The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1907-07-29


tauqua has refused 70 tedetate what
4 loss q The world 81 3 great instltu,
tion ilke this ana the thousand others
poor limitations. but mighty infui
ence FOR the spread Of culture and ca.
ucationl Federation means fealty
love, fellowship, and faith"
Three reasons the speaker outlined
as the explanation Of the reluctance OF
women to federate; their retention d
religious intolerance, their aversion
to publicity, and the fact that they
we're brought up without the ideal Of
legation. Men, she said. had long ago
realized the Potentially of union but
women we're slower to see Its adyan'
tages. Illustrating the point that NO.
mn have retained their religious tntol,
erance, she, told the story Of an old
lady living some Is years ago in a
town where there were two rival de.
nominations, the Presbyterian and the
Baptist. Each Of the ministers was
fond Of fast horses and kept his own
team. One day the Presbyterian min.
lister came down the road at a lively
pace and the good old :udy, looking
out of her window, lifted her hands
in horror. Don't look, my child" she
said TO her daughter. How shocking
it is to see minister Of the gospel
driving a horse like that% But pres
emily there came along the road her
own rector, the Baptist minister, drly.
ing at an equally rapid gait. Poor
Mr.. Brown" said the old lady COM
miseratingly, "he can hardly hold his
horse, his wrists are so weak"
81 sometimes fear" said Mrs. Deck.
er, that this spirit of intolerance is
creeping into some OF our clubs. Not
long ago visited wealthy and hand
some club, in the main room Of which
the floor was beautifully polished and
finished with an inlaid border. In
talking to the president was told
that there were 200 members and
sometimes as many more on the wait
ing list. Some Of them even died, she
said, while they we're on the waiting
list. But what are they waiting for?
/ asked. By and by 1t was explained
to me that inside this beautiful inlail
border 1t was possible to get just 200
chairs and no more, and for fear Of
inturing the border the other 200 were
kept on the waiting list. This re-
minded me of story read in a com.
ic paper of an old general with a wood
en- leg who was being taken over his
friends new house. There was just
one room with beautifully polished
floor which the host thought he
wouldn't take the old gentleman into
for fear that bis wooden leg might
ruin its shining surface, SO he said to
him automatically, Perhaps he had
just better glance into this room. The
floor is waxed and you might find, 1t
slippery Don't you worry about
tnat,' responded the general reassur-
ingly, 4 have nail in the end of this
leg After l heard about that club.
| wished somebody with a nail in his
leg mibht get chance at that beau
tiful inlaid border"
On the subject of exclusiveness in
club life, Mrs. Decker is eloquently
indignant. Her own club in Denver
is an exclusive department club and
represents her ideal Of what the wo.
mans club should be. She spoke
with scorn of clubs for the study Of
Shakespeare and Dante, who miss by
their very exclusiyeness the true spir.
it Of the masters, and enforced her re,
marks with apt quotations. The broad
ening outlook which the club offers
to women absorbed in family cares
or cut off from the world by poverty
or other circumstances she considers
one of the greatest missions. Apropos
she told story Of woman who be.
longed to one Of the earliest clubs in
Oklahoma. Her club was some dis.
lance away and she was obliged to
ride to the meetings on horseback but
seldom missed one. AS she was about
TO start one day, her husband expos
tulated with her, asking her If she
really wanted to go very much and
reminding her that she had the seen
cry and she had him. Eyes, John,
know" replied the wife. l" have the
scenery and have you. But some
times think Eve must have been glad
to see the cherubim and the flaming
sword, she must have gotten SO tired
of Adam and the scenery"
Publicity Plea.
The objection of women to fedora
tlon work on the plea of publicity II
entails, Mrs. Decker scored as unrea