Omaha daily bee., 1908-08-16

AR dent Of the New England
IV Woman Suffrage association,
49, answers in a London paper the
HS2I3lN attack on the movement in
N3 America by Mrs. Humphrey
Ward. Mrs. Ward had written that the
movement in this country was strong 'in
the second third Of the nineteenth century
but was now almost extinct. Mrs. Howe
says: In New York at the time Of the
last constitutional convention the suffra-
gists secured more than 300. 900 signatures to
their petitions; the anfi-suffragists only Is
900. The woman suffrage petitions pre-
scented to the recent constitutional conven-
ton in Michigan bore VS. 900 signatures.
There were no petitions on the other side.
In Chicago not long ago ninety-seven or
CARNATIONS, with an aggregate membership
OF more h 10000 women. petitioned for a
woman suffrage clause in the new city
charter, while only one small organisation
of women petitioned against It. In Maine,
Iowa, Kansas, In short, in every state
where petitions for suffrage and remon-
strances against 1t have been sent to the
legislature, the petitioners nave always
largely -outnumbered tho remonstrants. on
the only occasion when the government
took an official referendum among women
on the subject lin Massachusetts, in 1885,
the women's vote was in favor Of suffrage
twenty-five to one
d
Beauty of a Japanese Home.
We ended our pleasant day by being taken
20 see the houses and gardens Of MI. Iva
sakl, magnate OF Toxic, our host having
arranged the visit beforehand, writes Lady
Randolph Churchill in the Century. After
a long drive in a landau, which was driven
by a japanese coachman CARRIED in a dark
blue kimono and mushroom hat, with a
belto, or groom, dressed in the same way,
on the box, we came to the two houses.
One was European, full of fine things.
while the other In which the owner lived.
was Japanese. Having removed our shoes.
we were taken over It. l wish l could de-
scribe its destinations; but where there
were no ornaments, no furniture, no pic
lures save a kakemono here and there, no
no curtains. no color anywhere, it Is diff
cult to say wherein lay the charm.
And yet it was charming. The fineness
of the mating. the beauty Of workmanship
OF the woodwork, the lacquer frames Of the
screens, which were 50 adjusted that they
parted at a touch without a sound, the ex-
traordinary cleanliness everywhere, and,
above all, the different little courts on
which the rooms looked, were delightful.
The bathroom particularly pleased me.
Made Of some light colored wood, 1t shone
like satin and felt like It.
A delicate carving around the base OF the
wall, representing flights of birds, formed
a dado; two large wooden tubs of the
same wood stood at the end OF the room,
encircled by brass bands beautifully pol
ished, and half a dozen tubs of different
sizes stood on a low table; the window
looked out upon a small court with one
large magnolia tree and a very old gray
stone lantern. Another room, a sanctum
sanctorum, where the tea ceremonies
were held. gave upon a wild scene ten feet
square. where Jagged rocks, prickly bushes
and rushing torrents spanned by stone
bridges made the urbanities and rigid ETH
quette Of these ceremonies appear a pleas
ant contrast. The smoking room, made by
opening and closing a screen, looked upon
a lake artlficially and cleverly planned,
with beautiful trees and shrubs on it's
banks, and rocks and strange and varied
colors. These rocks alone cost a fabulous
sum and had been brought from a great
distance. The lake was fed from the sea
and as the sun was setting we watched
the fish jumping high in the air. walking
round the gardens until It was nearly
dark, every turn OF the path presented an
absolutely new aspect, the variety being
marvellous. The gardens and houses COW
cred twenty-four acres and seemed four
times that size.