The Savannah morning news., 1902-05-02
WOMEN IN SESSION
GRAND GATHERING BEGINS AT Los
ANGELES.
SERIOUS QUESTIONS SOLVED.
MRS. ROBERTS OF SALT LAKE CITY
DID NOT APPEAR.

Delegate From Secret Society at
Salt Lake Turned Down, but Al
lowed a Seat in COnventiOn-Mrs
Roberts Changed Her Mind ana
Did Not Appear-COIOr Question
Is Simmering and VIII Furnish
the Convention with Subject for
Much Talk.
Los Angeles, Cal. May 1.-The for
NAL opening of the Woman's Club con-
vention this afternoon was markedly
brilliant Hundreds of delegates and
visitors packed the Simpson Audito-
rum to the roof, the interior was en-
pellished with $4,000 Gala lilies. and
representative American women sat on
the platform. while the usual happy
greetings We're exchanged between
hostesses and guests.
The opening day was otherwise dis
tinguished by two separate questions
which would have developed into sem
sations had they reached the conven-
ton. One of them, which got as far
as the board of directors, had to do
with turning down delegate from a
secret society. The other. which con-
cerned the possible unseating of Mrs.
Roberts of Salt Lake City, wife of the
former congressman from Utah, in
the. event that she should try to APP
pear as a delegate, was squelched in
it's native state.
secret Societies Barred.
The first affair. which affects a ma
tional organization of 5000 members,
came up before the board of directors
in the morning at it's secret session.
Mrs. c. H. Mcmahon of Salt Lake
City it seems, had been appointed
delegate from the P. E. o. Chapter in
that city, which had applied for adj
mission to the general federation, and
she had received her credentials. But
at the last minutes Mrs. Denison, as
member of the Membership Commit
tee, discovered that secret societies
were not admissible, and so notified the
delegates. To-day. before the board
acknowledged their error, Mrs. Nc
Mahon, instead of pushing her claims,
withdrew amicably on two conditions.
One was that the Membership Com
mittee shouldered. the mistake and that
| she be seated in the convention, not
withstanding a vote was denied her.
Mrs. Roberts Did Not Come.
| The Roberts matter has been sim
mering ever since Mrs. Roberts said
she as president of the Authors Club
of Salt Lake City would be delegate
to the convention by virtue of her Of
flee. Mrs. Roberts changed her mind
before an underlying current of pro-
test came to the surface, and stayed at
home 1t is understood, however,
that a prominent Eastern woman had
been importuned by Utah women to
lead the fight In the event Mrs. Rob
erts undertook to push her right.
In the meantime the real skeleton,
the colored question, will make away
with enough time in the course of
convention events. The rumor hav-
ing started in California that Mrs.
Ruffin intended to come to Los Ange-
les impelled Mrs Anna West, one of
the leaders in Massachusetts,, to make
denial.
Grcnt Display OF Gala Lilies.
Undoubtedly one feature that largely
made impressive the opening session
was the floral scheme, possible only
in the land of flowers. The Gala lilies
not only banked solidly the back of the
platform, but the two balconies their
entire length while great clusters were
tied to every aisle seat in the house.
After invocation by Mrs. Chester p.
Darland, addresses of welcome were de-
livered by Gov. Henry t. Gage, Mayor
M. p. Snyder, Mrs. Kate A Buckley
of Oakland, president of the California
federation, and Messrs. Josiah Cowles,
president of the local biennial board.
Mrs. Lowe responded in so gracious
a manner as to call out rounds of APP
plause. Then came greetings from
fraternal delegates.
Mrs. Denison was introduced in con-
sideration of her term as acting pres
ident, with long applause. In turn
she did the pleasant thing of moving
that Mrs. Charlotte Severance, mother
of the Womans Club of California. be
made an honorary vice president of the
general federation.
The official reception which closed
the day came off in the evening under
the ouspices of the Friday Morning
Club at the Womans Clubhouse, a
quaint structure of mission architec-
ture which had been transformed into
a troIical bower.