Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-02-21
bowls the domestic instinct is not dead. but

bowls the domestic instinct is not dead. but
fiourishing.
The Chicago club rooms are most happily
located. not only for the midday conven-
ience Of members, burt for theater-going. A
considerable source Of income is the dinner
giving in the evening. In this one privilege
alone the members feel that they stand
on 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 only by the
wishes OF the individual hostess, who has
her room or table set aside. her decora-
lions arranged and her menu served quite
Independently Of other diners.
New York's Big Club.
The New York council of the National
Association Of Business Women is close
second to the Chicago club. 1t has rooms
on the top floor Of a big office building at
1oS Fulton street, close to the financial dis
trfct, In which most Of its members are en-
ployed or independently engaged in bust
ness.
When Miss Cleora E. Swift, a successful
and ambitious business woman started the
movement In 1900 New York women were
not as ready to accept the suggestions 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
Miss Grace H. Dodge, whose philanthropy
and vital interest in women's work were
well known throughout the business district
With charter membership of nineteen the
workers furnished simply but comfortably
the quarters they had selected, and opened
the lunch room, which instantly proved to
be an efficient missionary Today the MEM
bership is nearly 300 the debt is paid and
the club is entirely self-supporting.
The initiation fee is 81, with dues of 80
cents monthly. With this income and the
moneys derived from the sale of Iuncheons
and occasional dinners, the executive COM
aried officer Is the cashier, and the working
force In dining room and kitchen is COM
posed entirely of women. Members are
served table d'hote lunch for 20 cents. but
shght premium Is charged non-members.
who frequently find their way to the rooms.
An la carte service has also been estab-
iished, and the entire menu is simple and
home-like.
A Dining Room in the Sky.
The dining room is exceedingly simple,
its chief charm being its outlook. On all
sides 1t Is lined with great windows, over
looking the North and East rivers and the
bay. day must be gloomy, indeed, when
1t sheds no light In this room.
The reading room is more pretentious, be-
Ing decorated in dull green, rose and Flem-
ish oak The piano stands invitfngIy open.
There is fair-sized library, including all
the current periodicals, and a desk supplied
with club stationery.
But perhaps the feature which appeals
most strongly to many of the members is
the convenience and comfort of the small
rest or dressing rooms, each supplied with
couch and pillows a-plenty, toilet articles
OF all sorts and medicine chest containing
all the simpler remedies These rooms, fur
nished daintily in delft blue and white, with
immaculate curtains and down pillows are
veritable boon to women employed in Of
nee buildings where practically no conven-
fences or comforts are supplied for women
clerks.
Owing to the fact that the club rooms are
located far from the residence and theater
districts. the rooms are open at night only
on stated occasions, such as club dinners
receptions and entertainments of a more or
less formal nature. On these occasions din
ner Is served for a nominal sum, SO that
members may not be obliged to hurry home
to dress for the evening function. The
rooms are always open late enough for.
suburban member to change her frock and
enjoy little rest should she plan on re-
naming in town for the theater.
In other words. representative business
womens club is formed and managed solely
for the comfort and convenience Of its
members. 1t does not aim to ride literary
hobby or raise the intellectual standard Of
its members 1t has no mission" If it
has classes on its calendar 1t is because the
m embers demand classes. It does not pose
as an employment agency. though it pro-
mulgates the doctrine of hanging togeth-
err" It does not even force sociability upon
its members. They come and go as they
like, and barring the weed and the bottle it
is a clever imitation of it's prototype, the
mems club.
Differences in Clubs.
In both the New York club and the Chi
cago club stenographers predominant on
the membership roll This is not true, how
ever. of the club movement in Minneapolis.
Detroit and Buffalo. where doctors, dentists
and other professional women are in the
majority. In New York the club rooms are
the favorite gathering place for the insur-
ance women, who write some Of the heav-
lest policies taken out
Those who have studied the situation and
visited many cities say that the New York
women are the most businesslfke in their
club life. availing themselves of its conven-
fences, but not entering very heartily into
the spirit of camaraderie. On the other
hand, while Chicago business women fully
appreciate the privileges and comforts of
the rooms, they exhibit a keener interest in
the social life, as shown in the informal
evening gatherings.