The San Francisco call., 1898-05-04
CRITICIZE
 DRESS AND
 THE PRESS Spirited Discussions at the Woman's
 Congress. Reform Urged in a Re- bellion Against Fash
 ions Law. Stanford Professors Censure the Yellow Element in
 Pa pers.
QUERY FROM THE GALLERY
An Interesting Programme Has Beer Prepared for To-Days Consid-
 eration.

Yesterday was reform day at the Womans Congress. Each annual meet ing has boasted of some reform to be promulgated, and Tuesdays meeting nat urally fell into line. That old and reliable standby dress reform. was, for the sake of other days, given gentle little tap leaving the vigor and the eloquence to be expended on the latest reform-that of the press.
 Professor C. A. Duniway of Stanford took charge of the reinstatement of news paper editors and while he administered punishment reminded one -forcibly Of the parent with active slipper, who declares he suffers more than the receiving or fender.
 In these five successive years or woman's congress man has risen grad ually in estimation, until now but nttle stands against him in the Judgment or the ladies' However, his latest offense IS ms opposition to dress reform, and speakers with tightly corrected forms ascribed to dissenting mankind all their lack of com fort and artistic loveliness. There were several bursts of patriotic enthusiasm al the afternoon session, and when Daush- ter of the Revolution explained that the aim and object Of the society was 10 instill patriotism and to honor the names of those who made this country possloie
 
 The only advertisement of the day was furnished by a dashing big-hatted blonde in the gallery. One speaker had suggested that women who did not know what to do with their time devote their superhuous leisure to the children, when the blonde vision propounded the momentous ques- tion: what are you to do if you have no children and can't get married?" wig l orous voice responded: Adopt an orphan asylum and the blonde subsided, evi- dently satisfied.
 The first paper of the afternoon was read by Mrs. Sara B. Gamble. She treated her subject, Bohemia and Phil
 istia" boldly drawing a,s ner tsnhIon eomParisons
 She called Philistia "a titled commun- ity, ruled by conventionaities, where 1 friendship and love cannot flourish. and 1 alluded to Bohemia as "the proud land ! of promise which fascinates and furnishes | the picturesque to the world, while sow 1 ing for Philstia to reap.
 | The lady said in part:
 "In republics there is no aristocracy, no
 nonulace: so there is theoretically a little l silver spoon in every baby's mouth. The
 presidency is open to every every b2y baby ana ana baby. Genius does not flourish in Philis- tian borders and neither is Philistia troubled with a conscience
 ''The ideals of Philistia are the vagaries
 Whoever has hobby finds himself welcomed in Bohemia. A Bohemian, like lost Pleiad, may wander III fnlllStld dnu PhiIistian now and then lays aside his dress coat and saunters into Bohemia"
 Miss Sidney R. Yarrow followed with a paper on "The Church as a Source of Eel ioWship" The lady's essay was made up | largely of quotations, the gist of which l conveyed the sentiment that the Christian church is a fellowship as born in the heart of Jesus whose message was love. The first speaker of the evening session was Mrs. Mary Roberts Smith of Stan ford University. Mrs. Smith dealt with 1 h cl1h an easy, fluent manner, showing much familiarity with her subject.
 She took her auditors back to primitive times, and traced the gradual rise of