The National tribune., 1900-08-16
THE NATIONAL WASHINGTON o.

Margaret Moore said: "When at the
reception the other evening some friendly
woman said to me, L hope you will feol
at home in this country / said, Yes,
every Irish woman who comes to America
comes home and so far do l feel that,
that although to-day l stand here rep
resentative of Irish women, as You have
been told. having received the highest
honor in the power of the English Gov
ernment to bestow upon an Irish woman.
that of Imprisonment for the love of her
country, have declared my intention OF
becoming an American citizen and bring
ing up my children here in the land OF
| liberty" And then Miss Anthony pre-
sented in her happy way the daughters Of
Great Britain, Mrs. Scotchard, Mrs. Or
miston Chant, Mrs. Margaret Dixie and
Mrs. Gustafson.
Mrs Bessie Starr Keefer spoke for
Canada.
When the courtesies Of the occasion
were ended the regular business of the
session began. OF course the limitations
| of this letter forbid hardly a touch upon
| the work Of the week, when delegates
representing over so organizations Of diff
ferent countries laid the plans of their
work before the listeners. One of the
touching incidents of one Of the meetings
was the Temperance night, when Miss
Frances Willard was to preside. She nd
vanced to the front of the stage with
Miss Anthony holding her by the hand.
and said: Il remember at this hour tho
very first time l ever spoke; that was in
Rochester Corinthian Hall in 1873. ]
then for the first time met Susan B. An.
thony at tea in the house of mutual
friend, and l learned, as everybody does
who knows how true and loyal-hearted is
this woman, to love and honor her. We
had started to go into the hall from the
ante-room, when Miss Anthony said to
l.,I, h,l I,ntt nt in
you; you are just beginning. You have
your reputation to make, and some people
are afraid of the unpopular IDEAS l rep
resent. / will go in at this side door, and
they will never know that you were with
me-" Miss Willard still stood there
holding Miss Anthony's hand. the vast nu-
dience listening breathlessly. With tears
in her voice she proceeded: at touched
my heart; her sisterly thought of me in
my new position. / was not then as In
doctrinated as ! am now. l thought of 1t
rejoicingly tonight, as l was to come for
ward under her auspices, with her bene-
diction on my head, how times had
changed" Miss Anthony stood there calm
and undsturbed, while very few eyes in
the audience were fearless.
Every session in the week brought from
some treasure house facts the public want
ed knowledge of; 50 different organizations
were represented on the platform by 90
speakers and 40 delegates from fore. .gn
countries and the United States.
Before the Council was closed a per-
manent organization was formed of 4 Ma
tional and International Council of
Women. The National was to meet trien-
nially, the International quintenially.
Miss Frances q. Willard was elected Pres
ident Of the National, and Milicent Gar
the international Council, and thus the
ship was launched Of this great orsaniza-
ton.
The story Of the Council would not be
well rounded out without some account
OF the social events of the week. Mr..
and Mrs. Spofford gave reception at the
Riggs House to the officers and delegates
Of the Council. The large dining-room
and spacious parlors were packed with
people anxious to pay their respects to
these representative women from 9 o'clock
until midnight. Mr.. and Mrs Spofford
never did anything by halves, and royal
welcome always awaited those interested
in reform movements.
Friday, March 80, the President and
Mrs. Cleveland received the Council and
its visitors. On Monday evening Senator
and Mrs. Tom w. Palmer received the
foreign delegates. Foreign Legations,
Government officials and friends and Wis.,
itors availed themselves of the privilege
of the occasion to make the acquaintance
April 3 Senator and Mrs. Stanford, of
California, opened their magnificent house
in honor Of the pioneers in the Woman's
Suffrage movement. Hundreds of people
embraced this opportunity to salute the
brave women who have at such cost to
themselves broadened and enriched the
lives Of the women of to-day.
Not only must an end come to all things,
pleasant or otherwise, but there must also
come day Of reckoning. Now the time
had come to count the cost. Added to the
expense of the Opera House there were
bills for the entertainment OF officers,
speakers, foreign delegates, printing, post
age, stenographers, Tribune, etc, all foot
ing up to $4,000. But the receipts from
membership was $1,000; from sale of
boxes and seats, $4,000; from sale of daily
Womdn's Tribune, badges, photographs,
etc, making total of quite $4,000, leav-
ing surplus, when all the bills were paid,
to publish the stcnographic proceedings of
that grand assemblage of women, coming
from many countries and latitudes. The
magnitude of the undertaking, at fnan-
cial cost Of $4,000, the courage, the anx-
iety and force required to carry on such
project to successful end, all prove
that the time was ripe for such q con-
vention.
No one now doubts the wisdom of such
a step, and nc one who has watched the
trend and broadening Of woman's work
through the years but must give the credit
TO those pioneer women, and admit the
power women have gained over popular
thought through that first International
Council-that great yesterday in Wash
ington.