The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-06-28
WIDE RANGE OF TOPICS
FOR THE CLUB WOMEN
They Will Be Discussed at the
San Francisco Meet.
PUBLIC HEALTH QUESTIONS
Welfare of Child: the Pure Food Laws;
Propose to Storm Legislatures;
Sessions Opened.
From Mondays Daily.

From Mondays Daily.
- San Francisco, June 24.-Ten thou
sand clubwomen from all over the
United States are assembled in San
Francisco today for the eleventh bien-
NAL convention of the General Fed
Grafton of Women's clubs. con-
cert in the auditorium this evening
will be the opening feature of the
meeting, which is the greatest in the
history of the movement. Not alone
for it's size will the convention be
noteworthy. It's proceedings will be
watched with interest all over the
country on account of the topics to
be discussed and the question to be
acted upon. Unless expectations are
disappointed this convention will wit
ness thu Inauguration of campaigns
of great public Importance. Among
the most vital of the subjects to be
considered is the matter OF uni
form marriage and divorce law. The
clubs have had this question under
consideration individually and the
supporters of the project of securing
such legislation look to the feder-
corning it at the present meeting.
Public Health Questions.
Questions relating to public health
will also occupy the attention OF the
delegates The convention will take
up the proposed law requiring the
presentation of certificates OF health
before marriage licenses can be
obtained. Matters relating to child
welfare will, of course, receive a
large amount of attention. Thus it
will be seen that the convention is
expected to do work of Importance
all over the United States. The
sessions will be held in the Suffer
street pavilion.
Entertainments in the form of con-
certs, lectures, moving picture shows,
receptions dinners and luncheons
will be held in the Greek Theatre at
Berkeley, the Palace Hotel and var
ious clubhouses. Automobile trips
and excursions by water have been
planned To points of interest in the
vicinity. 1t has been estimated that
$2,900,000 will hardly cover the per-
sonal expenses of the delegates and
alternates for the trip to San Fran
cisco, and it is probable that the
cisco will be $4,000 to carry out
the program they have planned for
the entertainment of the visitors.
Range the Subjects.
The range of subjects to be dis
cussed at the various sessions Is,
as usual, a very wide one, but it
is significant that while art and lit
erature have a fairly prominent place
on the program by far the greater
portion of the time is not to be
taken up with the routine business
and the election of officers. Matters
relating to child welfare and public
health will be given great consider
alton. The officers of the federation
are much interested in the recent
establishment of a children's bureau
at Washington and the question will
be brought up of the feasibility of
clubwomen in various parts of the
United States cooperating with Gov
eminent officials in the collection of
statistics and in other Investigations
that would add to the efficiency of
the bureau
Clubwomen are also beginning to
join with many educators in believ-
ing that vocational training has not
received the attention it deserves from
boards of education in the United
States and a definite movement TO
arouse public sentiment in behalf of
the child who must leave school to
earn his own living at the age of
fourteen will probably be mapped out
during the convention.
Address by Dr.. Gill.
DR.. Laura Drake Gill, formerly
dean of Barnard college, will lead
a discussion on this subject during
one of the evening sessions and
there will be speeches on the Mon
tessori system and on various phases
of the curriculums now being follow
ed in the public schools.
Domesticity is largely becoming
fad and large numbers of clubwomen
not only profess to be keen them
selves about cooking and sewing and
gardening, but are beginning to insist
that it is wrong for a girl to be al
lowed to; graduate from public
school without knowing how to make
a fire in the kitchen stove, bake
bread, concoct a good old-fashioned
Irish stew, wash dishes, air a room
and make up a bed.
Pure Food, Etc.
Mrs. S. Crockett, who is chair
man of the public health conferences,
has arranged for series of talks on
such subjects as pure milk, the sup
ply of drinking water in cities, i'm
proved methods for the disposition
of ashes and garbage, the better en-
forcement of ordinances regarding
the throwing about of refuse, the
isolation of persons suffering from
contagious disease and various ques-
tions relating to public sanitation.
There will be a discussion of the
pure food laws, followed by sug-
gestions on the part of several ex-
perts for the detection of dangerous
authorizations of food. 1t is supposed
that there will be an enthusiastic en-
dorsement of Dr. Wiley, as we'll as
of certain manufacturers of canned
goods whose products have been test
ed by club women and found to be
satisfactory.
1t has also been decided to take
Continued on Page Three.