The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-06-04
1t Is Causing Much Excitement
Among Club Women.
Was 1t Awarded to Nautilus or
Ceramic Art CIub2
TRYING TO FIND OUT.
Meanwhile the CeramicClub Has
Possession.
Dreaded Secret About Flower
Parade Judges Is Out.

A floral parade, or any other COM
petition in which honors or emolu
rnents are awarded, is rarely pulled
off without trouble of some kind and
the Woman's Day parade in Topeka
Wednesday, which was the best fea-
ture of the semi-centennial jubilee
week. was no exception to this rule.
There were no prizes offered but blue
and pink ribbons were awarded by
committee to the first and second fea-
lures in each division of the parade,
and although a piece of blue ribbon
would hardly seem to be worth SQUAD
bling over, a pink bow, to casual
observer. seeming quite as desirable,
the women of the Ceramic Art ana Oh
the Nautilus clubs of Topeka are now
in the midst of a controversy in which
all the other clubs are expected to
take sides, over their title to and
estate in certain piece OF blue saun'
which while of no intrinsic value III
itself is the sign and symbol OF hrst
place among the federation floats i'll
the floral parade. Meanwhile a little
bow of pink ribbon of equally good
quality and prefectly fresh and
daunty remains scorned and neglected
In the possession of the awarding
Committee because neither of the
clubs in question will have it
If possession really counts for nine
points, the Ceramic Art club is that
many tallies ahead of the Nautilus, for
the blue ribbon which is the object of
the dispute was given to that club the
day of the parade, although it is
claimed by the Nautilus club that this
was through a mistake. If this is the
case one might think it would be q
misunderstanding easily cleared up,
but the matter has proven more COM
plicated than that, as dissensions
among the club ladies are likely to do.
1t was the intention of the floral
parade committee to keep the names
of the judges who made the awards d
secret. This was very we'll as far as
1t went, but wiser plan would have
been to dispense with judges alto
Eether, since the position is a thank
less task and their decisions would be
sure to be unsatisfactory to a majority
of the contestants. Besides, q secret,
If more than one knows it, is nOtO-
riously unsafe, and this one has
leaked out so that it is generally
known that the visiting club women
who were in town for Woman's Day
were the arbiters of the parade. 1t
was they who made the decisions, and
q committee of Topeka club women,
AIRS. Frank Bowen, Miss Lucy King
man, and Mrs. Walter Bates, was APP
pointed to make the awards according
20 their decision. 1t was probably a
case of too many cooks. Anyway. in
the miX-up the blue ribbon in the float
division was given to the Ceramic Art
club and the pink was assigned to the
Nautilus CLUB, although the judges
report given out to the newspapers re-
versed this decision, giving the Nau-
titus first place and the Ceramic Art
second. The Ceramic Art club, hav-
ing the blue ribbon in its possession,
supposed the newspa pers ha G been given
an incorrect report and telephOned to
request a correction. This was made
and then the Nautilus club, which had
meanwhile refused to take the pink
ribbon until the matter was cleared
up demanded that the original state
ment. which they said was in accord