The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-02-05
TO Be BUT ONE.
Mrs. Horton Will Be Reelected
President City Federation.
Has Made an Excellent Record
i'm Past Year.
FITTING CLIMAX.
Thursdays Meeting Satisfac-
tory Close to Programme.
Only Outside Speaker Was Mrs
f. DumOnt Smith.

+. DumOnt Smith.
Following the old rule of saving the
best until the last, though possibly Un-
Intentionally. the city federation of
women's clubs gave its best programme
of the year at the February meeting at
Unity church yesterday afternoon The
next meeting on the first Tkursday in
April will be devoted to the annual
election of officers for next year. 1t is
expected that Mrs. A. H. Horton. who
has made a very successful president.
and the other officers will accept a re-
nomination according to a precedent of
the federation which has rarely been
broken. Last spring Mrs H. 0. Garvey
refused the denomination after only one
term in Office. but the usual rule is for
each president to serve two years.
In several particulars the February
meeting of the federation was a notable
one. bringing to felicitous close the
years series of programmes. In the
first place. the speakers were all Kan
Mrs. Fred Dumont Smith, of Kinsley,
Topeka women. The papers were all
uncommonly meritorious, and many of
the talks were extemporaneous, and to
-
the local club women in that line a
revelation of their alGlity as public
speakers. 1t is safe to say that no bet
ter addresses have been made to the
entertained many of the most noted
women in public life, than those of
Mrs John c. McClintock, Mrs. w H.
Roby. Mrs. William A. McCarter. Mrs.
ThOmas F. Carver, Mrs. Fred Dumont
Smith of Kinsley and Mrs. J. P. White
Thursday. They were distinguished not
so much by depth of thought as by
hard common sense, aptly expressed
and effectively delivered.
Perhaps the fact that the speakers
had been assigned subjects near and
important to each of them accounts
for the ease and familiarity of their
handling. The Woman in Club Life
was the topic for a discussion which
was really the feature of the afternoon
At the last meeting of the federation.
in December, DR.. j. T. MCFARLAND was
invited to address the club-wofaea and
undertook to criticize and suggest
rather than fiatter and commend His
remarks were made the basis of the
discussion at this meeting. Mrs. H.
w. Roby's paper which opened the dis
cuSSion reviewed DR.. McFarland's ad-
dress and commented on it humorous
ly. 1t was an exceptionally bright pa
per, touching amusingIy on many of
the notorious weaknesses and foibleS of
club women. AS Mrs. Roby is herself
four clubs, it was not to be expected
that she would receive altogethermeek-
ly DR.. Netherlands suggestion that
each woman limit herself to member
ship in one club, and her answers to
his arguments were as entertaining as
they seemed to be convincing to her
perhaps somewhat prejudiced audience.
Following Mrs. Roby was Mrs. John
c. McClintock whose paper devoted to
DR.. McFarland'S special suggestion
that the federation do something in
the way of social settlement work
among the women and girls of the east
side similar to the work done among
the men and boys by the Railroad Y
M. c. A, took as it's text a clause from
the constitution relating to the objects
of the federation, the principal one be-
ing the betterment of humanity. The
women of the federation would find
such an object as DR.. Mcfarland had
suggested altogether worthy of their
endeavors and personally beneficial,
Mrs. McClintock thought. I'VE should
organize a woman's and girls club on
the east side,'' she said, mot because
the east side needs us so much as be-
cause we need the east side"
Another of DR.. McFarland's sugges-
tions was that the federation take some
stand on the question of divorces in
Kansas and investigate the marriage
and divorce laws of the state with
view to securing improved legislation
along these lines. Mrs. ]. G. Wood
had been asked to look up the laws of
Kansas on these points and read the
statutes relating to marriage and di-
vorce to the federation Mrs. Thomas
F. Carver discussed this feature of the
proposed reforms which DR.. Mcfarland
had thought the club women of the
state might undertake, and her talk
which was extemporaneOus, was one of
the best of the many good ones made.
Mrs. Carver did not suggest any means
by which the federation might proceed
to influence legislation and even dis
cOuraged any wide public reform move
ment but very sensibly suggested that
club women as mothers could do more
to rid the state of the divorce evil by
training and educating their boys and
girls to make good husbands and wives
than by any other means. She was not
sure that the laxity of the divorce laws
makes men and women less patient
with one another's faults and more
ready to contract hasty marriages and
rush with all their petty nfsunder-
standings to the divorce courts, but
she was persuaded that if a girl and
boy are taught to be unselfish, gentle,
considerate, consistent and forglving
they are very likely to marry and live
happily ever afterward. In this con-
uection, too, she thought DR.. McFar-
lands plan of a social settlement would
give the club women p chance. not only
to bring about this state of affairs
among their own young people but to
carry their reform to the laboring
classes which now furnish a large per-
centage of the divorces granted.
Mrs w A McCarter's talk was of
club women and club life in general,
replying to DR.. McF'arland's criticism
and pointing out the advantages of the
club association. The main benefits
were. she said self improvement and
the opportunity through organization
to help others. A high degree of schol-
arship increased usefulness in all di-
rections, the development of judgment,
resourcefulness, a proper amount Of
self-confidence and a 1essened sdegree of
self-esteem were, she thought. the
heritage of the club woman who rightly
,cler-sta q mrs and rightly Uses her ad-