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Show The Club "Woman. It Is said the first woman's club was nothing but an extended tea party a sowing sow-ing clfcle with ambitions the mombors of which groped blindly for somo broader Interests In-terests not present In tho lifo of woman thirty or forty years ago. Small In tho beginning, woman's clubs havo grown In size and character, until now they havo assumed Immonso proportions, and oxert In all quarters a positive Influence. Tho modern club is a thing of departments depart-ments nnd sections, a dlssomlnator of cul-turo cul-turo and a moldoPof Ideals as well as an organ for practical work Littlo by llttlo tho philanthropic departments, as they havo como Into being, havo takon front rank and accomplished an enormous amount of good. Though thoy do not as vot fully reallzo their power, club women in many localities havo inspired a wholo-somo wholo-somo respect from legislators and mombors mom-bors of city councils Tho laws which regulato child labor In certain States aro tho outcome of Investigations Inaugurated by women's clubs; and it is duo to their influenco that women havo been appointed appoint-ed to servo aa members of school boards, lnsano asylums, and various philanthropic and reformatory organizations. Art clubs havo not only Increased the Interest of tha general public In art, by holding exhibitions, but havo proved a delightful de-lightful cducatlvo forco in tho llfo of countless women who had not tho wldo opportunity afforded girls of today not only in school and collego but In stores. And tho samo Is true of tho musical departments. de-partments. And by tho way, how unap-preclatlv.0 unap-preclatlv.0 we aro of present-day advantagesthat advan-tagesthat Is, most of us who live in tho city. I was impressed on tills point last summer while visiting thirty miles from a railroad. Asked to spend an evening to hear a phonograph a neighbor's visitor from tho city hud brought, wo fairly groaned at tho prospect, but experienced a comploto "change of heort" as wo notod tho delight of a dear whlto-halred gentlewoman gentle-woman hearing' her favorlto melodies Schumann's Traumorel and ono of Chopin's Cho-pin's nocturnes as played, by tho Thomas orchestra. Think what It means to a music-lover to hear for tho first tlmo In ten years somo beloved classic, and much will bo forgivon tho "commorclal spirit" that glvon us modern Inventions. Club work gives women tho needed Human Hu-man touch that men havo every day of mtii uiif, j.u uo t,uuu jioiuu-miutcra women wo-men should havo a certain amount of relaxation re-laxation from homo caresr and tho women of America gain much by tho contact with ono another they receive In club work. Especially Is this true at a general Federation Fed-eration gathering that center of organized organ-ized womanhood, as It has been fittingly termed where tho sincerity of purposo in dealing with problems of vital Importance to tho homo and Nation Is so Impressive. Tho many Important theories and idoas suggested and carried to every part of tho country, to bo carefully weighed and discussed. Tho breadth of sympathy shown and tho forceful illustration of harmony displayed at tho biennial meetings meet-ings cannot but bo an elevating factor In tho national life Tho Pilgrim. |