June Number.—Our common ornamental flowers, wild and cultivated.
July Number.—What women can do toward improving and beautifying their home cities, towns, or country districts.
The Department this month is something like! The Other Editors have taken hold! I knew that I should have to write most of it for the first two months, until time enough had passed for contributions to come in from the rest of you. Now the suggestions, recipes, articles, and stories of “Heroism at Home” have begun to come from all over the country and our Department begins to take on its permanent form. Every month from now on ought to be a big improvement over all that went before.
The letters received have made me very happy, for they contain many words of praise and good wishes for the Department and prove that the writers are ready and willing to help edit it and that they can. Don’t misunderstand me. The words of praise are not for my work in the Department, but for the Department itself—for the plan of having us all work together for our common good. It is a good plan and, now that you are actually at work with me, I know we are going to work that good plan out and work it out well!
Unfortunately, some of the letters did not reach me in time for publication in this number. They will not be lost to the Department on that account, however. Also, the final date set for letters on Why Women Should be Interested in Politics came so soon after the day when the March issue was mailed out that there was hardly time for many to reach us. The Magazine was very late last month. The Editors couldn’t help it, and they are trying hard to get this April number out promptly on time. After this we will not set any particular date for letters to be in, but if, for instance, you want to say something in the May number, send it to me as soon as you can after getting this issue.
After talking with the Editors and thinking it over by myself I can see that it will not always be best to publish every letter as soon as it comes in. For example, an excellent letter has been sent to us from Nebraska telling how the women of a certain town have organized and done a great deal for the beauty, comfort and usefulness of their little city. It came in response to something I had said in the Department. Now this letter is just the kind of thing we want, but it seems to me better not to use it in this issue which is devoted chiefly to woman’s interest in politics.
MAKING YOUR COMMUNITY BETTER
Don’t you think it would be better to devote a whole number later on to the subject of what women can do for their native towns or districts? They have organized in a great many places and there are several national societies devoted to civic improvement. The members either do things themselves, or use their influence to secure good local laws to bring these things about. It is surprising how much they accomplish.