The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1901-05-09
THE WOMAN'S CLUBS
The Story of Their State Meet
ing by Herald Repre-
sentative.
Council Bluffs, May 4.-(special.)

delight and my own has been all of that
in attending my first Biennial. In the
first place, although a native of Iowa,
| had never seen the western part OF
the state. Imagine then my rapture on
approaching the palisades of the Mis-
souri, river at sunrise on May morn
ing. Sweep after sweep of billowy
hillsides, ipterlaced with rivers and
brooks outlined by young willow trees;
here and there a forest just catching
the shades of springtime; occasionally
slope white as the driven snow with
blossoms sometimes valley where
cattle were browsing, and everywhere
comfortable and peaceful homes OF
Iowa farmers, and all touched by the
glory of the golden May morning
Fancy, if you can, this picture, and then
agree with me that it vies with the
palisades of the Hudson or ride
across the Swiss valleys. Out of this
fairyland the train swept into the city
of Council Bluffs, and soon | found
myself at home, really at home, in the
Grand Hotel, where are a dozen more
club women from various parts of the
state and where the service is so de-
Nightful that one could not wish it to
be better, 49,. 80 '.E =.
At nine o'clock on Wednesday morn.
ing the regular convention exercises of
the Fourth Biennial began in the
Methodist church. For three days |
have looked into the faces of this aud
fence of a thousand women representa-
tives of the highest type of western
womanhood. l have been deeply i'm
pressed with several things, simply as
an on-looker. First, the character and
intellectually of the faces turned to-
wards me. Just as in mems faces see
sweetness and refinement in some,
traces of i'll temper and soIt- dispos-
ition in others, but the active brain, the |
inquiring spirit that belongs so dis |
tinctively to the women OF the present
day. have left their impress upon all |
Second, | noticed that the great ma.
jority of the women looked in i'll health. |
These women are from forty u fifty |
years of age, young enough to be as |
men are at that age, in superb con-
dition, but sallow skins, deeply circled |
eyes, hollow cheeks, wrirliled fore
heads, and worse than al A seeming |
lack of vital force, marked these wcm- |
en- as prey to evil con lions. of what |
woman cannot be like a man, at her |
best in middle life. One thing did |
not see, signs of dissipation of any sort
club women neither smoke nor chew
nor drink, and in this fast, as much as
any other one fact. lies their chance of
leading men in every avenue of busi-
ness open to them.
All sorts of clubs are represented |
here. Study clubs, art associations,
village improvement clubs, lrerarv
societies. and one press clIb. This last
IS tn: Womeu's Press Tub of Dies
AlolneS. TIE only organizat.,1 Of wofk-
ing women in the Federation. Mrs. |
Smith, the president of the Nebraska |
Federation of Women's Clubs spoke |
briefly the other morning about club |
reports She impressed us all as a de- |
lightful woman and her words seemed |
to come from her heart. She said,
Give us more of these club reports. |
They are the soul of our federation
meetings" And really nothing has
been of more interest to me than these |
little three minute club reports proving |
the wonderful advancement made by |
women in the last ten years. T he
presidents and delegates from the out
lying towns of Iowa spoke with intel
ligence. force and dignity, and the out
lines Of the work they have been doing |
predict glorious things for the future. I
Mrs. w. H. Baily, the corresponding |
secretary of the Federation, gave a
most interesting report of her work |
during the past two years. think | |
am safe in saying that no man would |
have done the immense amount of work |
accomplished in that time by Mrs. Baily |
without a good, fat salary.
The speech OF welcome to the dele
gates was made by Hon. John N. Bald
win, and l wondered why he had to be
three times asked to speak louder. His |
speech, while quite we'll received, was
not along the highest lines. Like
many other men Mr.. Baldwin seemed |
to think that women loved taffy above |
appreciation, or if he does have a high |
of the work and duties of |
women he failed to express it in words. |
The old notion that woman was built |
to be mans helpmate and inspiration |
only will not go nowadays. Everybody |
knows that woman is an end unto |
herself and has duties to herself aside |
from her duties to mankind. Miss |
Dodge of Council Bluffs, also welcomed |
the delegation, and L think | am safe |
in saying that every one was pleased |
with her. At the close of President |
Hutchinson's response a graceful thing
was done in the handing to her by the
Council Bluffs women Of an armful of
American Beauty roses. And So the
ball was set rolling and the reports
came on, interspersed with music On
Wednesday evening at nine o'clock
there was reception at the Grand
Hotel. If you have never been to
woman's club reception, let me tell you
something about them. They are fear
tul and wonderful to mix up in. If you
have the slightest trace of the aristo-
crat in your veins, avoid them as you
would pestilence. A writhing, seeth-
ing, tortuous mass of heads white and
brown and black and yellow, some with
aigrettes and some with roses, here
and there a diamond star, and issuing
from this mass an overwhelming vol
ume of giggling and Cabling, and not
a man to be seen any where. 1t makes
one think of CarlSle's Sartor Resartus,
where he speaks of looking down from
his tower upon the squirming, wrig-
CLING mass of human creatures, each
trying to get his head above the others,
and woe be to the little woman and
glory to the big one at a woman's club
reception. Why do we have them /?
DR.. Beardshear was not in evidence.
neither was dorado Taft I coulI not
blame them for their absence.
The most interesting event of Thurs
days session was a paper by Mrs.
Maria c, Bibbs of Boone upon village
innnrnNnrnnetnt Mrs Pihhr hnI hnr LII