The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1914-05-22

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; zine clubs, of this city, have definite
purposes was the defense of Miss Sa-
rah Hill last night in her address of
welcome to the delegates attending
the convention of the Sixth district
Federation Of Women's Clubs. Miss
Hill, who is a member of the Rich
mond school board, was moved to
make this defense because Of criti-
cism of these organization made at
the Brookville meeting last year. Moth
ing. she said, has done more for mod
ern women than her clubs, in which
mind sharpens mind. Miss Hills ad-
dress of welcome follows:
Dear Friends of the Federate Clubs
IL will repeat informally what Mayor
Robbins has said officially: Welcome
to our city We certainly will try to
| show you a good time while you are
here. We are glad to look in your
faces and to give you hearty Hoosier
handshake.
1.-TWO years ago three other club
women of this city and myself had
the pleasure of attending your meeting
at Brookville; you may remember that
the weather was perfect; the ride from
| Richmond down was one long piano.
rama of beauty, and the grandeur of
the scenery was revelation to those
first time.
| "The session were held in a pretty
church, the open windows curtained
by branches of trees. and through
them came the droning of bees. A
feeling of restful content took posses
sion of the meeting, and the atmos-
phere seemed to breathe Gods in His
Heaven; alls right with the world
corresponding to Friends reports
on the state of society in their yearly
meetings, the various clubs were re-
porting progress, noting their mem
| bership, rehearsing their activities.
and summing up the work accomplish
ed. Everything seemed to be going
| we'll and to be going forward.
Suddenly we sat up and took fresh
notice; the lady assigned to Wayne
county clubs, after telling Of the work
in Cambridge City and other outlying
points to the west of us, spoke for
the Richmond clubs she said beauti-
full things about the Domestic Science,
OF the Collegiate, the Aftermath, the
Athenaa, of the Trifolium and the
Cycle, and they deserved it all. She
concluded her review by the assertion
that in contrast, the Magazine club, |
the Ticknor and the Tourists seemed
to have no aim nor object beyond their |
own selfish. pleasure and entertain
ment!
Comes to Defense.
"As three of our party were Tour
lists and one both a Ticknor and a |
Tourist l think that with reason we |
asked the question if we had not had
jolt? Specially as the Ticknors are |
literary society of Presbyterian ladies, !
and l will ask any fair-minded audi
ence if it can conceive of any body !
of Presbyterian women CLUBBING togeth-
er for selfish pleasure and without |
having their eyes constantly fixed up
on a goal toward which they strive!-
They have been too thoroughly
grounded in the Westminster Cate
chism and the chief end of man, to be
strolling carelessly along any walk in
life without a definite end in view
A merited criticism of the average
Presbyterian woman is lack of lit
tie admixture of frivolity to leaven the
good old indigo-blue doctrines of our
church. but in these days we are get
ting there, thank you, or at least ap-
preaching!
Il am making no defense for the
Magazine club, for l do not have per-
sonal knowledge of it's internal work
ings, but judging from recent news
paper reports, which are always more
or less reliable, it has been getting
pretty gay in the very recent past.
"(kindly overlook the slang, if pos
sfble; our club took up the subject of
slang, and while it's defendants did not
go the full length of George AIDE, it was
unanimously decided that some slang
was permissible sometimes because of
its strength and perspicuity!)
And the Tourists; if there is one
thing of which it's members are fond
and proud, it is this club; 1t is a
mixed club, decidedly, in it's member
ship l mean; it is made up of some
fifteen married couples, a limited num-
Der OF bachelors, widows and seven
spinsters; looking at it from another
point of view. it embraces a college
president, several professors, a preach
er, and a fine lot Of business men,
some Of them optinists, but with a
good admixture Of pessimists in 1914.
Not long ago-note the com bination.
as the Ladies' Home Journal would
say-we had also a physician, an un-
dertaker and a florist! We still have
a majority of the trio.
Men Ia Tourist Club.
"The club fs absolutely unique, l
believe, in that 1t is the only one in
the Sixth district having men embrac-
ed by this Woman's Federation; they
may seem little shy. dear federated
ladies, but l assure you that they came
in with very little coercion.
I'VE Tourists have been travelling to-
gether for a Qtarter Of a century,
though you would never guess it; we
have been everywhere, and Hike T. R.,
we have sized up conditions on the
spot, stated them with great frank
ness. prescribed the remedy for the
evil and after a decent lapse of years
have gone back to note improvement
We are just through with the Bal
kans, and only one member has had
the audacity to hand in a unanimous
report, and to stay with It,
And this leads me up to my text:
We have not>traveled together all
these years without taking our turns
at rundown with sandpaper, kindly
but firmly applied when necessity
seemed to demand it, and this is one
If the benefits of the club for it's
members. There Is nothing 40 good