Evening star., 1902-02-18

Mrs. Lockwood Of the District Of Column
bia, Mrs. Avery of Michigan, Mrs Hoops
or pennsylvania and others before the de-
bate on the proposed amendments was
reached.
Debate Begins.
Il desire to speak against the amend
ments. Mrs. Roome said with some en-
pnasis and many Of the delegates clapped
their hands However, 1 am willing to
defer until the committee on representation
shall have an opportunity to report
Mrs. Batchelder OF New Jersey protested
asainst tne consideration until the delegates
hao hao plenty OF time to read them over.
Proceedings Yesterday Afternoon.
The proceedings Of the afternoon session
or the Daughters of the American Revolu-
tion were of the strenuous kind. Mrs. Mi
randa b. Tulloch of this city, chairman Of
the credentials committee. submitted her
report, which was unanimously adopted
without debate. It showed 917 delegates
present and entitled to vote an increase Of
n1ty-seVen over the number in the con-
gress last year The number includes the
state regents and the GOO chapter regents.
The report recommended the calling Of the
roll by chapters, Ito commemorate those
sacred names and to emphasize the record
OF historical Places" many of the chapters
being named for revolutionary heroes and
which required over half an hour, followed
Then came the Warren Chapter business.
which. like a "Jack-in-t theBox," has been
oobbing up periodically for three years as
feature of the national congress program.
The election Of Mrs. Chas. H. Deere to
the state regency of Illinois is said to be
one OF the factors In the Monmouth Chap
ter business that will help to finally ad-
just the troubles and quiet conditions N
revolutionary circles in Illinois. The fight
for the state regency has been carried on
In that state In a particularly lively man
ner. The followers Of Mrs. Robert Hall
W1les, the retiring regent who desired re-
election, were called tories and the fol-
lowers of Mrs. Charles H. Deere who has
just been elected regent were known as
wings The tories stood for the Mon
mouth affair."" headed by Mrs. Wiles. and
the wings against the injustice, as they
termed it, perpetrated by the last admins
tration.
The Issue Explained.
Chicago paper, in explaining the sit
uation, says:
Even many of those women who are
delegates to Washington are not aware
of the true nature Of the Monmouth affair
1t all dates back to 1893. when the War
rem chapter at Monmouth was organized
From the very first there were little squab
bles that caused Ill feeling among the
members. Mrs. ]. c. Burns was regent
and the assertion was made that under her
rulings In the meetings nothing could be
accomplished. There were nineteen resi-
dent members Of this branch and eleven
nonresident. Finally, matters became so
chaotic, rumor has 1t. that eleven Of the
resident members, including Mrs. Burns,
formulated plan secretly to dissolve the
chapter and organize another under new
name
After months Of plotting, 1t is said, a
call for meeting was sent out. On the
day 1t was held the faction led by MRS. ].
r. Webster was late in arriving, and those
hn yvifh NrQ fo no
advantage of this, transacted all the busi-
ness to be done In the first fifteen minutes,
adopted resolution to dissolve the chapter
and forwarded the charter to Washington.
Found the Door Locked.
when the Webster faction arrived 1t
found the doors locked and the meeting ap-
parently finished. Meantime the Burns fol-
lowers adjourned to some other place and
organized chapter of their own and called
it the Puritan and Cavalier. The first in
timation the Webster women had Of what
had been done was when they read notice
of it in the local paper that evening.
"Of course, there was a protest, and the
eight members Of the Webster faction-one
more than a quorum-immediately met and
sent complaint to Washington against the
dissolution of the chapter. Then it called
a meeting to fill vacancies in the Offices, for
there were three off1ce-holders who went
with the Burns faction. Mrs. Webster was
elected regent to succeed Mrs. Burns.
when the national board met that fall
1t was decided that the action Of the Burns
faction had been illegal, and that the origi-
nal Warren Chapter was still intact. The
only power which could dissolve the chap
ter it was decided, was that which Gre
ated 1.-THE national board
"And If the women desired to leave the
chapter the only way they could do it was
to resign, it was said. After that the new
name was abandoned, and the Burns fac
tion took the original name. Since then
two chapters have been in the field, both
claiming recognition and bearing the same
name
Burns Chapter Recognized.
Next year, through some influence, it is
said, the Burns chapter was recognized by
the national board, and it's delegates have
since been seated in the national congress.
The Webster faction, although unrecog-
nized, has gone on with it's work, paid it's
dues, which have been accepted, and In
creased in membership. 1t has continually
been making demands for representation
'The trouble started in Mrs Kerfoot's
state administration, was carried over to
Mrs. Shepard's through Mrs. Talcotts and
into Mrs Wiles'. Mrs. Kerfoot and Mrs
Shepard never heard evidence about the
case; Mrs. Talcott went to Monmouth and
thought she had settled 1t by standing with
the national board.
Mrs. wiles is said to favor letting the
matter rest JUST where II is. She cOnSl0-
ers it settled, and this stand is exactly
what the country people. who claim to have
a good understanding of the case object to,
They assert there are twenty-three Mon
mouth women struggling for recognition
and doing splendid work who cannot right
their position because the state regent will
not allow their case to be brought up
They want the difference settled among
themselves and not taken to the national
congress; but this. they say. they have not
been allowed to do
An appeal fully stating the case of the
Monmouth chapter was sent to all the dele
gates to the eleventh national congress.
signed by thirteen chapter regents
Immediately after the report of the COM
mittee on credentials was read last night
Mrs. II. c. De Matt. treasurer of the D.
A. r. of Illinois, offered a resolution pro-
viding for the appointment by the pres!-
dent general of a committee Of five to in
vestigate the conditions in the chapter and
report back to the congress.
Half a Dozen at Once.
Immediately half dozen women were on
their feet demanding recognition. The ma
DIRTY Of the Illinois delegation, which had
turned Mrs. Wiles down. now, headed by
Mrs. Lillard. regent Of the Bloomington
Chapter led the argument for investiga-
ton. which they declared they had never
been able to get under the former admin
jSt ra ffon