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This text has been proofread but is not guaranteed to be free from errors. Corrections to the original text have been left in place.
Title: The Woman's Era, Volume 2, an electronic edition
Author: Ruffin, Josephine St. P.Ridley, Florida R.
Publisher: Woman's Era Club
Place published: 
Date: [1894-1897]
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The Woman's Era.Vol. II. No. 1. BOSTON, MASS.  APRIL, 1895 PRICE 10 CENTS.NOTES AND COMMENTS.Josephine St. P. Ruffin(By permission of Boston Journal)Mrs. Abby Morton Diaz gave the first in her series of talks on the "Science of Human Beings" before the Era Club Tuesday evening, March 28, at the Charles St. Church vestry. At a time and in a community where people are talked to, and at, and about until they are more inclined to run from rather than to lectures, it is gratifying to note that, so novel in scheme and so inspiring in result was this talk, that the enthusiasm created by it is likely to run and spread and create a wide interest to hear the remainder of the course. These lectures are given at the Club's expense and are free to the public. The next one will be given April 11. Mrs. Fannie Barrier Williams, editor of the Illinois department of the WOMAN'S ERA and secretary of the Illinois Woman's Alliance, is expected to deliver a series of lectures in New England in April. The March literary meeting of the Woman's Era Club was in charge of the Committee on Manners and Morals, Miss Eliza Gardner, chairman. Florida Ruffin RidleyTwo well prepared papers were read, one by Mrs. Agnes Adams on "Our Needs," and the other by Mrs. Alice Casneau on "Morals and Manners."  As a result of suggestions made by Mrs. Casneau, the following resolution was adopted by the Club:WHEREAS, The Woman's Era Club having had their attention called to the very common practice of putting tickets in the hands of children to be sold for the benefit of different objects, do herewith RESOLVE, That inasmuch as the custom of permitting young girls to solicit men to buy tickets from them is damaging to modesty and a menace to morality, we do set the seal of our condemnation upon it, and call upon the church people especially to help us abolish the custom.The Club then listened to an interesting narration by its president, who went as a delegate to the Triennial Council of Women at Washington, and then farther south on a visit to Women's clubs in that section. The president reported that she had returned with hth and enthusiasm in and for our women burning more brightly than ever. Her stay was short,  long enough to show her that the women of the south-land are as active in trying to "help make the world bet-

ter" as their sister-women elsewhere; and proving that, wherever she may be, north or south, in friendly or unfriendly surroundings, the woman who is determined to do and be makes her own conditions.Mrs. Mary S. Ransome, vice president, and Mrs. Hannah Smith, financial secretary of the Era Club, represented their Club at the last reception given by the Cantibridgia of Cambridge.The Club membership grows steadily, showing that the feeling among women, that they cannot afford to miss the opportunity this organization gives to help and be helped, is increasing.The regular literary meeting and high tea of the New England Women's Press Association was held at the Parker House Wednesday, March 20, at four o'clock. Mrs. Kate Tannatt Wood of Salem gave her new lecture, "War Days in and out of Camp." Mrs. Elizabeth M. Goss contributed most interesting reminiscences of days spent in Fort Warren. Miss Ednorah Nahar recited "Bivouac Fires," and Miss Laura Frances Eaton of Detroit sang in the afternoon programme. The after-supper programme included speeches on different topics by Mrs. Sara White Lee, Regent of Daughters of Revolution, Mrs. D. H. Crain and Marie Robinson Wright, of Georgia, and music.NEW YORK.Victoria EarleVictoria Earle, Editor.IN MEMORIAM.H. Cordelia RayFrederick Douglass. One whose majestic presence ever here Was as an inspiration held so dear,Will greet us nevermore upon the earth.The funeral bells have rung; there was no dearthOf sorrow as the solemn cortege passed;But ours is a grief that will outlastThe civic splendor. Say, among all men,Who was this hero that they buried then,With saddest plaint and sorrow-stricken face?Ay! 'Twas a princely leader of his race!And for a leader well equipped was he;Nature had given him most regallyE'en of her choicest gifts. What matter thenThat he in chains was held? What matter when He could uplift himself to noblest heights? For with his native greatness, neither slightsNor wrongs could harm him; and a solemn wrathBurned in his soul. He well saw duty's path;His days heroic purposes did know, And could he then his chosen work forego? Born to a fate most wretched, most forlorn!A slave! alas! of benefits all shornUpon his entrance into life. What lotMore destitute of hope! Yet e'en that blotCould not suffice to dim the glowing page He leaves to History; for he could wage Against oppression's deadliest blows a warThat knew no ending, until nevermoreShould any man be called a bondman.   Ay! Such was a conflict for which one could die!Panting for freedom early, he did dareTo throw aside his shackles; for the airOf slavery is poison unto men Moulded as Douglass was; they suffer, thenManhood asserts itself; they are too brave--Such souls as his, to die content a slave. So being free, one path alone he trod, To bring to liberty--sweet boon from God--His deeply injured race; his tireless zealWas consecrated to the bondman's weal.He thought of children sobbing round the kneesOf hopeless mothers, where the summer breeze Blew o'er the dark savannas. What of woeIn their sad story that he did not know? He was a valiant leader in a cause, Than none less noble, though the nation's laws Did seem to spurn it; and his matchless speech To Britain's sea-girt island shores did reach. Our Cicero, and yet our warrior knight Striving to show mankind might is not right!He saw the slave uplifted from the dust, A freeman ! Loyal to the sacred trust He gave himself in youth, with voice and pen,He had been to the end. And now again The grandest efforts of that brain and heart In ev'ry human sorrow bore a part. His regnant intellect, his dignity Did make him honored among all to be; And public trusts his country gladly gave Unto this princely leader--born a slave!Shall the race falter in its courage now That the great chief is fallen? Shall it bowTamely to aught of injury? Ah, nay! For daring souls are needed e'en today.Let his example be a shining light,Leading through duty's paths to some far height Of undreamed victory. All honored be The silv'ry bead of him we can no more see! Children unborn will venerate his name,And History keep spotless his fair fame.The Romans wove bright leafy crowns for thoseWho saved a life in battle with their foes; And shall not we as rare a chaplet weave To that great master soul for whom we grieve? Yea! Since not always on the battle fieldAre the best vict'ries won; for they who yield Themselves to conquer in a losing cause, Because 'tis right in God's eternal laws, Do noblest battle; therefore fitly weUpon their brows a victor's crown would see.Yes! our great chief has fallen, as might fallSome veteran warrior answering the callOf duty. With the old serenity, His heart still strung with tender sympathy,He passed beyond our ken; he'll come no more To give us stately greeting as of yore. We cannot fail to miss him. When we stand In sudden helplessness, as through the land Rings echo of some wrong he could not brook, Then vainly for our leader will we look.But courage!  no great influence can dieWhile he is doing grander work on high;Shall not his deeds an inspiration beTo us left in life's struggle? May not weDo aught to emulate him whom we mourn?We are a people now, no more forlornAnd hopeless.  We must gather courage then,Rememb'ring that he stood man among men.So let us give, now he has journeyed hence,To our great chieftain's memory, reverence!H. CORDELIA RAY.WASHINGTON.Mary Church Terrell.Mary Church Terrell, Editor.Publicly parading the faults of the negro may be good policy for our leading journalists to adopt, but the benefit to be derived from it is not clear to me. Mr. T. Thomas Fortune, who easily heads the list of our newspaper men, has recently criticized the race with which he is identified for whining. This tendency to  whine  and not seize the opportunity within reach is cited as a special weakness of the colored people of this country. Of course, this criticism, made by so intelligent a representative as Mr. Fortune, has been widely copied by white newspapers, which have rolled it like a sweet morsel under their tongues, and have indulged in a perfect love feast of praise of the  Age's  editor. They have shaken their wise but guilty heads, declaring, "We told you so. You don't need any more rights and opportunities. You don't use those already in your possession. You consume too much time whining, for one of your own, who ought to know, says so." But the negro is by no means a chronic whiner, and his record in this country will prove that he is not. His progress in the face of all but insurmountable obstacles, of which he has hardly complained at all, has been a miracle from the day he was freed, without a place to lay his head and a penny to buy bread, till the present moment. If he has had one fault more glaring than another, it has been his long-suffering patience with an injustice and a barbarity which should bring a blush of shame to the cheek of even the unspeakable Turk. The trouble is, he does not complain enough to show how the iron has entered his soul. Everything, and I had almost said everybody, has opposed the progress of the negro in this country, the very heavens have been brass above him, and yet he has poured forth no loud lamentations bemoaning his fate, as Mr. Fortune would have us believe. Occasionally some of the more intelligent of the race have lifted their voices manfully against the injustice everywhere prevalent, but the rank and file have patiently toiled and silently suffered. If Mr. Fortune found many opportunities in the South of which the negro doesn't avail himself, he should put them on the market immediately. My observation in and of the South teaches me that opportunities for the negro do not run loose for any great length of time before they are captured and utilized. The prosperity of the average colored Southerner who has had any chance at all proves this beyond the shadow of a doubt.Considering how great the injustice practiced by Americans against the negro, and recalling how he has patiently plodded along, with scarcely a word of complaint or reproach for his oppressors, a fair-minded person must conclude that the charge of chronic whining brought by Mr. Fortune against him seems as cruel as it is unwarranted.But even if the negro were a constitutional whiner or had an organic weakness of any other nature, what possible good accrues from the merci-

less fault finding and sweeping accusations in which some of our leading journalists indulge? If one member of a family have a little more of the old Adam in him than his share, is it not almost treacherous for his relatives to talk about his peccadilloes where they will reach the greatest number of ears? Let us say more about the good qualities of the negro, particularly where it is likely to be heard by those who are only too willing to believe the evil reports of us. The majority of white Americans have an eye single to the vices of the negro and are hopelessly blind to his many virtues. No sane person would advocate wholesale eulogies of the negro, but before making sweeping denunciations of him in print, it might be well to reflect upon the trials and tribulations to which a dog with a bad name is always subjected.The author of the article on whining negros has produced much that is better and worthier of him, but I doubt that he has received so many encomiums for any of his other contributions, or has been so affectionately patted on the back by his white confreres as he has for this criticism. Such attacks upon the negro are just what the average Anglo-Saxon editor likes, and he considers them great finds, over which he gloats in the most ghoulish glee.ILLINOIS.Fannie Barrier Williams.Fannie Barrier Williams, Editor.Though somewhat late, I cannot refrain from wanting to join the universal chorus of praise and sorrow uttered over the life and death of our greatest man and friend, Frederick Douglass. Like so many readers of the ERA, I sustained a personal relationship to Mr. Douglass that will remain always as an inspiration and grateful remembrance. But without intruding myself and my own personal emotions, I feel like blessing Mr. Douglass' name forever because of his always honorable and chivalric regard for womankind. His belief in women was never qualified by a disparaging "if." His own love of liberty was so full and cordial that he could tolerate no limitations based  on sex lines. Liberty to be all that poor human nature can be in its aspirations for perfection was one of Mr. Douglass' cardinal sentiments. But this sentiment could have no value or inspiration from him if it stopped short of womankind. In this largeness of spirit and thought, Mr. Douglass was always as ardent in his plea for suffrage for women as he was in his mighty pleadings for manhood suffrage.No eminent American commanding the forces of public opinion had a better opportunity of knowing the worth of women by the exacting tests of great principles and high sentiments than Mr. Douglass.  In his magnificent struggle to emancipate himself and others from all the degrading forces of a hated past, Mr. Douglass trusted the friendship and honored the counsels of women. In all of his romantic experiences he found the women steadfast to the cause of justice, beautifully sensitive to honor, and resistless in their hold upon the heartstrings of public opinion. The singular purity of his motives meant always the exaltation of women, and their soulful sympathy and love or justice meant to him a deeper sense of honor and courage.But in his high regard for women, there was in Mr. Douglass no lack of susceptibility to the mystic charms and gaiety of feminine nature. His was a poetic spirit, and the poetry of womankind was to him as joyous and inspiring as it was to the soul of the impressionable Goethe. Woman's beauty, woman's affection, woman's piquancy and charm were to him the very soul and music of life, and in his capacity for enjoyment of women's society he found continuous youthfulness. Thus it was that Mr. Douglass breathed and lived in a purer social atmosphere than most of his associates in the stern cause of freedom.He so lived not only that men might be free and equal and exalted, but that women, too, by the same emancipating forces, might come equally into the estate of freedom. His life was a compliment to women. His eloquence in behalf of women's rights to the equalities of citizenship is a lasting justification of women's claims and contentions for perfect liberty.By right of his manly confidence in woman, by right of his contribution to the forces that tend to the greater freedom and equality of men and women, by right of his high conceptions of honor in the relationships of men and women, Mr. Douglass was easily the strongest and best friend American women ever had among the great men of the republic.The history of progressive women in this country cannot be written without grateful acknowledgement to the helpful and inspiring influences of the incomparable friend of all humanity, Frederick Douglass.PENNSYLVANIA. Dora J. Cole.Dora J. Cole, Editor.We are glad to note in the Methodist Conference, now in session in our city, a disposition to recognize the claims of the women of the church. The right has been conceded them to vote for delegates to represent
the several churches, and it will be only a question of time before women will take their places as lay delegates to the conference.In days of yore it was decided that "taxation without representation was tyranny;" yet, although women are the major part of every congregation, and are the figurative, nay  literal  right-hand men of the clergy, although they are more conscientious about their religious obligations and more helpful in adding to the revenues of the church. When the crucial time comes, when there is a question as to legislation or expenditure, then the men arise in their majesty and relegate the women to the task of remembering what St. Paul said, "Let the women keep silence."  In his Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul goes on to instruct the women, "If they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home."  The most active and efficient women in our churches are widows and single women. These women have the leisure to be Sunday school teachers, Bible readers, missionary and church guild workers.The mere fact of sex decides nothing as to mental power. We are all acquainted with families where all the masculine attributes of invention, energy and execution have been absorbed by the girls. The sons have been weak, ineffective, and without ambition. Put those strong women in a church or any organization, and they stand out in strong relief against the background of mediocre men and women. Able, strong, original, highly individualized people do not form the majority in any community. In school, in church, in club life, in society they are easily discerned. They create an atmosphere which environs us. We absorb it, it becomes a part of us, and inspiration and expansion enough are given us to make practical the ideas that genius is often too impatient to elaborate. Let good gray matter rule in whatever shape it is found, and let the women write their declaration of independence.You will be glad to know that our city has in its employ about ten successful colored kindergarteners. The kindergarten is regularly incorporated in our public school system as a sub-primary division. Conspicuous ability has been shown by these trained women, and they have often been commended  by the superintendent.Miss Malinda Amos of the O.V. Catto School was selected to give an illustration of her methods with a class of children, at a general exhibition of school work from every section of our city.Miss M. Inez Cassey has had remarkable success in a quarter of the city where great difficulties had to be overcome. Her kindergarten is an  omnium gatherum  of negroes, Russian Jews, Italians, etc., etc. Her musical knowledge, her sunny and sympathetic temperament make her particularly suited for the work. In conjunction with Miss Cassey is Miss Florence Cozzins, a very able and successful teacher.I would like to tell you in detail of the work of each of these teachers, for each has something distinctive and meritorious, but space forbids.One thing I must observe in passing. In each of these child gardens little white snowdrops bloom in profusion. I mean that there seems to be no objection to a colored woman teaching white infants; but in no case has a colored woman been appointed to teach in a mixed school of higher grade.It is my pleasant duty to tell the publishers of the ERA of the many expressions of commendation  for the paper that have reached  me.Mrs. Reuben Armstrong, wife of' a prominent clergyman of Harrisburg, writes that she feels the paper is doing a noble work for women, and that she intends to do all in her power to extend its circulation in Harrisburg. That is showing her appreciation in a very practical way. A well-established paper, with a year's successful work behind it, is a good hostage for the future. If all the fond hopes are realized it is cheering to think of the vistas of usefulness that open up before it.LOUISIANA.Alice Ruth Moore.Alice Ruth Moore, Editor."Daring is a wondrous thing." Perhaps if I were a preacher I would call that a text; but this is not a sermon, so it can be but a headline. Daring is not only a wondrous, but a beauteous thing; and to behold an element of this sort of beauty in one is enough to inspire the onlooker with a sort of awe, not unmixed with a wholesale determination to do noble deeds. Perhaps that is why the American people can do so many unheard-of things that require especial strength and keenness and perception. They have always before them the example of a down-stamped people, daring to rise and rise again, to emulate and strive and be something. It's a superb sight, this magnificent abandonment of all lesser interests, or merging them into one; these strong, straight, swift-from-the-shoulder blows that this scarce-tamed animal front the dusky region gives, magnificent, even if he is made to bite the dust often.  He dares.The memorial services, held in honor of the grandest of grand men, Frederick Douglass, by the Phyllis Wheatley Woman's Club, will long be remembered. Of course there had been memorial services and memorial services piled up in honor of the champion of our people , but there had been none like this, where everything, even down to the pumping of the organ and the ushering of the audience, was done by women. On the 20th of February, when the club was in session, Frederick Douglass died; and just one month later, on the 20th of March, the club met once more, but to commemorate that death, in Central Church. Mrs. Gates' invocation, some asserted, wickedly, perhaps, was far ahead of the praying of some of our best divines. The choir was composed entirely of women, members of the club, accompanied on the organ by Mrs. Alice Clark, and on the violins by Miss Julia Lewis and Emma Rose Williams. Miss A. R. Moore read a poem  "In Memoriam" on Douglass' death, and there were other things. A selection from one of his books by Miss Valena McArthur, a contralto solo by Miss Leontine Vignes, a soprano solo, "Calvary," by Miss Julia Lewis, the resolutions, drawn up by Miss Kennedy, and read by Miss Rosa Fleming, a solo by Miss Arabella B. Kennedy, and the doxology. All were especially good, and no one could have failed to be impressed with the general excellence of all. But--the gem, the masterpiece of the evening was the magnificent eulogy by Miss Bibb. From the moment she stepped upon the pulpit, and with her clear, ringing, sonorous voice began her opening sentence, to the climax of "The Greeks had their Alexander, the Romans their Caesar, the French their Napoleon, the English their Cromwell, the Americans their Washington--and the Negroes their Douglass!" when the enthusiasm of the assembly broke loose, Miss Bibb held her audience enthralled. And when she had finished, everyone felt that, with one oratorical bound, she had leaped into great distinction.The case of Lent Brown, the young negro who shot two white fellows lately in self-defence, is attracting considerable attention.  Lists are being circulated to collect money to fight his case, to put in a strong plea in his behalf. It seems hard, incredible, cruel, to be tried, convicted and perhaps hung or imprisoned, because one was quick enough  to prevent being shot or stabbed.  So the women have taken the matter in their hands and are working earnestly.Lent is nearly over, and the season of enforced rest turned out to be not such a rest after all, for the busy ones found they had more than enough to do in catching up with things left undone in the hurry and skurry of the season's busy time. So the rush continues, and there is only the two months' rest in the summer to look forward to for anything like "surfeit from daily cares."MISSOURI.Josephine Silone Yates.DISCIPLINE.--(Continued.)Luellen WilliamsLuellen Williams.Our teachers, in many cases, have to be both parent and instructor.  The children they deal with must be taught that order is necessary to success in any walk in life. They must have explained to them, for the first time, their duty to themselves and their neighbor.  They must be made to know when they merit praise and when they deserve censure.A pretty fair conception of the relation between right and wrong will enable the wrong-doers among the pupils to bear punishment with becom-

ing grace, and to respect the teacher all the more, because she is just.In all our dealing with children, let us be just; let us be earnest. They are quick to see and quick to appreciate. All of us know that the teacher whom the bad boy remembers with his highest regard, is the one who tried to have him do right for the sake of right, and who, in all her trying, was just and firm. The teacher who did her whole duty was the one who made the greatest impression upon him, and whose advice recurs to him when temptations come and trials invade.Hundreds of opportunities to build character present themselves in the schoolroom. Do not say no, because it is easier than to say yes. I once heard the venerable Dr. Crummell of Washington D. C., say that it often strengthens a man to say no to him. This came to my mind one day in the classroom, when a young man of twenty made a request. To have granted the request would not have done him any particular harm, but it would have set a bad precedent  for fifty other students in the room.  My reply was, "No." The young man was startled. He attempted to argue the case.  I only shook my head and said more firmly, "It cannot be." He went to his seat in a fit of anger. A quick temper was one of his weaknesses. Several times I was on the point of relenting, but my good angel came to my rescue.Several weeks after that, when the class was reciting, some one remarked that it is often hard for one to do his duty and that it is even harder sometimes to say no.  I gave them Dr. Crummell's opinion. The young man whose request had been denied, turned his head quickly from side to side several times, threw one leg over the other, and with a smile, said in an earnest tone,  "That is a fact, Mrs. Williams.  It helped me once, and not very long ago either." His very manner told what the occasion was, and I was glad that I had been firm.But let us turn to the inattention that gives so much annoyance!  Having, in his measure, quieted the noise and obtained the co-operation and obedience of our pupils, how are we to prevent the absent-mindedness that takes possession of a child, now and again, when most unexpected and least desired?The end so desirable must be a matter of time. Interest in work and cheeriness of spirit pave the way for it. Steady application to work maintained from time to time, will, at least, grow into habit, and "Habit", you know, "is second nature."All this seems easy to do, but knowing and doing are two different things. The teacher finds boys and girls saucy and quarrelsome, noisy and idle. She has been told that she must be kind and gentle, that she must appeal to the higher natures of her pupils. She attempts to be kind and is laughed at. She appeals to their higher natures only to find herself like the people of old who cried unto Baal.Still the noise goes on. How can she conduct a class in arithmetic, meanwhile ejaculating, "John, put up that knife. Willie, stop whistling. Mary, it is not polite to kick anybody. Get up from the floor, Bobbie. Ella, how can you expect to get a lesson and sing at the same time? Who threw those matches on the floor?" From the back of the room a voice cries out "O-u-c-h !" followed by "Make Jim Brown stop pinching me!  If you don't I'll hurt him!"  Then Jim Brown attempts to tell his side of the case, while sixty other grinning little mortals swing their feet and make confusion worse confounded.Some say that the teacher should call upon the parents and let them know how their children act.  This certainly would be a capital way to shift the responsibility, if one only was sure that the parents were able and willing to administer correction the result of which would reach the schoolroom.COLORADO. Elizabeth Piper Ensley.Elizabeth Piper Ensley, Editor.FOR RAISING THE AGE OF CONSENTThe lower branch of the Colorado Legislature has passed the bill for raising the age of protection for girls to twenty-one. This was done at the instance of Representative Carrie Clyde Holly. The bill now waits the action of the Senate to become a law. There is no woman member of Senate.The Boston Herald pays this tribute to the Colorado Legislature: "A review of the services rendered by the three women members of the Colorado Legislature leads to the conclusion that they have proved themselves level-headed, not too  self-assertive, not cranky or over-emotional, and altogether creditable representatives of the people.  Moreover, their demeanor throughout the session was marked by the utmost propriety, and they were treated with uniform courtesy by their fellow-members. Whatever may be thought of woman suffrage, the woman legislator appears to be a success in Colorado."THE WOMAN'S ERA.THE WOMAN'S ERA, the organ of the National Federation of Afro-American Women, and devoted to the Interests of the Women's Clubs, Leagues and Societies throughout the country.Published monthly, in Boston, by JOSEPHINE ST. P. RUFFIN, FLORIDA R. RIDLEY, 103 Charles Street.SUBSCRIPTIONS.Per Annum, -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -$1.00Single Copies, -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -.10Club Rates, one hundred copies,   -    7.00Subscriptions Payable in Advance.EDITORIALThe recent visit of the Massachusetts Legislative Committee  to the southern states seems to have been unfortunate in its disclosures of the innate smallness of those chiefly concerned.   From the beginning, when the probabilities were "all talked over," to the contemptible ending, it is a record of hypocrisy on the one side, servility on the other. That which we all hope is the closing act in the nauseating affair, discloses the governor of Virginia appeasing an enraged constituency by affirming on the honor of a southern gentleman his embarrassment and disgust at having been forced to play the host to a colored guest; and affirming also that the northern committee openly expressed its annoyance at the presence of its colored associate.In Massachusetts that same committee is trying to satisfy the better element of the state by declaring, in suave resolutions, that it found the company of the colored member more than acceptable--positively agreeable--a sentiment in which the member himself seems to have concurred. And Mr. Teamoh himself, fresh from the insult to his state, to his race, to his manhood, declares himself perfectly satisfied.So contemptible does the whole thing appear, that if the actors had stood for themselves alone, it could never have risen to the level of public criticism and condemnation. But the good name of the state has been defamed by its apostate representatives, and the self-respect of the whole colored people has been wounded by Mr. Teamoh's servile compliance with the humiliation of the visit.For him we can conceive of no defence. The attempted justification of the Boston Herald seems to us hardly plausible. It calls Mr. Teamoh's course that of a gentleman. But a gentleman does not sacrifice manhood, even upon the altar of good manners. True, he does not  force privileges from others, but on the other hand he does not yield passively a single jot of that which is due to him.It was then the time for Mr. Teamoh to protest, not with noisy assertion of equality, but with the uncompromising dignity of the intimately self-respecting man. The attitude of Mr. Teamoh was exactly that which no gentleman could assume. Undoubtedly the colored people were most unfortunate in the personality of their representative.We who are fortunate enough to belong to Massachusetts, we who love her, we who are proud of her traditions and who know that she makes no idle boast when she claims to have always kept in the vanguard of moral progression -- we feel a hot resentment that a few time-servers have made it possible to include her dear name in the list of apologists for southern injustice. We are thankful that one, at least, of her statesmen has declared that Massachusetts' principles are still dearer to her than her dollars.The views of certain representative (?) colored men at the south are being much quoted as expressive of the real feeling of colored  people in regard to southern social conditions. But it is not too much to affirm that, under existing circumstances at the south, the public expression of colored men is worth as evidence about as much as the testimony of an accused man under torture.The recent episode may be appropriately named, "The Passing of Mr. Teamoh."There is a growing class of our people who doubt the wisdom in starting any enterprise along race lines; there are those who withhold their support from the ERA because they do not believe in "colored papers." Right here let it be said that the ERA is not "colored." It is a paper whose managers and editors are colored, but the paper is open to all, and hopes and expects in time to employ writers who are the best of their kind, whether such writers are black or white.We do not believe in accentuating race lines, but we do believe in being more accurately represented than we are or ever can be in any paper that has no colored man or woman on its editorial staff. Colored reporters, space writers or special contributors can do nothing towards making the sentiment of a paper; and since it is a far cry to

a colored editor on the staff of any white paper, we think it the height of absurdity to discourage so-called colored papers while waiting for the millenium. The need of our better representation through the press grows stronger every year and even more pathetic; while our growth intellectually and financially is opening many ways to us; yet that same growth is bringing us into relations not before contemplated by the other race, which consequently is resenting the intrusion. In many respects our situation grows worse instead of better. So long as this is the case, so long as we all suffer together, just so long must we all work together to bring about a different state of affairs.Thousands of colored women subscribe for the Ladies' Home Journal; hundreds of colored women are active workers in getting subscribers; and yet its editor tells Mrs. Mossell that he can not accept contributions to the columns of his paper from women known to be colored for fear of antagonizing his southern white subscribers.  Think of this, you colored women whose dollars and efforts are going that this man may live in princely style; think of your money going to support in luxury the writers of that paper, while you hesitate to give ten cents toward the encouragement of writers of your own race! O, the pity of it!How useless to be continually hoping that others are going to do more for us than we will do for ourselves.God speed the day when there will be no color in newspapers, when the Age and the Planetand the ERA will all be employing white as well as black. In the meantime, let us not be content with being served up as others choose. We are about old enough to speak for ourselves.The Atlanta Commercial says that "Massachusetts deserves to be insulted" in the Teamoh incident. It also scorns the papers which place the prefix "Mr." before the name of any negro, and closes its editorial by saying that any committee of white men that will serve with a negro are as bad as the negro, and that Gov. O'Ferrall should have turned the whole committee out of doors.We refer northern sympathizers of the south to this editorial and then to the remarks of Governor Greenhalge of Massachusetts at the dinner of the republican legislators. He, the governor, referred forcibly to the significance of the oath taken by members to support the constitution, and declared with eloquent fervor that when Massachusetts sends her representatives beyond her borders, she asks for them no special amenities and she has no concern for social privileges.In the broad spirit of the constitution of the United States, he said, she sends out her representatives, and while asking nothing of any state or individual, she demands that to her official representatives every right guaranteed by the constitution she ratified be accorded. "She is not concerned in the unofficial utterance of an official," continued the governor, "especially those made  in a sort of ex-post facto way.  Massachusetts never asked more than the constitution, and her character of liberty demands and Massachusetts will accept no less.  She can not afford to diminish the power of the principles gained by the blood of her bravest and best."CALIFORNIA. S. Willie Layton.S. Willie Layton, Editor.A GLIMPSE OF CALIFORNIA MISSIONS.The story of the missions of California is but the story of the dawn of civilization on the Pacific Coast, (therefore no pretense of originality is offered in the paper).   Those crumbling walls of stone and adobe, stately in their desolation, are the ruins of San Juan Capistrano, La Soledad, or some other of the missions in the heart of some sleepy Mexican town, where once flourished beautiful gardens and flowering orchards, where sparkled and fell in cadence soft fountains, when the padres' word was law, and the savage Indians were initiated in the mysteries of the immortality of the soul under the signia of the cross. Stand within those vines when Luna's soft light changes and subdues the effects of devastation and time, wrapt in this mystifying light, something of the original and sublime influences of other days charms you; you look and see the hooded  monks walking, reading prayers in the mission gardens, you hear the Indians devoutly chanting an "Ave Maria," when the "Angelus" rippled over the eve of the missions content; or if nearing St. Gabriel (perhaps in the best state of preservation of any of the missions at this

time) you hear the bells call to prayers as they did an hundred years ago--listen attentively, they ring out the history of the life work of padres Sena, Crespi, who with other zealous priests labored nobly and did grandly in the work of the church and humanity. About one hundred and fifty years after the explorations of Cabrillo, on the mysterious coast of Upper California, (where he discovered the beautiful bay which be called San Mignel, later named San Diego, by Vizcanio) the hope of the religious zealots was realized. For years their prayers had been unheeded by Spain, until political influences threatened to invade Alta California, then lethargic Spain aroused, and the decree to occupy and establish forts was given. Military posts were ordered established at San Diego and Monterey. Military control was vested in Jose De Galves, the most efficient officer of Spain, and prime favorite of Carlos III. Galves favored combining with military, religious influences and called padreJunipero Sena into consultation. Sena's hope and zeal, intensified by years of waiting, hurried to meet the energetic Galves. Between the two it was decided the old Jesuit regime should be the method of establishing the new missions, i.e., that the old missions should create new ones, by giving such church property as bells, vestments, ornaments, also grain, implements and live stock of such quantity as could be spared. The church furnishings were considered gifts, but the other donations regarded as loans, to be repaid when prosperity of the new missions would permit. Jan. 9, 1796, the land and sea expeditions, blessed by padreSena, started out. Sena could not accompany either of them, on account of an ulcerous sore foot, caused by a journey made on foot through Mexico months before. Being possessed of great religious zeal and indomitable will, he started out in March; the fervor of his zeal overcame the anguish of his pain, so that he journeyed on from mission to mission, until, early in May he overtook one of the land expeditions, enduring many hardships and perils. The 16th day of July, 1769, the mission of San Diego de Alcala was founded. The crusaders assembled at the site selected for the presidio, bells were swung over the forest tree, which were rung by willing hands; "the waters were blessed, the cross raised, the royal standard thrown to the breeze, the 'Veni Creator' rang out clearly on the virgin air."Thus was the country taken in the name of God and the king.  The savages gathered around in awe and astonishment--according to Vizcaino, a totally low and depraved people, no orators and few warriors among them--the women in short skirts of braided rabbit skins, trimmed with gaudy beads, faces smeared with colored mud, the men without even the traditional fig leaf. The first duty of the missionaries was to nurse and restore the sick to health, then the indomitable Sena began the study of the native pagan, while the soldiers erected suitable buildings for the presidio. Thus was sown the first seeds of Christianity and civilization in this work. The missions were prosperous, the padresloved and cared for the neophytes as their own children.(To be continued.)OHIO. Sada J. Anderson.Sada J. Anderson, Editor.One evening last week when I was not near so weary of well (?) doing as I am now, a friend and I were discussing the worth that woman has been to the world metrically, or what she has done in poetry and song. We decided that she had been of such great value that it would be nothing amiss to give a few thoughts concerning her metrical life to the ERA. Leaving out entirely those who have given volumes of solacing lines to the public, we speak principally of those who have given us pearls which have never been placed in a casket; yet lines which serve to make the woof of life the more beautiful are uttered and often sung without a thought of the author.In journalism woman has been struggling for the last four hundred years against surmountable and insurmountable obstacles, until at last she has set sail, and her voyage on the journalistic sea seems to be peaceful and is successful. In church and state she has been an indispensable factor.Mrs. Norton, seemingly longing for praise of our fortitude, breaks forth petulantly,"Warriors and statesmen have their need of praise,And what they do and suffer men record; But the long suffering of woman's daysPasses without a thought, without a word."But Mrs. Adams comes to her with words of comfort, solacing words that have healed the wounded heart of many a weary one. What soul would not feel lifted up to the very gates while singing her "Nearer my God to Thee"? E'en though a cross raise us we are quite content to be nearer.Again the curtains of heaven seem to be pinned back by the stars to let the drops fall for which Mrs. Codner asks for so plaintively in that supplicative air, "Let some drops now fall on me."With all due courtesy to the Wesleys, Montgomery, Newton, Watts, Bonar, and many others whose names are household words, we fear that such women as Mrs. Adams, Codner, Phillips, Thrupp, Prentiss, and many others, have given us lyrics which will go with us beyond and be sung forever and ever. It is hard to determine which conveys greater comfort to our hearts, Robinson's "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing," or Mrs. Prentiss' "More Love to Thee," or Mrs. Brown's "I love to steal awhile away." Horatius Bonar breaks forth in praise to our God, and pours his soul out in "What a friend we have in Jesus," while Mrs. Bonar apparently joins him in her beautiful lines, "Fade, fade each earthly joy, Jesus is mine." A careful search of the songs of the church will reveal the fact that with but few exceptions no lines thrill our souls and cause the very heartstrings to vibrate as "Nearer my God to Thee," "I need Thee Every Hour," and "I Love to Tell the Story."Not only in church has woman given us metrical food for reflection. If you would ask the question as to which song gives most satisfaction in church and state, perhaps the reply would be "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," by Julia Ward Howe. 'Tis true Payne gave us the song of all songs, "Home, Sweet Home." The presence of a woman in that home is the true poetry of the lines.There are lines which have been consecrated with the tears and laughter of the last half century without a thought of the one whose fertile brain gave them to us. The metrical worth of woman will serve to help refine and ennoble the taste of the young. Luther said that next to theology he gave music the highest place and greatest honor.There is one of us whose lines have had their day, yet live. One whose heart, under the most adverse circumstances, poured forth strains which the most benighted soul could, if hearing, understand, because she was one of them. One who had the genius to so weave her verses that they drew warm words of praise and encouragement from the immortal Washington. And today, in the same courts of praise and song eternal, dwell the two--George Washington and Phillis Wheatley.The women of the Dicken's club were delighted with their introduction to the ERA. We bespeak a wide circulation for the paper through this club.The Tennyson's were called upon to part with their noble president, Mrs. Eudora Bell Duncan, whose good works were silenced last Saturday evening by the hand of death. She was the daughter of J. Madison Bell, our representative poet at the World's Congress of Religions. The stroke is a heavy one to the Tennysons, the Henrietta Mental Culture Society, and the Golden Rule Circle of King's Daughters, for she was an energetic laborer with them. Together with her relatives, hosts of friends in St. Louis, Chicago and Detroit mourn the loss of one so affable, so noble and good. Mrs. Henans tells us that,Leaves have their time to fall,And flowers to wither at the north wind's breath, And stars to set--but all,Thou hast all seasons for thine own, oh Death!We were all very much delighted to meet Bishop Arnett, who gave us such an inspiring lecture at Warren Chapel. He is one of our jewels whose very presence gives us inspiration and whose words take us beyond ourselves. Such visits are rare, yet so beneficial that we are wont to say linger longer with us, Bishop.TENNESSEE. Sylvia Mann Maple.Sylvia Mann Maples, Editor.Every woman who is a friend to her sex, a friend to her race, should manifest an interest in the ERA'S welfare; not merely a verbal interest, for words of themselves are lame vehicles upon which to build success, but an energetic, wide-awake, hands-in-the-purse interest. There is some element in the make up of our race pride wanting, else we would not manifest so little concern in the enterprises of our people. Yes, in the language of our good old Southern aunties, "dar's a screw loose somewhars," or we would not indifferently let every undertaking of our race "go to the wall" for want of a little pecuniary assistance.Club life has a growing popularity in Knoxville

and already plays no minor part in the social world of today.The Woman's Mutual Improvement Club held its regular meeting at Mrs. Orlena Lee's, Nelson street, on the third Friday of March. An interesting feature of this meeting was the reading of a paper by Mrs. A. B. Murphy, who, in her ever easy manner, told of Booker T. Washington's great educational efforts towards ameliorating the benighted condition of the race in Alabama. Mrs. Alexander Davis will entertain the club at its next meeting, April 5th.COMING EVENTS.The social horoscope shows: "An Old-fashioned Spelling Bee," conceived and carried out by several Shiloh Presbyterian ladies. The contestants will show an array of Knoxville ministers, lawyers, doctors, teachers, etc. A prize will be awarded the tenacious individual who until the last resists being spelled down.  Proceeds for the pastor, Rev. J. R. Riley, Go.Two probable weddings in the near future.A novel entertainment under the direction of The W.M.I.C.It is said: That a hitherto unwary fish, whose shyness to nibble the bait long held out to him has been remarked upon, has at last been towed in by a persistent angler, "fair and most divinely tall."That three prominent churches of this town will, ere the "robins nest again," give in marriage their spiritual leaders.That Flora Batson, at a recent performance, found a place in the hearts of our people by the side of Selika.By some of both races, who attended the Batson Conceits, and who, by-the-way, are fair judges of musical ability, that our own little song bird, Miss Anna Prosser, need not feel ashamed of herself in any music-loving audience.That a certain young school teacher is having some "fetching" costumes made. See!NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS.You are interested in the advancement of the race and want to do something to help on the work? Then pass the paper along and urge your friends to subscribe. You can not do better work than this.Any one sending a two-cent stamp will receive a sample copy of the ERA.SOCIAL NOTES.BostonA letter from Texas, just arrived, brings the welcome news to the many friends of Miss Cuney in Boston that the health of her mother is improving right along. She is, however, obliged to still remain in San Antonio, and her physicians say in order to get well she must live out of Galveston. Hon. J. Wright Cuney, who has persistently declined to allow his name to be used for state senator, seems to be the only man the Republicans deem available for the place. A Texas morning paper says "The Republicans say, we will nominate him whether he accepts or not."Episcopalians are considering the advisability of establishing a church at Houston, with Thomas W. Cain as rector.Miss Hallie Q. Brown, who is lecturing, reading and singing in England in the interest of Wilberforce University, to help found a Frederick Douglass library in that institution, is receiving warm commendation from our English friends for her talent, her charming personality and her glorious voice, a combination that cannot fail to bring a good return in dollars to the work she is so ably presenting.Rev. John G. Mitchell, president of the same college, is in New England, working up an interest here in that valuable old institution.Mr. Joseph Lee, proprietor of the Woodland Park Hotel, is winning fresh distinctions in a new field, as an inventor. He has now two devices on the market, a bread-maker and a bread-crumber. The bread-making machine has been in use in his own hotel for some time, and has made the Woodland Park bread so famous that it is in great demand by bakers and hotel keepers in this vicinity. The crumber is being rapidly introduced into the leading hotels of the country. There is no reason why they should not bring him fortune as well as fame.Miss Miriam Benjamin has composed a march which is now upon the market, the "Boston Elite Quickstep." It has been played by Sousa's band, and is published by Ross of West street, this city. The publisher is so well pleased with it that he offers to take any future work of Miss Benjamin. By the way, the author is published as E. B. Miriam.The coffee party, for the benefit of the Home for Aged Colored Women, was a decided success in

every way. It was projected and given by Miss Stewart, assisted by the following committee of ladies:  Mrs. M. S. Ransome, Mrs. Rachel Only, Mrs. Charles Mainjoy, Mrs. W. W. Brown, Mrs. M. P. Brown and Mrs. L. Pope. The amount netted was something over thirty dollars. This is to be united with another small fund now held in trust as a nucleus for a fund to be used for some permanent specific plan for helping along the good work of the Home. The president of the Era Club, who holds the old fund, and Miss Stewart, one of the secretaries of the same club, have been invited to a conference with the managers of the Home to consider how to make a small amount of money return the greatest amount of good to the Home, and the blessing to those who unselfishly work for it.The annual fair for the Home opened most auspiciously Saturday, March 23, at the new, commodious and elegant house of Dr. Ayer, on the water side of Beacon street. The central table, containing the work of the inmates of the Home solely, was presided over by Mrs. Smith, the matron, Mrs. Mary Howard, and Miss Eliza Gardner. Other tables, containing fancy work, exquisite home-made cakes and candies, art collections and books, were cared for by the managers, assisted by gracious and pretty girls. The fair was held here but one day, and re-opened at the Home on Myrtle street Tuesday, the 26th, and continued through the week.Miss Gibbs, the director of the Eckstein Norton Conservatory, who has spent some time concerting in Boston and neighboring cities, returned last week to fill engagements in Cambridge, West Newton, Taunton and Boston. She is securing funds to erect a building for the Eckstein Norton University, an industrial school at Cane Spring, Ky. Since the fire of 1893, enrollment has so increased as to necessitate a new building. Her last concert in the east will be at Park Street Church, corner Tremont and Park streets, May 2, assisted by Prof. F. M. Davis of Boston Training School, Mr. E. T. Mingles of Boston Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Sidney Woodward, tenor, and Miss C. N. Allen, soprano.The W. E. C. calendar is out. It gives dates of spring term classes, lectures, meetings, etc.  The constitution (amended) with rules for the governing of the Club is now in the hands of the committee, and will shortly be printed and issued.SOCIAL NOTESNew YorkYe Gods! the golden monogramed, beautifully engraved invitations of the much discussed subscription ball for Wednesday, April 17, under the management of our swell bachelors are out!"Oh, Dear, Trifles thin as air," you know, but who, oh who has been included! And the others--shades of a thousand Othellos defend us!--when they know who is of the elect and who is not. The patronesses, as will be seen, represent the most prominent ladies of the inner circle of society's exclusive and smart set: Mrs. Elizabeth D. White, Mrs. Frank Carmand, Mrs. Daniel Brooks, Mrs. John Gale, Mrs. Cordelia Attwell, Mrs. James W. Mars, Mrs. Peter W. Downing, Mrs. William H. Smith, Mrs. Edward Barefield, Mrs. Theophilus Fisher, Mrs. Charles A. Dorsey.The handsome wrangler gave in very gracefully at the last meeting of the Bachelors when Our Rob was denominated McAllister.The Confirmation Class at St. Philips was unusually large, the service beautiful and impressive, the floral decorations, as usual, artistic; Bishop Coleman officiated, and never did Rev. Bishop speak more impressively than when addressing the candidates.The young women were all clad in white, wearing white veils and carrying ivory prayer books. The costumes were not nun-like, quite up to date, particularly as to the sleeves. Beauty, youth, elegance and refinement were very much in evidence.T. McCants Stewart is greatly in demand as an orator. At the great Douglass Memorial, held recently in Brooklyn, he easily carried away the honors of the occasion.The boys are calculating as to which will be most productive of weal, the exclusive Bachelor ball or the Bazaar that our most popular maids and matrons are arranging for the Sons. I have heard their splendid president named as A. D.--her name is Miss Angeline Dawley. The Bazaar under her management is sure to be a grand success--on the other hand, our Rob is a McAllister.Anno Domini is between the deep sea and--Mephisto!--" I don't even imagine who the fellow is," she said, with cold indifference, "he is too mean to sail under his true colors"--and "Angry Rob" was himself again--and a McAllister at that!  Saved!!(Scene in committee room, at the "Sons," a bevy of bright women, a vivacious beauty suddenly enters.) "Such an idea! Can't divulge it now, but it is sure to take. Just wait, it's a secret, but such an idea for our grand Bazaar!" Jealous glances at her retreating figure.  A few days later--the maiden with "The idea" at home, pretty brow puckered with frowns, reading letter: "Dear Girlie-Have canvassed the town thoroughly, found required number of acceptables, but your chosen prize winner, must ask mamma--do you object to a mixture of gray in the mustaches? Yours, etc." "The idea"--a prize mustache contest!--um--ah!--oh mamma!The sentimental violinist whose ambition misled him into drawing the bow with our unmatchable Craig is an aspirant for the honors that usually reward the troubadour. It is bewildering to perform to one, when so many beautiful maids robed in creations worthy to bear the name of Worth all around like so many butterflies!The great event of the season is the much talked of Easter Ball, to he given by the Bachelors--and oh, dear chappies--which of us will be there when the final roll is called?Dr. J. Frank Smith has tired of the aesthetic surroundings of his apothecary shop, and sold out to the highest bidders. We will miss the old stand--'twas so quiet.Mrs. Charles Lancing, Jr., has been quite ill, but is now convalescent.Mrs. Harry Mars as the "little mother" is one of the most interesting matrons of the city beyond the bridge; her little daughter is the sweetest tempered baby in the world.There is a gentleman of wealth, culture and leisure in town from the West, in search of a wife, very desirous of winning one of Gotham's girls--not a "new woman" though, he wants somebody of the old-fashioned make; there's a little Indian mixture in his blood.There is a number of chappies up town, who will separate Easter, so as to report that evening as to the number of "Leon Creations" in evidence during the day.The beautiful Evangeline Walker has gone on a trip South--in search of real orange blossoms may be--another reason why a certain despised harlequin--A. D. is not a benedict.Never heard of so many things going on at one time--big Bethel has moved, and in the future will be a close neighbor of St. Philips--quite interesting.  Mother Zion has purchased a wonderful organ. The handsome Gould house is almost finished. The coming ball of the bachelors.  The great bazaar for the gallant Sons. The colored doctors, fired by the success of Dr. Williams of Chicago, are about to found a colored hospital. Meetings for various purposes, and memorials for the great Douglass are being held all over both cities.Same case in Brooklyn--unusual activity in the churches. And under the management of the powerful Mrs. Dorsey a great art exposition is set down for the first days of May, for the unrivalled Brooklyn Literary Union, T. McCants, president.And it makes me sad to record that all these things are being carried by the women but in the end who will pay the taxes?Oh, no, dear boy--no portrait of ANNO DOMINI.VIRGINIA.Rosa D. Bowser.Rosa D. Bowser, Editor.Race progress is the direct outgrowth of individual success in life. As dollar by dollar adds to the accumulation of riches, and enables the possessor to be fortified against the distresses which often confront the poor, even so, when one by one, as a class or race, steps forward to occupy a front rank in intelligence and progress, he necessarily moves up a pace and opens a pathway by which others may follow.  If "the kick of a fly moves the world," and "no force in nature is lost," it seems only natural and just in the divine providence of the Creator, that man, made in the image of God, with an immortal soul of inestimable value, should be a powerful lever in His hand by which a people may rise to a creditable position among other progressive nations of the world. While this is a fact, yet the advancement may be more rapid and widespread by encouraging race enterprises.Though the race rises as individuals rise, the rule works both ways, and individuals rise with the race. That man or woman who is able to lend

a helping hand to a worthy cause, has a small soul, when he refuses to do so, because he or she sees no personal advantage to be derived, and gives an excuse (which proves his selfishness) in these words, "Only a certain few will receive the benefit and credit for the work."  What would be the condition of the country today had the brave volunteer of the armies withheld himself when a noble cause demanded his services? Did he see any personal advantage in an engagement which perhaps meant sudden death? I think not. But loyalty to his country and the cause which he deemed worthy impelled him to sacrifice all selfish interests, and life itself if need be, to establish the party of which he formed a part, on a solid foundation.If we be convinced that the object is a worthy one, and tends to place the race on a higher plane of civilization, we may fall into line of battle for the right, feeling certain that personal advantage will come when we least expect it, and are not working especially for that end.Mr. I. Garland Penn of Lynchburg, Va., was in Richmond on March 8, and met many of the public school teachers at the Y. M. C. A. Building. Mr. Penn is chief commissioner of the Negro Department of the Atlanta Exposition, which opens from Sept. 18 to Dec. 31, 1895. He has met the teachers of many cities in Virginia, and enlisted their interest in securing exhibits and the means to provide for the care of the same to and from Atlanta, with no expense to the exhibitor. The teachers have organized an auxiliary board to work for that object.Richmond is claimed to be a Baptist city but she seemed to have laid aside her denominational garb from March 6th to the 11th inclusive, while the M.E. Conference was in session at the True Reformers Hall. There were about one hundred and fifty delegates in attendance. Our Baptist people opened their homes and hearts to receive them. On the night of the 6th stirring welcome addresses were delivered by Rev. Hunter of the A.M.E. Church, Rev. Z.D. Lewis of the 2d Baptist Church, Rev. W.F. Graham of the 5th St. Baptist Church, Rev. W.W. Brown, Pres. of the True Reformers' Bank, and others. The visiting ministers could not have felt otherwise than welcomed, when they concluded. The pulpits were supplied on the following Sunday from ministers of the Conference.Having received a commission as Lady Commissioner for Richmond, Va., a Ladies' Auxiliary Board was organized on February 28 at the Y.M.C.A. Building with the following officers: R.D. Bowser, president; Mrs. L.G. Lewis, vice-president; Miss M.L. Chiles, secretary; Mrs. R.K. Jones, treasurer. The committees are arranging for a musical and literary entertainment and bazaar on April 29, at which time the State Commissioners hold a meeting in this city.Rev. William Troy, formerly pastor of the Sharon Baptist Church, has tendered his resignation, which was accepted with regret by the congregation.A gentleman from Masschusetts has been visiting schools throughout the South, organizing Bands of Mercy. The children appeared highly delighted at his instructive address, and willingly joined the band.We take this medium to return thanks to the Virginia Baptist for the very complimentary remarks on our earnest, but weak effort for the ERA, as we do not know to whom personally we are indebted for the very friendly expressions.Hereafter the WOMAN'S ERA may be obtained from Anderson's Book Concern, 222 E. Broad St., or of the Va. editor.GEORGIA.Alice Woodby McKane, M. D.Alice Woodby McKane, M.D., Editor.Last month the negro citizens of Augusta rejoiced in the laying of the foundation stone of the Lamar Hospital. Seventy-five thousand dollars was left for the purpose by a Mr. Lamar of that city. The city added to this sum another seventy-five thousand dollars, making in all one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Certainly our people in the city of Augusta are to be congratulated.A little son makes music for the household of Dr. and Mrs. Whaley.Over two hundred negroes from the west and south arrived in Savannah during March and set sail for Liberia, Africa. They were well equipped with money, household goods and implements.THE VALUE OF A TRAINED NURSE.Lula W. JohnsonRead before the N.T.S.A.Behold the incompetent, ignorant, superstitious nurse or midwife of the present day in our own community. Unknowingly more lives of women and infants are sacrificed in one year at her hands than are brought to an untimely grave by many of the worst forms of diseases.In the majority of instances no treatment at all and no nursing whatever is better than that which she empirically gives. Better let nature bring about her own cure or make an attempt to do so, than to ignorantly meddle and kill.In emergencies her value is not to be estimated by dollars and cents. For instance, a child playing around comes across some one of the poisonous preparations of mercury, which has been carelessly left within its reach, and drinks it. A physician is not near at hand, but there is a trained nurse near by. When told of the accident she replies, "I will do what I can till the doctor comes." She gives albumen in the form of the white of an egg, varying the number of whites according to the amount of the poison taken. A prompt emetic or something to produce vomiting is given.  The physician has not yet arrived, but the nurse has saved a human life.To the physician the trained nurse is a powerful aid. For instance, in typhoid fever and those diseases where the febrile symptoms run very high, she takes the temperature accurately every hour, or at stated intervals, in order to know and stop its onward march to the danger degree.  Watching the strength of the heart by the char-  and count of the pulse, she is enabled to ate it when necessary. Proper liquid foods ven, while hemorrhages and secretions are carefully looked out for.Asepsis and antisepsis of course are not forgotten, while thorough cleanliness, order and quiet, the first three commandments of the nurse, are minutely observed.To be continued.FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE SCHOOL AT MANASSAS.A committee of Cambridge ladies are making preparations for an entertainment, for the benefit of the Manassas School which was recently burnt, to be given early in May. The best talent has been secured, and it promises to he a most brilliant affair. See ad. later.DOUGLASS MEMORIAL.Mr. Ruffin of Ward 9 offered an order in the Boston City Council, That a committee of five, with such as the Board of Aldermen may join, be empowered to make arrangements for a public memorial in honor of the late Hon. Frederick Douglass; the expense attendant on the same to be charged to the Contingent Fund of the City Council. Passed, sent up, and passed in the Board of Aldermen.MASSACHUSETTS STATE FEDERATION OF WOMEN'S CLUBS.At the invitation of the Dorchester Woman's Club,the Massachusetts State Federation will meet at the Second Church, Washington, corner of Centre Street, Dorchester, on Thursday, April 11, 1895, at 10.30 A. M., subject "Charity."    Arrangements are being made for a lecture by Mrs. Fannie Barrier Williams to be given in Park St. Church, shortly, under the auspices of the WOMAN'S ERA. Some prominent literary woman will preside. Miss Fisher, the winner of the ERA musical scholarship, will sing.THE OPEN COURT.N. F. MossellEdited by Mrs. N. F. Mossell, author of "The Work of the Afro-American Woman."All communications intended for publication in this column must be addressed to 1432 Lombard St., Phila. "FREE TO SERVE.Then let it beThe motto of our lives until we stand In the great freedom of eternity.Where we shall serve Him while we see His face, Forever and forever, free to Serve."FRANCES RIDLEY HAVEGAL."The Open Court," as was Stated in last month's ERA, is a department open to all, a letter box into which may be slipped the note that suggests the text, and even the sermon itself. It is intended to "fill a long felt want"; it is a department in which the people "are going to be heard.""The Mother's Corner," "Side Talks With Girls," and " Hints on Housekeeping.  " Fashion" is the one subject excluded. Having up to the present moment failed to answer for our individual benefit the query, "Wherewithal shall Ye be clothed," we decline attempting to answer this question for the world at large. A very valuable paper might be written on the moral and commercial value of a word or phrase.Dr. J.H. Armstrong, Financial Secretary of the A. M. E. Church, and one of the most popular candidates for the bishopric in his connection, in a recent issue of the Christian Recorder, (the organ of his denomination,) contributed a valuable paper bearing the title, "You Are Expected to Help Run This Train." A railroad porter had failed to take interest or assist in any manner toward discovering the cause of the clogging of some portion of the machinery of his train. He was very emphatically told by his superior officer that he was not only to do his stated work but further he was expected to help run that train.We desire to impress upon the readers of this column they are expected to help "run it" by subscriptions, by literary contributions, by commenting upon the matter found within its limits, or upon that which they think the column should contain.We hope to make Dr. Armstrong's comment of great commercial value to the ERA during this present year.The only way to make the ERA, the organ of our clubs, a thorough success is for each to feel a personal interest in its success or failure. We have watched

with great solicitude the ventures of our women in Journalism. In Our Women and Children, Dr. Simmons editor, we said some years ago in a paper entitled, "Our Women in Journalism":  "And when at some future day we shall desire to start a journal by our women, for our women, we will have built up a bulwark of strength. We will be able to lead well because we have learned to follow."Shall we not prove by our work for THE WOMAN'S ERA that, during our years of apprenticeship, we did indeed learn to lead--prove by our work for this journal that the queen has come to her own?Up to the hour of going to press, we have received thirty-six subscriptions for the Open Court. Marked copies of the ERA will be sent to friends at a distance. We hope the response will be a subscription to the journal. We have been permitted to make the following offer under the auspices of the Open Court.One young lady can receive a scholarship in the Trained Nurse Department at Hampton College, Va. Apply to Miss Eliza A. Grier, Women's Medical College, Philadelphia, Pa. A small salary is attached, which will aid the student while in training.The query on every side is: "Have you read 'A Carnival Jungle,' by Alice Ruth Moore, in the March issue of the ERA?" Many women of our race have exhibited talent, ability, industry; but there is a charm, an artistic touch, a dramatic force about the work of this young writer that is attracting widespread attention. All hail to the rising star in the race's literary firmament.Another writer of the race and sex deserving of honorable mention, an example of whose work appears in the July issue of the National Baptist Magazine is Mrs. Amanda Miller Coleman, of Wayland Seminary, Washington, D.C. The bright sketch, "Dorothy's Soliloquy," is both charming and unique in its style. We hope to secure the writer for the Open Court. The race is proving daily that it has within its limits latent talents that are worthy of careful scrutiny and of every aid that can be given to its future development.The only way to keep posted on the past work of the Afro-American Woman is to purchase "The Work of the Afro-American Woman," by Mrs. N. F. Mossell.The only way to keep posted on the present work of our women is to subscribe for "The Woman's Era," Mrs. Josephine St. P. Ruffin, Proprietor.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 1. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.GEORGE L. RUFFIN,
VOCAL CULTURE,
Lamperti Method. 
103 Charles Street, --  -- Boston, Mass.SCHOOL OF MODELLING AND CARVING.TEACHERS AND CRAFTSMEN TRAINED IN THE FOLLOWING INDUSTRIAL ARTS.MODELLING for Stone and Plaster.
MODELLING for Metals, etc.
CASTING for Stucco and Metals.
FIGURE CUTTING in Piece and Mould.
STONE CARVING, Buildings, Monuments and Ecclesiastical Works.
WOOD CARVING, for Metals, Internal and External Decoration.
PUPILS PREPARED to teach the above in one term of nine months.
CRAFTSMEN PUSHED in special branches and situations secured upon completion of term; or work secured while studying.
For terms apply to
CLAVENGER A. EASTMAN,
St. Augustine's Trade Schools, Corner Cambridge and Grove Sts., Boston.WANTS.To supply any of these Wants apply at office of WOMEN'S ERA.Private family will receive music student to board and lodge. Reasonable terms. Pleasant home. Kranich & Bach piano to practice on. Easy access to the musical life and institutions of Boston. References given and required.Miss M. W. Gould will give lessons by mail in English composition, grammar, use of capitals, punctuation, formation of sentences, etc.A woman of business experience and ability will act as confidential agent in taking care of or setting up the estates of women and children. Advice free.A safe and pleasant home for a young girl desirous of preparing herself to become it trained nurse, in return for services in house-work.A young colored girl from 14 to 16 years old to go into a good home in Yarmouthport, Mass., to attend upon a young child, for which she will be paid one dollar a week and clothed.Shopping done, samples and estimates furnished. Matching goods a speciality by a firstclass dressmaker, Mrs. A. A. Casneau.Four children (boys or girls), beginners in music, to take advantage of the chance offered by the ERA for a year's training in instrumental music. Free.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 1. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.- TRY -
A PERFECT ICING FOR YOUR CAKES,Will not spoil or foment in heat or cold, covered or exposed to the air.PERFECT ICING never dries out or crumbles, all other Icings draw the moisture from the cake and dry it up. A PERFECT ICING will keep your cake from drying out.PERFECT ICING should be put on in a very thin coating, like a varnish; it will give your cakes a beautiful gloss as well as flavor. Can be cut soon as put on by dipping your knive in cold water.A 25c. Jar of PERFECT ICING will go further than 25 cents in Egg and Sugar Icing as you use it, is more healthful, and gives a superior flavor.PERFECT ICINGS are put up in Screw Top Jars, also in Mason quarts, and in wooden pails of 25 lbs. each.DIRECTIONS.Remove the top, set the Jar in a moderate oven or warm place, until the contents are thin enough to spread. Take your knife, stir it up and spread on a cold cake, just as thin as possible. Set your jar away to use again.Ask your Grocer for PERFECT ICING.
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AGENTS WANTED EVERYWHERE.
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All correspondence should be addressed to the New England Agents,
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RANDOLPH,  MASS.only Gold medal at last Mechanics' Fair for their unequalled patent Upright and Grands. Also Silver medal on Mehlin & Sons, and Stultz & Bauer Pianos.  Also slightly used Steinway Grand for $400, SteinwaySquare $250, H. F. Miller $250, McPhall $190, nearly new Haynes Bros. Upright $325, new Ivers & Pond $225, H. F. Miller Parlor Grand $400, and fifty Square Pianos from $50 to $200. Organs from $30 to $100.
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H. W. BERRY, 
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Hats and Bonnets made and Trimmed, 50c. to $1.00
Our Millinery and Dress Cutting Schools are the best in the world. Young ladies should come at once and learn.
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THE TYPEWRITER IMPROVEMENT CO.
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AGENTS WANTED.EDGAR P. BENJAMIN, 
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Office hours 9 to 11 a. m., 3 to 10 p. M.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 1. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.ATLANTA UNIVERSITY, Atlanta, Ga.Collegiate and Normal Courses. Enlarged corps of teachers. Industrial training in domestic and mechanic arts, including printing. Instruction in both instrumental and vocal music and in elocution. High grade in every respect. A few deserving and needy students can be aided. Term begins Wednesday, October 2. For catalog, address President HORACE BUMSTEAD.RISING SUN LODGE, F. AND A. M.
Request the pleasure of your company on THURSDAY EVENING, APRIL 11th, 1895, to their
ANNUAL RECEPTION
In aid of their Charity Fund, at
COTILLION HALL, MECHANICS BUILDING,
HUNTINGTON AVENUE, BOSTON.
Music: BALDWIN'S CADET BAND. TICKETS, PER COUPLE, $1.50.
GENTLEMENS TICKET $1.00. LADIES TICKET, 75 Cents. 
Dancing from 8 to 2 o'clock. Cars leave the Hall for South and West Ends, at 2:15.
Supper will be served on the European plan during the entire evening.ANNUAL MAY DAY FESTIVAL.
The Second Annual Childrens Party will be given
WEDNESDAY, MAY 1st, - AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
ODD FELLOWS' HALL, NORTH RUSSELL ST. 
It will take the form of a Fancy Costume Party, and the Afternoon Entertainment will consist of singing, dancing, games and the crowning of the most popular little girl, Queen O' May. The Queen to be selected by vote of the children themselves. Children's hours from 2 to 8. From 8 to 12 the floor will be given up to the older young people. 
ADMISSION FOR ALL, AFTERNOON, 25 CTS. EVENING, 50 CTS. 
Those remaining over from afternoon, Children 10 cents extra. Adults 25 cents extra. 
Tickets to be had of the Committee. Committee of Arrangements, 
MRS. HEMMINGS, MRS H. RUFFIN, MRS. S. JOHNSON, MRS. MARIE FOSTER, MRS. MAINJOY, MRS. POPE, MRS. BOOKER.A.G. McKENZIE
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7 Bromfield St., Boston.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 1. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.THE SUCCESS OF THE SEASON
MRS. N.F. MOSSELL'S BOOK
THE WORK OF THE AFRO-AMERICAN WOMANThe First Edition has been nearly exhausted. An edition of 5000 is to be issued March 1st."Above all, let the negro know that the elevation of his race can come only and will come surely through the elevation of its women." - Senator Geo. F. Hoar.Miss Emma K. White, one of Chester's most successful teachers, says: "The volume entitled The Work of the Afro-American WomenWoman is a great success at this point."Miss Julia Songow, Germantown, Pennsylvania: "I have sold seventy-five copies of the Work of the Afro-American Woman within two weeks."Mrs. Jennie Euola Johnson of Trenton, N.J.: "I have been very successful in my canvass of The Work of the Afro-American Woman."Agents Wanted: General      Offered. Let 		desire to canvass during the summer, apply at 					of effort have already done well.		Red or Brown Cloth, 75 cents, White and Gold, $1.Apply to Mrs. N.F. Mossell1432 Lombard Street, Philadelphia, Pa.HOUSEKEEPERS SHOULD SEE THE NEWFIBRE CARPET.
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50 Essex St. (cor. Chauncy) Boston, Mass.Why Not Advertise in the Weekly Journal of the Lodge? With a circulation of 4,000 Write for terms and space.Address JOURNAL OF THE LODGE, NEW ORLEANS, La., Box 105.KATE FIELD'S WASHINGTON
Eleventh volume began with the issue of January 2nd.
"Better than ever," is the verdict we intend to win from our friends during 1895.
Send your subscription to KATE FIELD'S WASHINGTON,
39 Corcoran Building, Washington, D. C. Subscription $2 per yearBUTLER R. WILSON.
ATTORNEY and COUNSELLOR AT LAW,
NOTARY PUBLIC,
34 School Street, (Room 33,) 
BOSTON.Robert L. Carter, M.D. 
PHYSICIAN & SURGEON,
No. 722 Kempton Street, 
NEW BEDFORD.
Diseases of Women a Specialty.
Telephone 329-4.The Woman's Era.Vol. II. No. 2. BOSTON, MASS.  May, 1895 PRICE 10 CENTS.NOTES AND COMMENTS.The April literary meeting of the Woman's Era Club was in charge of the Race Committee, Mrs. Mary Howard, chairman. Two thoughtful papers on "Our Opportunities" were prepared and eloquently presented by Mrs. Lottie Sampson and Miss Eva Lewis, calling out much discussion by members present. Owing to small attendance, it is proposed to have the papers read again, that a larger number may be heard in the discussion of this important subject.The joyous Easter season was made gladder and the ERA office fragrant by tulips and hyacinths sent in by Doogue, the florist, and sweet mayflowers, straight from Plymouth hillsides, brought by Miss Etta Toliver. The ERA returns thanks to both donors for their thoughtful kindness.The last of the public meetings of the Massachusetts State Federation of Women's Clubs for this season was held on Thursday, April 11, in the Second Church in Dorchester, all the arrangements for the entertainment of the many club members being made by the Dorchester Woman's Club. So agreeable have been found these migratory visits of the state federation that Lynn has spoken for the first one of next year, and Roxbury for the second. The annual meeting, to be held in June, will take place on the first Tuesday of that leafy month, when the Social Science Club of Newton will be the entertainers.At the meeting of the 11th ult, Mrs. Jennie K. Adams of Woburn presided in the unavoidable absence of Mrs. Howe. Mrs. Micah Dyer, chairman of the committee of arrangements, Miss Florence Everett, state secretary, and Mrs. Ednah D. Cheney, occupied seats with M. Adams upon the flower-decked platform. The addresses of the day were made by Rev. William H. Savage of Newton, who described "Charity of the Olden Times," and Mr. Frank Sanborn, who spoke upon "The Nerves' Centers of Charity," which he affirmed were pity and constraint.Mrs. Ednah Cheney spoke briefly, complimenting Mr. Sanborn on his paper and the clubs on their progress."Charity to Dumb Animals" found an advocate in Mrs. John Richie, Jr., of Boston, who read "Simon Grubb's Dream."Mrs. Micah Dyer read letters of regret from Superintendent Anagnos of the School for the Blind, and from Rev. Rufus Tobey of the Berkeley Temple.Mrs. Ruffin, president of the Woman's Era Club, gave an interesting report of the good work of St. monica's Home, conducted by the sisters of St. Margaret."The Newspaper and Philanthropy" was the topic discussed by Mrs. Elizabeth M. Gosse.Mrs. Alice N. Lincoln was the last speaker, and she read a paper on "Charity in Public Institutions."The annual meeting of Federated Clubs will be held at Newton early in June.Telegrams of sympathy were sent to Mrs. Howe and Mrs. Livermore.NEW YORKVictoria Earle.Victoria Earle, Editor.Mr. Fortune's recent discussion of the race problem, which has raised such a furore, is widely discussed here; and while some are disposed to condemn the expression of the class of ideas (truths--unsavory, but truths nevertheless) that he advanced, others applaud his courage in naming boldly the actual condition of the Afro-Americans as a whole, and laying bare the various causes that are slowly settling upon the masses, barring progress and enlightenment. When the emotional and sensitive character of our people is taken into consideration, his courage is obvious. No man is in a better position to speak on this subject than Mr.

Fortune, and the fact of his having given this subject his closest attention during long years entitles him at least to fair and unbiassed judgment.  Thus far no facts have been produced in contradiction of his premises.  The history of all nations proves beyond a doubt that people often need a plain, matter-of-fact expose of ruinous customs and nobility-destroying tendencies, as well as the individual; and that man whose mind is given to the advancement of his race is untrue to himself, his people, and the rational demands of the age in which he lives, if fear of condemnation prevents his calling attention to a condition which, if allowed to develop, is liable to be productive of a national disease.  There is but one way, according to our way of thinking, to disprove the obnoxious statement; and that is, as Dr. John M. Henderson says, for the workers as well as the thinkers of the race to put themselves in harmony with the forces of progress.  If plain truth and honest criticism will be productive of self-examination as a people, by all means let us have such; for when a people begin to think, light and its attendant blessings and benefits follow.AN EXPERIMENT WITH A KINETOSCOPE AND A PHONOGRAPH.Petite ReineA man and a woman in a plainly furnished room. He says, Cherie, knowing how lonely your life is, I have bought and arranged this kinetoscope with views of the happenings of today among our people in Gotham, also a phonograph, so that you may know the talk of the day. If you will place yourself at the kinetoscope, I will shift the scenes and explain, according to my ideas, what they mean.Ah! this picture, she says, is the Silent Shore, Sharon, a boat, and across that river the beautiful beyond, and in that halo of light a glimpse of some that have fought the good fight and received their crown, Douglass, Garnet, Peterson, Price, Ray, and the shadow of an innumerable throng; and here, leading down to the river, is a Hill. Yes, he says, that is the Hill of life, and here are a few of the many who have reached the heights and are laurel-crowned, Cromwell, Coffin, Harper, and a goodly number of young men and women filling up the ranks with genius, talent and education and full of energy and aspiration, all striving to reach that goal--success. And this ladder, that the topmost rounds seem golden and are lost in the clouds above, that is the ladder of fame; but why, says she, do they look with envy and try to jostle and push each other aside?  Surely the rounds of the ladder are broad and wide enough for all. Because, he says, they are very human, and the unwritten law of humanity is self preservation.And is this the legislature? Here are some of our prominent women; they seem to be making a petition. No, they are before the school board. Take the phonograph and you will find they are simply asking that justice be done, and that some of our well-equipped teachers be placed in the mixed schools; they also desire that one of our women be put on the school board to further the interest of the Afro-American.	Meanwhile, if some of our women who are born diplomatists will make friends with the power behind the throne, Mrs. Granis, etc., they will eventually succeed. You know Gen. Grant gained some of his victories through strategy.  And this large gathering of women, do you notice how much of refinement and intelligence there is among them? That is the W. L. U.; their purpose is the uplifting and betterment of their race and to give practical encouragement to all branches of industry and talent; they are doing a great and good work, because the leaders of the movement have the element of success within them and their influence is wide and far-reaching.And this large crowd? Ah! they look so sad and anxious. Yes, he says, they are the great unemployed working class. Colored people as servants have gone out of fashion. "It isn't English, you know," to employ them, and yet in some instances it is our own fault. People now require the best service, and we don't keep up with the times, but do things in a slip-shod sort of way.  If the advanced woman would start a training school for domestics she might evolve competent help that would be in demand irrespective of race, color or previous condition.What a bright, pretty picture this is, she says.  Yes, that is a function given by the smart set.  What a lot of lovely well-gowned girls and charming young matrons; but it seems to be er--er--rathfrom the haunts of men.  There are misguided, unhappy-looking youths who have doubtless done their duty nobly dancing, and they are now wildly but vainly trying to make their escape, and those pretty girls have a pensive, far-away, expectant look in their eyes, as if they were waiting with that hope that rises eternal in the female breast, that her own special lord of creation will put in an appearance. Do

you think he will Come? Oh no, he says, each and everyone of them had to see a man on business at the club, and they are there, telling with unholy glee how they dodged their wives and their sweethearts, their sisters and their cousins.Why, this must be the great Mogul himself, and all of these Afro-Americans are casting tribute at his feet!  Oh no; that is only our colored brethren paying their money for the hire of halls for their entertainments. And why do they not co-operate and have buildings of their own? Because what this race need is confidence in each other and in their leading men. And this picture--Petite, do you mean to sleep all day?Asleep! Is it possible? And it was only a dream after all!PETITE REINE WASHINGTONMary Church Terrell, Editor.Early in April, Mrs. Mary Church Terrell was appointed on the Board of School Trustees for the District of Columbia. The placing of women on the board is an innovation for the District, and the applicants were many and persistent. This being so, and Mrs. Terrell being one of two appointed, (and of course the only one of color) she, as well as the WOMAN's ERA, may justly feel honored. The large number of applicants made the matter of choosing difficult and critical, and the fortunate appointees have the satisfaction of knowing that they have distanced all competitors in fitness and capability and stand as the best obtainable for their positions.It is possible that some of our readers are unacquainted with the career of Mrs. Terrell; for their satisfaction we quote from the Washington Post, only adding that Mrs. Terrell has attracted much attention everywhere by her work in the ERA, extracts from her contributions being often copied in the leading papers of the country."Mrs. Terrell, who will serve on the board with Mrs. Stowell, is recognized as one of the brainiest women of her race. Her husband is a Harvard graduate, and they live at 1936 4th Street, Le Droit Park. Mrs. Terrell is an alumna of Oberlin College, graduating from the classical department with high distinction in 1884. She afterward taught Latin and Greek at Wilberforce University, Xenia Ohio. She was two years in Europe studying the modern languages, attending school at Lausanne, Berlin, Florence and Paris. She was for several years employed as a teacher in the Colored High School of the District, is chairman of the educational committee of the Colored Women's League of the city, and has been president of the Bethel Literary Society, being the only woman to occupy that position. She was appointed registrar of Oberlin College and professor of Greek there, but did not accept the appointment. She was the first colored woman to whom such an appointment was tendered."Mrs. Terrell has recently been interviewed on educational matters by the Washington Star. Her remarks make most interesting reading, and an extract is subjoined for the benefit of our readers."Mrs. Terrell, whose connection with educational work, especially among the colored people, qualifies her to speak with some authority on the subject, talked interestingly on what she hoped might be accomplished in the future in educational methods. In the course of her conversation she laid special stress upon the need of kindergartens everywhere for all children. Especially is this need felt in the case of the colored children of the District."As to my views on industrial work, I have only to say that I should give some kind of a trade to each and every young woman who graduates from our public schools. There are at present about three hundred girls in the High School; of this number it is possible for a hundred, perhaps, to receive appointments as teachers. What is to become of the other two hundred, with so many avenues of industry closed against them on account of their color? To be sure, it is possible for them to learn the dressmaker's trade, but they cannot all make a living at dressmaking."I venture to state that it would be impossible to find a first-class millinery establishment to which a colored girl would be admitted as an apprentice. So I might go on multiplying examples of the disabilities under which our young women labor."The conclusion of the whole matter is simply this: Let the public schools equip our young women with trades, which they can acquire nowhere else. Let our girls be instructed in all the occupations in which women may engage. The dignity of labor I should preach in season and out, making it a cardinal principle of my ideal system. All young women who have not a pronounced leaning toward teaching should be urged to learn a trade at the beginning of the High School course. One study in the curriculum should he dropped in order to allow the pupil to devote more time to the chosen trade. A certificate or diploma should be given to the pupil when the prescribed course in the industrial department has been completed. The day is not far distant, I hope, when the public schools of the District shall afford our young women the

opportunity of becoming first-class milliners, dress-makers, scientific cooks and proficient artisans in whatever industry they may select."ILLINOISNEED OF CO-OPERATION OF MEN AND WOMEN IN CORRECTIONAL WORK.Fannie Barrier Williams, Editor.Emerson says "That you may proceed in the faith that whatever the woman's heart is prompted to desire, the man's heart is simultaneously prompted to accomplish."The need of co-operation of men and women in correctional work appears so evidently reasonable and axiomatic that the form of the subject might well be changed so as to read, Who says nay to the need of co-operation of men and women in correctional work?But I take it that women simply propose to bring, to the work a larger heartedness than is now exercised in its behalf. What our humanity needs and what our religion and finer sentiments ought to suggest is that the very best agencies of our civilization ought to reach and lift up toward the most perfect citizenship all whom fortune and nature have illy favored.Are there so many dependent, homeless and undisciplined children that institutions must be built to house, sustain and protect them through their minority? Then send to them as instructors not men or women, but men and women of the best hearts and the fittest minds and accomplishments. Women believe that the best that humanity has is none too good to be used in making good men and women out of what are called bad children. The best that woman can offer stands ready to be joined with the best that man can offer in lifting all correctional institutions of the country to a position of greater usefulness in developing character on the ethical side.Our correctional institutions are not what they ought to be, largely because man alone has been the stern master. Correctional work has been a matter of business, a policy of hard necessity, of punishment, of discipline, of appropriations and of salaries. The management of all our institutions growing out of philanthropic impulses has cultivated a delightful aptness in the invention of cheerful names for such institutions. What a joy in such an array of names as Home for the Friendless, Home for Dependent Children, Home for the Incurables, Old People's Home, Erring Woman's Refuge, Old Men's Home, Orphan's Asylum, etc. What a vocabulary of misery! Such names cheapen the quality of mercy and make organized philanthropy but an expression of patronizing almsgiving.But we need not resort to criticism in order to justify woman's desire to share in the responsibility of making a proper use of the humane forces that would rather save than condemn the waifs of society. We must be ready to recognize that men or women working apart in any reformatory work cannot show perfect results. The supreme need of our correctional institutions is a larger baptism of the home spirit in the management, and women, we believe, can bring this needed influence. She would justify her request for cooperation by making these institutions less of a prison. It should be the mission of woman, with her warmer heart and finer instincts for home training, to make the great body of society absorb into its home life every dependent child susceptible to tender influences. I have faith enough in human kindness to believe that there is somewhere a home for every homeless child.  It is possible to make every incorrigible child corrigible by a parental spirit of discipline. Give woman a chance and the great warm heart of human society will beat close to every human being capable of rescue front the blight of the vices. Women would come to this work with a heart and conscience, and ask to have a stronger emphasis placed on every influence that would tend to develop the home instinct of every child appealing to the state for protection and training. Women come to the study of these new responsibilities, not with selfish motives for honors and office and salaries, but rather with a burning desire to make better the world by helping to make better and sweeter the lives of the children of men. We would seek to give a new importance and honor to a department of human responsibility which society has learned to regard in the spirit of almsgiving. We would seek to quicken the responsibility in the breast of every man or woman for every child sent to a reformatory institution. We would establish a direct line of interest be-

tween every child of misfortune and the heartof every home in the land. We would increase the importance of every child and diminish the institutional features of every reformatory.This is not saying too much or hoping too much for what woman can and will do when prejudice shall give way to the entrance of her love and aptitude for all things that concern the deeper and tenderer side of human life.PENNSYLVANIADora J. Cole, Editor.On Easter Monday evening the citizens of Philadelphia held a memorial meeting for Frederick Douglass at the Academy of Music. It was an impressive occasion. Many distinguished speakers dwelt on different phases of his many-sided life, tributes were paid to his unblemished integrity, his gracious personality, his strong mentality and magnetic eloquence, but it was reserved for a woman to electrify and enthuse the audience. Mrs. Fanny Jackson Coppin spoke of what Douglass' life meant to the young, each to work out in his own way the good work so nobly carried on by our spokesman who is now silent, he who in his life seemed to be a witness for the capability of the negro if only afforded the opportunity.Mrs. Coppin spoke of his belief in woman, of her ability to acquire knowledge and of her rights in the body politic. I would be happy if I could even faintly give you an idea of her eloquence as she contrasted the condition of the negro in 1843, twenty years later and now.Her audience was charmed and thrilled, and responded to her thoughts that breathe and words that burn with such deafening applause that she gathered their commendation as a weapon against them and charged all who applauded her sentiments to be responsible for carrying them out.  It was a grand object lesson for the detractors of woman's ability and an inspiration for every woman who heard her, so capable, so powerful, so modest.In a recent issue of a leading Wilmington, Del., journal, Miss Edwina B. Kruse, the successful principal of school No. 16, has contributed a forcible article on the "Mental Possibilities and Special Endowments of the Negro Race." The paper is valuable for the accurate and detailed account given of the educational opportunities furnished the negro, and of the use he has made of them, from primary grades to the highest collegiate course. Miss Kruse also tells us where the many college graduates of our race are employed and what they have accomplished.The school population of the seventeen former slave states is very nearly three million. These pupils are taught by twenty-five thousand colored teachers. Here is a vast leaven working!The article goes on to tell of the many industrial and manual training schools scattered through the south and of the vast good accomplished by them. We owe thanks to Miss Kruse for furnishing us with so valuable an array of facts of such vital interest.Speaking of school work reminds me of an exhibition held in our city of Works of Art suggested for Schoolroom Decoration.The exhibition was held in Drexel Institute, itself a work of art, with its marble court and magnificent stairway leading to the upper galleries and rooms.If some of the old wielders of the hickory switch in the white-washed, wooden-benched schoolrooms of the past could have wandered through these halls and seen the models proposed for the decoration of our schools he would have thought that times were changed indeed. A new era is opening in American school life. The kindergarten was the entering wedge. It showed the possibilities of childish observation and perception. Trained in the habit of seeing beauty, surrounded by examples of what is pure and beautiful, classical and great, it is hoped that it will lead the children to hate ugliness in the home, in the street and in their lives.The exhibition consisted of models, casts, prints, and engravings of what is highest and best in the world of art, the immortal marbles of Grecian and Roman masters, all the famous conceptions of the Madonna and child, the noted cathedrals of every country, historical and allegorical subjects, poets, statesmen, inventors, philosophers, triumphal arches, the Sphynx and Pyramids.It was an instructive and interesting array, and if the City Fathers in their wisdom see their way clear to appropriate the funds necessary for the

purpose, or if in any other ways these objects of art are lavished on the schools, those of  us who are living a generation hence, when thousands of children have been trained under these aesthetic conditions, may expect to see a new Philadelphia indeed.MISSOURIJosephine Silone Yates.Josephine Silone Yates, Editor.DISCIPLINE. - (Concluded.)Luellen WilliamsLUELLEN WILLIAMS.Some raise objections to this method of procedure. They say the parents will not like it. Well, suppose they do not? It is certain that they too need a lesson.  Most parents are alarmed when their children are sent home from school. They seem to feel it keenly as a great disgrace. Their first impulse is to go after the teacher. Even should they come with sleeves rolled up and sparks flying from their eyes, let them find the teacher polite and just. They will, in the end, conclude that it is better to have that boy managed by the teacher than to have him expelled and at home on their hands. The probability is that before they leave, they will be more severe on the child than was the teacher.There is no question about it. When there is open rebellion, something must be done--not said. Some natures can be acted upon only in this way. It is a heritage that has come down from those cruel days.All humanity is akin, but each people has its peculiarities, and we have ours. We are loath and very loath, to give credit, by word or action, where it is due. If one does a thing well, we seem to think a little praise will detract from our ability, and we begin at once to find fault and to tell of greater things we have seen and heard.  This spirit reveals itself in many different ways.I once saw a young mother cast glances of the deepest affection upon her eighteen-months-old babe, as it sat upon the floor. But when the little one looked back at her, prattled and smiled she reached out and slapped it in the face. It seemed to me that she feared to let it see how much she loved it.I have seen a large-sized girl trying hard to step upon a higher plane. I have watched the signs of the terrible conflict that was going on within her breast, between gentleness and habitual roughness. I have seen her stop and try to greet her teacher or schoolmates politely, and then (as though an evil spirit had turned her right about) toss her head up and stalk by. How pitiable to see kindness struggling in the toils of habit! Right here comes another opportunity for the teacher. She can help gentleness to gain the mastery.In the heart of every child there is a spirit of kindliness. With some, the heart is full and running over. With others, the spirit is asleep deep down in some dark and hidden recess. There must be an awakening, before its presence can be felt; but when once it is aroused, the teacher does not appeal to the higher nature in vain. Refinement that springs from within, shows itself in the movements, as well as in the acts of a person. Many teachers spend valuable time in working on the wrong side. Begin within and work outward.It is in the school-room that a child gets a great part of the training that is to fit him for the stern realities of life. He learns to respect the rights of others. He learns to curb his temper, to be manly enough to acknowledge his wrongs; to expect hardships, and to have courage to fight against them and down them.There are teachers whose greatest force is flattery and fulsome praise. They give the child an exalted opinion of himself, making him believe that he is the teacher's sole support, and without his presence and assistance all would go wrong. The bad boy may be kept within bounds in this way. But what is the result when he gets out into the world? Who pets and flatters him then, just to keep him in good humor? Who jokes with him to take away the sting of a deserved rebuke?  Who thinks that he always should have the right of way? He will find life a hard and cruel thing. He will condenin his false teacher and hate her for her treachery. Let us do good, honest work, so that the boys and girls we send out may be honest men and women. In no case should we let an act of dishonesty, by word or look, go uncensured.Our aim should be to have the heart right, the head right, and the hand to work with them.Not long ago, a junior class was reading.  I called attention to the quotation marks that inclosed a sentence. "Do you notice those marks?" asked I. A tall lad of fifteen thrust his hands into his pockets stretched out his legs their full length under the desk, and with one eye directed toward me, said, "Huh! I knew them long time ago.""What are they?""Quotation marks!" was the lofty answer. "What are quotation marks?"The correct definition was given with a most triumphant air, and the other eye was turned round to note the effect."If I were to ask you to compose a sentence and place these marks where they belong, could you do it?"He hung his head and had to admit that he could not."Of what use to us is the knowledge of quotation marks? To enable us to stand up and recite, or to fit us to use them in written work?"He saw my point, and was manly enough not to murmur, as he usually did when I gave his class written work to do.A few months ago, Rev. Dr. Hamlin of Washington, D.C., addressed the Y.M.C.A. upon the subject "Knowing and Doing." He referred to his recent visit to Yale University and spoke of the practical work of the students there as one of the greatest examples in this age of the necessity of both knowing and doing. "Knowledge," he said, is useless unless it is put into practice."If a boy can spell well, there is no reason why he should not be able to let it be seen in his letters to his friends and in all other compositions beside his spelling exercise. Writing should be something more than another form of drawing.  Well formed letters and neatly arranged words should adorn every page of every written exercise, not the copy-book alone.Can the teacher do more? Yes. She can do a great deal to brighten the poorest homes. She can explain to her little charges how homes can be made brighter by loving hearts and willing hands. She can make it clear that dimes spent for candy and pickles can be saved and put to a better use. She can impress upon infant minds that respect for old age is pleasing in the sight of God. She can broaden their syrnpathies and widen their sense of honor. She can bring careless children to see hundreds of beautiful little things that hitherto have lain in their way unnoticed.But is this discipline? If discipline be the nourishing and direction of the gentleness that is in a child, this is discipline, and that of the highest order.APPLE BLOSSOMS.Dainty April flowers, in your lovely little robesOf shaded pink and white,Ever changing, always giving promises divine Of happy harvest time,Lessons noble, true and holy teaching age and youth.Your fragrance sweetly woos careless youthWith tales of fame and bliss secure; Again the aged holdTreasures deeply buried in the grave of long ago. Today you gaily smile,Turning dreary winter from our lives and from the land;Tomorrow on the earthLow you'll lie, yet not destroyed, although to mem'ry lost,For what ye could ye've done.Josephine Silone YatesAt the annual election of the Colored Woman's League the following officers were elected for the ensuing year: Mrs. Mary Handy, president; Miss Anna II. Jones, Mrs. McDowell, vice presidents; Mrs. Cora W. Griffin, recording secretary; Mrs. Mallory, assistant secretary; Mrs. J. S. Yates, corresponding secretary; Mrs. Callie Edwards, treasurer.A reception was tendered Miss Ida B. Wells by the League on the occasion of the last meeting of the year 1894-95, and after highly interesting remarks by Miss Wells, the following resolutions were adopted.Whereas, the Colored Woman's League, an incorporated body, was organized for the purpose of lending aid in any possible way to all members of the race, and especially to the amelioration of the condition of our women and girls; therefore be itResolved, That this organization recognizes in the personal character of Miss Ida B. Wells, and in the untiring, self-sacrificing work she is putting forth toward arousing public sentiment, a potent force in the work of calling attention to the wrongs perpetrated upon individual members of the race; of bringing about better methods for

the adjustinent of the differences arising between the races; and of securing for the accused an impartial hearing, a fair trial and absolute justice before the courts of law.Among other resolutions passed as a result of the series of meetings conducted by Miss Wells during her stay in Kansas City, the following, adopted at the close of her address before the W. T. C. U., in view of recent discussions, are especially worthy of note. "Whereas the barbarous and atrocious custom of lynching is growing rapidly in all parts of the United States without regard for sex, and too often on mere suspicion, as witness the wanton murder of a white woman in Nebraska and a colored woman in Tennessee; therefore, we, the women of the Central Women's Christian Temperance Union, of Kansas City, Mo., condemn the brutalizing and degrading effects of such revolting spectacles, express our hearty sympathy with Miss Ida B.Wells in her crusade against lynching, and pledge ourselves to use our influence toward arousing public sentiment to the crying need of a full and complete protection by the law until the fair and impartial trial guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States shall have established the guilt or innocence of the accused."COLORADOElizabeth Piper Ensley.Elizabeth Piper Ensley, Editor.CLUB LAND.With the rapid growth of country, city and town, old conditions have changed, new ones are brought forth. During the past decade, woman's organizations have sprung up, apparently with mushroom growth; yet many have stood the test of years, proving them to be important factors in educational life.Denver is a city of women's clubs. The oldest organizations of this kind are the Fortnightly and Monday Literary clubs, both having been formed about 1881. The Fortnightly has rather the highest social standing, but it is a question whether it does any deeper or better work than the Monday, the standard of both being high, progressive and scholarly.  The membership of each of these clubs is limited to twenty-four. The papers cover a range of subjects relating to literature, art and the home.The Clio Club is of a similar nature. It has made thorough study of historical periods, covering the literary, artistic, and social growth of each epoch. Perhaps its program for the past season will be interesting."The invasion of Europe by the Barbarians and its results;" "The Crusades and their effects upon European civilization;" "The Sieges of Paris;" "The mythical and romantic element in early English History."The Round Table Club pursues historical studies, this year confining its attention to the historical plays of Shakespeare.The Friday Morning Club, which meets in the beautiful art studio of one of its members each week, has studied the art of various epochs, beginning with the Egyptian and coming down to modern times. The history, life, manners, etc., of each country being studied in connection with the art.The Woman's Club, organized one year ago, is patterned after the Chicago Woman's Club. It already has several hundred members, representing mainly the wealth and fashion of Denver, but has among its members women physicians, teachers, newspaper women, etc. There are six departments, Home, Education, Philanthropy, Art and Literature, Science and Philosophy and Reform. All members must enter one of these departments. Each department holds a monthly meeting of its own, and there is also a monthly meeting of the entire club. Outside of the programs both of the general club work and the department work, much practical work is done, as opening industrial rooms for women, a cooking school, etc.The Woman's Educational Club is a new club which is doing excellent work in the study of political economy, so necessary to the new voters, and perhaps old ones as well.There are a host of lesser clubs in Denver, including the political clubs of the women of the various parties, and dozens of study and reading clubs all over the city.It will be of special interest to the readers of the ERA to know that among the last formed, but by no means least, in its scope of work, is the Woman's League of Denver. This organization was formed, primarily, to co-operate with the

Colored Woman's League of Washington, D. C., whose principal object is to gather and compile facts showing the progress of the race in all departments of life, to encourage unity of purpose and to devise ways and means for promoting the best interests of the colored people of the United States.The special work of the Denver League is suggested by its local needs. It was apparent that the time and effort spent in such an organization must be directed along such lines as would prove beneficial and remunerative. The work is divided into two principal departments, educational and industrial.In order that the women may become educated in thought, an original paper is prepared and read by some member each week. A discussion follows. There is a parliamentary drill and the current events are given.Classes are formed as the members desire to take up a particular study. Private instruction is furnished on easy terms.The industrial department provides instruction in different kinds of handiwork. At the end of each quarter there is a public sale of foods and other articles, thus encouraging woman's industries, competition leading them to be satisfied only with the highest standards.A Woman's Exchange will be conducted by the League as soon as suitable quarters can be obtained.It is the aim of the Woman's League to become to women, however circumstanced, a means of aid, protection, elevation and development, according as each may need. Old and young, all creeds, unite on the common ground of womanhood.Nothing so stimulates and creates enthusiasm as the contact and friction with other minds. To learn to work harmoniously is education of a high order. So if we are patiently persistent in working toward our ideal through the medium of the League, we shall gain that broad judgment, keen discrimination and charitableness which are productive of a well-rounded character.The officers of the Woman's League for 1895 are president, Mrs. Lizzie M. Olden; first vice president, Mrs. Elizabeth Wallace; second vice president, Mrs. Julia Hubbard; corresponding secretary, Mrs. Ida De Priest; recording secretary, Mrs. E. Azalia Hackley; treasurer, Mrs. Marcellina M. Beatty; board of directors, Mrs. Louis Allison, Mrs. Eva Johnson, Mrs. H. W. Wade, Mrs. F. D. Cooper and Mrs. E. P. Ensley. The Woman's League is enrolled in the State Federation of Women's Clubs.Miss Ida B. Wells lectured in Denver in March.The League edited the Easter edition of the Statesman Exponent.A RARE OPPORTUNITY.The best known preventive to consumption is climate, and it is generally conceded that Colorado has the best anti-consumption climate in America.Hundreds come every year to Denver, hoping to prolong life or regain health; many of them do so who would otherwise meet early death.The climate of Denver, dry, pure and sunny, with its elevation of one mile above sea level, effectually cures all incipient lung diseases.Therefore parents having children predisposed to lung trouble are advised to send them to Denver to pursue their studies.The fine public schools and the Denver University afford unsurpassed educational facilities.Mrs. Ensley will take into her home a limited number of girls and young ladies desiring to get the benefit of the climate while attending school.She will give special attention to home training and physical culture, particularly to chest expansion, diet and healthful dressing, while superintending their course at the public schools.When private instruction is preferred the best teachers will be secured.For further information addressMrs. E.P. ENSLEY,1755 Ogden St., Denver, Col.Refers by permission to Mr. Nathaniel T. Allen of West Newton English and Classical School.WANTS.To supply any of these Wants apply at office of WOMEN's ERA.Private family will receive music student to board and lodge. Reasonable terms. Pleasant home. Kranich & Bach piano to practice on. Easy access to the musical life and institutions of Boston. References given and required.Miss M. W. Gould will give lessons by mail in English composition, grammar, use of capitals, punctuation, formation of sentences, etc.A woman of business experience and ability will act as confidential agent in taking care of or settling up the estates of women and children. Advice free.A safe and pleasant home for a young girl desirous of preparing herself to become a trained nurse, in return for services in house-work.THE WOMAN'S ERA.THE WOMAN'S ERA, the organ of the National Federation of Afro-American Women, and devoted to the Interests of the Women's Clubs, Leagues and Societies throughout the country.Published monthly, in Boston, by JOSEPHINE ST. P. RUFFIN, FLORIDA R. RIDLEY, 103 Charles Street.SUBSCRIPTIONS.Per Annum, -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -$1.00Single Copies, -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -.10Club Rates, one hundred copies,   -    7.00Subscriptions Payable in Advance.EDITORIALWhile the schools have made of woman a good deal of a scientist and a good deal of a philosopher, her genius for teaching the human heart its best lessons of home and its sanctities has lost none of its potency. But I do not wish to seem too flattering in urging the qualifications of women which should entitle her to co-operate with men in all work that makes for the public weal. I perhaps ought to admit that we ourselves are open to some criticism, in our tendency to organize all our plans and schemes for the public good on sex lines. We ourselves help to discourage co-operation by too many organizations of ourselves, by ourselves and for ourselves. If women wish to advance any worthy cause by organization that cause would be better advanced by the co-operation of men and women than by their separation. For the purpose of social pleasure co-operation is admittedly proper, but for the advancement of humane and other high interests women are deemed incapable for association. For this mean discrimination we are not altogether blameless. The best organizations on both sides of the sex lines would be strengthened in their good purposes by co-operation.If the letter M could in some way be added to W.C.T.U. the saloon interests could not only be regarded as one of the greatest indecencies of our civilization, but the blessed cause of temperance would be more widely triumphant in practical ways.I cannot refrain from adding that for peculiar reasons we, as colored women, should most devoutly wish for a larger and more rapid growth of this spirit of co-operation of men and women in all good works. The need of the heart and mind of every good woman to help in the solution of the many problems of sociology, suggest the further need of the heart and mind of every good man and woman, of whatever color or race, for the same good purposes. The co-operation that women now seek for is the levelling spirit of democracy emancipating itself from the thrall of prejudice and looking toward the ethical equalities of life. In this agitation all progressive women are help ing to bring our nation to the deep philosophy of Herbert Spencer, that "no one can be perfectly free until all are free, and no one can be perfectly happy until all are happy."A gentle brave man is the hardest kind of a combatant to meet, and it is probable that Miss Katharine P. Loring has come to this conclusion in her endeavor to excuse the people of Camden for their treatment of Mr. Richard P. Hallowell.  Mr Hallowell is the quietest kind of a gentleman and probably a revelation to Southerners, who seldom recognize courage unless accompanied by bluster and foolhardiness.Mr. Hallowell, so far from ignoring Miss Loring's letter to the Boston Herald, brands it as utterly false, and calls upon the lady who has made herself "a too willing dupe of her friends in Camden" for a public retraction.Nothing has yet been heard from Miss Loring, who has probably not recovered from having her Southern friends shown up as they are and not as they make themselves appear so often to weak-minded northerners.This is not the first of such occurrences in the south by any means. Probably all of us have personal knowledge of similar affairs. But in making a target of Mr. Hallowell, Camden certainly waked up the wrong passenger, for here is a man to whom loyalty is as the breath of life; who is loyal to himself, his convictions, to his sense of justice and right; who is not to be deceived by specious arguments.Miss Loring has evidently retired, silenced by convincing truth, but as Mr. Hallowell "does not propose to release her from the responsibility she has taken upon herself," we have probably not heard the end of the matter yet.Mrs. Silas Dickerson, of Newport, and her daughter, Miss Kinloch, spent Easter week in Boston. Their many friends were more than delighted at the opportunity to entertain them, and the consequence was a delightful time all around.CALIFORNIA.S. Willie Layton.S. Willie Layton, Editor.A GLIMPSE AT CALIFORNIA MISSIONS.(Concluded.)Give your imagination full play, and picture these mission villages, located on some slight eminence o'erlooking a bonito rio or verdant valley variegated with "baby blue eyes" and yellow poppies, valleys affording bountiful pasturage and feed for the cattle and livestock; or on some bold bluff where could be seen the beautiful blue sea.  In either location, about a court of about a half acre, the building; the prozoleraor dining hall; a wing containing the friars' cells, these small, poorly ventilated, with scarcely any furniture in many of them, oftimes only a couch of hides stretched over a stout wooden frame, the friars only luxury. There were shelters for the live stock, and store houses for grain and provisions, dwellings, and the monjerio, a low stone structure, with a square court in the middle. The monjerio was the nunnery; here dwelt the mission maidens, presided over by a trusty old Indian woman, who kept vigilant watch over her charges. In the court sat the Indian maidens, working, weaving, spinning, chatting, and casting coy eyes at the opposite sex, whom cupid would designingly decoy that way. All the cloth, towels, church embroideries, etc., used about the missions was the work of those maidens. Life here was simple and regular. At daylight all were astir, and proceeded to mass, after which breakfast, of the unvarying menu, atole (a preparation of barley) was served. Dinner consisted of atolecooked in various ways, with mutton as an entree; occasionally spinach frijoles were served.  "At six o'clock P. M." supper was served of pinole, this a preparation of the ever present atole.  To this the neophytes could add nuts and wild berries, which they gathered and stored in large quantities. Every morning from the commissary department, the navera issued to each individual his daily bread. The benedicts carried their allowance home to be shared with their families; the unmarried males carried their allowance to the prozolera where it was prepared and served at one common table.
common table. At sundown, the "Angelus," when the laborers, neophytes and padresassembled in the chapel for prayers; the litany sung, the blessing invoked, the day ended, all returned to rest. The licentious and brutal conduct of the soldiers toward the Indian women caused numerous outbreaks and "Indian uprisings" so that the presidios were moved from the church settlements, and the padres  discountenanced mixed marriages. To induce marriage among the natives, the padreswould march all the male neophytes in the chapel, then repair to the mojerioand say, "Which of you, my daughters, wish to marry?"  This would cause blushing and questioning glances from maiden to maiden, when they would all spring to their feet and follow the padreinto the chapel, where stood in row the anxious and prospective bridegrooms, each hoping to attract the choice of his ideal, the prettiest and youngest of the maidens, who had the sole right of choosing.  Sometimes the fastidious maidens, after coquettishly eyeing the row, would not find one to her liking, thereby deferring her choice and disappointing and blasting the hope of the aspiring candidates. Some of these romantic marriages were affairs of the heart and very happy unions resulted. These unions were rarely prolific, attributed by historians to the new and sudden modes of life forced upon the neophytes. Remarkably strange, the prolificness of the mixed marriages; it was not uncommon to see from fifteen to twenty-five children in a family.  Punishment to maintain order was in various forms.  Capital crimes were turned over to the soldiers; not infrequently refractory bucks were laid across the knees of the "fat, greasy" friars, and received physical emphasis of his admonition, with salutatory effect. There yet remains, despite the vandalism of the relic hunter, specimens of the workmanship of the neophytes.  They were instructed in all the arts and mechanics, etc., of that time.  In that time of successful communism, there was no display of greed of gain, no lust for money or selfish aggrandizement--the time of peaceful Eutopian villages; there was, to mar the serenity of the pious padres, however, outbreak from savage and unfriendly tribes; then came the great troubles of 1812, which destroyed many buildings and lives; last came secularization.  In little more than a century thirty thousand Indians had been taken from barbarism, and taught to cultivate the soil and utilize its products, to manufacture and wear clothes, to build and live in houses, and

above all to know and worship the true God. Cattle and stock were thriving and increasing each year, vineyards and orchards flourishing and yielding abundant productions, all basking in the sunlight of prosperity, spiritual and temporal, but the storm of secularization was approaching, to soon burst with devastating fury. The empowered Comision idos, armed with the proclamations of secularization, seized all lands and stock; the cowled monks were to cease walking and praying in the beautiful mission gardens; disintegration of property followed; the Indians had their possessions wrested from them.Removed from the restraining influences of the padres, a mighty struggle ensued between their few years of civilization, and hundreds of years of barbarism, "and it is not surprising that the weaker foe was vanquished." The mission ruins, beside whose walls lie sleeping those who played a conspicuous part in the history of their existence, are the links that connect our civilization with the romantic mission period. May they be preserved monuments to the padres silently sleep, watched by the willows that o'er them weep.OHIOSada J. Anderson.Sada J. Anderson, Editor.Toledo has enjoyed quite a treat within the past few days. The second State Convention of the King's Daughters and Sons was held here.It has been a great pleasure to sit under the sound of the voices of such noble women as Mrs. Margaret Bottome of New York, President of the International Order, Mrs. Mary Lowe Dickinson and Mrs. I. C. Davis, both of New York; the former editor of the Silver Cross, the magazine of the order, and the latter the business manager. All three of these ladies are but to be seen to be loved. We all, no doubt, are acquainted with Mrs. Bottome through her "Heart to Heart" talks to the daughters in the Ladies Home Journal. We feel that Toledo has been blest, and much good has been done here through these noble women.  Perhaps there is no organization on the globe, save the church, covering so large a scope of usefulness as does this order. Over 350,000 wear the little silver cross in His name; wee tots, whose little lips can scarce lisp the name of the King, wear it; hard laboring girls, on the mercies of a cruel world, wear it; women whose lives are one of toil, care and undeserved censure, feel the pang caused by the cruel thrusts of an unjust world no longer when the heart is hidden under the silver cross; silver-haired mothers become mothers indeed when they are all glorious within. Such is the characteristic of the King's daughter.It was wonderful to hear what these dear daughters of Ohio have accomplished within the past year. Splendid, yes, marvelous reports were brought in from all parts of the state, of glorious results for the King. One very dear report to me was from the university circle of the Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. These girls are saving enough money out of their own to pay half the expenses of an African girl in a college in Ashville, N.C., her lady principal bearing the other half.I spoke to the young ladies concerning the noble act, and one said, "Yes, sometimes we have scarce enough money to bear our own expenses, but in His name we sacrifice our own pleasures for this dear girl in Ashville, for we all have learned to love her."Thus the good work goes on. Would that the hearts of all wornankind could beat under the little silver cross and be pure and holy within. The work does not stop with philanthropic results alone, but these dear ones go on developing in spirituality and stimulating christian activities, thereby making the world better by their having been in it. Quite a good number joined the International Order, one of the number being your representative.It nothing prevents, your representative will address the Y.W.C.A. at their parlors the second Sunday, in the afternoon. This organization offers the same opportunities to the colored woman as it does to the white. We feel perfectly at home there, and although the first woman of color to ever stand before them in such a position, we can not appreciate the honor too highly.The Dickens Club was very highly entertained by Mrs. Hattie Cannon. It was our misfortune to be unable to be with them, thereby losing quite a literary treat, as they rendered a very fine program. This club has a membership of fourteen very studious women, whose aim is to become wiser in every respect. They have made vast improvements since their organization. The ERA is at home in this club, and its appearance every month is anxiously awaited.An editorial in last month's issue concerning the Ladies' Home Journalforces me to say that the ERA has caused it (the Journal) to become quite jealous, as those who have been taking the Journal have given it up for the ERA. Last week a white gentleman friend of ours, a retired missionary, called in to solicit subscriptions for some periodicals in which he is very much interested.I told him that I could not find the time to give to his papers after reading our own publications. He was surprised, and said, "Why, you don't mean to tell me that your race has produced authors and editors, and can you show me some of the publications?"  I hastily placed before him every paper, pamphlet, journal and book in the library of the productions of our race.  "Well, well," says he, "you are taking me by storm. I did not know that your people aspired to such. Why, this is simply marvelous."So it is with the white. They endeavor to get their literature into our homes, never once dreaming or perhaps wanting to know that our own sable sons and daughters are daily feeding us from the fruits of their own fertile brain. We are misjudged by many of the opposite race. You know that the rotundity of the earth seems impossible to us because we see so little of it at once, yet we believe that it is round. So it is with the white man. He cannot believe that the negro race is making advancements for he sees such a small portion of us at once. There are exceptions, of course, for there are some who know and believe that we are fast coming to the front.Bishop Penick said to my husband not long since, "I never hear of any books or periodicals written by your people." This divine has charge of the work for the negro in his church. If seeing would convince him he was convinced, for my husband placed at his disposal the productions that would make him wiser if he will but read.The Oak and Ivy Club of Springfield, Ohio, is now in China. The principal object of this club is to improve its members in musical taste and skill and travel prospectively.The Lovers of Wisdom are striving to raise the moral, mental, physical, social and religious standards for themselves. This club is composed of young ladies.The White Rose Club is composed of twenty-four devoted Christian women who have three special objects in view. First, to create a greater love for church and more devotion to the teachings of Christianity; second, to improve their minds so that they will be more useful in the community; and third, to entertain worthy strangers who may visit the city. [I wonder if these White Roses do not wear the silver cross?]  All of the pastors' wives belong to this club.All of the above clubs are of Springfield. The ERA is at work there and we bespeak good results.TENNESSEESylvia Mann Maples.Sylvia Mann Maples, Editor.The Statesman Exponent in a recent editorial says:  "We must stop drawing the color line in every conceivable and foolish way, if we would have the color line abolished.  There is neither sense nor race patriotism in it." The foregoing remark so fitly tells us of our own participation in the same sinistrous line that we can not but borrow them to preface what follows. Once upon a time, and that not a hundred years since, two colored churches of this city jim-crowed (if I may so phrase it) their respective audiences; or in other words, provided separate pews for the white and colored people assembled.  The fashion, modeled after our own designing, was very soon adopted by an educational institution hard by, which, under white management, has done much for the elevation of colored youth in the south.To think of such an outrage, as it is called, causes lips to pale and hands to go up in holy horror. But why object? We discriminate against ourselves, and should not, with a modicum of consistency, complain when others do likewise.The recent admittance of Mrs. Fannie Barrier Williams of Chicago to the Woman's Club of that place has brought to light the fact that two eastern clubs have each a colored member. As the General Federation of Women's Clubs has been invited to come to Atlanta this fall, the question naturally arises as to how the negro contingent shall be disposed of. Embarrassing question this.  The Woman's Press Club of Atlanta has become so aggrieved over the matter that it has withdrawn from the federation. Other southern clubs have followed en suite. The Ossoli Circle of Knoxville disfavors the withdrawal of one or more southern clubs from the General Federation of Women's Clubs, for the aforesaid reasons, and deems it best to take no action until after the next biennial meeting in May, 1896.Miss Hattie Macafee is the agent at this point for Miss Wells' "Red Record."  It tells of many men--negroes, of course--who have been hanged to the highest limb of the nearest tree for (in most cases) uncommitted crimes. It is, indeed, a red record; yea, even more--a blood-dyed death roll of the south.With Mrs. Ella Hamilton as hostess, the meeting of the Woman's Mutual Improvement Club occurred on Wednesday afternoon, April 24, at 3 o'clock. Mrs. Harriet Black read a paper entitied "The Dignity of Labor."A man formerly of Massachusetts, but now a resident of E. Tennessee, has this to say about the southern negro: "In the south there is no use for an educated negro, and the more educated

he gets, the more useless he becomes. The white man will continue to be master in this country unless he becomes extinct, or until the millenium arrives, and the black man will continue to be his servant; therefore the wisest thing the black man's friends can do is to qualify him for that duty." It goes without saying that no such prophetic powers have been known since the days of old.The Easter edition of the Statesman Exponent edited and managed by the Woman's League of Denver, adds another feather to the crown of the race.During the next two months hundreds of lighthearted, daintily-gowned girls will commence in reality to live. The anxiety of examination over, flowers and applause given, farewells said, school days past, and then the first act in life's great drama closes.  You, dear girls, will feel, upon that auspicious day, a strange thrill of pleasure, a high sense of pride, an indescribable exhilaration, something that perhaps during all your life may never be yours again. You have a happy anticipation of the future; so did we when we were in your place. The past is not so far away that we can not remember it still--the old chapel filled to its utmost cpacity, the music, the lights, the flowers; our girlhood friends, our parents, our teachers, smiling, waving their hands and wishing us a smooth journey upon life's opening sea.  No detail is forgotten.  It is a vivid picture, indelibly stamped upon memory's wall; and when you, sweet girl graduates, shall have grown older, wiser, and perhaps humbler, you will look back with pleasure, and may be a tinge of sadness upon the commencement day of your life's work.The reception and banquet, Monday evening, April 22, given in honor of Mrs. Mary Church Terrell, who is visiting her parents in Memphis, Tenn., was very complimentary both to the lady so highly honored and to the ladies and gentlemen who showed their appreciation of one, born in their city, and who by her rare accomplishments has been so highly honored in Washington, D. C.Among those attending were Mr. and Mrs. Robert Church, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Williamson, Mr. and Mrs. C.F. Hooks, Mr. and Mrs. J.T. Settles, Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Ridley, Mr. and Mrs. W.J. Harvey, Prof. E.L. Honesty, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cooper, Prof. Hamilton and wife, Rev. Honesty and wife, Prof. B.K. Sampson, Misses Katie Davis, Lottie Dickerson, Carrie Hamilton, Mamie Mosley, Mr. Chas. Williamson, Dr. Terrell, Prof. C.A. Thompson, Prof. John A. Ruffin and Mr. D.W. Washington. After a brilliant piano solo by Mrs. Julia A. Hooks, Prof. Thompson made the address of welcome to Mrs. Terrell, to which that lady responded in her happiest vein. And to those who had never had the pleasure of hearing their townswoman speak in public before, it was a revelation that charmed and delighted her hearers. Alter a solo by Mr. D.W. Washington, those assembled passed into the banquet hall, where an elegant repast was served. The toasts at the table were happily delivered and received much applause. The toast, "Our Guest," was responded to by Professor Ruffin, "Glimpses of the past," by Professor Sampson. "What of the future" was responded to by the eloquent J.T. Settles.  Professor Hamilton caused much laughter by his "Democratic Dog." Prof. W.J. Harvey responded to the toast, "Our Progressive Woman," as follows:Our Progressive Women. "Had this subject been assigned as a toast a few years ago, it would have been simply "Our Women," and the responder would have thought it sufficient response to say "Our Women!  God bless them."  But in this age, which the ladies delight to call the "New Woman's era," the subject of this toast is "Our Progressive Women." The advancement of women in the professions and in other avocations heretofore considered as belonging exclusively to the men, has been most wonderful. We men, once called the "lords of creation," laughed at the idea of women getting out of their proper sphere, but the laughter has died upon our lips and in its place are looks of wonder and admiration. Our noble women have torn down barrier after barrier that hindered their progress, and leaping over the ramparts of selfish ridicule, they are swarming into every profession. Fitted by nature to care for the young, it is admitted generally that the women are our best teachers. The school master is fast giving way to the school marm. And although I was once a school teacher myself, I hope the ladies will pardon the admission, yet I confess this is a pleasing change, for the school marms rule with sweet smiles and kind words, but our school masters ruled with a frown and a bunch of hickories. In the profession of law our women are slowly but surely making their way. As dry as Blackstone's Digests are, the women are eating and digesting them thoroughly, so I warn you not to be startled when you look up and see an office sign reading "Miss or Mrs. Blank, Counsellor at Law."Belva Lockwood, the ex-presidential candidate, as a lawyer has quite a large and paying practice and so have other female members of the bar in this country. And so, ye lawyers, beware of the day when you meet a woman in battle array. You may be able to measure swords with a man, but who can measure tongues with a woman! But it is in the medical profession, that our progressive women are meeting with the greatest

success; the tender hand that was wont to calm the sufferer with its soothing touch has been trained to use the surgeon's lance and its fair owner now prescribes for the sufferer's disease. Aside from the wide field of practice among those of their own sex, it is said that they are the best children doctors in the world, and what a field is here afforded them! But leaving the professions, what of their progress in political affairs? Again, I answer, wonderful is their progress. That noble-hearted old Christian lady, Susan B. Anthony, used to be the laughingstock of American politicians, but she has lived to see some of her fondest hopes realized, and in Kansas, several ladies are mayors of cities, in Wyoming and Washington they vote just as any other citizen. In Colorado, they not only vote but three of them are members of the Legislature.Truly then, our women are progressing and our nation's capital is honored in having upon its Board of Education the talented lady who is the guest of this occasion.Gentlemen, think not that, the ladies are simply our imitators, because they wear our hats, coats, shirtfronts and bloomers; they are our competitors as well its our imitators. So this is to our Progressive Women, hoping that whatever their successes may be in art, science, or literature, they will still be loving sisters, good wives and dear mothers."D.E. HARVEYVIRGINIARosa D. Bowser.Rosa D. Bowser, Editor.Wedding bells in the air! The latest announcement being the approaching marriage of the president of a seminary well-known in Virginia, to Miss -----, a student at H. M. College. Long life and happiness to them.Rev. Graham of the 5th St. Church has been laboring earnestly in the revival meetings at his church for about two weeks. May success crown his efforts.Miss Clara Alexander, the sweet singer of Lynchburg, and Miss H.V. Pankey, teachers in the public schools of L., were in Richmond during the holidays with a company under the supervision of Prof. Patterson of the Virginia Seminary. The company presented the beautiful drama, "The Belle of Saratoga," with Mrs. Dr. Jackson, of Lynchburg, pianist. We are of the opinion that no better entertainment has been presented to the people of Richmond at the Reformer's Hall. The proceeds were for the benefit of Virginia Seminary.The fifth Sunday in March was Seminary day in Virginia. Many of the churches and Sunday schools held special services. Some of the churches collected nice little sums for the cause.Beautiful lilies adorned the rostrum of the First Baptist Church on Easter morning. An interesting and instructive sermon was delivered by Rev. Crosby of the Theological Seminary. The choir from Lynchburg, under the direction of Prof. U.S.G. Patterson, relieved the church choir by the rendition of two selections appropriate to the occasion.We think it has been difficult for the past three weeks to meet a child or adult who did not carry one or more envelopes for the benefit of the Y.M.C.A.  The pastor's entertainment for the same cause was given on the evening of April 15 at the First Church. This was the great rally night for the Y.M.C.A.Sharon Church has called a pastor to succeed Rev. Troy.Mrs. Octavia Ferguson has left the city to visit friends in two or three northern cities.Hard times had no effect on festivities.When this issue of the ERA reaches its readers the glorious Eastertide will be a thing of the past. Many were the preparations for the event. The exercises of the various churches and Sunday Schools were grand. The singing was of a very high order, and nothing remains as a reminder but the glorious thought:  "He is not here, but is risen."The Ladies' Auxiliary of the Y.M.C.A. have elected for its president for the ensuing year Miss G.V. Freeman, a very efficient young woman of our city. Meetings are held twice a month for the purpose of gaining young women to do active work for the Association. The second meeting in the month is always a "literary" one. These are well attended, and we have reason to believe that this too is one of the agencies of promoting Christ's kingdom on the earth.Samaritan Hall was the scene of a very brilliant affair on Thursday night, April 11, the occasion being a "Banquet" tendered the M.W.G.M.A.F.M., B.A. Graves of Richmond, Va.  The

hall was tastefully decorated with bunting, ferns and rare hot house plants. The handsome costumes worn by the ladies, and the gallantry shown by the gentlemen to all their guests, made the party the most enjoyable social event of the season. After a general introduction, the Campbell Lodge of Norfolk, under whose auspices this affair was given, formed in line with the guests and to the strains of a march by the Excelsior Band of this city, wended their way to the floor below where a table laden with all the delicacies of the season awaited them. This over, P. W. M., J. C. Asbury began the toasts, welcoming the visitors in a most gracious manner to the "City by the Sea" and all its hospitalities. Then followed the toasts of the evening and the responses thereto, which brought out a veritable flow of wit and wisdom.GEORGIAAlice Woodby McCane, M.D.Alice Woodby McCane, M.D., Editor>The people of Augusta mourn the loss of one of their most talented young ladies, Miss Addie Williams, a teacher in the Mandge Street School. Death, cruel death, has ruthlessly crushed the half-blown bud of hope and promise within his icy hands. Those who knew her best loved her most. But there is one consolation.All are not taken! There are left behindLiving beloveds, tender looks to bring,And make the daylight still a happy thing,And tender voices to make soft the wind.We learn that the Phyllis Wheatley Club' of Augusta is progressing finely. The young men are anxious to know what subjects are discussed by the young ladies. This the members keep strictly to themselves. In the near future, however, I think that something pleasing to all will be reported. The WOMAN'S ERA should be read by all the inembers. What say you, Miss President? Why not advise all to subscribe?THE VALUE OF A TRAINED NURSELula W. Johnson[Concluded.]The contagious diseases that interest us more than any of the others are the ones found most frequently in our own city; for instance, scarlet and yellow fever. The former being found more often, we will take it as an example and see of what use a trained nurse is in this disease. The good and bad qualities of a nurse are now shown up in every respect. The patient is to be isolated, the highest room in the house being selected for this purpose; all coverings from the floor removed, curtains, pictures and hangings of all kinds taken down. A single iron bedstead with a straw mattress, a small wash-stand, with not more than one drawer, a old small table, an old rocking, or reclining chair, an ordinary wooden chair and a clean starch or soap box, with a hinged cover, to take the place of a bureau drawer, are the only pieces of furniture necessary. White curtains of cheap material are the best for the windows because they can be destroyed. Two cheap rugs or pieces of carpet may be placed on the floor, one by the side of the bed and one for the use of the nurse. Our open fireplaces are the best ventilators, so they should not be closed; one window should also be kept partly open, with a triple fold of cheese cloth tacked across to prevent draught and let in the fresh air needed. The ordinary china chamber set should be kept and a bed-pan and tin set added. Old cotton pillow-cases and sheets are the best for the bed, and the same is true of the gowns, towels and other things used for the patient.I forgot to say that the floor should be scrubbed and windows washed after the walls have been thoroughly swept. An old sheet should next be wet in a solution of Platt's Chloride, bichloride of mercury or of strong lime water, and hung upon the door in some other part of the room. There should be a set of dishes kept to themselves for the use of the patient. If it is in the winter, keep the room at an even temperature as the doctor advises. The urine should be examined once a day, by means of boiling and then adding one drop of nitric acid, to see if there is any albumen present. Baths and sponges, if ordered, should always be given under cover, and the most nourishing and digestible food administered. Observe with care all directions concerning the medicines; watch the pulse and temperature. In giving the oil baths, let us remember that too much oil does harm and that they should not be given oftener than the doctor directs. One more thought. Let us not forget that the patient is alone with the nurse for the greater part of the time. The physician sees her only for a few moments and then he is gone. Now the long, weary hours of the day and night drag on. Her friends cannot see her; no sounds from without greet her ears save the songs of some sweet birds or the rustling of

the gentle breezes wafting sweet perfume from the flowers in the garden below. Now the nurse must do all that she can to comfort and enliven the patient. Sometimes all is done that can be, and yet the end comes on. The doctor has written his last prescription; the nurse has given the last dose of medicine. In the still hours of the night the patient realizes her condition. She turns to the nurse for a ray of hope or comfort, and the last look on earth from some loving wife, mother or child is given to the faithful, patient nurse.SOCIAL NOTESBOSTONWHO IS "ANNO DOMINI" SETTLED.(Scene--W-d-l-d P-k Hotel.)Mrs. D.:  "I wish I were sure of Anno Domini's identity."Mrs. -------:  "Why, dont you know?  You surely can guess.  It's very evident who she is; there's but one person in New York who can serve things up in that chic style, and she lives in Brooklyn."Mrs. D.:  "Who, the dashing young widow -------?  Oh, it's not a she at all, but I, like you, feel sure that Anoo Domini has his, her or its observatory on the planet 'Mars.'  Are we hot?"(turning to one who knew.)O.W.K.:  "You are getting warm."Mrs. -------: "Well, let us average up and charge it to 'Lord H.' Since we are agree that 'Anno Domini' may be settled somewhere upon 'Mars.""And so it was settled to their satisfaction, but "Anno Domini" is as elusive as ever.Like everything else the "Vaudeville" improves with time and experience. The members of the club may well feel pleased with the number of excellent entertainments given by them this winter, none of which was any better than the last given by Miss Gertrude Peake at the home of Mrs. J. H. Lewis. One of the features was a comedietta, "The Boston Dip," in which the now old favorites, Misses Lillian Lewis, Louisa Lewis and Gertrude Peake, Messrs. Marsh, Lewis, Hemmings and Gilbert took the characters; other features were a piano solo by Miss Glover--excellently done, of course; a recitation by W. H. Lewis and one by Miss Peake, in which much grace and training were displayed; Messrs. Hare and Harry Lewis gave pleasure with a banjo duet; but it was left to Miss Mary Lewis to make the hit of the evening; the young lady not only surprised her friends by the beauty of her voice in a vocal solo, but also delighted every one by her poses in Greek costume. Miss Lewis has decided natural advantages for such an exhibition; to these were added a good arrangement of lights and draperies, the whole making a most charming combinatlon.The afternoon tea and sale held in St. Andrews Hall for the benefit of St. Monica's Home Wednesday afternoon and evening, the 2th inst, was a financial and social success. The leading spirits in the fair were Sister Catherine and Miss M. C. Dean. The tea table was presided over by Mrs. Sparrow and Miss Andrews. But where were Miss Marion Ridley and Miss Lillian Lewis, who were to have assisted in making money for this most needy charity?  The first named at the flower booth, and the latter booked to lead the "Vaudevilles" in an entertainment, and also to dispense "toothsome candies" to make sweet charity sweeter.Mr. J. Rosemond Johnson gave his second annual piano forte and vocal recital at Steinert Hall Wednesday evening, April 24, assisted by Miss Maud L. Reese, lyric soprano, Mr. Edward S. Glover, violinist, Mr. Arthur Payne, celloist, and Madame Dietrich Strong, accompanist. The beneficiary, Mr. Johnson, was heard nine times in vocal and three in instrumental selections, the latter showing both taste and finish in the execution, which cannot with truth be said of the vocal efforts, strength being the quality most in evidence there. The singing of Miss Reese gave the most exquisite pleasure and satisfaction.  De Beriot's Seventh Concerto for piano and violin was rendered by Mr. and Miss Glover in a manner to call forth the most enthusiastic applause and an encore.  The concert was in every way creditable, and as an evidence of the esteem in which Mr. Johnson is held among the best of Boston's music lovers, a noteworthy success.Our congratulations to Mrs. Terrell, who is well worthy of the honors bestowed upon her, we speak not only for ourselves, but for the many friends of herself and husband in Boston.The "Harvard Boys," Messrs. Trotter, Royal and Williams, gave a tea at the College House last week to which the "buds" turned out in force and beauty. Mrs. Trotter matronized the affair and everything was delightful.A beautiful girl baby made its appearance at 13 Rutland Square, the home of Mr. and Mrs. B.R. Wilson on the 13th of the month.Miss Ray's poem, "In Memoriam," was one of the especial features which made the April ERA a conspicuously fine number. Miss Ray is one of our few real poets, and the many words of pleasure in her poem that have come to us from our readers show that she is widely appreciated.SOCIAL NOTES
New YorkThe event of the season, the Bachelor's Ball, as was expected, proved a splendid success from every point of view, from the selection of the most beautiful hall in Brooklyn to the natty arrangement of the carnation hyacinth boutonniere on each bachelor's lapel, with the club colors, maroon and white satin, worn aslant each spotless shirt front. The decorations and brilliant illumination to a certain extent acted as a quietus. Before supper Anno Domini feared as to the enjoyment, and occupied the time looking for Les Miserables. One of the gay bachelors lost his laundry slip evidently. The same stood, just before "Home, Sweet Home" broke upon the charmed air, and said to a bevy of girls, "Say, boys, ain't this out of sight?"The patent leather market is evidently short. The Trilby of the occasion was the gallant president. He danced and-- But Miss Edie B--------, like a dear, little Quakeress, so quiet, yet so sympathetic, looked up in his handsome face in a way that would make a fellow forget an angel parent, much less his--steps.Midnight settled on. One ought to have been gay Lothario when from a corner he darkly gazed upon his winsome lady in the mazy dance.  The fair Evangeline was radiant. Beau Brummel was as usual exquisite. We all envy his kinship with Sweet --------e, the loveliest debutante of the season.The prettiest set in the room was that off in the little corner. In it was Our Rob, his chum, the Prince of Wales, Irvie Charlton, and a natty little fellow who wore a white vest. This is no discount on the one led by "our own Miles Standish." He's not as bashful as I first thought. Ern is all of the Revolutionary Captain of prim old Plymouth Rock --as handsome, if not as stern. The only time he seemed unsettled was when a pair of brand new patent leathers came into the set, mistakes and all.Who is the belle? That depends, you know, on who answers. A chorus cries, "Why, the peerless leader of Brooklyn society's inner circle, Miss Katie Smith!" Robed in Cupid's own glow, a beautiful red.In daintiest blue appeared the next popular belle, Miss Julia West. Then in regular order followed a perfect galaxy--in fact, the Muses. Miss Bessie Mitchel in Spanish gold; then Miss Alice Greenly in a queenly robe of white silk; Miss Annie Hawly--and oh, so many more!Miss Evangeline Walker, whose bright eyes and peachy cheeks with their distracting dimples more than ever reminded one of early apple blossoms, robed as she was in snowy white, cut decollete. So many girls were in white, all so pretty! Anno Domini drank in the music of a soft southern voice. All else seemed artificial for the time. Miss Sallie Meyers is as pretty as her voice is sweet and thrilling. Such an accent!You talk of young shoulders and old heads. Well, thats the feeling that assails you when talking with a certain little New Bedford girl. Her name belongs to the firmament.The disappointment of the evening for A. D. was the non-appearance of the most magnificent looking matron in Gotham, she whose every costume is a delight to true artists. The scene needed her glowing South American beauty. The devotees at the Sons must have increased the score to a hundred. Selfish institution! They caused a shadow to fall aslant my otherwise perfect evening.Bright-eyed Annie D-- and her tall fiance came not. The same is true of some of the patronesses. Why?  One, a queenly mother of three princely sons; the other, an aristocrat in every sense of the word, an authority on good form; and her chum; and some of Gotham's schoolma'ams; but thereby hangs a tale!The young matrons were resplendent in their wedding gowns. Mrs. Charles Lansing, Jr., and  her tall husband--the boys insist on his being called Depew--were one of the most distinguished looking couples present. She was delightfully gracious.Lord Chesterfield seemed unhappy, though he escorted a beautiful Norwalk belle, Miss Taylor.Deferential Charles Day was fortunate and to be envied, in succeeding where Brooklyn's favorite tenor singer failed. Miss Mena Downing was radiant.Mrs. Elizabeth D. White was in every way a patrician in a regal costume of gray, her bright black eyes and lovely silver-colored tresses making her look like a daughter of the Revolution.Mrs. Daniel Brooks was, as Mrs. Brooks always is, her own matchless self. Some say in describing her influence upon society, she is the Mrs. Paran Stevens.Mr. and Mrs. Tom Francis contributed largely to a chosen circle. He went around looking for

a novelty that night--a plain looking girl. Everybody was so handsome that he didn't report success. He was simply submerged.Our Rob laughed without smiling.  His heart was in foreign lands--Jersey, I think. But his brother--the most envied as well as most gallant bachelor in the gathering--he escorted Miss Katie Smith, who consequently had to whisper "nay" to four disconsolates.All the favors did not fall to the bachelors, however, for the other fellows, those to whom success never plays shy--they are a success whether or no--the altogether too numerous and too interesting widowers. On this occasion the handsomest was from Albany. The most popular--dare his name be called--the most lately bereaved, came alone.Mrs. Harry Mars, with her proud spouse, was everywhere envied as the "little mother." By the way, the "little cherub's"  auntie, the sweetest and prettiest of Dr. White's daughters, Mrs. Jerome Peterson, told me there would be another ball (bawl) soon--the christening.The great bazaar for the Sons is still on as we are obliged to go to press.  "Everybody will be there tomorrow night," Mrs. Harry Kemp said at the ball. But she reckoned without the bachelor's now famous supper and sparkling liquidities. Ah!Some of the yawning beauties did reach St. Philip's Guild organ recital the following night, but I don't know about the bazaar.Though the night was fine in Brooklyn, it must have been foggy on the Jersey coast, for the "Goddess of Liberty" was conspicuous by her absence at the ball. Everybody pitied Our Rob but   ANNO DOMINI.THE OPEN COURTN. F. Mossell, Editor.UNIVERSITY EXTENSION WORK AND ITS MISSIONWilliam L. BulkleyIn the course of an interesting lecture delivered at Association Hall, Phila., upon The University Idea in Modern Life, Dr. William Pepper, L.L. D., made the following statement:  "The great University movement will not be fully organized until in every part of the country there is felt the same sympathy and interest and obligation now concentrated in a few university towns." In this sentence the keynote of the true mission of this movement has been struck and it is becoming evident that this belief is slowly developing in the minds of many living at widely different points. Paul Quin Monthly, the organ of Paul Quin College, Waco, Texas, announces the opening of a Theological School of Correspondence. We can but feel that this movement is significant of many things. First, at this point there has been sown the seed of University Extension in its deepest sense, its truest meaning. Second, a keener sense of the duty of the university to those who are debarred from attendance at it; and lastly, a fostering of the spirit of helpfulness that remains latent in the breast of all.The University Extension Magazine for January 31 contains a paper front the pen of Prof. Wm. L. Bulkley of Claflin College, Orangeburg, S. C., entitled University Extension in a Southern Town.  We give below in his own words a statement of the plan of work now being carried out under his supervision.  And can only add that the plan is meeting with the success desired.The class we have organized may serve as a model for others.1.	The teachers offer their services gratuitously.2.	The cost to each member is reduced to a minimum, the charge being only for light, fuel and janitor work.If any charge were asked, even fifty cents a month, the very object we have in mind would be defeated, for the class we would reach are absolutely poor, and such is the almost universal rule throughout the South, where wages are small and work is so uncertain.Each member of the class pays one cent a night.  And, again, the cost of books is but little, as most of the instruction is given orally, with blackboard helps.  As the class meets in one of the school-rooms, there is no charge for rent.Finally, the object in starting this class was not only to help the two or three scores who may become members, but also, and chiefly, to set an example to the hundreds of students who come to this school every year from every corner of this state and from adjoining states.  They can, they ought, they will do a like work where they go.  The lesson is one of helpfulness.  It is easy; it is practical; it is Christian. Should such a movement receive encouragement in all the colleges of the South, be they state or church institutions, a decade hence would witness a tremendous improvement in those brawny toilers, whose brain and ambition are vastly larger than their opportunities.Then could we step into a higher plane of University Extension in re and join hands with our brethren of the North in offering to the workingman, treasures from

the coffers of philosophical, sociological and classical lore.WILLIAM L. BULKLEYrofessor of Latin and GermanClaflin College, Orangeburg, S. C.We hope that the example set by these two progressive universities may continue to spread in all directions. Such courses cannot be other than of vast service to a developing race like our own. Some of our magazines might also inaugurate a correspondence course in English literature and history. It would give practice and experience to the teacher of the department and would help to solve the problem among many of our girls as to what they shall read, and what course of study or reading would be most helpful toward supplying them with subjects for thought and hence for conversation.Mrs. F.E.W. Harper, the noted author and temperance worker, read two papers at the Women's National Council held in Washington a few days ago. Her subjects were Woman as a Business Factor, and Is Physical Force the Basis of Government? Both subjects were ably handled.The WOMAN'S ERA has awakened a great interest in club life among Afro-American women. Many are the inquiries sent us as to club work in Philadelphia, but apparently so far we have not developed the fervent club spirit that might have been expected in a City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection. Quite a number of our progressive women in the city are, however, working with the Civic Club. This club holds to Philadelphia the same relation as the Woman's Club, of which Mrs. Fannie Barrier Williams lately became a member, holds to the city of Chicago.A bill to revive the whipping post in New York state recently passed one legislative body and came within about four votes of passing the other. As originally phrased, the bill provided that a male person convicted of felony consisting in or accompanied by the infliction of physical pain or suffering upon another might have flogging added to the punishment already provided. The Senate Judiciary at a later date inserted a provision exempting wife beaters from liability to flogging and limited the penalty to persons guilty of assaulting a female or a child of either sex under the age of sixteen years. Now we do not propose to argue the advisability of the revival of the whipping post, but simply to claim that if revived in behalf of any class of criminals that class should be wife beaters, instead of making them exempt. But it would seem that we are to assume from the action of the learned Senate Judiciary committee that reaching the age of sixteen or becoming a wife places one out of the pale of humanity. One may cause the arrest of a brute who assaults a dumb animal but if it be his wife or a person above the age of sixteen, we must stand by and witness such action without protest.It seems that this clause was put in to uphold the authority of the head of the house. Now, it is often said by men that women do not need the suffrage to form laws to ameliorate their own condition because the laws are continually being amended by male legislators against the interests of men solely for the protection of women. Now this may be so in some cases, but does any sane person believe that women legislators would have exempted wife beaters from flogging in the case before us? We hope if the bill comes up again that the Women's Loyal Union with other associations will look after the interests of wife beaters carefully and with tears.Very many suggestions have been made in the various Women's Departments of the journalistic world pointing a way toward the desired result of putting off the hours of the first quarrel between the lately wedded benedict and his charming bride; counting up to one hundred, holding water or beans in one's mouth, and many other bright suggestions have often appeared, but I have just come across "the best yet" and give it at once for the benefit of my readers, many of whom are young and all sweet, who may lapse into matrimony at any time. Quarrel tomorrow; now tomorrow never comes, hence a quarrel can never come. N. H. Junior, in the Evangelist, acts as sponsor for this new method of avoiding a quarrel and vouches for its success. Let some of The Open Court readers try it and report progress at some future day.Let me correct a wrong impression concerning a certain matter of recent experience. I chanced to speak to a friend of a conversation concerning the entrance of our women writers into the columns of the Ladies' Home Journal to which many of them subscribe; this conversation was noted in a race journal, but feeling that the whole circumstance was not clearly stated I wrote a comment for a prominent journal. The article was cut considerably and from other recent comments I fear that the matter is misunderstood. The policy of Mr. Edward Bok, editor of the Home Journal, is to accept  such articles as have been deemed worthy, yet emanating from the pen of our women, but in two cases at least they have drawn out protests from the subscribers of the dominant race. Now the matter is of great interest to us as a race for the reason that we have long wondered why we could not secure space for good work in white journals, nor yet able replies to attacks on our

race published in great monthlies of the country. I wish the matter to be thoroughly understood and that the editor may not feel misrepresented. The point for us to take to heart is to inquire in other quarters whether protests are being made against the admission of our writers into the higher grade journals, and find out the remedy, if there be any, to offset this system of oppression, and if none, let us at least see the necessity of keeping our dollars at home and continue to build up our journals until they can compete with these from which we are being excluded.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 2. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.GEORGE L. RUFFIN,
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7 Bromfield St., Boston.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 3. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.Homes for the People!In Southern California, The Italy of America.Lands Within Reach of Poor Men's Means.THE FRUITLAND COLONY COMPANY,
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20,000 ACRES 20,000Of the finest land on earth, which they intend to colonize with colored people, and at prices within reach of men of small means. In order to induce investments in these lands we offer 2,000 acres to the first settlers at $20 per acre and guarantee to deliver water to each 20 acres sold, sufficient for irrigation. These lands lie 60 miles north from Los Angeles, and 7 miles from the Southern Pacific R.R., and consist of a rich friable loam, being of sedimentary formation mingled with decomposed granite. The soil is from 4 to 50 feet deep, and is capable of producing everything on earth that grows in this land of wonderful production.It lies at an altitude of 2,500 feet above sea level and is peculiarly on the land of the olive and almond.SMALL FARMSare the rule in Southern California and more profit can be realized from 20 acres here than on 160 acres in the East.AFTER 2,000 ACRES HAVE BEEN SOLDthe price will be $35.00 per acre.It is not an unusual thing for trees in bearing to yieldFrom $100 to $1000 per Acre.These lands have perfect title and will be sold for one-third cash, balance one, two and three years, with interest at 6 per cent per annum.Full information will be given by applying to
H.A. PIERCE, President, or T.M. GIBSON, Secretary,
Room 37, Bryson Block, Los Angeles, California.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 3. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.- TRY -
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RANDOLPH, -     -   MASS. NOTICE!THE WOMAN'S ERA is on sale and can be obtained of MR. LEWIS SMITH,
PROSPECT HOUSE, CAMBRIDGE.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 3. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.THE SUCCESS OF THE SEASON
MRS. N.F. MOSSELL'S BOOK
THE WORK OF THE AFRO-AMERICAN WOMANThe First Edition has been nearly exhausted. An edition of 5000 is to be issued March 1st."Above all, let the negro know that the elevation of his race can come only and will come surely through the elevation of its women." - Senator Geo. F. Hoar.Miss Emma K. White, one of Chester's most successful teachers, says: "The volume entitled The Work of the Afro-American WomenWoman is a great success at this point."Miss Julia Songow, Germantown, Pennsylvania: "I have sold seventy-five copies of the Work of the Afro-American Woman within two weeks."Mrs. Jennie Euola Johnson of Trenton, N.J.: "I have been very successful in my canvass of The Work of the Afro-American Woman."Agents Wanted: General      Offered. Let 		desire to canvass during the summer, apply at 					of effort have already done well.		Red or Brown Cloth, 75 cents, White and Gold, $1.Apply to Mrs. N.F. Mossell1432 Lombard Street, Philadelphia, Pa.HOUSEKEEPERS SHOULD SEE THE NEWFIBRE CARPET.
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Eleventh volume began with the issue of January 2nd.
"Better than ever," is the verdict we intend to win from our friends during 1895.
Send your subscription to KATE FIELD'S WASHINGTON,
39 Corcoran Building, Washington, D. C. Subscription $2 per yearBUTLER R. WILSON.
ATTORNEY and COUNSELLOR AT LAW,
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BOSTON.Robert L. Carter, M.D. 
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NEW BEDFORD.
Diseases of Women a Specialty.
Telephone 329-4.The Woman's Era.Vol. II. No. 3.BOSTON, MASS.  JUNE, 1895 PRICE 10 CENTS.AN ICE MERCHANT"The Business Woman" is now a recognized factor in the world of woman's endeavor. Nevertheless the really successful and businesslike women are exceptions and command attention. This is only natural, as women are new in the field and are not yet too familiar with the paths.  In this field, as in all others, examples may be found of women of all races and colors. Among those who are making names and reputations for business capacity there is probably no woman in the country who is a more striking exampie of pluck and intelligent perseverance than Mrs. Georgianna Whetsel, whose portrait appears with this article. Doubtless many of our readers have heard of Mrs. Whetsel as the only known woman ice merchant. She conducts the largest ice business in Nova Scotia. She is a young woman and a widow. Her husband carried on the business during his life with the aid of three partners, three wagons and four horses. A year after his death she took matters in her own hands and has managed so well that she now owns the entire business and has increased her working force by doubling the number of horses and wagons. Every year has seen an increase in the number of men in her employ, the number of ice houses, carts, machines and ponds owned and controlled by her. Illustrated accounts of the harvesting of ice from her ponds have appeared from time to time in leading papers, which we hope, at some time to reproduce in the ERA, for in Mrs. Whetsel the race has one of its most brilliant examples of business capacity.NOTES AND COMMENTS.The Wendell Phillips Club held its quarterly meeting at the Bellevue Cafe Wednesday evening, May 22. The life and service of Frederick Douglass was discussed in conjunction with an appetizing menu spread by caterer Dixon. Mr. Charles Alexander seems to have made the most impressive of the after dinner speeches.West Stockbridge, Lenox and Pittsfield will be the objective point of many of the vivacious school marms from the South and West this summer.  In the beautiful hill country of western Massachusetts was discovered, last summer, two or three boarding places, made so attractive by grand scenery, mountain air, and delicious cooking that the word has been passed along, and the result promises to be a large and jolly party of congenial friends gathered together among the Berkshire Hills. Of course everybody will be in Boston during the Christian Endeavor Convention, thence to scatter all over New England. Newport will probably see the usual coterie of old friends gathered together at the Smith and Dickerson homesteads. And even North Raynham, the antipodes of Newport, is threatened with an invasion of the fashionables.The active and festive Domestic Science Committee of the Woman's Era Club are working hard for the success of the picnic to be given by them for the benefit of St. Monica's Home. Let us all go, and so help raise the amount necessary to keep this, the only home for sick of a particular class, open through the dull summer season.The board of management for the Home for Aged Women on Myrtle St. have at last decided to build, or buy, a more commodious and convenient house to accommodate the ever increasing demands of needy applicants. A committee of the W. E. C. will aid in this good work also. The little fund now held by the president of the club, with that raised last winter by Miss Stewart and ladies of her committee, will be used as a nucleus of the building, or buying, fund. Mrs.Smith, the aged and beloved matron of the home, is slowly recovering from her recent illness.NEW YORKVictoria Earle.Victoria Earle, Editor.At the annual Exposition of the Brooklyn Literary Union, Mrs. C.A. Attwell, a most successful trained nurse, conducted a hospital department. Beside the natural interest attached to such a movement, there are a few points deserving of more than a passing mention. As a part of the program, a number of our physicians and nurses were invited to be present and otherwise assist in demonstrating to the public the great progress made by this class of our professional men and women. Lectures were arranged for each evening, to be demonstrated by practical work on the part of the nurses, etc. Among the physicians and nurses taking part were Doctors Miller, Lively and W. H. Johnson, and Dr. Hill in company with two nurses from the Freedman's Hospital of Washington, D.C., Mrs. Fleetwood and Hawley, the ladies wearing the uniform of the Freedman's Hospital, blue seersucker dresses, large white aprons, with the regulation shoulder straps and white mob caps.  Mrs. Anna Rich was to have assisted, but was unavoidably detained at her post of duty at the Brooklyn Home for Aged Colored Persons. The point to be emphasized is the skillful and progressive manner in which Mrs. Attwell called the attention of the public to the work being done by our own medical fraternity. Mrs. Attwell might have secured some of the most famous white physicians in either of those two cities, her position and reputation among successful specialists being such as to sustain this supposition; consequently the endorsement which her act implies should be appreciated from a purely professional basis. The same applies to the nurses. It is beyond question that white nurses, graduates from famous schools in this city, would gladly have assisted her, just for the asking, if for no other reason than to attest appreciation for Mrs. Atwell's professional ability.  Notwithstanding this, the ladies in Washington were invited to assist, and to their credit be it said, they not only came, saw, but --conquered. The little incident teaches that when our people will prepare themselves to compete with any other progressive people, they leave no loophole for adverse comparison. There is no question but that those of our own who have, by dint of hard work and innumerable sacrifices, succeeded in making places for themselves, will gladly welcome intelligent candidates in the front ranks. When merit --cold-blooded merit--is the requisite, and not clique sentimentality, there will be less talk of colored people not supporting the enterprises of colored people.The fact that we have paid little attention to the matter of encouraging our girls to enter the profession was painfully evident. Mrs. Attwell is the authority for the statement that, notwithstanding charges to the contrary, a colored girl, capable of filling the requirements (age, education, etc.) will not be refused as a candidate in the training schools of New York; yet there seems to be no disposition on the part of our young women to avail themselves of the privileges thus offered.  If they were wise, they would apply before a school has been established "for colored." Separate institutions should never be countenanced unless it can be authoritatively proven that they are a necessity.  Mrs. Attwell's department forcibly opened these questions before our people in a manner which will certainly make those who desire to progress think and, we hope, act.A most unique exhibition was held during the early part of May, in one of the beautiful salons of the palatial Waldorf. It will be remembered that the Duke de Veirgua was entertained at this hotel during his stay while in this city. The affair in question was an exhibition of the industrial progress made by the various schools having industrial departments. The exhibits ranged over a wide class of work, from plain sewIng, patching, darning, button-hole making, to the most artistic accomplishments of modern dressmaking, millinery, tailoring and the most beautiful embroidery, lace making, knitting and crocheting.There was a most creditable exhibit from Washington, D. C., in charge of Miss Siphax, the only one from a distinctively colored school, and in every essential it was on a par with any shown, excepting, of course, the French work, and nothing exhibited was comparable to this in artistic finish. In showing us the beauties of the latter, Miss Siphax volunteered the information that in France children are given lessons in needlework as soon as they can handle safely a needle, and by the time they are nine or twelve

years old they are accomplished in some of the most difficult grades. This accounted for the beautiful symmetry and delicate finish of the French exhibit, which contained many samples executed by children seven, nine, ten and eleven years of age. Miss Siphax further explained that this was largely true of Egypt, where fine linen was combined in a most wonderful manner with what they term metal embroidery. A sample of this work was pointed out to us that would otherwise have escaped our attention. In appearance it was like a drawn lace pattern outlined by gold threads; on close examination it was found to be very beautiful. When explaining her own methods in instructing the beginners under her charge, Miss Siphax was surrounded by many interested ladies at all times. The work brought on by her received many favorable comments, and deservedly; for in general arrangement, neatness, scope and artistic effect it was second to none in kind at the exhibition. It is to be regretted that a larger percentage of our women did not attend, as the affair in every particular was managed by true women, in what means all that could possibly be inferred by the term "real ladies." Among the visitors was Mrs. Octavio Furguson of Richmond, Va.TENNESSEE.Sylvia Mann Maples.Sylvia Mann Maples, Editor.It is surprising to note the number of intelligent persons of both races who persist in writing the word Negro with a little n, while at, the same time they honor every other race, Jew, Greek, Gentile and what-not, with a capital. Quite a number of race journals are assuming, with an avidity, the newly-coined appellation, Afro-American, which has nothing but its euphony to commend it to the use of its followers. Of the two words Negro and Afro-American, the one, etymologically speaking, expresses as much toward designating us as a race as the other; but it is a late hour in the day to discard the former, in which there is nothing dishonorable, and submit to the ludicrous christening of the latter, which is at best a cowardly and ineffective dodge of a time-honored name. It bears repetition, so far as we are cognizant, no dishonor attaches itself to the word, and until a better one can be found for us to answer to, the only manly and womanly thing to do is to "acknowledge the corn," and by our deeds make it "worthy its hire."At its last meeting the Woman's Mutual Improvement Club heartily indorsed the action of the Woman's Era Club in its condemnation of the too prevalent custom of ticket selling by girls and young women, and its members seeing the evil done in their own midst by the same greed of gain, have without permission of their worthy exemplars in the far away Hub, adopted the same resolution. Mrs. A. S. Jones is chairman of a committee of three to enlist the co-operation of the different ministers in the city of Knoxville in trying to abolish the pernicious practice.On May 10 Booker T. Washington lectured to a small though appreciative audience at Knoxville College. His subject, "Mind and Matter," is said to have been ably handled.Rev. G.V. Clark of  Memphis, Chief Commissioner of Tennessee for the Cotton States and International Exposition, was in the city on April 30, on official business.Mr. William H. Mason, a Knoxville boy, graduated on the 27th ult. from the Department of Music of Fisk University. Mr. John C. Dodson, also of Knoxville, assisted in his public piano forte recital.Mrs. Hester Ford, an energetic little woman of Ashville, N.C., is said to have sold in our city five hundred or more of the handsome steel engravings of the late Frederick Douglass. When shown a copy of the ERA, she did not wait for your correspondent to solicit her subscription, but forthwith ordered it, with "spot cash," to be sent her one year.The proverbial unexpected, a cold wave, came last week and changed very materially the aspect of the season. Without, though cold enough for winter wraps, vegetation was exuberant in growth, and the flower-laden fields were loudly odorous; within, the busy housewife wore a forlorn look because grates had to be replaced and fires made to thaw out baby's benumbed toes, thus necessitating a sad disarrangement of her house. OUR GEORGIA EDITOR.Our Georgia department is left out this month owing to the unexpected departure from Savannah of Dr. McKane and Dr. Alice W., his wife, for New York, from which port they sail June 5, for Liberia, West Africa. The doctors go to Liberia to start a hospital and to do general medical missionary work. They carry with them the regards of those who will miss their efficient services, and the best wishes of all who know their worth. Readers of the ERA may look forward to reliable accounts of affairs in the far-away country in letters from Dr. McKane, which will be published from time to time.ILLINOIS.Fannie Barrier Williams.Fannie Barrier Williams, Editor.The summer ending of school days is upon us and there are few households that are not more or less effected by preparations for the eager young graduate. The people's interest in their institutions of learning has never been so strong as now. The press and magazines have done so much to cultivate public interest in the educational work of our institutions of learning that commencement day is fast becoming the most popular event in the year's calendar of great occurrences.Aside from being a day of inspiration to student, relief to teacher, and of growing interest to the thousands who put themselves in touch with the festive spirit of graduating times, commencement day has come to mean a day of annual recounting of our gains in the forces of intelligence and culture.The men and women who now deliver commencement addresses are selected with the view of being able to utter something of interest to people outside the college walls. We now eagerly look forward to the commencement oration as having a meaning to all men and women who are eager to know and to do their full duty as citizens. On no other occasion in the year does the American orator have so large and appreciative an audience as on the day of university commencement. The people are in a receptive mood for reading and thinking, and the man who can say something interesting, instructive and inspiring on this occasion enjoys a rare opportunity for doing good.We women have a special and growing interest in these commencement occasions, because they mean such a helpful reinforcement to the intelligence of our working forces. With a due appreciation of the thousands of educated and capable women who have done so much to advance our peculiar interests, we are yet lacking in women whose mental training has given them a sanity and balance of judgment and steadiness of conviction in affairs of large importance.Women who have daughters capable of culture can do nothing better for womankind, as well as for the daughters, than to give them the advantage of a college training, or an education that will have an equivalent value in the quality of their intelligence. The mental discipline and culture that are the most important furnishings of a university education will save us from many humiliating mistakes in our public efforts, and will tend to lesson the small jealousies, petty envies and the general unkindness of woman for womankind.  Oh, for some kind of culture or talisman that will save us women from being consumed by each other in our ambitions to be useful in this world of ours!While talking about women's peculiar interest in commencement week, it is perhaps offensively irrelevant to suggest a subject so dreary and irritating as that of moving and house-cleaning. But oh my, it is such a season of misery for all of us that the thought of it intrudes itself in spite of ourselves.  This is the season of the year when all of our weaknesses seem to be on trial. By the general consent of all womankind and the amiable tolerance of our "lords and masters," we lay aside our sweetness, our lovableness and charms and put in evidence all our hatefulness and biting impatience against every body and every thing.  Womankind seems to take a savage delight in this season of cleaning, renovating and reordering of her household.If it be true that in the spring the young man's fancy turns to wooing and home making, it is equally true that the married man's realities tempt him to stray as far as possible froin the disturbances of his own roof tree. I think we would all be frightened if it could be made clear to us how much of domestic unhappiness and family disintegration are traceable to these spring time outbreaks of woman's peevishness.What poor creatures we are, and how slowly we emancipate ourselves from many of our self-imposed afflictions!  Fretfulness over housecleaning, like tight lacing and balloon sleeves, seem to be some of our cherished miseries. Perhaps the college bred woman will, by and by, show us how to meet and treat philosophically these many disagreeable necessities. Then again, we have some hope in those useful inventions that year by year are diminishing the drudgery of home keeping. It really looks as if steam and gas and electricity, in various ways, are soon to make all kinds of housekeeping so delightfully easy that woman's only cause for ill-temper will

 be too much leisure. In the meantime, it is to be fervently hoped that we will become strong enough in the command of our better selves to endure more gracefully the trials of our little responsibilities.  Woman will make a very sorry figure in the contentions of politics and business, and in the larger questions of public concern if she fail to cultivate the patience, the good judgment and good sense that she nw so often lacks in the domestic sphere.LOUISIANA.Alice Ruth Moore.Alice Ruth Moore, Editor.Owing to a temporary blindness, entailing great suffering and much inconvenience, the writer of this column was unable to get any matter ready for the May issue.One of the most interesting things just about now is the decision of the Phyllis Wheatley Woman's Club to not only countenance the negro building at the Atlanta exposition, which opens in September, but to send an exhibit. This decision was arrived at, though not without some discussion on the part of the members and a little bitterness. It was argued that the line drawn in the South was drawn enough by the "other side," without our attempting to do anything of that sort ourselves. But, as one of the members expressed it, the exposition would certainly go on, and whether we countenanced it or not the Negro Department would be a success, Phyllis Wheatley Club to the contrary. The only way to convince our friends on the other side that we could do anything was to show them, and here was an excellent chance to show as individuals and members of a race popularly supposed to he unable to do anything but subsist upon the charity of others. There is no doubt but that this exposition, like the one in Chicago, if not representing the negroes would be censured for it by them, and when a disposition is shown by the commissioners to grant space, the usual kick is made. The upshot of it all was that the club gave its decision not only to countenance the negro building but to make an exhibit there.Another series of violent discussions which have been lasting some months  were recently closed by the dedication of the new St. Catherine's church in Tulane Ave.  St. Catherine's occupies the site of the old St. Joseph, now one of the largest churches in America.When Mother Catherine Drexel some while ago sent Archbishop Janssens a handsome sum of money to be used in a manner that would do most good to the colored people of New Orleans, a clamor for a new church, a Catholic church exelusively for the colored people, where they might be ensured from discrimination of any sort, where there could be colored altar boys, a colored choir, and, if necessary, a colored priest. So preparations were made to embellish and repair the old church and it was announced that all would be ready in a short while. A storm of opposition was raised at once, newspapers and editors waxed furious; the archbishop was deluged in petitions, some lengthy, some pithy, some with many signatures, some with a few signatures that meant something. The archbishop was also kept busy receiving delegations of objectors who besieged him with reasons why this thing could not be.  But the preparations for the new church went right on.As a matter of fact, it is unfortunate that the colored people of New Orleans should be instrumental in separating themselves from the rest of the Catholics in the city. The Catholic religion is the one broad common plane where all might meet and for the nonce forget the petty prejudices of birth or race. Within the average Catholic church prince or peasant, maid and mistress, man and master may kneel side by side and receive alike impartially the bread of the communion table. The separation of the colored people by themselves from the rest of the city is destroying the most beautiful portion of the Catholic creed. True the archbishop has made it most plain that this church does not, of a necessity, compel all colored people of the Catholic persuasion to attend it. That it is for one parish alone and only for those who desire to attend, and that the doors and pews and confessionals of the other Catholic churches are open as widely as ever to the colored people. But it is plain to see that it won't be long before such gentle means as a quiet discrimination all along the parishes will force the colored worshippers into the "Jim Crow" church. It is indeed quite an unfortunate move.The Teachers' League has been busy for the

past month. Our kindergartens and kindergarteners are, or rather were, non est. So the league secured the services of Miss Elizabeth K. Mathews from Des Moines, Ia., to come here for a month and hold classes of the members of the league. The classes were held every afternoon from three to five, special permission having been obtained from the superintendent, Mr. Easton, to dismiss those teachers who were interested a half hour earlier than usual. The work done was very interesting and a great deal was accomplished in a month's time. The result of Miss Mathew's labor was visible in an increased interest in the school work and in the introduction of more manual training in the schools.While here she visited and worked with pupils and teachers in the different schools, attended and addressed a meeting of not only the Teachers' League but the Phyllis Wheatley Club also. Miss Mathews also gave a lecture, "A Trip to Yellowstone Park," for the benefit of the Phyllis Wheatley Club.The air is full of Commencement. Out of the four large universities here, three, Leland, Straight and New Orleans, have closed, leaving only Southern and the public schools to drag through the long hot month of June. Straight University fairly outdid itself in the matter of Commencement Week. It always has an entire week given over to festivities of a general nature, but this year the festivities were unusually interesting. The class of '95 is the largest one since the year of 1888.Two new things crowned the year's work. First, the alunini did away with their annual reception, and second, the school granted its first musical certificate.Heretofore the immense reception given by Straight University Alumni has always been looked forward to with no little interest by the friends and patrons of the school. The evening before Commencement was spent by the alumnae in a banquet tendered by the school from five to seven, of which members only were allowed to partake. This was followed by a reception from seven to ten, to which each member had issued invitations, and as the body numbers some two hundred or more it was necessarily large. There was always a musical and literary programme, refreshments and a jollification. But this year all was changed; there was only the banquet, the annual address, which was delivered by Dr. A.J. Lopez, some music, and that was all. The sum usually expended for the reception was placed to the account of the school.The other event of peculiar importance was the completion of the musical course by Miss Beatrice F. Rochin. It is the first time in the history of the university that any pupil has stuck to the eight years' study requisite for a completion of piano course. Miss Rochin of '95 celebrated her victory the Thursday before Commencement by a recital, assisted by her sister, Miss Anita, '95, and Mr. Wendell McNeal, '96, on the violin, Mr. Lockhard, '95, with a vocal solo, and a number of young ladies of the Normal department in Delsarte tableaux. Miss Rochin had a very trying ordeal to pass through in playing solo after solo before an intensely critical and rather incredulous audience, but she acquitted herself magnificently and won applause and flowers by the load.PENNSYLVANIA.Dora J. Cole.Dora J. Cole, Editor.In the April number of the ERA perhaps it will be remembered that in this column were pressed the claims of women to greater recognition in the government of the churches. The Vestry of St. Thomas' P. E. Church early in April passed a resolution allowing women in good financial standing to vote at the Easter election for officers for the ensuing year. It was very fitting that the initiative should be taken by the vestry of one of the oldest churches in the United States, which keeps up the high standard and courageous resolution of their forefathers, who founded this chuch in the infancy of the republic.This extension of the franchise was accepted by the women in a very serene and matter-of-fact way. There was no unseemly haste; less than one-third of the eligible women voted. Those who expected strife and a complete reorganization of the church officers, found to their surprise the old vestry re-elected, with one exception, a faithful and efficient vestryman who desired to be excused from serving this year. Let the good work go on. We hope that soon in every church the women will be shown common justice.In the Diocesan Convention held early in May in our city, the question of admitting women as delegates was warmly discussed. Many clergymen supported the proposition, but one prominent and venerable layman delivered a passionate speech in which he fervently hoped that he should never live to see the day when one of these "new women" were seated in the convention. He spoke at length on the subject and declared that she is "a horrid creature." The motion was not disposed of finally, but was left an open question for the time.One is tempted to sympathize with this view of the new woman. That term and the phrase fin de sieclehave surely earned a long rest. It is a question with me whether there really is any "Mrs. Harris," in the words of Betsey Prigg. It is the same old woman, the eternal feminine, only the outward visible sign has changed somewhat. The higher education, the attention to athletic sports, the greater knowledge of hygiene and proper food, the thick-sole shoes, the warm winter flannels, have all made her what Emerson says it is everybody's first duty to be, "a good animal."With this grateful sense of physical well-being has come that joyous expansion, that exuberance that all happy, healthy people feel. It has become a necessity for her to find an outlet for all this energy, hence her interest in church and state, in all that is on the earth or in the waters under the earth. Look in the home, is she not a more intelligent companion, a wiser, more judicious mother, a more stimulating and sympathetic friend? Surely the vast majority of the women of today are like the picture I have drawn, and may it be a continually decreasing number who may be described in the words of the Rabbi Voorsanger of Los Angeles, who says, "The new woman is a rampant and rebellious woman, who gathers in conventions and talks much; a reformer who seeks to lay bare the rotten foundations of society; an evolved species of Roman matron with a tongue like a lash and a rod of chastisement in her fair fist."Not many years ago some of us can remember that southern alarmists created a wave of interest that rolled all over the country, by reporting the alarming rate of increase in the negro population. It was predicted that the black man and brother would cover the face of the earth, as did the locusts in Pharaoh's time, and devour every green thing in the shape of a white man. Tables were compiled, and truly alarming progressions were
and diseases resultant from immorality.Dr. Furman J. Shadd's contribution to the New York Age of May 16, in refutation of the idea that we will shortly be eliminated front the problem, is timely and reassuring. Having the wide experience that he has among the 87,000 negroes of the District of Columbia, he is able to speak with authority, and shows that even if the state of South Carolina is losing her black population, there has been in the District since 1876 a steady decrease in mortality and a regular increase in population, showing that the negro is one fourth more productive than the white race.Dr. Shadd is hopeful of a greater improvement every year in the sanitary condition of the poor and the consequent lessened death rate. What would become of the country if there was no negro problem? All of us who are teachers know too well of the causes that lead to this alarming death rate. The insufficient clothing, the lowered vitality from improper and irregularly taken food, and the frightful ravages of that scourge consumption, brought on by night after night, during weeks in the depths of winter, attending revivals. With nerves stretched tense and bodies reeking with perspiration they come out in the icy air.Some modern Paul must write an Epistle to the Ministers of these people. That is the surest way to reach the majority. The minister is their literature, their book, their paper, their only way of coming into touch with anything that helps them to grow towards the light.NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS.You are interested in the advancement of the race and want to do something to help on the work? Then pass the paper along and urge your friends to subscribe. You can not do better work than this. Any one sending a two-cent stamp will receive a sample copy of the ERA.THE WOMAN'S ERA.THE WOMAN'S ERA, the organ of the National Federation of Afro-American Women, and devoted to the Interests of the Women's Clubs, Leagues and Societies throughout the country.Published monthly, in Boston, by JOSEPHINE ST. P. RUFFIN, FLORIDA R. RIDLEY, 103 Charles Street.SUBSCRIPTIONS.Per Annum, -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -$1.00Single Copies, -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -.10Club Rates, one hundred copies,   -    7.00Subscriptions Payable in Advance.EDITORIAL.There are two sides to almost every question. There is nothing very new or original in this remark, but it is suggested anew by the proposed Atlanta Exposition. There are good reasons why the colored people should be represented there and take advantage or this new and large opportunity of vindicating themselves, their enterprise and intelligrence. Now that our people have entered upon the project, it is hoped that it will be a great success. Nevertheless we cannot wholly endorse the movement; such exhibitions never do and never can do justice to the colored people. It is as impossible to separate the work of the whites and the blacks as it is to separate the work of those who have Irish or German blood. The result is inevitably meager, inadequate and mortifying.Besides this, the Atlanta Exposition will carry with it the most humiliating conditions for all colored visitors. The commissioner general declares that  we shall have all the rights we desire! But in the light of the past estimate put upon us and our desires, this is not reassuring. Doubtless the commissioners will add largely to their finances by including an exhibit from our colored people, but it is doubtful if one jot or tittle of the merciless discrimination carried on in the south will be abated on the fair grounds at this time.We are open to conviction, but it seems to us that the only gain made will come to the managers, and that the "colored department" will be left entirely to the colored people, with the result that we shall not have grown over rich in dignity or worth in the eyes of the other race, and at the same time we shall be probably financial losers.However we shall watch and wait and hope for the best.LET US CONFER TOGETHER.The coming together of our women from all over the country for consultation, for conference, for the personal exchange of greeting, which means so much in the way of encouragement and inspiration, has been a burning desire in the breasts of the colored women in every section of the United States.The matter has been discussed and re-discussed. Of some things all are convinced--the need of such a conference is great, the benefit to be derived inevitable and inestimable. In view of this, we, the women of the Woman's Era Club of Boston, send forth a call to our sisters all over the country, members of all clubs, societies, associations, or circles to meet with us in conference in this city of Boston.And we urge upon all clubs, societies, associations and circles to take immediate action, looking towards the sending of delegates to this convention.Boston has been selected as a meeting place because it has seemed to be the general opinion that here, and here only can be found the atmosphere which would best interpret and represent us, our position, our needs and our aims. One of the pressing needs of our cause is the education of the public to a just appreciation of us, and only here can we gain the attention upon which so much depends.It is designed to hold the convention three days, the first of which will be given up to business, the second and third to the consideration of vital questions concerning our moral, mental, physical and financial growth and well-being, these to be presented through addresses by representative women.Although this matter of a convention has been talked over for some time, the subject has been precipitated by a letter to England, written by a southern editor, and reflecting upon the moral character of all colored women; this letter is too indecent for publication, but a copy of it is sent with this call to all the women's bodies throughout the country. Read this document carefully and use discriminatingly and decide if it be not time for us to stand before the world and declare ourselves and our principles.The time is short, but everything is ripe; and remember, earnest women can do anything.A circular letter will be sent you in the meantime. Let us hear at once from you.CORRECTIONS.In the May issue of this paper, the ERA's comments on Mrs. Terrell were unfortunately placed in the department edited by that lady. Probably every reader understood the situation; nevertheless it is a matter of annoyance to the editors that there should be the chance or the likelihood of any readers believing that

Mrs. Terrell was indulging in self-praise. By the same mischance, the fine article contributed by Mrs. Fannie B. Williams on "The Need of Co-operation of Men and Women in Correctional Work " was divided and the continuity of thought broken by placing the last portion on the editorial page.We know that many of our readers are unacquainted with Colonel Dargan of Sumter, South Carolina; we therefore take pleasure in introducing him and his paper, the "Free Speech," to our readers. Colonel Dargan is indeed a rara avis --a secessionist, a confederate officer, with every interest in the south, he is now a fearless champion of justice and free speech. Considering the sentiment upon which he has been reared, his comments upon the approaching constitutional convention and the iniquity of the attempt to disenfranchise the black race are remarkable for their fearlessness. The south is very boastful of the bravery of its sons. Here is an example of genuine bravery. That it is so conspicuous shows the rarity of the true article in that portion of the country.Let the good work go on in the meantime. We can all take hope and read the Sumter "Free Speech." One good man can work wonders.A CHARGE TO BE REFUTED.The editors of the WOMAN'S ERA are in receipt of a letter from Miss Florence Belgarnie, Honorable Secretary of the Anti-Lynching Society of England, in which she encloses a letter from Mr. James W. Jack, president of the Missouri Press Association. The letter of Mr. Jack to Miss Belgarnie is a denouncement of the morality of the colored women of America, and also a criticism of the peculiar ideas of virtue and morality held by everybody but the people of the south and west. Miss Belgarnie forwards the letter for publication in the ERA, with an expression of sympathy and indignation for the slurs we, as colored women, are subjected to. As the charges in this letter are so sweeping and so base, we have decided not to act hastily upon it, but to be very careful in our method of bringing it before the public. Our line of action has already begun; the letter will be printed and forwarded to leading men and women and heads of educational institutions, particularly in the south, people of reputation and standing, whose words carry weight; and in the next issue it is hoped to print the charge, with these signed replies.The matter is a solemn one, and one upon which we shall call all our women all over the country to act. In the meantime we wish to move with discretion, and so not defeat the ultimate aim, which is the confusion of Jack and that host of traducers who are so free in bringing the charge of immorality upon all colored women.VIRGINIA.Rosa D. Bowser.Rosa D. Bowser, Editor.Since I am requested to furnish news notes I hope you will allow me space for a few thoughts along the line of the most engrossing, topic at this time in Virginia as well as elsewhere, viz., Commencement. Not a more applicable title could be suggested for the time of completion of the college curriculum than Commencement, for those leaving its walls have been trained to gather discreetly the grains of knowledge, and they are therefore sent out to engage in the great army in defnce of truth and right. They go with the problem yet to be solved--education the unknown quantity, works of great educators, perseverance and diligence represent the known quantities.The solution of this problem is not accomplished in a lifetime. Those who give a proper estimate to the value of an education will rather rejoice that the end of learning to them is very much the same as the end of the rainbow to a little child, the longer he tries to find it the farther it seems to be from him.The effect of the research may be disappointment and discouragement for the child, while the true student is enthused by the knowledge that the more the obstacles he conquers in his onward march the higher he places himself on the ladder which reaches perfection. Hence his determination should be not to stand still, but to go on and on."The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight."Each life carries with it an influence of elevation or degradation. What a weight of responsibility rests upon each individual. The greater the advantages the greater the responsibility.From many schools and colleges hundreds of students have been licensed to toil unaided in the great field of labor, to gather in and store the mind with great truths that will serve as food for the mental powers and as seed falling in good ground, yielding, some thirty, some sixty and some an hundred fold.  Great truths that men of wonderful mental faculties have pondered over

and developed, must be searched and weighed, reserving such as cause the mind to expand and reach out for other facts, in order to strengthen and build strong intellects. Students should endeavor to grow strong intellectually, so as not to be cast about by every attempt on the part of opposers to revolutionize well-founded theories, but by careful study so fortify themselves on the subjects as to become stronger advocates of the right. Diligence is the price of success, so no student needs be lacking in the material by which to acquire knowledge. One important point should be borne in mind, viz., the acquirement of an education, in the limited sense of the term, does not depend upon the number of books read nor the variety of literature, but upon the thorough study and digestion of the most important subjects by authors of worth and literary standing.The discontinuance of attendance in a school, after having completed the prescribed course of study in that institution, does not signify that the mental powers have become thoroughly developed and the education completed.Oh, no!  it means the commencement.The Virginia Baptist State Convention met in Suffolk, Va., May 9, 1895, and continued during that week. The ministerial shepherds are with their flocks again. The presidency of the Virginia Seminary seemed to have been the main topic for discussion. From all accounts we hear of the convention this matter consumed by far the greater portion of the session. Pres. G. W. Hayes was re-elected."The following Board of Trustees were elected for the Seminary:"May 31, 1898 - - Rev. W.F. Graham, Mr. John Mitchell, Jr., Rev. R.H. Bolling. May 31, 1896 - - Revs. A. Binga, Jr., A. Gordon, John W. Kirby. May 31, 1897 - - Revs. J. M. Armistead, P.F. Morris, D.W. Vassar." --Planet.The Grand Lodge Knights of Pythias convened on Newport News, Va., May 15, 1895. The gathering was very enthusiastic and much business for the order was transacted. The address of Grand Chancellor John Mitchell, Jr., was received with much applause and a vote of thanks tendered him for the noble sentiments which it contained.Miss Annestine Snyder of Charleston, West Va., passed through Richmond May 17, from Shaw University, N. C., en route to her home. While in R. she was the guest of Mrs. Bowser.MISSOURI.Josephine Silone Yates.Josephine Silone Yates, Editor.No utterances of the year have come nearer to striking the keynote of race progress in America than those of Prof. Booker T. Washington in his address before the students of Fisk University; and even at the risk of being considered an echo, we must repeat that industrial training through its resultant skilled labor has been for every race, and will be for the Negro race, the most potent force in its development.It has required years for the "industrial idea" in education to stamp itself upon the educational system of America, and we question whether the impress is yet sufficiently deep; but financial crises, the continuous influx of foreign skilled labor, and the losses sustained by the American laborer, if he is not equally skillful, are creating forceful demonstrations of the necessity for practical training in this direction. Afro-American labor is not foreign labor in the sense usually implied by this term; and in past decades it was a mainspring in developing the resources of a new country. In those years, the artisans of the South, the skilled laborers, as matters then stood, were colored men, and the inventive genius then exemplified by individual members of the race, even under those exceedingly unfavorable environments, furnish proof of our inherent creative capacity; and when at last the doors of school and college were opened to the descendants of these mechanics, had the industrial idea been as firmly engrafted upon the American system of education as at present, the future prospect of these comparatively young people would be brighter than it now is, for the trained hand must keep pace with the trained mind in order to be able to express the conceptions of the mind in material form.Says Dr. Coffin, in an editorial appearing in the April A.M.E. Church Review, "We are not fully aware ourselves, nor are the people among whom we live aware of what we have really accomplished since the war. The advancement in material wealth, and in education, including the professions, has indeed been marvellous.Our advancement in mechanical skill has not yet been equal to the progress made in literary pursuits. . . . But attention is now being turned and we think wisely, too, toward the workshop."We are indebted to inventive genius for all the means of rapid transit, expeditious communication, the product of remote sections, the comforts in home, hotel and shop, the means of social and intellectual gratification which render life in the nineteenth century so far above all preceding centuries. In this march of progress, a few important inventions have originated in the brain of a Negro, but we must work more strenuously to stimulate the creative faculty, if we would maintain a permanent hold upon civilization in America or elsewhere. We must seize with avidity upon the industrial factors of education. Especially do our little ones need the industrial features of the kindergarten; and when parents and teachers fully realize this fact, then, from its earliest years, the child will be taught to contrast and to invent articles according to scientific principles. We do not, indeed, need a smaller number of scholarly men and women, but a much larger quota of those who to their literary attainments add the power to produce something which is a necessity to the masses. We need not less intellectual training in the field of higher education, but more practical education.The young colored man who graduated from Lawrence University, Kansas, and then went, to his farm and settled down to solid work with the remark, "If the white race need scientific farmers, surely my race does," has solved the "race problem" for himself, and has furnished an example which many individuals can afflord to emulate. With pride from year to year we read that the "Potato King" of the Missouri Valley is a colored man; a man who by reducing the production of the tuber to a scientific process is bringing forth from his acres both fame and fortune--capital, that commodity which added to a better knowledge of investing it, is so great a necessity in the present stage of our development. The Afro-American of the United States is for various reasons behind his brother in the more advanced of the South American states in the acquisition of wealth, and therefore in the development of those enterprises which require the outlay of large amounts of capital. We are not particularly interested in trust companies, mining plants and grinding monopolies, although, from the force of habit, we read of and discuss them; but we have little capital invested in those lines. In the South, as an agricultural laborer, the Negro is a great industrial factor; but not until he owns the cotton and rice fields, the turpentine orchards and cane plantations in which he now labors, can he be considered in any sense a controling factor of the South; nor can we hope to take front rank in any department of civilized life until we are part and parcel of large industries.Thus far in our career we may justly be accused of a quality which George Eliot styles "other worldliness." We need more of an eye to the main chance; or as Carnegie is said to have put it when, looking at a young man's collection of coins, "A very good thing to have in its way, a very good thing; but I tell you, young man, the coin to look out for is the American dollar."Every Negro inventor of high rank, every scientific farmer, artisan, or tradesman, takes a long step ahead for his race, since the world is clamoring for proofs of our capacity, originality, and culture; hence the industrial schools should be intensely practical and filled to overflowing with our young people; for it matters not whether the Negro deciides to remain here, or migrate elsewhere, always and everywhere will he find this problem of scientific and industrial training confronting him, and, unless he learns to solve it under all of its conditions, possible and probable, will find himself a negative quality.  The South needs skilled laborers to develop her valuable resources, Mexico, South America and Africa the same; and the brainy men of each section, or country, will diligently seek until the find the laborer best qualified for the work; obviously then, the colored man need not run from the conditions which he finds in the United States, and unless he possesses superior industrial training may as well take his chances here as elsewhere.  A recent writer from Africa to the New York Age states that those Afro-Americans who come to colonize in Africa should be civil engineers, mechanics, practical farmers, etc., and should bring capital with them. In other words, they should be of the order of colonists that brought about the most safisfactory results in the colonization of America, Australia, India, and the Islands of the Sea.The simple act of departing for "Africa, the home of our fathers," is not sufficient to secure even a foothold in a country already largely under the control of the English, French, Belgians, Germans, Italians, Portuguese and Turks, each

pressing to the utmost the development of the immense riches to which they have laid claim; each desirous of building up colonies toward which they desire to attract the surplus of their population; and looking the facts squarely in the face, it seems highly probable, that the African in Africa, like the Indian in America, will soon be dispossessed of his own soil. Is there not a possible remedy for the ills which confront us here, there and everywhere, in practical industrial training?Good words for theERA.--I received the copies of the ERA  and like it more and more. Please find one dollar enclosed for my subscription. I will do all I can to increase its circulation.Mrs. Libbie C. Anthony,Superintendent of Department of Colored Work of W.C.T.U.,Jefferson City, Mo.COLORADO.Elizabeth Piper Ensley.Elizabeth Piper Ensley, Editor.Everytbing in the outer world is suggestive of growth. White blossoms and hopeful green greet us on all sides. The whole landscape is rich in floral splendor. Nature also speaks to us joyously, tenderly, in the songs of birds.When we consider that only a few months since, the plant was in embryo, we are filled with amazement at the mysterious and wonderful change.  The necessary outward influences--warmth, air, light and moisture--have caused it to grow harmoniously.The question arises as to whether the growth and expansion of the "Woman Suffrage Plant" is commensurate with that in the natural world.That three women were sent to act as legislators is in advance of the old regime. These women representatives have shown a progressive spirit in the measures they have advocated. Mrs. Holly introduced eleven bills, Mrs. Klock, three, and Mrs. Cressingham, four.Two of Mrs. Cressingham's bills are designed to promote the sugar beet industry. "She believes in the possibilities of the sugar beet. Can cite facts and figures to show that she has studied the subject and is sure that in the cultivation of this saccharine vegetable there is a remedy for the wretched condition of the people where there is but a small rainfall and no large streams from which to irrigate."Mrs. Cressingham's third bill amends a section of the school law. In some of the southern counties of the state, Spanish was the language used in the schools. Her bill provides that English shall be the language in all public schools. Her last bill was for the creation of a "state board for the arbitration of controversies arising between employer and employee."The Hon. Frances Klock, also of Arapahoe, presented "House joint memorial No. 6," asking Congress  "to grant the military reservation known as Fort Lyon to the state of Colorado for the purpose of establishing a soldiers' home at that place," the present home at Monte Vista being very undesirable.Her second bill provides for the support of the state home and industrial school for girls. Her last bill deals with the same matter, but states in detail how the home is to be managed. All the officers and assistants shall be women excepting one member of the board.Representative Holly of Pueblo, has the honor of being the first woman to introduce a bill in the house -- "the age of consent bill." One bill is a constitutional amendinent, and amends a certain section of an article which now permits a foreigner to vote upon declaring his intention to become a citizen. The proposed amendment enfranchises every person (instead of every male person) over the age of twenty-one years, provided, first, that "he or she shall be a citizen of the United States." And second, that "he or she shall be able to read the constitution in the English language."A third bill also deals with the election laws. A fourth, refers to school matters. A fifth, affects the property of unmarried men who die without wills. Their possessions did revert to the father; this bill asks that such property be evenly divided between the parents of the deceased. A sixth asked cases concerning the validity of wills and testaments be placed at the head of the docket. Two other bills provide for the punishment of persons guilty of enticing boys or girls under twenty-one years into places of ill repute. A ninth bill provides for a truant officer. The tenth, concerns divorce and alimony."You will laugh at my last bill, for it is kind

of queer; it is a bill to give women all the rights that men have," said Mrs. Holly.Passing over the city election which was not satisfactory to the majority of thinking women, we come to the school election, the result of which was to put another broad-minded, progressive woman on the school board.Woman's work in politics must be like that of the chambered nautilus, the spiral animal, which after completing one house or shell proceeds to make another and so is constantly advancing.There are several civic leagues in process of formation which organize to work for better municipal government.On the 9th of May, the women of Denver had the inestimable privilege of greeting and listening to those grand, rare women, Miss Susan B. Anthony and Rev. Anna Shaw. Their visit here was brief, as they hastened on to congratulate Utah on adding the suffrage plank to the constitution.THE OPEN COURT.Mrs. N. F. Mossell. Mrs. N. F. Mossell, Editor.It gives us great pleasure to state the fact that, with this month's issue of the WOMAN's ERA the Open Court has passed the limit of its fiftieth subscription. We feel especially grateful to Mrs. J.H. Armstrong, wife of the Financial Secretary of the A.M.E. Church, Miss Emma K. White, a teacher in the public schools, of Chester, Miss Lillian Spencer of Wilmington public schools, and Miss Lillian Thompson of Bridgeton, daughter of Rev. Joseph Thompson, D.D., pastor at that point. These ladies have shown their interest in the work in various substantial forms. Mrs. Armstrong sends us for May five subscriptions and such an encouraging, helpful letter. Through the kindness and perseverance of Miss Emma K. White the sum of fifteen dollars has been secured in aid of a worthy student. Miss Spencer and Miss Thompson are each assisting in the enlargement our subscription list.As contributors to the literary work of the Open Court, we have secured the services of Miss Lillian V. Thompson, whose able paper on "Frederick Douglass compared with England's great Commoner," appeared in the memorial issue of the Christian Recorder and of Miss Sarah E. Tanner, Principal of the Bordentown Industrial School, N.J., and Miss Emma K. White of Chester High School. The two last mentioned ladies will entertain and instruct the readers of the Open Court, Miss Tanner in this month's issue of the ERA, and Miss White in the July Number.June, with its beautiful gift of roses and sunshine, its "perfect days," is with us once more.  Let us cast behind its the clouds and storms of the past and enjoy the heritage of joyfulness that comes with this purest and sweetest of all the summer months.  Let us strive to give to the world a message of love from hearts overflowing with the blessedness of having received good gifts.READING.Sarah E. Tanner"They are never alone," said Sir Philip Sidney, "that are accompanied by noble thoughts," and we say it is quite possible for the humblest to gain these "noble thoughts" if they will but be discreet in the selection of books they read.  The moment we enter the world of books that moment a great personalresponsibility rests upon us.  It is as necessary that we choose as wisely the companionship of books as we do the companionship of friends.  There is an old proverb, "A man may usually be known by the company he keeps," but he can just as truly be known by the books he reads.No kinder or wiser friend can one have than a good book, for a book which is worthy for us to take as a companion is the embodiment of the noblest thoughts of which that life was capable."You get into society in the widest sense," said Dr. Geikie, "in a great library, with the huge advantage of needing no introductions and not dreading repulses. From that great crowd you can choose what companions you please, for in these silent levees of the immortals there is no pride, but the highest is at the service of the lowest with a great humility. You may speak freely with any without a thought of your inferiority, for books are perfectly well-bred and hurt no one's feelings by any discriminations."Great care should be taken in cultivating the habit of reading, for without reading it is impossible to ever be the "full man" of whom Lord Bacon tells us. It is no more reasonable to suppose we will have bright ideas and noble thoughts without reading "than to suppose that the Mississippi might roll on its flood of waters to the ocean, though all its tributary streams were cut off and it were replenished only by occasional drops from the clouds." We are told that the elder Pliny seldom sat down to eat a meal without insisting upon some one reading to him, and that so close and constant was Petrarch's application to his books that, his friends became anxious about his health, and through love to him refused to allow him to enter his study for ten days, and by the morning he was ill with fever; his keys were at once restored to him, and with them came his usual health and bright spirits.Not only is it necessary to acquire the habit of reading, but also the habit of selecting carefully what we read, and this in itself will greatly develop our intellectual tendency, and then we will learn to appreciate the good and beautiful. Read with a purpose. No better advice can be given a young person than to "read much, not many books."Milton says,"Who readsIncessantly, and to his reading brings notA spirit or genius equal or superior,Uncertain and unsetttled still remains,Deep versed in books and shallow in himself."Now just a word as to what we should read.To gather inforination read histories, biographies and travels.Read the best novels and romances, authors like Sir Walter Scott, George Eliot, Thackeray , Dickens and Hawthorne.Do not read about authors and imagine you have read the authors themselves, but with great care study  the masters of the art of literature, authors like Milton, Dante, Shakespeare, Bacon, Goethe, Cervantes, Schiller, and others.We could not be expected to exhaust a subject so interminable as this. The thoughtful reader will have at once perceived that we have scarcely done more than given intimations. Our pleasure is that intimations only are necessary to a class to whom this article comes, and we therefore briefly hand it over to them with the hope that they will find it profitable to the extent we have gone.SOCIAL NOTES.Boston.Nothing more elaborate has been given in Boston society for a long time than the reception tendered the members of the popular Vaudeville Club by the equally popular Cracker-Jacks. Mr. Edward S. Glover's well appointed residence was the scene of the festivities. The young ladies, attired in handsome evening costumes, from the depths of luxurious chairs and under mellow lights, witnessed the one-act play and the burlesque dancing that followed, a noteworthy feature of which was the pas seul of Mr.. Edward Glover, who, by the way, is especially good in theatrical imitations. Mr. Sam Marsh, fresh from the stage, having appeared in the performance of Leah at the Hollis Street Theater a day or two before, also made some clever hits in his acting. Appo Johnson appeared as Trilby, and some topical songs, in costume, ended the program. An elaborate banquet followed. The table decorations were in green, and the effect was enhanced by the reflection from the pale green shades that dimmed the light of the numerous small candles. Toasts were drank and souvenir stick pins were presented to the ladies. The presentation speech was responded to by Miss Lillian Lewis, in behalf of the Vaudeville Club.The tea given to the members of the Vaudeville Club, at which Misses Libbie Watson and Carrie Patterson were the hostesses, wound up the brilliant series of entertainments that have given so much pleasure to society folk, young and old, the past season. Miss Watson's pretty home in Dorchester was thrown open for the occasion, and the evening was spent in a delightfully informal manner, the tea being the special feature. The cosy dining room was tastefully decorated and the repast included a long menu of tempting and dainty viands.Hon. George T. Downing of Newport and his daughter, Mrs. Washington, have been making a visit to Mr. and Mrs. Mark de Mortie.A large contingent of Washington people are expected to pass the summer in Boston, among them Miss Wormley, Miss Nita Turner, Miss Clare Smythe, who will take a summer course at Harvard, and the Misses Gertrude and Cora Smith, who will be guests of relatives in Jamaica Plain.Mr. Frank Rudolph Stuart of Harvard was one of the contestants for the Boylston prize this year. The exercises were held in Sanders' Theater, and among the well-wishers of Mr. Stuart, who were present, were Misses Louisa Lewis, Mabel Grant and Dosia Marsh.Miss Geraldine Pindell, whose protracted illness of four months has deprived the young people of her presence at so many of the social functions the past season, is out and about again, and in spite of her impaired strength, is cheerful and gay as ever.Miss Marion Ridley is at home again after a three week's sojourn at Faneuil, where she lingered for a much needed rest.SOCIAL NOTES.New York.So Boston has settled the identity of Anno Domini, eh? The "he, she or it" in last issue is good--Pickwickian. Seriously, though, the astronomical guesses ought to read, as a penance, dying Brutus' words, "Et tu Brute." It's hard, but--the Hub is not famous in the line of guessing. And I suspect the gallant Philadelphian has kyar'd de news to somebody. But the guess is an iceberg, all the same.The Young Men's Guild, connected with St. Philip's Church, is accomplishing wonders in these dancing days. They will soon take possession of the newly erected Guild House, a handsome structure costing over $13,000. The Guild's membership is now beyond the 100 line, and it represents the truly ambitious business class of young men generally in this city.Bethel, like a great beehive, is but a few doors distant from St. Philip's. Rumors are flying as to great things to be done there in the coming fall. It is said that Rev. Henderson (who, by the way, is from the enterprising west) is desirous of becoming an epoch-maker.  Should his conference, which meets in Albany, return here, he will visit Boston and there begin a well-defined campaign of intellectual agitation under the cry of "Not prejudice, but brains to the front!"St. Mark's will in a short time move into a spacious edifice, in close proximity to Mount Olivet, Rev. Wisher's, and it is confidently predicted that the M.E.'s will push the progressiveness of the great Baptist citadel with as much vigor as will characterize the M. E. ambitious restlessness as neighbors of St. Philip's splendid Guild.. By next fall the members or the Guild will be barons indeed, dwelling 'neath their own vine and fig tree. That's the lead!For classic beauty, Carnegie Music Hall is second to none in this great town. As Frank Chambers was to graduate from the School of Pharmacy on the evening of May 9, that wretch, A. D., in "best bib and tucker" was seated directly opposite box No. 5. So the whimful beauty or beauties--for vieing with Miss Kate Smith's captivating mirthfulness was Miss Bessie Decline's foreign vivacity. They are both pretty girls. There's an unconscious tenderness in Miss Kate's voice and tout ensemble  that reduces to a minimum the resistance of adamant; much less the tender susceptibilities of our own Miles Standish, who also graced No. 5.Fanny Rice, while performing some time ago in "Nadgy," I think, made her best hit in a denouement in which she cried aloud, "I was flamagasted, I was!"  Well, that was Beau Brummel's plight.  (He was in No. 5, too.) Under the fires of Miss Bessie's beautiful Italian eyes--ah! Our Rob stood calmly by, not de trop, though later the young graduate, Dr. Chambers, joined the party, and they repaired to one of the finest hotels in town where the affair was brought to a most memorable end.  The ladies were gowned in a most fetching style, while the gentlemen were in faultless evening attire.  That's the way, boys!  Bravo!  Now--who's Anno Domini?Dr. Chambers has gone to North Carolina to rest awhile, in company with a popular dentist, Dr. Reid.Mrs. Ferguson, a gentle lady from Richmond, has been the recipient of considerable social attention among F. H. Carmand's coterie of friends.  Several dinners, luncheons, and infor-

mal evenings were given in her honor. She was Mrs. Carmand's guest.A merry party drove through Prospect Park recently. Charley Day and Miss Stella King would not tell who the others were.  'Twas a handsome couple.A certain Brooklyn gallant will have to borrow Romeo's ladder, I fear, judging by the attention paid Miss Edie  B---- by a handsome South American, now in town. In some things Americans are slow. The cause which evolved the new woman, possibly.By the way, there are three "new women " in town. Lord Harry's daughter, a tiny maid in the home of Dr. J. Frank Smith, and a daughter of the house of Stewart. The always popular counselor, in detailing the wondrous charms of Mistress Anna to an admiring company lately, brought the house down by telling a story of the late Philips Brooks, who, in his public capacity, was continually called upon to admire early editions of future great men and women. "This, you will observe," quoth Mr. Stewart, "impoverished his store of suitable descriptive terms, so in a moment of inspiration, a way out of his difficulties flashed upon him. After that, on every occasion, armed with the easily acquired but necessary smile and manner, he would simply remark, 'My dear madam, this isa baby!'  See the point?  Good, isn't it?"A notable feature of the exposition held by the Brooklyn Literary Union was  "County Fair," with our Rob, the Prince of Wales and the natty little district attorney, minus white vest, in charge. Ah, boys, you know a thing or two about--a race track! And the dear girls showed a knowledge of how to buy chances--ah, just so! All in life, and that is a hurried dream at best.Among the prize winners was Miss Mena Downing, who won a beautiful desk. I know a score of fellows today who are hoping for notes written on that desk. Rob Willis got the wheel. Constant practice on such things has been known to lessen straight lengths into curves. Cummings won the cane, J. E. Garner the umbrella, and W. E. Gross the gavel.The supper, under Mrs. Gross' supervision, was remarkable. Absolutely no highway exchange policy. Good food for common sense prices. I am serious in this, for, as a rule, at such entertainments, the refreshment committee tries to get square with the fellows who refuse to buy; everything dangled before them, you know. But in this instance Mrs. Gross positively inaugurated a real reform. Hereafter, the boys will pay careful attention to the refreshment committee before attending an entertainment.Just a word to A.D.'s friends--those to whom the column is dear; those who look forward to its monthly appearance; those who read without thinking of how a subscription now and then would make it impossible to be curtailed as to space, etc. For such reasons the lovely costumes worn at the famous Bachelor's ball by Mesdames Fisher, Braxton, Gale, Thomas, Garner and many others, were cut. I've a secret to tell you all; and that is, for this cause a good-bye is soon to be said--a fact--and silently said by that aggravating, uninteresting
ANNO DOMINICALIFORNIA.
LA FIESTA DE LOS ANGELES.S. Willie Layton.S.Willie Layton, Editor.The Lenten days are indeed past, and for one week this fair city of the South has become the realm of La Reina de La Fiesta. The city government is overthrown, and the reign of the Sovereign of Flowers and Fun is ushered in with blares of tin trumpets, jangling bells and shrill whistles. Decorations are gorgeous--the city color mad--from electric light poles and wires lazily flap the tricolored flags of gold, scarlet and olive, (emblematic of the orange, wine and olive productions of our state). Children scamper along the streets, like tropical birds, in their frocks of blended gold, scarlet and olive; carriages and tallyhos, tandem and cart are bright and gay with garlands and ribbons. From windows and steeples flutter the La Fiesta colors; street cars breaking into gay bunting become fanciful things of locomotion; horses prance proudly in their gay trimmings; and forlorn indeed is the dog that sports neither tri-colored collar or bow. The streets are thronged with merrymakers; every woman out in her new and fetching Easter bonnet and gown, so

absorbed in the spirit of La Fiesta, that she is not aware of the "mash" her big sleeve is making with the dirty car greaser who selfishly crowds her to get a peep at the queen's retainers; the pale face, without the least fear of the scalping knife, stands beside the Indian brave gaudily arrayed in feathers and paint; in the crowd sociably hurries the fat grey-gowned friar, beside the very red and horned devil; sweet Margarite's sensitive nostrils do not consider obtrusive the musty-scented Chinamen just crawled from the opium den; the "new woman," as usual, carricatured by her jealous brother, is present in gorgeous tri-colored blouse and bloomers; the fraternity of street fakirs, yelling "La Fiesta badges," is patronized by the sailors and country cousins who have "come to take in Fiesta"; dominoes of all colors and designs mingle with the fashionable and ordinarily dressed Angelenos. The pageants of the first two days represetned the history and religion of the Pacific coast, then followed floats depicting early California history, typical Spanish life made quite real by the presence of genuine senoritas and a company of typical and gallant caballeros on prancing steeds; next followed grand displays of commercial and mercantile interests, which could but feebly portray the enterprise, recourses and productions of southern California. The third day the school children paid to La Reina (and proud was Los Angeles as column after column of bright faced boys and girls swept through the streets;) such a spectacle of comeliness and intelligent prophecy no city can outrival. We sighed, again in vain, "Oh for the fount of youth." Other cities can display their soldiers, their expert horsemen, their fire apparatus, even their Chinamen, but the locality that can produce so complete an array of excellence in all these lines as displayed on Military day, would be hard to find. The Chinese portion was brilliant and picturesque, and will go down into history as the most striking success of La Fiesta, '95. Their barbaric splendor was imposing because it was genuine--a great moving living picture of historical events from the land of Confucius, dating back 2000 years, with real accessories from the Asiatic birth place, depicted by the people therefrom. There were glittering banners and helmets wrought in fantastic shapes, baggy silk trousers of sky blue, terminating in stockings of sea green, pink and white; heralding this were the diabolic strains of the Chinese orchestra, tom toms, and clanking of forty tin kettles and the shrieking rasp of the Chinese fiddles. Not a thread of cheap gaudy tinsel marred their glittering display. The exquisite embroidery and bullion fringe would have stood examination severe, it was every thread solid gold and silver metal; the gay, silken garments and banners were of the richest texture and material. Their high officials deigned not to handle a bridle, but rode horses led by white men, so richly attired were they it made the eye ache to look upon them; their garments were a mass of golden embroidery. This page of Oriental splendor had dropped bodily down into the busy bustling western world. The coolie exclaims, "Hip fine allee same melican show no good." The concluding function of La Fiesta was the floral display, a fragrant and beautiful success. The show a fairy dream. The triumphal progress of the perfumed pageant left in its wake a coating of crushed roses and carnations on the street pavements.  Pretty! Ah yes, it was something more than pretty, our plain language is too poor to express it--simply an outward and visible token of the inward and spiritual grace.Among the most interesting events of the past month was the meeting of the Southern Calilornia branch of the Woman's Press Association in Los Angeles. Papers on different subjects were read and discussed. Rose Hartwick Thorn, author of "Curfew Shall Not Ring To-night," was present much to the delight of the admirers of her crowning effort.TEXAS.Cora L. Smith.Cora L. Smith, Editor.And what is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days;Then heaven tries the earth if it be in tune, And over it softly her warm ear lays.--James Russell Lowell.From the many colleges all over our broad land the sweet girl graduate will soon return home, laden with honors and armed with that convincing proof of her intelligence and culture, the diploma.Truly, commencement is upon us, but, my dear girls, have you ever thought out what is to be your commencement? All cannot be teachers, and, indeed, many do not wish to assume the arduous task of training the young. Then, what shall you do?With so many avenues of labor closed against

us, it is by no means an easy task to decide which of the employments still available it is best to choose.It is much to be regretted that all can not learn some trade while at school; but since that is, at present, impracticable, the best thing to do is to go to work at once to supply the deficiency. A girl who is skilled in the dressmaker's trade, and is an adept in the art of designing a costume, can afford to be independent and demand her own terms. But there are dressmakers and dressmakers, just as there are teachers and teachers, and those who have not mastered all the intricacies of their trade will be forced to the wall. Learn a trade, but by all means learn it well; be an expert in your chosen profession, and patronage will be thrust upon you from all quarters.I see that some of the cities have already appointed their committees and gone to work to get up an exhibit for the Cotton States Exposition, which will be a credit to the Lone Star State. This is a move in the right direction.Those who do not wish to take part should not try to hinder or disparage the efforts of the committees. Of course things are not exactly as we would like--there are some objectionable features; but, we shall accomplish no good by standing aloof complaining, when there has been offered to us such at glorious opportunity to show to the world that we can do something.People pay no attention to a man who says, "I can invent a machine;" but let him step forward bearing his invention in his hands, and say, "I invented this," he at once attracts their attention, and if it is really worth anything, their respect also.Ours is the age in which work and not talk accomplishes the most good. The Caucasian sees so little of us, and very often that little our worst side, that he is amazed at the idea of one of us accomplishing anything worthy of his notice.We have some brains in Texas; now let us utilize them in getting together such an exhibit as shall make the Texas Department of the Negro Building at Atlanta the cynosure for all visitors.If we can demonstrate the fact that we call invent anything, mould a piece of statuary or write a book as well as anyone, then we shall do more to solve the negro problem than all preaching and complaining can do? Can we not do this?Mr. Carlisle, our state superintendent, has consented to establish a summer normal of high grade for colored teachers this year.  It is something of which all true teachers have felt the need, and we should show our appreciation by attending in large numbers.Mr. Kealing's name has been proposed as a conductor, and if he is appointed, we are all quite convinced that, with his ability and experience, he cannot fail to make it a success.As the Teachers' Association meets in Austin just at that time, the superintendent would do well to locate the normal there, as it would save teachers who wished to attend the expense of another railroad fare. Let us urge that city for the normal.The citizens of Austin are making strenuous efforts to give the teachers who attend a Teachers' Convention a hearty welcome. It is to be hoped that all who can possibly attend will do so. We are very anxious to have the meeting a success, but when more than half of the great army of teachers never attend, it certainly gives others a bad impression of us. We should be more interested in our own association. Make a few sacrifices if need be.Three of our educational institutes closed their doors last month--Hearne Academy, Wiley and Paul Quinn. All have very interesting programs.Prairie View Normal will close on the 7th of June. Bishop Lee will deliver the address to graduates and Rev. L. L. Campbell will preach the baccalaureate sermon.LITERATURE DEPARTMENT.Medora W. Gould.There has been little published lately that is interesting and entertaining, or, in other words, popular; which is a good thing.  For if we are continually deluged with so much current literature, that it is really worth one's while to read, when are we to find time for our old favorite authors? For those books that, however old, never cease to be new ? That can be read and read again, and in each reading we can discover new beauties and learn new lessons of life?By the way, did anyone ever consider what a dangerous thing it was to recommend a book, a thing we do so often and so carelessly? "Tell me something good to read," and you name the first interesting book that comes in your mind, not considering to what sort of a person you are speaking. Every book we read leaves an impression on the mind of some sort, but does not often impress two people in the same way. Often the book that may strengthen the weak places in the character of one, may have an opposite effect in that of another. Any book that is fascinating, or, indeed, at all interesting must appeal directly to some trait, taste, sympathy, or experience of the reader. Therefore it is well to consider the apparent characteristics of the friend to whom we commend a book; and we should be careful, also, lest we leave an erroneous impression of our own character by our tastes.This has been called the reign of the paperbound book. Time was when it was considered the spurious article, but nowadays everything comes in paper from Ruskin, Huxley, and Drummond to "The Dark and Daring Deeds of Dick Deadeye," et cetera.  So "you pays your money and you takes your choice." Now if you send to John B. Allen, publisher, 10 and 12 Underwater Street, New York, for his catalogue you will get a list of books quoted at prices ranging from two cents upwards. These are remarkably well printed on good firm paper. The list consists of the world's best books and embraces biography, history, science and poetry, as well as the standard novels.Here in Boston we have had Trilby indeed. Not only have we had the play, the original drawings for that most famous book, aud every article of of wearing apparel designated as "Trilby," but an enterprising baker advertises Trilby pies.NOTES FROM THE TUSKEGEE NORMAL AND INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTECommencement occurred Thursday, May 30.During commencement week a number of exercises were held here, representative of the work done at the institution.The commencement sermon will be preached by Rev. E. Winchester Donald, D. D., of Trinity Church, Boston.Our fruit and vegetable crop this year promises to be very large. Most of the vegetables used by the school are raised on its farms.The Seniors' Model Home, now in process of erection, is to be used exclusively for the young women of the senior class. One of the ends sought in the erection of this building is to give the seniors an idea of a model home.The class of '95 contains teachers, farmers, scientists, carpenters, printers, one preacher, laundresses, dressmakers, cooks, nurses, and in fact almost every kind of craftsmen.Every girl graduate this year wore a dress made by her own hands."Make a way" is the motto of the class of '95.Mr. S. Laing Williams, Chicago's most noted colored lawyer, delivered the annual address.A fish pond is being made here. Fish will be sent to it by the Fish Commission at Washington.A RARE OPPORTUNITYThe best known preventive to consumption is climate, and it is generally conceded that Colorado has the best anti-consumption climate in America. Hundreds come every year to Denver, hoping to prolong life or regain health; many of them do so who would otherwise meet early death.The climate of Denver, dry, pure and sunny, with its elevation of one mile above sea level, effectually cures all incipient lung diseases.Therefore parents having children predisposed to lung trouble are advised to send them to Denver to pursue their studies.The fine public schools and the Denver University afford unsurpassed educational facilities.Mrs. Ensley will take into her home a limited number of girls and young ladies desiring to get the benefit of the climate while attending school.She will give special attention to home training and physical culture, particularly to chest expansion, diet and healthful dressing, while superintending their course at the public schools.When private instruction is preferred the best teachers will be secured.For further information address
Mrs. E.P. ENSLEY,
1755 Ogden St.,
Denver, Col.Refers by permission to Mr. Nathaniel T. Allen of West Newton English and Classical School.WANTS.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 3. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.To supply any of these Wants apply at office of WOMEN's ERA.Private family will receive music student to board and lodge. Reasonable terms. Pleasant home. Kranich & Bach piano to practice on. Easy access to the musical life and institutions of Boston. References given and required.Miss M.W. Gould will give lessons by mail in English composition, grammar, use of capitals, punctuation, formation of sentences, etc.A woman of business experience and ability will act as confidential agent in taking care of or settling up the estates of women and children. Advice free.A safe and pleasant home for a young girl desirous of preparing herself to become a trained nurse, in return for services in house-work.ATLANTA UNIVERSITY, Atlanta, Ga.Collegiate and Normal Courses. Enlarged corps of teachers. Industrial training in domestic and mechanic arts, including printing. Instruction in both instrumental and vocal music and in elocution. High grade in every respect. A few deserving and needy students can be aided. Term begins Wednesday, October 2. For catalog, address President HORACE BUMSTEAD.A.G. McKENZIE
OPTICIAN
156 Charles St., Boston. 
Three doors from eye infirmary. 
Artificial Eyes a Specialty. 
Telephone, 1198 Haymarket.Mrs. J.F.A. GARDINER,
128 Alder St., Pittsfield, Mass.Will accommodate a few private boarders during the summer months. Five minutes walk from maple woods. Terms reasonable.F.A. GREENLEAF,
Wholesale and Retail Dealer in
PAPER HANGINGS,
51 Court Street,
Near Scollay Square. BOSTON.MRS. H.L. KEMP, Artistic Dressmaking and Millinery,
170 FRANKLIN AVENUE,
Near Myrtle, BROOKLIN, N.Y.
Imported styles always on hand. Competent dressmakers always in attendance.BOSTON
Condensed Milk Co.'s
Plain condensed (unsweetened) Milk Is the best known food for infants. Best article in the world for a cup of coffee. Sold in jars at the office, 2 1/2 Park Sq., Boston. Delivered three times per week.
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I have used the plain condensed milk and found it worked like a miracle in transforming my weak, puny baby into a strong, plump one, after all other foods had failed.
MRS. MCGILL.
10 Lindall Place, Boston.THE AMERICAN WRINGER CO. 
Branch Store. 
Nos. 13 and 15 Broadway Extension, 
Boston, Mass. 
Manufacturers of Clothes Wringers. 
All kinds of Wringers and Swoopers Repaired. Orders by Mail promptly attended to. What is this A.P.A.?What its Plans?
Who its Candidates?
What its Principles?
Where can we join?For full information, send 2-ct. stamp for -- or ask your newsdealer for - or send 50 cts. for 3 mos. trial subscription of - the paper which advocates straight A.P.A. principles - THE AMERICAN CITIZEN, 7 Bromfield St., Boston.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 3. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.- TRY -
A PERFECT ICING FOR YOUR CAKES,Will not spoil or foment in heat or cold, covered or exposed to the air.PERFECT ICING never dries out or crumbles, all other Icings draw the moisture from the cake and dry it up. A PERFECT ICING will keep your cake from drying out.PERFECT ICING should be put on in a very thin coating, like a varnish; it will give your cakes a beautiful gloss as well as flavor. Can be cut soon as put on by dipping your knive in cold water.A 25c. Jar of PERFECT ICING will go further than 25 cents in Egg and Sugar Icing as you use it, is more healthful, and gives a superior flavor.PERFECT ICINGS are put up in Screw Top Jars, also in Mason quarts, and in wooden pails of 25 lbs. each.DIRECTIONS.Remove the top, set the Jar in a moderate oven or warm place, until the contents are thin enough to spread. Take your knife, stir it up and spread on a cold cake, just as thin as possible. Set your jar away to use again.Ask your Grocer for PERFECT ICING.
Almond, Coffee, Wild Grape, Orange, Strawberry, Vanilla, Chocolate, Pistash.Prepared only by A.H. Peloubet & Co., New York.
See our Trade Mark A.H.P. is on every Label.PERFECT ICINGS used in making Sherbets or Water Ices, Ice Creams, Sauces, Home Confections, etc. Will give their rich flavors and save work.B.P. Ray, Agent. 2 Chatham Row, Boston, Mass.BOARD AND ROOMS.
PRIVATE BOARD.MRS. ELIZABETH E. COOLEY will accommodate a few select boarders.
Transient or permanent, At 62 PHILLIPS STREET, BOSTON.TO LET!Four Rooms, convenient for housekeeping, to a married couple, without children, who will give meals to other occupants of house, three in number. A good chance for right party.Apply at 103 CHARLES ST., before 11 o'clock A.M.POINT PLEASANTWill be opened June 1 to accommodate a few select boarders.
For terms address
MRS. E.E. CRISPELL,
WEST STOCKBRIDGE, Mass
P. 0. Box 45.ATTENTION LADIES.
Our Dress and Garment making is perfect; Prices reasnable; Fit, Style, and Finish Unsurpassed.
Hats and Bonnets made and Trimmed, 50c. to $1.00
Our Millinery and Dress Cutting Schools are the best in the world. Young ladies should come at once and learn.
HARVEY,  29 Temple Place, Boston.E.A. LIBBY,
New goods received by steamer every week. We never have an opening.
Always ready to show goods.
- MILLINERY -
The old reliable house retains the same stand,
19 Temple Place, Boston.THE NEW WORLD TYPEWRITER
Price, $15.00.
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THE TYPEWRITER IMPROVEMENT CO.
4 K Post Office quare, -- Boston, Mass.
AGENTS WANTED.EDGAR P. BENJAMIN, 
Attorney and Counsellor-at-Law
34 School Street, Boston.  Room 22THE CELEBRATED
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Does not contain corrosive sublimate, lead, arsenic, mercury, or any poison. As a toilet article for tan, sunburn, moth, freckIes, etc., its excellent, cannot be too well recommended.
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AGENTS WANTED EVERYWHERE.
For Sale by Druggists and Dealers In Toilet Supplies.
All correspondence should be addressed to the New England Agents,
W.F. & J.S. KINGSBERY,
RANDOLPH,  MASS.NOTICE!THE WOMAN'S ERA is on sale and can be obtained of BEUNKE, STATIONER,
550 MASSACHUSETTS AVE., CAMBRIDGE.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 3. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.THE SUCCESS OF THE SEASON
MRS. N.F. MOSSELL'S BOOK
THE WORK OF THE AFRO-AMERICAN WOMANThe First Edition has been nearly exhausted. An edition of 5000 is to be issued March 1st."Above all, let the negro know that the elevation of his race can come only and will come surely through the elevation of its women." - Senator Geo. F. Hoar.Miss Emma K. White, one of Chester's most successful teachers, says: "The volume entitled The Work of the Afro-American WomenWoman is a great success at this point."Miss Julia Songow, Germantown, Pennsylvania: "I have sold seventy-five copies of the Work of the Afro-American Woman within two weeks."Mrs. Jennie Euola Johnson of Trenton, N.J.: "I have been very successful in my canvass of The Work of the Afro-American Woman."Agents Wanted: General      Offered. Let 		desire to canvass during the summer, apply at 					of effort have already done well.		Red or Brown Cloth, 75 cents, White and Gold, $1.Apply to Mrs. N.F. Mossell1432 Lombard Street, Philadelphia, Pa.HOUSEKEEPERS SHOULD SEE THE NEWFIBRE CARPET.
A Soft, Pliable, Odorless Matting,
Warm in Winter, Cool in Summer.
An Ideal Sanitary Chamber Carpet
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We cordially invite inspection.
HODGES FIBRE CARPET CO.
Manufacturers and Patentees,
50 Essex St. (cor. Chauncy) Boston, Mass.Why Not Advertise in the Weekly Journal of the Lodge? With a circulation of 4,000 Write for terms and space.Address JOURNAL OF THE LODGE, NEW ORLEANS, La., Box 105.GEORGE L. RUFFIN,
VOCAL CULTURE.Lamperti Method
103 Charles Street,  -  -  Boston, Mass.Butler R. Wilson,
ATTORNEY AND COUNSELLOR AT LAW,Notary Public,
34 School Street, (Room 33) Boston.Robert L. Carter, M.D.
PHYSICIAN & SURGEON,No. 722 Kempton Street,
NEW BEDFORD
Diseases of Women a Specialty.
Telephone 329-4.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 3. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.Homes for the People!In Southern California, The Italy of America.Lands Within Reach of Poor Men's Means.THE FRUITLAND COLONY COMPANY,
Of Los Angeles, California, Have placed upon the market 
20,000 ACRES 20,000Of the finest land on earth, which they intend to colonize with colored people, and at prices within reach of men of small means. In order to induce investments in these lands we offer 2,000 acres to the first settlers at $20 per acre and guarantee to deliver water to each 20 acres sold, sufficient for irrigation. These lands lie 60 miles north from Los Angeles, and 7 miles from the Southern Pacific R.R., and consist of a rich friable loam, being of sedimentary formation mingled with decomposed granite. The soil is from 4 to 50 feet deep, and is capable of producing everything on earth that grows in this land of wonderful production.It lies at an altitude of 2,500 feet above sea level and is peculiarly on the land of the olive and almond.SMALL FARMSare the rule in Southern California and more profit can be realized from 20 acres here than on 160 acres in the East.AFTER 2,000 ACRES HAVE BEEN SOLDthe price will be $35.00 per acre.It is not an unusual thing for trees in bearing to yieldFrom $100 to $1000 per Acre.These lands have perfect title and will be sold for one-third cash, balance one, two and three years, with interest at 6 per cent per annum.Full information will be given by applying to
H.A. PIERCE, President, or T.M. GIBSON, Secretary,
Room 37, Bryson Block, Los Angeles, California.The Woman's Era.Vol. II. No. 4.BOSTON, MASS., JULY, 1895.  PRICE 10 CENTS.NOTES AND COMMENTS.A wee "new woman" came to town last Sunday evening at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Grant, Charles St. The young stranger is said to be of such strength of lung and limb and that already the prospect of her casting her vote for president of the United States in 1916 is a settled fact.Mrs. Mary Church Terrell delivered the address to the graduating class of the Wilmington, Del., High School June 25. The address was commented upon by the newspapers of the town as being the best ever delivered in that city by a woman.Mr. W.E.B. DuBois' short stay in this city will probably be forgiven by his many friends when they learn that it was a sufficient time to secure for him the honored title of Ph.D. at Harvard. This is the first time a colored man has attained this title, and it is needless to say that Dr. DuBois has our best wishes and congratulations.The picnic given for the benefit of St. Monica's home on the 1st of July, although an eminent success socially, owing to the uncertainty of the weather in the early part of the day was not the financial success it should have been. The hard and intelligent work put into the effort by the committee of ladies deserved to win for them the financial returns hoped for. About two hundred people went out. It required many times that number to meet the desire of the committee, which was to raise enough money by the picnic to keep the home open through the summer season, when most of its friends and donors are away from the city. The affair was projected by an independent committee composed of the following ladies: Mrs. Hattie Ruffin, Mrs. L. Pope, Mrs. Hemmings and Mrs. Fannie Johnson.The Hon. "Jack" Durham, minister to Haytii under the Harrison administration, has been recently admitted to the Philadelphia bar.CONFERENCE NOTES.Widespread interest is being shown in the coming conference, communications from clubs all over the country showing that interest in and sympathy with the movement will have substantial recognition in the presence of its delegates.As the ERA goes to press before a complete list of delegates can be arranged, we append but a few names of those whom we may expect to have with us. Later, programs will be arranged and mailed to clubs desiring them.First, the Woman's Era Club, and we are sure all other clubs represented will be glad to welcome among them Mrs. Ida B. Wells Barnett, who has been invited to attend. Being with them at their formation, and also being in every sense of the word a club woman, the congratulations waiting to be showered upon 'Mrs. Barnett will be heartfelt indeed.The W.L.U. of New York will send three accredited delegates and six at large, Mrs. Victoria Matthews, Mrs. Katie Carmand and Miss Tarner being the three regular representatives. Mrs J. Imogen Howard, one of the N.Y. State Board Of Women Managers of the World's Fair at Chicago, will probably come on and tell us of what was done for that exposition by the women of N.Y. and N.E.Philadelphia will be represented by Miss Dora Cole and Mrs. N.F. Mossell, who will read papers.  It is also hoped that Mrs. Fannie Jackson Coppin, principal of the Philadelphia Institution for colored youth, will be with us.  Mrs. Coppin was the first to introduce manual training in the Philadelphia schools, a system which is being successfully pursued in the institution of which she is now principal.That sweetest of all poetic singers  and lecturers among us, Mrs. Frances E. W. Harper, will probably be heard.From the west comes cheerful news, that Los Angeles, Cal., will be represented, and resolutions passed in three churches in that city will be sent for reading.Although it will be impossible for Mrs. Terrell

of Washington to be present, it is hoped that the National Woman's League of that city will be represented either by its president, Mrs. John F. Cook, or Mrs. Cooper, its secretary, that finest of all our essayists.From Tuskegee, Ala., Mrs. Booker T. Washington is expected.Miss Ella Smith, B.A., M.A., of Wellesley, will read a paper, subject to be announced later.New York and Washington will each have entire control of one session of the conference, carrying out programs of their own arrangement.Another special session will be devoted to "Social Purity," when papers pertaining to subjects as factors to social purity will be read--such subjects as "Hygienic diet as a factor," "Business education as a safeguard," etc. In this connection a valuable suggestion from Mrs. Alice S. Felts, that of circulating for signatures a social purity pledge, will be carried out, Mrs. Felts having been requested to present in a paper some phase of this subject.Another session will be in charge of an eminent worker of the W.CT. U.Mrs. Fannie Barrier Williams of the Chicago Women's Club will lend interest by her presence.From New Orleans, one or more delegates has been promised by the Phyllis Wheatley Club,and Mrs. R.G.L. Page, representing that new and flourishing club recently formed in Berkeley, Va., will come as its delegate.A new club recently formed in Salem, Mass., through the interest and exertion of Miss Annie Blanchard, will be represented.This by no means shows all the delegates expected, but simply gives an idea of the communications that are being received in accord with and desiring to participate in the conference.  Of local clubs there are many, and far away, some members of which we .Later an official programme , showing the exact line of work of which we hopefully expect will our object, showing by our actions what we are.Berkeley Hall, including banquet hall, dressing rooms, etc., will be engaged for all the sessions of the conference, also for the closing feature, which will be a social one, taking the form of a reception of the delegates and promenade concert.Regular delegates will be lodged free by the members of the W. E. C., and dinners will be furnished at the hall at moderate cost to delegates and others desiring them.NEW YORK.Victoria EarleVICTORIA EARLE, EDITOR.The man Jacks, seeing the way, doubtless, of getting his name before the public, estimating the possible free advertisement he could get from the reflex action of sending a sensational communication to England concerning a scarcely known class, adopted a method so thoroughly unfit for usage among honorable men that any wholesome-minded person finds it difficult to stay repugnance for such things long enough to enter a protest, or an appeal to universal reason.  Such an attack on womankind as his, so noisome and foul, is merciless in marking to the world the standard of man that the Missouri State Press Club has seen fit to elect as its presiding officer. He has not only slandered the women of negro extraction, but the mothers of American morality and virtue, when he says in his letter to the Hon. Florence Balgarnic: "Until such literature as your society (anti-lynching) sends out made an impression, and until northern women came along with their degraded views of chastity of women," etc., etc. Let reasonable minds ask what this means.  It it plain that it begins with the negro woman, but let reason say where it ends. "Until the northern people came among us with their degraded views of chastity of women"!  Where do Maria Lydia Childs, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Fanny Kemble, Harriet Martineaux, and hundreds of others who in pure lofty womanhood upheld the moralists of the nineteenth century--the abolitionists--stand in this Iewd fellow's sweeping statement? When truth-loving minds understand and acknowledge that the thing in slavery which destroyed the peace of mind of the ever-to-be-appreciated northern woman was in toto the demoralizing effect of the institution slavery on each succeeding generation--when this is considered, the only conclusion is a boundless pity for the depravity that flagrantly vents itself on the self-sacrificing labors of the women who taught southern menwhat chastity meant!While no sane person will accept any statement of morals on such general lines as this individual

has outlined, and while it is repellant in every way to the chaste mind to dignify such foul thoughts and expressions by a public refutation, yet allegiance to virtue leaves but one course open, to warn the indifferent against permitting such an one as this man Jacks must be to think and speak for them. I mean particularly the Press Club of Missouri. While it is not to be expected that any good effect can be made by our utterances on the class that the defamer represents, yet the courageous women should speak through the WOMAN's ERA that the world may feel the power of the chaste mentality of the true negro woman. At least, this is no time to treat a vilifier in the manner only comprehended by a true man. As consistent women, jealous of our good name, we should not hesitate through mistaken ideas as to wise policy, etc., in. sending broadcast our burning contempt for any creature who can assail with viperous touch a subject that involves the innate mystery of hidden life out of our reverence for those who preceded us, made a place in history, song and story for us. Our indignation should know no limit. We as women have been too unobtrusive, too little known; we have been hidden by our close adherence to high endeavor. The dross has forced to the front too long.  We should realize, and let the world know that we realize it, that America, and the south in particular, owes a deathless bond of gratitude to the now slandered class, that the fair sons and daughters of the south were not corrupted or demoralized during their young and tender years. This is no shallow claim. History can be out in evidence to prove that decency existed most generally among the negro women of the south, for they only were forced by iron law and brutish control to live under the harrowing conditions by the chivalric (?) progenitors of possibly Jacks and his class. If there were enough negro women found at that time to whom the tender youth was entrusted, not only for training at the very time of life when the moral character pre-eminently is formed, but for nourishing the same, which is an indisputable fact, what claim to truth can Jacks and his class hope to establish by such malignant charges as are published in his letter to a noble English lady?No man capable of reverencing his mother, or protecting the unsullied fame of any woman, would have written or forwarded such a communication to any woman; much less, one whose life work entitles her to the respect at least of progressive and wholesome minds, regardless of sex,  wherever principle and unselfish efforts to uplift struggling humanity exists.The Woman's Loyal Union will do all in its power to support the position taken by the Woman's Era Club of Boston in calling upon the women of the race to meet in convention. The matter is being pushed vigorously, other clubs and bodies of women being appealed to; and there is every reason to look forward to the convention as an epoch marking event in our history, for it can be made such, if every individual woman will realize that, as it is the first of the kind, much depends on the undertaking as a precedent. If successful, the organized bodies of women throughout the country will note it, and their respect for us as a body will rise correspondingly; thereby an advance will have been accomplished.  The brightest of our women should come together, for regardless of success or failure, it will afford an opportunity not only of educating public opinion as to our status as women, but will be a test of the broadmindedness an zeal in the matter of mutual advancement existing between the women of the races.  If the women will only read and think this manner over, we will have no fears as to the ultimate result.WASHINGTON.Mary Church TerrellMARY CHURCH TERRELL, EDITOR.O that I could express in words,very emotion that I feel, And sweeter than the song of birdsEach of my hidden thoughts reveal.Within my soul they're fettered fast,Although they long to be released,And nobly struggle, till at last, From vain endeavors they have ceased.Then as a caged bird sings, tho' bound,Still caroling its sweet refrain,So in my soul, though bars surround,My thoughts sing forth their sweetest strain.Two women engaged in an interesting dicussion which I overheard the other day.  The ques-

tion to be settled was whether it is wiser for the average Afro-American to be so politic as to avoid antagonizing Anglo-Saxons by dissenting from their opinions, or whether he should boldly assert himself, when the occasion arises, and have the courage of his convictions."I believe that the reason why we make no more progress in securing our various rights is because all of us, men and women, are too weakkeoed," said a fiery little sister, fairly bristling with independence and earnestness. "Some of our most intelligent men counsel such allopathic doses of diplomacy in dealing with their brothers in white as to cure forever the tendency either to challenge accusations or resent insults offered by them. As long as we submit quietly just so long will the apostles of oppression and tyranny continue to insult and abuse us. According to my opinion, we have been too long-suffering and have given too little evidence of possessing back bone.  Patience ceases to be a virtue after it reaches a certain limit, and too much so-called christian submission is the virtue either of cowards or fools, I believe," she continued, boiling more and more with indignation as she proceeded.'"Well, what do you advise, for instance?" said a level-headed woman whose pulse beat at least twenty times less in a minute than that of her friend.  "You would have our men go through the world with a chip on their shoulder, I suppose, offering fight to all Anglo-Saxons who differ with them. A more hair-brained course could not be imagined, because it would fall so far short of accomplishitig the end at which you aim. Policy and diplomacy will effect more than pugnacity as we are situated at present, according to my opinion.""I do not advise going to extremes in asserting ourselves and maintaining our manhood," said the little advocate of resistance. "I want our intelligent men to be more ready to resent insults and stand up for the rights that are denied. I want lo see them less willing to preserve the silence they call "golden" when a word of manly independence and righteous indignation would raise them so much higher in the estimation of themselves and everybody else. We need to cultivate self-respect as a race. From the very nature of the case we have too little of that in our composition. The fact that it is not our fault that we lack this prerequisite to a dignified manhood and womanhood does not alter or help the matter. The effect upon ourselves is just as fatal in every particular. I want to see men of spirit possessing too much self respect to play the role of cowardice under the cloak of diplomacy. I want to see the number of men not afraid to denounce wrong increasing.""That is all very well from a theoretical standpoint," said she of the slow pulse and the cool head, "but practically such a course would be suicidal to the progress of the race, as I look at it. We are as yet too dependent upon the masters of the situation to strike the attitude of defiance. We need money above everything else before we are in a position to make demands effectually. Such a bold expression of opinion as you advise would simply mean less of position to the average Afro-American who indulged in this pastime to any great extent. Here in Washington, for instance, some of our brainiest men are in the employ of the government, and their lips must be sealed when it comes to fault finding or denouncing wrongs inflicted by the dominant race. Our men of intelligence, who are for the most part independent of spirit, frequently refrain from taking an active part in the war against oppression because such a course would deprive them of means of subsistence. They do not want to take bread out of the mouths of their families, and so they keep silent."This state of things is indeed discouraging," said the little Joan of Arc, "for it is a species of slavery more galling to men and women who have tasted freedom than to those who have never known the joys of liberty. But I do not believe that an exhibition of bold, fearless manhood in the race would result so disastrously as you imagine. Even tyrants admire courage in the victims of their oppression. If our men displayed more pluck and independence in their dealings with the Anglo-Saxon brothers the latter would have more respect for them. We can never command respect from others until we possess a sufficient quantity ourselves, and no man or woman can respect himself or herself who dares not stand up for what he or she conceives to be right. In the struggle for complete liberty some body must be sacrificef. If each one considers only what will be to his advantage as an individual, and is subservient because it will advance his personal interests, I doubt seriously that we shall ever attain that dignity and independence as a people without which we can amount to nothing."ILLINOIS.Fannie Barrier WilliamsFANNIE BARRIER WILLIAMS, EDITOR.The July number of the ERA will find many of our readers among the teaching class in the cool retreats of their vacation season.  To no class of workers is a brief respite from service so happily welcome.  In their eagerness for this grateful season of change from the worries and bad air of the school room to the open air of freedom and exhilaration many of our teachers give but little attention to the best means of spending this vacation time.Of course, I would not attempt to give either instruction or advice as to how the vacation period ought to be spent. This is a matter of individual determination to be governed largely by circumstances. It is interesting, however, to note and understand what important changes are going on in the popular mind with reference to the use of summer vacations. While railroad and steamboats are doing everything in the line of improvement in traveling facilities, and while the watering places are all wonderfully joyous in the things that delight soul and body, there has been a steady growth in in popular favor of the summer schools, and other assemblies for intellectual recreation.  Many of the great universities and centers of learning have become popular summer resorts for the increasing thousands who find no rest and strength in idleness or dissipation of time.These summer schools are largely in the nature of lecture courses and embrace a wide range of studies that in many cases are in the nature of post-graduate work. The most eminent men and women in all departments of human knowledge are engaged in this new department of education. The Chicago, Madison, Lake Forest and Michigan universities are notable among western Schools for the thoroughness and extensiveness of their summer work for 1895.The prospects of attendance from all parts of this country and Canada are exceedingly encouraging to the cause of education. Many eminent men from the universities of the older world have been secured for the summer course of Chicago university, and teachers and others who are eager to hear the authoritative word from the original thinkers of the day would do well to avail themselves of these rare opportunities.It is to he hoped that large numbers of our southern teachers will feel inclined and be able to refresh themselves with these larger inspirations of vacation season. People in the North can help the cause of education in the South to a considerable extent by affording a hospitable welcome to such of our overworked and underpaid sisters in the South who come North to drink from these fresh founts of inspiration and high knowledge.Exhilaration of soul, as well as a renewal of physical strength should be the aim of the men and women who for two or three months are released from the service of teaching. To thus enlarge the boundaries of the mind mean as much to the schools as to themselves.It is a long time since Chicago has been in such a tip toe of eagerness over social events.  The announcement of June Weddings has fairly taken us off our feet with their startling surprises.  The approaching marriage of Miss Ida B. Wells to Mr. F.L. Barnett has an interest that exceeds all local  bounds.  The public has become so interested in the unique career of Miss Wells that her determination to marry a man while still married to a cause will be a topic of national interest and comment.  The public has been so accustomed to think of Miss Wells' remarkable zeal for the cause of law and order that, I suppose, no one ever reads a case of lynching without associating with it the indignant protest of our plucky little friend.Aside from being an attorney of established reputation at the Chicago bar, the fortunate groom has manifested a chivalric interest in the cause of his estimable bride.  All Chicago unite in blessing the matrimonial union of two persons whose most conspicuous traits of character have been an unstinted interest in the cry for help and justice from an unfortunate people.The I.B.W. Woman's Club will tender the wedded pair a reception that promises to be a notable event.Another wedding of only local interest by pleasantly suggestive of happiness to the estimable couple is that of Miss Lulu Wiley to Adelbert H. Roberts on the 20th inst. Miss Wiley is a young woman possessed of so much exquisite good sense and sweet amiability that everyone shares her

happiness in marrying a fine type of the new generation of colored gentlemen.  Mr. Roberts is a recent graduate of the Chicago law school and is a high-minded, capable and companionable gentleman.These June marriages chime in quite fittingly with the gladsome festivities of these school closing days. They both lend a joyous zest to this season of congratulation and good will. It is the season of flowers, music, bright expectations and love's triumphs. There is an optimism in the air we breathe, a melody in opening bud and bursting flower, and an inspiring opulence in this season when Hymen is the sovereign gay, and diplomas bring sweet messages to anxious hearts.MISSOURI.Josephine Silone YatesJOSEPHINE SILONE YATES, EDITOR.POSITION OF NATIONAL W.C.T.U. IN RELATION TO COLORED PEOPLE.Certain misunderstandings on this question render expedient the publication of the following statement, drawn up in Boston, Feb. 6, 1895. Every reader who notices the prominent names attached will be interested to learn that the signature of Frederick Douglass was almost the last one that he made.Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Francis J. Garrison, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps-Ward, Julia Ward Howe, Ednah Cheney, Joseph Cook, Lyman Abbott, Herbert D. Ward, and Bishop H.M. TurnerIt has come to our knowledge that wrong impressions concerning the attitude of Miss Willard toward the colored people in America have been made in certain quarters, and as an act of justice we desire to put it on record that no such criticisin would be for a moment received in her own country by those who have any adequate knowledge of Miss Willard's character and career. Her ancestors were Abolitionists, her childhood's home was on the line of  "the underground railway" for fleeing fugitive slaves; her father was one of the founders of the Free Soil, afterwards the Republican party; and her convictions and sympathies as proved by her speeches, books and editorial articles are with those who from the beginning of the great anti-slavery agitation have been devoted to the cause of the colored people.As president of the National W.C.T.U. and founder of the World's W.C.T.U., Miss Willard has always maintained the position that no colored line could be drawn by either society, and the women who have thus far guided and controlled these great national organizations have never sought to establish any distinction in either, but have freely and gladly accepted the colored women as officers and delegates to the convention of both. Within a few weeks Miss Willard publicly declared that if a certain woman's club of Chicago, of which she is a member, declined to receive colored women on terms of equality, she should resign her membership.The National W.C.T.U. is organized on the basis that each state has a right to manage its own internal affairs. In some of the southern states, colored unions have heen formed with the hearty concurrence of leading colored women. When these unions send their delegates to the World's or National W.C.T.U., they are received on terms of perfect equality with white women. It is due to the white ribbon movement that this statement be widely made and thoroughly understood, as the work of that society is one of wide range and womanly beneficence. In view of these facts we feel that for any person or persons to give currency to statements harmful to Miss Willard as a reformer is most misleading and unjust. Through her influence many of the state unions have adopted resolutions against lynching, and the National union has put itself squarely on record in the same way, while the annual addresses of the president plainly indicated her disapproval of such lawless and barbarous proceedings.[Signed]FREDERICK DOUGLASS,WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON,FRANCIS J. GARRISON,THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON,ELIZABETH STUART PHELPS-WARD,JULIA WARD HOWE,EDNAH CHENEY,JOSEPH COOK,LYMAN ABBOTT,HERBERT D. WARD,BISHOP H. M. TURNER, Atlanta, Ga. Bishop of the African M. E. Church, representing two million communicants.Libbie C. AnthonyIt is a sad mistake for the future of our race that the great mass of our colored children are coming up without sufficient training to early impress and induce to habits of sobriety, temperance

and morality. Since the object of all churches is to work for Christ, and the accomplishment of this end, I have thought to ask each church to form Temperance Mission Bands, and each Saturday or semi-monthly gather the children and give them short, spicy talks on the church's mission work, temperance, honesty, etc. With a few pretty songs these meetings could be made very interesting and helpful. Once a quarter an entertainment could be given and one half the proceeds used for mission work as the church would direct, and the other half given to the temperance work under the W. C. T. U. Each church has a number of intelligent young women who would gladly do this work for their church and race if requested by their pastor.The future of the race depends on the training of the children of to-day. I will be glad to hear from any one, especially ministers and teachers who are willing to help "train the children in the way they should go."Yours for Christ and humanity,For further information address LIBBIE C. ANTHONY,State Superintendent Colored Work,Missouri W.C.T.U., Jefferson City, Mo.A very interesting meeting of the Woman's League was held at the residence of Mrs. Bishop Handy Wednesday, June 5th, at which time it was decided to ratify the constitution of the National League of the Colored Women of the United States.Interesting letters were read from Mrs. Charlotte Grinkle and Mrs. Helen Cook of Washington, D. C., and from Mrs. S. Dupee of Jefferson City, Mo.  Papers and documents from other points were also presented.A program of work for the summer was mapped out, the ladies concluding to maintain the sewing school and make over-garments which might be of use to the needy in winter.The "Fourth of July" issue of the Kansas City Journal, a Republican paper of wide circulation, will be edited by the ladies of the city, and the corresponding secretary of the League has been requested to prepare for that edition a few statements concerning the nature and work of this organization of colored ladies.Garland Penn, Chief of the Negro Department of the Cotton States and International Exposition, has created a commission for the "City of Kansas, Mo., and Kansas City, Kansas, whose duty it shall be to collect, forward, install and supervise the colored exhibit from the two cities."Six young people graduated from Lincoln High School at the tenth annual commencement of this institution, and fifty promotions were made from the various ward schools to the High School.On Monday night, June 11, Sidney Woodward, the Boston tenor, delighted a large and appreciative Kansas City audience with his matchless voice.COLORADO.Elizabeth Piper EnsleyELIZABETH PIPER ENSLEY, EDITOR.WOMEN IN CONVENTION.Ida De PriestBY IDA DE PRIEST."Nothing succeeds like success."The enfranchisement of the women of Colorado brings to them the knowledge that they are a power in the political world.That earnest women can do almost anything was thoroughly demonstrated at the Republican State League Convention held in Denver May 28.They went there with the intention of electing one woman delegate out of the fourteen to be sent to the National Convention at Cleveland, Ohio.  That they succeeded in sending not one but three, is another proof of what earnest women can do.Promptly at ten o'clock the president of the State League, which numbers nearly one thousand, called the convention to order. To one who has attended conventions the usual preliminaries are familiar.  This one differed from others only in having a majority of women voters and a greater number of colored delegates.  When a candidate was elected in whom the women were particularly interested, there were no shouts and throwing up of hats, but only a clapping of hands, and that not very demonstrative for fear of bursting kid gloves.Those who think of women voting only in connection with reforms should have visited the convention and have seen the adroit proceedings of

the two leading women of the party. Both were anxious to receive the highest honors within the gift of the league. How they and their followers did work, not for the best good of the people in convention assembled, but for their own personal interests.One side went so far as to put in the resolutions to be read before the convention, that a certain woman should not be allowed to vote because she was not what she would have the worId believe her to be. The men considered this a good joke and had a hearty laugh over it.Already too much glimmer has been thrown over the real. Articles have been written from superabundance of self conceit, in which opinions are given instead of facts.We women of Colorado are proud of our liberty. If we would clear and make better the political atmosphere of which we have so often boasted of doing when we should gain the franchise, we must carry our  womanhood  there. Let true womanhood enter into every part of politics and be used as the instrument of all reforms.If the ideal of woman suffrage is still in advance of its realization, if its theories are still ahead of its practical accomplishments, if that which it has done pale by comparison with what it will do, then and not till then will woman suffrage be a grand achievement.Mrs. Ida De Priest was elected third vice president of the Colorado State Republican League. She has done excellent party service and merits the honor.The literary department of the Woman's League gave a pleasant entertainment at the home of Mrs. Irving Williams Monday evening, June 17.CALIFORNIA.S. Willie LaytonS. WILLIE LAYTON, EDITOR.Early one morning of last month, despite the mists that obscured the bay, the overland train pulled on to the Oakland pier and safely landed its passengers, among whome were the two distinguished women, Miss Susan B. Anthony and Rev. Anna H. Shaw,  who had crossed the continent to meet with the second Woman's Congress of California. It was said by some of the "legal-minded men" that the subject ("Home") under consideration this year was not broad enough in scope and would prove tame. After the subject had beon discussed politically by Miss Anthony and Rev. Shaw, and by the other brainy women who considered it from domestic, social, evolutionary or hygienic standpoints, the men--not even conservative Rabbi Voorsanger of San Francisco--dared criticise the verdict of Mayor Sutro, "That there had assembled in Golden Gate hall an aristocracy higher than ever assembled in any place in Europe--an aristocracy of brains. Women have finer brain power than men and will improve government.  Let them step in and restore the patriotism of the revolutionary fathers and all will be well."It was apparent that the new woman was not to be distinguished by any frightful logic dress reform attire, neither was she bereft the divine and sweet influences that characterize the mother and wife.  The new woman, as she appeared in Golden Gate hall, demonstrated her intellectual fitness and cleverly proved herself able to use her brain and appear attractive, for said the press,  "Oh, this is no Woman's Congress, this is some sort of swell reception." Yet her personal appearance was secondary to the vital question under discussion. If brains quickened with progressive thought, balanced by sound judgment, enthusiasm, crowded halls, from which has gone forth an impetus for greater effort in the elevation of woman and humanity, if these are indications of success, then this Woman's Congress was a success.The presence and practical talks of Mrs. Stephen Matthews (known at the Woman's Congress as the little English woman with the big voice) has inspired to action the colored women of this place. The Woman's Club for the special interest of our own people has been organized. The possibilities are large for a grand work by this club, the women are of the class teeming with enthusiasm and bright thought and lots of "stick ability."  I only wish you might be present at our next meeting to hear the Rev. Jones "plea for the one man membership in the Woman's Club."  While some of us favor co-relative work the majority are vindictive and decree that what has been sauce for the goose shall now be served to the gander.  When it shall be aye and nay, the nays will carry.We are on the verge of an educational war.  Supt. Search tried to introduce and advised the

individual system of  instruction in the public schools as superior to the old class system. The school board is divided, the superintendent's situation challenged, common sense requesting silence for the present from teachers, the citizens en masse for enlightenment, personalities so bitterly flung that as yet we don't know just where we are. It is to be hoped this very serious question of education may be wisely and carefully considered. Let the individual system have fair and impartial trial. If the present class system can be improved, teachers allowed opportunity for using a little more originality in giving unto each pupil his instruction as and when most needed, instead of the old way of cramming a prescribed course, mental capacity or none, such a system would be more helpful alike to teacher and pupil.OHIO.Sada J. AndersonSADA J. ANDERSON, EDITOR.Sunday, the 19th ult., at 4 P. M., the parlors of the Y.W.C.A. were filled to overflowing with the members and friends of the association to hear your representative's address on the condition of the colored people of the south. Frequently throughout the address were the friends in tears as the listened in a sacred stillness to the condition of these dear people of the balmy southland so well delineated. The singing of the sextette added much to the meeting, as they told the sad story in song.Mrs. Emma S. Ransom of Cleveland, one of the editors of Woman's Light and Love for Heathen Africa, one of our missionary periodicals, and the only one published by our women, spent a few days with us. Mrs. Ransom is but to be seen to be loved. Though young in years she is making the world know she is in it.During Bishop Wayman's stay in the city, he was entertained by Mrs. Hattie Hicks, the enthusiastic little president of the Woman's Mite Missionary Society. Of course the dear bishop gave us quite a spiritual and intellectual feast.The Dicken's Club has been taking a vacation.At a late meeting, Mrs. Hattie Cannon delivered a fine paper on mental culture. In speaking of mentat improvement, she recommended mental food which best serves our needs, and mingling in refined and cultured society. She said there was no excuse for ignorance except indolence and indifference, so long as the public libraries were opened to the world.The Henrietta Society had quite a pleasant literary and social meeting last week, and we regret very much that it was our misfortune to be absent.  This society has done and is doing much for the people at large.Now that the weather is pleasant, the King's Daughters have changed their meetings from the homes of the members to the church, and all Daughters are earnestly requested to be about their King's business, for it requireth haste.TENNESSEE.Sylvia Mason MaplesSYLVIA MASON MAPLES, EDITOR.Though at the eleventh hour, the Trilby fad has come to town. One East Tennessee maid, even at the exorbitant cost of one dollar and a quarter, possessed herself of this peculiarly pathetic story, and read it forthwith. Whatever her mental verdict may have been, her verbal criticism was "horrible."  If by venting this acrid term before her friend, she though to curb their eagerness to read De Maurier's fancy, when too late she learned that the wrong term was unhappily employed in condemning it.  Instead of serving the purpose she had intended, it "o'erleaps itself and falls on other."  The consequence is that her quondam clean, cloth-bound copy of "Trilby" has been borrowed and read so much that, ere being read more, it must come in close contact with the glue pot.  Having read a book, one must in reason have some opinion of it. Giving my honest, conscientious conviction of the much thought of, much written of, much talked of literary sensation of the times, I must say that I have failed to see in it so much of dross and shame as some of my more punctilious friends; I have failed in toto to see it in the alleged light of a "corrupter of morals."  To the contrary, I think, though the work is fraught with objectionable features-many--(by the way, that no girl of modest bearing would do well to imitate, unless, like Trilby,

she err through ignorance) it carries, in the end, a moral of purity and innocence.Sheeted and sleeping in the grave's cold embrace are innumerable mothers, good, old-fashioned mothers, such as the world is in need of today. Not that there are fewer god mothers now than in times past, but that there are more corrupting influences abroad, abasing the minds, the hearts, the morals and manners of the times. Mothers were once not so foolishly ambitious of their daughter's social popularity as now. Instead of being precipitately paraded before public notice, the girls were wont to be kept in obscurity too long, so long as to engender a shyness and awkwardness difficult of riddance, when from their hiding they emerged.Then, in those dear, forever-gone days, girls were less prone to forwardness, less addicted to flattery and less susceptible to its seductive influences.When mothers were more watchful of their daughters' incoming and outgoing, more zealous, of the company kept, more observant of the haunts frequented, more careful of their manners and behavior, girls were more sincere and less deceptive.There was a time when young women would not, knowingly entertain young men who were morally, socially or intellectually their inferiors; but now, sad to say, the reverse is conspicuousily prevalent. In many places a man requires no family prestige, no brains, no money and--worse than all--no morals; nothing save a "gift of gab" and a stylish apparel to admit him into high and respected circles.  Poor requisites these for a man's entrance into the sanctity of our homes.It may be a sweeping assertion--an assertion born of ignorance, through inexperience of maternal duties, for one from whom God has withheld his greatest blessing, the blessing of becoming a mother--to make, nevertheless I charge you who have been so expressly favored, you who are mothers, with countenancing and abetting this deadly growing evil.  I charge you with neglect of your offspring's welfare.  I charge you with the good or bad qualities of which your child is possessed. It is not altogether the fiat of inheritance that a man must necessarily be profligate because his father was a libertine, or that a woman must need be the second edition of her mother's untowardness. By virtue of the power of blood, the tendency may exist--must exist, for blood will tell: it is sure to come out, if not in the present generation, in the next or the next; but as in nature it is possible to overcome the center-fleeing forces by the center-seeking, or  vice versa, it is also possible by prayer, christian endeavor and christian determination to overcome the evil tendencies that are your child's inheritance. Mothers, vast, immeasurable, never-ending are your responsibilities; your nursery songs, your daily lessons, your words, your thoughts, your deeds, your walks, your maternal influences, all make or mar, elevate or degrade the child.The commencement exercises of the Austin High School, which took place at Staub's Theatre Friday, June 7, was, in the estimation of your correspondent, the best ever given by that school. The class was small, being composed of only two young ladies, Misses Eva Kidd and Minnie Smith. Miss Kidd was as usual, happy in the delivery of her well written thesis, "Unheeded Opportunities " which he treated under the guise of  "ShipsThat Pass in the Night."  Miss Smith, in a few well-chosen, impressive words, delivered the valedictory. The four well-rendered recitations by as many young women were most entertaining.Another noticeable feature, and one worthy of commendation, was the total absence of ostentation; simplicity, sensible and pleasing, reigned instead. The young ladies, with but a few exceptions, wore white wash goods. Much credit is due Professor J. W. Manning and his able corps of teachers for the year's course of instruction and its happy termination.VIRGINIA.Rosa D. BowserROSA D. BOWSER, EDITOR.The Fifth Baptist Church of Richniond, Virginia, is spreading a feast of religious inspiration for the church lovers, by securing the services of some of the most able and gifted divines in the state. Rev. W. H. Brooks, whom everyone here loves to hear, preached at the above named church on the morning of June 16, and at the First Baptist Church in the afternoon of the same day. It is needless to say that on both occasions the audiences listened to soul-reviving, animating  sermons,

and the name of Rev. Brooks of Washington, D.C. (formerly of Richmond) will be sufficient announcement to gather a large congregation. The Fifth Baptist Church of Sidney, or the western section of the city, occupied a small frame structure until about two years ago. Now the church has purchased a beautiful site and has built one of the most beautiful houses of worship in the city. Under the direction of the pastor, Rev. Clarke, dedicatorial services will continue for several weeks.Rev. Gullins, of the 33rd St. A.M.E. Cliurch, has won the hearts of the people of all denominations, and very many are enthusiastic in praises of his fine sernions and a very instructive address to the young men at the Y.M.C.A. building a few weeks ago.Several State Institutes and Peabody Normals will be conducted in different portions of Virginia during the month of July. Three of these normals are for the benefit of colored teachers.So the question of the day is, where are you going?  "Are you going to the Institute ?" comes next. Many teachers from the cities and counties attended last year, but the outlook does not seem so bright this summer as far is Richmond is concerned.The Second and First Baptist Sunday schools hold commencement exercises the 18th and 20th of June respectively, at which time the students of the normal class receive their diplomas. The plan may be a very excellent one, and perhaps could be improved by putting each S. S. graduate in charge of a class. But I am sorry to confess that I have not been able to perceive the benefit to the S. S. from S. S. graduation. I have in mind cases of students who walked with their certificates out of S. S. and have only attended the church services since that time. They seem to have outgrown the Sunday school.Mr. T. Thomas Fortune, editor of the New York Age, visited this city about the middle of June. The hospitality of his friends must have convinced him that they appreciated his visit. He was the guest of Dr. and Mrs. Dismond.Prof. J.E. Jones delivered a very fine address at the commencement of the High and Normal school on the evening of June 15.  This address added interest to the exercises, which, as a whole, were pronounced a decided improvement on last year's entertainment.The school session closed by a literary and musical entertainment by the Richmond Normal School Alumni, June 17, at the True Reformers' Hall.NOTES FROM THE TUSKEGEE NORMAL AND INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE.Isaac FisherTUSKEGEE, ALA.Notwithstanding the fact that the school has closed, the busy hum of machinery and the general activity about the shops go on as ever.There has been made in the wheelwright shop this year twenty wagons and two buggies.The annual address delivered by Mr. S. Laing Williams was an able and powerful one. The beauty of it was that he did not discuss the "negro problem" or any phase of it, but all he said was sound common sense.A friend has contributed $12,000 to the school, to be used in erecting a large chapel at this place.Our dairying department is progressing nicely. The following appliances have been added to it:  One Sharpies Russian hand separator, ripening vat, butter worker, churn, and one Babcock milk test.Some of our graduates are here to take post-graduate courses at some of the trades.ISAAC FISHER.CLUB NOTES.The last social meeting of the season of the Woman's Era Club was in charge of the Current Events Committee, Mrs. Mary Dandridge chairman.  A very pleasing programme was carried out.  Miss Harriet Smith read a paper on the "influence of clubs on the home," and an unusually fine progreamme of music was rendered by Mrs. Sparrow, Mrs. Harris and Mr. Moses Hodges.  The afternoon wound up with a club tea.  It was decided to continue business meetings of the club through the summer on account of the coming conference.The action of Miss Florence Belgarnic at the recent World's W.C.T.U. convention in London will always stand out as one of conspicuous bravery, and the fact that she stood alone proves nothing so much as that Miss Willard is a great leader as well as what we claim for her--a great temporizer in matters pertaining to southern sentiment.THE WOMAN'S ERA.THE WOMAN'S ERA, the organ of the National Federation of Afro-American Women, and devoted to the Interests of the Women's Clubs, Leagues and Societies throughout the country.Published monthly, in Boston, by JOSEPHINE ST. P. RUFFIN, FLORIDA R. RIDLEY, 103 Charles Street.SUBSCRIPTIONS.Per Annum, -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -$1.00Single Copies, -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -.10Club Rates, one hundred copies,   -    7.00Subscriptions Payable in Advance.EDITORIAL."BE BOLD, BE BOLD, BUT NOT TOO BOLD.""He that feeds men serveth few,
He serves all who dare be true."
--EmersonTo dare be true to one's self respect and dignity should not be too hard a task to set for even the most timorous when it is remembered that self respect and self pride will halt and waver when it does not compel respect, and must finally die of wounds made by the contempt of others unless active means are taken to keep it alive. In a crisis, ability to see the right thing to do and courage to do it must command respect, at least for the effort. A crisis demanding a display of such qualities is upon us, and no plea of sensitiveness to making public slanderous insults can excuse the traduced from seeking vindication from unjust accusations, especially as these accusations are made and scattered broadcast.Will not longer pretending to igore these things look like either a tacit admission of their truth, or a fear to honestly face the charges so sweepingly made now? At the conference it is not proposed to make this refutation by boisterous denials of the accusations, but by earnest affirmations and showings of what we are, our aims, aspirations and hopes. The slanderous letter referred to in last month's ERA, while it has served as a spur to action in a matter long considered and frequently suggested in the ERA, will not be the keynote of the discussions of the whole conference. One session will be devoted to  "social purity" and what can be used as factors in promoting it. At that session the answers to inquiries sent out to prominent and reliable educators, and missioners among colored people, as to the moral conditions among these people as they find them, will be read. This subject should properly receive most careful and delicate handling, but with courage enough to compel condemnation of vice wherever it exists, and vindication for the innocent victims of a widespread slander.MISS WILLARD AND THE COLORED PEOPLE.In the Kansas department this month appears a circular letter explaining Miss Willard's position on the color question. The defence is timely, and it is a question if even now, since its publication, the majority of colored people will have their opinion that Miss Willard is a "temporizer" materially altered. The fact is, Miss Willard is at the head of a tremendous organization, and in that capacity and in order to keep everything and everybody harmonious, is obliged to be politic, and for the Welfare of the W.C.T.U. not to antagonize any section of this country.Doubtless Miss Willard is a good friend to colored people, but we have failed to hear from her or the W. C. T. U. any honest, flatfooted denunciation of lynching and lynchers. The London Daily News, in commenting upon the resolution passed at the June convention upon lynching, says that the resolution saying "We deplore the taking of life without trial," is a practical condonation of the practice and an evasion sprung by the Americans, of which every honest-minded British woman upon second thought should be ashamed.We have great respect for the signers of the circulars, but it will take more than this and more than Lady Somerset's scoring of Miss Wells to convince us that the W.C.T.U. does not hedge.DR. DONALD AS A SIGN OF THE TIMES.It seems as if Dr. Donald's speech at Tuskegee has stirred up more commotion in Massachusetts than in Alabama. It is true that private letters from the Institute, expressing the deep resentment of the pupils and teachers, had been received in Boston long before the sermon was published, but no open comment upon it has been heard from that quarter; we did not expect it.Not so here in Boston. While we admit the truth of some of the Dr.'s remarks, we condemn

the whole spirit and motive, and frankly acknowledge that our chiefest concern is that Dr. Donald represents the growing spirit of the times--sympathy with the south and its methods, a growing belief in the inferiority of the negro, a disposition to put him down and back--these are the sentiments which are growing daily stronger in the North as well as the South. It is useless to blind ourselves to the fact that our position grows worse; we progress in education, in character and in the acquisition of money, but while in some cases these must tell, they do not bring that universal respect that they should. As long as identified with the race, the negro is regarded and treated as an inferior except in individual cases.The prospect could hardly be gloomier. South Carolina will doubtless disenfranchise the black man and very shortly restrict his educational privileges. Florida has recently passed laws making it a penal offence for black and white to study together, and in Georgia a black man can't even buy an Atlanta Constitution to show the ridiculous side of the situation.We must acknowledge that there is nothing left for us but to strike for ourselves.  We have a few staunch friends, but only a few, and even public sentiment as its best is bored with us.We can no longer wait for the problem to solve itself. Away with the doctrine of humility.  As Mr. Higginson says, let us "be bold." Life is more than meat. Let the people of South Carolina leave a state which gives them no good thing but food.  If extinction awaits us finally, let us go to meet it like men, not lie down for it to overtake us.Here in the North the spirit of the times is felt, but here a black man is a man, and if forced to it can physically force the respect which is his due.  In the South we are powerless to strike for ourselves with everything against us.  But there are more ways than one. The negroes can leave and end a situation which grows worse rather than better. The time for resistance, wise resistance, has come. Our hope for creating public sentiment grows dimmer and dimmer, and patience and humility have ceased to be virtues.THE ATLANTA EXPOSITION.We have stated why we do not endorse the Atlanta Exposition. It is a significant fact that most of the leading women and men of the North hold our views. We hope to arrange a symposiurn giving the opinions of well-known people upon the matter.We do not see how the colored exhibit can escape being very meagre, and the world should know the reason for it.LOUISIANA.Alice Ruth MooreALICE RUTH MOORE, EDITOR.Hurrah!  If one could only be a boy to throw up one's cap and shout out in the middle of the streets.  School, the long, tiresome ten months' session of the public schools is over at last, and one can rest for a few weeks at least.  Rest, sleep and mental dormancy before the long term of hard work begins.  Hurrah!The air was full of school entertainments.  The public school child demands a picnic or party and an exhibition during the last two or three weeks, and as children rule the world nowadays, suffering teachers must comply with the demand.  Then the teachers from the other schools would come and look on and eat ice cream and smile, remembering their past experience, or sigh, dreading the future.Southern University wound up in a brilliant display of musical glory.  The orchestras there, under Professor Nickerson's direction, are trying hard to rival the outside orchestras.  The baccalaureate sermon and commencement were revelations, especially the former, in scared music, and the possibilities of instruments in the hands of mere students. Another brilliant social as well as musical success was the promenade concert given by the Eddie Moore Conservatory committee July 1 at Loeper's Park.  The name Eddie Moore committee serves as a talisman always, and as about a thousand invitations had been issued, there was a great and generous crowd assembled.  Interspersing the dances, the Students' and Ida Club orchestra played classic overtures, as also dod the mandolin club.  So then, every one voted the affair a success in three ways, musical, social and financial.The Phyllis Wheatley Club held an interesting

meeting during the month. Some good papers were read, some good plans were discussed and some good reports received.N.B. The editors regret that they are obliged to leave until another issue an excellent paper by Miss Leila Moore of New Orleans on "How Women Read Newspapers."TEXAS.Cora L. SmithCORA L. SMITH, EDITOR.Texas, the largest state in the Union, has a most interesting history, one with which no other state can compare.  A stranger coming upon Thrall's or Pennybacker's history of Texas for the first time is lost in wonder and admiration of the daring deeds and almost superhuman accomplishments of its brave patriots in their struggles for freedom.How many Texans have stood within the portal of the Alamo Mission in San Antonio and felt a glow of pride, not unmixed with sorrow, as the scene of cruel massacre of that little band, composed of 172 courageous men, by the savage Mexicans under their cruel leader, Santa Anna, rises before them.  How one's heart burns with indignation when he remembers that these martyrs were not even given a Christian burial, but were piled in a huge heap and burned!  Every one of that noble band killed and burned!  Every scene rises vividly before our eyes as we gaze upon the beautiful Alamo monument erected within the precincts of our capitol grounds in Austin.The State Teachers' Association, which convened at Austin, June 11 to June 14, was one of the most successful in its history.  The attendance was larger than that at Galveston last year, and the papers read showed careful preparation and were both instructive and helpful.  It is to be regretted that more of the young teachers do not take an interest in this association.  These inexperienced workers are just those who need the aid of such instruction, and yet they are slow in taking the advantage of the opportunity of meeting and comparing notes with our leading educators of the state.  We, as a race, labor under most adverse circumstances, and there are things which the young teacher, who is to succeed, must know. These cannot be found in text-books; they can only be imparted by those experienced educators who have worked in this particular field; they, only, can aid and strengthen these young birds which are, for the first time, about to essay their tiny wings and soar away. Too soon they will discover that they are not teaching the model boy or girl spoken of in the different educational journals, who always gives the expected answers. On the contrary, their boys and girls seldom or never give the correct answer, and they so discourage the young teacher that he often silently vows to let their morals, at least, severely alone. Theory is one thing, but practice is quite another. Let us urge our young educators to meet with us, join us, visit us, and learn how we have groped in the dark and reached--not perfection, but a plan for better and more effective labor.Teachers from all over the state were in attendance. All of the great schools were well represented. Dr. I.B. Scott, of Wiley University, at Marshall; Prof. H.T. Kealing of Paul Quinn College at Waco; Prof. L.C. Anderson of Prairie View State Normal School at Prairie View; Prof. M.H. Broyles of Hearne Academy at Hearne; and Prof. D. Abner, Jr., of Sequin College at Sequin. Beside these, all of the large cities were represented by the principals and assitants of the different schools, as well as the army of teachers from the rural districts.  What an array of intelligence and culture!  Nothing but a great good can come from such a gathering.The day sessions were held in the chapel of Tillotson College, and the night sessions at the Third Baptist Church, Wesley Chapel and the Metropolitan A.M.E. Church. It all ended in a blaze of elegance and beauty at Turner Hall, where the citizens had prepared a most sumptuous banquet, which was partaken of with much enjoyment, while the orchestra discoursed sweet strains of music.Just a word to my friends. You see that Texas has joined this grand array of states, and she has come to stay. We wish to make the Texas department one of which all Texans may be proud.  This can only be done with your assistance.  Do not wait until your school re-opens to give us your subscription, but subscribe at once, so that you may not miss anything.  The paper is such as to need no encomiums; one needs but to see it to like it, and only to read it in order to praise it. I ask you to give me your aid by passing the paper on to some friend.  Texas must not be behind the other states. I rely upon you to assist me in making it second to none.
SOCIAL NOTES.BOSTON.The events of the month of course have been graduating and commencement exercises. Among the graduates were included Miss Genevieve Lee from the Newton High School, Miss Gertrude Peake from the Boston High, and Miss Mary Lewis from the Everett school.Out at Harvard Mr. W.H. Lewis took the degree of LL.B., and Mr. Munroe Trotter finished the academic course, a winner of two degrees in four years, B.A. and M.A.Both Mr. Lewis and Mr. Trotter entertained on Class Day.  Mr. Trotter an especially large company of buds and belles and matrons.  Of course, "it goes without saying," although said many dozens of times, that everything was "perfectly lovely."  The day was perfect, the girls radiant in their fresh and appropriate costumes, and "the spread" most satisfactory.  Conspicuous among the girls present were Misses Maud Trotter, Cromwell, Marsh, Glover, Grant, Lillian Lewis, Cartwright, Scotron and Bessie Mitchell.The closing of the schools brings home our college girls as well as our teachers.  Miss Hemmings comes back from Vassar, Misses Bake and Trotter from Wellesley, all fresh refutations that pretty girls are not students.Miss Florence Smith and Mr. Parker Bailey are at home on their annual vacation, and Miss Ella Smith is paying her yearly respects to her Alma Mater, and making a round of visits in Boston and vicinity.The friends of Miss Hattie Howard of Philadelphia are in receipt of invitations to her wedding which takes place on the 3d of July.  Miss Howard is well remembered here as a girl of especial vivacity, intelligence, and attractiveness.  She marries the Rev. John W. Johnson of Virginia, and will make her home in Richmond.Rev. A.C.  Garner, of Paris, Texas, and Mrs. H.E. O'Neil, of Hot Springs, N.C., are in Knoxville attending the bedside of their sick sister, Miss Marion Garner, a young elocutionist of much promise.In its last issue, the Statesman Exponent showed a flattering degree of appreciation of the efforts of our women in the field of literature by its liberal clippings from the columns of the WOMAN'S ERA.This week's mail brought quite a pleasant surprise in the invitation of the Ida B. Wells Club of Chicago to the marriage of its president.The first quarter of the editorship of the Open Court has reached its limit with this, the July issue of the ERA.  The list of subscribers is still expanding.  I can but express my heartfelt gratitude to those who have shown and are still showing by every means in their power the interest they take in the uplifting of the womanhood of the race by their labors on behalf of the WOMAN'S ERA and "The Work of the Afro-American Woman."One of the most gratifying facts in my experience of this work is the deep interest taken in these publications by the men of the race.  Many of the progressive professional men of Philadelphia, such as Drs. Jackson and Cox, dentists, Dr. George R. Hylton and Dr. N. F. Mossell have secured copies of these works for use in the waiting rooms at their offices.  Other gentlemen have subscribed for these works as birthday, graduation and wedding gifts, and also assisted in the sale at many points.  These facts prove conclusively that if a just cause be properly presented, the men of the race will show themselves loyal to the work in hand.A dear unknown white friend in the south sends me a letter stating the fact of her having come in possession of the last three copies of the ERA containing the Open Court.  She is engaged in work among the colored people.  She desires to present and has already presented me with pamphlets of Bible readings.  For all this I appreciate the dear lady, but her letter continues and I cannot forbear giving the readers of the ERA an extract from the closing pages:own race in love for us, for I don't think many of us have thought of formulating a very decided wish to meet with many brethren and sisters of color in heaven.   editor meets in the course of years with many proofs of kindness, but this assurance that our people, as represented by the various departments of the ERA, are not looked upon as heathen, surpasses all others thus far received.  all means let us continue this work of convincing our white friends of our merits.LITERATURE DEPARTMENT.Medora W. GouldMEDORA W. GOULD."What America Owes to Women" is a handsomely bound book by Lydia Hoyt Farmer. The introduction is by Julia Ward Howe, and it contains many full page portraits.  The general subjects embraced are: Women in the Home, Women in Professions, Business and Trade, Women in Literature, Women in Art and Music, Women in Education and Science, Women in Philanthropy, Women in Church Work, Missions and Charities.  It contains many interesting anecdotes and personal sketches as well as brilliant articles from the pens of Mrs. U.S. Grant, Jessie Benton Fremont, Mrs. Frank Leslie, Jane G. Austin, Mrs. Henry Ward Beecher, Mary A. Livermore and many others.Someone who knows whereof he speaks, says, in regard to the countless number of books being published at present, "The quality of the paper is so poor that at the beginning of the twenty-first century, not one of them will be in existence." Mr. Swan, the Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Records, after a thorough investigation of the subject concludes that there is as good, if not better, paper made today than ever before, as well as poorer, but that neither good paper nor good ink can be had at bargain counter prices. It has been suggeted that public libraries be supplied with books of superior material that can be warranted to outlast those now in general use.Bret Harte is said to be about to publish a fairly long story, but whether is is a romance of California or London is not known.  What a pity he did not save his very euphonious title, "The Bell Ringer of Angels," for a long story instead of applying it to such a short one. This story, "The Bell Ringer of Angels," contains a deep romance in spite of its brevity. Its attractive but worthless heroine, and its two good men and true, particularly he who sacrifices himself, recall the plot of Hall Caine's best novel".Freeman G. Miller, a native of Indiana, farmer, teacher and, now, Professor of Literature in a Western college, is attracting attention by his poetry which has a picturesqueness and dash that is extremely captivating. The following is the first verse of a charming little piece called "At Eventide."At eventide when glories lieIn crimson curtains hung on high,And all the breast of heaven glowsWith mingled wreaths of flowers and snows,The dearest dreams of life draw nigh.S.R. Crockett, author of "The Raiders," has resigned his pastoral charge and intends to devote himself to literary work.  He explained to his congregation that the same Lord who called him to preach the Gospel has revealed to him the possession of a literary talent which he desired him to use.Major Calhoun, the editor of The Standard, the new Boston Daily, is the same Major Calhoun who is the author of "Marching Through Georgia."  He was an office uner General Sherman and lost a leg in battle.John Brisben Walker of the Cosmopolitan is soon to start a weekly newspaper after the style of Harper's Weekly.Thomas Hardy is said to be dramatizing "Tess."This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 4. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.ATLANTA UNIVERSITY, Atlanta, Ga.Collegiate and Normal Courses. Enlarged corps of teachers. Industrial training in domestic and mechanic arts, including printing. Instruction in both instrumental and vocal music and in elocution. High grade in every respect. A few deserving and needy students can be aided. Term begins Wednesday, October 2. For catalog, address President HORACE BUMSTEAD.SUBSCRIBE FOR MRS. CASNEAU'S GUIDE TO ARTISTIC DRESS CUTTING AND MAKING.It is entirely original and is sure to satisfy a long felt want of young dressmakers, women who do their sewing at home, and those who anticipate learning the trade as the means of gaining a livelihood.The book is self-teaching and can be used with any system or with paper patterns.The order of arrangement places the rules where they will come in regular order for cutting and making a gown. In fact, the aim has been to make the work eminently practical for the average woman.Liberal inducements to agents everywhere.For further information and circulars, send stamp toMr. Elmer E. Casneau,
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Imported styles always on hand. Competent dressmakers always in attendance.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 4. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.- TRY -
A PERFECT ICING FOR YOUR CAKES,Will not spoil or foment in heat or cold, covered or exposed to the air.PERFECT ICING never dries out or crumbles, all other Icings draw the moisture from the cake and dry it up. A PERFECT ICING will keep your cake from drying out.PERFECT ICING should be put on in a very thin coating, like a varnish; it will give your cakes a beautiful gloss as well as flavor. Can be cut soon as put on by dipping your knive in cold water.A 25c. Jar of PERFECT ICING will go further than 25 cents in Egg and Sugar Icing as you use it, is more healthful, and gives a superior flavor.PERFECT ICINGS are put up in Screw Top Jars, also in Mason quarts, and in wooden pails of 25 lbs. each.DIRECTIONS.Remove the top, set the Jar in a moderate oven or warm place, until the contents are thin enough to spread. Take your knife, stir it up and spread on a cold cake, just as thin as possible. Set your jar away to use again.Ask your Grocer for PERFECT ICING.
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RANDOLPH,  MASS.NOTICE!THE WOMAN'S ERA is on sale and can be obtained of BEUNKE, STATIONER,
550 MASSACHUSETTS AVE., CAMBRIDGE.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 4. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.THE SUCCESS OF THE SEASON
MRS. N.F. MOSSELL'S BOOK
THE WORK OF THE AFRO-AMERICAN WOMANThe First Edition has been nearly exhausted. An edition of 5000 is to be issued March 1st."Above all, let the negro know that the elevation of his race can come only and will come surely through the elevation of its women." - Senator Geo. F. Hoar.Miss Emma K. White, one of Chester's most successful teachers, says: "The volume entitled The Work of the Afro-American WomenWoman is a great success at this point."Miss Julia Songow, Germantown, Pennsylvania: "I have sold seventy-five copies of the Work of the Afro-American Woman within two weeks."Mrs. Jennie Euola Johnson of Trenton, N.J.: "I have been very successful in my canvass of The Work of the Afro-American Woman."Agents Wanted: General      Offered. Let 		desire to canvass during the summer, apply at 					of effort have already done well.		Red or Brown Cloth, 75 cents, White and Gold, $1.Apply to Mrs. N.F. Mossell1432 Lombard Street, Philadelphia, Pa.HOUSEKEEPERS SHOULD SEE THE NEWFIBRE CARPET.
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50 Essex St. (cor. Chauncy) Boston, Mass.Why Not Advertise in the Weekly Journal of the Lodge? With a circulation of 4,000 Write for terms and space.Address JOURNAL OF THE LODGE, NEW ORLEANS, La., Box 105."Violets and Other Tales."
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COPIES FOR SALE AT
Office of Woman's Era,  103 Charles St., Boston.HOWARD UNIVERSITY.Washington D.C., July 1, 1895Furnishes instruction in the following departments and courses:Theological, Medical, Dental, Pharmaceutical, Legal, College Preparatory, Normal, Musical, and Manual Training, including practice in carpenter shop, printing office, book bindery, tin shop and sewing school.All students have the privilege of library and reading room without extra charge.Tuition free in all courses except Medical Dental and Pharmaceutical.Term opens September 18.J.E. RANKIN, D.D., L.L.D., President.
J.B. Johnson, Secretary.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 4. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.Homes for the People!In Southern California, The Italy of America.Lands Within Reach of Poor Men's Means.THE FRUITLAND COLONY COMPANY,
Of Los Angeles, California, Have placed upon the market 
20,000 ACRES 20,000Of the finest land on earth, which they intend to colonize with colored people, and at prices within reach of men of small means. In order to induce investments in these lands we offer 2,000 acres to the first settlers at $20 per acre and guarantee to deliver water to each 20 acres sold, sufficient for irrigation. These lands lie 60 miles north from Los Angeles, and 7 miles from the Southern Pacific R.R., and consist of a rich friable loam, being of sedimentary formation mingled with decomposed granite. The soil is from 4 to 50 feet deep, and is capable of producing everything on earth that grows in this land of wonderful production.It lies at an altitude of 2,500 feet above sea level and is peculiarly on the land of the olive and almond.SMALL FARMSare the rule in Southern California and more profit can be realized from 20 acres here than on 160 acres in the East.AFTER 2,000 ACRES HAVE BEEN SOLDthe price will be $35.00 per acre.It is not an unusual thing for trees in bearing to yieldFrom $100 to $1000 per Acre.These lands have perfect title and will be sold for one-third cash, balance one, two and three years, with interest at 6 per cent per annum.Full information will be given by applying to
H.A. PIERCE, President, or T.M. GIBSON, Secretary,
Room 37, Bryson Block, Los Angeles, California.CONFERENCE SOUVENIR NUMBER   TWENTY-EIGHT PAGES.The Woman's Era.Vol. II. No. 5.BOSTON, MASS., AUG., 1895.  PRICE 10 CENTS.NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF COLORED WOMEN HELD IN BERKELEY HALL, BOSTON, MASS., JULY 29, 30, 31, 1895.PROGRAMME.MONDAY.10 A.M.ORGANIZATION (Not open to Public).2  P.M.FORMAL OPENING.REPORTS FROM LEAGUES AND CLUBS.8  P.M.ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT,Mrs. J. St. P. Ruffin.ADDRESS,Mrs. H.A. Cook, Washington.WOMAN AND THE HIGHER EDUCATION,Ella L. Smith,  A.B.A.M.NEED OF ORGANIZATION,Mrs. A.J. Cooper, Washington.POEM,Miss A.T. Miner, Boston.TUESDAY.10 A.M.SECRET SESSION. 2  P.M.INDUSTRIAL TRAININGMiss L.C. Carter, New York.A PLEA FOR JUSTICE.Miss C.E. Hunter.ADDRESS,Mrs. E.E. Williams, New York.ADDRESS,Mrs. B.I. Washington, Tuskegee.8  P.M.INDIVIDUAL WORK FOR MORAL ELEVATION,Mrs. B.T. Washington, Alabama.VALUE OF RACE LITERATURE,Mrs. Victoria Matthews, New York. POLITICAL EQUALITY, T. Thomas Fortune, Henry B. Blackwell,William Lloyd Garrison.WEDNESDAY.10 A.M.SOCIAL PURITY,Mrs. Agnes Adams, Boston.TEMPERANCE,Mrs. A.G. Brown, Boston; Mrs. L.C. Anthony, Missouri; Mrs. Butler, Atlanta, GA.2 P.M.BUSINESS MEETING.8 P.M.RECEPTION.THURSDAY.ALL DAY.BUSINESS.MINUTES OF THE FIRST NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF COLORED WOMEN.Hannah Smith and L.C. CarterThe First National Conference of Colored Women of America held in Boston, Mass., opened its session on Monday, July 29, at 10 A. M., Mrs. J. St. P. Ruffin, President of the Woman's Era Club, calling the meeting to order. Miss Eliza Gardner, of the ERA club, offered prayer. The call was read by the Recording Secretary. A motion was made to elect officers for permanent organization, the chair to appoint the committee on nomination, with the following result:Nominating Committee -- Mrs. Aldridge, of Pittsburg, Pa.;  Mrs. Jeffries, Rochester, N. Y.; Mrs. Sampson, Boston; Mrs. Garner, New York; Mrs. Pitts, St. Louis, and Mrs. Mahammitt of Omaha, who reported the following as officers for the convention:  Mrs. J. St. P. Ruffin, of the Woman's Era Club, President; Mrs. Helen A. Cook and Mrs. Booker T. Washington, Vice-Presidents; Mrs. Pitts and Miss Eliza C. Carter, Secretaries.  Mrs. Pitts declined and the Secretary of the Woman's Era Club, Mrs. H. Smith, was elected in her place.A committee on resolutions was appointed to     to Miss Impey the expressions of sympathy from the convention, Mrs. Pitts, Miss Gardner and Mrs. Williams comprising the committee.The  following committee, on address to establish the platform of the convention, was appointed:  Mrs. Victoria Matthews, Mrs. B. T. Washington, Mrs. Aldrich, Miss Ella Smith, Mrs. Pitts, Mrs. U. A. Ridley and Mrs. Mahammitt.The chair then gave a few simple rules to govern the convention, which were adopted.Pages Ernest Kenswin and Franklin Carmand were appointed.Motion to adjourn.Rules presented and adopted.  1.  That speakers be limited to five minutes.  2.  No person to speak more than twice on the same subject     unanimous consent of conference.2 P. M.--The convention met at 2 P. M., and continued business by listening to the reports from the delegates.  14 states and the District of Columbia, 53 delegates, responded.It was voted to defer the president's address until the evening session.Voted, that the report of Committee on Resolutions and Reports not responded to be read at   session.Adjourned to meet at 8 P. M.8 P. M.--The platform of the Convention was read by the Secretary, and the address of welcome was delivered by the President, Mrs. J. St. P. Ruffin.The programme for the evening was carried out with the following additions: Mrs. Arianna Sparrow and Mr. M. M. Hodges singing solos.  A collection was taken--$9.11.Adjournment.10 A.M., Tuesday morning, July 30.--The Convention opened with devotional exercises. Arrangements were made, as Mr. Henry Blackwell, husband of Lucy Stone, would be present at the evening session, to sing "Blest Be the Tie That Binds" before his remarks.The Convention went into secret session and discussed Jack's letter. Resolutions were offered by Mrs. Ardelia Hin, Mrs. Anthony and Mrs. Mahammitt, followed by discussions by all the women, the whole culminating in a set of resolutions by Mrs. Matthews which were adopted by the Convention. Leaflets on Jack's letter to be sent to England.Letters were also read from Gen. O. O. Howard, Rev. Therkield, Berea College, Talladega College, George W. Cable and others.Mrs. Mathews, Mrs. Dickerson and Mrs. Mahammitt were appointed to draw up resolutions to be forwarded to Judge Albion W. Tourgee, who is now in.Voted that collections be taken for the printing of whatever matter the Convention, in its deliberation, may decide to have printed.2 P. M.--The programme for the afternoon was carried out, with the exception of Mrs. Victoria Mathews' paper, which was laid over until evening.  Miss Hunter read a paper, "A Plea for Justice," and a song was rendered by Miss Goings, also a paper read by Mrs. Williams of New York.   The order of original programme    the introduction, before the regu-   of a paper on "Individual Work for Moral Elevation," by Mrs. B. T. Washington, and a paper on "Race Literature," by Mrs. Victoria Mathews.10 A. M., Wednesday, July 31.--The morning session of the First National Convention of Colored Women was opened with prayer by  Mrs. Agnes Adams. Singing by the Convention.Minutes of Monday and Tuesday sessions read and approved, with the necessary corrections.Dr. Crummell was invited to make some remarks and a rising vote of thanks was tendered him by the Convention. The exercises for the morning were reversed so that the remaining time could be given up to business. Subject of Social Purity was discussed and a paper by Mrs. Agnes Adams was read, Mrs. Dr. Butler and Mr. Chas. Morris making remarks on the same subject. The subject of Temperance was then taken up, Mrs. A.G. Brown reading a paper, followed by Mrs. Anthony.Resolutions endorsing Miss Wells' work and congratulations on her recent marriage were offered by Mrs. B.T. Washington, and adopted.Committee on the Impey letter and resolutions to be sent to Judge Albion Tourgee reported and reports adopted.Committee was appointed to draw up resolutions on the Georgia convict system, lynching, and the Florida state law making it a crime to teach white and colored children at the same time in the same schools, and other atrocities.Voted, that this body support the Congregational church in its action in matter of the Florida law.After singing the Battle Hymn of the Republic in honor of Julia Ward Howe, the convention adjourned.2 P.M. -- No papers were read on this afternoon.Mrs. Ridley of Boston,  Mrs. Maxwell of New York, and Mrs. Cooper of Washington, were appointed on the committee on resolutions relating to the Georgia convict system, Florida state school law, lynching, and other atrocities.The Convention then took up the business of national organization. Mrs. Cook was allowed time to make the necessary explanations regarding the National League.  Mrs. Matthews presented resolutions asking that a national organization now be formed.The Convention adjourned to meet to finish business Thursday morning, at 10 A. M., in Charles St. Church to complete organization. Thursday, Aug. 1. -- The extra session of the Convention opened at 11 A.M. in Charles St. Church.  Devotional exercises were led by Miss Gardner, Chaplain.  Minutes read and approved.  Mrs. Ruffin asked for time to make an explanation in regard to a false statement made in the Boston Journal, after which the docket was cleared for new business.  Mrs. Ridley proposed that a national organization be now formed, with its own laws, officers, constitution, etc.  Mrs. Matthews offered resolutions agreeing with Mrs. Ridley's proposition, which were adopted, and a committee on organization, consisting of one delegate from each delegation was appointed.   A discussion followed as to the clause looking to a union with the Colored Women's National League.A committee was then appointed to perfect organization, and the following names reported to be balloted for by the Convention:  Mrs. B.T.  Washington, Alabama, Pres.; Mrs. F.Y. Ridley, Boston, Cor. Sec.; Miss L.C. Carter, Brooklyn, Rec. Sec.; Mrs. Ruffin, Treas. Mrs. Ruffin positively declining to serve.  Mrs. L.C. Anthony of Jefferson City, Mo., was substituted.  The Vice Presidents were chosen by the Convention as follows:  Mrs. Dickerson, Newport, R.I.; Mrs. Helen Crum, Charleston, S.C.; Mrs. Ella Mahammit, Omaha, Neb.; Mrs. Mabel Garner, New York.Voted that the WOMAN'S ERA be made the organ of the national organization through which to gain all information regarding the organization.Mrs. Mathews' resolution to frame a constitution adopted.Voted, that the name of the new organization be laid over; a collection to be taken to defray the expense of the leaflet; the clubs to be taxed pro rata; a new committee to be formed to gather up the loose ends of the Convention; Mrs. Mathews, Mrs. Carmand, Mrs. Casneau, Mrs. Agnes Adams, former committee on atrocities, discharged.  That this Convention gives a rising vote of thanks to the pastor  for allowing us the use of the church; to Mrs. B.T. Washington's resolution to the Era Club; a rising vote for entertainment; vote to Franklin Carmand.  That printed minutes be left in the hands of the ex-committee; officers and ex-board National Organ confer with the officers and ex-board Washington National League toward a union with the Colored Woman's National League.  To adjourn, subject to the call of the Pres., Mrs. B. T. Washington.  That we thank the press generally for their courteous, kind  and dignified report of the Conference, with the exception of the Boston Journal. Convention adjourned, singing "God Be With You Tin We Meet Again."Miss Gardner dismissed with prayer.HANNAH SMITH, L.C. CARTER, Secretaries of Convention.LETTERS AND RESOLUTIONS.Whereas, a most indecent, foul and slanderous letter, traducing American womanhood, has been sent to Miss Florence Balgarnie of England, by one Jno. W. Jacks, Pres. of the Mo. Press Association,Be it therefore resolved, that this National Conference of Colored Women denounce this man as a traducer of female character, a man wholly without sense of chivalry and honor, and bound by the iron hand of prejudice, sectionalism, and race hatred, entirely unreliable and unworthy the prominence he seeks.That no man capable of reverencing his mother or protecting the unsullied fame of any woman, much less Miss Balgarnie, whose life work entitles her to the respect at least of progressive and wholesome minds, regardless of sex, wherever principle and unselfish efforts to uplift struggling humanity exists. And as the man has not only slandered the women of negro extraction but the mothers of American morality, on a question that not only involves the good repute of the present generation, but generations yet to come, Be it resolved, that our condemnation be expressed in leaflet form and forwarded to England, with the request that a copy of each be enfolded in all the publications sent out by the Anti-Lynching society.Be it further resolved, that we hereby express our appreciation of Miss Balgarnie and the whole English people for their unselfish interest in the cause.Whereas, it occurred to the Era Club of Boston to issue a fraternal call to the Colored Women's Clubs of America to meet in this city to discuss the needs of the race,And, whereas, the result of that call has brought together many of the noblest women of the race, who might otherwise never have met, and whereas the meeting has been one of profit and pleasure to the individuals and the race, be it therefore resolved, that we do now extend to the Era Club and its honored president our deepest appreciation of the pleasure, profit and courtesy extended to us as a conference and as their guests.RESOLVED, That we, the representative women    in United States, have witnessed with great admiration the noble and truthful advocacy of Mrs. Ida B. Wells Barnett, defending us against the lying charge of rape, and we take this opportunity of congratulating her upon her recent marriage, and are glad to hail her, in the face of all her assailants, as our noble "Joanna of Arc."BOSTON, MASS, July 30, '95. MISS CATHERINE IMPEY,Street, Somerset, Eng.,Dear Friend -- The National Conference of Colored Women now assembled in Boston in the interest of the race and in the cause of oppressed womanhood, now turn from our deliberations, on hearing of the serious illness of your dear mother, to express to you our deepest and sincerest sympathy in your distress. To us you are inexpressibly dear, and we wish you to feel that your sorrow and anxiety are ours, and that the prayers of the colored women of America are that God, in his infinite mercy, may "let the cup pass" and spare your parent for many years, so that her watchful love and care may continue to guide you and help you in your noble work for humanity. But to one of your abiding faith there is no sweeter consolation than that "He doeth all things well."May the blessings of God rest upon you, may the Lord bless you and lift the light of His countenance upon you and give you peace.Yours, in deepest sympathy,MRS. M. F. PITTS,>
MRS. M. E. WILLIAMS,ELIZA GARDNER, Committee.BOSTON, MASS., July 30, '95.ALBION W. TOURGEE,Mayville, N.Y.,Esteemed Friend and Co-worker-The National Conference of Colored Women now assembled, being informed of your illness, voted unanimously to extend to you the heartfelt sympathy of the body and their earnest hopes for your speedy recovery.  And further desire to express to you their appreciation of your life-long efforts in the cause of oppressed humanity.Yours sincerely,VICTORIA MATHEWS,MARY DICKERSON,ELLA L. MAHAMMIT.REPORT OF THE WOMEN'S LOYAL UNION OF NEW YORK AND BROOKLYN.Kate V. CarmandFeeling the need of our women coming in closer contact with one another to discuss matters of vital interest to the race we represent, and which can only be done by organization, the Women's Loyal Union was formed December 5, 1892, with Mrs. Victoria Matthews as president, which office she now holds, and to whom much of the success of the Union is due.We have for our watchwords, "Vigilant, Patriotic, and Steadfast."Our object is the diffusion of accurate and extensive information relative to the civil and social status of the colored American citizen, that they may be directed to an intelligent assertion of their rights, and unite in the employment of all lawful means to secure and retain the undisputed exercise of them.The methods of the Union are, First, full and free discussion of existing evils, moral, physical, and political. Second, the circulation of printed matter relating to the colored American, whether written by them or not.We have a membership of over seventy women, pledged as willing workers. Many have proven themselves, zealous, earnest, and always ready when called upon to contribute not only their time, but their means. Among, our members we claim professional women, doctors, school-teachers, literary women, writers of poetry and prose, trades women, artists, home-makers and housekeepers.We have formed chapters, or branches, in Charleston, S. C., Memphis, Tenn., Philadelphia, Penn., and Brooklyn, N. Y. Since our organization, we have called public meetings in our churches to discuss topics affecting the interests of the race in the Southland and in our own section, with beneficial results. At one of our meetings we had the honor of having present as our guest, the President of your club, Mrs. Josephine Ruffin, who read a very interesting paper. We have contributed clothing and money to the Sea Island sufferers; presented a very fine Mason and Hamlin organ to the Colored Hospital and Home of this city. To stimulate race pride, we held in the parlors of a private residence an exhibition of art, work done by colored men and women, with marked results; so much so that an organization now holds an art exhibit every year.Sent petitions on the Blair Resolution to Congress, signed by over ten thousand men and women. Through the untiring energy of our President, distributed hundreds of circular letters through the South and West, asking for information concerning the moral, intellectual, physical, and home life, generally, of families. Assisted various causes by giving entertainments.  Presented Miss Hallie Q. Brown with a purse of money toward her mission in England, to solicit funds to establish a library at Wilberforce College, to be called Frederick Douglass Library. Presented to Miss Jennie Dean the sum of fifty dollars for the Manassas Industrial School.In the death of the Honorable Frederick Douglass, we felt that the women of our land had lost a great advocate and staunch friend, and as a token of our appreciation of his efforts in our behalf and sorrow for our bereavement, our Union presented to his widow and family it handsomely engrossed, bound, memorial resolution.In the early part of June last we gave an entertainment at Bethel Church, where Mr. Richings exhibited his views of people, places, industries, and progress made by the colored people, especially in the South, despite the oppression and disadvantages they labor under. The race problem seems to he solving itself. Give us a chance!We are now turning our time and attention to the circulation of printed matter in the form of leaflets, which have been suggested to us by the answers contained in the replies to the circular letters. We have already printed for distribution, at a small price within the reach of all, leaflets addressed to "Parents and Guardians," and will soon have another, "The Sanctity Of Home," to be followed by others-- all of which are written by members of our Association.  In this way we hope to reach the masses, and do more effectual good than spoken words to the few.We have not always had the helping hand extended to us that an organization and such an object calls for and demands, but by persistent effort in the future, as in the past, we hope to merit the good will and ready assistance of all good women throughout the land.KATIE V. CARMAND 
Corresponding Secretary of the Women's Loyal UnionREPORT OF THE WOMAN'S CLUB OF JEFFERSON CITY, MO.M.E. Dorsey, L.H. Wooldridge, S.A. Dupee, and M.E. CapeltonUnder the name of the Harper W.C.T.U. a few of our women have been organized and work along reformatory lines for the past five years, the object being to better the condition of the colored people of the community by a gradual training of the mind to higher aims and purposes of life.Realizing the value of the words of Solomon, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it," we early opened a training school, and each Saturday afternoon gathered the children and gave them about an hour's instruction in plain sewing, after which short talks on temperance, truthfulness, honesty, etc., were given by some of the women of the Union.  Pretty songs were also taught which the children delighted in.  At length a fair was held, and each article made by the children, together with fancy articles made by members and friends were placed on exhibition with the maker's name attached.  Each child delighted to point out to parent or friend any article she had made, and a parent delighted to buy because her child had made it.  This training school proved very helpful to the children.The Union also held mothers' meetings, and special talks were given on "Child Culture," "Social Purity," "Value of Example," etc.Our much beloved and esteemed F.E.W. Harper was brought to Jefferson City to lecture, and the great zeal and inspiration of this race-loving woman is still bearing fruit, from seed sown when she was with us years ago.In fact, any zeal that I, or most of the other colored women of Missouri have today for the uplifting of humanity, we owe to Mrs. Harper, who came to us and turned our thought to the great need of earnest effort by our women.At Jefferson City, Mo., there was a number of women who, for various reasons, we could not enlist in our W. C. T. U. work, so in a meeting of the Union we decided to extend our borders, and admit women who were not specially pledged to temperance work.  Therefore, the Woman's Club was formed, the special object of which is to work more earnestly for the purity of our homes and the general advancement of colored women.The first week as a club was to bring Miss Ida B. Wells Barnett to Jefferson City to lecture, June 18. By her graphic descriptions of the wrongs upon our race, she won the applause of all who heard her.The ERA and other colored  papers are read and discussed at our meetings.When the call for this Conference was made through the ERA, to refute the charge of immorality by one J. W. Jacks of Missouri, on hearing his slanderous letter our women became aroused as never before.  Committees were appointed to confer with ministers; as  a result, three large public meetings were held and strong resolutions adopted and sent to Montgomery City, Mo., his home, to England, and the press.Nothing has ever called forth such just indignation from the citizens of Jefferson as did this base letter, coming as it did from our own state. When this call for a Conference was read, they decided to send a delegate, at any cost, to utter their project.  And never did women work more earnestly than did these slandered women to raise the money which makes it possible for me to be with you today.  Their prayer is that we may yet bring good out of this great evil done us, by resolving here to so unite ourselves and concentrate our forces that we may be able to show to the world that we, as colored women, are struggling for a higher, nobler, and purer life.The following resolutions were adopted and sent to this Conference:--JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., July 23, 1895.National Convention of the Women's Club, Boston, Massachusetts:At a recent meeting of the Woman's Club, located at Jefferson City, Missouri, in Cole County, a committee was appointed to draw up resolutions denouncing certain slanderous statements which were written in a letter to Miss Florence Balgarnie, London, England, dated March 6, 1895, by one J. W. Jacks, president of the Missouri Press Association.  Whereas he says, first, that the Negroes of this country are wholly devoid of morality; second, that the women are prostitutes and all are natural liars and thieves.THEREFORE be it resolved, That we denounce him publicly to the entire country as a falsifier, and his statement as wholly devoid of truth.M. E. DORSEY, S.A. DUPEE, L.H. WOOLDRIDGE, M.E. CAPELTON, Committee.THE WOMAN'S CLUB OF OMAHA.In answer to the call of Mrs. Ophelia Clenlaus and Mrs. Laura M. Craig, eighteen women assembled in Omaha, Feb. 14, '95, to discuss plans for organizing the progressive women of the city into one united body, whose aims and purposes might be the education of the heart, hand and mind of the individual members and the promotion and advancement of all race measures. Realizing the fact that the best success results from concerted action, and that not individual effort, nor the efforts of the few, but rather the united efforts of the masses must win the desired end, the women unanimously agreed to organize themselves into a body that should be liberal in its principles, broad, charitable and far reaching.The result was an association called "The Woman's Club of Omaha," which aims to serve a three-fold purpose.  First, to stimulate intellectual development; second, to promote unity and good fellowship amongst its members, and thirdly, to strengthen by organization, individual, philanthropic and reformatory effort.The club is strictly nonsectarian in its principles and offers its advantages to any respectable woman who is in sympathy with the work and may present herself for membership.  Already the number has increased from 18 to 15 active workers, and the club enjoys the happy distinction of possessing the approbation and endorsement of nearly every broad-minded, race-loving, progressive citizen of Nebraska.  As a further mark of recognition, the club has received greetings from the Omaha's Woman's Club, an organization composed of 600 white women; resolutions of endorsement from the Afro-American League of Nebraska, an institution operated by the negro talent of the state, and numerous  letters of approval from the clergy, literary societies and private citizens.  It is the hope of the women to soon establish themselves in permanent club rooms where they may hold their regular meetings, lectures, etc., and conduct a library and reading room for club members and any other women who may desire to take advantage.A committee is now negotiating for such rooms and until the plans are completed the club will continue to hold bi-weekly meetings at the homes of the members.For intellectual development the club work is divided into three departments, viz., Political Economy and Civil Government, Current Topics and English Literature and History.  Every member of the club must register in some one of these departments, all of which, under competent leaders, are doing excellent work.In all reformatory efforts affecting mankind generally and women particularly the club enters enthusiastically.  At the last general assembly of the state of Nebraska it was engaged earnestly in the effort to stop the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the state, and joined heart and soul in the social purity question, sending down to the legislature a petition, bearing the names of 150 colored women, praying that the body to raise the "age of consent" from 15 to 18 years.In many ways the association has helped individual advancement, and much credit attaches to it for its unceasing and untiring efforts in securing the appointment of a negro teacher in the public schools of Omaha.While the club was organized primarily for intellectual improvement, social affairs are not entirely neglected, and its members strive to create and foster a spirit of kindliness and sociability amongst women generally by bringing them in friendly touch with one another, but the lighter amusements of life are discouraged in that the club as a club does not engage in them.  To supply the diversion necessary to healthy social life, a series of lectures, followed by an hour's social intercourse, has been inaugurated and is yielding excellent results.  The annual lecture course consists of eight numbers, the most of which are to be gratuitously furnished by local talent, in which Omaha happily abounds, and as the club can arrange to do so the remaining numbers will be filled by the best imported talent the race affords.Together with the prescribed club studies and readings and the lecture course the Woman's Club of Omaha is thoroughly enjoying its initial year.  Perfect harmony and good will prevail amongst the members, and the women seeking to "touch life with upward impulse" are quietly executing their desires to make our girls better women, our women better wives, our wives better mothers.The western delegates were typical western women, bright and alert, and thoroughly at home on the floor.  Unfortunately their stay was so limited, and the sessions of this congress so prolonged and fatiguing that Boston saw little of them socially.  All of the westerners, Mrs. Pitts, Miss Anthony, and Mrs. Mahammit were at Mrs. Ransom's.LETTER OF ONE THOUSAND WOMEN OF BETHEL CHURCH, NEW YORK.The Women of Bethel Church, New York City.To the Women's Convention, Boston, Mass.The call sent out by the Era Club proposing a gathering of Afro-American women in deliberative convention simply put in words what has long been the wish of thousands.We are sorry, that the "Jack's letter" should seem to be the prick which stung to activity. We would not have it to appear that we are aroused to action only by the irritation of external circumstances, but would be glad for the world to know that, in reality, our women are taking intelligent cognizance of the inner life of the race, and that the desire to be actually noble is more potent than the impulse to resent insult and seek vindication. What we think of ourselves is always more important than what others think of us, that is to say, self-respect based upon truth is the foundation we seek to lay.We would desire the world to know that long before the base slanders, born in the vile mind of a common Missouri white man, were uttered, our women were actively at work among the masses of our people, seeking to ground them in the fundamental principles of true progress. The existence of such a sheet as THE WOMAN'S ERA, the existence of such organizations as the Women's Loyal Union, the Women's Afro-American League, the Women's Meeting of Bethel Church, the work which these various enterprises have laid out and the earnestness with which it has been pursued, are in themselves a complete vindication against all slander. We trust that the vile "Jack's letter" will not give color to your deliberations nor in any sense become the spur under which you lay out the work of the future. We would have the world to see that there is a large element of our women who, in convention assembled, can show complete freedom from the imaginative and mercurial disposition which has been the fatal defect in so many conventions of our men.We believe that it would be unwise to permit this convention to be the sounding board of mere "agitators."  We recognize in the "Jack's letter" and other such slanders the natural results of the resentment provoked by the fierce denunciations of "southern white women" that have been injudiciously indulged in by some of the "mercurial persons" of the race.  We look with more hope to the conservative workers who seek to lay true foundations and who employ such means as the well-edited WOMAN'S ERA and the well-conducted organizations referred to above. The truly representative women of the race can never be enlisted in any movement that is lead by the ignorant enthusiasts or the fiery agitators, whose incentive to action is the intoxication of excited sensibilities, full of the chimeras of distempered fancy.We know the character of those under whom this convention is called, and we have faith in the calm sobriety which has always characterized their endeavors. We send to you Mrs. Hannah Jones, who will represent the one thousand Afro-American women of Bethel congregation. Our work is among the masses and our motto is "true progress."  We can and will lend powerful support to such enterprises as promise true good to the race.May God prosper your great undertaking.THE WOMEN OF BETHEL CHURCH.New York City.Miss Josie B. Hunt and Mrs. Granville HuntNEW YORK, JULY 24, 1895.To the Woman's Conference in session in Boston, Mass., under the auspices of the Woman's Era Club:GREETING."Let love be without dissimulation.  Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good."
Rom. 12: 9.We, the Cleave Circle of King's Daughters of the Antioch Baptist Church, New York City, regret very much that we find it impracticable to be represented among you in person, and take great pleasure in conferring with you by letter. We heartily unite with you in all good in behalf of the object of your work. We think it a very timely move, and hail with joy the "era" of woman's activity amid the many interests which should demand the attention of every "energetic" woman, for upon each rest greatly individual thought, expression, and action, which can and shall do much toward revolutionizing the preset state of affairs existing in this most enlightened age of all time--the dawn of the twentieth century--and believe much can be done in this direction by working in conference for the improvement of law, leading to equity in the administration of the rules of government, without partiality.The Rev. Granville Hunt, pastor of Antioch Baptist Church, kindly called our attention to the infamous letter written by John W. Jacks of

Missouri to Miss Florence Balgarnie of London, England, regarding the characters, etc., of colored women.  After having considered it thoroughly, we are prepared to say emphatically that it is erroneous and contradictory as a whole; and we are inexpressibly sorry that enlightened America has a citizen in public service, who manifests in plain English his lack of that sensibility, love for neighbor, which teaches us to consider both sides, yes, all sides of a man's condition, especially when treating on character .As members of an organization striving for the betterment of humanity along all lines impartially, we would advice John W. Jacks to read Prov. 28 and digest its contents; and we pray that he, through Christ, may be lead to think and act according to God's own words as written in his Book.  May he be saved!   And as to the disposition of his letter, we are content that your mature judgment will, with divine guidance, manage it aright.  After this manner, we pray for you in all your deliberations, and most co-operatively sign ourselves,Yours, in His Name, the Cleave Circle of King's Daughters.MISS JOSIE B. HUNT,Leader.MRS. GRANVILLE HUNT,Sec. FROM OHIO TO HER SISTER STATES REPRESENTEDSada J. Woodson AndersonWOMEN'S MITE MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH,
TOLEDO, OHIO, July 29, 1895.To the National Conference of Colored Women now in session in Boston, Mass.;GREETINGS.My dear Sisters --This is a very trying ordeal for me to undergo, this of not being able to be with you.  However, I pray God's guidance in all you do.  I feel that I voice the sentiment of all the noble women of the grand Buckeye State, in saying that in the galaxy of states represented in the Conference, none are more loyal to the cause of justice than Ohio, "the fairest among ten thousand, and the one altogether lovely.  May the grace of a triune God overshadow you as a cloud by day, and when the shades of night appear may this same grace protect you as a wall of fire.  God bless you!Yours for the protection of our women,SADA J. WOODSON ANDERSON, Cor. Sec.Jno. Albert WilliamsOMAHA, Neb., July 21, 1895.To the National Convention of Colored American Women assembled in Boston, Mass.:GREETING.It was proposed in local circles-too late, however, to become practicable-that joint resolutions and a general letter endorsing your Convention and expressing sympathy with its motive and tenor be prepared by the various religious bodies and other altruistic organizations in this vicinity, and sent by the hand of the Nebraska Delegate to your Convention.In lieu of such general documents from my congregation, I send you most gladly a personal letter, less authoritative, perhaps, but none the less sincere, as an individual expression of my deep interest in this advance movement among the women of our race, which issues in your Convention.This is the age of centralization and unification:  concentration of forces, unity of purpose.  You show yourselves children of the age by assembling in convention for "devising liberal things" for the advancement of the interests of and for the protection of the womanhood of the Negro race in America.National conventions are not necessary, however, to vindicate the honor and good name of Negro womanhood from libelous attacks by obscure Southern journalists, such as the unknown individual from Missouri, whose letter to Miss Balgarnie was in part responsible for your Convention.  What vindication needs Negro womanhood?  Look at our happy and virtuous homes.  If our womanhood is depraved by what miracle are our homes preserved?  National conventions of Negro women are necessary, however, to demand such legislation as will protect comely colored girls and women from the insults and rapacity of Southern chivalry.Your deliberations will be, I trust, marked with wisdom, and fruitful in results.Awaiting with interest reports from your Convention, I am with cordial sympathy and good will, Yours faithfully,JNO. ALBERT WILLIAMS,Rector Ch. Of St. Philip the Deacon.One of the interesting features was a delegate from "the thousand women of Bethel Church, New York," Mrs. Jones.  Mrs. Jones was a calm and dignified delegate and, representing so many women, attracted much attention.ST. LOUIS COLORED ORPHAN'S HOME.M.F. Pitts and Miss L. CarterOne of the departments of work taken up by Harper W.C.T.U. is the care of orphan and neglected children.  In October, 1888, the ladies opened a home for homeless children. Since that time it has fed, clothed, and for a time, schooled 110 children. The management consists of a board of fifteen ladies chosen from the W.C.T.U., under whose entire charge is the care of the Home.  The Home is unendowed, our means support being by donation, subscription, and entertainment.  Our current expenses are from $100.00 to $115.00 per month. We keep regularly employed a matron, nurse, and cook. While non-sectarian, it is emphatically a religious institution. While we try to meet the physical and mental wants of our children, we also give them religious instructions and a reverence and love for God's word.Friends or strangers are welcome to make inspection of our Home at any time. We have 42 children in our Home at present. We receive no children under two years of age or over twelve years. At the age of twelve years we find homes for them, as we know the individuality of each child can better be preserved, its character studied and molded and more freedom granted in a private home than in an institution.We place children out for adoption on three month's trial.  If, at the end of that time, the party and institution are both satisfied, we make the stay permanent by adoption; if either is dissatisfied the child is recalled. When adopted, so far as possible, we keep in communication with them and know their welfare.As to our resources, we have none.  All of our expenses are met by donations from a generous public and entertainments, without which our Home would long since have closed its doors, but with which we have thus far been able to receive and properly care for all its inmates.It will be readily seen that upon a Board of fifteen ladies there is entailed in this work of soliciting a very arduous task.  With great cause for gratitude in the past, we look earnestly into the future, hoping the time is not far distant when the St. Louis Colored Orphan Home, which has proven itself a necessity in the community, will not be allowed to struggle on without an endowment fund, the income of which will be sufficient to relieve us of the outside and humiliating work of securing money to feed and care for the helpless orphans who appeal to our sympathy.  We cannot measure the good it reaches into eternity.Respectfully submitted, MRS. M.F. PITTS,Pres.MISS L. CARTER,Sec.Copy of resolutions passed at a meeting of the Afro-American League of Omaha held July, 1895:W.H.C. StephensonOMAHA, Neb., July 20, 1895.To the Honorable President of the Woman's National Convention, Boston, Mass.,--WHEREAS, one John W. Jacks, President of the Missouri Press Association, has written a letter to Miss Florence Balgarnie, Honorable Secretary of the Anti-Lynching League of London, England, whereby he attempts to traduce the womanhood of the American negro, and whereas the future of every race of people is entirely dependent upon the intellectual and moral status of its womanhood, and,Whereas, the letter referred to is a willful misrepresentation of facts, originating from a morbid brain and a lack of appreciation of truth and justice,Therefore, resolved, that we hereby denounce and brand the Southern gentleman as a willful and malicious falsifier and traducer of womanhood.  That no gentleman worthy of the name could afford to lay aside his dignity to indulge in such language as that contained in the letter to Miss Balgarnie from John W. Jacks; that we entertain no fear for the anti-lynching cause through such agencies or methods.  Be it further resolved, that we heartily endorse the action of the Colored Woman's Club of Omaha in sending a delegate to the National Convention to be held at Boston, that they have our sympathy and will have our co-operation in all they may do for the elevation of mankind, regardless of race or nationality.Be it further resolved that a copy of these resolutions be sent to the Woman's National Convention through the representative of the Colored Woman's Club of Omaha.W. H. C STEPHENSONPresident Afro-American League, Omaha.M.L. WILSON,J.W. LONG,W.H. SCROGGINS, Committee.Mrs. Carmand and Mrs. Garner of New York, Mrs. Dickerson of Newport, Mrs. Crum of Charleston, were among the intelligent "reliables."Rev. W.J. Brown and Lavinia CarterST. LOUIS, Mo., July 24, 1895.To the Conference of Colored American Women assembled in Boston, Mass.:The colored women of St. Louis have received with pleasure the call issued by their sisters of the Woman's Era Club for a conference to be held in Boston.  We recognize the fact that there is a pressing need for such a conference, since never in the history of our country ha prejudice against our race been more active, and in certain directions more influential and more regnant.We recognize the fact that we are no longer wards of the nation; the time when we could ask for special legislation in our behalf, either by the national Congress or the state legislatures, has passed; that to ourselves, and ourselves alone we must look for progress in the future, and that that progress must come through the cultivation and exercise and virtues proper to a Christian civilization.Living in the state from whence has recently emanated a foul slander upon our people, we emphatically protest against the truthfulness of the same, and joyfully join our sisters of the whole country in vindicating the womanhood of our race.Hoping that deliberations of the Conference may be moderate in tone and wise in purpose, and that the plans of action proposed may be prudent and practicable, we pledge ourselves to the extent of our ability to aid in carrying out the work which it may propose.Signed by the Committee, REV. W.J. BROWN,Pres.LAVINIA CARTER,Sec.Annie L. Blanchard and Anna M. BarbadoesSALEM, July 2, 1895.The Woman's Progressive Club of Salem was formed June 12, '95.  The purpose of this club is to broaden and strengthen the moral, social, intellectual and religious life of its members, and through them to make itself a power for good, not only in their home, but abroad in other fields; also to help those who have not had the advantages of home influence and education, thereby assigning them to a higher plan of living.As our club is of very recent formation, the report is necessarily brief, but as the days and months pass by we shall be enabled to accomplish some good.  Our club consists of 17 members, who are wide awake, enthusiastic, and interested in helping to solve the various problems of our day and time.ANNIE L. BLANCHARD,Pres.ANNA M. BARBADOES,Sec.Elizabeth E. LaneJuly 21, 1895.To the Woman's Era Club:We, a few of the members of the Tuskegee Woman's Club, though numbering more than those necessary for a quorum, feel that we would express to the Conference our sentiments, and take for granted the ready agreement of those of our members who are debarred from joining us, because of absence attendant upon the summer vacation of the Tuskegee Normal School.We consider this Woman's Conference to be a matter of vital importance to the women of our race, and would extend our hearty goodwill and appreciation of the movement through Mrs. B. T. Washington, the originator and president of our club, who, with Miss Susie H. Porter, our vice-president, will represent us and our aim,--that of the welfare of our women, based upon our general intellectual development.Sara Peake Green.Mary M. Fleming.	Estelle C. Penney.Leonora L. Chapman.Adella Hunt Logan.Emma G. Young.	Ida T. McCall.A. K. Hamilton.E. J. Scott.Evy A. Johnson.Norma W. Caster.Fannie E. Killian.S. M. Washington.Nannie S. Calloway.Lottie T. Greene.Virginia L. Driver.Alice A. Torbert.Estelle Maude Jackson.M. Louise Jenkins.ELIZABETH E. LANE,Secretary Tus. Woman's Club, Tuskeega, Ala.At a meeting of the Woman's Club of Omaha, held July 20, the following resolutions were adopted:--RESOLVED, That we, the Woman's Club of Omaha, congratulate you on the forming of the organization of a National Club of Negro Women, and will heartily co-operate in very effort towards the advancement of the race, andWhereas, a calumnious letter has been written by John W. Jacks, in which he characterizes the Negroes of this country, especially the women, as being immoral, be itResolved, That we denounce such accusations as false, and that the convention take such steps as it may deem necessary to refute these scandalous statements.L.C. LaneyAUGUSTA, GA., July 31, 1895.Woman's Convention,Care Mrs. Ruffin, 103 Charles St., Boston.Greetings.  May success attend the meeting.  We need houses, homes, good mothers.L.C. LANEY.Mrs. Rebecca AldrigePITTSBURG, July 27, 1895.To the First National Conference of Colored Women, Boston, Mass.GREETINGS.We, the members of the Belle Phoebe League of the twin cities, namely Pittsburg and Allegheny, beg leave to submit the following report to your noble body:We were organized November 20, 1894. Object: Self culture, and to advance the interest of the women of our race on all lines pertaining to the development of a nobler womanhood and the securing of our rights in every legitimate way, and to second the efforts of our leading women such its Mrs. Ida B. Wells-Barnett and others. Number of members, nineteen; monthly taxation, five cents. Our league is in a flourishing condition.  Signed on behalf of said league, MRS. REBECCA ALDRIGE,Pres.,MRS. S. A. BENTLEY,Vice-Pres.,LILLIAN S. DORKINS,Sec.,LIZZIE H. MONROE,Rec. Sec.Ida DePriestJuly 25,1895. Women of the Era Club:The Woman's League of Denver, Col., send you greetings!We have received your call and respond in spirit, if not in presence. We are not lacking in progressiveness neither in indignation at the slur cast upon our mothers, sisters, daughters, and ourselves by Mr. Jacks' letter, but circumstances involving finances prevent us from sending a delegate. Our women have held meetings, read and re-read the articles sent by your club, and we assure you that every sentence of Mr. Jacks' letter--the most infamous ever written by a man possessing the attributes of manhood--has been literally burned in each and all hearts.Whatever action may be taken by the women who will meet you to discuss present conditions and how best to elevate the race, you can count upon our co-operation.We wish you a pleasant and satisfactory gathering. I am very cordially yours,IDA DePRIEST, Cor. Sec.LOS ANGELES, CAL., July 25, 1895.To President and Members of Women's Conference, Berkeley Hall:Greetings. Owing change date Conference regret inability to send Mrs. Veno, our delegate.Rev. D. R. Jones,M. E. Syke, M. D.,Mrs. H. M. Spiller,Mrs. E. A. Talbot,Rev. S. A. Hawkins,Mrs. Lillia Williams,Mrs. Emma Baker,Citizens' Committee.EXTRACTS FROM LETTER FROM MISS BALGARNIE.Florence BalgarnieANTI-LYNCHING COMMITTEE.OBJECTS:The objects of this Committee are to obtain reliable information on the subject of Lynching and Mob Outrages in America, to make the facts known and to give expression to public opinion in condemnation of such outrages in whatever way may best seem calculated to assist the cause of humanity and civilization.LONDON, ENG.    July 19, 1895. MY DEAR MRS. RUFFIN RIDLEY,I shall think of you and your friends in your convention beginning on the 29th, and only wish I could be there. You have done just what I expected brave, true-hearted women would do, that is, put on a bold front to the traducers of your race and sex. I am sure great good will come out of your discussions. Please let me see your paper if it contains accounts of it. I am most anxious to learn all particulars.Please also convey my expressions of sympathy to your friends, and make it quite clear to them that in sending you the letter I was convinced of its utter and dastardly falsehood from the first. You have a hard fight before you in America, but never fear, right must triumph, and with God on your side you are in a majority.Your loyal comrade in the cause,FLORENCE BALGARNIE.CHICAGO, ILLS.   July 29, 1895.To Women's Conference, care of Mrs. Josephine Ruffin, Berkeley Hall;Our earnest greetings! Success to your endeavors! Our letter later.IDA B. WELLS, Woman's Club.LIST OF DELEGATES TO NATIONAL CONFERENCE.Washington Colored Women's League - Mrs. Annie J. Cooper, Miss Ella L. Smith, Miss Lucinda Cook, Miss Marion P. Shadd, Mrs. Helen A. Cook.Omaha, Neb.- Mrs. Ella Mahammitt.Golden Rule Club, Cambridge - Mrs. James E. Wilson.Salem, Mass - Mrs. Lucy Washington, Miss Annie Blanchard.Boston - Ruth Circle, Mrs. Ruth Turner, Mrs. J. Hopewell.Working Women's League, Providence, R.I. Mrs. Hannah Greene.Female Benevolent Firm, Boston - Miss Elizabeth Smith, Mrs. M. Stephenson. W.A.A.U., New York - Mrs. E.E. Williams, Flushing, N.Y.St. John, N.B - Mrs. WhetselWomen's Loyal Union of New York and Brooklyn - Mrs. Matthews, Mrs. Garner, Mrs. L.C. Carter; Mrs. Carmand.Alabama - Mrs. B.T. Washington, Miss Porter.B.T. Tanner Club, Chelsea - Mrs. M. C. Bond, Mrs. Matilda Delt, Mrs. Carrie Roberts, Mrs. Carrie Hopewell.Woman's Era Club, Boston - Mrs. J. St. P. Ruffin, Mrs. Richardson, Mrs. R. P. Ransom, Mrs. Hannah Smith, Mrs. Taylor, Mrs. U.A. Ridley, Miss Eliza Gardner.Wayman Club, Everett - Mrs. M.C. Bond, Miss Ida Price.Newport League - Mrs. Mary Dickerson.Woman's Club of St. Louis, Mo., Citizen's of St. Louis, Harper W.C.T.U. - Mrs. M.F. Pitts.Concord Baptist Church of Christ, Brooklyn, N.Y. - Mrs. Katharine Maxwell, Miss Charlotte Berry.Woman's Club of Jefferson City, Mo., Citizens of Jefferson City - Mrs. Libbie B. Anthony.Women's Protective Club, Rochester, N.Y. - Mrs. Jerome Jeffrey.Belle Phoebe League, Pittsburg, Pa - Mrs. Taylor Aldrich.One thousand women of Bethel Church, New York - Mrs. Hannah Jones.Calvary Circle of King's Daughters, Boston - Mrs. G.W. Smith.E.M.  Thomas Lodge, I.O.G.T , Boston - Miss Rachel Thompson.Lend-a-Hand Circle of King's Daughters - Mrs. Arianna Gould.Gloucester A. & I. School, Cappahosie, Va. - Mrs. Susie E. Edwards.Woman's Club, Charleston, S.C. - Mrs. Ellen Crum.Clubs sending greetings - Woman's League, Kansas City, Mo.; Woman's Club, Los Angeles, Cal.; Woman's Club, Chicago, Ill.; Women of Toledo, Ohio; Woman's Club, Denver, Col.; W.C.T.U., Charlotte, N.C.; Cleave Circle of King's Daughters, New York.ADDRESS OF JOSEPHINE ST. P RUFFIN, PRESIDENT OF CONFERENCE.It is with especial joy and pride that I welcome you all to this, our first conference. It is only recently that women have waked up to the importance of meeting in council, and great as has been the advantage of women generally, and important as it is and has been that they should confer, the necessity has not been nearly so great, matters at stake not nearly so vital, as that we, bearing peculiar blunders, suffering under especial hardships, enduring peculiar privations, should meet for a "good talk" among ourselves.  Although rather hastily called, you as well as I can testify how long and how earnestly a conference has been though of and hoped for and even prepared for.  These women's clubs, which have sprung up all over the country, built and run upon broad, strong lines, have all been a preparation, small conferences in themselves, and their spontaneous birth and enthusiastic support have been little less than inspirational on the part of our women and a general preparation for a large union such as it is hopes this conference will lead to.  Five years ago we had no colored women's clubs outside of those formed for special work; to-day, with little over a month's notice, we are able to call representatives from more than twenty clubs.  It is a good showing, it stands for much, it shows that we are truly American women, with all the adaptability, readiness to seize and possess our opportunities, willingness to do our part for good as other American women.The reasons why we should confer are so appar-

ent that it would seem hardly necessary to enumerate them, and yet there is none of them but demand our serious consideration. In the first place we need to feel the cheer and inspiration of meeting each other, we need to gain the courage and fresh life that comes from the mingling of congenial souls, of those working for the same ends. Next, we need to talk over not only those things which are of vital importance to us as women, but also the things that are of especial interest to us as colored  women, the training of our children, openings for our boys and girls, how they can be prepared for occupations and occupations may be found or opened for them, what we especially can do in the moral education of the race with which we are identified, our mental elevation and physical development, the home training it is necessary to give our children in order to prepare them to meet the peculiar conditions in which they shall find themselves, how to make the most of our own, to some extent, limited opportunities, these are  some of our own peculiar questions to be discussed. Besides these are the general questions of the day, which we cannot afford to be indifferent to: temperance, morality, the higher education, hygienic and domestic questions. If these things need the serious consideration of women more advantageously placed by reason of all the aid to right thinking and living with which they are surrounded, surely we, with everything to pulls us back, to hinder us in developing, , need to take every opportunity and means for the thoughtful consideration which shall lead to wise action.I have left the strongest reasons for our conferring together until the last. All over America there is to be found a large and growing class of earnest, intelligent, progressive colored women, women who, if not leading full useful lives, are only waiting for the opportunity to do so, many of them warped and cramped for lack of opportunity, not only to do more but be more; and yet, if an estimate of the colored women of America is called for, the inevitable reply, glibly given, is, "For the most part ignorant and immoral, some exceptions, of course, but these don't count."Now, for the sake of the thousands of self-sacrificing young women teaching and preaching in lonely southern backwoods for the noble army of mothers who have given birth to these girls, mothers whose intelligence is only limited by their opportunity to get at books, for the sake of the fine cultured women who have carried off the honors in school here and often abroad, for the sake of our own dignity, the dignity of our race, and the future good name of our children, it is "mete, right and our bounden duty " to stand forth and declare ourselves and principles, to teach an ignorant and suspicious world that our aims and interests are identical with those of all good aspiring women. Too long have we been silent under unjust and unholy charges; we cannot expect to have them removed until we disprove them through ourselves. It is not enough to try to disprove unjust charges through individual effort, that never goes any further. Year after year southern women have protested against the admission of colored women into any national organization on the ground of the immorality of these women, and because all refutation has only been tried by individual work the charge has never been crushed, as it could and should have been at the first.  Now with an army of organized women standing for purity and mental worth, we in ourselves deny the charge and open the eyes of the world to a state of affairs to which they have been blind, often willfully so, and the very fact that the charges, audaciously and flippantly made, as they often are, are of so humiliating and delicate a nature, serves to protect the accuser by driving the helpless accused into mortified silence. It is to break this silence, not by noisy protestations of what we are not, but by a dignified showing of what we are and hope to become that we are impelled to take this step, to make of this gathering all object lesson to the world. For many and apparent reasons, it is especially fitting that the women of the race take the lead in this movement, but for all this we recognize the necessity of the sympathy of our  husbands, brothers and fathers.Our woman's movement is woman's movement in that it is led and directed by women for the good of women and men, for the benefit of all humanity, which is more than any one branch or section of it.  We want, we ask the active interest of our men, and, too, we are not drawing the color line; we are women, American women, as intensely interested in all that pertains to us as such as all other American women; we are not aleniating or withdrawing, we are only coming to the front, willing to join any others in the same work and cordially inviting and welcoming any others to join us.If there is any one thing I would especially

enjoin upon this conference it is union and earnestness. The questions that are to come before us are of too much import to be weakened by my trivialities or personalities. If any differences arise let them be quickly settled, with the feeling that we are all workers to the same end, to elevate and dignify colored American womanhood. This conference will not be what I expect if it does not show the wisdom, indeed the absolute necessity of a national organization of our women. Every year new questions coming up will prove it to us. This hurried, almost informal convention does not begin to meet our needs, it is only a beginning, made here in dear old Boston, where the scales of justice and generosity hang evenly balanced, and where the people "dare be true" to their best instincts and stand ready to lend aid and sympathy to worthy strugglers.  It is hoped and believed that from this will spring an organization that will in truth bring in a new era to the colored women of America.GREETING TO THE CONVENTION.Alice T. MillerALICE T. MILLER, BOSTON.We greet you with glad welcome who have come To share with us the fruit of garnered years, To share our joys and griefs, our hopes and fears, To join us in this--Wisdom's harvest--home! Now may the truth we gather here becomeA treasured store, --like the golden ears The farmer safe bestows, ere winter nears, To feed his flocks withal, --that we to some Sad heart may comfort give, some want relieve, Lend hand or voice to aid some strife for Right;And learn we with our gifts ourselves must live.So may we hail with joy the dawning brightOn the fair days when all their rights receive. Once more, we welcome you this summer night.TO THE WOMAN'S ERA CLUB.They say the woman's era dawns at last, When now this century draws near its end, Old notions of man's lordship, failing fast, Make way for woman's aid to help to mend Affairs that sorely need her presence brightNor can it be denied, when fairly tried, Suffrage has proved a lover for the right Equally shared; for unto neither side Reason and sense belong, but unto both And where one sex doth supplement the other, Causes are weighed more wisely than the truth, Laws surely made more just for wife and mother. "Union is strength"; let all, not half, unite, Bravely to war against all foes of RightA NOTEWORTHY CONVENTION..Boston was a fitting place to hold the first conference of colored women that has ever been held in the history of the country. No one could look at their bright, intellectual faces and listen to their earnest words without feeling a new hope for the race which has such mothers and teachers.As the colored woman has been the most oppressed and downtrodden, so now as she comes into the light of the new era, she will be the leader not only to those of her own sex who have not yet been so favored but to the other. The colored race, like every other, will rise or fall, be honored or degraded, according to the status of its wives and mothers, daughters and sisters.We are sure that this convention will be an inspiration to the colored women of our country, and that the electric impulse will be felt North and South, East and West. If Phyllis Wheatley could only have seen this day! She whose star went down early in the eclipse of an unfortunate marriage, but whose short life was a dim earnest and  prophecy of the heights in literature, science, and philosophy, which the Afro-American woman is yet to attain. -- Woman's Voice, Boston.WOMAN'S ERA CLUB RESOLUTIONS.Arianna C. SparrowThe following has been received at the Journal office:"At a special called meeting of the Woman's Era Club, held Monday evening, Aug. 5, it was voted that inasmuch as an article which appeared in the Boston Journal of Aug. 1, and headed, 'It Made Talk,' in which article the President of the convention is incorrectly reported 'to have said she was proud that she had no Southern blood in her veins,' and as the said misstatement is calculated to work harm to the cause the conference was called to promote, it was, therefore, "Resolved, that the Woman's Era Club call upon the Journal to correct the statement, and give the same prominence to the retraction as was given to the false report.(Signed)"ARIANNA C. SPARROW,"Asst. Cor. Sec y."(The Journal willingly publishes the foregoing.  It can only say that the article to which it refers was printed in good faith, and was based on a positive statement made to its convention reporter by a person who claimed to have been present at the meeting referred to. --Ed.)Mrs. Matthews of New York stopped with Mrs. Comer at the Highlands.  To many minds Mrs. Matthews was the "star" of the convention; so devoted was she to the interests of the Conference that Boston saw comparatively little in a social way of this gifted woman.EDITORIAL.TO THE WOMEN OF THE COUNTRY.There has just closed in Boston a conference of the colored women of America. This conference was held three days, and during that time there were read papers as fine as any ever produced at any gathering; important matters were discussed earnestly and sensibly, and the large body of women brought together dissolved with the most amicable feelings toward each other.It is you, women north, east, south and west, who made it possible to hold this convention, which has been a marked event of the times; it was your ready response, your intelligent appreciation of the situation, your singleness of purpose, which made the success of this gathering. You may well feel pleased with the outcome of it all. The callers of the convention reckoned wisely, they knew your temper better than those men who, in the light of their own experience, predicted disastrous failure.But this is only a beginning. We want our national organization to be a model, an ideal body.  We want it run on the broadest lines and conducted in the most intelligent manner. You have done well; now prepare to do better than well, and in this, as in all things, prove yourselves a shining light to your brothers.The selection of Mrs. B.T. Washington, of Tuskegee, Ala., as the president of the National Federation of Afro-American Women is going to prove beneficial in more ways than one. "Putting aside Mrs. Washington's personal. fitness for the position and the advantages for the work which her position as a co-worker with her husband will give her, this choice will go further than anything else in uniting the intelligent women of the North and South. It will cement the friendly feelings already existing. It will be the means of building up in the South large clubs for culture and race work such as already exist in the North. It is an earnest of the single-mindedness of our women and a good omen of the future efficiency and prosperity of our organization. Under the leadership of Mrs. Washington, who has devotion, energy, intelligence, and a large charity, no colored woman who has the interest of her race at heart can find excuse not to enlist.The WOMAN'S ERA desires that its position in regard to the W.C.T.U. should be clearly defined. At the conference lately held in Boston a resolution endorsing the work and methods of the W.C.T.U. was introduced by Mrs. Anthony of Missouri, and an effort made to "rush" it through the convention. Mrs. Ridley, realizing that the majority of women present were unacquainted with the facts in the case, made an explanation, and in order that time might be gained to lay the matter squarely before the women, supported the president in her voting of the resolution as out of order. However, the Washington delegation pushed the matter, the resolution was presented and carried with half the women not voting and our dissenting voices. The resolution, though passed, never appeared for record and is still missing.However, the matter was brought up at a special meeting of the Woman's Era Club. The following resolutions were presented by Mrs. Ridley and unanimously endorsed.In closing let it be understood that the editors of this paper stand by Mrs. Wells-Barnett squarely in her position on this matter and fully endorse her work.RESOLUTIONS PASSED BY THE WOMAN'S ERA CLUB, AUG. 5, 1895.RESOLVED, That this club, while it recognizes and appreciates the good work done by the W.C.T.U., does not hesitate to condemn that body for its position upon the lynch law question and to deplore that the latest regulation passed at the London convention should be in effect a condonation of lynching.That, in the light of the recent action of the W.C.T.U., the circular addressed to colored people and sent out first some two years ago, is misleading, and should be withdrawn.That this club, believing the attitude taken by the W.C.T.U. is calculated to mislead foreigners as to the true state of affairs in the United States, calls upon representative colored women of the W.C.T.U. to be careful not to allow themselves to be included in the company of "apologists for lynch law," but, in the prosecution of their good work, let their loyalty to their race be known, not taken for granted.That this club believes that in Miss Florence Balgarnie, of England, who stood so valiantly for our cause in the London Convention, the colored people have a brave and devoted friend.LADY SOMERSET AND MISS WILLARD CONFESS OF THEMSELVES APOLOGISTS FOR LYNCHING.If any one doubts that Lady Somerset and Miss Willard are apologists for lynching, let him read the following marked editorial from their English organ, The Woman's Signal, sent to Mrs. Ridley, with the above-mentioned ladies names as editors underscored:"The Battersca tragedy follows close upon the Walthamstow horror; in each instance a little girl, a child, is the sacrifice to man's brutality and cruel passion. Are these crimes growing in England? And if so, as it seems to us they are, where are we to look for the reason? Is it not in the failure to mete out justice to such offences? Look up the records and see how often capture of the offenders has utterly failed, and how often sentence has been commuted to inadequate punishment. It is such crimes and such travesties of justice that have made lynching possible in the United States. There is little likelihood that England will relapse into barbarism; but how should we like to hear of societies in America formed to secure Safety Of Person to English Female Children?"We feel much satisfaction in being able to publish this; it settles the disputed question as to the position of these ladies of the W.C.T.U. on lynch law.The argument set forth in this republished note has been made so many times that it hardly calls for an answer now. What interests us most is the fact that these ladies, out of their own mouths, convict themselves and stand self-confessed endorsers of lynch law.We only make room in our already overcrowded columns for an extract from remarks on the lynching question by Mr. Moncure D. Conway, and published in the London Daily News of July 30.Mr. Conway's remarks meet this matter, and with his refutation we let the matter pass for this issue, only making these points in passing:1. Only One fourth of the Negroes actually lynched in these United States are ever accused of rape.2. The majority of these cases have been found to be "trumped up."3. No negro has ever escaped punishment for this offence.4. If this liewere true, that the law fails to punish the negro, then the lawshould be attacked, and the energies of the people directed to good government..5. "Two wrongs never did nor never can make one right." It is at least expected of reformers to recognize this truth.LYNCHING IN THE UNITED STATES.Mr. Moncure Conway has presented to the Anti-Lynching Committee his report of observations on this subject made during his six months' sojourn in the United States. Mr. Conway, who is a native Virginian, says that his visit greatly strengthened his conviction of  the value and importance of the English Committee.  There is a combination of forces in America tending to induce torpor with regard to the lynchings in the South.  He has not seen in any daily paper of New York for several years a single editorial protest, of any earnestness, against these atrocities. In Boston, the Boston Transcript, an influential evening paper, has, however, written powerfully on the subject, and in Chicago, the residence of Miss Wells, now Mrs. Barnett, the services of the Chicago Inter-Ocean have been very great. But the American conscience has not been fully aroused. At the late meeting in London of the British Women's Temperance Association an American speaker, Mrs. Rounds, said, 'If we in America could only feel that when a criminal has been brought to trial and condemned, his sentence would be carried out, we should feel very different on this question of lynching. 'This,' says Mr. Conway, 'was a were imposition on the English women.  Where are the instances of pardons contrary to public feeling?  In all American history there has never been an instance of pardon for a Negro violator of a white women or child.  That anyone making such a misleading statement in the presence of leading American women should not have been checked, illustrates what I have said, that my countrywomen are not yet awakened to this frightful wrong.'"Our August number has been delayed in order to give our readers the news from the conference.  We wish that we were large enough and rich enough to print altogether the splendid papers read on this occasion.  We can only give them a few at a time, and feel that even in this way our readers will be eager to get them.We did not aim to be, but we werean object lesson and revelation to the men.  We hesitate to speak of the compliments received, but in the interest of the spread o intelligence, we must.  We believe the high tributes paid us by Dr. Crumwell, T.T. Fortune and Booker T. Washington were heartfelt, and just as welcome and just as sweet were the hearty but inelegantly expressed commendations of the males of our own household, who did not hesitate privately to tell us "You girls are daisies," "we men have got to hustle."It was hoped to print in this issue the address of Mrs. B.T. Washington to the Conference.  Although promised, the copy has not yet been received, and after waiting several days we go to press without it.SOCIAL NOTES.BOSTON.The Inventive Age says:  "The most unique of all inventions which will be placed on exhibition at Atlanta by the colored people is Miss Miriam E. Benjamin's device known as the 'Gong Signal Chair.' This young lady inventor is at present a medical student in one of the colleges of the District of Columbia. She was born in South Carolina, and educated in Massachusetts. In 1888 the patent was issued to her, and soon after an improvement was added in order to cheapen as well as to add to the utility of the appliance."The invention is one of those useful novelties suitable for chairs in hotels and restaurants, on steamboats or railroad trains. It can also be used in theatres or legislative halls, and for invalids' chairs in the hospitals."The object of the invention is to mainly reduce the expenses by decreasing the number of attendants usually required for the convenience of guests; also to obviate the necessity of hand-clapping and loud calling, where the service of a page or waiter is needed. The present system now in vogue is to have one attendant for about every three or four guests. By the use of this invention, it is claimed, one waiter will be enabled to attend to the wants of from twelve to fifteen guests."The young and flourishing Newbury Association of Boston held a delightful dinner and smoke talk at the suburban residence of Mr. J. B. Tatum, West Medford, early last mouth. A score or more of the members were present, and shared Mr. Tatum's hospitality in the way of a bountiful course dinner. Covers were laid for sixteen. Among the guests were Lawyer Clifford Plummer and Mr. Samuel Hodges, both of whom made encouraging and instructive addresses. Mr. Shirley Liggins, toastmaster, introduced the members in a particularly witty vein, and hearty responses were made to the toasts.The young men composing the Association are for the most part so progressive as to be already well known in connection with successful business enterprises, Mr. J.B. Tatum being manager of the well-known catering establishment of J.R. Young, Mr. Clarence Robinson, associated with his father in the express business, and Mr. W.H. Scott occupying a trustworthy position with the Washington Street Stationer, M.R. Warren. Besides these gentlemen the Association includes Mr. W.H. Wilson, president, Messrs. Dane and Phillips, vice-presidents, Messrs. King, Hawkins, W. F. Phillips, Stith, Hipkins, and E.S. Hodges.Miss Emma Wariner will remain away from Boston during the summer months.Boston has been a veritable Mecca in this, the summer of '95. The C.E. brought a small army of visitors, and later the Conference swelled the number.During the early part of July, Misses Miranda Vennig. and Carrie Compton of Philadelphia were in the city, the former the guest of Mrs. Lewis Terry; Misses Cora and Gertrude Smith of Washington the guests of the Misses Smith of Jamaica Plain; Miss Julia Wormley of Washington, who visited Mrs. B. R. Wilson; Mrs. Ellen Cruns and Miss Ingalls of Charleston; the Misses Williams of Washington; Mrs. Clough of Worcester, Miss Murphy, Miss McCloud, and Miss Param of St. Louis. So many of the young and shining lights necessarily called forth something in the way of social festivities. Among the occasions was a reception by Mrs. Terry and the Misses Smith; a musicale by Miss Glover; a large harbor party managed by Mrs. J. H. Lewis, an "At Home" by Miss Grant, and a supper by Miss Lillian Lewis; besides these were numerous smaller teas, luncheons, theatre parties, and excursions.Miss Marion Shadd is spending the entire summer with Mrs. B.R. Wilson. Miss Shadd is studying geology at Harvard and most of her recreation is in this manner as excursions taken by the class in the study of rocks, etc. Mrs. Wilson has also entertained her brother, Mr. Bruce Evans, and Mrs. J.F. Cook and Miss Cook of Washington. Mrs. Cook was a delegate to the Conference, and both she and her daughter have been the recipients of much attention.Mrs. G.F. Grant entertained Miss Smith and Miss Hunter during the Conference week.Mrs. R. Jerome Jeffrey of Rochester, formerly of Boston has surprised and pleased her old friends by a visit to Boston, where she has taken up things just where she left; not only has she been prominent socially, but was also one of the active workers in the Conference.The Misses. Baldwin have been entertaining Mrs. Cooper and Miss Barier of Washington and Miss Florence Lewis of Philadelphia. It would  be hard to get together a group of brighter women than these, and it goes without saying that the group of pleasure trips planned by the Misses Baldwin for their guests which included pilgrimages to Concord and to Plymouth, and trips down the harbor and drives through the country were in every respect delightful.Miss Edwina Kruse of Washington is also in Boston; Miss Kruse is one of those general favorites who is welcomed wherever she goes.Miss Marie L. Burgess has only just left the work she is so devoted to in the hospital at Hampton Institute, and come on to Boston to enjoy the few remaining weeks of her vacation.Among the best known and most conspicuous women of the convention were Mrs. Cook, Mrs. Matthews, and Mrs. Cooper; all of these are women of unusual ability, and yet each is essentially different from the other. Mrs. Cook, intelligent and practical, and although versed in parliamentary tactics --always a cultured lady; Mrs. Matthews, full of fire and intensity, with natural gifts as a speaker and writer; Mrs. Cooper calm, thoughtful, and analytical,--a woman to mould opinion, rather than a leader of men. Mrs. Cooper, the student; Mrs. Matthews, a born leader; Mrs. Cook, the trained leader.Another conspicuous figure was that of Mrs. B.T. Washington. Mrs. Washington wins love; she is warmhearted and largehearted, practical and earnest.Miss Hunter and Miss Smith were among the younger members of the council, and were conspicuous for their culture and intelligence.Mrs. Williams of New York was also a notable figure. Mrs. Williams was ready in debate, and in her paper on the race work was one of those who "caught" the conference.The alacrity with which our gentlemen friends responded to an invitation to address the conference one evening, on "political economy" proves what we have always asserted, that intelligent people who are earnestly and honestly seeking to advance the humanities, are not divided by either race or sex or section. T. Thomas Fortune, whose position as chief editor of the New York Age, special writer on the New York Sun and Age-Herald, makes him easily the foremost among colored journalists, ran over from New York to show his interest in the woman movement, and immediately ran off again to his work, thus depriving the ladies of the W.E.C. of the chance to show him some of the attention they thought he deserved and they had planned to give him. Henry B. Blackwell hastened back to Boston from a Chautauquan engagement in New Hampshire to tell the ladies, as no other could, their duty and opportunity in the coming crisis in the cause of woman suffrage.  His speech was thoroughly appreciated and made converts to the cause he always advocates, both among the men and women present. Wm. Lloyd Garrison promptly accepted the invitation, and as usual honored the gathering with an address as carefully prepared as would have been done for delivery before the U.S. Senate. To show the position of the "new" man on the subject of woman suffrage, Stanley Ruffin had been invited and was prepared to deliver an address. on that topic, but in the pressure for time home folk had to take a back seat.The Courant's excellent report of the convention deserves especial notice.The WOMAN'S ERA is not satisfied with Miss Willard's rather mild treatment of the lynching outrages at the South, while it recognizes the fact that "Miss Willard is at the head of a tremendous organization, and in that capacity and in order to keep everything and everybody harmonious, is obliged to be politic, and for the welfare of the W.C.T.U. not to antagonize any section of this country."No one yields to the Woman's Voice in its admiration of Miss Willard, but a little more vim and fire in her utterances on this and kindred subjects would be refreshing.  The milk and water resolution passed at the London W.C.T.U. Convention that "We deplore the taking of life without trial," must strike our Southern brethren in much the same light that "Miss Feely's whips" did Topsy, as more amusing than painful. --Woman's VoiceTEXAS.Cora L. SmithCORA L. SMITH, EDITOR.Tillotson College at Austin has added a regular nursing department and will soon be turning out trained nurses. It is to be hoped that many of our young women will grasp this opportunity to make themselves proficient in this most useful occupation. I believe this is the only school in the state which makes a specialty of nursing. Why do not our other large schools attempt something in this line? It does not require the expenditure of any amount of money and is far more useful and practical than so much fancy work and drawing, for few, very few, ever become skillful in either of these arts.Since the meeting of the Teachers' Convention at Austin everything has settled down into a monotonous routine and the teachers are scattered to the four winds. Now is the hard part of the teacher's lot. The all-absorbing question is, "Shall I be successful in procuring a summer Normal certificate?" Those who are not spending these hot days in teaching in some Normal are studying for the examination, occupying every spare moment in trying to master all the technicalities of each subject. It is certainly hard that teachers have to be called up at the most inopportune moments for examinations. The time which should be given to light reading and pleasant recreations must be spent in the hottest weather in hard study. In no other profession is this the case. There is little time for reading, for the text book must be one's constant companion. Why cannot successful teachers, who have taught a certain number of years, be given permanent certificates? The last legislature repealed this act before it had been given a fair trial.The election of officers of the State Teachers' Association seems to have given entire satisfaction. There were few dissenting voices and little or no caucusing, which was somewhat unusual. The following officers were elected : Prof. M.H. Broyes, Pres.; F.W. Gross, W.M. Taylor, Miss Hattie E. Lee,  B.T. Wilson and Mrs. D. Abner, Jr., Vice-Pres. ; Miss Cora L. Smith, Sec., and Mr. W.R. Taylor, Asst. Sec., with Mr. E.L. Blackshear, Treas. The next meeting of the Association will be held at Corsicana.All of the large cities in most of the other states are having woman's clubs, whose objects are to elevate and better the condition of women both morally and intellectually. Why cannot we, in Texas, have a few clubs? Let the leading women of each city get together and organize and go to work for ourselves. We must be taught to be good mothers; must learn how to train up our sons and daughters, for the future of our race depends upon the rising generation. Much good is being accomplished all over the union by the women's clubs, and Texas must not be behind in the march of progress.The last of the summer Normals opened on the l6th of July and will close on the 16th of August.  It was a happy thought of Mr. Carlisle's to have two examinations, one in July and one in August. It gives teachers two chances to win certificates, which is certainly encouraging to those who fall by the way.We are all glad that our little friend, Mrs. Wright Cuney, is at last convalescing. She has been so ill as to cause grave fears of her recovery, but now there seems little doubt that she will soon be around among us again. Miss Maud is already looking much more cheerful, as is also Mr. Cuney and Lloyd.June weddings were numerous and aristocratic this year.  That of Dr. W.T. Green, of Bryan, to Miss Leonora Bowers, of Galveston, was one of the most pleasing affairs of the season. The bride was most charming and even more graceful than usual. The presents were most costly and numerous.Many fine papers prepared for the conference remained unread; we might have been in session a week and then not have exhausted ourselves. Mrs. Luellan Williams, who is known to our readers as an able writer, sent a paper; Miss Ella Spencer's interesting paper on Art remained unread, as also did Mrs. Felts on Social Purity, Mrs. Anthony's and Mrs. Pitts', both on Race Work, and Mrs. Ridley's on What We Need for a More Equable Development.The papers especially prepared for the conference would make a creditable book, and although it is only possible for the ERA to print them singly, or at most doubly, it is hoped that in some way or other, at some time or other, they may all be collected in one volume.The sessions of the conference were brightened and lightened by some excellent music. Among contributors were Mrs. A. C. Sparrow, Miss Fisher, the WOMAN'S ERA protege, Miss Goines, Mr. Moses Hodges and Mr. Geo. L. Ruffin.
ILLINOIS.Fannie Barrier WilliamsFANNIE BARRIER WILLIAMS, EDITOR.Colored graduates from western schools, colleges, and universities this year seem to be exceptionally numerous and have excited an amount, of favorable comment from the public press that cannot fail to affect public opinion to a considerable extent. The one thing to be especially noted is the fact that those great journals which were once so hostile or disrespectful in all their references to colored people are now eager and pronounced in their encouragement and splendid estimate of the present worth and possibilities of the Negro race. As to the rights and wrongs of colored people, there is no longer any distinction between Democratic and Republican journals in the North. In this respect we have made a decided gain in our struggles to cultivate and win a favorable public opinion.  This growing habit on the part of hitherto hostile and unfriendly papers of telling the truth about us will inevitably beget among their readers the practice of doing justly.The public is being gradually educated up to the feeling that the American Negro is a very interesting person in his self-emancipating efforts.  There is so much of pathos, of desperate triumphs and tragic disappointments in every achievement of the race that the onlooking world cannot fail to be moved with wholesome interest. This interest will certainly increase and deepen with each year of our advancement, and become more and more allied to the kindly forces which are subtly working out our destinies.Referring again to colored graduates from western institutions, especial mentions should be made of Mr. Charles Winter Wood who received a B. A. from Beloit College, Wisconsin.  This is a case where a college degree contains more meaning than can be expressed in its perfunctory Latin and official signatures of president and faculty.  When Charles Winter Wood was gathered from the street gammins of Chicago and sent to Beloit College some years ago, hope of his recovery from the blight of his associations seemed ridiculous.  When he left Beloit the other day, polished, fluent, full of honors, and with the unstinted acclaim of the gathered thousands about him, his degree seems trifling when compared to his achievements.To say that Mr. Wood's especial distinction is his histrionic powers, may seem to cheapen his worth, because false standards have given a wearying prominence to so many "barn-stormers"!  It is not too much to say that these so-called "dramatic readers" can sustain no sort of comparison to Charles Winter Wood.Eight years ago the present Mr. Wood was discovered as "Charley" by Judge Jarvis Blume of this city, a man of fine literary taste, and a man full of chivalric kindness of disposition.  At the time of discovery Mr. Wood as a hopeless and almost homeless little urchin, but could imitate Irving with a wonderful accuracy and appreciation.  Judge Blume immediately decided he had found a rough diamond.  He took the boy to his office and got him to recite from Shakespeare to a company of gentlemen.  Every one was astonished, and after that actors and literary men, notably the late Prof. David Swing, heard him in parlors and testified to his exceptional gifts.  Interest in his education became manifest and finally a Mr. Hanson, a wealthy gentleman of this city, gladly assumed all responsibility for his proper education and has kept him in the Wisconsin Institution for the past seven years.While in the college he won nearly all the prizes in the college oratorical contests.  In the Greek tragedy, "Oedipus Rex," performed by the students at Beloit and Chicago, Mr. Wood took the title role and scored an extraordinary triumph.  The dramatic critics in Milwaukee and Chicago papers pronounced his rendition "phenomenal."  In voice, facial aptitudes, grace of movement and dramatic feeling, Mr. Wood is surprisingly gifted.  It is not enough to say that he is not equalled in America by any of his race.In deference to the wishes of his generous benefactor, Mr. Wood has decided to take a theological course in Princeton.  To those who have seen and heard him there is an instant wish that he might be given the utmost opportunity to develop his dramatic gifts.  He is a gentleman of such splendid rectitude of character, so refined I taste and culture-bent, that nothing would be too high, to hope for him on the stage, were he but untrammeled by the tyranny of American prejudice.We Chicago women feel more or less ashamed in not being represented in the Boston Conference. The coming together of our representative women for high purposes is important enough to make us feel deeply concerned in the outcome. The character of the women who have been able to respond to the call inspires the absent ones with confidence that the Conference will mean much to every cause of peculiar interest to colored women. With such women it is not too much to hope that the Conference will set in force influences that will reach in their helpfulness the farthest confines of colored women's needs.The Woman's Clubs throughout the country are furnishing our women with the right kind of training for organic work.  Out of those clubs must come women strong in the elements of leadership for any cause having in it the spirit and purpose of reform.Heaven grant to our sisters in council the inspiration to see and point the way that leads to a sweeter realization of the blessed privileges of a purer womanhood!The foulness of the Missouri scribbler may be the ignoble cause of a combination of womanly influences that will mark an epoch in the advancement and moral assertion of Negro womanhood.PENNSYLVANIA.Dora J. ColeDORA J. COLE, EDITOR.PITTSBURG, July 13, 1895.July 4th to 7th was of unusual interest to the colored people of Pittsburg and vicinity.  The occasion of this interest was the convention of the Woman's Mite Missionary Society of the Third Episcopal District.  Some of the most distinguished divines of the A. M. E. church, noted professors and many of the brightest women of the race were in the city:  114 delegates were present.  The secretary reported over $1,000 collected during the year by small contributions.  Reports from the various societies were most encouraging and marked great advancement in the work during the past year.At the first session welcome addresses were made by Rev. I.W. Ross, Mrs. Gracie P. Offer, Mrs. D.S. Bently, Rev. W.H. Brown. These were responded to by Rev. Ransom of Cleveland, Mrs. S.T. Mitchell of Wilberforce, Mrs. Rosa Johnson of Cleveland, Bishop Arnett, Dr. Derrick. A letter of welcome from Mayor McKenna was read. Most of the next three days was spent in hearing papers and discussing questions relative to the work of this society.That the association is far from partial in its missionary efforts needs no further proof than the importance paid the subjects, "Our West Indian," "Our Indian Mission," "Our Librarian Mission." Very able papers on these subjects were read by Miss Anderson, Mrs. Caliman, and Mrs. Hicks. "The Short Line to the Redemption of Africa" was treated in a very original way by Mrs. Ransom of Cleveland. She said the ladies are collecting money to bring native Africans to this country to be educated and return to teach their own people. She lived in joyful anticipation of the time when the colored women of Africa and the colored women of America would clasp hands at the foot of the cross.  A very beautiful talk, full of inspiration to the younger women, was that of Miss Lizzie Jackson of Wilberforce, who told of "Woman's Work in the Mission Field." Mrs. Draper and Mrs. Thurman were always entertaining and instructive in any discussion.  It was a rare treat and one fully appreciated to have at the same time and for three successive days our own Bishop Barnett, Dr. Derrick and President S.T. Mitchell of Wilberforce.One very noticeable feature of the convention and worthy of commendation was the harmonious spirit that prevailed throughout the meeting.  It was undoubtedly a gathering of Christian workers intent upon doing the bidding of the Master.  We are glad to have had such a gathering of intelligent, zealous, Christian women among us.  Their presence has been cheering and inspiring.The following are the officers for the ensuing year:  Pres., Mrs. Gracie P. Offer; Cor. Sec., Mrs. Anderson of Drayton, C.; Rec. Sec.,  Miss Lizzie Jackson of Wilberforce; Asst. Rec. Sec., Mrs. D.S. Bently of Allegheny; Treas., Mrs. S.T. Mitchell of Wilberforce.MAMIE S. DAMMOND.THE WOMAN'S ERA is on sale and can be obtained of BEUNKE, STATIONER, 550 MASSACHUSETTS AVE., CAMBRIDGE.OHIO.Sada J. AndersonSADA J. ANDERSON, EDITOR.July was a month of conventions. We have been busily engaged every day since the glorious Fourth.Our Woman's Mite Missionary Convention which met in Pittsburg, Pa., was well attended and grand success followed our meeting.  Surely this organization of women of the Third Episcopal District is doing a noble work for humanity.  We were highly honored with our own fearless Bishop Arnett and the indefatigable Dr. Derrick.  These two were our timely counselors when our own storehouse of knowledge failed to meet the demand.  After a very pleasant four day's session of reviewing the work of the past year and formulating plans for the future, we very reluctantly took leave of one another, feeling that the convention was a success from the opening song to the fond benediction.We had no more than reached home and become partially rested before we were ready to be off again to our S.S. Institute at Hamilton, Ohio. This institute is not composed of women alone, but to lookers on it would seem as though the women had the day there. Owing to the absence of our President, Rev. Priolean, the first vice, Miss Jessie Henderson, presided, and for the impartial way in which she ruled she was elected president for the ensuing year.  Miss Henderson is quite young, a graduate of the high school and normal of Springfield, Ohio, and a student of Wittenburg College of the same place.  She is a power for good among our people and as bold as a lion in upholding the right. On the second day of our institute it afforded us unbounded pleasure to welcome the fraternal delegate from the Southern Ohio Institute in the person of Miss Minnie Moore, who came bringing greetings from the sister institute.  After three days' successful labor the convention adjourned to the banquet room, where, beneath palms and among flowers and happy faces, we lingered until the approach of the "wee sma'" hours.Time is fleeting. The conference of noble women is now a thing of the past, and although it was not our good fortune to clasp the hand of those who dare stand up for our womanhood, when recording the names of all the rest may ours stand out in bold relief as that of Abon Ben Adhern.LITERATURE DEPARTMENT.Medora W. GouldMEDORA W. GOULD.The scene of Hall Caine's latest novel, "The Shadow of a Crime," is England, and the time is the English Restoration.  It is a story of the many lives, upon which the shadow of the crime has fallen, and though perhaps not quite as good as his three celebrated novels, "The Deemster," "The Bondman," and "The Manxman," is sufficiently good to make a name for its author had these never been written.  The hero, Ralph Ray, like all of Hall Caine's heroes is a fine, strong, self-sacrificing man, who is ready to surrender his happiness to another; and his heroine, after deciding which of the two brothers she loves, sets about delivering him from a fearful suspicion in which she finally succeeds.Says the "Twentieth Century":  "The cause of social reform in this country is immensely indebted to Howells.  His work is of priceless value.  He has the ear of all that is best and most cultured in this republic.  In preaching socialism to his countrymen our greatest living author has conferred a service upon his native land of which the value cannot but increase with the passing years.""A Madonna of the Alps," a recent publication of German fiction is translated into English by Nathan Haskell Dole.  Its deep romance and dramatic episodes together with its exquisite local descriptions make for its author, B. Schultze-Smidt, a high place in the ranks of the novelist.  It is the story of an artist who in his travels in the Alps, falls in with a couple over whom a cloud of mystery and trouble has fallen.  The wife is accused of having killed her child, which in reality died by accident, and she by her sweetness of disposition and patient endurance of false accusation awakens a more than passing interest

on the part of the artist-hero.  He finally brings about a reconciliation between her and her husband, whose love had also become estranged.  To the husband, too, he renders great service by removing from his mind the fear that he, in his duties as an Alpine guide, was responsible for the loss of one of a party whom he was conducting on a dangerous expedition."The Girl from the Farm," an English story by Miss Gertrude Dix, is the story of a young woman with a university education, and a great longing for some sort of philanthropic work in which to distinguish herself.  She, however, cannot see work ready to her hand in her own family which she could have done to great benefit to herself and others.The International Education Series has been augmented by a translation of Frederic Froebet's "Pedagogies of the Kindergarten," by Josephine Jarvis.  It is designed to aid mothers as well as teachers in developing the mind of the young child.Mr. Crawford's latest novel, "The Ralston's," is better liked in England than in this country.  It has run through its first edition there."One Fair Daughter," by Mr. Frank Frankfort Moore, is an interesting love story, though somewhat sentimental and sensational."The Woman's Manual of Parliamentary Law" is a safe-guide and great comforter to women in their efforts to know more of the management of public affairs.  Every club woman should have one for her reference.CALIFORNIA.S. Willie LaytonS. WILLIE LAYTON, EDITOR.California is so far away, and from Boston seven day's mail, therefore news by mail, which has become stale in eastern circles, is fresh to us behind the Rockies. To here offer good wishes for the success of the convention would be out of date, for before this appears in print the convention will have adjourned and the life of its good work begun.  Jacks' letter here and probably elsewhere received as much consideration as the laudable call to convention--possibly that too was wisdom's way. Said one of our women: "No one better knows than Jacks that the assertions in his letter are false. I do not fear his power to proselyte to his letter wording, believers from those who have not 'grown up in the wild and woolly west,' as I do fear the intimidation of many who might become part and parcel of public sentiment, condemning the unjust treatment of the negroes of this country. Our own boasted locality has recently demonstrated the sort of intimidating influences on a small scale that I argue.""I neither agree nor fully comprehend your argument," interrupted our dear little enthusiast, tiptoeing to a covert height. "To a certain extent Jacks' letter is true. A story that is partly true is harder to contradict than one wholly untrue. I think individual efforts to higher and better living, voiced here and there in a quiet way through the medium of the press, will more effectually overcome the belief in such charges than these short-lived excitements. Though the convention may do some good, it is a splendid opportunity.""Jacks' reflections are no more true of us than of other races, not as much," continued the first speaker in our group, tenacious of her view of the situation, and as if interrupted.  "We are aware of what followed the lecture of Rev. O. Summers, first negro chaplain of the late Cal. Assembly, protesting against the one blot now on the statute books of our state, the law making unconstitutional mixed marriages. At the close of the lecture one of our influential white divines, stirred by honest conviction and approval for every effort to elevate the moral condition of our state, in bold and strong words condemned class legislation and evidenced his influence to assist in striking from the California code the word 'black' or 'negro and mulatto' as it actually reads. In a few days after, you remember, appeared in one of our dailies a letter from an M.D., not as vile in slander of our morals as Jacks', but every whit as deeply colored with contemptible prejudice, I may even say blasphemous, for he attempted to base his illogical logic on God's word.  The white divine knew then, I believe he feels yet, that he spoke truth, but the M.D.'s criticism was stinging and severe, he became personal; the white divine had to reply.  He did not retract entirely his former statements, neither did he sustain them--was intimidated.  Expediency in his situation

wrote a different explanation. Do you sabe my argument now?"While we were for the second silently absorbed in thought, an old '49er looked over her specs and said:  "Girls, I dunno how that Jack's letter hez struck other places, but my 'pinion is, that letter should be follered by er few mo jess like it; it'll do good yit; bitter medicine is sometimes the best. That letter hez struck Los Anguls frum centre to circle in the way uv studin our gineral good.  It shows you it is more'n talk an' rezolutions. Nothin' but lively intrust, hard work, backed with dollars, 'll overcum sich things. An' anuther thing no good, that letter hez borned more I 'race' ( ?) men and womin then ever we knew we hed, since I crossed the plains."The press has attracted a great deal of attention to the defense of a notorious criminal of Philadelphia, whose mother has tried to secure executive clemency for him on the plea of inherited criminal tendency. She pleads that he is not responsible for his acts, that she, the mother, is; that she was forced by cruel treatment from his father, before the son's birth, to steal from the father's pockets money for her actual sustenance. She writes:  "Thus I went through all the brain sensations of a daring burglar, even such as I am informed you have become. Shortly after that you were born, and I firmly believe you came into the world a thief, owing to that crime-like though necessary practice of mine."  Medical science asserts and has proven that mothers influence the character of their children before they are born, and such a plea, while new as an argument of defense, is worthy of serious consideration, especially to colored women in view of the fact of the serious charges made against us.  Sacred should be esteemed the privileges of motherhood and jealously guarded, that only the noblest and best influences be exercised in the formation of the child's character before its birth. As some one has said, "The successful reformation of a nation is begun before 'it is born.'The comments of the local press on the successful rendition of the sparkling operetta, "New Flower Queen," classes it so far above ordinary social events, that our letter would be incomplete without its mention. Those of us bemoaning our "crow feet" age signs are elated over compliments, "you girls were just lovely."  How could it have been other than a success under the able direction of Mrs. Harry Reed?THE OPEN COURT.Mrs. N.F. MossellMRS. N. F. MOSSELL, EDITOR.To the various friends who have kindly subscribed for the ERA through this department, I desire to say that the receipts for all subscriptions will be mailed or otherwise placed in their possession sometime during the month of September.  A number of petty illnesses and absence from the city for two months has prevented me attending promptly to various business matters, and has also prevented my attendance at the National Women's Convention, or even representation by a paper on some subject worthy of the occasion.  It is my very earnest hope that many friends will send in their names as subscribers for the ERA, beginning with the September issue.  Those desiring to secure the convention or August issue may state the fact when sending their subscription.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 5. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.Mrs. J.F.A. GARDINER,
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Imported styles always on hand. Competent dressmakers always in attendance.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 5. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.ATLANTA UNIVERSITY, ALTANTA, GA.REV. HORACE BUMSTEAD, D. D. President.This Institution trains and sends out a superior class of teachers and leaders for work among the Freedom of the South. It solicits the attendance of intelligent and earnest young men and women, and contributions from those who are willing to help toward their education. Write to the President.SUBSCRIBE FOR MRS. CASNEAU'S GUIDE TO ARTISTIC DRESS CUTTING AND MAKING.It is entirely original and is sure to satisfy a long felt want of young dressmakers, women who do their sewing at home, and those who anticipate learning the trade as the means of gaining a livelihood.The book is self-teaching and can be used with any system or with paper patterns.The order of arrangement places the rules where they will come in regular order for cutting and making a gown. In fact, the aim has been to make the work eminently practical for the average woman.Liberal inducements to agents everywhere.For further information and circulars, send stamp toMr. Elmer E. Casneau,
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P. 0. Box 45.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 5. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.THE SUCCESS OF THE SEASON
MRS. N.F. MOSSELL'S BOOK
THE WORK OF THE AFRO-AMERICAN WOMANThe First Edition has been nearly exhausted. An edition of 5000 is to be issued March 1st."Above all, let the negro know that the elevation of his race can come only and will come surely through the elevation of its women." - Senator Geo. F. Hoar.Miss Emma K. White, one of Chester's most successful teachers, says: "The volume entitled The Work of the Afro-American WomenWoman is a great success at this point."Miss Julia Songow, Germantown, Pennsylvania: "I have sold seventy-five copies of the Work of the Afro-American Woman within two weeks."Mrs. Jennie Euola Johnson of Trenton, N.J.: "I have been very successful in my canvass of The Work of the Afro-American Woman."Agents Wanted: General      Offered. Let 		desire to canvass during the summer, apply at 					of effort have already done well.		Red or Brown Cloth, 75 cents, White and Gold, $1.Apply to Mrs. N.F. Mossell1432 Lombard Street, Philadelphia, Pa.HOUSEKEEPERS SHOULD SEE THE NEWFIBRE CARPET.
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Office of Woman's Era,  103 Charles St., Boston.HOWARD UNIVERSITY.Washington D.C., July 1, 1895Furnishes instruction in the following departments and courses:Theological, Medical, Dental, Pharmaceutical, Legal, College Preparatory, Normal, Musical, and Manual Training, including practice in carpenter shop, printing office, book bindery, tin shop and sewing school.All students have the privilege of library and reading room without extra charge.Tuition free in all courses except Medical Dental and Pharmaceutical.Term opens September 18.J.E. RANKIN, D.D., L.L.D., President.
J.B. Johnson, Secretary.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 5. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.Homes for the People!In Southern California, The Italy of America.Lands Within Reach of Poor Men's Means.THE FRUITLAND COLONY COMPANY,
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20,000 ACRES 20,000Of the finest land on earth, which they intend to colonize with colored people, and at prices within reach of men of small means. In order to induce investments in these lands we offer 2,000 acres to the first settlers at $20 per acre and guarantee to deliver water to each 20 acres sold, sufficient for irrigation. These lands lie 60 miles north from Los Angeles, and 7 miles from the Southern Pacific R.R., and consist of a rich friable loam, being of sedimentary formation mingled with decomposed granite. The soil is from 4 to 50 feet deep, and is capable of producing everything on earth that grows in this land of wonderful production.It lies at an altitude of 2,500 feet above sea level and is peculiarly on the land of the olive and almond.SMALL FARMSare the rule in Southern California and more profit can be realized from 20 acres here than on 160 acres in the East.AFTER 2,000 ACRES HAVE BEEN SOLDthe price will be $35.00 per acre.It is not an unusual thing for trees in bearing to yieldFrom $100 to $1000 per Acre.These lands have perfect title and will be sold for one-third cash, balance one, two and three years, with interest at 6 per cent per annum.Full information will be given by applying to
H.A. PIERCE, President, or T.M. GIBSON, Secretary,
Room 37, Bryson Block, Los Angeles, California.The Woman's Era.Vol. II. No. 7.BOSTON, MASS., NOV., 1895.  PRICE 10 CENTS.NOTES AND COMMENTS.A new department will be opened next month -- Indiana, conducted by Lillian Thomas Fox, impersonator and dramatic reader, late of the Indianapolis Freeman. Mrs. Fox is now at Atlanta, Ga.The last club to be admitted to the Federation is the Phyllis Wheatley, a report from which, by its able president, Mrs. Williams, appears in this issue.So many fine papers come to us from the women of Kansas City. It is indeed unfortunate that we are not able to print them all. It is said that the literary centre is going west.In the loss of her beautiful baby boy Mrs. Terrell has the sympathy and condolence of her host of friends and admirers.Representatives from the different New England clubs will shortly hold a meeting for the purpose of forming a local federation to co-operate with and be a component part of the national organization formed in July last. The gathering will be in response to a call from the national vice president for New England, Mrs. M.A. Dickerson, and will probably be held in Newport, R.I. A number of the members of the Era Club will make this meeting the excuse for a trip to that beautiful city by the sea, which in the autumn is at its best and balmiest.Mrs. Mathews, (Victoria Earl) president of the Woman's Loyal Union of New York and Brooklyn, is in Boston visiting the Woman's Era Club president. Mrs. Sada J. Anderson, of Toledo, Ohio, is expected soon as a guest in the same house, both she and Mrs. Mathews coming on for a consultation over ways and means for forwarding good works.The next meeting of the Woman's Era Club will be held in the parlors of the Cooley House, Saturday afternoon, Nov. 2. The first hour will be devoted to business, after which an informal reception will be held in honor of the visiting president of the W.L.U. of New York.What promises to be a most interesting occasion is the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Daughters of Zion, Thursday evening, November 7, at Zion Church, when there will be congratulatory speeches, music, a collation, and other festive features. A most felicitous time is expected. This beneficent organization, in its fifty years of vigorous existence, has been a prime factor in the prevention of suffering and pauperism among colored people, and as such should receive public recognition.The Mammy Pleasance, referred to by many of our exchanges, and our California correspondent, will be recognized by a few old Bostonians as the mother of Miss Emma Stewart, the adopted  daughter of  Mr. and Mrs. Peyton Stewart. Mr. Stewart had the distinction of starting and successfully carrying on the first gymnasium established in Boston, with the daughter as teacher of the small, select ladies' class. Miss Stewart was greatly admired for her fine personal appearance and sweetness of disposition. All of the old girls will recall the good times at the Boylston Gym over the old Boylston Market, and the departure of the Stewart family to join Mrs. Pleasance in California, where one after another they passed away, a grandson being now the only survivor and heir-at-law to the great wealth accumulated by Mrs. Pleasance.Miss Mabel Grant is organist at the newly organized Congregational Church, of which the Rev. Peter Stanford of Birmingham, EngIand, is pastor. The choir is made up of a large number of young people, and this, with the winsome sweetness of the pastor's English wife, is of great potency in gathering a flock together  at Berkeley Temple, where the services are temporarily held.Old Southac, now Phillips St., is keeping pace with the rest of growing Boston. More activity is being displayed in improvements in that street of four short blocks than in any other of the same length in the city. Two school  houses and two handsome new churches act as a spur to improvements by property owners on that historic thoroughfare.CALL TO THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF A FRO-AMERICAN WOMEN.Margaret WashingtonOrganized in Boston, Mass., July 31, 1895.President, Mrs. Booker T. Washington, Tuskegee, Ala.; vice-presidents, Mrs. Mary Dickerson, Newport, R.I., Mrs. Helen Crum, Charleston, S. C., Mrs. Ella L. Mahammit, Omaha, Neb., and Mrs. Mabel Garner, New York; corresponding secretary, Mrs. F.R. Ridley, Boston, Mass.; recording secretary, Alias L.C. Carter, Brooklyn, N.Y.; treasurer, Mrs. L.C. Anthony, Jefferson City, Mo.; chairman executive committee, Mrs. Victoria Matthews, New York.Tuskegee, Ala., Sept., 1895."Unity in Diversity," the greatest good of all, and that which will serve to link the heart and hand of every woman in a common cause, should become the watchword of all in this nineteenth century.American history has passed through the varied changes of one hundred and twenty years. Our country stands today strong, mighty and powerful -- a verified solution of the "one in many." A casual glance at the history of the nations of the world proves the superior strength of those who are united in purpose over those who are eyeing each other with covert suspicion, delving and scheming for petty, selfish ends, and stirring up anarchy and that strife that "divides man from man and makes him unmerciful to his brother."As the  united mothers of ancient Sparta felt the necessity of resolute action in order to develop a vigorous constitution and make strong the emotional natures of their sons, so do our women of America need to feel the importance of a united fixity of purpose in reference to the affairs that relate to the development of the members of our sex; for with unity of purpose and resolute action, our women will receive an impetus that will urge them to a higher plane of mental, moral and physical life.Thirty years ago, over two millions of our women were set free from bondage of soul and body. With few exceptions, such as had been gained by instinct, spiritual instruction, or a kind owner, none bad been taught lessons that tended to improve womanhood or motherhood, and their condition was most miserable. Without homes, and with no deep realization of their deplorable condition, many drifted here and there, often filling by the wayside, too helpless amidst their environment to have a desire to lead purer, nobler lives.Not many years and the American Missionary Association and a host of noble workers began to open the doors of their schools to these people. They were stunned and bewildered by the reaction of their freedom from slavery, but the hearts of these former slave mothers began to quicken with the hope of securing the advantages of an education for their children.With those born upon a more favored soil, many of these daughters stand today eager to lend a voice and a helping hand that will gain a reaction from the insidious influences of years of helpless bondage to the tempter, years in the thraldom of indifference, and years in the depths of some teachings that give its discount to lost virtue, degraded motherhood and the consequent tainted atmosphere of hundreds of our homes.True, honored womanhood, enlightened motherhood, and happy, comfortable homes can only be secured by concerted effort on the part of the women of our land. Individual effort has accomplished some good in this direction, but the mighty effect upon the masses unreached will be the result of our future united effort.In the month of July, 1895, Mrs, Josephine St.P. Ruffin of Boston called a three days' conference of colored women for personal exchange of greetings. This meeting did much to inspire and give life to the women whose privilege it was to be present; and the result of this gathering is a national organization of colored women, who have for their purpose the general development of women.In the name of the National Federation of Afro-American Women, I call upon the women of the United States of America to lend us their influence, their interest and their aid.Our poor need to be fed and clothed. Our women must be taught to study for their own advancement.They need inspiration and encouragement to keep a brave heart. Homemaking must be thought about, child-rearing needs attention. Our girls need social purity talks. They must be warned of evil company. They must be brought in closer touch with more that is good and pure. They must be taught to realize that they have a vital part to enact in developing the womanhood of their country.All topics of social, economic and intellectual reform must in turn receive a share of our interest. For these and other reasons we need to form local organizations for local reforms in the cities, in the towns, the villages and country districts of our land.We hope this call will touch many chords of hidden forces that will vibrate and respond, and thus our power as women of a national sisterhood will be strengthened and made more effective.Let every delegate of the national organization answer to this by her individual effort "to uplift, to inspire, to do, to look for the noble purposes of life, and hold them aloft as a banner where those who see its folds waving shall say, 'Behold the influence of goodness, of knowledge and of truth.'"In organizing our forces, we ask the hearty cooperation of the wives of our bishops and ministers, our professional women and other women who see the needs of our sisters and will seek to find a remedy.Any woman or body of women, after forming an organization with this end in view, founded upon a definite plan of work for a definite purpose, and having a president, secretary and other officers, if needed, may become a part of our National Federation by notifying the secretary, Mrs. Florida Ridley, 103 Charles street, Boston, Mass., or the president, Mrs. Booker T. Washington, Tuskegee, Ala.Let us take the words of Milton, who said, "We go through weakness to the greatest strength," and we as a race of women may by constant progress attain that goal. Our gain shall be "Concentration of purpose, forgetfulness of self, interest in the social, educational and moral reforms of the day, enlightened motherhood, intellectual development, individuality, and with all a steady growth in development of noble womanhood."MARGARET WASHINGTON,
Pres. N.F.A.A.W.REPORT OF THE NEWPORT WOMAN'S LEAGUE.Mrs. T.H. Jeter"Whatever our hands find to do " is our motto. We shall endeavor to work accordingly.Whenever and wherever we see a possible opportunity.Our plan for the winter's work: For our own improvement we will devote our time to reading what matter we may secure relating to the race and its interests, and will impart all the good we can by doing benevolent and charitable work wherever and whenever we see it needed.Among the objects calling our attention is the Home for Aged Colored Women at Providence.Entertainments will be given for the purpose of procuring funds by which worthy objects coming before us may be assisted.Mrs. T.H. JETER, Pres.AID ASKED FOR A WORTHY INSTITUTI0N.Emma J. WilsonEDITOR OF THE WOMAN's ERA:Kindly allow me space in your widely circulated paper to call the attention of the public to a worthy institution in South Carolina which I have the honor to represent, the Lowry Institute and Industrial School at Mayesville, S.C.This institution was organized in 1881. It was founded by a few poor families who felt the necessity of a longer term in school for their children.We began teaching in a rented house with seventy-five pupils and two teachers. The number increased so rapidly that more teachers were employed. The present enrollment of pupils is two hundred, with three teachers. The indebtedness of the school is $1,000, and seeing the utter impossibility of paying on this debt without help on the first of July, 1895, I was elected and sent out to solicit aid for the institution, that the work so well begun may go on successfully. I was one of the founders of the Institute, and have worked very hard in its interest. I shall be glad of an opportunity to visit all the churches in and around this city for the purpose of asking all friends and well wishers of education to assist in paying off the present indebtedness, or to receive books, money, clothing, etc., that friends may see fit to give for the work.I have recommendations from the leading citizens of my town, which will attest the genuineness of my work and purpose.EMMA J. WILSON,55 Kendall Street,
Boston, Mass.,We gladly make room for this plea. Miss Wilson's endorsements are good, and her simple, modest manner will, we predict, make friends for the cause she so earnestly presents. -- Ed.TUSKEGEE WOMAN'S CLUB.Elizabeth E. LaneOctober 4, on the return of Mrs. B.T. Washington from the Atlanta Exposition she called a meeting of the club to discuss the propriety of a barroom in the Negro Building there.She described the bar, gave the supposed cause of its presence there, the present evil effects, those that will follow, and the lasting disgrace that the sale of intoxicants in this building will reflect upon the entire race.In the discussion that followed it was agreed that the barroom should be condemned, expressions made public and a sentiment created by the public against this evil that should be righted. A committee was appointed to draw resolutions denouncing the bar. It was decided further to send a copy to Commissioner Penn of the Negro Building, to others in charge of Exposition, and to certain papers for publication.Mrs. Josephine T. Washington was appointed chairman of committee, with Mrs. A. Logan and
Mrs. Martha Hurd Willis.The names of president and secretary of the club were affixed.The Executive Committee of the Tuskegee Woman's Club, Mrs. Booker T. Washington, Mrs. Josephine T. Washington, Mrs. N.B. Young and Miss M.M. Fleming, have arranged under various heads the following subjects for consideration of the club this first quarter: "Woman and her Work," "Education of Negro Girls," "The Temperance Movement," "The Status of the Negro Ministry," and "Robert Browning" -- life, characteristics of style, Browning Clubs in England.At the first literary meeting of the current year two phases of women's work were discussed. First, "Women in the Home," by Miss M.M. Fleming. She gave but little latitude for the woman in her home outside of the sacred precinct; but pictured the ideal woman in a home  -- worth having. "Woman in Business," by Miss Leonora L. Chapman introduced facts and portrayed the business capacity or the new woman with a zest that created a fervor in the breasts of those who are advocating some of her principles, if not her dress. On the evening of Oct. 7 the subject for discussion, "The Education of Negro Girls," was divided under eight heads. First, "The Early Education," by Miss Mattie Child, who recalled the days of toil and pain that attended those who struggled in secret for a little learning. "Present Methods," by Miss Milla Hadley gave a marked contrast over that of years ago and a corresponding feeling of thankfulness was aroused in her hearers.  "Defects in Present System," were strongly pointed out by Mrs. Young, who gave the danger of extremes, one-sidedness, and the lack of simple thoroughness in small things. "Suggestion for Future Improvement," by Miss Sarah Hunt were timely. Miss Hunt gave her hearers some of the benefits she received from her summer course taken at Cottage City. "Home Training," by Mrs. Irene Bond, struck a keynote that gave no uncertain sound, but vibrated throughout with the idea of its vital importance. "School Training," by Miss S. Belle Bransford prompted each member to the serious duties that are involved in the work of training our student girls. "Training for Society," by Miss Eliza Adams brought out more duties for mothers and others in training the daughters in habits of economy, in modesty, in uprightness and honesty in dealing with others.The discussion of current news of the week, introduced by Mrs. Sara Peake Greene, was deferred. Reports from the various departments of the club evinced an interest that no doubt will strengthen as the days go by.ELIZABETH E. LANE. RESOLUTIONS OF THE TUSKEGEE WOMAN'S CLUB.WHEREAS, in connection with the restaurant in the Negro Building at the Atlanta Exposition is a barroom, characterized by the usual paraphernalia and conducted according to the methods common to such places, andWHEREAS, the presence of such a resort in the building bearing the name of the Negro and set aside for his especial use, is a stigma upon the entire race and gives rise to scenes tending, in their disgracefulness, to counteract, in a large measure, whatever favorable impression the Negro exhibits may make, andWHEREAS, in the existing condition of things, this building is the only one in which our women, as well as our men, can feel perfectly at home, and this restaurant, which has the barroom attachment, is the only one which they are at liberty to patronize, therefore be itResolved (1) that we, the members of the Tuskegee Woman's Club, having at heart the highest interests of the race, do hereby condemn the selling of whiskey in the Negro Building and that we

feel it an insult to at least the womanhood of the Negro race.. Resolved (2) that we do hereby appeal to the authorities having these matters in charge to close this barroom and so to remove from us the disgrace, which, despite all the evidences of industry, of ingenuity, of intellect, of culture, and of general progress displayed in the Negro Building, must bring to the face of every self-respecting member of the race the blush of shame, as he enters the doors darkened by the shadow of this disreputable traffic.Resolved (3) that copies of these resolutions be sent to the Chief of the Negro Department, to the Directors of the Atlanta Exposition, and to the public press.Signed:
JOSEPHINE T. WASHINGTON,ADELLA HUNT LOGAN,MARTHA HURD WILLIS,Committee.MRS. BOOKER T. WASHINGTON,Pres.ELIZABETH E. LANE,Sec.RESOLUTIONS PASSED BY THE ENGLISH ANTI-LYNCHING COMMITTEE.Florence BalgarnieTo the Editor Woman's Era:At a meeting of the Anti-Lynching Committee held on October 10, Mr. Moncure D. Conway in the chair, it was unanimously resolved"That the Anti-Lynching Committee having heard in the early part of this year of the marked diminution of murders known s lynchings in the United States of America, nevertheless observe with profound regret that within the past few months cases of an aggravated nature have taken place, more especially in Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, and Ohio."While uniting with the friends of humanity in the United States in indignant protest against atrocities in eastern countries, they fear that such protest is greatly weakened by the participation of persons of their own race in burnings, shootings, hangings, mutilations, slayings, and dragging by the neck on the ground until choked to death by the dust of the street, which are characteristics of torture practised in America, upon persons innocent or guilty, without trial, or after due sentence has been pronounced by Court of Law.They therefore appeal once more in the name of Justice and Mercy, to all Governors, Judges, Sheriffs, Senators, Representatives, Editors, Ministers of religion and other leaders of Social, Temperance, and Philanthropic bodies, praying them to co-operate in a vigorous and determined effort to end this terrible disgrace."Permit me also to add a few personal words of sympathy, and to say with whatdeep interest and concern I am watching the heroic struggles of your race against the shameful tyranny of Senator Tillman and those bent upon the disfranchisement of colored man in South Carolina.I have also noted with pained surprise the passing of a retrograde law in Florida, rendering the co-education of the two races penal.With most heartfelt wishes for the success of your efforts on behalf of Justice and Human Freedom, I am,FLORENCE BALGARNIE,Hon. Sec. Anti-Lynching Committee,14, Tavistock Square, London,  W.C.October, 1895.CALIFORNIA.S. Willie LaytonS. WILLIE LAYTON, EDITOR.There should be a united effort in the study and discussions of the reforms necessary to the progress of our people. The practical usefulness of a National Federation of our women is eminent. I hope the women's clubs and organizations of California may respond to the call of the president. This federation means so much toward the emancipation of women, our women, and the general good of humanity.At the state meeting of the W.C.T.U., Oct. 3d, the Demorest Gold Medal offered in the elocutionary contest was awarded Mrs. Aimee Murrels-Ray. The eligibles to compete for the grand gold medal were those who had won silver medals in their respective districts. With at least six competitors, Mrs. Ray won in her district. These medal holders contested for the country; Mrs. Ray won, then the counties contested for the state; this accomplished woman was again the success-

ful competitor, and will be California's representative in New York for the National Diamond Medal. The only reference to this young woman's color was when congratulations were being offered; a lady stepped forward and said, "I am a Southerner. Proud am I that by ability you've won, but prouder still to know your people sent such a matchless exponent. 'Tis no longer color that is the total barrier -- be qualified and competent."Probably the most important event before the Los Angeles women in October was the Woman's Parliament. The first day was devoted to  a symposium on dress: artistic dress, maternity dress, bicycle costume. A striking feature of the programme was an exhibition of a bicycle costume by Dr. Rose Talbot Bullard, showing the convenience and utility of her suit. The second day, woman suffrage was discussed from seven standpoints: Does the Wife Need It? Does the Mother Need It? Does the Unmarried Woman Need It? Does the Working Woman Need It? Does the Business Woman Need It? Does the Professional Woman Need It? Does Politics Need Woman Suffrage? I am certain no woman listening to these logical arguments longer questioned the need of the ballot for women. Mrs. Locke, of Pasadena, very cleverly handled the subject of artistic house furnishing, emphasizing the vital importance of making home beautiful and the available means within the reach of all to beautify their homes in this wonderfully beautiful land. At the close of the parliament women find themselves better fitted for the duties of home and the outside world, having gained by contact, social and intellectual, inspiration. The men, too, should have learned, atleast, that questions of importance can be thoroughly and intelligently discussed, and the point carried, without filibustering and confusion.At the last meeting of the Woman's Club the following officers were elected: president, Mrs. Katie Williams: vice-president, Mrs. Amanda Jones; secretary, Mrs. Lilla Williams; corresponding secretary, Miss J.B. Fry; treasurer, Mrs. Mary Harris.Eureka! San Francisco boasts of originating something "new under the sun" - a "bloomer café," where the best of service is given the patrons by girls attired in bloomers. It is said the waitresses were at first shy, but have found their costumes convenient for work. The advantages seem many, at any rate the girls have declared in favor of bloomers."Mammy Pleasance," of the Sharon divorce case notoriety, is reported dying. Rumor insinuates that she carries with her many secrets that if known would cause many of the high hands of 'Frisco to hang in mortification. She came to the coast from Boston early in the '50's, and has required great wealth, estimated to be way up in the hundreds of thousands and some hint at a million. Although having agents to collect her rents and look after her investments, she always supervised and was recognized as one of the shrewdest and successful financiers of San Francisco. Mrs. Pleasance was lavish with her money and has educated and supported several girls of good birth and saved from failure a number of business men. This old colored woman, in her alapaca dress and worn bonnet, was one of the familiar and prominent characters of San Francisco. MISSOURI.Josephine Silone YatesJosephine Silone Yates. Editor.NATURE OR ENVIRONMENT.Mary V. BassMary V. Bass.Few, perhaps, doubt the existence of the law of heredity; to do so is to doubt the very law of life, the propagation of species.The psychological, physiological effects of the law, conditions which modify it, man's power to direct the law and his duty to himself and his race in so directing it, are indeed matters of question.Nature uses this means to visit the sins of the fathers upon the children, likewise his virtues. Among the strongest of human sensibilities is the love of parents for children, and when the law of heredity is accepted in its full force and, through this love observed, prison walls shall tremble, reformatories and refuges shall be institutions of the past, and man shall live in the full enjoyment of the Godliness within him.Numerous astute minds have dealt with the question, among them Mr. Galton, who has tabulated the judges of England through two hundred years, the prime ministers through one hundred years, and so on through three hundred families

consisting of poets, musicians, divines, scholars, oarsmen and wrestlers. Of these three hundred families one thousand persons are eminent, four hundred and fifteen illustrious, and the general result is that one-half the eminent men have one or more eminent relations.Another striking example is given of a family of five hundred and forty members, traced through seven generations; all descended from a common thief, the greater number of whom died on the scaffold for theft or assassination. On one side of this family shameful death on the scaffold or torturing imprisonment stood a constant menace, on the other the reward of a free, honorable and respected life, yet neither was so powerful as to overcome that inborn tendency to crime.Distinctive genius or traits of character do not always appear to descend in a direct line; a generation or two may seem to lose the family bent, then a child is born giving evidence of the peculiarities of his grandparent or great grandparent. One way to account for this is by the Iaw of cross descent, that, as a rule, the mental qualities of the male progenitor descend to his female progeny, while the mental qualities of the female progenitor descend to her male progeny. It is often remarked that great men are seldom fathers of great sons. Another way to account for this is that the parent having the advantage of youth, health and mental activity will be reproduced in his child. Ribot says that injudicious marriages are the cause of much of the degeneration in many families. In families of distinguished intellect it is found that there is a regular increase of power up to a culminating point, and as regular a decrease from that point. In the first case, marriages were consistent to its production, and in the latter they were incapable of preserving it.The history of the races of man shows that physical and mental laws coincide in their action. The Jew is today what he was in the time of Moses. True his complexion is modified under different climactic conditions, but it is only by a long course of training, under entirely new conditions, that the Hebrew becomes other than the typical son of his forefathers.Frederick William I., king of Prussia, recognized the fact that our peculiar bony structure, shape and size are an inheritance when he made it obligatory upon his soldiers to marry wives equal to themselves in stature, that he might secure a guard of giants.Certain diseases of the mind and body are set down by the medical profession as hereditary, such as insanity, gout, rheumatism, consumption and scrofula. Science attempts to regulate but does not promise to cure. These words occur in a leaflet from the Moral Education Society: "Conscientious physicians, who consider the moral as well as physical hygiene, are perplexed and in despair over the problem."It is true that environment and training may modify the natural condition of mind, but always at the expense  of greater energy and time than is necessary to overcome acquired habit. Hereditary traits have the great advantage of time. What circumstance of a life of twenty-five or fifty years could be so powerful as to overcome centuries of training?The most effectual training which the human soul can possible receive is given before birth. If this be of such a nature as to counteract probable evil tendencies, the labor and time consumed in creating a new mental condition is much lessened and possibly rendered unnecessary later on.In his treatise on the subject, Le Bon says: "Heredity governs the form of our body and its tendencies, the mind with its bent and its powers. It has placed in us those sentiments without which no society is possible, those intellectual aptitudes without which no civilization could have arisen. All the generations which sleep in the dust are living today in us. Among  the various influences which draw men on, the most powerful of all is that of the dead."ILLINOIS.Fannie Barrier WilliamsFannie Barrier Williams. Editor.The work of the National Art Association for the promotion of the love of art among the masses signalizes an important movement in the realm of the aesthetics. It is a most gracious recognition of the refining and chastening influence of art in the life of the nation. The fierceness of politics, the strife of commerce, and the severities of religion all need the softening touch and ennobling influence of kindred arts.I wish that I might say a helpful word as to how art may be brought into our home life and

made to minister graciously to the higher needs of our better selves. No woman sufficiently realizes the sacredness of her trust and privileges as a home maker who is not always ambitious to make her home bright, beautiful and refined, as well as comfortable and convenient. The world of art, with all its joyousness, moral and suggestiveness and purities, is now within the reach of any home that would appropriate some of its treasures. Indeed it seems as if the entire art world, by the use of the decorator's skill, is assisting woman to understand and appreciate the uses of art in the simplest articles of home furnishing.The time was when art was haughty and exclusive and had no interest in or sympathy with the common people. It then lent itself only to palaces, churches and temples. The great masters felt that art was exalted only when the ceilings of some great cathedral or the walls of princely dwellings were decorated by their genius. Then it was that only the faces of saints, kings and the nobility were worthy to inspire the portrait artist. Then it was that art found more glory in portraying the triumphs of war than the laughing faces of childhood. But thanks to the growth of liberality in all things - thanks to the potencies of science and the humanizing influences of education - art is no longer the exclusive servant of the rich and noble. It now finds as much inspiration in the cottage as in the palace; it is as much glorified in portraying the face of a pure woman or an honest man as in painting the faces of saints or sickly princes. In short, art has become the ardent lover of humanity, seeking in every way to glorify our lives.As an illustration of this fact, the pictures of the Columbia Exposition will at once come before the mind, and we will recall that the most popular and prized pictures in all the departments were those which represented the most ordinary incidents in human life. Take, for example, the picture entitled "Breaking Home Ties," made particularly pathetic by the recent heroic death of the celebrated artist who painted it. The artist here has seized upon one of the saddest incidents in family life - that is, the first break in the family union. The universal interest in this canvas was not so much due to its size, coloring or artistic finish as to the powerful representation of one of the tenderest sorrows of family experience. The artist has told here in a wonderfully impressive way the simple story of the power of a mother's love and the sacred influences of a good home.If any of us have denied to the Indian any feelings of sentiment, there was a small picture in the United States section capable of correcting this opinion. The artist here represents an Indian stooping to take a water lily from the pond. This seems a very simple incident to claim the attention of an artist, yet the idea sought to be conveyed is a large and instructive one. The grim visaged brave is returning from a hunt with all the evidences of his savage butchery of bird and beast about him, yet the sight of the lily seems for the moment to change his whole nature, transforming his savagery into tenderness and his thirst for blood into a love for the beautiful. The spirit of humanity in this picture appeals to us so powerfully that we lose sight of the savage and feel only the touch of kinship with all who are moved to pay homage to God's gifts of the beautiful in nature.TEXAS.Cora L. SmithCora L. Smith, Editor.The lands are litWith all the autumn blaze of golden rod;And everywhere the purple asters nodAnd bend and wave and flit.Helen Hunt.Just at this time our woods and prairies are particularly beautiful. Here in the lovely Southland tired Nature seems loath to close her eyes and rest. She lingers and hovers around us, putting on every day a different dress, which, in gorgeousness, eclipses that of the previous day. The long red grasses, waving beneath trees whose leaves are bright with a variety of colors which defy the painter's art to reproduce, and the bright

sky bending above us, enclosing us in a blue haze, all form a picture upon which no eye can gaze without a feeling of reverential awe for the Giver of all good and perfect gifts.How proud we have all felt over the achievement of our great orator, Mr. Booker T. Washington, whose address at the opening of the Cotton States Exposition excited more comment than any other of the day. Being a typical Negro, his grent qualifications cannot be attributed to his Caucasian ancestors. It was a sight to gladden the hearts of his race, to see him standing upon the platform, the cynosure of all eyes and surrounded by the pride and chivalry of the south, delivering an address to the very people who thirty years ago held his people in bondage and refused to believe that they were made for anything but serfdom. Truly, a new era is dawning upon us, and we should he glad and eager to recognize it. Of course, some of us do not agree altogether with some of his utterances, but every man has a right to his own convictions and they should be expected. For instance, Mr. Washington warns us against trying to spend our dollar in an opera house. Now, while it is certainly the best thing for us to be economical and less profligate, yet I can't see why we should be debarred from spending our money to see a good play, such as Shakespeare's tragedies, in which there is a world of instruction, any more than our more fortunate Caucasian brother. We certainly should be allowed to spend our money which we have earned, in any harmless way we may see fit, even though it be an opera house. Nevertheless, we all know that it is best to save all that we can, for there is no doubt but that the much talked of negro problem call only be solved by our growing intelligence and wealth. A man with money can do much more for his country, his race and himself than one without this necessary adjunct. Therefore we must get wealth. Get wisdom, but with all our getting, get wealth.It was a day for much rejoicing when our legislature in extra session declared against prize fighting. We need our great state advertised, but not in that way. We repudiate the advertisement which other states refuse and which Dallas seemed determined to thrust upon us. Texas has too long been considered a haven of refuge for the disreputable classes from her sister states. It is time that we should let it be known, far and wide, that we have as good government here and as law abiding citizens as any in the Union.The death of Mrs. N W. Cuney, last month, left a vacancy in our midst which cannot be filled. She died in Austin, where she had gone for her health.THE COMING WOMAN.Mrs. M.F. FordhamJust look! 'Tis a quarter past six, love,And not even the fires are caught. Well, you know I must be at the office, But, as usual, the breakfast'll be late. Now hurry, and wake up the children, And dress them as fast as you can. Poor dearies! I know they'll be tardy! Dear me! what a slow, poky man! Have the tenderloin broiled nice and juicy; Have the toast browned and buttered all right; And be sure you settle the coffee; Be sure that the silver is bright. When ready, just run up and call me; At eight to the office I go, Lest poverty grim should o'ertake us --'Tis bread and butter, you know. The bottom from stocks may fail out, My bonds may get below par; Then, surely, I seldom could spare youA nickel to buy a cigar. All ready? Now while I am eating, Just bring up my "bike" to the door; Then wash up the dishes, and mind now, Have dinner promptly at four,For tonight is our Woman's Convention,And I am to speak first, you know;The men veto us in private,But in public they shout, "That's so!"So bye-bye. ln case of a rap, love, Before opening the door you must look. 0, how could a civilized womanExist without a man cook!Mrs. M.F. FordhamA combined reception to Rev. Father Page of England and welcome home to Father Field, pastor of St. Augustine's, was arranged and successfully carried out by a committee of ladies in the lecture room of that church Thursday evening, October 24. Butler R. Wilson, Esq., made a graceful and eloquent address of welcome, to which both of the reverend gentlemen fittingly responded. The flower decked tea table was graciously presided over by Mrs. Sparrow, Mrs. Lewis, Miss Bailey and Miss Lillian Lewis.THE WOMAN'S ERA.THE WOMAN'S ERA, the organ of the National Federation of Afro-American Women, and devoted to the Interests of the Women's Clubs, Leagues and Societies throughout the country.Published monthly, in Boston, by JOSEPHINE ST. P. RUFFIN, FLORIDA R. RIDLEY, 103 Charles Street.SUBSCRIPTIONS.Per Annum, -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -$1.00Single Copies, -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -.10Club Rates, one hundred copies,   -    7.00Subscriptions Payable in Advance.EDITORIAL.WE DECLINE TO NAME THIS CHILD.It might have been expected that Mr. Fortune of the New York Age, the proud paternal parent of the hyphenation, Afro-American, would buckle on his armor and go forth to do battle in defense of his cherished offspring, and in his zeal for the perpetuity of the thing he has given life to, call upon any who object to it to "face the music," or admit that they are "in a bad box." His most recent agitation is caused by a modest hope expressed by the WOMAN'S ERA that at the first gathering of the newest federation of women's clubs, now known as the "National Federation of Afro-American Women," the name will be changed, as it is a misnomer. Now it is much easier to give reasons for our objection to the name, "Afro-American," than to give the correct "form," as is demanded of us "honor bright." Boston people, whoare accused by the Age editor of insisting "that they are something else than what they are, "are too busy rolling unnecessary words around under their tongues, be they ever so euphonious, and too conscientious to put counterfeit labels on anything. So because the appellation is cumbersome, unbusinesslike, and the use of it will help create proscription by more widely dividing and serregating a class that has as much right as any in the country to be known as Americans, without affix or excuse, we decline to be a party to this latest stamp act and decline to name this child until the coming leisure age gives time for the ethnologists to examine, divide, sub-divide and name the rest of the component parts that help make up the conglomeration known as the great American people. It is, however, earnestly hoped that it will not be necessary to wait for the critical analysis to be made before convincing those who now seem so anxious to prove themselves less American than others, that a people with two or three generations of ancestors born on the soil, many with an admixture of the blood of the Aborigines coursing through their veins, have as much, if not more right than any to be known simply as Americans. Until it becomes necessary to particularize (as it often does) the descriptive affix "colored" will fill the bill and cover the ground. So, with due respect for the antiquities, we must continue to reject the hyphenation, Afro-American, even though it is "a Latinization used by the Assyrians before the name of Christ," and still insist it is a misnomer when applied to all Americans who are colored.A CLUB MODEL.Many women are desirous of forming Clubs who, from lack of time or opportunity, have not been able to study the methods of successful clubs now in good working order. From such many requests have come. In giving a "club model," not "model club," we can do no better than to cite the methods of our own club, referring our readers to the reports from such clubs as the Loyal Union, the Washington League, the Kansas City League, for other and different models. Every club must work out its own salvation; adapt itself to the peculiar needs of its members. As has often been said, the Woman's Era, which is composed of nearly one hundred and fifty women, is divided into committees, every member being put upon some one of the committees, of literature, civics, philanthropy, domestic science, race work, etc. Each committee takes charge of a meeting in turn, selecting an essayist, and these are to discuss the particular matter which is to be put before the club. The club has the usual officers, with an executive board, which maps out the work of the year and presents it to the club in the form of a printed programme. Some one committee may choose to have a public meeting with public speakers, some one to have it "tea," some an entertainment to raise funds. "The ways they are many, the end it is one." Many of the clubs of other cities carry on large and flourishing industrial classes, where cooking, darning, patching are done; some, including the Era, have classes in literature, music, etc.Any body of women will find so many avenues opening to them that, having once started, they will need no leading. Of course, much that is discouraging will be met with, but the work, in the main, will be found delightful.COLORED WOMEN AND SUFFRAGE.There is no class in the United States that suffers under such disadvantages as the colored women. This class has everything to gain and nothing to lose by endorsing the woman suffrage movement. Race prejudice is expressed in many ways, but the exhibition of it is often crushed when a vote is wanted.Colored women are prepared and would be very glad to be eligible for state and city positions as clerks, stenographers, etc., and might be considered once in a while if possessed of a vote.It is reported that the colored women of Kentucky outregistered the white women two to one in their ambition to get a colored man on the school board. In commenting upon this, the Boston Herald cites it as an instance of the ignorant class outvoting the intelligent class. To the unprejudiced person, this movement on the part of the colored women to obtain representation on the school board is an evidence of their earnestness and intelligence, and the sneer at ignorance is misplaced.One of the most interesting incidents of the suffrage movement here in Boston is the desire to vote expressed by two inmates of the Home for Aged Colored Women, one of whom is ninety-two years of age and the other eighty-eight, and the spirited, intelligent letter sent by these old ladies to the suffrage leaders speaks volumes, particularly when it is realized that they have had no advantages in the way of education and environment. With the suffragists the colored woman is in good company; it is more often true that she is "in the house of her friends" with this class than with any other.ADMISSION INTO THE FEDERATION.Any number of women forming themselves into a body for general culture, advancement and upliftingis eligible for admission into the National Federation. In the great bereavement that has come upon the chairman of the executive board, all further steps toward organization have been postponed. For the present, all clubs desiring admission need only to send their request to the president to have it acted upon immediately.COLORAD0.Elizabeth Piper EnsleyElizabeth Piper Ensley, Editor.COLORADO CLUB WOMEN.Elizabeth Piper Ensley"Where are you going, my pretty maid?""To the convention, kind sir," she said."What will you do there, my pretty maid?""Engage in grave discussions," she said."What will you talk about, my pretty maid?""Oh, ethics and economics," she said."Altruism and such like things,And the social changes the future brings."Civics, you know, till the air gets blue,And the naughty, modern novel, too."Heredity, atavisim, don't you know,And how the young idea should grow.""Then I won't marry you, my pretty maid.""I 'd wait till I got a chance." she said.The first annual meeting of the Colorado Federation of Women's Clubs was held at Colorado Springs, Oct. 1 and 2. There was a large attendance and great interest was shown in the proceedingsThe morning session of the first day was devoted to business. The report of the president, Mrs. E.M. Ashley, was read. Mrs. Henrotin, president of the General Federation of Women's Clubs, opened the afternoon meeting. The keynote of her address was, "As you rise to triumph, what a host of women mount. Among other things she reminded the women of Colorado of the close attention being paid to their course, and begged them not to think for an instant that they do not want the suffrage or any of the privileges or duties which that implies. She felt like saying to them, "What manner of women are you, that this magnificent thing should come to you?"The topic under "Trend of Popular Literature" - "To what extent may we accept," etc., the conclusions of others without personal investigation, was discussed by Mrs. Ida DePriest, one of the two colored delegates sent from the Woman's League of Denver. This was considered one of the hardest, if not the most difficult subject under discussion. Mrs. DePriest was equal to the occasion. She spoke with ease and crowded much thought into her five-minute paper. The subject was treated from an ethical standpoint, showing in many instances why conclusions deduced from reading magazine articles, reviews, and newspapers were false and not conformable to true progress. Mrs. DePriest said in part: "Only when the motive, intention, and apparent purpose of an act is known, and when a calm and comprehensive survey of the subject is taken, have we any right to express conclusions and then they must be placed on the broad ground of right."Mrs. DePriest, who was an agreeable surprise to the women, is a graduate of the Denver High School, and is corresponding secretary of the Woman's League.Among the other papers was one by Mrs. Lizzie Olden, the other colored delegate, who is president of tile Woman's League. She talked upon "The Club as a Factor in Bettering Social and Civic Conditions." Mrs. Olden said that grave problems were pressing upon society with such a force that one almost looks to the future with fear. In the day when the republic was in danger from rebellion, the moral support of the women was not less efficient than the bayonets of the men in settling the difficulty. In the new conflict of mental and social forces the women must come to the front again. Social conditions will never be better or purer than the best women of a community. She said: "Those who are called our best women have little right to their title unless they make use of their talents and their leisure for the benefit of the community."Mr. Olden's address was frequently applauded.The two ladies were the guests of Mrs. Dr. Solly, one of the wealthiest and most prominent club women of Colorado Springs.Thursday afternoon, August 3, the Woman's League gave an informal reception to the teachers and visitors who still remained in Denver. It was a most pleasing affair. The visitors were asked by way of encouragement to the league to tell of the organizations of women in their respective cities.Mrs. Julia Hubbard, our own vice-president, welcomed the guests in a brief and appropriate address.Fourteen different cities were represented. Miss Carrie Syphax, Principal of the Industrial Department of the schools in Washington, D.C., made the address of the afternoon. Possessing it thorough knowledge of her subject, she speaks with the utmost ease. All the mothers must have been impressed with importance of giving their children industrial training.Among the others who spoke was Miss Coleman of St. Louis. She told in a very interesting manner of the Orphan's Home maintained wholly by the efforts of colored women.Mrs. Maguire of Kansas City made a pleasing address.Mrs. Braxton of Omaha, Neb., in a very graceful speech spoke encouragingly of woman -- thought she had awakened to a knowledge of her power and how best to use it for the betterment of humanity.Mrs. Cassell of New Mexico congratulated the Deliver League on what it had already accomplished.All present were highly entertained and instructed. Surely the women of Denver feel that they have grown by contact with the fresh, bright spirits that have lingered a while among the Rockies.OHIO.Sada J. AndersonSada J. Anderson, Editor.Indian summer has come to the Maumee. We doubt if our own Hallie Q., in picturesque Switzerland, has gazed upon a more lovely bit of landscape than can be seen here in the Maumee Valley.Squaw winter has paid her fleeting yearly visit, and Indian summer, with its draperies of scarlet and gold, now reigns a queen upon her throne.Perhaps no city in the Union is provided with the means of entertaining visitors at this season of the year as is Toledo. A trip around the Maumee belt, through a living panorama of river and autumn tinted forest views, is not an experience

to be had everywhere. Going around this belt, one passes the historical Fort Meigs, one of the endeared spots in the hearts of the Buckeyes. For several miles side by side runs the belt line with the sparkling waters of the Maumee; then almost ere we are aware, we go spinning through the forest, which at this season of the year is glorious in scarlet and gold and alive with the busy nut hunters who make the woods ring with their merry making. This is the season to bring the blood to the cheeks and the frost sparkle to the eye of those who love life and the world in which they live.It was our good pleasure last week to take a flying trip down through the oil fields it short distance south of here. For miles the eye could behold nothing but huge oil tanks, and derricks to hoist from the interior of the earth that which God has placed there for the benefit of mankind and only obtainable by the "sweat-of-the-brow." After a run of two hours or more we were in Findlay, the city that sprung up in a day during the great gas boom some few years ago. Things seem dead there since the boom has subsided, but we found our people alive enough to appreciate the good, beautiful and true, and on making known to them our especial business -- the ERA'S interest -- scarcely one failed to give the paper the proper support. For a small town, we dare say, that in intellectual aggressiveness many larger cities do not surpass Findlay. Here is a musical club called "The Sisseretta Jones Club." Mrs. Emma French is the president. She will soon graduate in music from the Findlay College, an institution broad enough to make no distinction, throwing wide its doors to all for intellectual advancement. We bespeak for the ERA progress in Findlay among white as well as colored people.If any of the readers of the ERA have never heard Rev. J.M. Henderson of New York City on "Our Certain Destiny," be advised by one who has, and hear him at your very first opportunity. He has been with us this past week and delivered his excellent lecture in Warren Chapel to a small audience. On his return to Toledo, standing room will be at a premium, for he has reached the hearts of the people, through those who heard him.Now, dear sisters, the Ohio department remains to be made what you will make it. I am sure that I am doing all that one can do to make it a success, and I ask your hearty co-operation so that we can all enjoy the fruits of unified labor, for the further advancement of our country-women. It is not so much the new woman as it is the awakened woman."To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heaven . . . A time to keep silence and a time speak." By the necessary changes of time, this is our time to speak and do. Let us ask God to grant us that give whereby we may not abuse this glorious privilege extended us now, by taking all the honor to ourselves.Let us act in the living present.VIRGINIA.Rosa D. BowserRosa D. Bowser, Editor.A petition was circulated, in Lunenburg County, praying Judge Orgain to order the removal of the charged murderers of Mrs. Pollard from the Richmond Jail back to Lunenburg County.The interest manifested by white and colored in the case, and the benevolent acts and expressions in regard to the prisoners seem to be rated as undue influence upon the poor condemned mortals. The order has been issued that the sheriff of Lunenberg produce the prisoners in the Lunenberg Court on Nov. 11. It has also been stated that no military escort will be desired by the sheriff.A bazaar is in progress at the new Armory, and will continue for two weeks. Many attractions are presented for each night. The bazaar is conducted by the First Battalion Club, a committee of ladies who are assisting  the soldiers to raise means in order to erect a drillshed in the rear yard.Rev. Johnson the Episcopal rector, is superintending the erecting of a nice church for his flock.Rev. Wells' twenty-fifth anniversary as pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist church was celebrated on the first Sunday in October. On Monday night following, the committee in charge presented him with valuable gifts and provided a rich repast for the ministers of the city and their friends.Memorial exercises will be held at the First Baptist Church on Sunday evening, October 27

in memory of the late Prof. D.B. Williams, who held the chair of Greek and Latin at the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute. The memorial will be held jointly by the First Baptist Sunday school, of which he was once assistant superintendent, and by the Alumni of the Richmond Normal School.The Friday Evening Literary, of which Mrs. Bowser is president and Miss K.J. Cooke, secretary, has commenced work for the season. In connection with a varied program from time to time, civil government will be discussed during the term. Each member is expected to study the subject thoroughly.The Y.M.C.A. conference meets in this city November 1, 2 and 3. A committee of ladies, of which Mrs. R.T. Hill is chairman, are preparing to give the visiting Y.M.C.A. members a right royal reception.The Woman's League has raised in five meetings $541.THE PHYLLIS WHEATLEY CLUB.Sylvanie F. WilliamsNew Orleans, La., Oct. 11, 1895.The club originated in the necessity which I saw all around me, of doing something to elevate the race, especially its women. I have been, for twenty years, principal of a public school for girls, and try as I would, I could not succeed to my entire satisfaction in making real true women of many of my girls, because my influence did not extend far enough into their lives. I therefore thought of working upon the morals of the mothers, the majority of whom were poor and ignorant and could not give to their girls the home culture proportionate to their educational advantages. For years I have felt that something ought to be done, but just how to reach them I did not know. I wanted help, but did not know where to turn to find it. At last the club idea dawned upon me. It was a happy one. I consulted some of my personal friends, and by coaxing and begging others, we succeeded in getting enough together to organize.The object is plainly stated in the first article of our constitution, wherein we declare that we will do all that our hands find to do toward elevating and helping our women. Every intelligent, respectable woman is eligible to membership; the dues are only five cents per month, with no initiation fee. The dues were purposely made so small that no one could offer the expense as a plea for not joining us. The result is that we now number seventy good responsible women.The club is divided into twelve committees, every member belonging to one or more of them. The appointments are not arbitrary; each one chooses the committee she prefers. This is allowed so that each one will work with more zeal when interested in the work. The Temperance, Anti-Cigarette, Suffrage and Social Purity committees preach their respective doctrines, scatter reading matter and form leagues of all who take anyone of the pledges. The Literature, History and Law committees form classes in the club, for our own benefit and improvement. The Self Help committee are organizing free sewing schools all over the city to teach poor girls how to sew, but especially how to mend, darn and patch, for I find that many of them go in rags because they do not know how to use the needle. Each member of the club pledges herself to furnish two ready made garments during the year, and we propose to solicit aid from our friends so as to be able to have, at least, one new made garment to distribute to each one of our poor by Christmas. The Philanthropy committee devote their time to prisons and houses of correction; they give sympathy, advice, and reading matter to the inmates. We propose to enlist the interest of the colored lawyers to look into cases where we have reason to believe that injustice or undue severity has been exercised in their sentences. The Hospital committee has charge of visiting the sick in the hospital and at their homes, where they give whatever aid they can. Of the free night schools, we had one in operation all last term and will soon open others. They are open to all young people who are compelled to work in the day and cannot afford to pay for their schooling. The Committee on Newspapers and Current Events search the papers and magazines for all articles, either commendatory or derogatory to us as a race or as women. These are brought to the notice of the club, which endorses them as the case requires.I have given you an outline of our work. Of course we are somewhat hampered for want of funds, but as we have considerable talent among us, we are preparing to give an entertainment for the benefit of our treasury.Sylvanie F. Williams, Pres.LITERATURE DEPARTMENT.Medora W. GouldMedora W. GouldMr. Zangwill, whose letters in the Cosmopolitanare such a fund of information, is thus described by a friend. "Mr. Zangwill has a lovable personality and is a delightful companion. He is a brilliant talker, for he does not save all his good things for his books, and he likes to listen as well as talk. His sweetness of disposition remained untouched by the hard grind of his youth, and it is unspoiled by his present success. Ho possesses the quaintest of humor, the dryest of wit and the keenest appreciation of good qualities in others. In spite of his enthusiasm in anything in which he is interested, and an often childlike enjoyment of little things, the sorrows and the injustice of human lives have sunk deep into his heart. He is in his thirty-second year. It is not strange that people think of him as much older. Personally he might be described as an ungainly man, awkward and unconventional in dress and movements, with dark, irregular features, a mop of curly black hair, and large, pathetic, near-sighted eyes."Walter Besant is an advocate of the theory that novel writing can be learned like any other profession by anyone of ordinary ability, with due exercise of intelligence and industry. He is much interested in a sort of school conducted by prominent novelists, in which the manuscript of young authors is read and criticised, defects pointed out, and helpful and practical advice given toward improvement. In some cases the writer is advised to withdraw from a hopeless struggle."Religion in Common Life," a volume of sermons by various ministers, indicates that the pulpit is giving to the people something other than creeds and dogmas. Among the topics presented are "Individualism and Socialism," "Phases of Idleness," "Problems of the Poor," and "Religion and Politics.""Ave Maria," by Miss Marie Louise Burgess of Boston, is an interesting story of love and devotion. It is a tale of the conflict between love and duty, in which love is sacrificed on the altar of faith. The neatness and correctness of the printing and the taste displayed in the binding make it an attractive little volume.Edgar AllenPoe possessed the power of prophecy, for in a letter written by him in 1844 occurred this passage: "I perceived that the country could not fail of affording in a few years a larger proportionate amount of readers than any upon earth. I perceived that the whole energetic, busy spirit of the age tended wholly to magazine literature - to the curt, the terse, the well timed and the readily diffused, in preference to the old forms of the verbose and ponderous and the inaccessible."Queen Victoria is about to establish a literary order of merit for the recognition of those who, as journalists and writers of books, have done good work.A RARE OPPORTUNITY.The best known preventive to consumption is climate, and it is generally conceded that Colorado has the best anti-consumption climate in America.Hundreds come every year to Denver, hoping to prolong life and regain health; many of them do so who would otherwise meet early death.The climate of Denver, dry, pure and sunny, with its elevation of one mile above sea level, effectually cures all incipient lung diseases.Therefore parents having children predisposed to lung trouble are advised to send them to Denver to pursue their studies.The fine public schools and the Denver University afford unsurpassed educational facilities.Mrs. Ensley will take into her home a limited number of girls and young ladies desiring to get the benefit of the climate while attending school.She will give special attention to home training and physical culture, particularly to chest expansion, diet and healthful dressing, while superintending their course at the public schools.For further information addressMrs. E.P.Ensley,
1755 Ogden St.,
Denver, Col.Refers by permission to Mr. Nathaniel T. Allen of West Newton English and Classical School.NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS.You are interested in the advancement of the race and want to do something to help on the work? Then pass the paper along and urge your friends to subscribe. You can not do better work than this.Any one sending a two-cent stamp will receive a sample copy of the ERA.Father Field is jubilant over the result of his labors in behalf of a West End branch library. The alteration and embellishment of the old West Church at the head of Cambridge street are nearing completion, and it looks now as if Dr. Bartol, who nearly ten years ago retired from the pastorate of that church, after fifty years of continuous service, will live to see the temple dedicated to broad culture and liberal views in religion, rededicated to still wider culture and larger possibilities as a well equipped public library.WANTS.To supply any of these Wants apply at office of the WOMEN'S ERA.Private family will receive music student to board and lodge. Reasonable terms. Pleasant home. Kranich & Bach piano to practice on. Easy access to the musical life and institutions of Boston. References given and required.Miss M.W. Gould will give lessons by mail in English composition, grammar, use of capitals, punctuation, formation of sentences, etc.A woman of business experience and ability will act as confidential agent in taking care of or settling up the estates of women and children. Advice free.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 7. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.What is this A.P.A.?What its Plans?
Who its Candidates?
What its Principles?
Where can we join?For full information, send 2-ct. stamp for -- or ask your newsdealer for - or send 50 cts. for 3 mos. trial subscription of - the paper which advocates straight A.P.A. principles - THE AMERICAN CITIZEN, 7 Bromfield St., Boston.Mrs. J.F.A. GARDINER,
128 Alder St., Pittsfield, Mass.Will accommodate a few private boarders during the summer months. Five minutes walk from maple woods. Terms reasonable.F.A. GREENLEAF,
Wholesale and Retail Dealer in
PAPER HANGINGS,
51 Court Street,
Near Scollay Square. BOSTON.MRS. H.L. KEMP, Artistic Dressmaking and Millinery,
170 FRANKLIN AVENUE,
Near Myrtle, BROOKLIN, N.Y.
Imported styles always on hand. Competent dressmakers always in attendance.- TRY -
A PERFECT ICING FOR YOUR CAKES,Will not spoil or foment in heat or cold, covered or exposed to the air.PERFECT ICING never dries out or crumbles, all other Icings draw the moisture from the cake and dry it up. A PERFECT ICING will keep your cake from drying out.PERFECT ICING should be put on in a very thin coating, like a varnish; it will give your cakes a beautiful gloss as well as flavor. Can be cut soon as put on by dipping your knive in cold water.A 25c. Jar of PERFECT ICING will go further than 25 cents in Egg and Sugar Icing as you use it, is more healthful, and gives a superior flavor.PERFECT ICINGS are put up in Screw Top Jars, also in Mason quarts, and in wooden pails of 25 lbs. each.DIRECTIONS.Remove the top, set the Jar in a moderate oven or warm place, until the contents are thin enough to spread. Take your knife, stir it up and spread on a cold cake, just as thin as possible. Set your jar away to use again.Ask your Grocer for PERFECT ICING.
Almond, Coffee, Wild Grape, Orange, Strawberry, Vanilla, Chocolate, Pistash.Prepared only by A.H. Peloubet & Co., New York.
See our Trade Mark A.H.P. is on every Label.PERFECT ICINGS used in making Sherbets or Water Ices, Ice Creams, Sauces, Home Confections, etc. Will give their rich flavors and save work.B.P. Ray, Agent. 2 Chatham Row, Boston, Mass.ATTENTION LADIES.
Our Dress and Garment making is perfect; Prices reasnable; Fit, Style, and Finish Unsurpassed.
Hats and Bonnets made and Trimmed, 50c. to $1.00
Our Millinery and Dress Cutting Schools are the best in the world. Young ladies should come at once and learn.
HARVEY,  29 Temple Place, Boston.EDGAR P. BENJAMIN, 
Attorney and Counsellor-at-Law
34 School Street, Boston.  Room 22NOTICE!
Why Not Advertise in the Weekly Journal of the Lodge?
With a circulation of 4,000
Write for terms and space.
Address JOURNAL OF THE LODGE,
NEW ORLEANS, La., Box 105.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 7. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.J.R. YOUNG & CO. Will be glad to serve afternoon teas, spreads, wedding breakfasts and dinners, salads, croquettes, ice creams, ices and confections. Polite waiters. All orders promptly attended to. Will call to arrange for parties on receipt of Postal. 
15 Bow Street, Cambridge. 
Telephone 23-2. 
27 Jerome Street, W. Medford. 
Telephone, Arlington 27-2. FIRST CLASS HELP,
With good recommendations, for all branches of work in Private Families, Hotels and Boarding Houses supplied from
MRS. J.S. KEMP'S EMPLOYMENT OFFICE
Office, 103 Revere St.. BOSTON.
FEMALE HELP A SPECIALTY.MRS. ELIZABETH COOLEYIs prepared to give First Class Accommodations to a few boarders at reasonable rates at the old stand.
62 PhilIips St., Boston.MISS C.L. HOWARD,Fashionable Dressmaker,
Latest Paris Fashions.  All Work Strictly First Class.
Button Holes Made.
37 Buckingham St., Boston.MISS L.M. STEWART,
Artistic Dress Cutting and Making.
Also Corset Making by First Class and Terms Reasonable.
19 Brewery St., CAMBRIDGE.MRS. E. DOMINIQUE,
Dressmaker and Fur Sewer.
Fur Cleansing and Repairing a Specialty. Best of References.
Work Solicited.
64 PHILLIPS ST., BOSTON.MRS. L. FOSTER,
Fashionable Dressmaker.
Strictly First Class. Terms Reasonable.
Cutting and Basting by the M.E. Quinn System.
1.A MELROSE ST., BOSTON.MRS. M. BLACKMAN,
INTELLIGENCE OFFICE.
Colored Help a Specialty for Private Families, Hotels, Etc., at reasonable rates.
193 Cambridge Street, Boston.
Near North Grove Street.  Belt Line Cars Pass the Door.Cambridge Cleansing and Repairing Establishment.
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Telephone, 1198 Haymarket.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 7. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.ATLANTA UNIVERSITY, Atlanta, Ga.Collegiate and Normal Courses. Enlarged corps of teachers. Industrial training in domestic and mechanic arts, including printing. Instruction in both instrumental and vocal music and in elocution. High grade in every respect. A few deserving and needy students can be aided. Term begins Wednesday, October 2. For catalog, address President HORACE BUMSTEAD.SUBSCRIBE FOR MRS. CASNEAU'S GUIDE TO ARTISTIC DRESS CUTTING AND MAKING.It is entirely original and is sure to satisfy a long felt want of young dressmakers, women who do their sewing at home, and those who anticipate learning the trade as the means of gaining a livelihood.The book is self-teaching and can be used with any system or with paper patterns.The order of arrangement places the rules where they will come in regular order for cutting and making a gown. In fact, the aim has been to make the work eminently practical for the average woman.Liberal inducements to agents everywhere.For further information and circulars, send stamp toMr. Elmer E. Casneau,
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P. 0. Box 45.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 7. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.THE SUCCESS OF THE SEASON
MRS. N.F. MOSSELL'S BOOK
THE WORK OF THE AFRO-AMERICAN WOMANThe First Edition has been nearly exhausted. An edition of 5000 is to be issued March 1st."Above all, let the negro know that the elevation of his race can come only and will come surely through the elevation of its women." - Senator Geo. F. Hoar.Miss Emma K. White, one of Chester's most successful teachers, says: "The volume entitled The Work of the Afro-American WomenWoman is a great success at this point."Miss Julia Songow, Germantown, Pennsylvania: "I have sold seventy-five copies of the Work of the Afro-American Woman within two weeks."Mrs. Jennie Euola Johnson of Trenton, N.J.: "I have been very successful in my canvass of The Work of the Afro-American Woman."Agents Wanted: General      Offered. Let 		desire to canvass during the summer, apply at 					of effort have already done well.		Red or Brown Cloth, 75 cents, White and Gold, $1.Apply to Mrs. N.F. Mossell1432 Lombard Street, Philadelphia, Pa.HOUSEKEEPERS SHOULD SEE THE NEWFIBRE CARPET.
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Office of Woman's Era,  103 Charles St., Boston.HOWARD UNIVERSITY.Washington D.C., July 1, 1895Furnishes instruction in the following departments and courses:Theological, Medical, Dental, Pharmaceutical, Legal, College Preparatory, Normal, Musical, and Manual Training, including practice in carpenter shop, printing office, book bindery, tin shop and sewing school.All students have the privilege of library and reading room without extra charge.Tuition free in all courses except Medical Dental and Pharmaceutical.Term opens September 18.J.E. RANKIN, D.D., L.L.D., President.
J.B. Johnson, Secretary.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 7. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.Homes for the People!In Southern California, The Italy of America.Lands Within Reach of Poor Men's Means.THE FRUITLAND COLONY COMPANY,
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20,000 ACRES 20,000Of the finest land on earth, which they intend to colonize with colored people, and at prices within reach of men of small means. In order to induce investments in these lands we offer 2,000 acres to the first settlers at $20 per acre and guarantee to deliver water to each 20 acres sold, sufficient for irrigation. These lands lie 60 miles north from Los Angeles, and 7 miles from the Southern Pacific R.R., and consist of a rich friable loam, being of sedimentary formation mingled with decomposed granite. The soil is from 4 to 50 feet deep, and is capable of producing everything on earth that grows in this land of wonderful production.It lies at an altitude of 2,500 feet above sea level and is peculiarly on the land of the olive and almond.SMALL FARMSare the rule in Southern California and more profit can be realized from 20 acres here than on 160 acres in the East.AFTER 2,000 ACRES HAVE BEEN SOLDthe price will be $35.00 per acre.It is not an unusual thing for trees in bearing to yieldFrom $100 to $1000 per Acre.These lands have perfect title and will be sold for one-third cash, balance one, two and three years, with interest at 6 per cent per annum.Full information will be given by applying to
H.A. PIERCE, President, or T.M. GIBSON, Secretary,
Room 37, Bryson Block, Los Angeles, California.The Woman's Era.Vol. II. No. 9.BOSTON, MASS., JAN., 1896.  PRICE 10 CENTS.CLUB NOTES.The Woman's League of Montgomery, Ala., has made application for membership into the National Federation. This club, which was formed in November last, already numbers sixty-five members, and like all the southern women's clubs, is earnestly enthusiastic in its work of helping to dissipate ignorance and prejudice. Following are the officers: Mrs. H.L. Davenport, president; Mrs. A.J. Rogers, first vice-president; P.H. Patterson, second vice-president; J.W. Alstook, treasurer; J.W. Beverly, recording secretary; S.H. Wright, corresponding secretary.On Monday afternoon, Dec. 30, the New England Women's Club held a discussion on the action of the South Carolina Constitutional Convention in disfranchising the Negro. Mr. Frank Sanborn of Concord, Butler R. Wilson, Esq., Rev. Horace Bumstead, president of Atlanta University, Miss Maria L. Baldwin, principal Agassiz School, Cambridge, all took part in the discussion. Mrs. Ednah D. Cheney presided. At the close of the meeting Dr. Bumstead distributed copies of the masterly speech delivered before the convention, Oct. 25, 1895, by Hon. James Wigg of Beaufort, S.C., It is a standing rule of this
club not to allow detailed reports of their meetings to be published.The Moral Educational Association alternate their monthly socials, at which papers are read by distinguished philanthropists, reformers, and literary people. Mrs. Margaret Deland, the novelist, is to contribute one before the season closes. These festive meetings are held in the Bostoniana Rooms, 83 Newbury street, and members are allowed to bring friends on payment of a small fee.At the annual election of officers of the New England Women's Press Association Mrs. May Alden Ward was elected president.The annual election of the Woman's Era Club resulted in the re-election of nearly all of the old officers and heads of committees.The inaugural exercises were of the simplest character, a few short speeches, some music, followed by an informal reception with refreshments. The little tea tables were brilliant with lighted candles, silver urns, and dainty china, presided over by young girls in evening dress. The gathering was in St. Augustine lecture room, and the committee having it in charge were, Mrs. A.C. Sparrow, Mrs. R.S. Ransome, Mrs. P. Ruffin, Mrs. Dandridge.The chairman of the civics section of the club is forming a woman suffrage Ieague to become a branch of the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association.The Y.E.C. sewing circle, of which Mrs. Lottie Sampson is president, met at MIrs. Sampson's home in Jamaica Plain, Thursday afternoon, January 16, to take the first steps towards holding a fair for the benefit of St. Monica's Home for sick and destitute women and children.THE NATIONAL COLORED WOMAN'S CONGRESS.Called by the Woman's Auxiliary to the Negro Department of the Cotton States and International Exposition, Atlanta, Ga., Mrs. B.K. Bruce, president, takes its place as one of the notable features of the Negro Department of the Exposition, and reflects great credit upon all concerned in bringing it to a successful culmination.The opening session was called to order by Mrs. Rosetta Lawson, Friday, 10 A.M., at Bethel A.M.E. Church. After the reception of delegates, officers for the Congress were elected amid the greatest, harmony, resulting as follows:President, Mrs. Lucy B. Thurman, Michigan.1st, Vice-Pres., Mrs. B.T. Washington, Alabama.2nd Vice-Pres., Mrs. F.E.W. Harper, Penn. Sec., Mrs. Rosetta E. Lawson, Washington, D.C. Ass't Sec., Prof. Mary V. Cook, Kentucky. Fin. Sec., Mrs. Arthur S. Gray, Kansas. COMMITTEE ON CREDENTIALS.Mrs. Arthur S. Gray, Kansas.Mrs. Charles R. Douglass, Washington, D.C.Mrs. T.H.T. Lyles, Minnesota.COMMITTEE ON COURTESIES.Mrs. J.W.E. Bowen, Atlanta.Mrs. J.C. Napier, Nashville, Tenn.Mrs. Frances Preston, Michigan.MMrs. Fannie Barrier Williams, Illinois.Mrs. F.E.W. Harper, Pennsylvania.Mrs. W.B. Derrick,  New York.COMMITTEE ON RESOLUTIONS.Mrs. Victoria Earle Matthews, New York.Mrs. B.T. Washington, Alabama.Mrs. Sylvanie F. Williams, New Orleans.Mrs. Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, Boston, Mass.Mrs. F.E.W. Harper, Pennsylvania.Mrs. Lucy Laney, Georgia.Mrs. Emma Ford, Michigan.Mrs. Lucy B. Stevens, Virginia.Mrs. Lucy Thurman, Michigan.Mrs. Christine S. Smith, Tennessee. Mrs. Lillian Thomas Fox, Indiana. Mrs. A.E.P. Pride, Virginia. Mrs. A.S. Gray, Kansas. Miss Lucy Moten, Washington, D.C. Mrs. Garnet, Atlanta. Mrs. Ida Jackson. Mrs. Pitts, Missouri.Lucy Hughes Brown, M.D., North Carolina.RESOLUTIONS.Recognizing that there is a great need of bringing before the Anglo-Saxons of these United States the capabilities of the Negro, and feeling assured that this may best be done by contact with them, therefore be itResolved, That we, the women of this Congress, endorse the Cotton States Exposition in giving the Negro the chance to show what be is doing and the possibilities of his future, but be it furtherResolved, That we condemn in strongest terms the sale of liquor and all intoxicants in the lunch room of the Negro Building of the Cotton States Exposition, and consider it a direct reflection upon the intelligence and respectability of our race.WHEREAS, it has come to our observation and knowledge that for years the convict lease system of the Southern States has been a Subject of national slander, in which the indiscriminate mixing of males and females has been the most abhorrent feature, thereforeResolved, That the women of this Congress upon the legal authorities of the states where the 
convict lease system is in force, to at least make proper provision for the separation of the sexes, in common justice and as an honest concession to our common human nature.Resolved, That we ask the co-operation of the generous white women of the South to assist us in all honorable ways to correct the evil here complained of.Resolved, That this Congress express its sense of appreciation of the efforts already put forth by Gov. Atkinson of Georgia to correct evils acknowledged to exist in the penal system of this state, and that we would be grateful to the governors of all states concerned if they would emulate his noble example.Resolved, That as the National W.C.T.U. offers so many opportunities through which the women of our race may be enlightened and encouraged in their work for humanity, therefore be it further resolved that we, as Afro-American women, accept these opportunities by entering this open door, and heartily endorse the work taken up by the W.C.T.U., but insist that their attitude in regard to the lynching evil and color prejudice question generally be less equivocal.WHEREAS, many women of this Congress, coming from points remote, have had experience with the separate car system prevailing in many states of the south, of it brutal, inhuman and degrading nature, andWHEREAS, the separate car system is contrary, not only to the law of contract but to the genius of our liberal institutions, tending to accentuate unduly discriminations on account of color and condition, andWHEREAS, it is the proud boast of Southern white men that the ennobling of womanhood is the basis of all chivalric manhood,Resolved, That we call upon the Southern legislators, in the name of the common womanhood, to adopt a first and second class fare, so that the womanhood of the race may be protected from every outrage and insult. We trust that the white men of the South now in power will heed this just petition.WHEREAS, all forms of lawlessness is prejudicial to the best interest, the highest development and fair fame of all the people of America, our common country, andWHEREAS, there does exist in many parts of our country a most deplorable disregard for law and order, and in many commonly reported cases for humanity itself, andWHEREAS, all tendency toward mob rule, lynching, burning, midnight marauding, and all unlawful and unjust discriminations, is not only contrary to the fundamental principles of our government, but a menace to every department of justice and the well being of posterity,Resolved, That we condemn every form of lawlessness and miscarriage of justice, and demand, without favor or compromise, the equal enforcement of the law for all classes of American citizens.WHEREAS, one Dr. S.A. Steele, a prominent minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, south, and editor of the Epworth Era, the official organ of the southern Epworth League, has in that paper made one of the most scurrilous attacks that has yet appeared against the Negro,Resolved, That we, the women of this Congress, most severely condemn this article and all such articles which may hereafter appear, as they seriously misrepresent us and are detrimental to the work we are doing and what we hope to accomplish.WHEREAS, organization among women has proved a most active agent in stimulating and inaugurating needed reforms and wise movements for the advancement of progress, not only of women, but mankind in general, andWHEREAS, there are efforts now being made for the unification and concentration of existing national associations among women at this time in Atlanta, andWHEREAS, it is the policy of the National Federation of Afro-American Women, Mrs. B.T. Washington, president, to unite in one common bond of mutual sympathyand kindly interest the women of all sections, with the view of serving the common good by establishing one strong organization which shall truly represent the colored women of the country,Resolved, That this Congress endorse and co-operate with the National Federation of Afro-American Women in the final establishment of one truly representative national body of colored women.Miss Lucy Moten, of Washington, objected, on the ground that the resolution as it stood gave the Federation the advantage of the National League. Mrs. Matthews offered an amendment, and the resolution as amended was adopted. The amendment was as follows:Resolved, That this Congress recommend to file various organizations here represented, local,
state and national, the wisdom of uniting for the establishment of one national organization of women.WHEREAS, we a race have never been taught to feel and appreciate the value of good homes, andWHEREAS, to this day there are to be seen in many of our country communities the one room log cabin where many live together in an unwholesome atmosphere which is detrimental both morally and physically to the best growth and development of the masses,Resolved, That as a body of women we do urge upon the teachers and leaders of our race the necessity and importance of mother's meet-

ings, social purity talks and such other agencies as shall most forcibly impress upon the mothers of our race the evil influences generated by the admission of frivolous or obscene books or pictures into their homes.WHEREAS, the colored women of this country stand very greatly in need of all the aid and assistance that the more fortunate and intelligent members of the race can offer them, andWHEREAS, the elevation of the motherhood and womanhood of the race is the most effectual and powerful means for raising the mental and moral standard of the masses of our people, therefore be itResolved, That we hereby pledge ourselves individually and collectively to use every effort in our power,1. To establish homes among our people the influence of which will tend to the development of men and women of strong character and purity of purpose in life.2. To demand of our leaders and teachers the highest standard of' character, refinement and culture.3. That we require the same standard of morality for men as for women, and that the mothers teach their sons social purity as well is their daughters.4. We condemn the universal prodigality of the race and urge upon our people, having the best interests of the race at heart, to give permanence to our present progressiveness by practising strict economy in their homes and business relations, and to count no effort insignificant which is made in the interest or with a view toward the purchase of a home.Resolved, That it is the duty of the colored women of the country to take a more practical interest in the condition and treatment of the unfortunate members of our race and in making proper provision for the establishment of reformatories and institutions for the orphans, the aged, and the infirm, not excepting those institutions that have steadily adhered to the broadest of philanthropic principles, and thrown wide their doors to suffering humanity regardless of color, past condition or creed.Realizing the gravity of our social and economic condition, and the wide influences of our teachers in assisting in the formation of the character of our children,Resolved, That we urge upon those in authority to exercise the greatest diligence in selecting trained, competent teachers, who are imbued with the love and true spirit of their work. Further we urge upon parents the necessity of co-operating with the teachers in all matters that pertain to the successful development of those intrusted to their care.Resolved, That in order to secure healthful bodies in which to contain healthful minds and souls we do heartily encourage all teachers, parents and guardians to make physical culture a prominent feature in their training of our youth.WHEREAS, since every race must possess intelligence, energy, industry and enterprise in order that it may rank among the great and powerful races of the world, and,WHEREAS, we feel that the life and prosperity of the home depends largely upon its women who are entrusted with its making, therefore be itResolved, That we endorse and encourage every phase of higher industrial education and urge all persons to take such training as will elevate and make the noblest types of woman and man, and thus fit themselves for the actual responsibilities of life.Resolved, That the tone of the Negro press should be elevated and placed upon such high standard so that none but those having special training for that calling may be encouraged to continue in such work. In the publication of race journals the personality of the editor should either be wholly eliminated or subordinated to questions of public importance. The advocacy

of the selfish ends of any person or persons as against the public interests should be condemned, and no article that is not elevating in its character and pure in its purpose should ever appear in the columns of our newspapers.Resolved, That we endorse the work of the John Brown Memorial Association of the state of Minnesota, of which Mrs. T.H.T. Lyles is president, and suggest instead of the proposed marble statue, that the funds collected by the association be devoted to the purchase and maintenance of a home farm for helpless and dependent children, the same to be dedicated to the memory of John Brown, and located in that section furnishing the most money for the purpose.Resolved, That the very courteous invitation to the Afro-American women of the country, as here represented, to hold a meeting in the city of Nashville, Tenn., in the fall or winter of 1896 on such days as shall be hereafter determined upon, from the Mayor and City Council of that city, the Board of Public Works and Affairs, the Chamber of Commerce, the Director-General of the Tennessee Centennial and Executive Committee of the Negro Department of the Centennial, be accepted.Resolved, That we, the colored women of America, insist upon the highest degree of excellence as the standard of attainment for our race and pledge ourselves to do all in our power to help our artisan, business and professional men and women, who have shown themselves fitted for the respective pursuits in which they may be engaged.The following letters were read: -- NASHVILLE, TENN., December, 1895.First Colored Women's Congress of the United States:LADIES -- The Chamber of Commerce of Nashville, Tenn., together with other official bodies of this city, beg very respectfully to tender herewith a most cordial and pressing invitation for your association to hold its annual meeting in 1896 in the city of Nashville, Tenn. We can assure you a most hearty and cordial welcome, and will use all possible exertion to make your stay among us pleasant, and we feel sure that the recollections of your visit to Tennessee will be a matter of pleasure both to yourselves and the people of our city. The many attractions and inducements that our state and city have to offer for the meeting here of different organizations of the country in our centennial year, 1896, are set forth in an accompanying circular. Trusting to have the pleasure of meeting with your association in our city next year, we remain,Very respectfully,NASHVILLE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE,A.J. Harris,President,A.M. Willis,Secretary.CITY or NASHVILLE, Office of the Mayor.First Colored Women's Congress of the United States, Atlanta, Ga.LADIES -- I take pleasure in endorsing the invitation extended by the Chamber of Commerce to your honorable body to hold your next annual meeting in this city during our centennial year. We will see that you receive a most cordial, hearty greeting, and that your stay shall not only be pleasant but profitable to all of you.Very respectfully,WILLIAM M. McCARTHY,Mayor.LADIES -- The City Council of Nashville, Tenn., begs most heartily to unite in extending a most cordial invitation to your association to hold its annual convention in Nashville during our centennial year, 1896. We will receive you with open arms.Respectfully,NASHVILLE CITY COUNCIL,H.S. Williams,President.BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS OF AFFAIRS, NASHVILLE, TENN.LADIES -- The Board of Public Works of Affairs joins with His Honor, the mayor, in extending an invitation to meet in Nashville.BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS OF AFFAIRS,George W. Stainbark,Chairman.LADIES -- The Tennessee Centennial begs to join most heartily in the foregoing invitations, and offers to your association every possible inducement to visit our beautiful city in 1896. We will open every door and hang the latchstring on the outside. Come and see us.TENNESSEE CENTENNIAL,E.C. Lewis,Director-General.NASHVILLE, TENN.To the National Congress of Colored Women of the United States, Greeting:DEAR SISTERS -- Appreciating the incalculable blessing your first congress will be in the cotton states in raising the status of womanhood, and desiring to augment that effort in the Central States during the Tennessee Centennial, which is to be held in this city beginning Sept. 1, 1896, continuing 100 days, we, the Colored Woman's Centennial Committee, must cordially and earnestly invite you to hold your next congress with us, believing by so doing you will greatly enhance the recognition and value of true womanhood in the South.ELLA S. MOORE,President,Sadie P. Burries,Secretary.As the Atlanta Congress was intended only as a temporary gathering, but one that represented all parts of the country, the general understanding was that the people of Nashville interested in the coming centennial, being desirous of reaching

all our women, individuals as well as organizations, took this means of coming before the colored women of the country, particularly as there is ground for every hope at this time that all the various bodies of colored women of the country will merge into one grand organization that the entire country will respect. A council committee representing the National Colored Woman's League and the National Federation of Afro-American Women, met, and after agreeing upon the basis of union to be submitted in joint convention next year, agreed as to the wisdom of meeting in Nashville, and will doubtless urge a full attendance on the part of the bodies in question on that occasion in the hope of final union of all forces. Mrs. Thurman, chairman of the Atlanta Congress being most enthusiastic in favor of union of all forces.The gathering was very harmonious, and takes its place as one of the most notable gatherings ever convened in Atlanta. It proved a revelation to colored and white alike, and will serve as a strong argument as to woman's power in pointing the way to needed reforms in the future in the south. Unlike most gatherings of the kind in which our women take part, everyone was on the alert and quick at repartee. Some of the brightest women of the country were present, and many excellent papers were read and discussed.There were three sessions daily, all well attended. The south will be greatly benefittedbenefited by the object lesson indicated by this gathering. It will have a most beneficial effect upon our women, who, heretofore, have never advanced to the front save through religious channels ; indeed, have taken but little stock in such undertakings. If the women of the south have been indifferent, it has been through lack of experience, and, likely, confidence in the ultimate good to be accomplished by such movements. As a rule our women of all sections have been discouraged by our men in any and all attempts at public work, the result being lack of real progressiveness all around. It was a splendid gathering. Many of those who labored for the First National Convention of Colored Women in Boston last summer were present and labored zealously for the good of the Congress. Judging by the general conduct of the delegates, the attendance, and the quality of the papers read, too much praise cannot be bestowed.At great expense and personal sacrifice, delegates came from parts remote, and be it said to the credit of all concerned, that with but one or two exceptions, all participating preceded upon most liberal grounds. The women were thoroughly in earnest, as will be shown by the resolutions, which are claimed by some leading Atlanteans, both black and white, to have been the backbone of the Congress, and in every way fitting.Sample copies of the WOMAN'S ERA were scattered freely at every session, many declaring themselves highly pleased with its appearance and promising support from the January number. As is usual is such affairs, the expenses attendant upon visiting the exposition were exceedingly great. No effort was made to secure any very great reductions in board for the delegates, this constituting one of the most unpleasant features. But a beginning has been made in the south where the great masses are, and that beginning is of such character that we are sanguine that ere long we will all see one magnificent body of women, with their hearts inflamed with the common intent to uplift one struggling race.Many prominent men of both races visited the sessions, many making short speeches. Hon. I. Garland Penn, Dr. E.W.E. Bowen, Dr. Thirkield, President of Gammon Theological School, Hon. J.C. Napier, Prof. Booker T. Washington, of Tuskegee, Bishops Turner, Grant and Gains, Dr. Jennifer, Prof. R.R. Wright, T. Thomas Fortune, Mrs. Thompson of Syracuse, zealous worker for S.P.A., and Sister Jane Moore of Little Rock were among many others.Bostonians will remember Mrs. Dr. Butler, of Atlanta, who fairly captivated the hearts of the National Federation of Afro-American Women last summer. Her address of welcome was in every way worthy the impression she then made. The response was made by Mrs. Rosetta Lawson, who from the beginning has labored indefatigably for the success of the Congress.Our old friend, Mrs. Pitts of St. Louis, the "Lafe Pence" of the Boston meeting, fully sustained her reputation by supporting all practical measures.Mrs. B.T. Washington, Mrs. Fannie Barrier Williams, and Prof. Mary V. Cook attracted especial attention.The chairman, Mrs. Lucy Thurman, who represented the W.C.T.U. at the late World's Conference in England, and Mrs. T.H.L. Lyles, who has been laboring for many years for the erection of a suitable monument to John Brown's memory, proved themselves to be powerful extemporaneous speakers.Mrs. Lyles has given several years to the work of raising funds for a monument as aforesaid, having secured an act of incorporation for the John Brown Monument Association under the laws of the State of Minnesota, and filing a bond for $10,000, has by her unceasing efforts and most laudable zeal attracted the attention of the governor of her state, who pledges practical and important interest, providing she is able to raise a certain amount. It was the sense of the Congress that we stand more in need of institutions, educational and reformatory, than a marble tribute to show our esteem. The proposition was made to purchase, establish and maintain a home farm, for dependent and helpless children, in that section raising the most money for the memorial. Mrs. Lyles has had her heart set for years upon a monument, but showed her unselfishness by accepting the verdict of the Congress as her will. It is a glorious augury for our future, to know that we have in our ranks at this time such women as Mrs. Lyles. The Congress stands pledged to support the movement, and the WOMAN's ERA will open its columns to all who wish to aid the cause.Mrs. J. St. Pierre Ruffin's absence was a source of great disappointment. Many looked for Mrs. Helen Cook and others who helped to make the First National Convention of Colored Women famous. Many of them not otherwise represented sent most excellent papers. Mrs. Ella L. Mahammit's was read by Mrs. Rosetta Lawson.At the adjournment, flowers were presented to the chairman and secretary.THE NEGRO AT ATLANTA EXPOSITION.Mrs. Arthur S. GrayBy MRS. ARTHUR S. GRAY.It is the verdict of nine-tenths of the visitors to the exposition that the Negro building is one of the chief and most creditable displays. About the doors of the building the bust of Frederick Douglass, representing the capabilities of the Negro race, of a typical Negro slave, showing from whence we came, agricultural implement, musical instruments, scrolls, globes, etc., showing the advancement made along the different lines.Entering the building you are confronted by the District of Columbia exhibit. The fancy work is inclosedenclosed in glass cases, and on either side of the aisle are musical and photographic displays. The work of the Art Amateur Society has received much praise. The most attractive feature of the District exhibit is a statue six feet high on a pedestal three feet high. It is the work of W.C. Hill and represents the condition of the Negro today, "Chains Broken but Not Off." It is a representation of a typical Negro, large and muscular, struggling to free himself of the effects of slavery. This piece of work has received favorable comment for the originality of design and its splendid execution. A combination centre table, work table, and writing desk by H.A. Jackson has received highest praise. Mrs. M.A. Langston received a bronze medal for her embroidery and upholstering.The patents of Negro inventors from the U.S. Patent Office are showing what the Negro is doing along that line. Since 1883 more patents have been granted to Negroes than before. There are to be found agricultural, electrical and mechanical patents. Congressman Murry has several agricultural inventions and Granville T. Wood has many electrical inventions.The oldest patent granted to a Negro was in 1845, on a gridiron.Hampton Normal and Industrial School has the finest grade of work in the building. The academic work is represented by a large screen, showing methods and results in teaching geography, history and sociology. A handsome mahogany tile-faced mantel, a handsome hall seat of oak with hand carving, a revolving bookcase, and a mahogany sideboard would do credit to any exhibit. The harness exhibited is all handmade. The institute fills orders for Wanamaker. They

have constant demand for all articles made by them.. A 100-pound trotting buggy and a small pony phaeton showed skill in wheelwright work. The drill press 28-inch swing, from the Pierce machine shop, shows work such as is manufactured regularly for the market.The Negro press is represented by thirty-five journals the chief ones being the Colored American of Washington and the Daily Opinion of Atlanta.Kentucky is represented by a photographic and statistical display. The pastels in this exhibit are exceptionally good. The kindergarten work from Louisville is among the best on the grounds. The Louisville National Medical School is represented by photographs.A neat exhibit has been fitted up by the Board of Missions for Freedmen, showing by photographs the schools and churches established by them. Their statistics show 175 ministers, of whom 166 are colored, and 306 churches. They have schools in fourteen states and territories  of Charles Sumner, by Miss Ed- in this space and Collegiate Institute of Claremont Va., under Rev. J.J. Smallwood, is doing a great work, as is shown by his exhibit. His booth is tastefully arranged with pictures and needle work.A neater and more attractive exhibit cannot be found than that of the True Reformers of Richmond and Lynchburg. It is a pictorial exhibition of the buildings owned by the organization. It is a benevolent and banking organization owned and controlled by Negroes since its foundation in 1881. It has a membership of 30,000 with $850,000 benefits paid. In 1893 it was the only bank in Richmond which continued to pay currency to its depositors during the financial stringency. The organization recently paid W.W. Brown, the founder, $50,000 for the plans by which it is run.The agricultural exhibits from North Carolina are the finest in the building. A miniature coffin, handmade harness, tobacco, crayon work, and a log cabin plush quilt, valued at $500, are all creditable exhibits.Florida has a characteristic exhibit, beautiful flowers, fine needle work, industrial work, collections of sea weed, sponges, corals and miniature ships. The most striking article in this exhibit is a hand-carved cabinet made of five different kinds of Florida wood. The literary, industrial and mechanical work of the State Normal at Tallahassee are very good.The women of Memphis and Jacksonville, Tenn., have very good exhibits. Central Tennessee College has an exhibition of work done by students taxidermy, entomology, dentistry, and pharmacy. The botanical display is well arranged.Fisk University has portraits of faculty, students and grounds. A large oil painting of the Original Fisk Jubilee Singers adorns their space.Knoxville College has an industrial and literary exhibit.Arkansas has a display of grains that are very fine quality. An engine weighing 700 pounds and carrying 100 pounds of steam is exhibited. An oil painting from an original Arkansas cotton field, painted by Dr. J.H. Smith of Little Rock, is among the best paintings. George Jones of Little Rock has an exhibition of some of his fifty houses, one drug store, one livery stable, and an undertaking establishment. The printing department of Philander Smith College has very artistic work.Virginia collective exhibit occupies a very large space with exceptionally good work from the Old Dominion. Some of the most attractive exhibits are a 124-pound ball-bearing buggy, miniature model of the United States steamer Raleigh, hand-carved colonial chairs, compartment tool chest, relief maps of North and South America and Virginia.G.R. Devane of the South Carolina exhibit has some artistic carvings on canes and horns. He presented a horn to the President when he visited the Negro building. One cane has all the important events of the discovery of America, another is the presidential cane, with pictures of all the presidents carved on it. The photographic and crayon work in this space is very creditable.The American Baptist Home Mission shows pictures of the faculties and buildings. It also gives the following statistical report for 1895: 1,600,000 colored Baptists, 29 schools, 232 teachers, of whom one-third are colored; schools at Lynchburg, theological school at Richmond, two schools, One for boys and one for girls, at Atlanta, one law, one medical, one trained nurse, the missionary training and two high-grade normals.In the miscellaneous space are exhibits from Ohio, New York, Kansas, Michigan, Louisiana,

Missouri and Pennsylvania. A painting of Charles Sumner and a violin and sheet of music in oils, by Mrs. Lottie Jackson of Michigan, are acknowledged among the best in the building.Tanner's famous "Bag-pipe Lesson," Banjo Lesson," and "Lion's Head" are the best paintings in the building. Tanner is at present abroad studying art.The Negro authors are well represented. Among the prominent ones are: "Black Phalanx," by J.T. Wilson; "Africa and America," by Alexander Crummell, D.D.; "Our Baptist Ministers and Schools," by A.W. Pegnes; "From Virginia Plantation to the United States Capitol," by Jno. M. Langston; "The AfroAmerican Press," by I. Garland Penn; "William Lloyd Garrison and Charles Sumner," by Archibald Grimke; "Aunt Lindy," by Victoria Earle; "The New Man," by H.C. Bruce; "The Underground Railroad," by William Still; "Women of Distinction," by Jno. Scruggs; "History of the Negro Race," by George Wiliams; "Outlines of History," by Tanner; "Poems of Frances E.W. Harper," and numerous books of fiction, religion and hymnals.Morgan College is represented by a model of the college and by samples of literary and industrial work.Gammon Theological Seminary has a neat photographic exhibit. Gammon is the best endowed theological school for Negroes in the country. It has seventy-one students and its professors are all highly educated men. Dr. J.W.E. Bowen, orator of Negro day, is a professor at this school. An autograph of Harriot Beecher Stowe, written for Gammon School, July 7, 1895, and one of John Greenleaf Whittier, written May 19, 1881, are exhibited at this space.The Atlanta University exhibit thoroughly represents the work done there. It gives it college, normal, preparatory and manual training course. The work exhibited in higher mathematics, classical translations, mechanical drawings and tintings are exceptionally good. The wood turning and iron work is also very fine.Clark University has a well-arranged exhibit. The carriage, dressmaking and laundry departments have representative work that attracts much attention. The Thayer Home, at Clark, is modeled after a real home and is furnished with all modern improvements. It accommodates twenty young ladies, who are taught cooking and housekeeping as practised in well-kept homes.Spelman Seminary, under the Baptist Home Mission, has a training school for nurses. The model sick room, showing the care of the room, costume of the nurses, surgical instruments, sick charts, etc., all are very attractive. The literary and fancy work of the school are very tastefully arranged. In the early history of the school, when several thousand dollars had been raised, Mr. Rockefeller came to the relief of the school and gave $56,500. The school was named Spelman Seminary in honor of Mr. Spelman, the father of Mrs. Rockefeller, who was for forty years a steadfast friend of the Negro race.The Missionary Training Department has had two graduating classes. Among those who have gone to Africa are Misses Nora A. Gordon, Clara A. Howard, and Lena F. Clark, a native African.The Atlanta Baptist Seminary for young men has an attractive exhibition of their literary work, bound with the photographs of each class. The vertical system of writing is used in this school with much success.The Georgia State and Industrial College for Boys at Savannah has a manual training, scientific, normal and complete college course. A carpenter's compartment chest is one of their best exhibits. Their wood turning and iron work are very creditable.An institution which stands as a monument of Negro thrift and enterprise is the Morris Brown College at Atlanta. It was founded and built by the A.M.E. churches of the state of Georgia. It has no endowment, no permanent fund, and is controlled and supported by the people of that church in the state. They have 450 students and 12 teachers. The courses taught are preparatory, normal, collegiate, law, theology, music and industry. The school is but ten years old.The Carrie Steele's Orphan Home was begun five years ago with five little orphan boys without a dollar. Today she has a beautiful home of thirteen rooms, four acres of land, two cows and two horses. She has seventy-one orphans whom she gives a common education and a knowledge of general housework. Their exhibit consists of fancy needlework, products of their farm, and canned goods, all the work of the orphans.Bishop Turner's African exhibition of instruments of war, native cotton, baskets, heads, and cloth woven by the natives, is a curiosity. A

duplicate quilt of the one given to Queen Victoria by Martha Ricks of Monrovia is exhibited. It is made of green, red and white satin, representing the coffee tree in bloom.Peter Dillard, a mantel builder, of Atlanta, has the finest tile mantel exhibited on the grounds. It is of rose-colored tiling and cost one hundred and sixty dollars.A.J. Delbridge, an anatomical boot and shoe maker, has a splendid exhibit of boots and shoes.Among the many interesting exhibits in the Georgia collective space are a photographic display of the Queen City Real Estate Co. of Columbus, Ga., organized in 1890, with a capital stock of $5,000, a 100-pound buggy made of Georgia material, a tobacco display, and the botanical and literary exhibit from the Haines Normal and Industrial School at Augusta, conducted by Miss Lucy Laney. Miss Laney is one of the most energetic women of the race in the South. She
has many Northern friends who contribute largely to the support of her school.  canned fruits, preserves, jellies, pickles, vinegars and unfermented wines in fancy glass jars and bottles, artistically arranged on stands. This exhibit was prepared by Mrs. Rosa Morehead Bass and received a bronze medal. Her exhibit has nearly a hundred different kinds and has been bought by Edward Atkinson, inventor of the Aladdin oven.A biblical quilt, representing Jacob's dream, Cain killing Abel, the crucifixion, the baptism of Christ, the holy family, and other biblical stories, was made by an old lady who could not read but had heard these stories read.The Georgia women have exhibited fine needlework, china-painting, drawing, millinery, cooking, and almost every line of work.Alcorn University of Mississippi has a large space filled with the industrial and agricultural products of the school. The needlework is very creditable.Alabama collective exhibit has a good display of paintings, drawing, needlework and photography. A large space is used by the Anniston Drug Company. The Hale Infirmary of Montgomery is represented by a model and pictures of the building.The Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute is the centre of attraction at the Negro building; in fact, nine-tenths of the visitors ask for it as soon as they enter the building. Tuskegee has the largest space, and is more compactly filled. The institution is fourteen years old, has five hundred students and seventy-one teachers. They have eighteen hundred acres of land, six hundred under cultivation, and teach twenty-eight industries. Last year the total enrollment was 1,025. They raise all the vegetables and grains used by the school. A photographic display shows the buildings of the Institute, the shops, residences and interior of the different departments. The system of basting in the dressmaking department is very fine. The tailoring department furnishes clothes for some of the best people in the city. A handsome oak, hand-carved bedroom suite, two-seated phaeton, piano-body buggy, pony phaeton, two horse wagon, boots and shoes, tinware, dairy articles, printing, wheelwright, bricks, etc., compose the bulk of the exhibit.The drawing and designing departments Industrial School at Normal, was one of the neatest exhibits in the building. The work from the dressmaking, laundry, wheelwright, cabinet, domestic and broommaking departments is of a very fine quality. The winding stairs exhibited are specimens of superior work. One of the students invented a cotton press, and a dozen bales of cotton from this press are shown.In the centre of the building, under the tower, is in exhibit from Butler, Slater & Co., Pioneer Negro Druggists of Georgia. This booth is artistically decorated and well filled with perfumes, tooth powder, soup and toilet articles, all made by the company.Howard University stands for higher education. The photographic exhibit of the buildings and grounds is very creditable. The statistical report, showing 1,402 graduates in the different departments, speaks well for the school. Much care has been taken in the selection of the natural history and chemical exhibits. The sewing cannot be excelled by any work in the building. The normal and printing departments have large exhibits.There are about fifty well-educated men find women in this building who have charge of the exhibits and are thoroughly informed in the work they represent. All of them have labored hard for the success of the Negro building and the exposition.

The exhibition of the Negro at Atlanta has done much toward opening the eyes of the world as to the capabilities and accomplishments of the race. Many who opposed the exhibit at first are now frank to say that they are sorry they did not lend their support. The people and the press have been unanimous in their praise of this worthy effort. It serves as an inspiration to those who have lost hopes of the Negro accomplishing anything in this country. And yet, we are safe in saying, that this exhibit did not consist of the best work done by the race nor did it have the support of one-third of the influential people in the respective sections.What might we not have done had we united support?COLORADO.Elizabeth Piper EnsleyElizabeth Piper Ensley, Editor.A glance backward causes us to rejoice over the gains Woman Suffrage has made in this and other countries during the past year. Utah makes the third star in our suffrage flag, and South Australia has fully enfranchised its women. That public sentiment is growing in this direction is evident, since a Woman Suffrage amendment has been submitted to the constitution by the state legislatures of New York, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada and California. Can the result of the vote on the referendum in Massachusetts be discouraging, when one out of every three men and twenty-five out of every twenty-six women, who expressed their opinions on the question, were in favor of equal suffrage? State suffrage societies have been organized in Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Nevada, Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, West Virginia and Delaware. We hope for splendid results the coming year.The exercise of suffrage stimulates women to venture outside of the narrow circle in which they formerly worked. I recently had an interview with a lady who was an active worker in our suffrage campaign, and who is now president of the Bonita Cold and Silver Mining Company, an organization officered by women. She said:"You ask me how I first came to think of the 'Woman's Mine.' I hardly know just when the idea took shape and crystallized into its present form. My mother was the 'Lady Bountiful' of our village, and after I grew to womanhood, my personal experience brought home to me the need of some business making it possible for women of the most limited means to invest in something which would bring them quick, sure and steady returns; this, too, without leaving home and children, or whatever work they might be doing for a livelihood. It was really the result of observation, brought by my work for universal suffrage. An instance which came under my notice some years ago will make it clear."A woman from Illinois invested quite largely in one of the best mines in Colorado. When it began to pay handsomely, the other owners, all men, decided to 'freeze her out,' in mining parlance. They made false reports, --  no ore, etc. -- finally shut down and stopped work; but the lady did not 'freeze out' and having money as well as courage, compelled the other owners to divide and treat her fairly."I thought then, 'Why not have a woman's mine?' Today I offer you that in the Bonita Gold and Silver Mining Company, organized in New Mexico and Colorado."Some years ago I asked my husband to give me a mine to manage myself. He said that he would. Occasionally I would ask, 'Where is my mine?' He would say, 'Wait till I get it in good shape.' Last October, in the midst of the excitement preceding the election, when every woman I wanted to see was canvassing for the different parties, my husband handed me the deed to the Bonita, saying, 'Here is your mine; the deed is recorded, title absolute and without flaw, not one dollar of indebtedness, patent work all done, ready to make the application, with nearly eight thousand dollars' worth of work done as carefully and economically as I could do it; apex on every claim, with timber, water and all that makes a first class property, and now within about fifty feet of an immense body of ore, running from fifty to one thousand dollars to the ton, the average two hundred and fifty. A mine! Not a mere prospect at the grass roots."'Now see what you can do as a woman's company. If you can keep six men steadily at work, you ought to have pay in from sixty to ninety days.'"This I want to do. We need only about five thousand dollars for patents and all, after which we expect to pay a dividend and that from that time the mine will pay its own expenses."I am charmed with the ERA. A glance at it shows its status and scope. It has finely gotten up in all respects - its personal appearance, very distinct individuality, the pictures, and the ability with which it is edited. It is inferior to none of the woman's journals which I have read and excels many."Attention is called to the announcement of the N.E. Farm Agency. The manager of the movement is well endorsed, and the scheme is worthy the careful consideration of those to whom it appeals, as one of great possibilities for any one looking for a home among friendly surroundings.THE WOMAN'S ERA.THE WOMAN'S ERA, the organ of the National Federation of Afro-American Women, and devoted to the Interests of the Women's Clubs, Leagues and Societies throughout the country.Published monthly, in Boston, by JOSEPHINE ST. P. RUFFIN, FLORIDA R. RIDLEY, 103 Charles Street.SUBSCRIPTIONS.Per Annum, -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -$1.00Single Copies, -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -.10Club Rates, one hundred copies,   -    7.00Subscriptions Payable in Advance.EDITORIAL.THE NEGRO EXHIBIT AT ATLANTA.In the interest of the  of the race, of the space to Atlanta, and Woman's Congress. Both these are events which go to make up history and demand more than passing attention.The attitude of the ERA on the question of a "Negro exhibit" is well known. It has been open to conviction. We did not believe it possible to make a Negro exhibit that was truly representative; that the interests of the races are so amalgamated its to be impossible to separate them to make an exhibit that would show the present status of the race. More than this we feared and realized the possibility of attendant evils and personal mortifications for which nothing in the way of an imposing exhibit could compensate. At the same time we realized that many of our most thoughtful people endorsed the movement and saw in it a large opportunity. The results are before the reader. The separate exhibit attracted much attention and favorable comment. The Colored Woman's Congress brought together a large number of progressive women and gave an additional impetus to the woman's movement, beside opening up possibilities for the future.The Congress held by our women at Atlanta was a notable one, not only in its personal make-up, but also in the value of the work that was done -- the subjects discussed, the papers read. It was not, however, the first congress; that held in Boston last July enjoys that distinction. Our women have caught the fever, and there is everything good to be hoped for in their efforts toward union and concentration.SOME INFORMATION CONCERNING JACKS, THE LETTER WRITER.One Of the editors of The Christian Educator, the organ of the Freedman's Aid and Southern Education Society, has been at some pains to locate and learn something definite of the man Jacks, who wrote the shameful letter to Miss Balgarnie of England in March last. Letters of inquiry were sent to prominent people of Missouri, and some of the answers are given in the Educator. No names are mentioned by the Educator. Following is one of the replies:"Mr. ----- is the editor of a paper here. He is a member of the ----- Church in this town, and the Sunday School superintendent. I learn he is the son of an ex-slave holder of this state. There are several of the leading colored men of this town and country that are subscribers to Mr. -----'s paper, and he has never printed a disrespectful word in his paper here against the colored people."The Educator adds: "It is safe to say, from what is known of the man, that he would never be even courageous enough to print the whole letter in his own paper, and look his neighbors in the face the same week."We are indebted to the kindness of De Wolfe, Fiske & Co., publishers of the "Life and Times of Frederick Douglass," for the loan of the fine cut of Mr. Douglass presented in this number of the ERA.The friends of equal rights owe a deep debt of gratitude to the Man Suffrage Association for the impetus their organized opposition to Woman Suffrage as given to that cause. Not for many years has so much interest and enthusiasm been shown in the annual meetings of the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association as in those held in Association Hall the week ending January 18. The hall was filled at all times, and crowded in the evenings. The ranks of the workers for this cause are being largely augmented by enthusiastic young women and men from the different colleges. Harvard, Yale, Tufts and Wellesley all were well represented in these meetings by lucid, logical and speakers. But it re-

mained for John Graham Brooks to make the most assertively convincing argument on "Some Economic Aspects of the Woman Question" ever advanced in this section. This speech should be printed and scattered broadcast.These conventions are revelations. Through them the colored women are discovering their strength and possibilities, and through them the outside world has been led to see a condition so promising, so encouraging as to be almost inconceivable. Nashville at once recognized the power and possible influence of so significant a body, and through its mayor and council has extended a courteous invitation for its next meeting to be held there.SOCIAL NOTES.BOSTON.An interesting event is the approaching marriage of Miss Marion Ridley of this city to Dr. Milton Brown of Baltimore. Miss Ridley is one of the younger set of Boston girls and has a large circle of acquaintances in the eastern cities. Dr. Brown is a recent conspicuous graduate of the Harvard Medical School who has settled in Baltimore and is taking a graduate course at Johns Hopkins. Nowadays, it is comparatively seldom that we find a couple marrying, neither of whom has reached the age of twenty-five.The Dumas Quartet, composed of Messrs. Woodward, Ruffin, Hodges and Johnson seems still a long-felt want. Since the formation this Quartet has been in active demand and deservedly so. All of the voices are picked and each young man is a thorough musician.Miss Edna Brown is enjoying a position at Ditson's, music publishers. This is very appropriate and she is to be congratulated.The death of Richard H. Lewis, son of the late J.D. Lewis of Philadelphia and grandson of the late R.H. Brown, is the third recent death among the young men, which has been more or less of a shock to the community. Young Lewis was a promising student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was preparing upon his graduation in the spring to go to South Africa as a civil engineer. He and his sister, Miss Louise Lewis, lived together in loving companionship. His death was a great shock to her and leaves her almost without relationship. The funeral was largely attended and the details were of much elegance. The floral tributes from classmates, clubmates, and individual friends were markedly beautiful. The death of a young man of so much promise is not only a loss to his friends, but a loss to the community as well.Mr. John Ransom of Ohio made a visit to Boston during the holidays, much to the surprise and pleasure of his large circle of friends.The holidays also brought home the schoolgirls and boys: Miss Hemmings of Vassar College, Miss Baker of Wellesley, Miss Marv Lewis from Bradford, Mr. Harry Lewis from Bradford were all in the city for a two week's vacation.Miss Maud Trotter is at home from Wellesley threatened with an attack of nervous prostration.A very successful "small and early" managed by Mrs. J.H. Lewis, was held at Arcade Hall on the 7th.Many of the Old Guard Abolitionists were among those who gathered at Faneuil Hall on the evening of Dec. 20th to take part in the memorial services, held under the auspices of the city of Boston to the honor of the late Frederick Douglass. They heard a splendid eulogy by Judge Albion W. Tourgee, some interesting reminiscences from Prof. Richard T. Greener of New York, and some fine vocal music from the Dumas Quartet. After the meeting the city fathers entertained the orators, Mrs. Frederick and Mr. Lewis Douglalss, Mrs. Colonel Thomas of Portland, Me., and the WOMAN'S ERA representative at a banquet at the Parker House, and with a drive over the whole park system the next morning.The invitation to the silver wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick J. Loudin is the handsomest of its kind ever received. The celebration took place at "Otra," the luxurious home of the couple on Walnut Street, Ravenna, Ohio, on the evening of Jan. 9, 1896.N.B. - Mrs. T.H.T. Lyles of St. Paul, Minn., and Mrs. Lucy Thurman of Jackson, Mich., and one other lady gave Mrs. Victoria Matthews one dollar for a year's subscription to the Woman's Era. While in Atlanta, owing toa slight attack of illness while the Congress was in session, the third lady's name was lost. Will she communicate with the ERA?Invitations are hereby acknowledged to the Vandeville's last "At Home"; to the Starr Club's reception in Oxford Hall, Lynn; to the annual exhibition of water colors by Walter L. Chaloner at the Bostonia Club House; to the first anniversary exercises of the Sons of Freedmen, Norfolk, Va.Miss Annie Dillet of Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas, has just graduated from the New England Hospital for women and children with an excellent record for both character and acquirements. She has not fully decided  whether to follow her profession in Boston or return to her old home. It is believed by the hospital authorities she will do good services in either place. She will register at the Nurse's Bureau while here. MISSOURI.Anna H. JonesBy Anna H. Jonesthe Negro exhibit?" is the                  the day, at home and abroad; in the crowded street car and the noisy train; between the recitations of bright, inquisitive pupils, and in the confidential chat at one's own fireside.I wonder if it will be accounted heresy to say that one's replies are as varied as are the circumstances of the question.After a prolonged tour of the Negro building, a feeling of self-congratulation takes possession of us, based partially upon what we have seen, partially upon what we feel could have been there.  The feeling formulates itself in some such words as these, "If this result of Negro intellect and industry is a marvel to the civilized world, how much more would that world wonder if it could see all that the race really has accomplished." We think of the fine work in    lines, that is not shown; of the designs and architectural work of several colored civil engineers who compete with the best in the land and whose work knows no color line; we think of the colored dressmakers whose patrons are the wealthy and fashionable of both races; of the tailors, the milliners, the caterers, the skilled mechanics scattered through the land; we think of the numerous women artists, with their decorated china, their crayon portraits, their wood carving, their work in oils and water-colors; very little of it was shown.We think of the many homes of wealth and culture in the east, west, north and south, with their beautiful and artistic surroundings, but whose very refinement prevents public exhibition.While theirthere is much, that from its very nature, could not have been shown, more could have been exhibited had there been unanimity of sentiment, but of that which is itself a result of race development, it is useless to speak here.Another thought expressed itself -- the exhibit was largely a school exhibit. We felt that there we were getting the best that could be shown. There were the leven that was infusing itself through the Southland.One could not help seeing much that was crude, much that might have been omitted and we were not surprised when told that many articles had to be denied admittance. We felt that we might have spared some of the patchwork and a few of the photographs.There was much, very much, to admire, but many words of commendation have been spoken and will continue to be spoken, and this thought of "what might have been" is not intended to be a discordant note in the chorus of praise, but to voice a feeling that must have come to many. To the commissioner and his assistants much credit is due for giving us, that fine average of Negro accomplishments.Tile Ladies' Whist Club held its formal opening with a high class reception several weeks since, and will entertain bi-monthly for the remainder of the season.The lady commissioners appointed to represent Missouri in the Women's Congress held in Atlanta were as follows: 'Mrs. Libbie E Anthony, Jefferson City, Miss Florence Smith, Kansas City, Miss Georgia De Baptiste, Macon City, Miss Luvenia Cartel, St. Louis, J.S. Yates, Kansas City.By special request the following papers were prepared and read before the Congress: "Social Purity," Mrs. Libbie C. Anthony; "How Best to Raise the Moral Status of the Race," J.S. Yates.The Future State, a monthly journal of Negro progress, for December, is a most excellent number. Mr. Paul Gaston contributes a translation from original French manuscripts. Mrs. Lynwood, wife of the editor, writes on "Negro Education in the South," with her usual force and earnestness. WASHINGTON.Mary Church Terrell Mary Church Terrell, Editor.NOTES.Through Miss Carrie E. Syphax the industrial department of the colored schools of Washington has been highly complimented. As the directress of the sewing department, Miss Syphax has developed such an excellent course of instruction and has been so successful in pursuing it, that competent judges rate her among the most efficient teachers of sewing in the country. She was recently invited to send specimens

of her work to Buffalo, N.Y., into whose public schools sewing is soon to be introduced. The invitation was accepted by Miss Syphax, in whose care the work was sent. In the beautiful and spacious ball room of the Waldorf Hotel the exhibit was held, and there it was that Miss Syphax achieved a great triumph as a directress of sewing. Praises for the excellence of her work were heard on all sides, and congratulations were showered upon her by the most competent judges of this branch of instruction. The Woman's Educational and Industrial Union, under whose auspices Miss Syphax went, volunteered not only to pay for the transportation of the articles from Washington, but also to defray all the expenses of Miss Syphax if she would come to explain her work. The exhibit represented every branch of the work as carried on in our schools.The Washington branch of the Colored Woman's League has decided to give monthly socials, in order to create a deeper interest in its work and aims. The first social was held in the Berean Baptist Church and was a signal success. Miss Ednorah Nabar, popular elocutionist, made an interesting and instructive talk. Several vocal and instrumental selections were rendered. To the indefatigable energy and good taste of Mrs. A.F. Hilyer is the success of this first effort in a great measure to be ascribed. Miss Ella Barrier has charge of the new social.OHIO.Sada J. Anderson Sada J. Anderson, Editor.The members of the Lookout Circle of King's Daughters, who are ever on the qui vive have invitations out for a leap year party. Mrs. Dickinson, general secretary of the order, says that of all the great organizations that have arisen in the past fifteen years, not one is more beautiful in spirit, broader in its scope, or better calculated to do good service for     man than our beloved order. She is right. The wearer of the little silver cross finds a welcome everywhere, as she goes forth on her mission of love.In the pathway of the King
All the world is wakening.The Henrietta Circle was entertained by Mrs. George Remley at its literary meeting last week. The program was very interesting, and was made more so by readings from Mliss Mary Dyer, who is fast gaining a reputation as an elocutionist of whom Toledo feels exceptionally proud. Mrs. John D. Stewart, nee Miss Adah Olivia Brown, formerly of Chicago, but now an addition to Toledo's literary circle, also gave a very fine reading. The Henrietta Circle entertains friends once each month, and at each of its public literary meetings it shows that the members are doing telling work. We patiently await the next meeting.ILLINOIS.Fannie Barrier Williams Fannie Barrier Williams, Editor.At high noon, on Dec. 18th, I beautiful wedding of more than local interest occurred in Chicago. The bride is the only daughter of Mrs. Lavinia Lee and the one living granddaughter of Mrs. Mary Jones and the late John Jones of this city. The fortunate groom, Dr. William Whipper Purnell of Washington, D.C., is the only son of Miss Julia Purnell of Washington and the late James Purnell of Camden, N.J.The bride has bad education and culture, advantages beyond the reach of most American girls. For several years she has pursued the study of vocal and instrumental music to the point of fine attainments in both. Along with her musical accomplishments she is endowed with a delicate artistic taste and has done much clever work with brush and pencil as a pastime.The groom, Dr. Purnell, is a young physician of established practice in Washington and a social favorite in the east. He has had the very best of training and equipment for his profession.The wedding was unique in its delightful freedom from ostentation. The scheme of color carried out both in house decorations and costumes was pink and white. The bride wore a heavy ivory satin, without train. The waist was trimmed with plaited white chiffon and heavily embroidered in pearls. Her veil was fastened with a diamond ornament, the gift of the groom. The maid of honor, Miss Elizabeth Seals of Cleveland, is a young lady of stately beauty and many social graces. She wore a beautiful and artistic gown of taffeta silk, Dresden design. The bridesmaids were the two prettycousins of the bride, Miss Etta Brown of Detroit and Miss Mabel Wheeler of this city. They were prettily costumed in mousseline de soie over pink silk and carried bridesmaid's roses. The bride's mother, Mrs. Lee, wore black satin trimmed with heliotrope velvet.The groom was attended by Mr. Andrew J. Stevens of Philadelphia as best man, and Messrs. John Wheeler and George Gray of this city acted as groomsmen. The ceremony was performed by Rev. Richard DeBaptiste, who performed a similar service for the bride's mother nearly a quarter of a century ago. Smiley's service and Tomasso's orchestra were among the details of this beautifully interesting occasion.The wedding party left for Washington the same evening, where Dr. And Mrs. Purnell will permanently reside.The week presiding the Lee-Purnell wedding occurred the marriage of Miss Gertrude Washington and the noted elocutionist, Mr. Richard B. Harrison. The wedding ceremony was performed by Rector Thomas at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in the presence of a host of admiring friends. The wedding was one of the social events of the season, and units a popular

pianist in the person of the bride, and one of our most gifted readers. The poet, Paul Dunbar, acted as best man.After these brilliant wedding chimes an additional word will seem prosaic indeed, I cannot forbear, however, extending to all of my associate contributors to the ERA a most hearty New Year's greeting. I am willing to confess that my meagre service in behalf of this Journal and reading the heart words or our women from all parts of the country, have been to me both a delight and an inspiration. A new and high sense of the value of associated interests must come to us all from this labor of love.LETTER FROM THE GOVERNOR OF MINNESOTA END0RSING MRS. T.H. LYLES.A.W. Clough, GovernorSt. Paul, Minn., Dec. 24, 1895.
Colored Women's National Congress, Atlanta.		citizens of the State of Minnesota have 	 their hearty approval to the efforts of 	, the bearer hereof, in awakening an             the efforts of the great and good John Brown; and as chief executive of the great State of Minnesota, I feel that the Negroes of this country could give no greater expression of their gratitude for such a man than in erecting a monument to his memory. Mrs. T.H. Lyles, of this state, has taken the initiative in such an effort, and I wish to commend her to this Congress as a woman worthy of the best support her race can give.Very respectfully,A.W. Clough,Governor.TWO OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST AND MOST PICTURESQUE CHARACTERS.DOUGLAS AND DUMAS.So they are termed by Thomas Wallace Swan of Philadelphia in a long letter to the Woman's
Journal of this city, only extracts of which will space permit us to reprint. This is much to our regret, especially as it includes a long letter from Alexander Dumas, giving a Frenchman's views on the legal disabilities of women. Mr. Swan says:"Two of the most significant coincidences relative to great men and great movements happened in connection with the death of Frederick Douglass and Alexander Dumas, the world-famous writer of fiction."On the day of the death of Mr. Douglass he attended the Woman's Rights Convention, then in session at Washington, where he made one of the most eloquent pleas of his career for the equal, civil and political rights of women. This was his last public utterance."About four days prior to the death of the younger Dumas, he addressed a letter strongly endorsing the movement to Madame Maria Szelya-Loevy, the leader of the Woman's rights party in France."It is, indeed, a significant incident that two of the most brilliant public men of our time, both of them directly or indirectly connected with a proscribed race, should in their last moments throw the whole strength of their intellect and individuality in support of women, the most oppressed class in the world."TWO TO OUR CORRESPONDENTS AND SUBSCRIBERS.We have received copies of many of the addresses made at the recent Congress of Women at Atlanta, Ga. The papers are all good, many of them exceptionally fine, and if our paper was only appreciated sufficiently well to return us three times the amount of cash it does monthly, we would make it three times as large us it now is and then be able and happy to print them all, that they might be preserved as a part of the history making of the age. In the collection there is the address of the president of the Women's Auxiliary Committee, Mrs. Josephine Bruce, of Mrs. Rosette Lawson, secretary of same committee, who opened the Congress, the welcome speech of Mrs. Selena Sloan Butler, "A Mother's Duty in the Home," by Mrs. Sylvanie F. Williams, "How to raise the Moral Status of the Race," by Mrs. Josephine S. Yates. Beside all those mentioned, there is on hand a large number of well written articles sent in by our regular correspondents which we are compelled to very much condense or leave out for this issue entirely. If it is considered that by so doing we have trenched on the rights of subscribers who may be more interested in other things than the Congress, our excuse must be our enthusiastic interest in the work our women are doing everywhere, and our desire to carefully record it for future reference. None of our male contemporaries can find space in their papers for this information. Their

columns are "so crowded" with patent matter, ghastly jokes on women, by would-be male wits with women's front names, lists of tin dippers and pie plates received at tin weddings, etc. Sometime our women will come to realize that only through the columns of a paper controlled by themselves will the hard and beneficent work they are doing all the time be made known to the world, and so bring to them the respect and dignity they so richly deserve.A RARE OPPORTUNITY.The best known preventive to consumption is climate, and it is generally conceded that Colorado has the best anti-consumption climate in America.Hundreds come every year to Denver, hoping to prolong life or regain health; many of them do so who would otherwise meet an early death.The climate of Denver, dry, pure and sunny, with its elevation of one mile above sea level, effectually cures all incipient lung diseases.Therefore parents having children predisposed to lung trouble are advised to send them to Denver to pursue their studies.The fine public schools and the Denver University afford unsurpassed educational facilities.Mrs. Ensley will take into her home a limited number of girls and young ladies desiring to fret the benefit of the climate while attending school.She will give special attention to home training and physical culture, particularly to chest expansion, diet and healthful dressing, while superintending their course at the public schools.When private instruction is preferred the best teachers will be secured.For further information addressMrs. E.P. ENSLEY,
1755 Ogden St., Denver, Col.Refers by permission to Mr. Nathaniel T. Allen of West Newton English and Classical School.NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS.You are interested in the advancement of the race and want to do something to help on the work? Then pass the paper along and urge your friends to subscribe. You can not do better work than this.Any one sending a two-cent stamp will receive a sample copy of the ERA.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 9. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.ADVERTISE in the WOMAN'S ERATHE ONLY PAPER IN AMERICA PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF WOMEN'S CLUBS.The Literary, Musical and Domestic Departments are under the control of competent writers and critics.With its large circulation among women, and particularly among women of the refined and educated classes, it offers peculiar advantages to advertisers of household articles, wearing apparel, books, magazines, musical instruments, and so forth.Its rates are exceedingly liberal.Try it, and you will not regret it.MRS. H.L. KEMP, Artistic Dressmaking and Millinery,
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RANDOLPH,  MASS.Mrs. J.F.A. GARDINER,
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Telephone, 1198 Haymarket.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 9. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.THE FIRST WOMAN'S MINE.The Bonita Cold and Silver Mining Company,
OPERATING IN NEW MEXICO AND COLORADO.
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STOCK 50 CENTS A SHARE SOLD ON INSTALMENT PLAN. Patent Applied for.The Great Mineral Basin it Pitkin covers an area as large as that of Leadville, Aspen and Red Cliff combined. Professor Sadtler, of the Chair of Metallurgy and Mineralogy of the State School of Mines, speaking of this district, says: "This camp, with proper and systematic development, will be made a second Aspen, if not better."The output of the Leadville district has been, up to the present time, in value over $200,000,000;  that of Red Cliff more than $35,000,000, and that of Aspen, $100,000,000, or more, and the mines of these places show no signs of exhaustion.What, then, shall we expect of Pitkin and the Quartz Creek District, which has a mineral bearing area as large as these three districts combined, when so far the developments there have proved the mineral deposits to be fully as rich and extensive?We can come to but one conclusion: Its wealth is limitless, and no more safe or profitable field for investment can be found.The property of the Bonita Gold and Silver Mining Company consists of three groups, in all nine claims, or a little over ninety acres, located in the most favored portion of this great mineral basin. Special care has been taken in the selecting to cover apexes, timber and water, all of which are of such vital importance in any mining property, and the greater portion of it lies only from one-fourth to three miles away from the railroad and the town of Pitkin, with good, down-hill roads leading from every portion of it, accessible every day in the year.The ore is high grade, netting from fifty to one thousand dollars per ton, average two hundred and fifty. The Company has undisputed title to the entire property, which is free from any incumbranceencumbrance, and will be kept so. Any further information will be cheerfully furnished by thePresident, MARY E. PHELPS, or  MRS. L. K. DANIELS, Secretary.ADDRESS: POST OFFICE BOX 3, DENVER, COLO.MADAME DE LOS MARSIs open to engagements with Societies, Churches, or Clubs, for the presentation of either one of the Musical or Dramatic Plays, Composed and Published by herself. For terms for the presentation of either of the following:"Fun at a Boarding School""Love in Disguise, or Things are not What They Seem,""Leoni, the Gipsy Queen,"Address: MADAME MARS, II Green Street, Brockton, Mass.Too much cannot be said in praise of Mrs. De Los Mars, who possesses rare talent, both as a musician and as an authoress. She has written five Dramas, which have been presented to the public with grand success, both in Providence, R.I., Boston, and elsewhere. She has a very sweet voice, which holds and captivates her audience. Her singing as "Gypsy Queen" which she impersonates in her operetta was received with great applause. -- Boston HeraldThis page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 9. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.ATLANTA UNIVERSITY, Atlanta, Ga.Collegiate and Normal Courses. Enlarged corps of teachers. Industrial training in domestic and mechanic arts, including printing. Instruction in both instrumental and vocal music and in elocution. High grade in every respect. A few deserving and needy students can be aided. Term begins Wednesday, October 2. For catalog, address President HORACE BUMSTEAD.SUBSCRIBE FOR MRS. CASNEAU'S GUIDE TO ARTISTIC DRESS CUTTING AND MAKING.It is entirely original and is sure to satisfy a long felt want of young dressmakers, women who do their sewing at home, and those who anticipate learning the trade as the means of gaining a livelihood.The book is self-teaching and can be used with any system or with paper patterns.The order of arrangement places the rules where they will come in regular order for cutting and making a gown. In fact, the aim has been to make the work eminently practical for the average woman.Liberal inducements to agents everywhere.For further information and circulars, send stamp toMr. Elmer E. Casneau,
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P. 0. Box 45.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 9. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.THE SUCCESS OF THE SEASON
MRS. N.F. MOSSELL'S BOOK
THE WORK OF THE AFRO-AMERICAN WOMANThe First Edition has been nearly exhausted. An edition of 5000 is to be issued March 1st."Above all, let the negro know that the elevation of his race can come only and will come surely through the elevation of its women." - Senator Geo. F. Hoar.Miss Emma K. White, one of Chester's most successful teachers, says: "The volume entitled The Work of the Afro-American WomenWoman is a great success at this point."Miss Julia Songow, Germantown, Pennsylvania: "I have sold seventy-five copies of the Work of the Afro-American Woman within two weeks."Mrs. Jennie Euola Johnson of Trenton, N.J.: "I have been very successful in my canvass of The Work of the Afro-American Woman."Agents Wanted: General      Offered. Let   desire to canvass during the summer, apply at 	of effort have already done well.	Red or Brown Cloth, 75 cents, White and Gold, $1.Apply to Mrs. N.F. Mossell1432 Lombard Street, Philadelphia, Pa.HOUSEKEEPERS SHOULD SEE THE NEWFIBRE CARPET.
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COPIES FOR SALE AT
Office of Woman's Era,  103 Charles St., Boston.HOWARD UNIVERSITY.Washington D.C., July 1, 1895Furnishes instruction in the following departments and courses:Theological, Medical, Dental, Pharmaceutical, Legal, College Preparatory, Normal, Musical, and Manual Training, including practice in carpenter shop, printing office, book bindery, tin shop and sewing school.All students have the privilege of library and reading room without extra charge.Tuition free in all courses except Medical Dental and Pharmaceutical.Term opens September 18.J.E. RANKIN, D.D., L.L.D., President.
J.B. Johnson, Secretary.The Woman's Era.Vol. II. No. 10.BOSTON, MASS., FEB, 1896.  PRICE 10 CENTS.NOTES  AND  COMMENTS.The  last regular meeting of the Woman's Era Club was in charge of the domestic science section of that club, Mrs. Harriet Ruffin, chairman of section, in the chair. Carefully prepared papers were read on "Ventilation," by Mrs. Fannie Johnson, on the proper care of cooking utensils by Mrs. Pope, food preparations by Miss Simmons, and on decorations, wise and otherwise, by Mrs. Ruffin. Short discussions followed all the papers. A special meeting will be held in charge of the civic section, when the club and their friends will listen to a talk by Mrs. Ellen A. Richardson, editor of Business Folio, on the advantage of a business training for women, and she will also tell something of the work and aim of the Floral Emblem Society. The meeting will be held in the Revere St. Chapel. Members will be notified by card as to time.Sectional chairmen are warned that hereafter monthly reports of the doings of their branches will be called for, and at least one meeting a year arranged by them. Mrs. Lottie Sampson, church fair committee, reported progress of work for the coming fair for the benefit of St. Monica's Home; her com mittee are soliciting yearly subscribers to the Home, and the ladies are pledged to give some form of a benefit annually to it.The last literary meeting of the "New England Women's Press Association" was one of the most enjoyable ever held by that lively club. It was journalists' day, and was wittily presided over by Mrs. Gosse. The different newspaper women told what they knew of the different departments of newspaper work. Bright papers, laughable stories, music and flowers galore, with the usual "high tea " in the beautiful crystal parlors of the Parker House, filled the afternoon and evening with delight.The Woman's Club House Corporation will tender a reception to Mrs. E.M.H. Merrill, its president, at the Hotel Vendome next Friday afternoon from four to seven. Tea tables will be in charge of different clubs and decorated with club colors. Mrs. Julia Ward Howe will preside. There will be five-minute speeches by witty women, vocal and instrumental music, and a delightful time for all fortunate enough to be present.Miss Florence Johnson, late of the New England Conservatory of Music, contributed largely to the success of an entertainment given in Brooklyn lately for the benefit of Siloam Presbyterian Church. Miss Johnson is an accomplished pianist, and while in Boston was much appreciated for her readiness to respond to any call to assist, by her musical gift, any deserving cause.Mrs. Frederick Douglass is editing her late husband's speeches.Cards of invitation issued by Mrs. Lucy A. Roberson to the marriage reception of her daughter, Laura Viola ("Vodia"), to Mr. Artrudoe Moore Lee, have been received in Boston. The marriage was celebrated Feb. 25, at 541 Sibley St., St. Paul, Minn.Messrs. L.W. Benjamin, G.C. Freeman, William H. Lewis, Trotter, Washington, Fletcher,

Godwin, Hemmings, W.H. Jackson, H.P. Johnson, Payne, Peake, C. L. Smith and J.R. Jackson were at home to friends Monday evening, the 17th, at the Grundmann Studios, Copley Sq., and welcomed their friends to one of the most delightful entertainments ever given in Boston. The spacious halls, reception rooms, and promenades were beautiful and inviting in their elaborate decorations, and the bachelors all attentiveness and courtesy. Copley Hall was hung with white and pink bunting, the ceiling being all in white, through which the electric lights shone with a soft, mellow light which was universally becoming. The walls were draped with laurel, and the stage set with palms and ferns. In the great smoking room were rugs, couches and hangings galore, and to crown all a huge wood fire. It is not strange that with such a setting the costumes of the ladies showed to perfection and that the scene was one of unusual beauty. There were many beautiful gowns worn for the first time, conspicuous among them those worn by two attractive "buds," Misses Genevieve Lee and Elizabeth Hemmings. Miss Lee, who has manner of unusual charm, was very attractive in white silk and spangled chiffon, made decollete, and decorated with white rosebuds. Miss Hemmings could not have worn anything more becoming to her than her perfectly simple dress of white Swiss muslin, undecorated save for the ribbon at the waist and those which held the gown on the shoulders.The young ladies who acted  as ushers were Miss Lillian Lewis, in white and blue, Miss Gray, in white over pink, Miss Grant, in white and violet, Miss Hare, in yellow, Miss Harriet Smith, in yellow, Miss Trotter, in pink, Miss Hemmings and Miss Watson, in white with violets.Every bachelor, from those who received the guests at their carriages to those who received in line, did his utmost for the pleasure of his guests. A reception and a musicale by the bachelors occupied the early part of the evening. These were followed by supper and dancing, and all left believing it would be a long time before the Bachelors' At Home would be surpassed.Several New Bedford girls came up to the Bachelors', Miss Gertie Piper, Miss Wilson and Miss Carter being among them.Mrs. Joseph Lee was distinctively elegant in black and silver.Mrs. Dandridge was, as usual, very stylish in pearl brocade.Mrs. Wilson wore her wedding dress, cream faille.Miss De Mortie carried off with her usual distinction her dress of pale blue silk with trimmings of white and pink.Mrs. Grant wore white silk and white chiffon.Mrs. J.H. Lewis wore Nile green silk.Mrs. U.A. Ridley was in black brocade, with rose-chiffon and pink velvet.Miss Latimer of Saratoga was one of the pretty girls; Mrs. Trotter and Mrs. Smith were among the handsome women present.Among the prettiest dresses were the organdies made over silk. Miss Smith, Miss Trotter and Mrs. Alston all wore them.Dr. and Mrs. Brown of Baltimore are at home on Calhoun St., Baltimore, and are receiving much quiet attention. At their first "at home," their house was open from two till 11 P.M., and as many as twenty-five people at a time were present.Miss Maud Cuney will spend the summer in the north. Her friends in Newport and Boston will give her a hearty welcome.Some of the smart set of Philadelphia are negotiating with Mrs. DeLos Mars to give one of her dramas in that city.SOCIAL NOTES.BassaniaNEW YORK.Engagements and prospective wedding bells!Well, Lent is upon us, which means no more parties, dancing or card playing.The many friends of Mr. Esteve S. Mars of Brooklyn will be pleased to learn of his final success in securing a sheepskin and becoming a full-fledged M.D. Meharry College, Nashville, Tenn. conferred the coveted honor.Mr. Charles Lansing, Jr., and wife, (nee, Miss Kitty White) of Quincy St., Brooklyn, gave a christening dinner in honor of their little daughter, Katharyn Olga, Sunday evening, the 9th. Among the guests were Mr. George T. Downing of Newport, Mrs. E.D. White, Rev. and Mrs. H.C. Bishop, Mr. W.C. Bolivar of Philadelphia, Mr. and Mrs. C.H. Lansing, Miss Gertrude O. Lansing, Mr. and Mrs. H.T. Mars, Mr. W. Russell Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. J.B. Peterson Mr. T.B. Francis, Dr. W.S. Kissam. St. Philip's Fair was very fine, and as usual a

hard matter to leave with enough money to take one home again. The girls are such talkers that the money almost walks from the young men's pockets.  Miss Kate Smith is one of the most successful of these talkers. I know from past visits to fairs at which we have met.Wedding bells will begin soon after Easter, and goodness only knows when they will stop their sweet chiming, from the number of engagements we hear of. Well, health and happiness to them all. Mr. Robert is still looking Jerseyward, but I heard they were on the "outs." No doubt nothing more or less than a lover's quarrel. Charlie Moore has stolen the heart of a fine little girl, much to the disappointment of one of the older girls who had great anticipations. But never mind, dearie, this is leap year, so make your choice. Our lovely Lottie is also on the list of those whom we expect soon to congratulate. Mr. Miller must be very proud of his success in securing the coveted prize. How she will be missed by the girls in their frolics.Very soon I suppose we will hear something definite from Miss Alice Greenly and Miss Walker. Mr. Milfred Jackson has at last made up his mind not to change the date of his announcement again. Good luck, old boy.Miss Florence Nichols and Miss Ellen Ford are two very charming girls. Some young man will soon be laying his heart at their feet, if he has not ere this.Mr. Ernest Attwell seems very attentive to our Kate. I can hardly blame him, but then --- At the musicale and farce given for the Siloan Presbyterian Church, Madame Wilson played divinely, as usual. Mr. King, the baritone, did not make a very good impression, for his first appearance in New York. After the concert came the farce, "My Neighbor's Wife," characterized by the Misses Nichols, Greenly and Ford, also Messrs. E.T. Attwell, Frank Chambers and R.M. Attwell. The acting showed careful preparation, and everything went off without a hitch. How noticable it was that the ladies and gentlemen of the "inner circles" were not up to the dances. This winter's dances were all Greek to them. All the ladies looked charming, but I must speak especially of the toilettes of Misses Eva Walker and Alice Greenly. I think they were Louis XV coats  -- at least some one said so. Anyhow they were fine, and spoke well for the maker.The Chronothanatoletron at Hardman Hall was very enjoyable, and the young ladies, as well as the ladies who were at the head of it, deserve great credit. The "Black Patti" was the crowning success of the affair. Professor Craig played beautifully to a very attentive audience. Miss Blanche Washington was as fine and graceful as usual. Miss E. Nowell Ford played a difficult piano solo so fast that one could get no sense nor enjoyment from it. The dear girl was affected with stage fright, I guess. Nevertheless she is a fine pianist when she is not nervous. I wonder if Pharaoh's daughter, the dear little girl, has found "Moses" yet.All of the dear girls deserve mention, but space will not allow any more this time.BASSANIA.MEMORANDA OF "THE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE" OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION, THE NATIONAL LEAGUE , AND THE ATLANTA CONGRESS.Victoria Earle MatthewsShortly after the adjournment of the first National Convention of colored women in America, which met in Boston, Mass., July 1, 1895, Mrs. Booker T. Washington, President of the National Federation of Afro-American Women, the organization which grew out of the said convention, conferred with Helen Cook, 1st, vice president of the convention, and president of the National League which desired union, as to the possibility of uniting the two organizations in one grand body, and as a result accepted the latter's proposition;
i.e.: That a committee of three, headed by the president of each organization, be selected by said presidents to form a "conference committee" which should meet at a given place for the purpose of consultation and agreement as to a basis of union, the same to be submitted in joint convention for united action, looking to final union. This plan differed from one submitted by Mrs. Victoria Matthews, chairman of executive committee of the National Federation, but in the interest of harmony that lady withdrew her plan.After subsequent correspondence it was decided by the two presidents to hold Conference Committee in Atlanta. It was expected that Mrs. Cook would be present, but she delegated her powers to Miss Lucy Moten, of Washington, D.C. Many ladies of the Atlanta Woman's Congress, in their earnest desire to see harmony be-

tween the two bodies, requested the privilege of having said congress represented on this committee, for the purpose of attesting their unbiased and perfectly neutral attitude. After much discussion and consideration by the parties most interested, it was finally agreed to extend the courtesy, particularly as the presence of an outside presiding officer would tend to put the two national organizations on an equal footing. This action was unanimously accepted by the conference committee as fair and in order. Miss Moten, acting for the National League, appointed  Mrs. Ida C. Bailey of Washington, and Miss Anna Jones of Kansas City to serve with her. Mrs. Washington appointed Mrs. Pitts of Missouri and Mrs. V. Matthews of New York; the congress appointing Mrs. Emma Ford of Michigan, Mrs. Arthur S. Gray and Mrs. Rossetta Lawson of Washington. Mrs. Ford was chosen to preside ; Mrs. Pitts as secretary.Mrs. Matthews moved that courtesy be extended the National League in the matter of opening discussion upon the question at issue. Miss Moten declined on the ground that she was uninstructed and preferred to hear what suggestion the Federation would make. Mrs. Washington directed Mrs. Matthews to speak for the National Federation. Mrs. Matthews playfully referred to the strategic point gained by Miss Moten. She outlined the plan as proposed to her in Washington at a personal meeting with Cook, and clearly stated that she approved the plan, which was as follows: 1. Both names be discarded and a new one chosen which should represent the new Union; all agreed.  2. Both constitutions be discarded and a new one formulated; agreed. 3. A joint call to be issued in the ensuing year for a joint convention, before which the foregoing suggestions should be submitted for united action, favorable or otherwise; agreed.In the friendly informal discussion which followed, various minor points were touched upon; for instance, it was suggested that the new name be The National Federation of Colored Women. Of course all understood that the committee had no jurisdiction in the matter, but merely suggested it in order to arouse popular discussion on the subject, all agreeing to differ according to understanding of the principle involved.The official organ of the National Federation was also discussed conjointly. Its present form was objected to, the understanding being that an editorial change was desired, i.e., fewer editors and more reports as to the work of organized bodies of women; that the paper should be so supported as to give space for light literature, essays, fiction, etc. Mrs. Matthews spoke for the ERA and said that the ERA was prepared to make suggested changes, in fact those identical points had been discussed by the editor-in-chief, who went further by suggesting that the editorship be an elective one, and that the national organization form an incorporated society for the purpose of owning the paper. The management of the Woman's Journal of Boston, and other papers, were discussed. Like the name, this too was left to the decision of the women in joint convention. Mrs. Matthews believed that our women had an opportunity of establishing a clean, chaste paper at very little cost. It could easily be done by the clubs composing the Federation guaranteeing the cost of publishing per issue, the clubs being taxed per ratio, and in return every member of the Federation would be entitled to a paper free. All agreed that the latter plan was exceedingly practical. Miss Moten stated many things, which from her point of view detracted from the ERA'S reputation for unbiased dealing with public questions, her language being decidedly strong, but she was willing, she said, to modify her views providing the changes suggested would be adopted in the future. Mrs. Matthews replied that the whole question hinged upon the quality of support which the colored women of the country would give the paper. The matter of making public the work accomplished by this committee was then broached. It was informally considered wise to report privately, but there must have been a misunderstanding on this point as every point covered was commonly discussed an hour or two later, and these extracts from my note book are herewith given to THE WOMAN'S ERA for the information of all persons desiring the same.The conference committee was remarkably harmoniusharmonious; not a jar, save when the minor discussion concerning the ERA obtruded itself. Miss Ford, the chairman, congratulated the ladies and said, "Union must follow such an amicable conference as this has been."VICTORIA EARLE MATTHEWS.Our thanks are due those subscribers who have so promptly renewed without invitation. The ERA'S subscribers, although not so many as we could wish, are "true blue." They are earnest, conscientious women, and with a few thousand more of them, the ERA would lead everything.AN OPEN LETTER TO THE MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF AFRO-AMERICAN WOMEN.Mrs. Florida RidleyEMBODYING FOR ECONOMICAL CONSIDERATIONS, ANSWERS TO MANY PERSONAL LETTERS, QUERIES, ETC.When the National Federation of Afro-American Women, was organized in Boston it was understood that every delegate present and every club of women represented by letter or otherwise would support and sustain the Federation by making it strong numerically and representatives of women were urged to organize local clubs and use their influence not only in bringing into the Federation clubs so organized, but all women's clubs then existing in the respective localities, Organization was conceded to be the first work of the Federation, and plans were laid with this end in view. Instructions were given our Chairman of the Executive Committee concerning this matter and that of uniting with The National League. As we earnestly desired harmony and union our best counsellors advised and urged delay on our constitution and by-laws on the ground that when union was effected a new constitution would of necessity be required; further that no constitution would be adequate to cover our needs as a national body that was not constructed upon the constitutions of the various bodies comprising the Federation, our policy being opposed upon principle to any constitution otherwise constructed for the reason that only by knowing and providing for the various objects of the clubs comprising the Federation could we hope to become a truly representative body of Afro-American Women. Sorrow and affliction in our official family caused general retardation. Our position as a dignified self-respecting body is one of gravity. Our constitution as adopted at the Boston convention stood thus:NAME -- ARTICLE I.This organization is and shall hereafter be known as The National Federation of Afro-American Women.OBJECT -- ARTICLE II.The object of this organization is: (1.) The concentration of the dormant energies of the women of the Afro-American race into one broad band of sisterhood; for the purpose of establishing needed reforms, and the practical encouragement of all efforts being put forth by various agencies, religious, educational, ethical and
otherwise, for the upbuilding, ennobling and advancement of the race. (2). To awaken the women of the race to the great need of systematic effort in home making and the divinely imposed duties of motherhood.GOVERNMENT -- ARTICLE III.The organization shall be governed by a president, four vice-presidents, representing the four geographical sections of our country, a treasurer, two secretaries, corresponding and recording, and an executive committee, whose members shall be chosen by the chairman from the sections represented by the membership, with a view of making the committee truly representative.MEMBERSHIP - ARTICLE IV.All women's clubs are eligible to membership (number not restricted), whose work is embraced in the object of this organization.MEETING - ARTICLE V.The organization shall meet annually, time and place subject to the executive committee.OFFICIAL ORGAN - ARTICLE VI.The official organ of The National Federation of Afro-American Women is the publication known as the WOMAN'S ERA.It will be seen that the constitution thus adopted  in convention, imposed no burden or tax upon clubs. It made no provision for the necessary correspondence. Your officers have been slow to act in order to study the most progressive methods of procedure in use among National bodies. Officially we expected to communicate through our official organ, but unfortunately the clubs composing the National Federation have not systematically ordered sufficient numbers of the ERA to guarantee the expense, not only of necessary communications, but of the work done and fully reported in our memorable convention number. This is a sad confession, but we make it in the hope that our women will pause and thoughtfully consider, first, that any organization founded upon other than common business principles must fail; secondly, we are before the public; critics, friends and disinterested parties, men and women of both races are watching us and naturally expecting results; and thirdly, the expense of our meeting in Boston, the communications that have since been given space in our official organ, has been paid by some one or is still hanging over the paper; and lastly, we, The National Federation

of Afro-American Women, not only have it in our power to establish before the world the first and only paper owned and published by Afro-American women, but we can own it and through its columns let the world see what manner of women we are. Our women will need no argument as to the advantage in having as our official organ a paper so well established as to literary merit, as the WOMAN'S ERA, and we consider it absolutely necessary for the perfecting of our organization, as a means of communicating with associate clubs, that we urge upon the officers of alI women's clubs, unions, etc., that they send a monthly letter as to the work carried on by the clubs or unions, and to specify the number of copies per month that respective club or union will order. This is practical. It is necessary, for we have no means with which to conduct private communications, and will have none until after our next annual convention, unless public spirited and sympathetic persons will make toward that end.In order to facilitate the work of the Federation it is necessary at this time that the chairman of our executive committee be immediately furnished with a copy of the constitution and number of members of every club in the Federation, and those desirous of entertaining; and we do earnestly invite all women to organize for practical work and join us without delay. We trust the presidents and others in authority in various local and state organizations will give this matter close and immediate attention. Our struggling race is in travail, and needs above all things the united, earnest and determined uplifting efforts of strong vigorous womanhood; this is pre-eminently the foundation  making age; the future moral and intellectual status of our race depends upon the real basic work, that the women of the race perform in this decade. Burdened with this conviction, we stretch out our hands to our sister women everywhere for help and courage and inspiration and light. Let us be up and doing. Time is passing and opportunities fleeting; let the heads of all clubs communicate at once with Mrs. Victoria Matthews, Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, Tuskegee, Ala., and also raIly to the support of our official organ -- the WOMAN'S ERA. Remember we can establish it as a creditable race enterprise, or for lack of sympathy and support let it fail. We can make of it what we will, provided we first make it permanent. It not only never furnished a source or suspicion of income to the many writers composing its staff, from editor-in-chief, down, but has not paid its running expenses. It has established its name as a good wholesome, neatly printed, family newspaper. As the official organ of the Federation, it is not only our duty to support it, but to our interest as a body of women without other means of communication, and for the present without an exchequer. As soon as the heads of the various clubs, unions, etc., put themselves in communication with Matthews, important propositions concerning the future management and support of our official organ will be submitted. For this and other progressive lines of work vital to our organization we urge immediate attention.In order to facilitate organization, we have issued application blanks for the use of clubs desiring membership in the National Federation of Afro-American Women. The secretaries of the clubs composing the Federation will please fill out forward at earliest convenience to the secretary of the N.F.A.A.W., Mrs. FLORIDA RIDLEY,131 Kent Street, Brookline, Mass.All clubs and individuals whom this letter may reach will please consider its contents personal. Yours for the uplifting of our struggling race.MRS. BOOKER T. WASHINGTON.
Tuskegee, Ala.TUSKEGEE WOMAN'S CLUB.Elizabeth E. LaneREPORTED BY ELIZABETH E. LANE.The literary program of this club for the current quarter is varied. Subjects for discussion in the fortnightly meetings are: "The Relation between Women's Clubs and Churches," various phases of "The Suffrage Question," "The Province of Women's Clubs," "How shall our Young Women be Properly Trained and Protected," "The Atlanta Exposition."The latter subject was discussed the evening of Jan. 17, when the club opened the doors to the gentlemen of the school's faculty. Mrs. B. T. Washington discussed "The Negro Exhibit," Mrs. S. Peake Greene "The Exposition as Related to the Cause of Education," and "The Part Played by Woman at the Exposition," by Mrs. Irene Bond.The members of the club had decided to give nothing but the regular program, even if the

"lords of creation" were in attendance. The program proved interesting to all, but some gentlemen who believed that the club movement at Tuskegee savored too much of the "New Woman," showed signs of uneasiness when "motions," "points of order," etc., were in use by the members of the club during the time devoted to business matters.No one of them rose for a "point of order" on the "New Woman," but at the close of the evening's exercise one rose to give a motion for a vote of thanks for the invitation that had been extended, and in the regular form a rising vote of thanks was given by the entire party of thirty-five gentlemen.Club matters have proved of great interest this month.Mrs. Washington has been called to several places to organize clubs among women. She has given hopeful and interesting accounts of the earnest women who, though timid, are determined to do effective work on reaching the masses who are less fortunate.A plan is on foot and arrangements are being made by which the club may assume control of the county funds devoted heretofore to the mismanagement of the domestic affairs of the County Poor House. Frequent visits to the Poor House by members of the club, and the report of a committee that made a thorough investigation of affairs there, found an intensely serious condition of things that involved matters of life and death.The reports from the departments of the club argue well for the coming year. The Vesta Club, under the direction or Mrs. N.B. Young, gave an entertainment and devoted the proceeds to the needy poor. Two old women, who were helpless and bedridden, have been made comfortable.The members of the Ednah Cheney Club, under Mrs. Thornton, have three old ex-slaves in their charge. Helpless and alone in their cabins, they have been comforted, clothed and fed during the present storms of the wintry weather. The club is not only systematic in its charities but is also in its literary efforts to maintain the principles of their constitution.The Ministers' Wives Ciub, under Mrs. Estelle Penney, gives hopes for better and more earnest work by the members in the field of the church and homes to which they are allied.Miss Francis Willard has become intensely interested in the W.C.T.U. circle, under Miss Susie Porter. She has contributed all the current publications of the Temperance Union for the reading room, and has written words of encouragement as a sister to a sister of one sisterhood.The department of Current History, under Mrs. Warren Logan, still gives a report that shows there is no lack of interest in the questions of the day, though minutes are few and not easily spared from the duties of the moment, when one may cull the current literature.Just as many women as heretofore are interested in the work that Mrs. Booker Washington plans for her club or town and country women. They come to the club every Saturday afternoon, eighty and one hundred of them.The Dorcas Club For the young girls meets every Saturday in the room of the same hall that Mrs. Washington rents for the work. The Margaret Murray Washington Club of ten Normal school girls, assisted the Dorcas Club in making articles for a fair that was held one afternoon in the above mentioned hall. The mothers contributed their share of raw material in the shape of eggs, chickens, pork, etc. The latter were cooked, and with the handiwork of the young people, graced the tables. Thirty-two dollars were cleared.A reading room and circulating librarv has been opened there under the auspices of the Dorcas Club. The nucleus of the library were forty-five books contributed from the library of the young daughter, Portia, of Mrs. Washington, who is now attending the school at Framingham, Mass.CHARLESTON - THE HISTORIC OLD CITY BY THE SEA.L. Bonneau FordhamThe situation of Charleston, S.C., is singularly beautiful, being bordered on its eastern and western shores by two streams, the Cooper and Ashley, whose convergence forms its magnificent harbor reflecting the azure tints of the sky above and luxuriant foliage around; glorious to look upon when the glinting sun rays made its rippling bosom to resemble a sheet of silver sparks. It is unobstructed, save the presence of Fort Sumpter, that theatre of daring deeds, whose invincible ramparts proclaim it the guardian of our peace.On entering the harbor to the right, stands Sullivan's Island, the Coney Island of the South-

land, on which stands old Fort Moultrie. To the left is Morris Island, where the first shot of the Civil War was fired, and from which point shot and shell were leveled at our city and its fortifications with slight intermissions, for over 500 days . This could rightly be termed the "Dark Age of Charleston."Notwithstanding this and subsequent physical disturbances, cyclones and earthquakes, she has arisen from the ashes of a troubled past, and is fast putting on the garments of progress in all its varied forms. Numerous foreign as well as domestic craft speak for its commercial activity. Vast areas of King Cotton, rice, maize, truck produce, etc., under a high state of cultivation, tell of its agricultural wealth. Immense structures girding the suburbs and pouring forth volumes of smoke as they grind the valuable phosphate fertilizers, give employment to hundreds of breadwinners.Educational institutions abound, chief of which are the College of Charleston, established in 1823; the High School, organized in 1839, and the Citadel Academy in 1843.The city public schools are in a flourishing, condition. Those for colored children are represented by the Shaw Memorial on Mary street, and the Simonton on Morris street. These are large and well appointed buildings, but are necessarily crowded on account of the dense population, there being about 1700 in the two. The former was erected by the colored people about 1868 or '69, in memory of Col. Robert G. Shaw, Commander of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, who so gloriously fought and fell on Morris Island during the bombardment of the city.Industrial training is now attracting much attention, and we trust ere long that such an important factor in the development of our people will receive the practical recognition it deserves.Churches are numerous, indeed Charleston may be called the "Lesser City of Churches," the oldest being St. Michael's, which has an history of its own; it may be of interest to note that the first boy choir in America originated in this church in 1798. Many of these edifices belong to the colored people, and are nobly sustained by the several denominations in spite of the financial depression of the last decade. Its people are hospitable, genial, intelligent, industrious, and are making rapid strides toward the goal of ideal citizenship. Their individuality is strongly marked by the diversity of taste in the construction of their homes, it being hard to find two or three exactly alike, unless built for tenements.The dwellings on East and South Battery are indicative of refined taste coupled with affluence. There are many others scattered through the city that are noticeable for their beauty and the pronounced comfort of their surroundings.Its points of interest are not numerous, but there is a charm about each from the grim, old, battle-scarred walls of Sumpter, Moultrie and Johnson on the south, to the wide spreading oaks and spirelike pines on the north, whose graceful drapery keeps time to the breezes that play over them; all historic charm which will linger as long as there is to be found a soul worshipping at the shrine of patriotism.L. BONNEAU FORDHAM.LETTER TO THE ERA.Wm. Lloyd GarrisonWill you permit me to use your columns for the purpose of warning persons benevolently inclined toward the colored schools of the south, to beware of encouraging John J. Smallwood, of the so called ,"Temperance Industrial and Collegiate Institute of Claremont, Va." Of all solicitors for northern money he is one of the most plausible and adroit, and invariably makes a strong impression, backed as he is by southern credentials. Nevertheless he is unworthy of assistance, and for the sake of deserving southern schools, his petition should be denied. I have in my possession evidences of his character which unfit him for the work in which he is engaged, and shall be ready to show them to any one interested in him.WM. LLOYD GARRISON.
Boston, Jun. 25, 1896.REPRESENTATIVE N.E. WOMEN THANK REV. SAMUEL M. CROTHERS.N.E. WOMEN'S CLUB RESOLUTION.At a meeting of the New England Women's Club where the subject of discussion was "The Effect of the Race Elements upon the Well-being of our Country," the following resolution was passed :That the thanks of the New England Women's Club be presented to Rev. Samuel M. Crothers, university preacher of Cambridge, for his prompt 

and frank utterance in regard to the action of three of the leading hotels of our city in declining to receive Bishop Arnett during his recent visit to Boston; that the club believes, if such action on the part of those hotels was because of color distinction, that it was contrary to the best customs and traditions of the city of Boston, and wishes to acknowledge its indebtedness to Mr. Crothers for having expressed the higher sense of the community, with a conviction that his course has not only gratified the general public, but must also help to influence the body of future citizens among whom his present ministry is placed.NOTE ON THE ATLANTA "LYNCH LAW RESOLUTION."Victoria Earle MatthewsSome of the delegates attending the Atlanta Colored Woman's Congress, judging by many letters which have since come to the Chairman of the Committee on Resolutions, were mistaken as to the attitude of the committee on "Mob Law." An addition to the original resolution was offered, which contained the following: "Be it further resolved that, in denouncing lynch law, we also condemn the crime that provokes lynch law." The addition was not "beheaded " or purposely lost, as some were disposed to think, but after fearless intelligent direction by the committee, on the ground that mob law and execution follows suspicion of guilt, if the culprit or suspected one be colored, so swiftly that a crime is never proven, it was decided that there was no tenable ground for the acceptance even of the injurer's apology, much less a condemnatory resolutioin based on no other evidence than the word or reports of even those who support by non-interference crimes against law, humanity and God. As John Mitchell says: "There must be no toying with serpents. Lynch law must go."VICTORIA EARLE MATTHEWS. SEPARATE CAR LAW."Mrs. Booker T. WashingtonTHE PRESIDENT APPEALS TO THE NATIONAL FEDERATION.Having seen every humiliation imaginable or possible to the working of the Separate Car Law, and given much serious thought as to how we could so agitate the matter as to lead to the abolishment of the system and the substitution of first and second class cars for the protection of our self-respecting travelers, I venture to lay the matter at this time before the National Federation of Afro-American Women, not only for consideration, but immediate action. Argument is not needed to portray the evils of this system in the matter of forced indiscriminate contact, nor the illegality of the extortionate tariff placed on all who have to ride in the notoriously filthy, ill-ventilated "Jim Crow" cars. With others, I had hoped for greater harmony among our women at this time, so delayed the matter. Delays are dangerous. I therefore appeal to and urge the heads of all clubs comprising the Federation to present the accompanying resolution to their respective bodies for signatures, and also to make an active canvass and secure as many signatures outside of their ranks, among interested parties, as possible, and forward to me without loss of time, the same to be placed with others and put into the hands of some one of our strong women, who will make it her business to present in person the petitions thus signed to the proper authorities in the various states, i.e., the officers and directors of the railroads affected and the legislative committees having jurisdiction over such matters.Fraternally yours,MRS. BOOKER T. WASHINGTONTuskegee, Ala.RESOLUTION.To which should be appended the signatures and seals of justice-loving individuals, churches, schools and societies.Recognizing the injustice of the law known as the Separate Car Law; knowing it to be not only brutal, degrading and inhuman in its operation, but contrary to the laws of contract and the genius of our liberal institutions, tending to accentuate unduly discrimination on account of color and condition; in the interest of common womanhood we unite in urging the annulment  of said oppressive and iniquitous measure from the statutes of the states Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. Further, that we, in the meantime, urge upon the officers and directors of the railroads affected by this color legislation, in justice to a self-respecting traveling class, the adoption of first and second class cars. This so-called law is a blot most foul, not only on the section boasting of its chivalric treatment of womanhood, but the fair fame of our common country.THE WOMAN'S ERA.THE WOMAN'S ERA, the organ of the National Federation of Afro-American Women, and devoted to the Interests of the Women's Clubs, Leagues and Societies throughout the country.Published monthly, in Boston, by JOSEPHINE ST. P. RUFFIN, FLORIDA R. RIDLEY, 103 Charles Street.SUBSCRIPTIONS.Per Annum, -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -$1.00Single Copies, -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -.10Club Rates, one hundred copies,   -    7.00Subscriptions Payable in Advance. EDITORIAL.Personal feeling has no place in newspaper work. A good newspaper gives facts, and is not concerned, and surely is not to blame, if the facts encroach upon somebody's pet hobby or were furnished by someone who is personally distasteful to a subscriber. A paper which is afraid of everybody's feelings has no call to he published. If a paper be clean it is certainly privileged to be brave if it can, and a clean, brave paper serves a double purpose; it justifies itself and takes its readers out of that overcrowded territory which is filled with those who judge through personal feeling.The appeal of Mrs. Washington to the clubs of the country to circulate protests against the Separate Car System, refers to a matter of vital importance to every colored woman of the country. There is no one among us, no matter what her culture or refinement, but who may become the victim of this iniquitous custom, and the experience of Mrs. Thomas Fox, who was put off in the woods and at night, is an example of what may befall any one of us, or of our daughters, if called to the South. Mrs. Washington's movement is
one of practical moment,.and there is no other to which our women should lend their energies with more devotion and energy.TRAVELING AND WORKING FOR THE ERA.The women of the North long ago became convinced of the worth of Mrs. Matthews (Victoria Earle) as a woman of intelligence, enthusiasm, energy and talent. As all these attributes possessed by Mrs. Matthews have been employed and devoted almost exclusively in race work, it is not strange that her reputation and the esteem in which she is held has grown with the years.In the last few months Mrs. Matthews has been traveling in the South, first in the interest of the Atlanta Congress, and latterly in the interest of the ERA. In her travels she has worked with the same unflagging zeal and intensity which characterizes all she does, and with the same results. Her reception everywhere has been more than cordial. Not only has she interested the women, but she has won their sympathy and love. It is one of our crying needs that our women who are working for "the one end" all over the country, should be united in order to carry on their work with the zeal and ardor which only union can give. It is to this end that Mrs. Matthews is bending all her energies and it is to this end that the ERA works.In the future, Mrs. Matthews will be more intimately connected with the ERA, and its management can feel assured that this announcement will be read with pleasure by women everywhere.BOSTON SENTIMENT ON THE ARNETT CASE. -- THE LAW WILL BE ENFORCED.Comments on the Arnett case are getting a trifle monotonous, and it would seem as if the whole gamut of opinion and comment had been made. And yet there is a last word to be said, and it is fitting that it should come from the seat of the trouble.Boston itself has spoken officially upon the matter, the city council unanimously and enthusiastically endorsed a set of resolutions introduced in a speech made by Mr. Stanley Ruffin, not only censuring the hotel-keepers, but calling upon the city attorney to press the law.The Arnett case is a peculiar one. There is hardly a hotel in Boston which does not entertain colored guests every month in the year. We have been informed that the Bishop himself has, on other occasions, put up at first-class hotels. All of us know of prominent colored people who have registered at leading houses time and time again; colored business men daily lunch and dine at Young's, Parkers, the Adams House, the Thorndike, the Quincy, and there is never a theatre

party but that freely and thoughtlessly walks into the most available hotel for an after-theatre supper. To all these, the refusal to accommodate the Bishop came as a surprise. The fact is, that if the Bishop had presented himself for accommodation he would scarcely have found one of these cowards bold enough to refuse him, but it was a chance for cowardly negro-haters to express themselves without danger, and it was embraced.The splendid expression from press and pulpit brought out by the incident almost repays the race which was insulted. Boston contains many people as prejudiced, as cowardly and bitter on the race question as can be found anywhere, but this incident has proven what the ruling sentiment is. Moreover, the colored people will continue to go just wherever they please, and feel assured that if a man is found bold enough to insult them he will never do it more than once.WHY NOT STRENGTHEN THE FEDERATION BY COMING WITHIN ITS FOLD?The closing action of the Atlanta Congress in adjourning as a body to meet in Nashville is very perplexing., especially in view of the resolution passed concerning the Nashville Centennial. Our women bid fair to compete with the lords of creation in the matter of forming new organizations. We understand this is the only congress connected with the Cotton States Exposition that did not end with it. One pleasant feature of the Congress was the much commented upon, thorough unselfishness of the members of the National Federation. The workers in the Congress were largely made up from the ranks of the Federation. The National League was hardly in evidence. Their only representative was made, through Mrs. Lawson's courtesy, a member of the Congress, after her arrival in Atlanta.THE PRACTICAL SUPPORT OF THE OFFICIAL ORGAN.ANSWERS TO QUERIES SENT OUT BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE FEDERATION.Sometime ago Miss L.C. Carter, Recording Secretary of the National Federation, was requested to communicate certain important queries to the clubs comprising the Federation, among which was, "What Plan would you suggest for the practical support of our official organ, THE WOMAN'S ERA?"We submit a few of the returns:Mrs. B.T. Washington thought that each local club would appoint an agent, and order through her, monthly, as many copies  as the club had members. "It would serve not only to increase its circulation, but broaden the minds of indifferent women as to the proportions of our woman's movement."Mrs. Mary H. Dickerson of Newport, writes: "I think the best means of support for our official organ is a large subscription list, and the best way to secure it is to write to each League for subscribers, and ask that each League appoint an agent to solicit outside subscribers."Mrs. Libbie C. Anthony of Jefferson City, Mo.: "I think our National President should have a column in the ERA each month, in order to stimulate a desire on the part of the various clubs to see the account of the Federation work. I also think copies should be sent to prominent working women in the various states, requesting their support and that they show the paper to their friends."Mrs. R. Jerome Jeffrey of Rochester, N.Y.: "I thought it was decided in the convention that each club should take a certain number of papers. Surely each member of a club would be willing to do this much toward making our position secure as a self-respecting body."Mrs. Rebecca Aldridge of Pittsburgh, Pa.: "The paper  should be under the control and management of the National organization, and each club represented in the same pledge itself to take as many copies monthly as it has financial members."Miss Annie L. Blanchard of Salem,.Mass.: "I would suggest that each club he held for so many copies, or that they guarantee so many subscribers from their members, and one member be appointed to sell to outsiders. In the various clubs there are members who have not had the advantage s of an education and home influence. Some of these are married, while others are single. Would it not be advisable, in order to have the ERA reach and touch every member, to have a 'Home  Department,' and under this head have papers which will suggest to some of the members to pay more attention to the moral, physical and intellectual training of the young; for instance, Mrs. Matthews' paper on 'Kindergarten Schools' is a

very fine article and should be read by every woman interested in the young. I think this sort of reading would attract a large class."LETTERS TO THE ERA.COMPLIMENTARY AND CORRECTIVE.From Abby Morton Diaz:"Of all the clubs heard from -- more than forty -- not one expresses higher purposes and aims, or shows higher standing, or works on higher lines than yours. And no other one, so far as I know, has a paper. And what an interesting publication!From an advertiser and reader: My dear Mrs. Ruffin:If I shall fail to thank you as I ought for my share in the last ERA, it will be only because the poverty of the English language does not enable me to express my appreciation of Mrs. Ensley's excellent article and the very superior work shown in the advertisement of the Bonita Mining Company.I am very critical, very hard to please in all newspaper work, but the WOMAN's ERA has satisfied me. It is without flaw, above criticism. I congratulate myself and my company that our first advertisement appeared in a woman's paper, and especially in the ERA.I am, yours very truly,MARY E. PHELPS.BOSTON, Feb. 21, 1896.To the Editor of THE WOMAN'S ERA:In an article published in THE ERA of December, 1895, on the death of the late Mrs. Robert Morris, of this city, we find a mistake. It says:"She was carried to the hospital to die, as the last rites of the Catholic Church would not have been administered in the house of a 'heretic.'"The facts are simply these. It was due to the forgetfulness or negligence of one of the priests of St. Joseph's, Rev. W. O'Connell, who was duly notified, and also to the b1undering  of those Catholics whose duty it was to attend to the matter and see that it was done. In no instance are the sacraments withheld on account of Protestants being the owners or inmates of the houses in which a sick Catholic may reside. In only one case are they withhold, that is, when the house is one of ill-repute or the circumstances such as no Christian could remain in them without sin.Very truly yours,MARY A. CASSIDY.125 Myrtle Street.REPLY. -The mistake complained of in Miss Cassidy's letter concerning a custom of the Catholic Church, was made through information given by one supposed to be well acquainted with those customs. However, if there was no reason why the rites (which Mrs. Morris reverenced and loved well enough to leave the whole of her estate to help perpetuate) should not have been administered, then it was criminal negligence on somebody's part that it was not done. The financial part of her affairs was carefully and quickly adjusted, nothing was neglected or overlooked there.From a new subscriber:Nothing could possibly give me more pleasure than to note the upward growth of our women, and especially when it takes the form of such instructive and beneficial work as is yours. Allow me to compliment the people and Boston itself upon the acquisition of such indefatigable workers and noble figure heads for the consummation of a work of so noble a purpose and of such magnitude.As I think that every young woman should have the ERA in her home, I have subscribed for two extra, so a couple of young lady friends of mine may have the advantage of the instructions and advice contained in your columns.Yours respectfully,J.W. CALLOWAY,R.Q.M. Sq., 24th U.S. Inf., Fort Bayard.From the President of the National Council of Women:My dear Mrs. Williams:My mail this morning brings me a copy of the WOMEN'S ERA, in which, as a whole, I felt greatly interested; but I find special interest in your article upon the Pioneer Reunion, which really has touched the key note of that occasion as almost no other account that I have seen has done. With renewed congratulations for the good work that you are doing, I am,Sincerely yours,MARY LOW DICKINSON.ILLINOIS.Fannie Barrier WilliamsFANNIE BARRIER WILLIAMS.So much has been said and written about the South lately, that I may he guilty of forcing upon our readers  a worn out theme in attempting, to give some impressions as gained by a three week's experience in Georgia and Alabama during the past month. Yet it is impossible visit any of the southern slates and to know something of southern life without being more or less stirred to speak of one's impressions. There is something in the land of the south and in its civilization that makes it the most interesting portion of our Country. There are in this sunny land so many social contrasts, so many contradictions, so much good cheer and so much sadness, so much hope and so much despair, and above all such warmth of welcome on the one hand and so many repelling, prejudices on the other, that you are scarcely sure of your beliefs after leaving the south and again settling down to the certainties of your own fireside. There is an unseen relation of things, a deeper meaning of cause and effect, that make many things seem to he what they are not. You feel a degree of hesitancy in holding to conclusion's based upon a mere roadside observation of things and people. Nothing is more easy than to injure the cause of justice to our southern friends by mere declamatory statements of ill considered conclusions of what appears to the senses.The existence of the Exposition made Atlanta a good place to start from to see the south and its people. The best of the south, both in things, people and behavior was here  on exhibition. Whatever the south was capable of in the spirit of hope, good cheer and hospitality, every stranger within its gates was made to feel. Here it was possible to find, as no where else in the south, suggestions of the narrowing of the fundamental differences between whites and blacks. Here could be found the blending of hopes and fears, and patience and forgiveness that must some day result in better and juster standards of estimating the worth of people.It is scarcely possible to add anything of interest to what has already been so fully and well said by Mrs. Matthews, Miss Anna Jones and Mrs. Gray about the Atlanta Exposition.. I merely wish to add my testimony of appreciation as to the noble meaning and inestimable value of the Negro exhibit as a source of wholesome influence. Nothing since the enactment of the 15th amendment has awakened so much popular and kindly interest in the colored race as the contents of the Negro building at the Atlanta Exposition. Though but a partial exhibit of the Negro's progress in things material and spiritual, the exhibit was of a character to suggest a great deal that was not displayed.The Woman's Congress was an inspiring object lesson of our women's capacity for harmonious action. Linked with the Boston Conference of last August, the Woman's Congress in Atlanta can scarcely be less than a historical landmark in the development of the fraternal spirit among the colored women of America. There was displayed at the Atlanta Congress a variety of talents and fibre of character and capacity for achievements that were a surprise and inspiration both to the women themselves, and to the thousands, who came to see and listen to a new voice in the affairs of race development.But where do all these alert, accomplished and sufficient women come from? This question was happily answered for your correspondent in visiting several towns in Alabama. A hurried visit Tuskegee, Montgomery, Selma, Marion, Greensboro and Birmingham of that state gave a new sense of pride and confidence in our women. At each place you will be welcomed by women who have been touched and strengthened for noble activities by the better spiritual and social forces of our day. In each place will be found a nucleus of womanly experience - women who are wide awake to the opportunities and responsibilities of the hour and eager for a larger co-operation of hand and heart in the work of regeneration. If Mrs. Washington of Tuskegee, Mrs. Davenport of Montgomery, Mrs. M.A. Dillard at Selma, Mrs. S.A. Childs at Marion, Mrs. S.A. Christian of Greensboro, Mrs. Ross of Birmingham and their associates are a type of our southern sisters, then those of us living north of the Ohio will need to bestir ourselves to keep pace with their advancing influence for good.It was delightful to note that in this land of the south women of real accomplishments and large sympathies enjoy a more decided influence than

one would expect, and are valued by all classes at their real value. A happy illustration of this fact is to be found in the career of Miss M.W. Dillard of Birmingham. Miss Dillard is an alumnae of Provident Hospital and Training School of Chicago. She has exceptional qualifications and graces for her profession. Going to Birmingham with her scientific training she soon won the confidence of the entire medical fraternity. She is not only recognized as the head of her profession in this southern city, but prejudice yields wherever she goes. Wherever she is associated with white nurses in any important case Miss Dillard is always senior in management and responsibility. The respect and deference paid to this successful young woman by the best white people of Birmingham ought to be a helpful example to many of our discouraged young women.Mr. Booker T. Washington spent a week in Chicago last month. That is scarcely a newsy statement, yet to Chicago
people it was an event outranking in popular interest the coming of any other visitor during the season. The clubs representing the culture and wealth of the city open wide the door of welcome to this new man of power and goodness and eagerly declare that they are honored by his presence. All the newspapers print his every utterance and men and women high and low flock to shake hands and give assurances of their respect and esteem. The cause of the American Negro becomes a theme of serious and respectful consideration in every community where Booker T. Washington is present speaks."I will not permit any man to drag me down by making me hate him," is the subtle way Mr. Washington has of making the enemies of the colored race ridiculous and defenseless in their meanness.Mr. Washington addressed the I.B.W. Woman's Club and graciously acknowledged the club's interest in the work ot Tuskegee by its contribution of $50 to the support of one girl in the institution for one year.The Chicago Interocean happily surprised its readers a few days ago by the announcement that its $50 Btory prize had been won by a young colored lady in the person of Miss Anita LaForce. Miss LaForce is a teacher in our public schools. Her success in the Interocean contest entitles her to a generous recognition among the few who have shown literary cleverness.PREMIUM OFFERS for 1896.A little industry will bring you ONE YEAR AT EMERSON COLLEGE, BOSTON
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FREDERICK DOUGLASS' BIOGRAPHYDo You Want Either of These? THEN READ THIS:The WOMAN's ERA offers another of its unparalleled premium lists. 1. To the person sending fifty subscribers by June 1 to the WOMAN's ERA we will give a special course in the Emerson School of Oratory. In this course a choice of the following studies may be made Oratory, Dramatic Interpretation, English Literature, Singing, Pedagogy, Art and Aesthetic Culture or Physical Culture.This offer is open to men or women of any age and appeals especially to those preparing, to preach or teach, to lawyers or public speakers. The Emerson School is too well known to need any endorsement from us. Its large patronage speaks for its worth.The Ladies' Home Journal makes similar offers, but with this difference: MANY MORE subscribers are required. This offer is better than any magazine has yet made.2. To any and all persons sending us thirty subscribers we will send an Electropoise, for home treatment. The Electropoise gives safe, reliable treatment by atmospheric oxygen for all ordinary ailments. It has been successfully used for years, and can be used for one's own self or one can give treatment to others. Its great expense has been the drawback to its more frequent use.3. For twenty subscribers we will give a World's Typewriter. This speaks for itself. Cut may be found on another page.4. For five subscribers we send a copy of the "Life of Frederick Douglass" and a year's subscription to the ERA.The WOMAN's ERA begins its third year with many new subscribers. To encourage these and to celebrate its second anniversary, it makes these offers. As a guarantee, it points to its former scholarship premium, which was won by Miss Fisher.For further information address,THE WOMAN'S ERA,
103 Charles St., Boston, Blass.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 10. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.ATLANTA UNIVERSITY, Atlanta, Ga.Collegiate and Normal Courses. Enlarged corps of teachers. Industrial training in domestic and mechanic arts, including printing. Instruction in both instrumental and vocal music and in elocution. High grade in every respect. A few deserving and needy students can be aided. Term begins Wednesday, October 2. For catalog, address President HORACE BUMSTEAD.THE ERA'S PORTRAIT GALLERY.Beginning with this issue of the ERA, we propose to publish a series of portraits of women distinguished for good works in any direction. At the end of the year subscribers will have a valuable picture gallery. Subscribe for the ERA at once if you would own the pictures and sketches of the lives of these eminent women.MRS. H.L. KEMP, Artistic Dressmaking and Millinery,
170 FRANKLIN AVENUE,
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Imported styles always on hand. Competent dressmakers always in attendance.Mrs. J.F.A. GARDINER,
128 Alder St., Pittsfield, Mass.Will accommodate a few private boarders during the summer months. Five minutes walk from maple woods. Terms reasonable.F.A. GREENLEAF,
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I have used the plain condensed milk and found it worked like a miracle in transforming my weak, puny baby into a strong, plump one, after all other foods had failed.
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P. 0. Box 45.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 10. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.EMERSON COLLEGE OF ORATORYLARGEST SCHOOL OF ELOCUTION AND ORATORY IN AMERICA.FIVE HUNDRED STUDENTS.
Has a thorough and systematic course of study, including a complete system of Physical Training and Voice Culture, Natural Rendering, and the principles of the Philosophy of Expression. Scientific and practical work in every department. Chartered by the State.Address for illustrated  catalogue,
HENRY L. SOUTHWICK, Sec'y.
Corner Tremont and Berkeley Sts.,
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Summer session at Martha's Vineyard.HOUSEKEEPERS SHOULD SEE THE NEWFIBRE CARPET.
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MRS. W.H. YOUNG,
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PRIVATE DINING ROOM."Violets and Other Tales."
A Collection of Short Stories and Poems.
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In Paper Covers, 50c.; Cloth, $1.00.
AGENTS WANTED.
Apply to ALICE RUTH M00RE,
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COPIES FOR SALE AT
Office of Woman's Era,  103 Charles St., Boston.HOWARD UNIVERSITY.Washington D.C., July 1, 1895Furnishes instruction in the following departments and courses:Theological, Medical, Dental, Pharmaceutical, Legal, College Preparatory, Normal, Musical, and Manual Training, including practice in carpenter shop, printing office, book bindery, tin shop and sewing school.All students have the privilege of library and reading room without extra charge.Tuition free in all courses except Medical Dental and Pharmaceutical.Term opens September 18.J.E. RANKIN, D.D., L.L.D., President.
J.B. Johnson, Secretary.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 10. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.J.R. YOUNG & CO. Will be glad to serve afternoon teas, spreads, wedding breakfasts and dinners, salads, croquettes, ice creams, ices and confections. Polite waiters. All orders promptly attended to. Will call to arrange for parties on receipt of Postal. 
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FEMALE HELP A SPECIALTY.MRS. ELIZABETH COOLEYIs prepared to give First Class Accommodations to a few boarders at reasonable rates at the old stand.
62 PhilIips St., Boston.ATTENTION LADIES.
Our Dress and Garment making is perfect; Prices reasonable; Fit, Style, and Finish Unsurpassed.
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Telephone, 1198 Haymarket.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 10. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.THE FIRST WOMAN'S MINE.The Bonita Cold and Silver Mining Company,
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OFFICERED AND CONTROLLED BY WOMEN.
No Assessments.  No Stock Holders' Liabilities.
STOCK 50 CENTS A SHARE SOLD ON INSTALMENT PLAN. Patent Applied for.The Great Mineral Basin it Pitkin covers an area as large as that of Leadville, Aspen and Red Cliff combined. Professor Sadtler, of the Chair of Metallurgy and Mineralogy of the State School of Mines, speaking of this district, says: "This camp, with proper and systematic development, will be made a second Aspen, if not better."The output of the Leadville district has been, up to the present time, in value over $200,000,000;  that of Red Cliff more than $35,000,000, and that of Aspen, $100,000,000, or more, and the mines of these places show no signs of exhaustion.What, then, shall we expect of Pitkin and the Quartz Creek District, which has a mineral bearing area as large as these three districts combined, when so far the developments there have proved the mineral deposits to be fully as rich and extensive?We can come to but one conclusion: Its wealth is limitless, and no more safe or profitable field for investment can be found.The property of the Bonita Gold and Silver Mining Company consists of three groups, in all nine claims, or a little over ninety acres, located in the most favored portion of this great mineral basin. Special care has been taken in the selecting to cover apexes, timber and water, all of which are of such vital importance in any mining property, and the greater portion of it lies only from one-fourth to three miles away from the railroad and the town of Pitkin, with good, down-hill roads leading from every portion of it, accessible every day in the year.The ore is high grade, netting from fifty to one thousand dollars per ton, average two hundred and fifty. The Company has undisputed title to the entire property, which is free from any incumbranceencumbrance, and will be kept so. Any further information will be cheerfully furnished by thePresident, MARY E. PHELPS, or  MRS. L. K. DANIELS, Secretary.ADDRESS: POST OFFICE BOX 3, DENVER, COLO.MADAME DE LOS MARSIs open to engagements with Societies, Churches, or Clubs, for the presentation of either one of the Musical or Dramatic Plays, Composed and Published by herself. For terms for the presentation of either of the following:"Fun at a Boarding School""Love in Disguise, or Things are not What They Seem,""Leoni, the Gipsy Queen,"Address: MADAME MARS, II Green Street, Brockton, Mass.Too much cannot be said in praise of Mrs. De Los Mars, who possesses rare talent, both as a musician and as an authoress. She has written five Dramas, which have been presented to the public with grand success, both in Providence, R.I., Boston, and elsewhere. She has a very sweet voice, which holds and captivates her audience. Her singing as "Gypsy Queen" which she impersonates in her operetta was received with great applause. -- Boston HeraldThis page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 10. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.Are You Looking for a Home Among Friends?If You are Consult the
NEW ENGLAND FARM AGENCY.There are in the states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut many good farms that can be purchased for a reasonable sum of money, and on easy terms of paymentWe offer our assistance in aiding colored farmers to leave the South and to come and make their homes in the North.We propose to procure farms in any of the above named states for as many of our race as desire, to come North and make their homes among us. We shall give them all the aid in our power, and be only too glad to look them over and see that they obtain all the advantages possible in the respective neighborhoods, until they become accustomed to their new homes and neighbors.It is our intention in procuring these farms to have them near cities and towns in various states, so as to be convenient to school houses, railroad stations and churches.The farms of the North differ from those of the South in that they are more compact, better cleared and attended to in general. Being smaller they are easier to care for. About anything that can be raised on farms in the South can be raised in the North.On these farms are comfortable frame houses, cottage style. Terms of payment will be made to suit.For further information, Address,
CLIFFORD H. PLUMMER, Esq.,
Manager New England Farm Agency,
60 PEMBERTON SQUARE
BOSTON, MASS.PLEASE NOTE REFERENCES:
We, the undersigned Ministers of the City of Boston and vicinity, cordially recommend to those of our race in the Southern States, Lawyer Clifford H. Plummer, the Manager of the New England Farm Agency. He is a man of our race and has their interests at heart: and we recommend those that desire to improve their condition to accept the opportunity presented him.REV. J. HORATIO CARTER, Pastor of the Metropolitan Baptist Church, Boston Mass. REV. W. H. SCOTT, Pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church, Boston, Mass. REV. JESSE HARRELL, Pastor of the Union Baptist Church, Cambridge, Mass. REV. P. THOMAS STANFORD, Pastor of the William Lloyd Garrison Memorial Congregational Church, Boston, Mass. REV. JOSEPH H. MORGAN, Pastor of the N.E.A.M.E. Church, Chelsea, Mass. REV. J.H. WILEY, 14 Kendall Street, Boston, Mass. REV. J.R. RANDOLPH, Boston, Mass. REV. PETER RANDOLPH, Boston, Mass. P.M. HENDERSON, M.D., Boston, Mass. REV. J. ALLEN KIRKE, D.D., Boston, Mass.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 10. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.THE ELECTROPOISE Trade MarkCURE WITHOUT MEDICINE.A SIMPLE HOME TREATMENT OF UNEQUALED VALUE, administered by attaching an instrument to the flesh which aids the system to take on oxygen from the atmosphere, to the utmost amount the system can use.IN SIMPLICITY. Those of ordinary intelligence can use it, even in very serious and severe sickness, like diphtheria, pneumonia, scarlet fever, etc.IN EFFECTIVENESS. It is always curative and eradicative of disease to a degree never before attained by the highest skill in other methods of treatment in like cases.NEVER DANGEROUS OR INJURIOUS, as the treatment is simply an assistance to nature to do its work effectively and in its own way.IT IS A TREATMENT OF THE BLOOD, and by purifying, revitalizing and loading it with Nature's Nerve Food, ejects disease by removing its causes. It applies of necessity to all diseases as no other treatment ever has.THE OXYGEN COSTS NOTHING, the price of the instrument being all the expense necessary for years. It can be used by the entire family.IT IS NOT A NEW THING. It has been in use in New England nearly seven years, and is endorsed by thousands, many of them among the most intelligent and influential citizens.AS A RESTORATIVE OF VITAL ENERGIES in enfeebled and exhausted physical conditions it has no equal within the limits of human knowledge.THE ELECTROPOISE IS A DISCOVERY of hitherto unknown effects of well known natural laws, which are always active in the ordinary progress of physical life.DURING THE SEVEN YEARS that the Electropoise has been before the public, it has been met by criticism and disbelief, which it has answered by facts and cures of the most remarkable and permanent character, and has made its way, step by step, until probably 12,000 persons in New England alone have made use of it with greater or less success, according to the faithfulness and perseverance of using.THE UNANSWERABLE PROOF of the extraordinary success of this treatment is furnished by the endorsement of its patrons, among whom will be found judges, lawyers, clergymen, physicians, professors, business men, and many others, whose names would be given only on account of exceeding merit.The following extract is from ananeditorial in the "Christian Witness" of September 3, 1891, by Rev. Dr. McDonald, editor:"AND NOW, AFTER A YEAR, we have this to say in its favor: (1) We have taken no medicine for the year. (2) All traces of la grippe and our old sunstroke troubles have disappeared, and no symptoms of either remain. Once or twice, from severe overwork, we have found it necessary to hold up for a few days, but in no time for fifteen years have we been better than during the past year."We have seen testimonials of most remarkable cures, and they can be seen by calling on the agent, 36 Bromfield street."This notice of the 'Electropoise' is without solicitation and entirely gratuitous. We do it for the good of the afflicted. We have no personal interest in it, and are not paid for what we say in its favor."Another writes:"I SOUGHT THE AID OF A DOZEN of the best physicians I could find, but they helped me very little. I also tried Compound Oxygen thoroughly, and the electric battery, but they helped me very little. On December 17, 1891,  commenced using the Electropoise and continued it about four months. During this time my disabilities were greatly removed. In this course of year from the time I commenced using it, I enjoyed almost perfect health, which has continued to this date. I know persons who were afflicted with quinsy sore throat, rheumatism, general debility, nervous prostration, and liver trouble, who have been greatly helped by it. It have great faith in it.REV. JOHN H. MANSFIELD.  Athol, Mass.AND HUNDREDS MORENO HOME SHOULD BE WITHOUT IT.  Send for Book of New England testimonials Free.L.A. BOSWORTH, 36 BROMFIELD ST., Boston, Mass.General Agent for the New England States.M. Elliot, Room 42, Insurance Building, NEW HAVEN, Conn.,
Sole Agent for Connecticut West of Connecticut River.
When you write please mention The Woman's Era.The Woman's Era.Vol. II. No. 12.BOSTON, MASS., MAY, 1896.  PRICE 10 CENTS. A SKETCH FROM REAL LIFE.Anna La ForceBY ANNA LA FORCE.The war was over. Peace and quiet were restored to Northern homes. But what of our brother? He has his freedom and that is all. Willing hearts and hands came to his aid, and schools were soon established by the government.In a home in New York a young girl was sitting one day, looking very thoughtful."Mother," she said, "I believe I'll go south and teach in a Freedman's school.""Very well, my child; if you feel called to that work, go," her mother replied.Ellen was only eighteen, but her clear brown eyes showed that her purpose was a fixed one. Her mother looked up, as she spoke, and noted that the color in her daughter's cheeks had deepened into a crimson. Then she felt and knew that the call had been given."God's ways are mysterious, and past finding out," she thought, but said nothing.Ellen Dungee was one of a large family of children. Her parents were religious, and the

father, a minister, and a good, pious man, who "loved his neighbor as himself," gave his consent to her mission. Preparations were made for her starting. Their friend, Frederick Douglass, readily gave a recommendation to the brave young girl.As money was needed for the long journey, Ellen, who possessed a musical soprano voice, in connection with other friends gave concerts throughout the state, also in New Jersey. But a strange fact always presented itself to her mind, that, although the Music Hall would usually be filled, or the church in which the concert was given be crowded, the receipts would never amount to more than three or four dollars over the expenses. Alas! who can tell? Certainly, Uncle Josh and Uncle Jerry never did tell; and if not they, who could, for were they not the doorkeepers?Ellen visited her aunt in New Jersey a few weeks. Her uncle, a man well to do and owning considerable property, was one of the close fisted kind. We have all met him."Well, niece, I hear you are going south to teach the Freedmen," he said, at parting. Ellen's heart beat faster in anticipation, and the color rose to her cheeks. "Here is it present for you.; it will help you along a bit." And he handed her two rustling paper dollars. Ellen's countenance fell, but she thanked him. She had enough money for her traveling expenses, so she said her prayers with a light heart that night.And now she must say goodbye to her home, her kindred, and all that were most dear, and turn her face toward a strange land, as it were. But her heart was brave, and her trust in God was strong.From New Jersey she went to Cincinnati and took the boat to Louisville. Here it was that Ellen first feel the difference between the north and the south. Living far away, the war seemed like a dream, but here was it stern reality. She stopped at the teachers' home, which was guarded by soldiers."How shall I reach my school?" Ellen inquired of Colonel Caxton, the next day."I will escort you there, my young lady," the Colonel replied, as it is too far for you to go alone."The next day how the rain did pour! But the Colonel and Ellen started in spite of the rain. A few miles on the railroad, and they stopped at a little country town.The tavern was the principal lounging place for the villagers and all who came to hear the news. Dogs and children seemed to have the right of way.The Colonel returned to the city and Ellen was left alone. No one spoke to her; no one offered her food. A, colored man and his wife were working around the kitchen. They dared not. There she sat, hungry, tired and heartsick, all that dreary day. And the rain poured down."Oh, for one word of human sympathy! If some one would only speak to me!" thought the poor girl. But the steady drip, drip of the rain was the only response.That evening the school was to be organized, and someone was sent for Ellen. The little church, where they were going, was a long distance out on the pike. Still it rained, and all was mud. That muddy, clayey road! Will she ever forget it?Arriving at the church she was treated with great respect by the people who had gathered there. The organization went on quietly, when suddenly from the outside a stone was hurled through the window, then another, and another, 
until most of the window panes were broken. Then shots were fired in-quick succession.Ellen looked at the stalwart men, whose faces were blanched with fear, but not one of them stirred. Her blood boiled with indignation. She could not understand it then. She did ere long. Who will take the teacher to board?The question was put, but no one answered. At last a brave little woman spoke up and said, "I will. She is welcome to come and stay at my house." So that night poor, tired Ellen rested comfortably in Aunt Ann's soft featherbed.The plain little schoolhouse was soon filled with the bright earnest faces of children. And what a hive of industry it soon became! Ellen soon learned to love her work and gained the hearts of all the people. But her life was not all sunshine -- ah, no!"Tell Uncle Mose to be on his guard tonight. The Ku Klux are around," a neighbor would whisper, one day. "They are after the teacher. They say she must go."That night there was not much sleep at Aunt Ann's humble cottage. Before the fire were sitting Uncle Mose and three or four men who had offered their assistance in case of trouble. There they sat dozing, with their guns ready at a moment's warning.Will they fight? Yes, to the death. For is not all that they hold most dear under this roof and their protection? The women and children were gathered in a back room.Suddenly Uncle Moses awoke. He listened intently, his face turned to an ashen hue."Tom," he whispered to a young man next to him, a very Hercules of strength, "they're coming."Tom sat up. Faintly in the distance could be heard the sound of horses' hoofs rapidly approaching. Tom set his teeth. No coward was he. Hastily awakening the others, he prepared for the coming danger. He smiled as the sounds drew nearer. Afraid? No! Did a Spartan ever know fear? Did Leonidas at the pass of Thermopylae know fear?As they felt the nearness of the enemy, they all with one accord aimed at the door. Suddenly a volley of shots was fired, which was returned with equal velocity. Then there was a silence."Are they gone, Tom?" whispered Uncle Mose."I am going to see," said Tom, as he smiled grimly to himself.He went outside, and returned with something in his hand."What is it, Tom? " and Uncle Moses' voice shook."A note of warning, signed 'K. K. K.' We all know what that means, sighed Tom. "She will have to go."The next morning they gave Ellen the warning, and there were tears in Uncle Moses' eyes as he handed it to her. But Tom gritted his teeth. Ellen read the note, and as they all watched her breathlessly, she said, "They say if I do not leave in twenty-four hours they will burn the schoolhouse over my head.""Child, you must go," said Aunt Ann.Ellen sat silently, and after a few thoughtful moments, she said in her quiet manner, and with a look of resolve upon her face, "Uncle Mose and Aunt Ann, as long as you will give me shelter, I will stay."Tom's face beamed. He loved courage, and he quietly applauded the little school teacher."Honey," said Uncle Mose, with streaming eyes, "as long as we have a roof over our heads, you shall share it with us." And he and Aunt Ann joined hands and bowed their heads in prayer.It was a beautiful Saturday morning. The sun shone bright and the air was fresh and balmy."Aunt Ann," said Ellen, "I believe I'll go over to Eliza and the children, as I have promised her so often to make her a visit, and today is so pleasant.""Child, don't go today," said Aunt Ann. "I have had a warning.""Nonsense, Aunt Ann!" Your warnings are just bad dreams, that's all."But Aunt Ann shook her head sadly. Ellen felt her spirits rise, in spite of the night before, so she went along quietly, listening to herself. Her path lay through a dense growth of trees and underbrush. About half way through the woods and she stopped. The air was still; not a sound could be heard; not even a leaf stirred. She listened. A feeling of deep fear came over her, as she remembered that not long since a man had been found not far from this very spot, shot through the heart. He had been warned by the Ku Klux. This feeling was not to be shaken off, and she slowly retraced her steps.Was it Aunt Ann's warning? Did Aunt Ann possess that same power that caused "Old Allan-Bane" to foretell the coming of the Knight of Snowdoun, James Fitz-James?On Sunday Ellen met all her pupils in the Sabbath School. They were all there, over fifty of them, from the little tot on up to those who were entering manhood and womanhood. How their songs did ring out! And with what zeal they studied their Bible lesson! Today we are trying to teach the necessity of the virtues of honesty, thrift and economy. What book teaches these better than the Bible? Look at the honest, rugged character of the Scoth, and what people know their Bibles better?Monday morning, Ellen started for school as usual. It was about two miles away, and as most of the children came from five to six miles from their homes, she met them on the way. They walked on talking pleasantly of home affairs, but as they were turning a road that led to the schoolhouse they saw a dense smoke ascending.Ellen's heart failed her. A boy came running to her."Oh, Miss Ellen," he said, "our schoolhouse is all burned!"When Ellen reached the spot she found the children standing round crying, and the schoolhouse was in ashes. Ellen tried to comfort them, but her heart was too heavy, so she wept with them. She sent a dispatch to Colonel Caxton the same day, but it was intercepted.She now felt that the time had come for her to

go. And how they all did gather around her at the parting! Strong men wept, and the children clang to her. It was more sad than a funeral. Uncle Moses and Aunt Ann gave her their blessing, and as the train steamed up, she tore herself away. The children waved their hands until the train was lost to their view.TUSKEGEE WOMAN'S CLUB.Elizabeth E. LaneOne more club report and the work of the year will be completed. With the coming election of new officers for another year will come, no doubt, new plans and ways and means for renewed effort in the immediate work of the club as well as its auxiliaries.During the year, in devising plans by which the club might reach the people of the town of Tuskegee to lift them to a higher moral atmosphere in church life, a plan was hit upon whereby members of the club became interested and three ladies, Mrs. Sara Peake Greene, Miss Mary Melvin and Mrs. Estelle Penny, have accomplished much. The work of the latter in her club of Ministers' Wives has been reported during the year. The work of the former has been miscellaneous, but will be reported with the year's report of the club work.The departments of the club are not growing aweary in well doing. The monthly reports of the Vesta Club, Current History, Ministers' Wives, W.C.T.U., Women's Conference, Band of Mercy, social purity clubs, Dorcas Society and the Ednah Cheney are cheering. One of the charges of the Ednah Cheney was laid to rest by them on the 14th. The tried old Christian, who had been cradled in slavery, beaten and crippled by her cruel taskmasters, and deserted in her aged helplessness by her relatives, has been tenderly cared for by the members of the Ednah Cheney for a year."The Negro in Business" was the subject for discussion on the evening of March 20. Miss Sara Hunt read a paper that gave in a witty way a clear description of the average Afro-American in business. Quite an interesting discussion was provoked and the general opinion expressed was that the average business man needs more promptness and attention in his dealings with others, while those of his own race, who are liberal in giving their patronage, should not expect more indulgence in matters of weight, length and time than they would from their business brothers in white."The Negro in Politics" was the subject of a paper by Miss M. Childs, who opened the discussion on the evening of April 3. The writer agreed with others of the club that the future of the Afro-American in politics should depend upon his thoughtful consideration of a platform -- Free Coinage, Bimetalism, or what not, and not on the old question of obligation for certain liberty that was merely one of the results of the late unpleasantness.The president made a vigorous appeal for our club organ, the ERA. The club decided to pay for twenty copies each month and the presidents of club departments promised to interest their members in the purchase of a certain number of copies monthly. We hope to swell the order to fifty copies.ELIZABETH E. LANE.MEMORIAL SERVICES.Services in memory of the late James Hawley were held recently in St. Paul Episcopal Church, Portland, Me. Mr. Hawley was for many years an honored member of this church. The services, conducted by Rev. Joseph Shepherd, pastor of the church, consisted of morning prayer, singing and an address from the text, "Be thou faithful unto death and I will give you a crown of life." The church was filled with citizen friends and members of the Bosworth Post G.A.R., of which the deceased was an old member.The hymns sung were "Onward, Christian Soldiers" and "Soldiers of Christ, Arise."Mrs. A.C. Sparrow, who went down to be present at the meeting, writes: "It was evident that the service was strange to most of the veterans present, but, at the first stanza of that material hymn, every man rose to his feet as if in answer to a call to defend the cross of Christ . . . His was the burial of a soldier and a Christian."And this is the lesson of it all to me. Mr. Hawley's life being what it was in the community where he lived and worked so impressed itself as to gain not only the respect but the tenderest love both for himself and family, as many a tearful eye gave evidence."Mr. Hawley leaves a devoted family, consisting of a wife, two daughters and a son, to whom the warmest sympathy of a large circle of friends all over the Union is extended.MRS. WILLIAMS IN TREMONT TEMPLE.The long anticipated lecture by Mrs. Fannie Barrier Williams will be given in Gilbert Hall, Tremont Temple, on Tuesday afternoon, June 2, at three o'clock. Subject, "The Strength and Weakness of the Christian Religion as Believed, Preached and Practised in the United States." Cards of admission, 25 cents, may be obtained of members of the Woman's Era Club and at the Woman's Journal office, 3 Park street. Mrs. Williams leaves Chicago May 25 on a lecture tour to extend from Boston to Minneapolis. She will speak in Boston under the auspices of the WOMAN'S ERA, and many clubs in the Massachusetts State Federation will be represented in the audience, which will turn out to see and hear this erstwhile bone of contention in the Chicago Woman's Club. A prominent club woman will preside and present Mrs. Williams to a Boston audience. It was of this lecture that Judge Tourgee said in his paper, the Basis, "In itself it is a complete refutation of all that has been charged against the race as regards intellectual and moral deficiency."CLUBDOM.The second in the course of lectures given by the Era Club to members and friends will be heard on the regular meeting night, Friday, May 15, at the Woman's Journal parlors. Mrs. Marcan, one of the most talented of Cantabridgia's members, will read her new paper on the "Influence of Clubs on Home Life." Doubtless the remembrance of the profitable time spent with Mrs. Ellen A. Richardson as essayist, last month, will crowd the rooms this time. The next and last in the course will be a mother's meeting held in Cambridge.Editor Woman's Era:Dear Madam : -- The Woman's Club of this city wishes to know if they can have space in your paper, the WOMAN's ERA, once a month. How much will it cost and how much space can be had? Our officers for the next three months are: President, Mrs. C.I. Clarkson; vice-president, Miss Amora Jones; secretary; Miss Julia B. Fry; corresponding secretary, Mrs. Mary Washington; treasurer, Mrs. Caroline Jackson; critic, Miss Sina A. Vena; editress, Mrs. Ida B. Neimore; musician, Julia B. Fry.The president also wishes a general correspondence opened. Please let us hear from you at your earliest convenience, and oblige,JULIA B. FRY,Sec. Woman's Club.611 Maple Ave., Los Angeles, Cal.May 6, '96.Monthly reports of clubs are gladly received and space accorded proportionate to the number of copies of the ERA taken by each club monthly.LETTER OF INVITATION FROM THE ADA SWEET CLUB TO THE N.F.A.A.W.MINNEAPOLIS, MINN., May 10, 1890.Mrs. J. St. Pierre Ruffin,
Boston, Mass.Dear Madam: -- We, the members of the Ada Sweet Club of this city, earnestly desire that the National Federation of Afro-American Women meet in this city for the convention appointed for July, 1896, for various and sufficient reasons. Among these are that the national meetings of societies of our race have usually met in the eastern and southern sections of our country, and an expression on the part of the various societies composing the newest Federation would greatly increase the desire for development and progress on the part of the people of our section, which would mean no small amount of much needed co-operation.The advantages to be gained by such a meeting in this place are all those which can be obtained from an encouraged and already anxious people, whose thoughts are for the upbuilding of our generation and coming generations, united with the unanimous support of a wealthy and benevolent white population.Any influence that you may use to bring the success of our effort we feel will greatly repay you and help all concerned.Hoping to receive a favorable expression and earnest support from you, I amYours respectfully,MRS. JENNIE NAPIER KEMP,Cor. Secretary.Address: Clerk, care Register of Deeds, Court House.TUSKEGEE NORMAL AND INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE.Commencement occurred Thursday, May 28.The West Roxbury Publishing Company of St. Paul, Minn., has donated twenty-two cases of type to our printing office.Six hundred and forty acres of land, known as the Batelle Place, situated about thirty-one and one-half miles from the town of Tuskegee, have been donated to the school by the daughter of Mr. Batelle.The Seniors' Model Home, begun in the early part of the term, is now completed. The Senior young women will occupy this building, in which it is intended that they will receive instruction in the science of model housekeeping. ATLANTA WOMAN'S CLUB.The club continues to grow in interest, work and numbers. At nearly every meeting applications for membership from some of our best and most active women are received.The club has made application to enter the National Federation of Afro-American Women and will be represented at the annual meeting in July.The club's attention was called recently to the condition of a very needy family. The mother blind, trying to care for, as best she could, her three children, who lay critically ill under the care of a city physician (white). The father, who was without work, appealed to Dr. H.R. Butler, who readily responded. The oldest child is now out of danger, but the two younger ones were beyond the skill of the physician. Dr. Butler reported the case to the club, which came to the assistance of the needy.Mrs. Dasage, treasurer of the I.B.W. Club of Chicago, who has been an active worker in the Atlanta Woman's Club this winter, leaves for home on the 20th inst.Bishop Abraham Grant, of the sixth Episcopal district, tendered the teachers of Morris Brown College a supper on the 10th inst. The occasion was highly appreciated by all present. The bishop and his noble wife spared no pains to entertain royally their guests."Black Patti," who is to appear in grand concert at Bethel Tabernacle on the 20th inst., is the talk of the day and the sweet dream of the night.A large crowd is expected to hear this queen of song, who has just returned from Europe with the highest praise.FEDERATION NOTES.For the benefit of the clubs in the National Federation, the corresponding secretary publishes this mouth a list of the clubs in the Federation, with names of presidents and secretaries.For many reasons the list is not complete, clubs often omitting to send names and addresses of both president and secretary, and in some cases send names of recording instead of corresponding secretary.For the convenience of the secretary all clubs in the Federation, that have not as yet done so, are requested to fill out application blanks at once and forward them. These blanks are the most convenient form for registering the facts.Clubs are asked to preserve this published list, and to send in at once any corrections or additions.The number of clubs is large and growing. New clubs are organizing with enthusiasm all over the country.Has your club assessment been forwarded to the treasurer, Mrs. Libbie C. Anthony, Jefferson City, Mo.? Clubs are not responding as rapidly as they should, although probably waiting for regular meetings. The tax is small, two dollars, but
the Federation large, and the money very necessary to carry on the large amount of clerical work involved.The number of new clubs in the Federation will surprise many; Alabama leads, as is very fitting. This must be very gratifying to Mrs. Washington.HONOR TO WHOM HONOR IS DUE.Mrs. T.H. LylesOne of the matters to come before the Federation is the founding of an orphan's home as a monument to John Brown. This matter is spoken of in Miss Matthews' letter, but the following article will explain it more fully and is published now that intelligent action may be taken upon it at the time of the convention:For many years I have been deeply interested in the life, character and great deeds of our illustrious martyr, John Brown, and, in the long list of names of persons who have suffered and died in the cause of freedom, find there is not one who was as Christ-like as he. His boldness and willingness to be sacrificed for the deliverance of the oppressed is marvelous, and historic facts prove conclusively that the Harper's Ferry insurrection was the prologue to the national tragedy which resulted in

the ensanguined washing away of that hideous blot, human slavery, from our country's otherwise fair escutcheon.Mark well the continued train of events.John Brown's insurrection and his ignominious death occurred in 1859; in 1860 the Republican party was born and Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the United States; he was inaugurated in 1861; secession followed, and the establishment of a Southern Confederacy, with slavery as its chief cornerstone, was attempted; in September, 1862, President Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect in January, 1863; in 1864 the colored troops fought nobly, and in 1865 "Old Glory" floated over our reunited country.Thirty-five years have elapsed since the curtain was rung up for the prologue in which the martyred hero, John Brown, like Arnold Winklereid, "made way for liberty," and twenty-nine years have passed since the curtain fell on the last act of the tragedy, and yet the people of this country, which may now hold up its head among the nations and boast of being "The Land of the Free," have not honored the hero of the prologue with a "curtain call." Even the 8,000,000 of Afro-Americans, for whom John Brown gave up his life and also the lives of four of his sons, have not, hitherto, conceived the grand and glorious idea of erecting a monument to mark the grave where this martyred hero lies buried. Not unwept, not unhonored, not unsung, but still in a neglected and sunken grave at North Elba, N.Y.The John Brown Monument Association, which was organized and incorporated under the laws of the State of Minnesota, August 17, 1894, for the purpose of erecting a marble shaft over his neglected grave, have changed their plans, for after I visited the Women's National Congress at Atlanta, Ga., and spoke on the subject, "Should Afro-Americans honor John Brown?" that intelligent body, after considering the needs and conditions of our race in the Southland, decided to help this association to honor him by the erection of an orphan's home in his memory somewhere in the Southland, and efforts are being made now to raise funds for this purpose. If the movement is successful, whatever credit is due must be bestowed proportionately upon all Afro-American citizens, and we feel assured that there is not an Afro-American in this country who would not help to honor our dear old hero, John Brown, by giving something for this worthy cause; for, after his arrest, imprisonment and conviction, yet on the march to the scaffold, he paid the last benediction to our race when he stopped to kiss the Negro child. And my prayer is that the hearts of every Afro-American of this country may be united to show their gratitude to this martyr by helping to erect an orphan's home to the memory of John Brown, the grandest warrior that ever buckled on a sword, and the greatest hero of the nineteenth century.Mrs. T.H. LYLES,Nat. Pres. of John Brown Monument Association,782 Scilly Avenue, St. Paul, Minn. AN EXPLANATION.Charlotte F. GrimkeRead carefully and then place the responsibility for non-Union where it belongs.The following letter will explain the position of the National Federation of Afro-American Women in the matter of Consolidation. Every step consistent with dignity and self-respect has been taken, with most unfavorable result so far as union is concerned for the present. As will be seen by Mrs. G.'s letter, the matter now rests with the authorities who shall be in power when the Nashville Centennial takes place.1526 L St., N.W., WASHINGTON,
April 9, 1896.Dear Mrs. Matthews:Mrs. Cook has received your letter, and as she has been ill she asks me to acknowledge it for her, and to say that it will he impossible to give you a definite answer in regard to the time and place of holding a joint convention until we have heard from the other societies belonging to the National League in regard to the matter. As soon as we hear from them you shall receive a definite reply.Very truly yours,CHARLOTTE F. GRIMKE,Rec. Sec. National League.N.B. -- I waited to receive the "definite reply," but heard nothing from the officers of the National League. When I reached Washington, D.C., May 1, I was informed by disinterested parties of the announcement in the Colored American. It seemed incredible. After assuring myself that the information was correct, I made all haste to make up for lost time by accepting the natural logic of such maneuvering. Washington was chosen as the place for the First Annual Convention of the National Federation of Afro-American Women on account of the "cut rates" that city for the month of July. A committee was appointed to secure a place of meeting and make proper arrangements for the comfort of delegates. As the "cut rates" extend over the entire month of July, providing the tickets are deposited with the company's agent on or before July 14, and for other reasonable considerations, the date was fixed for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, July 20, 21, 22, the meeting to take place at the 19th Street Baptist Church. All clubs are hereby notified to rally their members to the support of the National Federation of Afro-American Women. We cheerfully submit the objects of our organiza-

tion and our methods of work to all broad-minded women. We invite their co-operation.Beside the very important work required to perfect our organization and the enacting of such laws as will place it on a par with similar bodies, three very grave questions will be brought before the convention, i.e.,(1) The part the Afro-American women shall take in the great Paris exposition.(2) The advocacy of the placing of first and second class coaches on the lines of railroads operating under the separate "coach law."(3) The necessity for active interest in the "John Brown Home Farm" for refractory and delinquent children. It will be remembered this association was incorporated as the John Brown Monument Association of St. Paul, Minn. Its president, Mrs. T.H. Lyles, after conferring with other leading women, accepted the proposition made at Atlanta that such an institution as above mentioned was more needed than a marble shaft or other sculptured memorial. It was decided to invite the women of the entire country to become interested; further, that the memorial farm should go to that section which succeeded in raising the most money. Acting upon this the magnanimous women of St. Paul, under the leadership of their noble, great-hearted president, consented to a revocation of the original charter and the securing of a new one which should cover the above object; and the fund hitherto raised will or rather has been deposited with the proper authorities for the founding and maintaining of a home farm for refractory children, said institution to be a memorial to John Brown.In union there is strength, so we cordially invite all women to attend the coming convention on the date given above. All woman's clubs and societies, religious or secular, are most cordially invited to attend. An invitation is herewith extended till clubs or societies desirous of joining the Federation to come in now. There is as yet no tax for membership, but will in all probability be one after the convention. Any club may become a member by filling out the following application and forwarding the same to the National secretary.THE NATIONAL FEDERATION of AFRO-AMERICAN WOMEN.Victoria MatthewsMrs. B.T. Washington, Pres.,Tuskegee, Ala.Mrs. U.A. Ridley, Sec.,M131 Kent St., Brookline, Mass.Mrs. Libbie C. Anthony, Treas.,Jefferson City, Mo.MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FORM.The ------------ of -------------. No. of member -------------------  Object ------------------.Hereby make application to enter The National Federation of Afro-American Women.President.Date         No.         Secretary.           (Address)In order to meet the expenses naturally resultant upon the holding and arranging for a great gathering, all clubs desiring representation are requested to subscribe at once a uniform tax of two dollars. The same should be sent, without loss of time to our National Treasurer, Mrs. Libbie C. Anthony, Jefferson City, Mo.For particulars as to program, rank of delegates, etc., all interested parties will please address Mrs. Florida Ridley, 131 Kent St., Brookline, Mass.Delegates and visitors desirous of securing stopping places should write immediately to either Mrs. Rosetta Lawson, 2011 Vermont Ave., or Mrs. Arthur S. Gray, 2236 6th St. N.W., Washington, D.C. The fact that the city will be crowded about that time with visitors should influence all who intend going on to make inquiries at once.VICTORIA MATTHEWS,
Chairman Executive Committee National Federation Afro-American Women.N.F.A.A.W. MEMBERSHIP LIST.ALABAMA.Montgomery. Woman's League. President, Mrs. E. C. Wilson, 615 High St.Montgomery. Sojourner Truth Club. Cor. Sec., S.A. Burney, 516 E. Grove St Tuskeggee Woman's Club. Pres., Mrs. B.T. Washington. Sec., E.E. Lane, Tuskegee Institute.Selma Woman's Club. Pres., Mrs. M.A. Dillard.Greensboro. Woman's Mutual Benefit Society. Pres., Mrs. S.A. Christian.Mt. Meigs Woman's Club. Pres., Miss Cornelia Bowens, Waugh, Ala.Notasulga Woman's Club. Pres., Miss Anna Davis, Tuskegee, Ala.GEORGIA.Atlanta Woman's Club. Pres., Mrs. D.T. Howard. Sec., Mrs. M. E. Ford, Mitchell St. School.LOUISIANA.New Orleans. Phyllis Wheatley Club. Pres., Mrs. Sylvanie Williams, 1438 Enterpe St.MASSACHUSETTS.Boston. Woman's Era Club. Pres., Mrs. J.St.P. Ruffin. Sec., Mrs. F.R. Ridley, 131 Kent St., Brookline.Boston. Female Benevolent Firm. Pres., Mrs. Emma Gray, 24 Phillips St.Boston. E.M. Thomas Lodge. Pres., Miss Eliza Gardner, 29 N. Anderson St.Boston. Lend-a-Hand Circle. Pres., Mrs. Hannah Smith, 371 Northampton St.Boston. Calvary Circle. Pres., Mrs. G.W. Smith.Boston. Ruth Circle. Pres. , Mrs. Ruth Turner.New Bedford. Woman's Loyal Union. Pres., Mary E. Sulis. Sec., J. Searborougb, 155 Hillman St.Salem. Woman's Protective Club. Pres., Mrs. Lucy Washington. Sec., Miss Barbadoes.Cambridge. Golden Rule Club. Pres., Mrs. J.E. Wilson. Sec., Adelaide Grandison, 19 Hovey Ave.Everett. Wayman Club. Pres., Mrs. M.C. Bond.Chelsea. B. F. Tanner Club. Pres., Mrs. Carrie Roberts.MISSOURI.St. Louis. F.E.W. Harper League. Pres., Mrs. M.F. Pitts.Jefferson City Woman's Club. Pres., L.C. Anthony. Sec., Celia Roberts.NEW YORK.New York and Brooklyn Woman's Loyal Union. Pres., Mrs. V. Matthews, 9 Murray St. Sec., Mrs. K.V. Carmand.New York and Brooklyn Concord Church of Christ. Pres., Mrs. Katharine Maxwell, 21 Lawrence St. Sec., Charlotte Berry.New York and Brooklyn W.A.A.U. Pres., Mrs. E.E. Williams, Sec., Ella D. Spencer, 65 State St., Flushing, L.I.New York and Brooklyn Bethel Church. Pres., Mrs. Hannah Green.Rochester Woman's Protective Club. Pres., Mrs. K.L. Kent, 125 S. Ford St. Sec., Mrs. W.J. Smith.NEBRASKA.Omaha Woman's Club. Pres. Mrs. Ella Mahammit., 1814 N. 250 St.PENNSYLVANIA.Pittsburgh. F.E.W. Harper League. Pres., Mrs. Rebecca Aldridge. Sec., Mrs. Gertrude L. Brooks, 67 Franklin St.RHODE ISLAND.Newport. Woman's League. Pres., Mrs. Mary Dickerson, 87 Levin St.Providence. Working Woman's League. Pres., Mrs. Hannah Green.SOUTH CAROLINA.Charleston Woman's Club. Pres. Mrs. Ellen Crum.TENNESSEE.Knoxville. Woman's Mutual Improvement Club. Pres., Mrs. Sylvia M. Maples. Sec., M.L. Floyd, 812 Mabry St. VIRGINIA.Cappahosic. Gloucester A. & 1. School. Pres., Miss Susie E. Edwards.MINNESOTA.Minnesota. Ada Sweet Club. Pres., S.J. Marshall. Sec., Jennie Napier Kemp. (Address, Registry of Deeds.)St.Paul. Woman's Loyal Union and John Brown Industrial Clubs. Pres. Mrs. T.H. Kyles, 782 Selby Ave. Sec., M.D. Pattis.N.B. Clubs will please notice any omissions, changes or corrections, and notify the Secretary immediately by sending in application blank correctly filled in. The states have been arranged alphabetically.WOMAN'S LOYAL UNION AND JOHN BROWN INDUSTRIAL CLUB OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.Mrs. T.H. Lyles, national president of the John Brown Monument Association and one of St. Paul's leading citizens, who is always doing something for the upbuilding and advancement of her fellowmen, invited a number of ladies to her beautiful residence, 782 Selby avenue, on last Monday afternoon, April 20, for the purpose of' organizing two clubs for intellectual, moral and temperance work. The result of the meeting was the organization of the above-named club, with twenty-five charter members and the following officers: Mrs. T.H. Lyles, president; Mrs. F. Huston, 1st vice-president; Nlrs. F.H. Griswold, 2d vice-president; Mrs. NeIlie Griswold Francis, secretary; Mrs. M.D. Pettis, cor. secretary; Miss Lizzie Anderson, fin. secretary; Mrs. W.B. Elliott, treasurer.Later the Indies formed the Francis E. Harper W.C.T.U. and duly elected the following officers: President, Mrs. A.G. Russell; secretary, Mrs. S.B. Jones; treasurer, Mrs. T.H. Lyles; cor. secretary, Mrs. W.T. Francis; 1st vice-president, Mrs. J.R. White; 2d vice-president, Mrs. W.B. Elliott; 3d vice-president, Mrs. B.R. Durant; superintendents, prison and rescue work, Mrs. J.R. White; gospel temperance, Mrs. A.B. Harris; social purity, Mrs. S.B. Jones; Sunday school work, Mrs. C.B. Lazzenberry, Miss Fannie Dodd.After the business of the meeting was finished, Mrs. Lyles regaled the Iadies present with an elegant lunch.The Eighth Anniversary of the Gloucester Agricultural and Industrial School, Cappahosic, Va., occrs Thursday, May 28, 1896.THE WOMAN'S ERA.THE WOMAN'S ERA, the organ of the National Federation of Afro-American Women, and devoted to the Interests of the Women's Clubs, Leagues and Societies throughout the country.Published monthly, in Boston, by JOSEPHINE ST. P. RUFFIN, FLORIDA R. RIDLEY, 103 Charles Street.SUBSCRIPTIONS.Per Annum, -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -$1.00Single Copies, -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -.10Club Rates, one hundred copies,   -    7.00Subscriptions Payable in Advance.EDITORIALIt is well that we should realize and express our appreciation for the splendid and tireless work done by Mrs. Victoria Matthews, as the chairman of the executive committee of the N.F.A.A.W. Without the aid of any financial appropriation, through long and expensive trips, unceasing correspondence, much thought and much talk, Mrs. Matthews has made and developed plans, aroused and sustained enthusiasm, and now as the time of the annual convention approaches, places the Federation, its aims, its scope, before the world in the dignified, earnest attitude, which is impressive and convincing.The Federation in its first year has grown rapidly in number and strong in enthusiasm. At the dissolution of the first convention there was little -- in fact, nothing of a material nature to bind the forces together. The organization itself was not even complete, and but for the devotion and earnestness of the president, Mrs. Washington, and that of Mrs. Matthews, the Federation would hardly have found itself where it is today.The cordial invitation of the Ada Sweet Club of Minneapolis, published elsewhere, to the convention to meet in that city, was received with much gratification. It came, however, after arrangements had been perfected for a meeting in Washington. In hospitable western style the club offered to bear all expenses, and offered such alluring prospects as to cause us a pang, before relinquishing the idea of accepting it. The Ada Sweet Club is of recent fruition, but full of life and enthusiasm. May the invitation hold good for another year, and may our officers have a leaning toward the west.SOCIAL NOTES BOSTON.Anniversary week this year is looked forward to with even greater interest than usual by members of the Era Club. It is expected that Mrs. Matthews, Mrs. F.B. Williams and Mrs. R.H. Terrell will be in the city at that time. Mrs. Matthews comes from New York for a talk with the New England presidents of clubs in the National Federation, over the program of work for the annual meeting. Mrs. Williams comes to lecture and be present as speaker at one or more of the meetings of that week. If Mrs. Terrell is present she will also be heard from some of the platforms. Much interest is expressed to hear both of these ladies by members of the Massachusetts State Federation. One is the Mrs. Williams of the Chicago Woman's Club, while Mrs. Terrell, beside being one of the only two women ever honored with an appointment as public school supervisor in Washington, is said to be an eloquent platform speaker. The visiting ladies will be guests at the suffrage banquet in Music Hall and other festivities. The Era Club will take advantage of the presence in the city of so many of the co-editors of their club paper to tender a reception to them.Boston people are to have an acquisition in the persons of Miss Alice Ruth Moore and her sister, who will come to Boston in June, Miss Moore as the wife of Mr. Young, the Cambridge caterer, and Miss Alice Ruth, who comes to enter Radcliffe. The gifts of the latter young lady are known to us all, and it is hoped and expected that her promise in a literary way will develop under such favorable conditions into a rich fruitfulness.The Easter ball, managed by Mrs. J.H. Lewis, brought out a large crowd. Copley Hall was idealic in its rich decoration, and everything went off with much spirit.Miss Kate Smith, of Brooklyn, came on to the ball, and stayed over a few days to some minor festivities.The death of Miss May Rice of Newport was not unexpected, though just as sad to her many friends. She was a girl of especial sweetness of looks and character, and her mother, who has passed through similar experiences many times, has the sympathy of a large circle of friends.Messrs. Fred. Dickerson and Stanley Ruffin

went down to Newport to the funeral of Miss Rice.Mr. W. Appo Johnson, after a relapse of a few days, has recovered sufficiently to return to his home in Washington.Misses Eva Lewis, Pauline Hopkins, Medora Gould and Louisa Lewis are filling comfortable and lucrative positions in the new State House; and the Bulfinch front will remain intact.Mrs. Elizabeth (Johnson) Tatum, who was compelled by failing health to resign a most desirable position with Balch Brothers, publishers, having recovered her health, has returned to her old place, to the great satisfaction of her employers and friends.Delegates from nearly all of the colleges in the Massachusetts Intercollegiate Prohibition Association were present at the annual convention of the association, which met in the Y.M.C.A. building in Worcester, Mass., April 24. At the evening session interest centered in the intercollegiate oratorical contest. The judges unanimously awarded the prize to Charles S. Morris, Frederick Douglass' grandson-in-law, and he received the twenty-five dollars in gold, and will be sent to Cleveland to represent Massachusetts in the national convention.Dr. Grant held the Winning number in the birthday cake at Sister Catherine's bag party the other evening, but although the doctor walked off with the silver candlestick, the representative of the ERA took the cake, and has been enjoying it 
ever since.Miss Bessie Baker was one of a large class confirmed at St. John P.E. church, Wednesday evening, May 13.The Rev. Wm. H. Scott has resigned the pastorate of Calvary Baptist Church and will enter the political arena, it is said. The reverend gentleman has one requisite for a good campaign orator, a voice that can compel a hearing.T.T. Fortune, the N.Y. Age editor, is still traveling around with his Afro-American chip on his shoulder.Miss Bertha Williams of Chicago is a notary public, a graduated stenographer, and runs a successful typewriting establishment on 27th street, Chicago. She is 22 years old.Miss Annie Blanchard of Salem, Mass., after a year's special training in Christian missionary work at the Northfield Training School, has been teaching through the winter in the State Industrial Normal College, Tallehassie, Fla. Miss Blanchard writes enthusiastically of her work in the academic department, of the climate and. the people. Of the fragrance and luxuriance of the flora of that section we can testify from receipt of a bountiful box of choicest blossoms sent by Miss Blanchard to this office at Easter time.Secure your tickets early for Mrs. Williams lecture. The gathering on that occasion will afford an opportunity for meeting some of the most intellectual, philanthropic and charitable women New England can produce.The members of Co. L, 6th Reg't, recently presented a check for $200 to the Sisters of St. Margaret, for the special work of St. Monica's Home. This is the proceeds of the concert given for the benefit of the home by charitable Co. L, led by their handsome young captain.The series of concerts projected by Miss R.M. Washington for the amusement of the aged inmates of the home on Myrtle street has been a most pleasing success in every way. The thirteenth in the series, under the direction of Mr. G.L. Ruffin, was "An Evening with Longfellow," with readings by his daughter, Miss Alice Longfellow, and singing by Miss Ayers, Mr. Ruffin and his choir of boys from St. Augustine P.E. Church. Nearly all of the selections were from the poet's works, and a fine engraving of him on the cover made of the program a desirable souvenir.The 14th and closing concert was carried on by Miss Washington herself, who opened with a brief paper on the "Foundation of the Musicales." She also read a letter of thanks from Miss Lucy Parsons of Beacon street, secretary for directors of the home, thanking all who had contributed to the success of the entertainments. The musical part of the program for this evening was rendered by Mrs. A.C. Sparrow, Mrs. G.C. Harris, Mr. W.H. Nott, vocalists, and Miss S. Shepherd and Mr. Franklin, pianists. Miss Washington introduced a new aspirant for historic honors in the person of Miss Harriet Latimer, who recited with dramatic effect in a voice of so much natural sweetness and beauty as to make one feel that a ripe field awaits Miss Latimer as reader among refined, sensitive invalids. There the other ways of using a sweet voice to financial advantage besides singing and reciting on a stage. By the thoughtful

generosity of Messrs. Edmand Jones, Gilbert Harris and Henry Young refreshments were served at the close.SOCIAL NOTES NEW YORK.Miss Florence A. Johnson is the new director of music of the Brooklyn Literary Union. This organization celebrated its tenth anniversary recently.Hon. John S. Durham, ex-minister to Haytii, delivered his new address on the Evolution of the Citizen, at the last regular meeting of the Union.Public School No. 69 celebrated Arbor Day with a literary and floral exhibition.The Douglass Memorial Committee of Rochester, N.Y., has issued an appeal for contributions in aid of their churches on Sunday, May 31, that being the Sunday nearest Memorial Day. LOUISIANA.Alice Ruth MooreALICE RUTH MOORE.Though the air is ripe with the political situation, and men, women and children think, talk or concern themselves with little else beside the discussion of parties in the municipal fight, yet the Woman's Club found time, in the midst of
the turmoil, to hold its regular April meeting.There were many things brought before the house. The committee having in charge the affair of the ward in the Charity Hospital reported the result of their interviews with Dr. Lewis and Mother Agnes. It was found that under no circumstances whatever would colored doctors be permitted to practise in the hospital, but the women of club were urged, as they loved and respected the unfortunates of their race and sex, to hasten in their work of endowing the special ward. Each member of the club pledged herself to raise a certain amount by a fixed date, and it is hoped to complete the arrangements by June.Dr. L.A. Martinet, who was to have lectured on "The Legal Status of Women," in Louisiana, was detained by a political caucus, but promised to hold good his engagement "after election," the refrain of all promises made these days.It was, perhaps, significant that in the second day's session of the annual convention of the Woman's Relief Corps, department of Louisiana and Mississippi, that the prayer should be offered, "that our husbands, brothers, fathers and sweethearts may do their duty Tuesday as true citizens and men." It is still more significant to notice how much the public opinion of the colored women has had to do with turning the tide of political opinion this way or that; so much so that one of the subterfuges adopted by an unpopular faction to catch the Afro-American vote was the opening of a new public school in the rear of the Third Ward.The W.A.C. Convention was held Friday and Saturday, that is, all business transaction, elections, etc., were completed late Friday night, leaving Saturday afternoon and evening for installations, talks from the Commander of the N.A.A. and officers, and the banquet. At the Friday session Miss Henrietta Vinton Davis, the reader, was present by virtue of her interest and membership in the order, and spoke in quite a captivating manner for several minutes. On Saturday the pleasantest feature of the day's proceedings was the presentation of a gold and silver cup and saucer to the out-going president; Mrs. Josephine B. Lewis, who had held the office for six years. It was a touching scene and one that will long be remembered.The officers elected for the ensuing year are, Mrs. Selina B. Gray, department president; Mrs. J.H. Taper, senior vice; Mrs. May B. Williams, junior vice; Mrs. Lavinia Dubose, dept. treasurer; Mrs. Victoria Johnson, dept. chaplain; Mrs. Louisa Mouton, dept. inspector; Mrs. L. Porche, Baton Rouge, instituting and installing officer; Mrs. D. Swan, counselor; Alice Ruth Moore, dept. secretary; delegate at large, Mrs. Laura Remage of Jennings, La.; alternate, Mrs. Carrie Devezin.The department of Louisiana and Mississippi is unique in more respects than one, It has come up out of hardships, trials, sneers and opposition, through sheer force of energy and stick-to-a-tiveness, and in all the immense National organization of W.R.C. it is the only colored department. In the two states there is but one white corps, that at Jennings, La., a little settlement of northerners who are fighting bravely to preserve their individuality in the face of southern prejudice and sneers. A delegate from this department to the National Convention always has eyes turned upon her from the very strangeness of her representation and the stern labor that her badge represents.So much has been said and written about the 

musical prodigy, Eddie Moore, whom the New Orleans people had sent to Germany to study, that almost everyone must feel an interest in his welfare. It was a great undertaking for a committee of women and men to take in charge, with no capital or backing save abundant energy and a cheerful determination to accomplish what they had set out to do. There has been no rest for four years, and it seemed that the fruition of their labors was at hand. Eddie had been sent to Stuttgart, his passage paid, his piano purchased, and twice a year the tuition and other incidentals paid. He completed the regular course last summer, and as his health was poor was begged to return. But he pleaded for another year, in order to acquire a repertoire that his friends might be justly proud of his playing. The graduation was to have been in June, and July would have seen Eddie in New Orleans, when a short while ago a letter from the American Consul to Professor Nickerson announced the child's death. It was a cruel blow to his mother, his friends, and to the entire community who had builded such bright hopes upon this young musician who was to be forever an example of New Orleans grit and benevolence. It seems an irreparable loss; a loss in which all members of the race must feel a part. It brings tears to the eyes to think of the slender little follow, whose hands were small and waxen as a girls, asleep beneath the cold German skies, thousands f miles from home, old friends and his mother. But it was God's will.The Teachers' League has in rehearsal a drama, "Doomed for Life," to be presented at Globe Hall on the 15th of May. It is a production from the pen of Mr. Alcest Campbell, a promising and popular young man of Opelousas, La., who is now in the city superintending the rehearsals. Front all accounts, the production promises to be an artistic success.And the weddings! Every other girl in town is going to be married "as soon as the school term closes." Some can't wait until then but are going to rush off in the lucky month -- June. Next to politics, the most talked of thing is weddings and wedding garb and gossip.The Fifteenth Anniversary of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute occurs at Tuskegee, Ala., Thursday, May 28, 1896. Hon. John C. Dancy, North Carolina, will deliver the annual address. His excellency, Gov. W.C. Oates, will also be present and speak.ILLINOIS.Fannie Barrier WilliamsFANNIE BARRIER WILLIAMS.THE INFLUENCE OF ART ON HOME LIFE."Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not." -- Emerson.How much inspiration the artist finds in the things that are of every day interest to all of us. We may now rejoice in the fact that the great pictures are not, as they once were, walled in from the gaze of the common people, but can be seen in copies and obtained at prices lower than we often pay for the most ordinary things in use. In fact, art seems as eager to come to us as we are to be influenced by its ministerings. Beside, the great artists of today gladly loan their choicest productions to gratify the taste of every art-loving community.What does this growing prevalence of art influence mean to our home life? I think it is not too much to say that art inspires every sanctity of feeling that lifts women from drudgery to loveliness; that makes men more chivalrous, and children more beautiful. Among the Greeks from whom we inherit everything that is perfect and of good taste in art, there was in every home a household god that watched over the destinies of the family. We might, with profit, borrow from this religious sense of the Greeks, the suggestion that art, in the form of sculpture, painting, etching, or engraving, may furnish each household amongst us some hero or heroine or sentiment that shall be to us the saving influence of home blessedness.How much the pictured face of that divinest of all madonnas, the Cistine, on our walls, would minister to the reign of love in every home! If mothers would teach their children to he gentle and humane, more effectively than by words, place on the wall for their inspection the kindly face of Rosa Bonheur, with her caressing arm about the neck of a domestic animal. And if they would inspire their daughters to be womanly and strong in all the virtues of perfect womanhood, place before them the faces of women who have done so much to glorify womankind. Let art also give to the boy's the inspiration and companionship of such heroes as John Brown, Phillips, Lincoln, Douglass, Edson and Watts.What portraits do for some, all forms of the beautiful in art may do for all of us. Many of us

are never touched with the mystic beauty of a flower until art interprets it for us. It is said that the German poet, Schiller, never saw the ocean, and yet he described it with such power and accuracy that old seamen saw more in Schiller's verse than they had ever thought of in the overwhelming presence of the ocean itself.Scientists tell us that there are melodies in the earth sweeter than the human ever has yet heard; that there are exquisite tints of color too delicate for discernment by the ordinary eye; and that there is a fragrance of the rose never yet extracted by the human sense of smell. Only the tiniest insects of God's great kingdom of life realize these hidden beauties of the universe. Thus it is the mission of the artist, with his finer sense, to reveal to us what we would fail to recognize with our ordinary senses. *  *  *  *  *  *The announcement by the chairman, Mrs. Matthews, of the Executive Committee of National Federation of Afro-American Women, in the last issue of the ERA, is a statement of extraordinary interest to the colored women of the country. Well may the chairman call the work before her "grave and serious." The thought of a Federation that shall embrace the best intelligence amongst the colored women of the country is an inspiring one and should bring to the amiable chairman a hearty co-operation. The bringing about of such a union is a work requiring infinite labor, patience, tact and good will. These federated interests are results of growth and development. It is only through the process of education and the force of example that these widely separated organizations are brought to see the power of union and feel the sweet spirit of helpful affiliation.It was a distinct gain in the progressive life of American colored women when the first suggestion came at a gathering in Washington of our women from all parts of the country that the essential interests of one club were the identical interests of all clubs. It gave us our first bracing touch of self confidence and our first inspiration to the larger duties and responsibilities of American womanhood. From the time of this first note of sisterly interest of colored women in each other, the sentiment has grown to a point where it has become a "grave and serious work" as to how we may have one instead of several National organizations.There is no concealing the fact that there was a wide spread feeling of dissatisfaction and disappointment that the National Federation of Afro-American women organized in Boston did not achieve the wished for unity. This feeling was accentuated by the further failure of the Atlanta Congress in a similar purpose. The Boston and Atlanta conferences were remarkable in the number of capable women assembled. Nothing properly within the purposes of those gatherings seemed to be too large or too difficult to be grasped by these newly found women. The names of Mrs. Cook, Mrs. Cooper, Mrs. Booker T. Washington, Mrs. Ruffin, Mrs. Matthews and their associates have been and still are a guarantee that the interests of our women will be conscientiously and capably guarded and guided toward unity and high purposes.The moral effect of the union of the National Colored Woman's League, the National Federation of Afro-American Women and the Atlanta Congress could not well be measured. Nothing would so thrill our women everywhere with the wholesome sense of importance and responsibility, and nothing could so quicken into practical helpfulness the sympathies of all women for each other as a well organized federation of the best intelligence and worth of our women.With such women as leaders and with such high purposes for inspiration it ought to be possible to find a basis of union. Fortunately for us, the personal ambitions that have been so fatal to all the large efforts of our men are not dangers to be feared in our efforts toward unity. There seems to have been a most happy freedom from the petty jealousies and envies that inevitably wreck social organizations. To those of us on the outside, there seems to he nothing substantial, nothing reasonable and nothing conscionable that can stand between the necessity for union and its joyous consummation. The opportunity is at hand for admittedly capable women to organize one of the most interesting and important parliaments of women ever attempted for the social amelioration of womankind in this country.Let us beware lest the strife for triumph obscure the larger claims of universal truth and righteousness.THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS SOUVENIR.We take pleasure in bringing to the attention of our readers and the many friends and admirers of the late Frederick Douglass, the recent publi-

cation of an attractive souvenir named as above. This souvenir is in the form of a booklet, is artistic in design and execution, and confains, beside an admirable picture of Mr. Douglass, a representation, from two different points of view, of the house at Cedar Hill and of Mr. Douglass seated at his desk in his library where he wrote his famous address on lynching.The price of this souvenir is thirty cents and can be obtained by sending one's address with this amount and a two-cent stamp for postage, to PUBLISHER, P. 0. Box 16, Anacostia, D.C.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 12. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.Miss Florence A. Johnson,
769 HERKIMER STREET,
Teacher of Piano and Organ. BROOKLYN, N.Y.E.A. LIBBY,
New goods received by steamer every week. We never have an opening.
Always ready to show goods.
- MILLINERY -
The old reliable house retains the same stand,
19 Temple Place, Boston.Miss Emma Wainer,
Is prepared to show samples of SPRING AND SUMMER FABRICS, both foreign and domestic, for street and evening costumes. To Customers only.Miss Wainer may be addressed through the W.I. & E.U. Boylston St., Boston, Mass.POINT PLEASANTWill be opened June 1 to accommodate a few select boarders.
For terms address
MRS. E.E. CRISPELL,
WEST STOCKBRIDGE, Mass
P. 0. Box 45.Mrs. J.F.A. GARDINER,
128 Alder St., Pittsfield, Mass.Will accommodate a few private boarders during the summer months. Five minutes walk from maple woods. Terms reasonable.THE FIRST WOMAN'S MINE.The Bonita Cold and Silver Mining Company,
OPERATING IN NEW MEXICO AND COLORADO.
OFFICERED AND CONTROLLED BY WOMEN.
No Assessments.  No Stock Holders' Liabilities.
STOCK 50 CENTS A SHARE SOLD ON INSTALMENT PLAN. Patent Applied for.The Great Mineral Basin it Pitkin covers an area as large as that of Leadville, Aspen and Red Cliff combined. Professor Sadtler, of the Chair of Metallurgy and Mineralogy of the State School of Mines, speaking of this district, says: "This camp, with proper and systematic development, will be made a second Aspen, if not better."The output of the Leadville district has been, up to the present time, in value over $200,000,000;  that of Red Cliff more than $35,000,000, and that of Aspen, $100,000,000, or more, and the mines of these places show no signs of exhaustion.What, then, shall we expect of Pitkin and the Quartz Creek District, which has a mineral bearing area as large as these three districts combined, when so far the developments there have proved the mineral deposits to be fully as rich and extensive?We can come to but one conclusion: Its wealth is limitless, and no more safe or profitable field for investment can be found.The property of the Bonita Gold and Silver Mining Company consists of three groups, in all nine claims, or a little over ninety acres, located in the most favored portion of this great mineral basin. Special care has been taken in the selecting to cover apexes, timber and water, all of which are of such vital importance in any mining property, and the greater portion of it lies only from one-fourth to three miles away from the railroad and the town of Pitkin, with good, down-hill roads leading from every portion of it, accessible every day in the year.The ore is high grade, netting from fifty to one thousand dollars per ton, average two hundred and fifty. The Company has undisputed title to the entire property, which is free from any incumbranceencumbrance, and will be kept so. Any further information will be cheerfully furnished by thePresident, MARY E. PHELPS, or  MRS. L. K. DANIELS, Secretary.ADDRESS: POST OFFICE BOX 3, DENVER, COLO.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 12. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.ATLANTA UNIVERSITY, Atlanta, Ga.Collegiate and Normal Courses. Enlarged corps of teachers. Industrial training in domestic and mechanic arts, including printing. Instruction in both instrumental and vocal music and in elocution. High grade in every respect. A few deserving and needy students can be aided. Term begins Wednesday, October 2. For catalog, address President HORACE BUMSTEAD.THE ERA'S PORTRAIT GALLERY.Beginning with this issue of the ERA, we propose to publish a series of portraits of women distinguished for good works in any direction. At the end of the year subscribers will have a valuable picture gallery. Subscribe for the ERA at once if you would own the pictures and sketches of the lives of these eminent women.MRS. H.L. KEMP, Artistic Dressmaking and Millinery,
170 FRANKLIN AVENUE,
Near Myrtle, BROOKLIN, N.Y.
Imported styles always on hand. Competent dressmakers always in attendance.F.A. GREENLEAF,
Wholesale and Retail Dealer in
PAPER HANGINGS,
51 Court Street,
Near Scollay Square. BOSTON.BOSTON
Condensed Milk Co.'s
Plain condensed (unsweetened) Milk Is the best known food for infants. Best article in the world for a cup of coffee. Sold in jars at the office, 2 1/2 Park Sq., Boston. Delivered three times per week.
ENDORSEMENT.
I have used the plain condensed milk and found it worked like a miracle in transforming my weak, puny baby into a strong, plump one, after all other foods had failed.
MRS. MCGILL.
10 Lindall Place, Boston.THE AMERICAN WRINGER CO. 
Branch Store. 
Nos. 13 and 15 Broadway Extension, 
Boston, Mass. 
Manufacturers of Clothes Wringers. 
All kinds of Wringers and Swoopers Repaired. Orders by Mail promptly attended to. THE NEW WORLD TYPEWRITER
Price, $15.00.
A useful and elegant present for ladies and gentlemen.
Over 100,000 in use.
Perfectly simple, practical, and durable.
No $100 machine can do better work.
Writes 77 characters. Capitals and small letters.
Never gets out of order. Perfect alignment always.
No instruction required.
Send for illustrated catalogue.
THE TYPEWRITER IMPROVEMENT CO.
4 K Post Office quare, -- Boston, Mass.
AGENTS WANTED."A SINGULAR LIFE"
The Last and the Greatest Story by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, author of "The Gates Ajar," "Jack the Fisherman," etc.Miss Lillian Whiting says: "No American novel since 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' has approached 'A Singular Life.'"Price, $1.25. Sold by all Booksellers. Sent postpaid by HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO., 4 Park St., Boston, Mass.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 12. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.EMERSON COLLEGE OF ORATORYLARGEST SCHOOL OF ELOCUTION AND ORATORY IN AMERICA.FIVE HUNDRED STUDENTS.
Has a thorough and systematic course of study, including a complete system of Physical Training and Voice Culture, Natural Rendering, and the principles of the Philosophy of Expression. Scientific and practical work in every department. Chartered by the State.Address for illustrated  catalogue,
HENRY L. SOUTHWICK, Sec'y.
Corner Tremont and Berkeley Sts.,
Boston, Mass.
Summer session at Martha's Vineyard.HOUSEKEEPERS SHOULD SEE THE NEWFIBRE CARPET.
A Soft, Pliable, Odorless Matting,
Warm in Winter, Cool in Summer.
An Ideal Sanitary Chamber Carpet
For All the Year Round.
Sews together and turns under.
Does not break or require binding.
No odors or germs or disease.
Insects do not trouble it.
Heavy furniture does not break it.
Double faced -- double wear.
Artistic colors -- stylish designs.
We cordially invite inspection.
HODGES FIBRE CARPET CO.
Manufacturers and Patentees,
50 Essex St. (cor. Chauncy) Boston, Mass.BOARDING AND LODGING,
FIRST CLASS.
MRS. W.H. YOUNG,
No. 1208 Pine Street, Philadelphia.
PRIVATE DINING ROOM."Violets and Other Tales."
A Collection of Short Stories and Poems.
By Alice Ruth Moore.
In Paper Covers, 50c.; Cloth, $1.00.
AGENTS WANTED.
Apply to ALICE RUTH M00RE,
1924 Palmyra Street New Orleans, La.
COPIES FOR SALE AT
Office of Woman's Era,  103 Charles St., Boston.HOWARD UNIVERSITY.Washington D.C., July 1, 1895Furnishes instruction in the following departments and courses:Theological, Medical, Dental, Pharmaceutical, Legal, College Preparatory, Normal, Musical, and Manual Training, including practice in carpenter shop, printing office, book bindery, tin shop and sewing school.All students have the privilege of library and reading room without extra charge.Tuition free in all courses except Medical Dental and Pharmaceutical.Term opens September 18.J.E. RANKIN, D.D., L.L.D., President.
J.B. Johnson, Secretary.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 12. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.J.R. YOUNG & CO. Will be glad to serve afternoon teas, spreads, wedding breakfasts and dinners, salads, croquettes, ice creams, ices and confections. Polite waiters. All orders promptly attended to. Will call to arrange for parties on receipt of Postal. 
15 Bow Street, Cambridge. 
Telephone 23-2. 
27 Jerome Street, W. Medford. 
Telephone, Arlington 27-2. FIRST CLASS HELP,
With good recommendations, for all branches of work in Private Families, Hotels and Boarding Houses supplied from
MRS. J.S. KEMP'S EMPLOYMENT OFFICE
Office, 103 Revere St.. BOSTON.
FEMALE HELP A SPECIALTY.MRS. ELIZABETH COOLEYIs prepared to give First Class Accommodations to a few boarders at reasonable rates at the old stand.
62 PhilIips St., Boston.ATTENTION LADIES.
Our Dress and Garment making is perfect; Prices reasnable; Fit, Style, and Finish Unsurpassed.
Hats and Bonnets made and Trimmed, 50c. to $1.00
Our Millinery and Dress Cutting Schools are the best in the world. Young ladies should come at once and learn.
HARVEY,  29 Temple Place, Boston.MISS L.M. STEWART,
Artistic Dress Cutting and Making.
Also Corset Making by First Class and Terms Reasonable.
19 Brewery St., CAMBRIDGE.MRS. E. DOMINIQUE,
Dressmaker and Fur Sewer.
Fur Cleansing and Repairing a Specialty. Best of References.
Work Solicited.
64 PHILLIPS ST., BOSTON.MRS. L. FOSTER,
Fashionable Dressmaker.
Strictly First Class. Terms Reasonable.
Cutting and Basting by the M.E. Quinn System.
1.A MELROSE ST., BOSTON.EDGAR P. BENJAMIN, 
Attorney and Counsellor-at-Law
34 School Street, Boston.  Room 22Cambridge Cleansing and Repairing Establishment.
We clean by Steam and Naphtha. Dyeing in all its branches. Kid Gloves and Slippers Cleaned. Give us a Trial.
C.J. MOORE, 433 Main St.THE CELEBRATED
WITCH-HAZEL VELVET CREAM
Does not contain corrosive sublimate, lead, arsenic, mercury, or any poison. As a toilet article for tan, sunburn, moth, freckIes, etc., its excellent, cannot be too well recommended.
Put up in 60c. and $1.00 Sizes, sent postpaid on receipt of Price.
AGENTS WANTED EVERYWHERE.
For Sale by Druggists and Dealers In Toilet Supplies.
All correspondence should be addressed to the New England Agents,
W.F. & J.S. KINGSBERY,
RANDOLPH,  MASS.A.G. McKENZIE
OPTICIAN
156 Charles St., Boston. 
Three doors from eye infirmary. 
Artificial Eyes a Specialty. 
Telephone, 1198 Haymarket.This page features ads for Volume 2, Issue 12. Click here to view the ads on this page as they appeared in the Era.Are You Looking for a Home Among Friends?If You are Consult the
NEW ENGLAND FARM AGENCY.There are in the states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut many good farms that can be purchased for a reasonable sum of money, and on easy terms of paymentWe offer our assistance in aiding colored farmers to leave the South and to come and make their homes in the North.We propose to procure farms in any of the above named states for as many of our race as desire, to come North and make their homes among us. We shall give them all the aid in our power, and be only too glad to look them over and see that they obtain all the advantages possible in the respective neighborhoods, until they become accustomed to their new homes and neighbors.It is our intention in procuring these farms to have them near cities and towns in various states, so as to be convenient to school houses, railroard stations and churches.The farms of the North differ from those of the South in that they are more compact, better cleared and attended to in general. Being smaller they are easier to care for. About anything that can be raised on farms in the South can be raised in the North.On these farms are comfortable frame houses, cottage style. Terms of payment will be made to suit.For further information, Address,
CLIFFORD H. PLUMMER, Esq.,
Manager New England Farm Agency,
60 PEMBERTON SQUARE
BOSTON, MASS.PLEASE NOTE REFERENCES:
We, the undersigned Ministers of the City of Boston and vicinity, cordially recommend to those of our race in the Southern States, Lawyer Clifford H. Plummer, the Manager of the New England Farm Agency. He is a man of our race and has their interests at heart: and we recommend those that desire to improve their condition to accept the opportunity presented him.REV. J. HORATIO CARTER, Pastor of the Metropolitan Baptist Church, Boston Mass. REV. W. H. SCOTT, Pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church, Boston, Mass. REV. JESSE HARRELL, Pastor of the Union Baptist Church, Cambridge, Mass. REV. P. THOMAS STANFORD, Pastor of the William Lloyd Garrison Memorial Congregational Church, Boston, Mass. REV. JOSEPH H. MORGAN, Pastor of the N.E.A.M.E. Church, Chelsea, Mass. REV. J.H. WILEY, 14 Kendall Street, Boston, Mass. REV. J.R. RANDOLPH, Boston, Mass. REV. PETER RANDOLPH, Boston, Mass. P.M. HENDERSON, M.D., Boston, Mass. REV. J. ALLEN KIRKE, D.D., Boston, Mass.