The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-02-09
COLOR LINE AGAIN
QUESTION TO COME UP AT NATION
AL MEETING OF wOMENs
FEDERATED CLUBS
GEORGIA WOMEN ARE ACTIVE
Delegates From That State Confer
With Massachusetts Women-Ar-
engagements for Midyvinter
Luncheon About Made.

-
Last week there arrived in New York
two prominent women from Georgia,
Mrs. A. o. Granger, of Gainesville, and
Mrs. J. Lindsay Johnson, Atlanta, presi-
dent and eX-president of the Georgia
State Federation of Women's clubs.
They came to New York to meet dele
gates from the Massachusetts federation
to discuss the matter of amendments to
the bylaws of the general federation.
which meets next May in Los Angeles.
The result of that conference has not
been made public, but that it had to
do with the question of drawing the
color line in the federation is admitted.
The Georgia women propose to settle
this veXed question by the insertion Of
the word white in the bylaws. The
bylaws will read then that the Georgia
state federation shall be composed of
individual white clubs,' and that dele
gates to biennial conventions shall
be white women" AS it was Massa-
chusetts club women who introduced
Mrs. Ruffin, of the Boston Era club, at
the biennial held two years ago in Mil
waukee, and as it is the MaSsa chusetts
federation that will take up, it is said
at the next biennial the cudgels on be-
half of the colored women, the report
of this private conference In New York
would make interesting reading One
of the Georgia delegates had this to say
in an interview:
I'VE feel that it will be as great a
disadvantages to the colored women as
to ourselves to have the color line with
drawn. There is now a national fedora
ton of colored womens clubs, a Soutn-
ern federation and I don't know how
many state declarations. 1t would be
too bad to ask the colored women to
take secondary place, as they would
in our clubs, and it would be a shame u
take away from the colored declarations
the best and most cultured among their
women-those who can do them the most
good. 1t is not likely that they would
still remain with the colored clubs if
they Joined the white ones. The colored
women must learn to depend upon them
selves, to manage their own clubs, and
they are doing that already and some of
their clubs are splendidly conducted and
doing excellent work Among the most
self-respecting cOlored women there is
no desire to join the white clubs and
they do not wish for social intercourse
with the white people Their feeling in
the matter was shown at the meeting
of the National Federation of Colored
Women's clubs in Buffalo last Septem-
Der, where, as it was reported, Mrs
Booker T. Washington, being invited to
be present at reception of the national
colored federation and on the same
evening to one given by the New York
State Federation of Women's clubs
(white) accepted the latter invitation
and the following day the colored fed
GRAFTON, which had proposed to elect her
as its president, decided not to do So
This color question and the fear of
it has initiated against club work in the
South from the beginning. There are
women all through the South who. from
fear that it might come up, have re-
fused to take part in club work and
there will be a general disruption of the
federation if we do not decide to draw
the line strictly
The sale of tickets for the midwinter
luncheon of the Minnesota Federation of
Women's Clubs closed yesterday. Mrs. C.
r Elliott, vice president of the Fifth
district, expects to receive a full report
tomorrow Of the number of guests who
will be present at the luncheon. Undoubt-
edly, the fact that the luncheon is on
Ash Wednesday will keep a number Of
club women away, but the committee re-
ports that the sale of tickets in the
smaller towns has been so much larger
than that of last year that the returns
from these towns will more than en-
pensate for the falling off in the cities
The executive board meeting at 1920 will
be held in the room adjoining the girls
drill hall of the university armory. The
mems drill hall will be used for the
check room. 1t is understood that the
decorations are to be unusually elabo-
rate this year.
Mrs. E. M. La Penotiere, president Of
the State federation, will use at this
luncheon new gavel that was presented
to her by the members of the Columbian
club, Of Minneapolis, of which club Mrs
La Penotiere has been a member since
its organization, in 1892. She was presi-
dent of this club at tire time of her cleo
nrnCi6nnRW n "a of
GRAFTON. The gavel, an exceedingly hand
some one was made from six different
woods of the Minnesota forest. The gavel
is the work of the manual training de-
partment of the Minneapolis South side
high school, and was presented by the
school to the club. The presentation to
the president of the federation took place
Friday at the home of Mrs. F. B. Long,
on Groveland avenue, Minneapolis. Mrs
La. Penotiere will preside for the first
time Wednesday over the state organiza-
ton.
1t is probable that a committee will be
appointed Wednesday,. at the meeting of
the executive board, whose business will
which to promote federation projects
This question of finances has always been
veXing one with the federation, and
every federated club will be glad when
the mater is settled to the satisfaction
of the majority.
Chicago club women do not, apparently,
spend all of their time delving in the lit
erature of the ancient Greeks or studying
the costumes Of the warlike Romans.
They keep one eye-and a very wide open
eye it is, evidently-fastened firmly on
things of today. Recently a prominent
woman's club of Chicago protested
against the staring-eyed, expressionless
doll. Tt was bad thing to give a child
such doll to play with, they declared.
and, so far as that club is concerned the
doll with the inexpensive face is under
ban. More recently the Chicago club
woman has pronounced against the com G
valentine. 1t must be confessed that her
sisters who are not club women have
pronounced against those bits of doubtful
humor again and again. 1t remains to
he seen -r.rhat ina11anca nnnnn,.tod o,t:o.,-