The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-06-15
ECHOES OF THE FEDERATION.
Northern Not TO BE Allowed
to Forget Rufin Case.
Chicago Post.

Chicago Post.
ramat personae:
A Northern delegate
A Southern delegate.
Mrs. Josephine Rufin. a colored woman.
OF Boston.
THE words attributed 10 Mrs. Josephine
Ruffin are authentic. All the rest Is prob
able.l
Gentle Shade to Northern Delegate-You
have returned from the iennial conven-
ton of the General Federation OF Women
Clubs. What did you do?
Northern Delegate-Let me recollect-
Long pause.
Gentle Shade-Does memory fail?
Northern Delegate-Yes, We were In ses-
sion about a week. Yes. we spent about an
entire week doing-let me see. what We're
we doing?
Southern Delegate-We were excluding
| of us, delegates and alternates. All our en-
ergies were concentrated on excluding one
Gentle shade-How wicked she must have
been.
| Northern Delegate-Oh. no. she was a
| good woman
Gentle Shade-All the rest must have
been women of remarkable erudition- That
| one must have been illiterate.
| Southern Delegate-No. she was a highly
educated woman Among the excluding
llOucdlQ z III Jul
| not have been compared with her In edu-
! cation.
Gentle shade-she was i'll hammered?
Northern Delegate-oh, no. Her deport-
ment was modest.
Gentle Shade-Then why did the thou
sand exclude the one? The thousand were
pagans to whom one Christian. perhaps.
Northern Delegate and Southern Dele
gate Tin unison)-Oh. no. the thousand
comprised all varieties of Christians
- -
palians, Unitarians, Presbyterians-every
kind of Christian.
Gentle Shade-Was the one woman ex-
cluded by the thousand women a Chris
tian?
Northern Delegate and Southern Dele
gate Gin unison)-Yes.
Gentle Shade-Was it in my earthly career
i read in some great book. behold how
these Christians love one another?
Mrs. Josephine Rufin-On my arrival az
Milwaukee. before 1 had time TO dress or
door in the hotel. | replied: II am engaged.
I shall be prepared TO receive callers after
dressing" The knocker said she would be
perfectly pleased TO come I'm and visit with
me while / dressed. I declined TO admit
any one in such familiar circumstances and
babe the lady return In ten minutes IL the
object of the call were important. Prompt
ly she returned and sat in my room while
/ completed my preparations for breakfast.
81 have always been a friend Of your peo-
pie" she said. Then / knew what was COM
ing. A sacrifice was to be demanded at my
hands. The ntimacy of my private room
was secretly TO be used to tell me my pres
ence in a public hall in an affair neither
political nor social. but avowedly philan-
thropic, and only that. was not TO be toll
Grated. She begged me TO withdraw as a
delegate from the convention.
Gentle Shade-Why?
Mrs. Josephine Rufnn-On the ground that
the national union would be destroyed II I
did not.
Gentle Shade-How?
Northern Deiegate-By secession of the
South.
Gentle shade-what. DESTROYED AGAIN.
Northern Delegate-we did not like TO see
Mrs. Ruffin excluded.
Southern Delegate-why did you not say
so?
Northern Delegate-we could not get IL
before the convention.
Southern Delegate-You could not? Be
frank. Not one of you had the sincerity or
skill TO try. You never attempted &c get Il
before the convention, on whose benches
the Northern delegates the
Southern three to one.
Northern Delegate-Under ame
law we could not find a way.
Southern Delegate-John Brown was not
concerned about parliamentary law.
Northern Delegate-But he was executed.
Southern Delegate-You Northern women
of this hour prefer a few Offices and some
society" In a body of fictitious Importance.
Your mothers. who gave husbands and sons
the Constitution OF the United States. de-
claring that race. color and previous condi-
ton of servitude should not be a bar
Gentle Shade-Can IL be possible that the
tragedy OF a nation. which resulted In Civ
ing the ballot of freemen to one-haif an
emancipated race. has not given to an edu-
Gated, virtuous and refined member OF the
other half the privilege OF sitting in a nom
political, nonsocial body of American
women in a Northern city?
Southern Delegate-No. The Northern
women sitting in the Milwaukee biennial
convention OF the General Federation OF
Women's Clubs belong. unlike their moth
ers. to what we of the South used 70 call
'mudsills OF the North" There was not
even one among them with dignity enough
, to rise ana say. out of respect for the
Constitution Of the United States / protest
against the exclusion Of Josephine Rufin.
of Boston. solely on account OF her color.
and withdraw from an American conven-
ton guilty of this infamy."
Northern Delegate-We feared you would
secede.
Southern Delegate-You evidently have
never studied the history of this country.
We of the South found our one experiment
Of secession convincing and conclusive. IL
was not the Union that was destroyed. It
was the South. What incompetents and
towards you Northern women of this gen.
Grafton are. A dozen of us have bagged
your hundreds. We hout you openly and
privately laugh al you. There were women
among your mothers who were eloquent.
courageous. consistent. You are toadies and
office hunters, lacking logic as well as elo-
quence, organization as well as art. There
is not a spark of genius in your multitude.
with one apt phrase have stampeded the
convention for tie admission OF the only
woman Of color who was a delegate.
Gentle Shade must be mistaken in
woman.
Northern DeIegate-Who are vou9