The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-11-14
|CHICAGO'S MAIDEN
AUNT IS IN TOWN.
MISS MARY MCDOWELL HERE FOR
"A. F. Of i. CONVENTION.
One Of the Five Women Whom Mayor
Dunno Says Is Worrying and Work
ing AL the Time to Help Chicago,
Which Sure Needs Help.

How does it feel to be aunt to a
city Of 100000 people9"
Miss Mary Mcdowell, one of Chica-
go's five famous maiden aunts' never
hesitated q second when she was asked
this question today at the convention
Dor.
cit bears down pretty hard at
times, she said and then because she
is very just and fair, or she wouldn It be
a favorite maiden aunt, she added:
"But it is easy in Chicago, for the men
are not too nifty to work with the
women and when men and women work
together things move with a will, y
Miss Mcdowell came up today to- at
tend the convention. Of The American
Federation of Labor. She, is not a
delegate, but she came just because she
was interested and incidentally she may
speak. If she does, it will be to ask
the convention to indorse the congress
sional resolution for the Investigation
of women workers in the United States,
which passed the house only to rest in
the senate. Miss. Mcdowell would also
like to have the convention indorse the
movement for universal peace, for she
does not want her Uncle Samuel to have
big navy and bigger army at the ex-
pense of the industrial world, and uni
y!ersal peace is the best way to prevent
She Has a Title, TOO.
She does not come to the convention
without q title of her own, for she is
president Of the Woman's Union Labor
league Of Illinois and member of the
national executive committee as well.
And as tho that were not enough for
one woman, she is fafiliated with the
butchers union, - and is an honorary
member Of the Boners' union. To Judge
from the twinkle In her eye, it is very,
very nice, indeed, to belong to the
Boners, even in an honorary capacity.
Few women have that privilege.
butchers and the boners, for she lives
at, the University settlement, down in
the stockYards district OF, Chicago. She
was at Hull House with Miss Jane
Addams for year before she went to
the University settlement, and that is
some years ago, before the big Chicago
strike. just before the strike, she or
ganized the stockYards girls into an
organization that does not sound bit
like q woman's club, for it was the
First Woman IS Local, No. 1873, Anal
gamated Meatcutters and Butcher
Workmen Of North America. - 5 az
inherited Un1on1sm. ~
. Her interest in trade unions is inner
tied. She has always had it, she de-
clares, and she got it from her father
and grandfather, who were interested
in Industrial conditions before her. Miss
Mcdowell is Scotch, but her tongue
might almost be called Irish.
"It is funny to think that am here
to preach peace" she laughed, tfor
usgga hn 1t is fighting | am for"
tinetion Of being an aunt to Chicago.
ARD Miss Jane Adams, Miss Margaret
Haley, who made the Union Traction
company pay its taxes; DR.. Cornelia
lDebey, who helped to settle the strike
between the packers and their en-
ployees in 1904, and Miss Julia La
throp, who knows all about the chari-
table institutions Of Illinois.
Dubbed .'Maiden Aunt
90. It was prominent nine politician who
Chicago has five. It is lucky for US
they never married and. had children
Of their own. We'd have been cut
out. But now we re in it right. They
have to look after somebody. That Is
their nature. And so they look after
the whole city Of Chicago. If Chicago
has sore throat, there one of them
running. for a flannel bandage, and if
we work too long at night, there IS al
ways another Of them coming around
the corner with child-labor law to
stop it. If they didn't look after us,
who would7 There's not another city
in the country that's got FIVE maiden
aunts, healthy and active, worrying
about them all the time.''
And the politician spoke the truth.