The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-01-23
CLUBS FOR YOUNG GIRLS
A CIvILIZING ELEMENT AMONG M
MIGRANTS IN NEW YORK.
Six Hundred Such Clubs i'm the East
Side Jewish Quarter-PracticaI
Work Done by Them.

New York Evening Post.
This is the season when the girls clubs Of
the East Side are busiest They begin their
official year in September, when the cool
evenings set in. and for the next three
months are energetic in cavassing for new
members and in making preparations for
entertainments. study courses and club
work for the remainder of the season. There
were almost none in that part of the city
twenty years ago. but at the present time
they are numerous. Strangely enough, the
countries which supply the East Side with
its citizens either do not permit women's
clubs or else have never heard of them
There are a few in Vienna and Buda-Pesth,
while in the eastern half of the Austro-
Gothic empire there are none. In Russia
and Roumania women's clubs are forbid
den by law, while in progressive Germany
such organizations are discountenanced,
and In most districts require a police IL
cense. Yet the girls and women from these
districts. after they have become Amer
icanized, are the most active and enthusi-
astic in club work. They are more per-
tinacious than their native sisters. 1t is
impossible to enumerate the organizations
angle bounded by the Bowery, Ninth street
and the East river. In the neighborhood
OF the Educational Alliance, which is stu
ated on East Broadway and Jefferson
street, there are over one hundred. The
branches of the alliance in Madison and
Firth streets have given birth to several
score. The public, evening, private and
high schools have evolved educational and
literary unions exceeding fifty In number
The numerous trades and industries Of the
district have developed social leagues, read
ing circles and all sorts of unions. This
does not take into account the clubs and
classes which have been started by philan-
thropic individuals and societies.
"A prominent worker on the East Side es-
Inmates the number of girls clubs of all
sorts at about six hundred. Nearly all
have had the same development. They be-
gin in home or school with handful
OF members and some public-spirited friend
or teacher. They grow moderately for one
or two years until they reach the limit set
by their constitution and bylaws. This
runs from twenty-five upwards the aver
age being about fifty. According to the
girls themselves twenty-five is the best
number when the aim of the club is edu-
cational or literary. When it is social a
hundred is the best number. When it Is
of the nature of a trades union then the
rule is 1.-The more the merrier." The aims
and objects of these associations illustrate
the varied character of New York life
and the versatility of its daughters. They
include dancing, department, literature,
stenography, typewriting, embroidery,
drawing, photography, gymnastics, basket
ball, chess and checkers, dominoes, back
CANNON, botany, wild flowers, wood cary
ing, artificial flower making, German,
French Hebrew and Latin, civics, Ameri-
can history, rhetoric and composition, de-
batting, essays, singing, piano playing, vio-
lin playing, amateur dramaticS, millinery,
dressmaking, cooking, lace making. teleg-
raphy, book binding and basket work.
EAST SIDE SERIOUSNESS.
In all of the organizations may be found
the distinguishing characteristics of the
East Side-earnestness and seriousness.
There is very little make-believe and very
little mischief, and the members do not
have good time under the pretext of
study or work. These black-eyed girls are
ell ambitious. patient and resolute. To
them the club programme means duty, and
the aim of each is to surpass all the rest.
This rivalry never ends LII is not confined
to the club, but is carried into the home.
store and office. Members of literary clubs
read, memoriZe. study and rehearse with
almost as much zeal as an actress in learn
ing her part. L attended a reception
short time ago OF the Isaac
Pitman Club, where one of the
members, a round-faced, bright-eyed girl
of sixteen, recited from memory poem
more than five hundred lines in length with
n.
feat was commented upon the young woman
laughed contemporary. saying, Every girl
in our club could do that" The Girls
Camera Club, which was organized a wear
and half ago, has taken over five hun
dred pictures in that period, and given two
capital exhibitions of it's work. At the
outset they took portraits and views of
houses, streets and meetings in the neigh
borhood. They passed to photographing the
East river, the Hudson Central Park an.
the Bronx. They then took up fiashlight
pictures and snap shops eliminating with
freak pictures Their work has been over
seen by an expert. although nearly all are
now so skillful as to require no assistance.
1t must not be supposed that these girls
allow theory TO interfere with practice or
permit club pleasures to interfere with the
cares and duties OF daily life. The arti-
fcial-fower workers have q number OF
social and industrial organizations in the
ne1ghbornood or Division and Grand streets
They combine business with pleasure, and
keep a sharp eye upon all the features of
their calling.
Two years ago the market for their goods
began TO sacken and many hands were
laid off. They appointed a committee to ir-
vestigate the matter which promptly found
out the cause and reported II TO be the in
PRODUCTION of new and beautiful styles OF
artificial flowers from Paris. The clubs
raised fund. sent their most capable girl
to the French capital and supported her
there until she had learned the iates- con-
ceits and fancies of the trade. When she
returned the club sessions were devoted to
study and practice under her instruction
and in short time she had impaired TO
them all that she had learned abroad AS
soon as this was accomplished the officers
or the societies made a demand upon their
employers for higher wages, and obtained
them without the necessity of strike. II
T.; hardly necessary to add that the goods
produced were equal to those which Were
imported. and that the French exporters
soon found their American sales going
down TO the vanishing point.
a LITERARY UNION.
A model literary union is the "Knowl-
edge-Seekers' Club" which works under
the direction of Miss Spectorsky In its
brief career 1t has taken long and thor
ough course in American literature, and for
its sole recreation gave comedietta, 1.-The
May Queen" which received very high
praise from all who attended ii. Steno-
graphic and typewriting clubs are TO be
found all over the East Side. There is at
least one attached to every social set
| Element, from the Educational Alliance to
| the smallest school. They are more am
bilious than the classes in other parts OF
| the metropolis. The latter are satisfied
with talking English. but the East Side
girls in many instances use German, Span