St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1904-10-12
Women's Clubs.

Women's Clubs.
Federntien Meeting at Bellows Falls.
The Vermont State Federation held its
ninth annual meeting at Bellows Fslls,
Wednesday and Thursday. The club
was fortunate in having as guests Mrs.
Sarah Platt Decker of Colorado. president
of the General Federation of Woman's
clubs; Mrs. Mary Alden Ward of Boston,
vice-pr esident of the general federation;
Miss Helen Whittier OF Boston, president
of the Massachusetts, federation; Mrs.
Mary I. Wood, president of the New
Hampshire federation; and Mrs. Sallie
Joy White of Boston. The address of
welcome was delivered by Mrs. Francis
6. Finn, president of the Bellows Falls
Women's club. The response was by
Miss Susan E. Clark of Brattleboro,
president of the state federation. It was
reported that there are % clubs now in
the federation, the Monday club of
Rochester and the Women's Literary club
OF Barton, having joined during the year.
Through the effort of the state wom-
ems clubs kindergartens have been main
| tanned and classes in manual training,
| hygiene and sanitary conditions in many
| school buildings improved and influence
| used to protect the native plants. There
| is great need of consolidation of schools
| giving rural communities where incom-
petent teachers are employed the benefit
| of village schools and the clubs should
assist families who are not able to clothe
| their children comfortably. For the
exposure incident to transportion, the
| committee urged the clubs to work for
more attention to moral and religious
training in the schools.
| Mrs. Wits of Brattleboro, chairman
| of the committee on state institutions,
| said that much effort was being made to
to have women appointed on the
board of state institutions but until
the state legislated in it's favor this
| would not be done. Miss Clark called
upon Mrs. Sarah Platt Decker. who was
welcomed by the assembly rising. Mrs.
Decker said she did not often have an
opportunity to speak in her native state,
but said she was prodd of the fact that
| she was a Vermonter. She was very
indignant that no woman in Vermont is
on the board of state institutions.
| A committee was nominated consist.
ing of Mrs. A. B. Noyes of St. Johnsbury,
| Mrs. Fitz OF Brattleboro and Mrs. Pin
| gree of Hartford to formulate proper res
olutions of this body of the federation of
| women's clubs in regard to the child
| labor and have them placed upon the re-
| cords.
Mrs. Susan E. Balch. chairman of the
| reciprocity bureau. said there had been
| large increase during the past year in the
| number of papers contributed and va
| riety of subjects had been covered.
The reception to the visiting delegates
| by the Bellows Falls club women was
given at the home of the president, Mrs.
| F. 6. Flint Wednesday evening, and was
| a brilliant social event to which the gen.
| tlemen were hidden. Over $50 were pre-
sented to the guest OF honor Mrs. Sarah
| Plat Decker, president of the general
| Federation OF Women's clubs.
On Thursday greetings were presented
from visiting federation presidents.
opened by Mrs. Decker, general fedora
ton president. Among other inspiring
| things she said the work for the club here
in Vermont to do is to enlarge the men,
bership. Let each club woman bring in
a new member and at the biennial meet
| ing in St. Paul in 1906, have a record of
| 5000 members. She advises the clubs in
stead of studying Dante or some dead
| author to work tor the live things right
| among us.
| The subject of Forestry was especially
recommended to Vermont clubs by which
| children are taught the importance OF
shade and fruit trees and the value of
birds in destroying insects. Miss Helen
Smith of White River Junction, chairman
on forestry, spoke Interestingly of the
| great necessity OF greater interest and at
tention to this subject and urged that
/ fire wardens be appointed as more de-
struction to forests was caused by fire
than by lumbermen cutting them down.
Mrs. Decker made the address of the
afternoon speaking first of civil service
| thc~r cLn
| she wished it hadn't been called so. It is
/ really the merit system and is not politics
| but religion. To illustrate the difference
between civil service and politics, Mrs.
Decker said governors appointed men at
the head of a state institution who had
carried the ward for him, while under
| civil service reform the man over such in
| stitutions should be one who could be
| father and mother and home to the un-
| fortunate inmates.
Mrs. Fits of Brattleboro as chairman
| of the committee on resolutions sub.
mitted the following:
| Resolved, That the Vermont Fedora
| ton of Women's clubs sembled at it's
| ninth annual meeting at Bellows Falls
| October asks the General Assembly of
Vermont now in session at Montpelier
| for its careful consideration of the pro-
| posed amendment to the existing child
| labor law.
State officers elected were: President,
Miss Susan c. Clark of Brattle boro vice
president, Mrs. R. P. Fairbanks of St.
| Johnsbury secretary, Mrs. G. A. Laird
OF Royalton; treasurer, Mrs. J. III. Arms
of Bellows Falls; auditor, Mrs. Mary c.
Kirkland of Bellows Falls; secretary to
general federation, Mrs. ]. B. Needham
| of Rutland.
In the evening at the Congregational
| church Mrs. Decker at a public meeting
addressed very large audience, giving
general review of the scope of the Fedora
t;or, of Wo,1aen,c cI,,hS