Omaha daily bee., 1903-02-22

evening these same women are transformed
into charming hostesses in frocks that sug-
gest anything but the work-a-day world.
Lawyers, doctors. bookkeepers, confden-
tial secretaries, stenographers, importers,
manufacturers. editors, heads OF depart
ments-pctticoated every one of them
gather here in the most democratic OF fash
ion. Here. too, they entertain friends and
business acquaintances. The business
woman is an important factor in the COM
mercial life OF Chicago, and under the
shade of some sheltering rubber plant.
many a deal" is pushed to completion.
In glancing over the annual reports OF
the Chicago club, 1t is interesting to note
that despite pedestrian skirts, square-toed
boots and "the same salaries that men re-
~eeiye," the eternal feminine will not down
even in a club for successful business
women.
One report tells of the opening of the
winter season by a progressive dinner at
IS cents a plate. There were speeches
by this officer and that, outlines for class
work. and other cut and-dried features in
evitable with an organization banquet,
after which the recorder adds: THE deco
rations for this AFFAIR were in yellow,
golden rod being used in quantities about
the rooms aud on the tables"
The menu for this dinner was truly re-
markable. and no chef save one employed
by a woman's club could have evolved 1t.
To a real business woman and her chef all
things are possible.
Another dinner was marked by the ap-
p~earanre of a brilliant jurist. the only
Adam in this bevy Of Ewes, and for this
occasion everything was in brilliant Grim
son. from lamp shades to roses, a subtle
a. r. $500 " ~--. t,aGn
uating that his presence was a red-letter
occasion for the club. A third event was
notable for the appearance OF Jane Adams,
famed for her Hull House work. and ap-
prOpriately for this most optimistic of
workers for women, the color schenc was
rose-colored.
Let the pessimlstic borrowers OF trouble
concerning the unsexing OF women through
contact with the business world ponder on
these few excerpts from reports. So long
as women permit their thoughts to wander
in the direction OF lampshades and rose
bowls, the domestic instinct is not dead,
but fiourishing.
The Chicago clubTooms are most hap
PLY located, not only for the midday con-
v~enience Of members, but for theateT go
ing. A considerable source of income Is
the dinner giving in the evening. In this
one privilege alone, the members feel that
they stand on a level with their men friends
who are addicted to club life, and they take
solid comfort in this mode of entertaining.
The cost OF dinners is regulated by tho
wishes of the individual hostess, who has
her room or table set aside, her decorations
arranged and her menu served quite indie
pendently OF other diners.
The New York council OF tbs National
Association OF Business Women is a close
second to the Chicago club. 1t has rooms
on the top floor Of a big ONCE building at
1OS Fulton street, close to the financial
district in which most of its members are
employed or independently engaged in busi-
ness.
When Miss Cleora z. Swift, a successful
and ambitious business woman, started the
movement in 1900. New York women were
not as ready to accept the suggestion as
their more optimistic sisters in Chicago.
But Miss Swift was not to be discouraged,
and she Interested in her work two most
efficient helpers, Miss Virginia Potter and