The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-01-30
4 not Alb HARMONY
BUT THE CHICAGO MEETING OF
MUSICAL CLUBS WAS A
SUCCESS.
! THAT THOMAS INCIDENT
MUCH EXAGGERATED BY REPORTS
:. IN THE DAILY
PAPERS.
JUST A HINT OF TROUBLE.
But 1t Passed Away Without an I'm
pleasant Woodwork of the
Convention.
T THOMAS
ST A HINT OF TROUBLE,

Leaving st. Paul under clear skies
and with bare ground last Sunday
night, it was something of a surprise
to awake the next morning Just out
side of Chicago to find snow a foot
deep and to note that the passing cars
and sign posts looked as if they had
been the target of an army of school
boys. A second blizzard on Tuesday
delayed trains and made the opening
sessions Of the National Federation Of
Musical Clubs somewhat meager in at
tendance. About 100 women gathered
in SteinWay hall, Chicago, on Tuesday
morning, Jan. %. The temporary presi-
dent, Mrs. Theodore Sutro, Of New
York city, was in the chair An en-
tirely harmonious meeting of the tenn
porary board, held in the Columbus
Memorial building the day previous, at
which Mrs. Sutro presided, had ar
ranged the details of the programme
previously sketched, and made 1t pos
sible to perfect the permanent organi-
ZatiOn without unnec5ssa delay. The
unfortunate Thomas incident" as it
came to be designated, made it seem
wise to exclude reporters from the
purely executive sessions, since many
newspapers are apt to make more of
a single sensational feature than of the
spirit manifested and the attitude TAX
en- By an entire assembly. Hungry re-
porters thronged the ante rooms seek
ing for crumbs of comfort, and the
main facts were officially stated at the
close of each session. As a rule, the
Chicago press was courteous and fair,
only one or two sensational sheets
traEsgresSing the bounds Of truth and
justice. There was at no time through
out the entire convention any ''Wrang-
ming or "discord," nor did jealousy"
or Ill temper" even show itself. Every
one was conscious of a feeling of in
tense anXiesF lest some woman should
forget herself, and a scene be precipi-
tated, but this convention certainly ev-
idenced that women have made great
advance in self-gOvernment and in
knowledge of parliamentary usages.
AS l presume that you have already
published the formal programme of
each session, I will touch only on Il
few points of special interest. The
one really sensational feature of the-l
entire convention was that portion of
the presidents report which she has
already given to the press, and which
therefore is public property After re-
ferring TO the Thomas affair as a deli !
cate and sorrowfuI subject" she depre-
Gated the use of the word ''fraudu-
lent" and concluded: How much bet |
ter and wiser it would have been If
our secretary, Miss RalSton, instead of !
spending her time in sending out print
ed notices, prOnouncing my work un-
official had spent her time in work
Ing for the success of this meeting"
no.
was moment of profound silence, and
then 81 member of the board arose to
her feet to testify that Miss Ralston
had but acted under instructions from
the board as we'll as by legal advice
For a moment it seemed that the much
dreaded fight" had begun, but almost
instantly a member moved that the re-
port be laid upon the table. The motion
vas unanimously carried and regular
business resumed. The unpleasant
ness" lasted not more than two minutes
and certainly did not warrant the SEN
satiONal headlines of some of the next
days newspapers. Tuesday afternoon
was given up almost entirely to papers
and reports from various clubs. In the
evening a delightful concert was given
to the visiting delegates and their
friends by the Chicago Amateur club.
Nearly the whole of Wednesday was de-
voted to the consideration and adop-
ton of the articles Of Incorporation and
the bylaws. Different opinions were
held as to the following points: First,
the name. Second. the admission of
men. Third, the admission of literary
clubs having a musical branch. Fourth,
the dues. Fifth. how to engage artists,
whether by a committee or by a salaried
agent Discussions were long and earn
est. But never acrimonious or personal,
and scarcely ever irrelevant. It was
finally decided to adopt the following
name: National Federation of Musical
Clubs" emitting the words amateur
and women" Clubs having male
members can be admitted, but such
clubs must be Differed by women
Literary clubs having a musical branch
cannot be admitted as whole, but the
musical branch, if separately Differed,
can come in. A biennial tax of 10 cents
q head for all classes of members in
each federated club was the method