Art and Handcraft in the Woman's Building
of the World's Columbian Exposition

3 _______________________________________________________________________________________■■■. 154 ART AND HANDICRAFT ably, by its sister Sorosis, and far and wide throughout the land the club movement grew and the circles multiplied. These bodies were very various in their plans and pursuits, but all were deter- mined to do good work, and their record has been such as to win a place in the public esteem for what was at first considered a dan- gerous and man-aping’ innovation. The word club, indeed, is sus- ceptible of more than one interpretation, and to many, no doubt, may haxe at first suggested the thoug'ht of careless manners and of idle conversation. At one of the recent woman’s congresses a speaker playfully asked whether men at their clubs occupied themselves in discussing the proper ordering of their households, the education of their children, and kindred subjects. The ques- tion called forth some laughter from the audience, who were well awaie that, while these topics receive much attention in women’s clubs, they are not prominently brought forward in those fre- quented by men. An important era in chib history was marked by the institution of a general federation of women’s clubs, which, like the A. A. W., was first called for by the New York Sorosis, and has now become an important factor in the community. The first president of the federation was Mrs. Charlotte Emerson Brown of Orange, N. J. This lady proved eminently qualified for the position to which she was called, having devoted much time and labor to the affairs of the federation, and having shown in her work a truly catholic and disinterested spirit. At the close of her first term of office she was reelected with almost entire unanimity. She reports the number of clubs in tli6 fedeiation as over three hundrscl. Tlie conventions of this body are biennial, the first having been held in New York and the second in Chicago. This general union is likely to be supplemented by State feder- ations, which may hold State conventions. This plan is not yet perfected. 1 he associations for study, and. thoss devoted to bsnevolsnt action connected with churches of all denominations, can not be heie enumerated. Among- them, however, we may mention as being of especial interest, the Zenana Missions in India, instituted and supported by these associations. The Society for the Encour- agement of Studies at Home, although in no sense a club, should yet be mentioned with honor among the associations of women. Its work is done by correspondence, and its years already number twenty. The following quotation from an authorized statement gives us in brief some of its features: