Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-22
THE FATHERS CLUB.
And How a Revival Caused Its De
crease.

crease.
From the Chicago Record Herald.
For years the men of Pleasanthurst had
meekly suk nitted. Their wives had formed
Browning clubs and Hail Game clubs and
Ibsen clubs, and at last they formed the in
evitable Mothers Club. Then it was that
one of the men suggested that Pleasant
hurst ought to have a Fathers Club. 1t
was Just as important, he insisted, that the
Pleasanthurst fathers should discuss the
father question as that the mothers should
study the mother question.
So 1t came about that the Pleasanthurst
Fathers Club was organized, with char
ter membership which included most OF the
prominent men of the suburb. Al hrSt
meetings were held on Wednesday evenings
only, but as time went on and the mem
bership increased and interest in the noble
purpose for which the club had been or
ganized was stimulated, it became neceS-
Sary to have sessions more frequently. The
meetings became semi-weekly after the
lapse of a few months, and at last 1t be-
came the custom to have them three times
a week.
A few honorary or associate fathers were
admitted from time to time, and now and
then a grandfather was taken In, and the
club seemed to flourish as no club had ever
before f1ourished in P1easanthurst. But
there was a curious thing about it. The
doings of the club were never reported in
the newspapers, and there were apparently
no serious discussions in 1t. The women
could not understand why this was so.
Their Mothers Grub had broken up after an
existence of few months, with many of
its members so angry at one another that
the newspapers had during the existence
of the club been continually publishing
stories concerning its doings. When Miss
Euphemia Catterwold had been elected to
the presidency of the Mothers Club dis
patches were sent to all parts of the coun-
try concerning the matter, and many of the
great newspapers had even published edi.
torials about it. But here was the Fathers
Club taking in unmarried men and electing
them to office, and not a line was ever
printed about it. The ladies could not see
why, since the matters which came before
the club were of such Importance as to
make it necessary to have three meetings
a week, they were considered too trivial to
be discussed in the newspapers.
One day an eloquent evangelist arrived
in Pleasanthurst and series of revival
meetings was begun in the principal church
of the town. 1t must have been a psyche
logical moment In any event, the evangel-
iSt began to command attention the instant
he opened up on Pleasanthurst. People who
had for years neglected to go to church be-
came interested in him, and dozens of men
and women were converted nightly. The
evangelist laid particular emphasis on the
wickedneSs of card playing. He declared
that the bridge and poker players were
doomed to perdition unless they repented at
once. He pictured in glowing colors the
condition which would be theirs after death
unless they turned from their sinful ways,
and lis meetings became larger and larger
as the nights went on.
When at last the evangelist decided that
his usefulness at Pleasanthurst was over
the Fathers Club was no more. Its for
mer members had almost without exception
confessed religion and allied themselves
with the church.
To this day the women of Pleasanthurst
are wondering why their husbands and
brothers should, simply because of their
conversion, have considered Fathers Club
to be no longer necessary.