LOCAL CLUB'S
DELEGATE MAKES
A FINE REPOR1
The following is the report of the
delegate from the Anchorage Wom
an’s club who attended the national
convention of women’s clubs in New
York city:
September 23, 1916.
Mrs. Frederick Mears,
President, Anchorage- Woman’s
Club, Anchorage, Alaska.
Madam President:
To serve the Anchorage Woman’s
Club as delegate to the 13th biennial
convention of the General Federation
of Women’s Clubs was my privilege
and pleasure. This wonderful meet
ing was opened on May 23rd, in the
Seventh Regiment armory, New York
surely arranging everything possible
for a proper welcome of her .club sis
ters, who came 25,000 strong. The
armory was tastefully decorated with
trees and flowers and hundreds of
electric lights. You can imagine what
a beautiful sight this made with the
handsome gowns of the women set
against this pretty background. New
York, the mother of women’s clubs,
had every reason to be proud of the
opportunity to entertain this repre
sentative gathering, who came from
all over the world. Alaska’s repre
sentatives were warmly received by
the General Federation. After the
convention was called to order by the
retiring president, Mrs. Percy V.
Pennebacker, and the invocation was
delivered, a pretty woman, dressed in
filmy white to represent Alaska, ap
peared and quoted some appropriate
lines about the Territory. This done,
Mrs. Pennebacker turned and said:
“This is Alaska, the child of the Fed
eration, but who bringest thou with
thee, Alaska?” At this juncture Mrs.
Thomas V. Connor, the territorial
president, was introduced.
I am sending you a picture from
the New York Times, taken a few
minutes- later, with Mrs. Connor oc
cupying the most conspicuous place
on the platform, in honor of the
youngest of the Federation.! Women
from all over the wide world rejoiced
that Alaska had come in the Federa
tion. They expressed the greatest
curiosity to know something about
the country, besieging me with ques
tions as to the region which they be
lieved was a land of perpetual ice and
snow. They were all very much in
terested in a person who came from
that land, and, indeed, the word
“Alaska” seemed to be the open se
same to any and all courtesies that
could be accorded.
Unfortunately, the acoustic proper
ties of the armory were poor, making
it very difficult to hear any distance
away from jthe Tplatform. They triec
in many ways to remedy this defect
but all without avail. In that way
i
most of us were robbed of many good
parts of the speeches.
Hon. Charles Whitman, governor of
New York, opened the meeting and
paid a high tribute to women, and
said we had reached the time when
women did not have to steal out the
back door to go to the club; they went
not only with their husband’s consent,
but frequently accompanied by them,
I am sending herewith a newspaper
clipping with reference to the only
man delegate to the convention. In
deed, a vote was taken on the ques
tion of changing the name of the Gen
I eral Federation of Women’s Clubs tc
General Federation of Clubs, but it
failed of adoption. While the sug
gestion was lost, it was given friendly
consideration except by a few who
were utterly opposed to the idea and
would not even consider the proposi
tion.
Dr. Katherine Bement Davis gave
i a very interesting talk on the subject
of her work as commissioner of cor
rection in the greater city of New
York. Shq said that at first there
was great opposition in alj directions
to the appointment of a' woman to
this place, but now practically all of
the officials in that service who had
protested against her selection on the
ground of sex were agreed that it was
a position wherein the qualities and
characteristics of women aptly fitted
them for successful service. After
leaving college her first assignment
to social service work was the super
vision of a “neighborhood club” in a
small town. She related the great
progress she made with them in the
first year of her efforts. They asked
her to teach them Latin. When they
presented this request inwardly she
demurred, thinking the task much too
great, but later became convinced
that if they desired to pursue that
study she would aid them all she
could, for she felt that it would not
be fair to fail to stimulate their wish
with helpfulness. She argued that
they were intensely in earnest in all
other phases of their work and that
they would not make a request unless
they had a strong desire to pursue it
to success. Interest is a prime fac
tor in anything and she knew it. Of
course, much actual progress in the
language was not made during the
first year, but they did not lag any in
their interest, and this spurred her to
keep up with the work.
This struck me as a fine subject
for thought. It seems to me that
club members could improve them
selves in many ways, and that it
would be beneficial to the general
spirit of club work to find out what
subjects the members were interested
in and then assist each other towards
some definite achievement. If a club
wished to do so, it could inaugurate
classes for study among the young of
the community and in this mannei
enhance the general usefulness of the
town and provide some definite and
objective aims as the mottoes of theii
organization. Woman’s enlarged ac
tivities in the moving affairs of the
world will only be accomplished by
lifting the average mentally and fit
ting women to achieve success ir
their various undertakings. Oper
meetings at which there was genera
discussion of substantial topics could
be held, and this would encourage
serious thinking. Neighborhood clubs
have been organized in many large
cities and something of that nature,
embracing the entire town, could be
established in small places. The
children should not be neglected in
any scheme for the general mental
and social improvement of a town’s
population. Broadening the child’s
vision many times gives them new
ideas that are observed with benefit
by their parents. It would be well to
have the improvement in the lives of
the older folks and the younger ones
run along concurrently, one stimulat
ing the other, for it will take radical
changes in our way of thinking and in
the manner of spending our lives to
effect the much needed higher aims of
life, to get away from the more' or
less come-day, go-day style in which
social ends areworked out today.
Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt address
ed the assemblage on “Progress of
Women,” the great biennial then in
session being ample fulfillment of her
claims of what had been accomplished.
On the second day of the gathering
we met the foreign delegates, greeting
being brought to us from the Isle of
Pines, Cuba, Canada, England, Japan,
and many other localities in the big
world. They all told of the good work
done by club endeavors in their lands
and commented upon the possibilities
that can be gained by closer relations
action.
From Tokio alone came an appeal.
Miss Kawai and the Countess Okuma
expressed their belief in and enthusi
asm for women’s clubs and declared
that such organizations had lifted wo
men to a higher plane than could have
been reached by individual, rather
than collective, action. However, they
resented the American law which ex
cluded their kinsmen from entering
the United States upon the same basis
as the natives of other lands. They
particularly desired that our Oriental
sisters could be brought to this coun
try, the land of equality, so that they
could enjoy the freedom which is ours.
I am sending you a pamphlet covering
that subject, thinking it might be use
ful to the club in arousing discussion
of the topic.
Many of the speeches did not cover
the topic set down as their subject,
but the speakers drifted off into gen
eral talks. One of the speeches was
on the question, “The Club House—
Why and How?” She said that wo
men felt a greater interest in some
thing that belonged to them, even if
the meeting place was only a one
room affair. A library could be start
ed, extending the privileges of it to
every woman in the town. First, do
nations of books could be secured and
later dances and other forms of enter
tainment could be arranged to obtain
money with which to enlarge the li
brary. No doubt, too, the member
ship of the club could be increased by
the offer of free library service to
non-members. In many places the
Parent-Teachers Association has made
use of the club rooms of the local club,
in which to serve, for a nominal fee,
wholesome lunches to the school chil
dren of the neighboring school or
schools. As being helpful subjects to
■ discuss the following were mentioned:
Interior and Exterior of the Home;
Labor Saving Devices; Co-operation
I of Children in the Management of the
j Home; The Woman’s Place in the
Farm House; Child Study; Pre-natal
Influences; Clothing and Diet of
Children; Education of Children;
Parents’ Responsibilities; What Par
ents Should Teach Children; Diagnosis
of Children’s Diseases, Remedies, the
Sick Room, Transmission of Diseases,
Fresh Air, Pure Water, etc.
The state presidents discussed the
subject, “What Has Your State Done
in the Past Two Years to Summon
Youth to Service?” New York state
brought their camp-fire girls and boy
scouts along to act as ushers. They
also covered the subject, “How to Im
prove Rural Life,” dwelling upon the
value of establishing school manses in
connection with the rural schools.
These manses are now in operation all
over the West, with great success. “To
Americanize the Immigrant” was an
other topic taken up, and another was
on the adoption of a certain week in
the year to be devoted to the question
of “Baby and Its Needs.” Baby week
enjoys somewhat of a vogue in cer
tain regions today.
The need for woman’s clubs paying
attention to the question of pure food
was also discussed. It is not only
good and pure but its preparation
should be under proper auspices. The
clubs should take up the matter ofj
food laws in existence, what changes!
should be suggested, etc., and it is
highly important that food values
should be learned, in order the more
intelligently to prepare meals of
foods that will amply nourish. With
such knowledge many times, as a re
lief from meat, certain vegetables can
be substituted with no loss of nourish
ment.
One day was given over to consider
ation of conservation, rural planning
and natibnal parks, Hpn. Franklin K.
Lane delivering a fine address on “The
Nation’s Natural Wealth.” He plead
with the women’s clubs to render aid
in preserving the trees and plants and
do what they could to protect the nat
ural resources. He said that our na
tional parks will become great out
door nature schools, where people
from all quarters of the country will
meet and exchange ideas and get in
touch with our wonderful country.
Prof. Frank Waugh, professor of
horticulture, Massachusetts Agricul
tural college, spoke on rural planning,
emphasizing the fact that no town of
any size should be without its town
park. The importance of such breath
ing spaces to the child cannot be es
timated. Nature stimulates the imag
ination, educates by observation, and
our earliest impressions gained in in
timacy with natural things lasts us
througfh our whole life.
Mr. Stephen Mather, assistant sec
retary of the interior, spoke also on
“National Parks,” and told of the work
the government was doing in preserv
ing and beautifying such reservations.
Mrs. John Dickinson Sherman,
chairman of the conservation depart
ment of the general federation, chose
the topic “Nature, Our Greatest As
set.” She urged the importance of
conserving the great natural resour
ces so that the agencies of production
and the people of the coming genera
tions would not be robbed of their
right to use the raw materials of the
country.
It was suggested that the gover
(Continued on Page 11)
Skagway
ANCHORAGE
ALASKA
CAPITAL . $50,000
SURPLUS.
Wrangell
.... $10,000
OFFICERS
President—
Andrew Stevenson.
Vice-President—
J. T. Westermann.
Cashier—
W. L. Landsborough.
Assistant Cashier—
M. McVean.
CORRESPONDENTS
Seattle National Bahk,
Seattle, Wash.
Liberty National Bank,
New YoHc, N. Y.
Wells Fargo Nevada Nat’l Bank
San Francisco, Cal.
Guaranty Trust Company,
New York, N. Y.
GENERAL BANKING BUSINESS
NEXT DOOR TO HARMONY THEATRE gj
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iiu=iJilciJUcan«flBoUUaUBnflO*3UeflUciJU=iJU«3UcUl>«aiJeflU«iJB«
ALASKA TRANSFER
Express and Heavy Hauling Storage in Connection
COAL AND WOOD
OFFICE LATHROP BLDG.
ECKLES& BENSON.
r
We Know We Have^
what you want in
Winter Clothing, Positively the Best to Be Had.
Fur Caps, Parkas, Mukluks, Woolen Underwear
and Warm and Durable Winter Garments of all De
scriptions and prices.
Wible & St Clair
ANCHORAGE, MATANUSKA
“DROP IN'.’'*'' *
••H* •H"H"M**!** \j
*r 4Hp *1* •!* 1
Carpets Rugs Linoleum
Closing Out Sale
Today-Monday
WE HAVE DECIDED TO CLOSE OUT OUR ENTIRE STOCK OF CARPETS
AND RUGS AT COST, ON ACCOUNT OF WANT OF ROOM. SO YOU HAD
BETTER HURRY IF YOU INTEND PURCHASING CARPETS, RUGS AND LIN
OLEUM. a
Shoes Shoes
MEN’S WOMEN’S AND CHILDREN’S LEATHER, FELT AND ARCTIC
SHOES. WE CARRY THE LARGEST STOCK IN TOWN. 100 CASES OF MEN’S,
WOMEN’S AND CHILDREN’S SHOES WILL BE ON DISPLAY NEXT WEEK.
EVERY BOAT BRINGS NEW STOCKS AND FRESH GOODS FOR THE BON
MARCHE. DON’T MISS THIS SALE ON MONDAY NEXT.
OVERSTOCKED SALE!!!
WE ARE CUTTING PRICES AGAIN THIS WEEK ON ALL OUR MEN’S CLOTH
ING, FURNISHINGS, BOOTS AND SHOES. WE ARE OVERSTOCKED—THAT
IS THE REASON WHY WE ARE CUTTING PRICES. WE HAVE ORDERS TO
MOVE THE STOCK.
SPECIAL SALE
MEN’S HORSEHIDE
MAMMOTH MITTS
> i $1.00 PAIR.
WOOLEN MITTENS
25c PAIR.
MEN’S 4-BUCKLE ARCTICS $3.00
$1.00
MEN’S LOW ARCTICS
MEN’S $6 DRESS SHOES.$4.00
MEN’S $4 FLANNEL SHIRTS $2.50
MEN’S $6 STAG SHIRTS $4.00
MEN’S WOOL UNDERWEAR $3.00
MEN’S HEAVY WOOLEN SOX 25c
MEN’S HEAVY SUSPENDERS 35c
MEN’S MACKINAW COATS.$5.00
MEN’S MACKINAW PANTS.$4.00
MEN’S WOOLEN PANTS. $2.50
********* ***************
4WfWW
The BON MARCHE
Opp. Postoffice
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