The Daily Alaska empire., 1940-04-20
WOMEN TO CELEBRATE
 WEDNESDAY,
Ii is Fifiiefh Birthday ot General Federation
 -t5,000 Clubs

ing under the refusal to admit women to a banquet given to honor Charles Dickens when he visited New York in 1868, the indignant women decided that such a thing should never again happen and at once organized club, Sorosis. To celebrate it's 2lst birthday Sorosis issued a call to all women's clubs to meet in New York. Sixty-five res bonded and organized the General Federation. The following year April 24. 1880. the ratification convention was held. Mrs Charlotte Emerson Brown of New Jersey was the first President.
 Next Wednesday, April "A, is the 5Oth birthday of the General Fed eration. Today it has membership of more than 100000 women in over l5,000 clubs in this and 3l for eign countries. In 1901 the Fedora ton was granted perpetual charter by the United States Government flor educational, industrial philan- thropic, literary, artistic and scien- tific culture" Fifty years ago only so-called radical and strong-minded women joined clubs, and even they restricted their activities largely to social gatherings, art, literature, and other cultural subjects. But Jennie June Croly, newspaper woman, the President of Sorosis, and a few others had vision far beyond their time of women's place in the world Of the future, and Unity of Diversity" was the motto adopted at the first meeting. .-.
 Under this motto the program of the Federation has been expanded and developed until it touches prac- tically every phase of human interest and welfare from art and essay con- tests to legislation of world impor- tance. More than 100 individual sub jects are covered in the programs of fered
 Timely Keynote
 Mrs. Saddle Orr Dunbar of Port land, Oregon, President of the Fed eration, has given the organiza tion this peculiarly timely keynote, "Ad- justing Democracy for Human Well fare" Additional officlrs are: First Vice President Mrs. John L. White hurst, Baltimore; Second Vice Presi- dent, Mrs. LaFell Dickinson, Keene, New Hampshire; Recording Secre- tary. Mrs. Horace B. Ritchie, Athens, Georgia; Treasurer, Mrs. J. L. B. Buck, Richmond, Virginia. .,. .s
 What is the General Federation of Women's Clubs? Answering that question Mrs. Thomas G. Winter, a Past President, says. The General Federation of Women's Clubs is group of organized women in every community who can be depended upon to promote ali movements looking toward the betterment of life" The aptness of this definition is revealed by a brief summary of today's program.
 Federation Aims
 The Federation aims to improve the status of community health by bringing to the attention of the women of this country the health problems and the facilities for hand ling these problems in their com munities and states, in order that they may intelligently assist the local department of health and cooperate with other accredited professional and voluntary health agencies. Spec ifically the program calls for CD sus- tained support of activities and standards in public health admin istration; @ health conferences in cooperation with established health educational agenciec; t3) education al programs regarding prenatal, ma ternal and infant hygiene, mental hygiene. cripple children, pneumon- Ia, tuberculosis cancer and syphilis; tD study of the United States Na- tional Health Program. The develop ment and strengthening of local ser vices is stressed with special refer ence to the dependent child, the de- linquent child, and the handicapped child. Crime control and Indian well fare are additional, interests.
 Six-Point Program
 A six-point program constituting the basis of an educational program in the United States includes CD equality of education opportunity; @ up-to-date machinery through which to funtion; (3) modern equlp- ment; (4 enriched and flexible cur ricula; (5) competent teachers; t6) increased public understanding of educational problems. Special atten- tion is also given to adult education. character education, library service, mothercraft, public instruction, and youth cooperation.
 Realizing that only through the translation of resolutions into laws will they become effective, the Fed eration, frequently alluded to as the right arm of the government. :" works both through its own group and through the Joint Congressional Committee, which represents ap- proximately 100000 women belong ing to twenty national organizations. Tn addition to initiating legislation, the Federation supports the prin- | ,ipleS of bills which have been en-