162 New Yobk at the Woeld's Columbian Expositiok. 



gress to amend the act providing for the dedication of the exposition 

 buildings, changing tlie words "twelfth of October" to "twenty-first 

 day of October." An important resolution was that in favor of the 

 Sunday opening of the exposition. The resolution was enthusiastically 

 passed with only one dissenting voice, and occasioned both favorable 

 and unfavorable comment in the newspapers throughout the country. 

 The women of the Shaker community showed their interest in favor of 

 opening by preparing a petition signed by themselves, and presented to 

 Congress through the New York board. 



Executive Committee. 



In large organizations the power of transacting business is placed in 

 the hands of a small proportion of the members, and, as will have been 

 seen by rule XI, the Board of General Managers following wise prece- 

 dents, provided for the election of an executive committee of six. 

 This committee was given the rights of the board when in session, and 

 has exercised its authority from the beginning, thereby preventing any 

 great delay in making necessary decisions in regard to the business. 

 The president of the board and the secretary, being ex-officio members 

 of the executive committee, attended the meetings. Up to the time of 

 the final board meeting held at Albany, January 17, 18'93, there had 

 taken place twenty meetings of the executive committee, all of which 

 had been faithfully attended by its members. Minutes of these meet- 

 ings were printed and sent to each member of the board in order that 

 the general business might be known to all. As the by-laws of the 

 executive committee provided that three members mi£;ht transact 

 urgent business, this plan was followed in a few instances where speedy 

 decisions were necessary. At no time, however, during the entire 

 work, was a decision of any moment made without the chairman's 

 judgment having been obtained. 



The first meeting was held June 28, 1892. 'While the by-laws pro- 

 vided for a bi-monthly meeting, this rule was not strictly adhered to. 

 Only three meetings were held in the summer of 1892, as the ladies 

 were widely separated and could not conveniently leave their homes. 

 Mrs. Ives was expected to keej) general supervision of the work and to 

 report to the chair from time to time as seemed necessary. It was 

 impossible to foresee the exact necessities of the exposition work, and at 

 the executive meeting of June twenty-eighth, a local committee made 

 up of New York city and Brooklyn members was formed, as well as 

 the committee on women's work in literature, literary clubs and the 

 press. The meetings of the former committee were held bi-monthly, 

 on Tuesdays alternating with the executive meetings, as much work 

 was concentrated in New York. Arrangements were also concluded 

 for the estabHshment of the bureau of applied arts in New York city. 

 Also at this meeting a motion was adopted that a letter should be sent 

 to Halsey C. Ives, chief of the Fine Arts department, requesting that 

 the names of two women artists should be added to his committee on 

 fine arts. As the main object of woman's interest in the exposition 

 was to obtain rightful recognition of her work, it was believed a wise 

 move to call the attention of the head of the art department to the 



