The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-10-25
SOME AUTUMN SOCIETY NOTES AND
 ------- MATTERS OF INTEREST TO WllMEE
Clubs and the Women of Clubdom-Their Plans for the Season and What the Federated Clubs of To- day Represent-Wedding Plans-Visitors -Receiv- ing Parties = Engage ments-Society Chat

Il is just about % years since the Woman's club movement began to com-
 mand attention, and people lifted their brows inquring whither the new actiyi- tics of woman would lead her. Within the intervening years there has been q striking evolution of the movement which is still going on but it's tendencies and directions are easily discernible.
 The earliest manifestations of the awak- ening desire Of women for an active part in new realms took the form of search for culture. Clubs were literary. Every town had its woman's club, it's Shake speare club, it's Travel club it's Art league and its federation, in which they were all brought together They did a deal of good, though more perhaps by training the women in the business of working together than in the improve ruent of literary tastes and standards. It was not long before. in many instances. culture yielded first interest to cookery. nyt and artisanship; the tenuites of travel through the pages of the encyclo peedia gave way to the very practical facts of tramping around the home town
 
 H. Painting china has been succeeded in snnumerable cases by whtewashing picket sences the meter of Tennyson proved less permanently fascinating than the gas meter. In short, the womens clubs got very shortly into practical twentieth cen tury affairs.
 They have been getting deeper in ever since. There has been all too little reali- pation of the debt that the country owes to organized womanllind for promotion of sanitation, enforcement of food and drug laws, betterment of schools, better babies, and a thousand exceedingly practical things If the women have not yet been given generally the right to vote they have gone far toward making up for 1t by generous employment of the right of petition. Every legislator, state or na- tional, will give graphic testimony to the activities of the womans movement along this line. Witness the results of the last convention of the General Federation of women's clubs which met in Chicago this summer.s This convention marked a longer progression in these practical and useful works than any previous gather ing The women demanded better vital statistics because they realize that the facts must be known before effective measures for improvement can be fornu- lated. They are planning education along the line of home economies for those homes that most need and least know the practical possibilities of this work. They want better foods. better markets, better facilities for bringing consumer and pro ducer together. They are planning to take united steps to protect the young 1, pa in q n1- mating literature and dangerous social customs.
 Finally this convention formally de- clared for the first time in favor of the political equality of men and women Who, looking back over the truly mar vicious advance that women have achieved sr two decades, can refuse to recognize that they are marching straight ahead to that goal? No other great community ever grew so fast into the capacity to l rse political power or into the realiza- ton that power was needed as has this vast community of American womanhood To deny the obvious end of this progress | sion would be as impossible as to side track the spheres in their courses.
 Birmingham club women have just em- parked on their years work. To say that they are interesting themselves altogether | in such grossly practical issues as the l water meter or whitewashing the back | fence would be incorrect, for their studies | while certainly not approaching the pro- | taic and uninspiring slaughter of the en- | cyclopaedia that became passe years ago, | are still many of them based on litera- ! ture, or it might be said, studies literary | and social and in all of the clubs such !, study is supplemented with current mat | ters of interest and frequently with ac- .tual humanitarian work in behalf of some chosen philanthropy. So that. while the club women are not missing any of the | cultural benefit to be derived from delv- | ing into history and romance the study | has assumed practical side and is con | ferring practical benefit.
 Cadmean
 The Cadmean circle, which began its | meetings early in the month, is the old est organization of women in Birming- | ham, having been established in 1888. Mrs. Mortimer Williams is president this year; | Mrs. Preston Means vice president and | -frs. Paul Chalifoux. secretary-treasurer. Mrs. Sterling A. Wood, a former presi- | dent, is director, and the membership in- | dudes besides Mrs. Frank Y. Anderson, | Mrs. F. H. Cabaniss, Mrs. Sterling J. | Foster, Mrs. F. J. Dunn. Mrs. James A. | Going, Mrs. John c. IIanley, Mrs. For- hey Johnston. Mrs. J. Houston Johnston, Mrs. J. D. Kirkpatrick Mrs. A. o. Lane, ! Mrs. W. S. Lowell. Mrs. Joseph McLester, | Mrs David Roberts, Mrs. John P. Till ] man, Mrs. J. A. VanEoose. Mrs. s. D. l Weakley. Mrs. Thomas PariSe, Mrs Will ]