THE CONGRESS OF WOMEN.
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that the larger proportion of women who are forced from their homes into the industries of the world are married women or widows, working to help maintain their homes and children. The only figures which show with certainty the proportion of married to unmarried women, are those sent us from the French banks and railways, which are under the control of the government. From them we learn that in the raihvay Compagnie d’Orleans there are employed 4,154 married women and 220 single women; in the Compagnie de l’Ouest there are employed 3,391 married women and 214 single women; in the Compagnie du Midi there are employed 2,700 married women and 127 single women; in the Compagnie du Nord there are employed 2,536 married women and 254 single women; in the Chemin de Fer de l’Etat are employed 2,024 married women and 88 single women.
The results attained from the statistical investigations undertaken by the Board of Lady Managers are so interesting in their nature, that the different government agencies, which have been making original investigations for us, and tabulating the results, are themselves surprised by the facts elicited, and they willingly give us the credit for having organized new and important lines of statistical investigations which will be immediately incorporated in the bureaus of their respective governments.
The work of the Board of Lady Managers in these new and unexpected directions has been a constant source of pleasure and inspiration. The material exhibits in the Woman’s Building have become mere incidents, and do not at all represent the great thought which lie behind them. That we have been successful in creating an organization throughout the world, and in interesting the governments of the world in the condition and position of their women, is of incalculable benefit. A community of interests has been created among women in every part of the world, such as has never heretofore existed, and women delegated by their respective governments have visited the fair, and carefully studied not only our country and our customs, but those of every other part of the world, as evidenced by their exhibits and by their peoples who have come to the Exposition in great numbers. The attention of all has been drawn to the Woman’s Building, to the purposes for which it was erected, to the wonderful co-operation secured, and as a result the claims of the weaker sex have been treated with more respectful consideration than has ever before been accorded them. In the great commingling of races and interests ideas have been rapidly diffused, and many supposedly fixed conditions have been modified or changed. The board is to be congratulated upon the results achieved.
I can say freely for myself, and I think most of the members of the board can say with me, that our three years of work together have been years of charming and profitable intercourse and agreeable associations. Many firm friendships have-been formed which are for life. I. personally, have seen only the sweet side of every nature, and my associates have treated me with too much kindness, with absolute self-forgetfulness and a devotion that was chivalric in its nature. Our board, on all questions of importance, as is shown by our records, stands practically as a unit, and has always done so. I feel sure that there has rarely been such a number of co-workers brought together from widely varying surroundings and influences who have worked together as harmoniously as have our members, and that all rumors to the contrary are figments of the imagination, although we have been pained by reading in the papers distorted and unrecognizable rumors of discord and confusion among our members.
The closing of this building, which has been the main field of our labors, from which, during the summer, such a helpful influence has constantly gone forth, which has been the scene of so many gatherings, both grave and gay, and which has always • been a center of interest and of hospitality for women, can but fill us with sadness.
Here we have welcomed and listened to the great thinkers of our own and other countries, and to musicians from every clime; here we have welcomed guests both distinguished and humble, among the most pleasant gatherings being the popular Saturday afternoon receptions, when all were made welcome and we were overwhelmed by discovering the number of our friends, and the warmth of their kindly feeling. It