The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1910-05-03

ter in any of the foreign countries.
upon the civic or political life Of
her country. was comparatively moth
ing. This may seem like putting Il
rather extremely. but ii Is a fact.
nevertheless. Not that there weren't
! plenty OF women crying aloud flr
reform lifting up their voices i'm
{ the wilderness, pleading for higher
standard of living. There have al.
ways. IN every age. been noble souls
OF our sex. from Aspasia's days TO
/ the present, who saw the clear light
I Of truth and wrought for its ends.
But twenty years ago any student
of current history during the past
two decades knows that We were
Just upon the eve OF the great re-.
naissance. the flower and fruit of
which is expressed In the General
Federation of Womcn's clubs and
the purpose for which 10 was organ
lied. | fix that period of twenty
years because it is Just that num-.
her of years ago that the first pre-
liminary steps were taken towards
organizing a federation of clubs with
common centralized purpose This
Federation has gradually extended
into every state in the union, until
today it numbers almost million
members. vast army of earnest,
intelligent. studious, cultured and
phlanthropic women. working TO.
gether for the uplifting OF humanity.
Now ! hold the belief that with
the formation of this federation, the
viewpoint the attitude of women. that
is of club-womcn; or OF women de.
voted TO public work. became radio.
ally changed. In the anti-fcdeTation
days, the women's club was a func-
tion for egoistic or self-culturc The
spirit of altruism was not one of its
essentials. The members met and
pursued certain COURSES OF study.
perhaps in literature, or art, or
political economy. or history. and no
doubt proftcd thereby and derived
pleasure thorefrom. They improved
themselves. Their clubs were culture
clubs, it is true, but they were self
culture clubs and the real essence
of culture did not inspire their coun-
ellis or give sociological purpose TO
their organization. What had they
to do with the government of men
What influence could they exert upon
municipal affairs? How could their
puny efforts aid in civic righteous.
ness? How could the disfranchised
polite? Such was probably their
mental attitude. such the excuse they
put up tor standing aloof. The men
were in CONTROLLED them run things
and be responsible for them. We OF
the weaker sex are foredoomed TO be
mere lookers-on in this game of life,
We have nothing then TO do but to
amuse ourselves. or TO improve our
selves--to post ourselves upon lit
erature and art and such things and
let the great world wag as IL will
OF course. there was talk OF WON.
ems rights and women's wrongs,
but that was confined to the short.
haired and the strong-minded. And
so We read much IN the literature
or those times of the Mere Man
on one side and the Eternal Fem-
nine upon the other, and between
them, so far as the public work
was concerned, so far as the great
questions involved in the evolution
OF society and civilization. there
seemed bridgeless chasm between
the two sexes. The men filled the
offices and administered them as they
pleased, the women were the god.
dCsses of the household and their
expression abroad in the clubs were
limited TO personal pleasure or per.
sOnal profit. OF course this does not
mean that there were not women
then, as now, who went around char
itably to alleviate human suffering,
to visit the jais, TO help the po-r.
10 watch over the sick, TO rescue
young girls and to protect them, and
10 engage in such humanitarian work
a that, Much of this was done
and done too by organized societies
FOR such purposes, and yet il was
ineffectiyely done for the reason that