The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-06-14

81. LOUIS, MO-, June l3.-'tIadieS,
allow me to introduce, my husband,
general counsel for the exposition. He
desires to speak with you upon parlia-
mentary proceedings"
So said Mrs. James L. Blair, presi-
dent of the board of lady managers
of the Louisiana Purchase exposition,
at the last meeting of the board held
in st. Louis, during the dedictory GER
emonies
Mrs. Blair could not have offered a
greater surprise, or a greater insult
had she brought to them the sultan of
Sulu, telling the ladies he would adj
dress them on parliamentary law.
The bomb which she thus exploded
was heard throughout the exposition
building. Ex-Senators John M. Thurs
ton and William Lindsay were called
to the aid Of the women who claimed
Mrs. Blair was attempting to whip
them into line.
'She wants to retain all the power"
said one of the indignant members;
"she wants to steal the few honors
that are left to the board, and we will
not have it,
For a time it seemed as though a
hair-pulling match were in order. Mrs.
Blair kept her hands upon her beau
tiful blonde tresses and stood near her
husband during the hottest of the bat
tie. Finally the storm of contempt
grew so uproarious that both Mr.. and
Mrs. Blair were forced to leave the
room.
The board of lady managers will
perhaps diSband and women'S work
at the st. Louis exposition will be
under the direction of number Of
business men. The women, it has been
found are utterly unable to agree upon
any one subject. Failing to convince
the exposition management Of certain
things, they commenced to quarrel
among themselves. The president Of
the board planned a bold coup to cap
ture all the important offices, and fail
ing in this she has rendered her resig-
nation. Other members of the board
have refused to accept the presidency.
The important part which this body Of
women was to play in the worlds fair
of 1904, 1t seems, is to be all myth"
Autocratie Power Under Rules.
The rules and regulations of the
board, adopted at a meeting in New
York last winter gave to the pres1-
dent of the board power to appoint all
committees on entertainment. by
cleverly worded clause it was further
found that the members OF the enter
tainment committee did not necessarily
have to be members of the board. 1t
was found that Mrs. Blair had ar
ranged to place upon the committee
Of entertainment during the Worlds
Fair a number of her friends, MEM
bers Of the swell social set of St.
Louis.
The first person to discover this ir-
regularity in the rules was Miss La
vinia Eagan. 1t seems that the preSi-
dent of the board and Miss Eagan have
not been on friendly terms since last
winter. At that time Mrs Blair was
asked by Miss Eagan to accompany a
committee before the national commits
sion to ask for railroad expenses to and
from the meeting.
Mrs Blair offended, at that time,
several members of the committee by
the blunt remarks against asking for
additional money. She said that the
ladies should be above making such q
request.
Members of the board of lady man
ayers include women Of high social
standing from Maine to California.
Miss Helen Gould, of New York, Mrs.
John Miller Horton, of New York; Mrs.
Daniel Manning, of New York, and
Mrs. Helen Boice HinsiclSer, of Phila-
delphia, are well known Eastern women
who are members, while Mrs. DeYoung,
of San Francisco, Is another of the So
cial leaders of the nation who is iden-
titled with the board.
The board has had several quarrels
with the national commission, the first
being when request for hall of phil
anthropy, despite the fact that Miss
Gould, Mrs. Blair and other wealthy
members offered to pay for the building
out of their own purses. The national
commission could not see where hall
OF philanthropy would aid the EXPOSE
ton, so they ruled against the scheme.
Ladies Opposed Midway.
On the other hand the board was
offered a building in which to hold
their meetings, and to have receptions
to visiting ladies during the fair. This
building is known as the Physics hall
Of the Washington university group,
and while 1t is very nice little build