matic Club at Farmington. She was Nerissa-Merchant of Venice, you know, but she said that the Portia was so rank, that it was perfectly hopeless. She simply killed her Nerissa intensely intense, you know tense * * * She's so but still she's refinedly inshe says "bean" for "been" quite naturally! Cousin Helen can't stand Daisy, and Daisy said to her, "Don't you want to improve your mind?" And Cousin Helen said, "No, my dear, I gave that up long ago—the only thing I read now is Peter Robinson's Diet for Babies. Daisy's so romantic-were you there the time she discovered that the quarry was the "Mystic Pool" she'd been dreaming about? The way she can quote poetry, five things at once, all about dim and dusky and dewy eyed. And she would go to see the Haunted House before breakfast, and the egg got cold, and mother was perfectly furious-she said she was going to write a love-story about it! -They didn't want her to go to Farmington because they were afraid she would be a leader among the girls, the way she always had beenand she did eat in a separate dining-room with twenty of the most select girls, and had the most beautiful food!-College View? I'll begin to apologize beforehand! K. K. M., 1908 CURRENT TOPICS EXHIBIT OF CONGESTION OF POPULATION IN NEW YORK An Exhibit of Congestion of Population in New York was held in the American Museum of Natural History from March 9 to 28. The object of the exhibit was "to depict some of the causes, conditions and evils of the massing of people in New York and in limited areas; the present methods of dealing with the problems involved and the methods legislative and otherwise which should be adopted to remedy such congestion." A conference was held during the Exhibit at which some of the best authorities on economic subjects in the country participated in a discussion of the various aspects, physical, economic, social and moral, of congestion in population. THE WORKING HOURS OF WOMEN Public interest has been keyed up to a high pitch by the recent sensational movements of the women suffragettes in England and by the display of zeal for the cause among American enthusiasts. This makes all the more notable a decision of the United States Supreme Court concerning the working woman. Since 1874, Massachusetts setting the example, nineteen states have enacted laws restricting women's working hours. A laundryman, Curt Muller, of Oregon, attacked the constitutionality of the law of that state, which was, however, upheld by the Oregon Supreme Court in 1906. Not satisfied with that decision he appealed to the Federal Supreme Court. Hitherto the constitutionality of laws restricting women's working hours has been dependent upon the legal merits of the case. But in this particular suit a great deal of material about the physical, moral and economic effects of regulating women's working hours has been collected by the National Consumer's League and has been incorporated by Mr. Louis D. Brandeis of the Boston bar into a remarkable brief which has attracted widespread attention. The facts so impressively presented were absolutely incontrovertible by the plaintiff, and the Supreme Court of the United States for the first time declared that the State has the right to place other limitations on the hours of labor for women than it puts upon the hours of labor for men. The question is both constitutional and social. Constitutionally the Court said that in contractual rights women stand on the same plane as men; socially it said, "woman is an object of public interest and care in order to preserve the strength and vigor of the race," and on account of her physical well-being "she is not an equal competitor with her brother." In spite of the removal of legal and other disabilities, "she will still be where some protective legislature seems necessary to secure a real equality of right." THE POLISH QUESTION By the partition treaty, of 1795, Poland was divided between Russia, Austria, and Prussia. The Poles were passionately devoted to their race and country and have maintained a constant hope of reuniting the three parts. They have often exasperated the Germans because Germany has never learned how to assimilate them. This problem has been worked out successfully by Austria, where the Poles, who are allowed to keep their own language, live contentedly and in harmony with their Austrian rulers. But Germany has not used her authority wisely, and in attempting to assimilate them has only antagonized them. Then when the Poles rebel against measures which they consider unjust, the German authorities think it necessary to enact still harsher measures against them. Recently they have resorted to one which has aroused a great deal of comment. Following out Frederick the Great's colonization policy of settling Prussians on Polish soil, which has been carried out lately at great expense, and which has always angered the Poles, Prince von Bülow, the Imperial Chancellor, recently introduced an Expropriation Bill into the Prussian Diet. It was rejected in its original form but after various amendments it was passed. It provides $50,000,000 with which to purchase by condemnation proceedings 170,000 acres of Polish estates. Prince Bülow accepted full responsibility for the bill and explained it by saying that the artificially high prices of Polish lands made it impossible for the Government to buy them in open market, and that it was therefore right that the Poles should be dispossessed by legal means. English papers believe that this will provoke to action the Slavonic sentiment which would be a dangerous thing to arouse. The Colonization Committee would have a free hand in the selection of estates thus compulsorily acquired. After the bill was passed, Prince Bülow thanked the parties which had supported it for the patriotic way in which they had overcome their scruples in order to preserve the national character of the Polish state. The Poles are determined to continue the struggle at any cost. There is great variety of public opinion in Prussia at the present time and many grave misgivings are becoming apparent. COLLEGE NEWS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION March 8, Dr. Ida Scudder of the Mary Taber Schell Hospital in India spoke on "India through the eyes of a Medical Missionary." March 19, Mr. Robert E. Speer addressed the Association. Chapter Beta gave a fragment of Kipling's "Story of the Gadsbys," under the title of "Poor Dear Mama." Captain Gadsby was gawky and conscious, Minnie Threegan was incoherent in her acting, Poor Dear Mama decidedly overdone, and the officers vulgar; Miss Deercourt was the only one who had any excuse for being. There was one point on which they are all to be congratulated and that is stage presence. No faintest sign of stage fright was noticeable. We realize that much of the failure was due to the haste with which the play was worked up, but the uninitiated will make no such allowance and it seems doubtful whether such a production is worth while. SCENE-A Garden in Provence in the Days of Chivalry. M. Brinsmade, '09 M. A. Hobbs, '10 COMMITTEE M. S. Scott, '09 H. V. Paine, '11 F. S. McCord, '09 L. Zimmerman, '10 The translation ofKing Rene's Daughter was extremely stilted, but in addition to this misfortune there was little evidence on the part of the characters of any interest in the play. The words were learned and said, but any real interpretation of the characters was lacking. The enunciation was very poor and the stage action and grouping showed no sense either of the dramatic or of the artistic. The fragment of A Midsummer Night's Dream given by Omega is pure burlesque and was, if such a thing be possible, exaggerated. It is hard to tell how much of the horse-play was inevitable but it was thoroughly worked out. In one respect the play was suitable for presentation by a chapter, because it involved little depth of thought: on the other hand, it was unsuitable because it required delicacy of handling to rescue it from cloying. The costumes and back-ground deserve mention. CLUBS A meeting of Qui Vive was held March 19, and there was a debate on the subject of the Inter-Society Debate. T and M, at its meeting of March 12, held an open debate on the subject of the Inter-Society Debate. At a meeting of Civitas held March 4, Miss Burns spoke on the work of the Educational Alliance, especially in connection with the Children's Theatre. At the meeting of March 18, Miss Josselyn spoke of the aspect of the political parties and candidates at this period in the campaign. The Contemporary Club discussed at its meeting held March 11. "The Death of Tintageles" by Maeterlinck. "Present Day Social Service" was the subject of a lecture given before the College Settlement Association on March 7, by Mr. Michael M. Davis, Jr., Secretary of the People's Institute of New York. The New England and Southern Clubs gave their annual Masquerade German on March 14. The French Club had a meeting on March 23, in Senior Parlor. Professor Moore talked on his travels in Southern Europe. Miss Grace Dunn played the violin and Miss Beulah Baker sang. MISCELLANEOUS During the past month Dr. Taylor has given addresses at St. Louis, Indianapolis and Cleveland on educational topics and to the Vassar Alumnae of these cities. At Rochester, March 23 and 24, he lectured on "The Point of Education in the Schools," "The Year at Vassar," and "A Proposed Substitute for the Woman's College.” Professor Leach gave an illustrated lecture on "Modern Greece" in Poughkeepsie for the Department of Education. The preachers at the college during the past month are as follows: March 8, Dr. J. S. Riggs, Auburn Theological Seminary. March 15, Dr. A. J. Lyman, Brooklyn. March 22, Dr. Clarence A. Barber, Rochester. GIFTS TO THE LIBRARY Among the gifts to the Library since January the following may be noted: from J. Pierpont Morgan, The Catalogue of Manuscripts and Early Printed Books in his possession, a monumental work in 4 folio volumes; from Professor Hill, 18 volumes for the Department of Bible; from Professor Baldwin, 2 volumes; from Miss Stroebe, 3 monographs on Anglo-Saxon names; from the German Reading Club about 30 German books; from Miss Elizabeth G. Houghton, '73, 12 volumes; from Dr. E. B. Culbertson, '77, Theobald's Edition of the Works of Shakespeare, 1740, 8 volumes, and Remarks on the last Edition of Shakespeare, by J. Ritson, 1783; from Mrs. Emma Garrett Boyd, '99, Eight Dramas of Calderon translated by Edward Fitzgerald; from Hazel M. Leach, 1910, Klee's Grundzüge der Deutschen Literaturgeschichte. Several volumes have been presented anonymously by alumnae. From the Library of the University of Michigan has been received, Athenian Lekythoi by A. Fairbanks; and from the author, Ireland Under English Rule, by Thomas Addis Emmet. The Vassar Alumnae Historical Association has added volumes 16, 17, and 18 of the Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin given by the Society through Miss Salmon; Portraiture of Quakerism by Thomas Clarkson and Short History of the Italian Waldenses by S. V. Bompiani, the last two volumes the gifts of Miss Underhill, and The Writings of Benjamin Franklin edited by A. H. Smyth, 10 volumes. To the Alumnae Library has been added Dr. Ellen by Juliet Wilbor Tompkins, '91; Child Life: Portfolio no. 2 of pictures collected and arranged by Eleanor Withey |