Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-09-26

reasrn9er OF the Board OF the Nat,on.i
o,,r ~ sion o. Women's Clubs sho -.
Tfn,,o. Yen women who represented ,ho
~ W.. states at the InternatIonel CouncSi
" ne'd In Toronto. Canada, in isis,
Mrs p'ppos p,, OF the Ladies' Of the Maccabees.
u'ceo she used TO be toward iods, ...',r.. p.e.u-
remember how annovea r.. 49,
sone ladies came TO call on M. "a ,.iss
~ lnuuce me to become a member 81 49,.
49,. 'ees My husband was Commanded ~
NJ masculine branch OF the order. I revsr
"a s'v , use Tor lodge women, and Thought
tvo eAus uu..e enough TO do 10 look after nv
no.i 'ureh. . Outside interests did not an
ps peai 70 me finally promised 10 take on,
ro,,,., "surance In the lodge but I gave the
wnvineh 70 understand distinctly that 7
.n,s intend going to any meetlnes They
n,as,,. e 4 would only have to attend one
BY CHANCE
wy initial appearance chanced TO fall on
go s when they were electing officers,
ana TO my amaEement the women had NO,
the slightest comprehension of narils
'on.ary law, and as had been n teacher
~ .ns subject before my marriage they
a,i asNeu me TO take charge Of the meeting
l"en was persuaded to conduct n series
vL ~, classes In parliamentary law. one
,an ..,,nS Ied 70 another, and now I have been
VI Nle llt0leS OF the Mac
s esoees ior nearly a quarter OF a century.
@on.en @ travelling more than seventeen thou
sehu s miles year looking after the various
branches. We have $4,000 members.
me Ladies' Of the Maccabeea was
rounded by Adelpha Ward, the first wom-
an clerk in Marshall Fields store in Chit
osso. she was so prosecuted by the men
woman into their ranks, that she de-
termined TO found an order beneficial to
women. The Ladies of the Maccabees were
nrst organised In Muskegon, Mich, March
"a. 1856.
UP to that time there was no in
surance company that would insure wom-
en- Tor women were considered too great
y risk' because they were the bearers of
tne race. Ladies' OF the Maccabees was
the hrst organization to grant life insur-
ance to women, who, by the way. are now
considered safer risk than men, and II
Is the hrst order to give maternity insur-
ance.
maternity insurance is well known in
Europe, and is very general, but It is COM
paratively new in America. We pay $50
on the birth OF each child. II there are
twins we pay 800. Recently we paid a
mother $3.50 for tripiets
We have hospital beds endowed in
many OF the large institutions in the Mid
ole West for the care of sick members of
the order. and we do a great deal OF child
welfare work. II the children are defec-
tive we see what we can do for them. |
remember one little boy who was born
without elbows and with crooked feet We
had one of the finest surgeons in the coun-
try look after him. and the boy will prob
ably grow to be useful citizen. The lad
Is twelve years old now. and he is the
fastest hummer and the best ball player in
his school. His poor mother would never
have been able to pay for the medical atten-
tion this boy needed.
But the Ladies' of the Maccabees look
not only to the physical needs OF the men,
bers, but to the moral and intellectual side
OF life as we'll. Glasses are formed for
those who wish to study some particular
line Of work. and from time to time there
are lectures and entertainments. We try
in every way to make the life OF the work.
ing mother better and happier, and to
teach them the principles Of thrift and In
dustry.
"In Philadelphia the Ladies of the Macca-
bees are preparing garments to be given
to the poor at Christmas time. So you see
we not only help ourselves, but we care
for those about us, too"