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Show 194 The June 1895 issue of The Young Woman's Journal includes a lengthy (35-page) detailed report by its editor, Susa Y. Gates, on her experiences surrounding the Council of Women meetings in Washington that year. The article, addressed to the young women of the church, is full of vivid detail. Susa's critical observations about a variety of conditions could serve to accurately portray some of the same conditions even today. Her graphic description of the proceedings of congress and her dismay with the conduct of the legislators is in sharp contrast to her perception of the demeanor of the ladies in the Council of Women meetings. It is noteworthy that Ellis was in the party of four traveling east by train with Susa. The other two were Minnie J. Snow and Elmina S. Taylor, president of the Young Ladies' National Mutual Improvement Association (YLNMIA). At least three other delegates (Emmeline B. Wells, Aurelia S. Rogers, and Marilla Daniels) were already in Washington. As a way of looking into a portion of Ellis's life which she apparently did not document, we take time to scan Susa's report of the National Council of Women of that year (1895). Susa's writing style is evident in the following paragraph: The Council was opened on Sunday for religious services. Rev. Annis Eastman Ford preached a sermon from the text, II Peter 1: 5, 6, 7. It was no new thing, of course, to us, to hear a woman speak from the pulpit. The lady was eloquent, with the eloquence of learning and the music of cultivated tones, while the refined beauty of her face was very sweet and pleasing. But oh, my dear girls, I heard no one there who could fill you and thrill you with the real |