Evening star., 1902-02-24
THE COLOR LINE.
Mrs. Terrell Expresses Opinion on Re.
cent Action.

AASSASAA'
From the New York Tribune.
1T will be taking long step backward
If the General Federation of Women's Clubs
decides to exclude coIored clubs, said Mrs.
Mary Church Terrell of Washington. d.
c., honorary president of the National As
sociation of Colored Women, yesterday, In
alluding to the conference on the color
question held between Massa chusetts and
Georgia delegates in this city on Thursday
and Friday.
THE question may bring about a disrup-
ton Of the federation some predict; con-
tinued Mrs. Terrell. Il am reminded BY
that prediction of story told by William
Lloyd Garrison when Ii was first said that
any attempt TO free the slaves would de-
stroy the Union. Let it.. he said: 1t can
not be destroyed In better cause" Better.
that the federation should be disrupted
than go back from it's ideals of progress
Mrs Terrell commented on the different
attitude of the National Council of Women,
before whom she has spoken by invitation.
Why they overwhelmed me with attention
when l addressed them in Minneapolis a
year ago." she said. "and seemed delighted
that the colored women We're sufficiently
progressive to be interested in club work
Some of the warmest praise, too, came from
southern women. The Council OF omen is
eager to help us by all sisterly sympathy
instead of trying to shut us of by our
selves
at seems strange" she added that the
| federation should bow down to state with
so small representation as Georgia. Mas
sachusetts pays quarter of the entire rev.
enue Of the federation, and certainly might
be supposed to have a Weightier influence.
Mrs Terrell who was passing through
the city on her return from lecture tour
said further: There is no need to fear an
overwhelming influx of colored women's
clubs. We have our own national associa-
ton, in which our interest is conferred ana
it is only in some places where our mem
bers are few, that we would seek the in
spiration that might come from working
with white women's clubs.
1T Is often said that We do nothing Tor
ourselves but are constantly asking for
assistance from others That is a cruel
mistake. We are trying to work out our
own salvation by every means in our power
esnecially In the south We are establish
ing kindergartens. day nurseries and young
women's associations. In New Orleans we
have a sanatorium and training schooi
for nurses. whose work during the last yell
low fever epidemic was so valuable that
the city government recognized 1t by grant
Ing an appropriation. 1t is called the Phyl-
lis Wheatland School
1--WE opened the sanatorium there De
cause there was not hospital In New Or
leans that would receive a colored man or
woman except in the charity ward. They
might have ample means and come from
good homes but the charity ward was all
that was open to them. Think OF it!
.'One of the most important parts or our
work is the mothers meeting. We teach
late their rooms, how to prepare cheap but
good food, how to sew and, In general no"
to improve their home life and lift 1t to
higher level.
''Our national organization has MEM
bership of a hundred clubs, comprising
about 10000 women and every clup tries
to do the work most needed IN It's own 10
cality In some places the club women go
into the homes to teach these things. and
everywhere We are fighting the curse OF
the one-room shanty, that is SO common in
Pnr thA onln rod
people is needed everywhere. Even in
northern Cities 1t is only the most squaiid
and unhealthy places that are open to them.
and our people are rapidly dying on be-
cause they cannot get proper homes.
'.One point that l want to emphasize Is
that the frequent charge of immortality
among our women is without foundation In
fact Professor Du Bois who mas neeh
sity told me that his researches have
proved that the immortality among the
colored women of the United States is less
than among the white women OF the cor
responding grade Of ignorance and poverty
in Austria, Italy, Germany, Sweden and
France.
other day, and he said to me, No one has
vet written on the traits of the negro
answered him. Because most people allow
us no traits except bad ones!
the more fragrant wrongs done to the negro,
Mrs. Terrell expressed her hope that the
Convict lease system now employed IN
some OF the southern states would be abol-
islled soon 1.-THE sufferings are worse than
those OF slavery" she said I'm slavery 1t
was to the owners interest to look after
the health and comfort Of the negro be-
cause he represented money. II he died.
another had to be purchased to do the
work. Under the convict leasing, however.
the contractor merely pays SO much money
to the state for the use of the convicts as
iaborers and when one dies another takes
hia place. Last year a negro was shot
while trying to escape, and it was found en-
fnyAekaxetioa thaE h hhH- heyer been con- J