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Show WOMEN'S BOARD OF TRADE. Organization at San:a Fe in Existence Since 1893. A novelty in the way of women's dubs is the Woman's Board of Trade at Santa Fe, N. M. It was first organized or-ganized in 1893 for the purpose of enabling en-abling its members to visit the world's fair at Chicago. It took to itself the name "Board of Trade" to denote its practical objects. After the exposition it turned its attention to city improvement. improve-ment. Santa Fe, like all cities both in old and New Mexico, has a plaza in the center of the town. The plaza at Santa Fe is a place of great historic his-toric interest, many of the salient events of the history of the territory having occurred there. On one side it is bounded by the governor's palace, a long abode building which has been the seat of authority ever since New Mexico was a crown colony of Spain. With this interesting old building on one side and the best shops and hotels of the city on the other three, the plaza should have been an ornament and irregular in surface, covered with a rank growth of alfalfa and surrounded sur-rounded by an old wooden fence. The Woman's Board of Trade took vigorous vigor-ous possession of the plaza. They transformed the surface into a fine level lawn, replaced the old fence with an elegant stone coping and erected a handsome drinking fountain. This was not only an achievement in itself, but gave an impetus to like improvements throughout the city. The board has also established a free library and reading-room, which now contains several thousand good volumes. vol-umes. It has a visiting and relief committee, which looks after strangers strang-ers and gives them a welcome, a boon in a city to which so many sick and unfortunate victims of tuberculosis bend their steps. It also has a committee com-mittee on prevention of cruelty to animals. ani-mals. The board is recognized by taxpayers tax-payers and city government as an active ac-tive factor in successful municipal government. Notwithstanding its splendid achievements it has no command com-mand of public funds, but such is its standing in the community that it has never had any trouble in raising sufficient suf-ficient money for its work. |