The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-07-09
MWOMEN'SM
',sse JJBS:d ~

"
the nominating committee and to
transact other business. According to
1 2 recent ruling, each member of the
federation is entitled to vote. A full
attendance is urged
During the warm weather months.
when the local clubs are disbanded
and club activities suspended, this de-
partrnent will give the story of the or
ganization of the various federated
clubs of the city and items of interest
in state and general federation af-
fairs.
The power of women in organiza-
ton first appears in religious socie-
ties. A mighty system of religious sis
terhoods grew UP and flourished as
early as the fifth century, increasing in
| strength and numbers until their de-
| cline which was cOeval with the refor-
nation The power of this eXtraOr-
binary development lay in the fact
| that it furnished a vocation for wOm-
en-, The sisters of the converts were
| the nurses, teachers, students and care
takers of the poor of their times. 1t
| is of interest to women today that this
willing service, which grew out of a
| secluded existence. entered originally
| for refuge from the evils of the world,
was inspired BIZ an intense desire for
! the ACQUISITION of knowledge and it's
distribution and the spirit of helpful
ness. at the sacrifice of personal indul-
gence.
There is an analogy between these
old religious societies and the club
movement of today, but the present
tide of usefulness in women's organi-
cations rises above that of the ancient
church. The social and domestic mis-
chiefs OF the old system are absent
from the present. The sanctity and
superiority of those who ignored nat
ural ties and duties, lowering the
social and domestic standards and
placing the habit of the nun above
the woman, the wife and the mother,
find no recognition in club life of to-
day.
The nineteenth century has been
made glorious by many achievements,
including the abolition of slavery, the
development of the spirit of mercy
toward dumb animals, a greater I'M
Outstanding of the needs of childhood,
and the beginning of the acknowl-
edgment of the rights of women All
of these results are the outgrowth of
the reformation and renaissance with
roots which only the records of Rome
and Greece and Egypt may discover.
The beginning of the new movement
was the opening of the school to girls
and women, and in this work Emma
Williams, Mary Lyon and Mary Nor
timer were pioneers.
Next came the women's club. This
movement was not an echo of the or
ganiZations of men for commercial or
social purposes. IL became IN time
the life-g giving, seed-Sowing center of
altruistic and democratic activity,
radiating medium for the scattering of
the things brought to it with a liberal
hand, into which no material consider
ations entered. The foundation was
laid on a broad human basis, destroy
ing the caste spirit that women had
always previously had a tendency to
foster, and thus the club movement
has done more for the broadening of
women's lives than any other inf1u-
ence that has yet been known.
In the year 1868 Charles Dickens
made a journey to the States, and the
New York Press club, a mems club
prepared to give a dinner in his honor
A number of women, among them a
Mrs. Croly, asked for admission to
were all refused in a peremptory man
ner that was humiliating, to say the |
least, to women of their social and in |
tellectual standing. Soon afterwards, |
Mrs. Croly called on a number of her
friends and suggested that they organ |
ize a woman's club purely for the gen
eral promotion of the interests of wo-
men. A few friends gathered to draw |
up their constitution and give their |
club name. They had no specific
were in the dark as to what the real
nature of their society was to be. Had |
they come together to supply means to |
build home for aged and INDECENT |
females or to furnish tooth powder to |
the natives of Uganda, they would |
have had the support of smiling pub
lie, but they only knew that they |
longed for a closer bond of sympathy !
among themselves and they felt a gen
eral desire to be helpful to all women. |
So they organized in spite of taunts |
and sarcasm, and they called them |
selves "Sorosis'; a word derived from |
a Greek word meaning aggregation. 1t |
is a batonical term, and their emblem |
is the pineapple The name appealed |
to them for it's full Specification, its |
unhackneyed character, and its sweet |
sound. Alice Carey was selected the |
first president of the club. The organ |
ization has continued to grow from |
trat time to this. 1t is the mother OF |
all women'S clubs, and 1t has grown |
old in good deeds.
One of the first clubs to be organ |
lied in Topeka was the Western Soro-
sis. It was organized by Mrs. Mar
garet Hill McCarter and held its first |
meeting January "a, 1892. Their gen. |
eral plan of work and aim was the |
same as that of the parent society of
New York. Its purpose was to gather |
into itself a company of women, who, |
by virtue of previous effort and schol- |
arship. could look more broadly on |
the topics of the day than mere |
study club could do. 1t was purely |
a democratic body inviting to mem |
bership. not only those of social stand |
ing and financial resources or family |
traditions, but all who met its stand |
ard of intelligence, earnestness, educa- |
ton and good breeding. It's life pur- |
pose is best expressed in its motto: |
Not as though 1 had already attain |
ed" It's members aim to keep even |
with the century. to entertain an I'M |
selfish idea of giving and receiving |
among clubs. and to take a firm and |
potent stand for the best things in i