90 
PARK AND CEMETERY 
criticism and suggestion as to lines of work on outdoor 
improvement. 
Next in order was a paper by the president of the 
Auxiliary upon the “Awakening of a City,” which 
dealt with the progress of outdoor embellishment in 
Chicago. 
It may be justly said of the papers presented by 
the women of the Auxiliary that they were among the 
best ever brought before the association at its gather- 
ings. 
The election of officers resulted in the following : 
President, Mrs. Herman J. Hall, Chicago; first vice- 
president, Mrs. Martin W. Sherman, Milwaukee; sec- 
ond vice-president. Miss Edith A- Canning, Warren, 
Mass. ; secretary and treasurer. Miss Margarethe K. 
Christensen, Louisville, Ky. For delegate to the bien- 
nial convention of women’s clubs, to be held at Los 
Angeles, Cal., next year, Mrs. Arthur C. Neville was 
chosen, with Mrs. Herman J. Hall a delegate ex- 
officio. 
A general discussion followed, opened by Mrs. E. 
A. McCrea, of Chicago, who criticised the formal 
flower beds and lack of harmony in color in the land- 
scape of the parks. Mrs. Loring advised the acquisi- 
tion of more lake front for park and boulevard pur- 
poses, and advised the planting of more trees in 
Juneau park, in spite of the objections of adjoining 
property holders, and criticised the grounds of the 
Soldiers’ Home as a disgrace to the country. Many 
ladies participated in the discussion. Mrs. Catlin re- 
marked on the subject of fountains that the water 
taxes were so high as to be prohibitory. 
Mr. W. J. Stevens spoke of his work among the 
children of the public schools of Carthage, Mo., and 
how the contests in the cultivation of flowers had in- 
fluenced street improvements. 
Mrs. Hall warmly congratulated the ladies of Mil- 
waukee on their successful work, and thanked them 
heartily for their unbounded hospitality and attention 
to the pleasures of the visiting ladies. 
President Holden, in well chosen words, congratu- 
lated the Woman’s Au.xiliary on the very efficient gen- 
eral aid to the association and on the very valuable 
papers read by its members. 
Before adjournment, Mrs. Maury, of Louisville, 
moved that the Woman’s Auxiliary send invitations 
to all state federations to appoint delegates to meet 
with them at the Boston convention. Carried. 
The afternoon session took the form of a conference 
meeting. Appropriate resolutions were framed and 
passed extending cordial thanks to all who had con- 
tributed to the pleasure of the visiting members and 
the success of the convention, and warm eulogies were 
expressed on the work of the ladies. 
A short discussion was maintained on natural gar- 
dening and its beauties. 
Upon Miss Young asking for suggestions on the 
planting for decorative purposes of the wharves and 
landing places on the river front, a general discussion 
ensued, in which wall vines and shrubs were advocated, 
and Mr. Manning suggested that where trees were de- 
sirable the cottonwood served its purpose admirably. 
He met the objection of the dispersion of the cotton 
by the tree by advising its sterile form, the Carolina 
poplar. 
Friendly interchange of greetings and adieus 
closed the business part of the convention, and the 
delegates adjourned to visit neighboring points of in- 
terest, such as the Layton Art Gallery and the Athe- 
naeum, etc. 
The convention closed with a complimentary ban- 
quet in the evening at the Hotel Pflster, which was at- 
tended by all who could possibly remain over. Covers 
were laid for 125, and a preliminary reception was held 
in the hotel parlors. The floral decorations were ele- 
gant and appropriate, and the whole function formed 
LILY PONDS, WITH LAKE AND BOAT-HOUSE IN BACKGROUND, WASHINGTON PARK, MILWAUKEE. 
