The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1911-11-18
THE NEW CIVIC SPIRIT


preservation of the Appalachian Sec
tion of the White Mountain Forest
Reserve, the Palisades of the Hudson,
the big Trees of California, has
been zealously worked for by the
club women, who have supplemented
these special efforts by vigorous
crusade in the creation of q public
sentiment in favor of preserving all
forests and natural scenery, of pro-
tecting the birds, promoting public
parks ana beautifying towns and
cities by the planting of trees and
shrubs.
1t is not strange that laws for tho
protection of women and children ap-
peal to thoughtful women. In near
~ every state work is being done
along these lines: child labor laws,
juvenile courts. reform schools, homes
for dependent and defective chill
dren, probation officers, vocation
schools, assistance to the consumers
league, state employment of the un-
employed and laws limiting the
hours of labor for women. We are
pleased to note here that good work
has been done here in Ohio by the
last legislature along two of these
lines, largely through the interests of
the club women. A bill was passed
providing for a woman's reformatory
also a bill limiting the hours of la
Dor for women in shops anil fac
tories to nine hours per day The
bill as originally drafted provided for
an eight-hour day, but the manu-
facturers brought forward so much
-, I,A
amended to nine hours.
In nearly every city there is some
progressive woman to lead the reform
/ movement along some of the many
lines of civic work. Notable among
the women who have been working
for pure food Is. Mrs. Harriet
McMurphy. of Omaha, the first wom-
an food inspector in America. Thir-
/ teen years ago, when the Omaha
womans club was organized, few
! of the women wanted a domestic sci
1 ence department Mrs. McMurphy
was chosen as leader, ana when they
began to discuss their subject of
study, 1t seemed as If there was only
one common ground on which they
, might all meet, and that was food.
+; One Woman's Great Work.
| SO when the Nebraska Federation
of Womens clubs was formed, Mrs.
McMurphy was made chairman of the
household economies committee for
the state. and later on secretary OF
the same committee for the National
Federation. In '9S, when the Trans
Mississippi Exposition opened at
Omaha, Mrs. McMurphy had charge
of the Model kitchen an how many
ways can you cook corn?" demanded
the commissioners. 81 will serve 1t In
just 100 ways" she answered. From
that hour, until the exposition opened
she experimental, and in the end had
her 100 recipes,
From Omaha she went to the Pan
American exposition at Buffalo;
many of you will remember her, ano
her model kitchen. Here she heara
for the first time. lectures on food
adulteration and returned tC
Nebraska, burning with the message
AS an officer of the State Fedora
ton, she was frequently schedules
for club lectures and talks. She al
ways took for her text the pure fooC
law, and how much Nebraska needed
IT, Women became Interested II
what she had to say; they carried
her message to their husbands. Thu
bill was finally passed, and DR.. Vile!
has pronounced 1t one of the hes
and most drastic in the country.
Mrs. McMurphy next met the clu'
women at the State Federation
meeting, and said: This Is WON
ans bill; we helped to have 1t passed
1t affects us more directly than
does the men. / want to be food AM
drug inspector for the state s.
the boom for her was started by TN
women. The governor realized tina
to combat so popular movemen
would be the height of folly, SO he
appointment was assured. She Wis
tied the slaughter houses shops an
! bakeries, on her tours Of inspection
"Snooper" they called her at firs'
and she answered, "Yes. but am a
official snooper, you seel" One o
! the state officials has summed up he
work thus: women may be radi
Y Gals when 1t comes to the question q
l what they will feed their families, bu
there Is one thing-you can't foe
em!
4 What Mrs. Crane Has Done.
Another woman who has bee
; doing noble work along these line
: Is Caroline Bartlett Crane, of kala
mazoo. Eight years ago, Mrs Gran
: was trying to get some one 10 lee
! ture before the WomaHs club of thf
city. She was chairrnf.n of the con
mittee of Household Economies. tn
y committee was studying meats, an
: she wanted some one from the cil
or State Board of Health to lectuI
y upon meats and meat inspection. B'
y they were all too busy to help h'
Q out, so she went to work and studie
up on it for herself, from a local II
u spection OF the meat shops an
!. slaughter houses. She went hon
u from her inspection, LITERAL Ill. 81
;, the lecture was given to the club, an
70 and she repeated 1t TO the city coul
ell
They were aghast at her reveli
tlons, but could do nothing. becau
- the slaughter houses were outside u
u city limits. SO everybody consider'
: the matter ended, but Mrs, Crane. 81
= visited Grand Rapids, Lansing al
- Warsaw, and found things no be
y ter, so determined to put the matt
" before the legislature, She got up
hill proyhding that cities should dra