166 New Toek at the Woeld's Colitmbian ExpoernoN. 



general invitation to attend the meetings, which were held twice a 

 month, was extended to the members of the sub-committees in these 

 two districts, and to Mrs. Trautman, as it was felt that an interchange 

 of ideas in regard to the exposition work would be very beneficial. 

 Frequently the members of the New Jersey board were present by 

 courtesy of Mrs. Webb, as they expressed a desire for such information 

 as would come through the channels of a New York office. Miss 

 Margaret Tomes acted as secretary for the local committee as well as 

 for the bureau of applied arts, and the committee continued active 

 work all through the autumn of 1892 and the winter and spring of 

 1893, having an ofiice in common with the committee of applied arts. 



Committee on Philantheopy. 



FHoh CrecJie and Day Nursery Exhibit. At the second board meet- 

 ing Mrs. Dodge reported that, at the time the New York committee 

 of women made a visit to Chicago, Mrs. Palmer suggested to Miss 

 Love the idea of exhibiting the Buffalo Fitch Creche and training 

 school for nursery maids with its kindergarten in order to show how 

 day nurseries in large cities are managed, this being considered the 

 most advanced philanthropic work on record, as the children are edii- 

 cated and the mothers rendered self-supporting. While at that time 

 the Children's Building was little more than a dream, such a building 

 had been decided upon, and it was now proposed to put to practical 

 test there the day nursery methods. No exhibit of the kind had ever 

 before been made, but its success was proved in the fact that between 

 10,000 and 11,000 children received its benefits and the day nursery 

 system was thoroughly published, as these children came from every 

 State and Territory in the Union. The philanthropic committee was 

 somewhat discouraged just after the exhibit had been decided upon, 

 because of the suggestion from several individuals engaged in philan- 

 thropic work, that infants might be left on their hands by a certain, 

 class of women, but only one instance of this kind occurred, and 

 this was on the next to the last day the exhibit was open. The nur- 

 series were on the west side of the Children's Building, and often as 

 early as seven o'clock in the morning a line was formed of parents 

 waiting to " check " their children for the day. If the quarters had 

 been larger the number of children would have been almost unlimited. 

 In order to better represent the State in this exhibit it was decided that 

 the methods of the Buffalo Fitch Creche and training school for maids 

 should be shown the first three months of the exposition. Miss Love 

 made her preparations to have the Fitch Creche corps leave Buffalo in 

 April, in order to open the exhibit the first of May, but having 

 kept in communication with the Children's Building authorities she 

 found that great delay had ensued in the erection of the building, 

 and it was utterly useless to attempt to establish the exhibit at the 

 time the exposition was to be formally opened. Not only did this 

 prove to be impossible, but when she did go to Chicago the annoy- 

 ances and delays she encountered were innumerable, principally owing 

 to the unfinished state of the building. In spite of every endeavor to 

 push the work the exhibit was not opened until June. A detail of the 



