.
HE always rose to meet o great emergency
the speaker concluded, land after serving his
State for thirty years, he lost his position be-
cause tho preservation Of the Union was SO
strong in his heart and he stood Loyalty BY 1t.
Ono OF his remarks was. I am q friend to old
soldiers, but not to old speculatorp.' Thomas
Benton was o greap party man. He always
stood by his party until 1t did something that
he could not believe In. and I hope that we
women, when we como to vote. as we surely
shall, viii follow his example in this. An
other thing. he was not too ambitious. Ambi-
ton IL q good thing, but It has ruined many,
and although we might feel that we are made
Of different stun. It might ruin US. We can't
all be Presidents of tho United States"
Mrs. Hanaford asked Mrs. lie Roy Sunder-
land Smith b take the chair at the close Of Mrs.
Bedell's paper, and when Mrs. Smith hesitated.
promptly reminded her that she was q descend
ant Of John Quincy Adams. and as such should
never hesitate. This brought Mrs. Smith
promptly to tho platform, and she opened tho
general discussion by saying with q great.shoW
Of feeling:
II am so pleased that the speaker Of the day
kept to tho text"
"I move that the speakers DO limited TO three
minutes" said Mrs. Graham, speaking rapidly
and with q far-away look in her eyes, as II she
were remembering former meetings. 1t was as
tonishing the way this motion met the approval
of everybody. Tho average clubwoman iS vio-
lentlly opposed 70 time limits, or in fact hmits
II think some admission should DO made Of
his grandeur Of character" remarked MisS
AR !. Ma I,,.l i J,onss; using ns I'll The mPs s0psGInan ' dasd
and living, except the. subject Of discussion.
EARLY in life he was 9 bitter enemy to andrew
S S]ssahssn; .tr 1sfy .R Sss s!e% i Sa9 him y s sash later sS they
Dr. "s MuISab vas 4. G + pnoSessaf o o. stared sateiO his s. career See@
under him.in Tennessee, but Benton never let
iri ISs Ras stand I a3,, ths %isg Ct P PIsIsaI ssre to-
roSr. 5 Sshe Is Mrs. Franz Frank osSorne Of Chicago.
n q %1 3. e r. q % %e sh S,SRS ike fes to e' bear from y MI her."
Mrs. Osborne told how glad she was 70 DO there.
se At ar Io.s P PHa sa MI In s an tsssisia e spS solee. 4 Ts s9s.,
speaker Of the day. but I don't think that either
intrigue Sas, AGAINST ga i the seeu s naI people,
Mrs. Kutter had hardly. resumed her seat
E SaCras MTs' T Eann one be her i feet sysyi ing fs sBefore I
came hero I knew very little about this man
Rent Si5n. "a Sn hssr %h 81 ssn Sls nance al Ssa wss James R1n ese or
! Charles. But when / heard all about him, he
seemed q man after my wi heart. Once, when
iR B9stG %hs s'E Tssa ny sssf fat asH; She told me- lots
Of things which I've forgotten. because none Of
membered. and that d. that my guardian angel
Is Q man: EyeTy psyehie ! m ps5s s1nm mys ever Wss CON CON.
ernina I me-. I believe e the man who has been
guarding mo is Thomas Benton, When he
speaks Of being with the ola soldisr 1sh but not not
until Thomas told mo"
II move We extend tho time to five minutes"
said Mrs. Hanaf9rd; ,n.ux .,,. .,.. g., ~.
according to parliamentary ruling"
Mrs, Gafney wa. overruled and the time was
Perhaps I'm the only lady in the room who
Mrs. Lille Devereux Blake. mo: I see heads
m nof his sGm SO IN Shs Mis s5S G'a and his daughter ISM aaT : Mrs
Jessie Benton Fremont, inherited much OF her
FAM in = aetiSity and briliiancy With some Of
our other statesmen, but his unswervtng hon
estXX Of purpose T. to DO greatly , sdmiF Fedm Ron.
ton" interjected Mrs. Rutter, lis that Of civil ser
Vice reform and the retention Of officers who
up untried Officers SO often"
y have little to say concerning Sg,, BE, Bsnt t.S
The sSe'e speafsr Il the bosinninE Of her pspst SAID
something about ancestry. S9mebody has saiG
about Ian sac sstEysh that +, # / T pssD IKE sn q pottSS TT ;.G al
and somebody else added and all that's sb9yS
# is green, dent believe that snd Mrs. Yrs 1 5ede u
s%asssstsE, ii got 70 3; point Ian directly az l: .SaS;
l Esssiiftgy u tho 4 'S Gnion as and mo- Loyalty ItSn to s1 prin sipH.
Tho sweetest thing Of all is to think that tho dc,
ls, SG1t . time Wem hss come com ,t wnsn sac Ts f Sy : sise w aRS
heart to heart and talk about our dinerences OF
long, ago; During and after the war did not
CAN'T help IL when, / look in thetr sweet faces.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton the other night CON
tinued Mrs. Hanaford, 'and I believe. that he
the g. F. 5. is extending its work"
One Of the best things that Benton ever said
was that a public man should die poor" vol
unteered Mrs. Margaret Holmes Bates.
II think that when. men serve tho Govern
ment 80 we'll and so faithfully they should bo
paid enough when they retire to insure them a
good living. as they are In France nc nrs said Mrs. mrs;
she said It that everybody applauded, though
there were probably not ten women in the room
who really agreed Will her.
Before the meeting, adjourned Mrs. Hama
to make. Mrs. Eliza Newcombe Alexander
said sho was heading a movement which would
bring together all the women's organizations
In New York city. Her idea Is to have a COM
mittee of three from each women's club in q
central council, so that they can all extend their
work: She admitted, that she had not yet
found a name for the new organization, as sho
wanted one that would not. spell anything
when abbreviated: She had about decided on
her son suggested that that spelled New York
City Cow"
but any way" she added. II want tho wo-
men OF the ~greatest weight in the various clubs