Evening star., 1909-04-29
WOMEN TALK UPuFT
Civic Federation Auxi|iaries in
Executive Session.
TWO MEETINGS ARE HELD
Executive Council and Committee
Confer Behind Closed Doors.
WICKERSHAM Is TO SPEAK
Attorney General and DR.. II. w.
Wiley to Address Local Section
This Afternoon.
TWO MEETINGS ARE HELD
NICKERSHAM Is TO SPEAK

marked the preliminary sessions OF the
womans department of the National
Civic Federation, assembled today in
semi-annual conference. The meetings
were held at the home of Mrs. Samuel
Spencer, O1o Massachusetts avenue.
The first assembly was a short session
of the executive council. 1t was attended
by Mrs. Horace Brock, chairman: Mrs.
Taft, honorary chairman: Mrs. J. Bor-
den Hartman. first vice chairman: Mrs
Joseph Medill Mccormick of Chicago,
second vice chairman: Mrs. John X. Ott-
ley of Atlanta. third vice chairman; Mrs
William B. Crocker of Burlingame. Cal,
fourth vice chairman; Mrs. b. Frank
Bebans, fifth vice chairman: Mrs. Eva
Macdonald valesh. assistant editor of the
American Federationist, sixth vice chair
man: Mrs. Mary Hatch Willard. treas
urer: Mrs Marcus NJ. Marks of New
York, secretary: Mrs. Cornelius Steven
son of Philadelphia. Mrs. Clement Acton
Griscom. jr.. of New York and Mrs.
Michael Dreicer.
Executive Committee Meeting.
The meeting Of the executive committee
was held half an hour later. The prog
ress which the welfare work has made
since the organization of the woman's S
department last May, when the leading
labor experts Of the country addressed
the women in this city. was recounted
and strong plans for the future were
outlined
The members Of the executive commit
tee are Mrs. Archibald Alexander. Ho-
boken N j.; Mrs. s. Thurston Ballard,
anon, Pa: Mrs. William B. Bourn. San
Francisco. Cal: Mrs. Francis Higginson
Cabot. New York city: Mrs. Andrew Car
negie. New York city: Mrs. w. Murray
Crane Dalton. Mass: Mrs. William Fl.
Crocker. Rurlingame. Cal: Mrs. Sarah S.
Platt Decker. Denver. Col: Mrs. Michael
Dreicer. New York: Mrs. Marshall Field
Chicago. ILL.,; Mrs. Edwin Farnham
Greene Boston. Mass; Mrs. Clement
Acton Griscom. jr.. New York city; Mrs.
Mrs. Archibald Hopkins. Washington, d.
c.: Mrs. Overton Lea. Nashville. Tenn.
Mrs. Arthur Lee. Elkins. w. Va; Mrs.
Nicholas Longworth. Cincinnati, Ohio;
Mrs. V. Everit Macy. New York city:
Mrs. Marcus NJ. Marks, New York city;
Mrs. Bowman III. McCalla. Santa Bar
bara, CAL: Mrs. Cyrus Hall Mccormick.
Chicago. H.: Mrs: Joseph Medil McCor-
mick. Chicago. ILL.,: Mrs. Henry B. f.
Macfarland. Washington. D. c.: Mrs. \.
F. McKissick. Greenwood, S. c.: Mrs. r.
Frank Mebane. Spray, n. c.: Mrs. Cyrus
Pitman Orr. Birmingham, Ala: Mrs. John
X. Ottley. Atlanta, Ca. Miss Anna d.
Ger. Washington. D. c.: Mrs. Cornelius
stevenson, Philadelphia. Pa: Mrs. Oscar
s. Straus. Washington, d. c.: Miss Ada
c. Sweet, New York city; Mrs. William
II. Taft. Cincinnati, Ohio; Mrs. Edmund
Leighton Tyler. Admission. Ala: Mrs. Eva
Mcdonald Valesh, Washington. D. c.:
Mrs Mary Hatch Willard, New York:
Mrs. Talcott Williams. Philadelphia, Pa.
Mrs. Roger Wolcott. Boston. Mass: Mrs.
BENJAMIN Ide Wheeler, Berkeley, Cal
There will be meeting this afternoon
at $3.50 o'clock, under the auspices OF the
District of Columbia section. at which
there will be addresses by Mrs Horace
Brock. the national chairman, Mrs. j.
Borden Hartman, chairman of the COM
mittee on welfare work for industrial en-
ployes; Attorney General George w.
Wickersham and DIR. Harvey w. Wiley.
dinner will be given by the mems ex-
ecutive council in honor of the women
who are present at the sessions.
What Has Been Done in Washington
Mrs. Eva Mcdonald valesh, editor and
labor expert. who is actively engaged in
the work of the national organization. and
in the local field as well, said this morn
ing:
I'VE really have accomplished some.
thing. speaking locally, since we organ
lied last May. OF course. we are con-
fined almost exclusively to work among
government employees here in Washington,
but we have done something for them.
For instance. l believe 1t is due to the
activity of the womans department of
the federation that better conditions exist
today in the bureau of engraving and
printing.
I'VE are still going after a better scale
of wages for them over there. I really
don't believe we ought to worry SO much
about welfare work and getting a clean
place to work in until We have succeeded
in getting the women a living wage.
1t is hard for those girls to live on a
dollar and a half a day in this city. /
have figured 1t out with several OF them
and know what / am talking about
They have higher standard of living
set here for them than they would have in
Ia factory town.
I'VE have also succeeded in having the
head of a bureau or of department re-
ceive a delegation from the union-a thing
which has never been known among the
government employees here before this ad-
mnistration. So you see we have made a
start, and intend to keep ii up."