Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1903-11-13
WOMEN WHO HAVE A SECRET.
Antf-MaIe Society In Indiana That
Has Kept the Men Guessing for
TWENTY-FIVE Years.

A peculiar society, which for 20 years
has been a standing contradiction of the
| old libel that woman cannot keep q
secret, exists at Westfield, Hamilton
county, and bids fair to prosper for an
other 20years, despite the Shafts of ridi-
;ule which from time to time have been
hurled against it, reports the New York
sun.
Twenty-Five years ago a number OF
| the men Of the village formed a literary
society. Just for fun they decreed that
no woman should ever become a mem
Der. A clubhouse was built, meetings
were regularly held and the leading
periodicals were read and discussed.
The organization limited its member
ship to the intelligent class and soon be-
| gan to exercise decided influence.
| After the first year some of the wom-
en- in the community applied for mem
/ bership, but none was ever admitted. 1t
was always explained that it took a
unanimous vote to elect new member,
and that there was just one dissenting
voice" when the name of the woman ap-
| plicant was presented.
Two years later a company of ladies
! met and formed the S. T. J. NJ, and they
| decreed that the meaning of these let
| ters should never become public Each
| member was solemnly pledged not to
| reveal the secret, and for 90 years the
S. 7. ]. M. has been in existence. and
here is not man in Westfield who has
any idea what the four letters mean.
From time to time the membership
has changed as the women married and
| moved away and other members have
been added, but no one yet found, be she
mother, wife, daughter or sweetheart,
has revealed the meaning of the mystic
| symbols.
When Mrs. Sarah Jackson applied for
divorce, charging neglect, and the hus-
| band contested the suit, alleging among
other things that she had concealed from
him the meaning of the letters S. T. J. NJ,
and had spent too much time at the
meetings of the society, it was thought
that the mystery would certainly be
solved at the trial. But Mrs. Jackson
refused to state what the letters stood
Tor and the court ruled that the name of
the society was not material to the tes-
.imony.
Mrs. Jackson got a divorce and ali
nony, and her ex-husband declared that
the letters stood for the Society of Tat
Ting, Jabbering Matrons" But this
definition was not accepted by any but
the soreheads of the community
Several years ago young man named
Crawford went to Westfield and was en-
ployed in one of the stores. He invested
his earnings in horse and buggy and
was the envy Of many of the other young
men because they could ECt afford such
4 luxury and the newcomer could COM
mand the company of any young lady
0r Sunday afternoon drive. But when
Myrtle Taylor turned away from him
and married John Wingate, a farmland
near the village, the other boys tainted
him by asking him how he liked the So
ciety of Thankless, Jilting Maicens
For years this was the accepted name
81 the society among the younger class
Every initial in the name has been tor
tured into something derogatory to the
aOciety, according to individual taste.
u has been made to stand for Jealous,
jaunty, fitting, jabbering. iaundiced;
for treacherous, tattling. teasing.
Troublesome, tiresome. and M for
mothers, matrons. maidens, misan-
thropes, makeshifts, martyrs, match
makers and the like
But the name is still a secret, and no
amount of coaxing or threatening has
'ufiiced to induce member to reveal it.
Gale Brought Good Fortune.