The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-03-05

president OF the General E'oQeraLlOn OF
Women's clubs, and from Mrs. Belle M.
Perry of Charlotte, Mich, ex-president
of the Michigan federation and Mrs.
c. A. Perkins of Knoxville, Tenn,
president of the Tennessee federation.
The present interest being shown IN
the work of civic Improvement IN To-
peka and the prominence of Mr. Rout-
zang IN that work should ensure a
large audience at his lecture the 18th.
More attention has been paid perhaps
to one other matter brought up at the
Monday morning meeting than any re-
cent occurrence in the federation. The
reference is. of course. to Mrs. w. A.
McCarter'S appeal to the club women to
take action in regard to a syndicate"
reported to have been organized in St.
Louis with a capital of 100000 to bring
10000 girls to that city for immoral pur-
poses during the exposition next sum
mer. The syndicate" would seem to
have been pretty thoroughly advertised
by the press already. but Mrs. McCar-
ter believes that more publicity should
be given it for the sake of ignorant
country girls who are in danger OF being
led into a vicious life through adver-
tisements of light and easy employ
ment'' during the exposition. Her pa
per-eontrary to her usual custom, for
she is one of the best extennporaneous
speakers in the federation, Mrs. McCar-
ter read her little speech-aroused the
introduces a subject and the federation
voted unanimously to circulate petitions
to David r. Francis, president OF the
Louisiana Purchase exposition, protest.
ing against the reported state of affairs
in the Worlds fair city and asking him
to use his influence to make it a safe
place for young men and young women
to visit next summer.
The petition, which is to be circulated
a 1araninof nf Kansas
reads:
To David R. Francis, President of Board
of Commissioners of the Louisiana
Purchase Exposition, ST. Louis, Mo-
Believing that the foul and unsafe
conditions in the city of St Louis will
reduce the attendance at the Worlds
fair and materially injure it's success,
and on behalf of the young men and
women Of our land who will desire to
visit the exposition, we, the under
signed citizens of Topeka, KAN. earnest
1y petition you to use your influence to
have the dens of vice removed from st.
Louis.
The w. c. T. U. has also taken up
this matter, and has gotten out a cir
eular urging the people to do all in their
power, through petitions and personal
letters, to force Mr.. Francis to use his
influence in Kidding st. Louis of houses of
ill-fame during the exposition. The w. c.
T. U. circular is headed 1.-The Duty of the
Hour" 1t reviews the state of affairs
in ST. Louis as reported by the press
and states that the object in petitioning
Mr.. Francis rather than the mayor and
council of ST. Louis is to convince him
that the reputation of a wide open
town" will hurt ST. Louis, decrease the
attendance at and imperil the success
of the fair.
Most of the women of the federation
have gone on record as approving Mrs.
McCarter's paper and the action of the
federation in response to it. Mrs. Noble
Prentis said on the subject:
There is work to be done in every
town and village, and little time is left
for it. Restless girls who long for city
life, good clothes and society are the
ones to be watched. They are the girls
who run to the station every day to see
the train. I see them from the car
window-pretty girls, innocent but dis
satisfied, ready to jump at the chance
for a change.
IF the newspapers tell about this
heinous crime which am told is about
to be perpetrated, parents will be on
their guard, and their daughters will be
saved. Then let the club women devise
some means of helping these restless
girls-giving them something to do and
think about which will make them less
dissatisfied with their surroundings. The
right kind of work soon will improve
the surroundings"
But the approval and enthusiasm are
not unanimous. 'tThey say the average
woman has no sense of humor and
ers are especially lacking in this saving
grace" a Topeka woman who is not a
club woman and perhaps not alto
gether unprejudiced, said the other day
in discussing the federation's crusade
for social purity in st. Louis. There
fore I dare say that it is unreasonable
to expect those women to realize how
funny they and their indignant pro-
tests are. For pure humor I will take
a club meeting any time in preference
to any all-star aggregation of come
dams, and the funniest thing of all is
the seriousness with which they take
themselves and their objects I dom
deny that the club women have been
responsible for many worthy and use
full movements. but they have also
originated some foolish and futile ones.
Their new Cause makes me think of
another matter they took action on not
long ago-the ousting of Reed Smoot
from the United States senate 1t all
seems SO foolish so remote from the
fields of their legitimate activities,
even If it were not so inconsistent for
Topeka women to protest against vice
in St. Louis and Kansas women to de-
mand that no man should sit in the
United States senate who is not 'abso-
lutely pure In view of conditions in
Topeka yesterday, today and forever,
and of the records of some of the
United States senators from Kansas,
the attitude of the Topeka federation
in these two matters is screamingly
funny One is irresistibly reminded of
the Injunction regarding the beam in
your own eye and the mote in your
brothers..
And then the method which they
have adopted for making Darkest st.
Louis fit place for people from inn
maculate Topeka to visit is good
enough for Puck How are they going
to do it? BY petitioning David r.
Francis, president of the board of man
ayers of the st. Louis expositionl If
this happened any place but in Topeka,
it might not be so ridiculous. but it is
simply unbelievable that Topeka wo-
men after all their experience could
still put faith in any one mans ability