Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1904-11-24
ODD SECRET SOCIETY.
Indiana Women Have a Secret and
Won't Tell It.
Men of the Town Have Been Trying
for Twenty-Five Years to Learn
the Meaning of s. T. J. NJ,
But in Vain,

A peculiar society, which for 20 years
has been a standing contradiction of the
old libel that woman cannot keep a
secret, exists at Westfeld, Hamilton
county, and bids lair to prosper for an
other 20 years, despite the slafts OF ridi-
cule which from time to time have been
hurled against 1t, reports the New York
Sun.
twenty-five years ago number OF
the men Of the village formed literary
society Just for fun they decreed that
no woman should ever become mem
Der. A clubhouse was built, meetings
were regularly held and the leading
periodicals were read and discussed.
The organization limited its member
ship to the intelligent class and soon be-
gan to exercise a decided influence.
After the first year some Of the wom-
en- in the community applied for men,
bership, but none was ever admitted. 1t
was always explained that it took
unanimous vote to elect a new member,
and that there was just one dissenting
voice" when the name Of the woman ap-
plicant was presented.
Two years later company OF ladies
met and formed the s. T. J. M, and they
decreed that the meaning OF these let
ters should never become public. Each
member was sOlemnly pledged not to
reveal the secret, ard for % years the
S. T. J. NJ has been in existence, and
there is not a man in West field who has
any idea what the four letters mean.
From time to time the membership
has changed as tha women married and
moved away and other members have
been added, but no one vet found, be she
mother, wife, daughter or sweetheart,
mas revealed the meaning Of the mystic
symbols.
When Mrs. Sarah Jackson applied for
a divorce, charging neglect, and the hus-
band contested the suit, alleging among
other things that she had concealed from
him the meaning ofthe letters S. T. j. M,
and had spent too much time at the
meetings Of the society, it was thought
that the mystery would certainly be
solved at the trial. But Mrs. Jackson
refused to state what the letters stood
for and the court ruled that the name of
the society was not material to the tes-
timOny.
Mrs. Jackson got divorce and all
mony, and her ex-husband declared that
the letters stood for the Society OF Tat
Ting, Jabberirg Matrons" But this
definition was not accepted by any but
the sOreheads of the community.
Several years ago 3 Young man named
Crawford went to Westfield and was en-
ployed in one Of the stores He invested
his earnings in a horse and buggy and
was the envy of many of the Other young
men because they could not afford such
luxury and the newcomer could com
mand the company Of any young lady
or Sunday afternoon drive, But when
Myrtle TAYLOR turned away from him
and married John Wineate, a farmland
near the village, the other boys taunted
him by asking him how he liked the So
ciety Of Thankless, Hitting Maide1s.
For years this was the aoceptetd name
of the society among the younger class.
Every initial in the name has been tor
tured into something deroeatory to the
society, according to Individual taste.
y" has heen made to stand for jealous,
jaunty, jilting, jabbering, taundiced;
1T" for treacherous, tattling, teasing.
troublesome, tiresome, and IN" for
mothers. matrons, maidens, misan-
thropes. makeshifts, martyrs, match
makers and the like.
But the name is still secret, and no
amount Of coaxing or threatening has
sufflced to induce member to reveal it.