Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1899-03-02

n l }, $40.


MRS. l |' !. COlENAlPSS |! |: ! I| WORK |
The South Garolina Fedora ation OF 7Vo.l
mem " clubs Its Fifst President.
r To tile Editor of Ihe Sunday
Nswas ysYken the so aaa Z. w eek
,Club'"'Eof the little; town Of Seneca,
s. o., held its FIRST nee ting it is isssfe
to Say chat the thought occurred to-
none of its members that within its
little circle of influence would be
born agreatlm movement fof advancing
the interests of women in particular
aud the whole State injgeneral. The
tact, nevertheless, remains that tho
first step toward concentrating the
club work of women into a great
unity Of effort was taken by tho
"Once q Week Club" } {, fS
From that small nucleus the spirit
has radiated until now there are
eighteen women's clubs, which has
entered the Federation with an in
crease of interest in the work, from
the mountain to the seaboard, which.
will doubtless culminate in additional
strength to the organization and fur
ther extension of its influence.
For fear that the object of the
Federation and, indeed, of the clubs
themselves, may be misunderstood
it may be as we'll to state here that
they are not pledged to further the
cause Of womaa's suffrage, however
much in sympathy with that move
ment individuals may be. The clubs
as organizations are non-political, and
are organized to further the advance.
ment of education and everything
which tends to better the condition
of the State, mentally, morally and
socially, and the work is as various as
the clubs, extending all along the
line from TIC kindergarten to the
university. :.
In the interest of this work Mrs.
M. w. Coleman, of Seneca, President
of the South Carolina Federation of
Women's Clubs, has spent the past
week in Charleston, going over the
ground and informing herself as TO
club matters in this city. Mrs. Cole
man is on earnest and thorough
worker; a woman who believes in
the power of woman to remodel and
reconstruct many of the vexed ques-
tions of the day, and she also strongly
advocates the coordination and COR
relation of forces and the co-opera-
tion of the various women's clubs
through the Federation, in which Or
ganization all can find some common
ground of interest upon which they
can work for the greatest good of the
greatest number and still adhere to
their own special and individual york.
There are two lines npon which
the Federation hopes to accomplish
much good in their CO. operative work,
lines upon which their president is
now earnestly working; these are the
establishing of free kindergartens
and library extension. She hopes in
the near future to have free kinder
garten establishment in every factory
precinct in South Carolina. The
work of formation will thus be estab-
lished, lessening in proportion the
work of reformation, 30 excellent ana
80 necessary in itself, but so much
harder and more dIscouraging than
the only other nleans of bringing
about right cond ton of society
the early forming OF good habits and
right and true ways of thinking--all
making for character. .0 .
Mrs. Coleman strongly advocates
this work, and if she can but gain the
cooperation of the women of South
Carolina the way will be made clear
for it.. ..... III E.".
She is also intensely interested in
the village Improvement question,
under which head comes the library
extension work, or the establishing of
travelling libraries. Mrs. Coleman is
the mother of this movement in
South Carolina, and under her able
management success is assured. The
clubs which have taken up civics, or
village Improvement, as their special
work are deeply interested in the
sending of good literature, entirely
free, to those whom straitoncd means
or inaccessibility to libraries have
dobarred from the mental food for
which they are starving.
Through the cO-Operatiye aDirit.