The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-12-03
THE LADIES AND THE LIBRARY.

The ladies of st. Paul are setting an
example of local pride and patriotism
nowadays which should be an inspha-
ton to those of the other sex among our
people, who have hitherto acted on the
conviction that the duties of citizenship
begin and end at the ballot box. The
great mass of men in st. Paul really be-
stow very little, If any, effort on the adj
vancement of the city's prosperity and
welfare In any channel outside the prose-
cution of their respective callings. A
comparatively few, members of the
chamber of commerce, the Commercial
club and like organizations, busy them
selves from time to time in matters which
involve the well-being of the city and
its people, but the fraction of local citi-
zenship which they represent is numer-
ically very small indeed.
The ladies' on the other hand, have
for many months past shown so intelli-
gent and abiding au.interest in the prog
ress of the city and in the happiness Of
its people as to have aroused the admiral
ton of all thoughtful citizens. The work
done by the Ladies Civic league, for
instance has been all done along lines
which lead to the most valuable and most
needful results, and is of a nature which
does not permit of it's being done nearly
as well, if it admits Of being done at all,
by the men.
And now come the ladies of the New
Century club, and present to the consid-
alton of the people Of the city project
into which they have entered in the spirit
Of zeal and self-sacrifce which we all
identify with their sex as tts chief char
acteristic. These ladies propose to raise
by private subscription the moneys that
will be necessary to the preparation Of
the new library rooms for the reception
of the books and other appointments now
being housed in the attic of the court
| house building. The amount needed will
be $4,000, and the ladies of the Century
club propose to assure its being made
available.
No word Of thanks or of admiration will
exaggerate the obligation which this peo-
pie are under to these ladies. They are
doing work which was more than I'M
likely to remain undcne, or at best to be
very poorly done, had they not under
taken it. They will render a service to
every patron Of our pubic library, from
the child who takes out his or her story
book to the student who has steady daily
recourse to the shelves of the library.
There Is not a household in the coulnu-
nifty which VIII not to a greater or less
extent share the obligation which these
ladies thus place the Community under.
It is sad, but 1t is none the less true,
that we men are rarely without some in
terested purpose or other in most that we
do for society as a whole. 1t is most
frequently our ambitions, and sometimes,
too, our selfish. pecuniary interests, which
lead US to show forth our public spirit.
It Is rarely, If ever, with US a matter OF
self-sacridce and love of our neighbor or
of the community in which we live.
Herein il is that the action of our ladies
in matters of public advantage and con-
Germ shines out in all the grace and dig
nifty of pure diSinterestedness-
If we men had in the past twenty years
shown the degree of zeal and devotion to
the city, aside from cur selfish concerns,
which the ladies, like those of the Cen
fury club and the Civic league, have
shown within SC many months, there are
many things which remain undone in this
city, to the city's discredit and injury,
that would have been successfully ac-
complished many years ago.