The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1907-10-25
Address of Mrs. Il. M. Holden.

My dear members of the FEEDER
alton, and Friends
There are so many matters to
speak Of, which have been burning
in my heart for the last few days,
that my great fear is that I will
talk you to death. And now I have
to make confession. When you
kindly conferred upon me, year
ago, the office of president, I was a
Club woman, but | didn't believe
very much in clubs; | thought it
was fad, and that in many instanc-
es it attained little. I now confess
an entire change of heart. I now am
glad and proud to say that | believe
in clubs as being the most potent
factor in the uplifting, and regener-
alton of life. Now, to fortify my
statement in regard to my belief
as to Woman's Clubs, | will read
you one editors view of the Biennial,
this | believe is from the St. Paul
Dispatch The Eighth Biennial
Convention Of the Feie1 alton of
Women Cluos closes tonight, and
questions with some finally of ans
wer may therefore be asked: What
is the Federation? What does it do?
and what may it do? What is it's
value to the community"
The Federation differs from any
other body of women who have ever
organized for concerted work. 1t
has no central aim, such as the wo-
mans Suffrage Association has; it
has no temperamental affiliation,
such as holds together the w. G. T.
u; it has not even the natural basis
of similar functions found in the
Mothers Congress. 1t is not philan-
! thropic, not, industrial, not artistic,
not literary, in its quality, except
as it is all these, but it is the intel
lectual ability of woman compre-
bending and acting intelligently up
on the problems of the world and
the spirit"
"Other organizations accept a sin
gle definite idea, encircle it, make
1t supreme, exert centripetal force
upon it, make their devotion to this
idea of the lever, their energy. But
this organization has no single ideal,
no central interest; it permits pro-
blems to come to it, and it seeks to
organize the women of the country
into lever which may be turned,
at need, upon any one or upon
many interests. Such an organiza-
| ton, of such an exceptional quality,
has been made possible because it
has federated not the sentiment but
the intellect of the women Of the
country. The Literary club was the
genesis of the womans club move
ment, and still, in spite of more ap-
parent phases, the literary club con-
stitutes three-fourths of clubdom.
This does not weaken, does not
make academic, but strengthens. For
it means that the women of the in
tellectual training and interest are
back of whatever activity the wo-
mems clubs may exert. 1t is the
trained mind rather than the warm
sympathy which accomplishes things,
however important this latter. 1t is
the woman who regards life from
above who can reach to it's core. and
re-create life on a rational basis,
still preserving the spiritual des-
tiny"
This Federation has done and is
doing things. No one can have sat
through single conference of the
session without giving this fact am
pie recognition. More things are
done by public opinion than we
dream Of, even in this country where
public opinion is expected to be the
great active force, and in the past
eight day session, there was a Gre
alton of more public opinion than
we believe has ever occurred in any
convention in any eight days before.
1t was possible to see this opinion
grow, to watch it sift through the
body. to feel the intellectual horizon
widened through a comprehension
of conditions, to feel the added now
err that comes to opinion through its
being made more public Certain
moments of this supremacy apparent
growth were in connection with nnre
food industrial conditions of women.
industrial and criminal conditions Of
children. There is no man who
would not agree that these were pro-
per interests for women. But these