Evening star., 1913-12-03
|JO|N SPUGS TO WAR
ON USELESS GIVING
Hundreds of Capital Women
Heed Pleas of Mrs.
August Belmont.
MERCENARY CUSTOMS
OF CHRISTMAS SCORED
Hardships Resulting Are Graphical
ly Depicted-True Spirit
Desired.

An audience of nearly 1000. mostly
women, but with fair sprinkling of
men, in the auditorium at Woodward
& Lothrop's today heard Mrs. August
Belmont tell OF the genesis OF the Spug
movement in New York q year ago. At
the close of the meeting practically
every one in the audience signed a
membership card, handed over dime.
the amount Of the annual dues. re-
ceived a Spug pin and became full
fedged member Of the Society for the
Prevention OF Useless Giving.
The gathering, which was under the
auspices of the women's division of the
Washington branch of the National
Civic Federation, was a thoroughly rep
resentative one, including scores or
women actively engaged in various
forms Of welfare work in the National
Capital Also the Women's National
Rivers and Harbors Congress adjourn
ed until o'clock, and the delegates at
tended the meeting in body
Purposes Of Movement.
The meeting was called to order by
Mrs. Archibald Hopkins, chairman of
the women's division. who explained
briefly the object of the assembly. Miss
Maude Wetmore of New York followed
Mrs. Hopkins. and gave an outline of
the Spug campaign in New York.
Miss Gertrude Robinson-Smith, chair
man of the Vacation Savings Fund OF
New York, told how the idea of establish
| ing a savings fund among working girls,
| with which to defray the expense of sum
mer vacations. originated. and said that
through a tremendous falling on In the
| amount of the deposits in this fund short
| ly before Christmas last year attention
was directed to the terrible drain on the
finances of working girls occasioned by
the giving of Christmas gifts
Then Mrs. Belmont, real founder OF and
| sponsor for the Spug movement, was IN
troduced, and talked her way straight to
the hearts of her hearers Mrs. Belmont
prefaced her remarks with a plea thai
Washingtonians might help to make the
| Spug movement really national by placing
upon it the stamp OF approval of the Ma
tional Capital.
Hardship for Girls.
After telling how the idea happened to
be born. only a little more than one
year ago. Mrs Belmont told OF condi
tions in many stores in New York where
girls earning not more than s. a week
were forced by circumstances and condi-
tions in the stores to go in debt as much
as $75 at Christmas. even being led to
steal in order to keep up appearances
and to make a showing as having re.
ceived at least many gifts as Other
girls in the store. She told of half q
dozen instances coming under her OBJ
servation where girls and young womer
struggled for months with a burden Of
debt incurred in "the senseless. mad ex
change Of gifts. and the equally insane
unjust and un-Christian collective giving
I'VE are banded together she said
ito abolish by popular vote this sense
less. silly custom. and to substitute for Il
la saner. happier. more Christianlikt
Christmas. We want to abolish all thi.
unfair taxation in the name of Christ
mas giving, and to put back into Christ
llowship and loving kindness and tender
remembrance the season and the da,
have lost.
Wants True Spirit to Reign.
I'VE attack the insane, the mad, ex
change system, and we attack the equal
ly pernicious system of collective giving
in which each employe Of an establish
ment or department feels that he or she
must pledge certain sum to go toward
buying q gift for the person in authority
over that establishment or department.
| But We do not attack-the sput
movement was not inaugurated to at
tdck-giving in the real spirit o
Christmas; the giving of gifts no
| through fear, or to curry favor, or be
cause of custom.
| I'VE do not attack the age-long Gus
tom of giving at Christmas through
| love and the pure joy of giving. AL
we ask is, don't commercialize Christ
mas, as too many Of US have been do
ing. There are 364 other days in the
year on which we may seek advance
ment in whatever way we may choose
but don't let's make Christmas. the
| only day on which many of US re-
profess. q day of swapping. of sense.
| less exchanging Of meaningless gifts
| in q spirit of rivalry or for the pur.
pose of advancing our own fortunes"
Spug Party in New York.
Mrs Belmont told of the Spug party
| which is to be held at the Grand Central
| Palace in New York Christmas day.
Every member Of the society I'm New
York. she said. is asked to attend and
| to bring as a guest at least one person
who otherwise would not have a happy
Christmas. The applications for tickets
for the entertainment, she said, already
reached well into the thousands. and the
committees In charge except an attend
ance Of between 1900 and 2O.0O0
Mrs: Hopkins, closing the meeting. In
Of the National Civic Federation, and
urged every person present to come for
ward and enroll. In response to Mrs.
Hopkins invitation the audience moved
toward the platform en- masse. and within
two minutes a dozen or more active Spug
workers were being swamped under a
deluge of dimes, while the Spug pins.
emblems of the society, were being hand
ed out as rapidly as two dozen busy
hands could manage.
At the close of the meeting Miss Mar
garet Wilson. daughter of the President,
was rendered the chairmanship of the
Washington Spugs. which she accepted
Miss Wilson and her mother last night
became members Of the society. Mrs.
Wilson being made honorary chairman
of the national society.
Prominent Women Attending.
Among those who attended today s
meeting were Miss Anne Morgan. daugh-
ter Of the late J. Pierpont Morgan, who
came on from New York to be present
at the launching Of the Spug move
ment in Washington; Mrs Mildred Reeves
Of New York, Miss Maude Borland. fifth
national vice president of the Spugs;