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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #60535 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60535)
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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Woman Triumphant, by R. Cronau
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
-of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll
-have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using
-this ebook.
-
-
-
-Title: Woman Triumphant
-       The story of her struggles for freedom, education and
-       political rights. Dedicated to all noble-minded women by
-       an appreciative member of the other sex.
-
-Author: R. Cronau
-
-Release Date: October 20, 2019 [EBook #60535]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WOMAN TRIUMPHANT ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed
-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was
-produced from images made available by the HathiTrust
-Digital Library.)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-                            WOMAN TRIUMPHANT
-The Story of Her Struggles for Freedom, Education and Political Rights.
-
-
-  DEDICATED TO ALL NOBLE-MINDED WOMEN BY AN APPRECIATIVE MEMBER OF THE
-                               OTHER SEX.
-
-[Illustration: _By R. Cronau_]
-
-                         Published by R. CRONAU
-                    340 East 198th Street, New York.
-
-
-
-
-                      Copyright 1919 by R. CRONAU
-                               New York.
-
-
-
-
-                       WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
-
-
-  =America, the History of Its Discovery.= 2 vols., with 545
-      illustrations and 37 maps. (Leipzig 1890–92.) Award World’s
-      Columbian Exposition.
-
-  =America, historia de su descubrimiento.= 3 vols., with several
-      hundred illustrations and maps. (Barcelona 1892.) Award World’s
-      Columbian Exposition.
-
-  =From Wonderland to Wonderland, Sketches of American Life and
-      Scenery.= With 50 heliogravures. (Leipzig 1886.)
-
-  =Through the Wild West=, Journeys of an Artist through the Prairies
-      and Rocky Mountains of America. Illustrated. (Braunschweig 1890.)
-
-  =Travels in the Land of the Sioux Indians.= (Leipzig 1886.)
-
-  =Our Wasteful Nation; the Story of American Prodigality and the Abuse
-      of Our National Resources.= Illustrated. (New York 1908.)
-
-  =Three Centuries of German Life in the United States=, with 210
-      illustrations. (Berlin 1909.) Award by the University of Chicago.
-
-  =Illustrative Cloud Forms for the Guidance of Observers in the
-      Classification of Clouds.= (U. S. Publication No. 112. Washington,
-      D. C., 1897.)
-
-
-                            SOON TO APPEAR:
-
-  =In the Realm of Clouds and Gods.= Illustrated with 25 color-prints.
-
-  =Three Great Questions in American History Answered.= With many maps
-      and illustrations
-
-
-
-
-                                PREFACE.
-
-
-Are you aware of the fact that you are living in the most important
-period of human history? Not for the reason that a World’s War has been
-fought and a “League of Nations” formed, but because all civilized
-nations are beginning to acknowledge that women, who form the greater
-part of the human race, are entitled to the same rights and recognition
-as have heretofore been enjoyed by men only. The entry of woman into
-industry, the professions, literature, science and art in modern times,
-her participation in social and political life, mark the beginning of an
-era of a significance, equal, if not greater, than when by the discovery
-of America a New World was added to the old.
-
-Although it is a fact that man owes innumerable benefits to woman’s
-care, devotion, and mental initiative, it is also true that through
-egoism and self-conceit he has never appreciated woman’s work and
-achievements at their full value. On the contrary: while she was giving
-all and asking little, while she shared with man all hardships and
-perils, she was for thousands of years without any rights, not even as
-regards her own person and property. From ancient times up to the
-present day she has been an object of rape and barter, and quite often,
-for sexual purposes, held in the most horrible slavery. During the
-Middle Ages innumerable women were persecuted for witchcraft, subjected
-to the most cruel tortures, dragged to the scaffold to be beheaded, or
-burnt alive at the stake.
-
-Woman’s status to-day is the result of her own energy, efforts and
-ability. She overcame the prejudice and stubborn opposition of bigoted
-priests, pedantic scholars and reactionary statesmen, who were unable to
-see that the advance and emancipation of woman is synonymous with the
-progress and liberation of the greater part of the entire human race. To
-short sighted people such as these Tennyson directed his lines:
-
-      “The Woman’s Cause is Man’s! They rise or sink together,
-      dwarf’d or godlike, bond or free; if she be small,
-      slight-natured, miserable, how shall men grow!”
-
-The book submitted here gives an account of woman’s evolution, of her
-enduring and trying struggles for liberty, education, and recognition.
-While this account will make every woman proud of the achievements of
-her sex, man, by reading it, will become aware that it is his solemn
-duty not only to protect woman from injustice, brutality and
-exploitation, but to give her all possible assistance in her endeavors
-to attain that position in which she will be man’s ideal consort and
-friend.
-
-                                                         RUDOLPH CRONAU.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                     Women During the Remote Past.
-
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  ABORIGINAL HUTS AT THE AMAZON RIVER
-]
-
-
-      PRIMEVAL MAN, HIS ORIGIN AND SEVERE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE.
-
-While we were young and credulous, black-robed theologians impressed
-upon our minds their theory of creation, according to which the first
-man was moulded by the divine author of all things in his own image and
-placed in an enchanting paradise. Here he enjoyed with his mate, whom
-the same deity formed from one of man’s ribs, a state of innocence,
-bliss and happiness, since want, sickness, and death were as yet
-unknown, and all animals lived together in peace and harmony.
-
-In later years, after we had become inquisitive, we found that this
-story of creation is merely one of innumerable similar myths, invented
-by aboriginal people when they began to ponder over their origin. We
-also became acquainted with the theory of evolution, as taught by
-Lamarck, Darwin, Haeckel, Huxley, Tylor, Lubbock, Osborn, and other
-eminent anthropologists. And by investigating and comparing fossil facts
-and living forms we became convinced that man was not specially created,
-but gradually evolved from far lower animal forms. Furthermore, we
-recognized that primitive man never enjoyed paradisical peace and
-happiness, but was constantly compelled to a far more desperate struggle
-for existence than any human beings had to carry on during later
-periods.
-
-To realize the innumerable hardships and terrors of this battle is
-almost beyond the power of imagination. Try to place yourself in the
-situation of such naked and unarmed beings. Day in and out they were
-persecuted by wild beasts, which in size as well as in strength and
-ferocity far surpassed those of to-day.
-
-There were the terrible sabre-toothed tigers, whose enormous fangs hung
-like daggers from their upper jaws. There were fierce lions and bears,
-in comparison to which the present species would appear dwarfed. The
-plains and forests were infested with bloodthirsty hyenas and wolves,
-that hunted in packs and allowed no creature to escape which they were
-able to cut off from its retreat. Ugly snakes, quick as lightning,
-lurked in the underbrush and trees. The lakes and rivers were alive with
-hideous alligators, that made every attempt to get a drink a hazardous
-task. Even the skies were full of danger, as sharp-eyed eagles and
-vultures circled about, ready to swoop on any living thing that might
-expose itself to view. Awe-inspiring were also the immense mammoths,
-elephants and rhinoceros, which with heavy tread broke through the dense
-forests.
-
-In contrast to these powerful beasts man was not protected at all.
-Indeed, his means of defense were so poor, that his survival strikes us
-almost as an inconceivable wonder. Neither was he armed with strong
-teeth, sharp claws, horns or poisonous stings. His body had no covering
-but a very thin and vulnerable skin. To escape his many pursuers, he was
-compelled to hide in almost inaccessible places, among the branches of
-high trees, or in the crags and on top of towering cliffs.
-
-The never-ending struggle increased, when his kin multiplied and began
-to split into various bands, tribes and races. With this separation
-quarrels arose over the limits of the hunting grounds. Men began to
-fight and kill their neighbors. Even worse, they slaughtered the
-captives and devoured their flesh during cannibal feasts.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  AN APE-MAN
-]
-
-In physical appearance primeval men were far from resembling those ideal
-figures of Adam and Eve, pictured by mediæval artists who strove to give
-an idea of the glories of our lost Paradise. While these products of
-imagination can claim no greater authenticity than the illustrations to
-other fairy tales, we nevertheless owe to the diligent works of able
-scientists restorations of the figures of primeval men. These deserve
-full credit, as they are based on skeletons and bones, found in caves,
-which some hundred thousand years ago were inhabited by human-like
-beings. From such remains it appears that our predecessors were near
-relatives to the so-called man-apes, the orang outang, chimpanzee,
-gibbon, and gorilla. Ages passed before these ape-men, in the slow
-course of evolution, developed into man, distinctly human, though still
-on a far lower level than any savage people of to-day.
-
-The ape-man probably knew no other shelter than nests of twigs and
-leaves, similar to those constructed by the orang outang and the
-gorilla. But with the gradual development of man’s brain and
-intelligence he improved these nests to tree-huts like those still used
-by certain aborigines of New Guinea, India, and Central Africa. To these
-huts they retreated at night, to be safe from wild beasts, and also at
-sudden attacks by superior enemies.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  TREE HUTS IN NEW GUINEA
-]
-
-The cliff dwellings, abounding among the steep cañons of Colorado, New
-Mexico and Arizona were similar retreats. Here we find thousands of
-stone houses, many hidden at such places and so high above the rivers
-that they can hardly be detected from below. In the cañon of the Rio
-Mancos several cliff dwellings are 800 feet above the river. To locate
-them from below a telescope is needed. How it was possible for human
-beings to get to some of these places, is a mystery still unsolved.
-
-Other dwellings stand on almost unscalable boulders, or they are placed
-within the fissures and shallow caverns of perpendicular walls. They can
-be reached only by descending from the upper rim of the cañon by means
-of long ropes, or by climbing upwards from below by using hands as well
-as feet. If one succeeds in getting to these places, one finds them
-always provided with store rooms for food and water. Constant danger of
-hostile assaults must have compelled people to live in such difficult
-retreats, which could be prepared only at enormous expenditure of time
-and labor.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  CLIFF DWELLINGS IN THE CANON OF RIO SAN JUAN, NEW MEXICO
-]
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  LAKE DWELLINGS IN NEW GUINEA
-]
-
-Another form of refuge were the lake-dwellings, which were erected far
-out in the lakes on platforms resting on heavy posts. Traces of such
-structures have been found in many parts of the world. They are still
-used by some of the aborigines of New Guinea and India, and also by the
-Goajiro Indians of Northern Venezuela. Indeed, Venezuela owes its name
-to the fact, that the Spanish discoverers of these lake-dwellings were
-reminded of Venice, the queen city of the Adriatic.
-
-When in time such aboriginal tribes increased, so that their number
-spelled warning to their neighbors, they created more comfortable camps
-on the shores. Or they moved into caves, such as abound in all countries
-where limestone is prevailing.
-
-Nomadic peoples like the Indians of North America and some tribes of
-Siberia prepare tents of dressed skins, which are sewed together and
-stretched over a framework of poles. Many aborigines of Southern Africa
-and Australia are satisfied with bush shelters. Or they construct lodges
-of willows, which they cover with bark or mud, to afford protection
-against rain and the fierce rays of the sun.
-
-People, living in cold regions like the Eskimo, seek shelter from the
-biting winter storms by digging pits five or six feet deep. These holes
-they cover with dome-shaped roofs of whale-ribs and turf. Where these
-materials are not at hand the Eskimos rely on hemispherical houses,
-built of regular blocks of snow laid in spiral courses. The entrance is
-gained by a long passage-way that shuts off cold as well as penetrating
-winds.
-
-Having thus summarized the principal kinds of primitive dwellings, we
-shall now briefly consider the activity of aboriginal peoples.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  WOMEN OF KAMBALA. CENTRAL AFRICA, CRUSHING GRAIN
-]
-
-
-     THE DIVISION OF LABOR AND RESPONSIBILITIES BETWEEN THE SEXES.
-
-Explorers and scientists, who have lived among aboriginal tribes in
-order to study their manners and customs, have always found, that each
-sex has its own sphere of duty and work. To the stronger man fell the
-obligation of protecting his family, which consisted of his wife or
-wives and their offspring. It was also his share to support them with
-the products of the chase, and to provide suitable material for the
-building of the lodge. “These activities,” so states J .N. B. Hewitt in
-the ‘Handbook of American Indians’ (Vol. II, 969), “required health,
-strength and skill. The warrior was usually absent from the fireside on
-the chase, on the warpath, or on the fishing-trip, days, weeks or
-months, during which he often traveled many miles and was subjected to
-the hardships and perils of hunting and fighting, and to the inclemency
-of the weather, often without adequate shelter or food.”
-
-To the lot of women fell the care of the children, the labor required in
-the home and in all that directly affected it.
-
-The essential principle governing this division of labor and
-responsibility between the two sexes lies much deeper than in an
-apparent tyranny of the man. The ubiquity of danger from human foes as
-well as from wild beasts, the suddenness of their assaults when least
-expected, compelled aboriginal men to keep their weapons always at hand.
-During the day they hardly lay them aside, even for a minute, and at
-night they are always within reach. This fact explains, why the women
-and children transport all the loads, while the men carry nothing but
-their weapons when aborigines move from one place to another.
-
-This division of functions consequently led men to confine their
-ingenuity and activity chiefly to the improvement and skillful handling
-of their arms, to the invention of snares for the game and to methods of
-fighting animal and human foes. It led also to the inclination to regard
-hunting and warfare as the only occupations worthy of men, and to
-relegate all domestic work to the women, since such labor would be
-degrading to the warrior.
-
-But the despised work of the weaker sex has proven of far greater value
-to the progress of the human race than all heroic acts ever accomplished
-by fighting men. To woman’s ingenuity we owe our comfortable homes.
-Women kept the warming hearth-fire burning, prepared the meals, watched
-faithfully over the children and made the clothes that gave protection
-against rain and cold. To women’s inventive sense we owe also our most
-important industries: agriculture, weaving, pottery, tannery, basketry,
-dyeing, brewing, and many other peaceful arts.—
-
-It has been said that human culture began with man’s knowledge and
-control of fire, that mysterious, ever consuming, ever brightly flaming
-element, which was regarded by all aborigines as a thing of life, by
-some even as an animal. It must have all the more forcibly impressed
-men’s imagination, inasmuch as it not alone promoted man’s comfort, but
-even made life endurable, especially in cold climates.
-
-It is certain that the practical knowledge of fire was obtained not at
-one given spot only but in many different parts of the world and in a
-variety of ways. In time men discovered also various methods of
-producing sparks, generally by rubbing two sticks of wood or by knocking
-two flints together. But as these methods were slow and laborious, it
-became the custom for each band to maintain a constant fire for the use
-of all families in order to avoid the troublesome necessity of obtaining
-it by friction. Generally this constant fire was kept in the centre of
-the village, to be in reach for everybody. The duty to keep it always
-burning fell naturally to the women, as they remained always in the
-village, and especially to those women not burdened with the cares of
-maternity. As fire later on was regarded as a present of the good
-spirits or gods to men, these central fires were held sacred, and so the
-fire worship grew by degrees into a religious cult of great sanctity and
-importance.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  LIFE AMONG PREHISTORIC CAVE-DWELLERS
-]
-
-                  *       *       *       *       *
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  WOMAN OF LOANGO, TILLING THE SOIL
-]
-
-While searching for edible roots and berries, women became aware of the
-usefulness of many plants. And soon they made attempts to cultivate them
-in closer proximity to their lodges.
-
-Having cleaned a suitable spot women made with their primitive digging
-sticks the holes, into which they sunk the seeds, from which the plants
-were expected to develop. Experience, the mother of all wisdom, taught
-women that these plants needed constant attention. So the ground was
-kept free from weeds and properly watered. From time to time it was
-loosened with hoes, which in the beginning were made of bones, shells or
-stones, and later on of metal.
-
-Such was the origin of our vegetable gardens, orchards, and grain
-fields. The continuous care, devoted to these plantations, greatly
-improved the quality of useful plants. Poor and tasteless varieties
-developed in time into those rich and palatable species, without which
-our present human race could scarcely exist for a single day. I need
-only name wheat, corn, barley, rye, peas, lentils, beans, rice, tapioca,
-potatoes, yams, turnips, bread-fruit, pears, apples, plums, cherries,
-bananas, dates, figs, nuts, oranges, coffee, cacao, tea, cotton and
-hemp, to convince the reader of the immense value of women’s activity in
-agriculture.
-
-As simple as were the tools for the cultivation of the soil, just as
-simple were the implements for the extraction of flour from the grain.
-Recent archæological research has disclosed the fact that many thousand
-years before Christ Egyptian women ground corn between two stones in
-just the same manner as the women of the Apache and Pueblo Indians and
-many other aboriginal tribes are doing to this day.
-
-Other aboriginal women crushed the seeds in mortars of wood or stone. In
-several parts of Asia women succeeded in inventing hand-mills, which
-proved much more effective.
-
-The necessity of storing provisions for the winter and hard times led to
-the invention of receptacles in which grain, nuts and dried berries
-might be kept and be safe from destruction by rain and animals. While
-pondering over the best methods of accomplishing this, women observed
-that certain insects and birds moulded their nests from wet clay, and
-that such nests, after hardening, were rain-proof. By this observation
-women became induced to use the same material for all kinds of nest-like
-vessels, in which provisions could be stored successfully. By accident
-such vessels came in contact with fire. Then it was found that by such
-baking the hardness of the vessels increased considerably. And so the
-preliminaries were discovered for the art of pottery, in which many
-aborigines became masters.
-
-Similar observations led to the art of weaving. The nets, spread out
-everywhere by spiders for the capture of insects, gave women the first
-hint to make similar fabrics for the capture of birds and fishes. The
-spider’s thread was imitated by long hair and the fibres of certain
-plants. These were twisted together in a manner similar to that used by
-the weaver-birds in constructing their airy nests.
-
-For many thousand years weaving was done exclusively by hand. But in
-time all kinds of apparatus were invented. And so weaving developed into
-an art that among many aboriginal tribes was improved to the highest
-degree. At the same time these female weavers created a genuine native
-art. So for instance the garters, belts, sashes and blankets of the
-Navajo and Pueblo Indians are, for their splendid quality as well as for
-their tasteful designs and colors, highly appreciated by all
-connoisseurs. The same is true in regard to the ponchos of the Mexicans
-and Peruvians, and the magnificent shawls and carpets, made by the women
-of Cashmere, Afghanistan, Persia and other countries of the Orient.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  A TOLTEC WOMAN SPINNING COTTON.
-]
-
-Basketry, including matting and bagging, belongs also to the primitive
-textile arts in which many native women excelled. By using choice
-materials, or by adding resinous substances, some aboriginal women are
-able to make baskets water-tight for holding or carrying water for
-cooking. From crude beginnings basketry developed into an industry,
-which in many countries grew to great importance, as for instance in
-Morocco, where the markets are always supplied with large quantities of
-bags and baskets of beautiful design and workmanship.
-
-Aboriginal women also attended to the dressing and tanning of skins of
-those animals which the men brought home from their hunting expeditions.
-In the domestic economy of many tribes skins were and are the most
-valued and useful property, especially in all regions having a severe
-climate. Every kind of skin, large enough to be stripped from the
-carcass of beast, bird or fish, is used here in some way.
-
-A painting by George Catlin, the well-known artist, who during the first
-part of the last century travelled among the various Indian tribes of
-North America, illustrates the methods by which the skins of buffalo and
-deer are staked out upon the ground or between poles. We see the women
-engaged in scraping off the flesh and fat, a process which is followed
-by several others until the skin is fit to be used for tent covers,
-beddings, shields, saddles, lassoes, boats, clothes, mocassins, and
-thousands of other things.
-
-Most skillful tanners and dressmakers are likewise the women of the
-Eskimo tribes. They make excellent suits from the skins and even the
-entrails of whales, walrus, seals and other animals.
-
-To the keen sense of women we also owe undoubtedly most of our domestic
-implements. From the bones of fish and other animals they made needles
-and pins; from the horns splendid spoons and combs. Gourds, pumpkins and
-cocoanuts were turned into water bottles. Women also devised the
-comfortable hammocks. About the cribs, cradles and swings, invented in
-endless variety by aboriginal mothers for the protection and comfort of
-their darlings, volumes might be written. And by innumerable pictures
-and photographs it could be proven that the great care, bestowed
-nowadays upon our babies, is not the outcome of our advanced culture,
-but originated many thousand years ago among aboriginal women.
-
-The same is true in regard to the dolls and play-things with which women
-seek to amuse those little ones, dearest to their hearts. What motherly
-affection, ever present and everlasting, has done for the welfare and
-progress of mankind, no one can conceive, nor describe, nor illustrate.
-
-As brief as these remarks about aboriginal woman’s activity are, they
-indicate, however, sufficiently her share in the founding and evolution
-of human culture. To appreciate this even more, we must not forget that
-the life of those women was one of constant care, misery and danger. The
-blissful happiness of aboriginal existence, of which we read sometimes
-in novels, written by poetical dreamers, was never enjoyed by these
-women. How full of hardships their share was in reality, we find by
-investigating their place in the social life of their tribes.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  WOMAN OF NORTHERN AFRICA TENDING TO HER BABY
-]
-
-
-       WOMEN AS OBJECTS OF RAPE, BARTER AND RELIGIOUS SACRIFICE.
-
-Matrimony is, like all other human institutions, the result of
-evolution. In the dim past, after the ape-man had evolved to true man,
-it was not known at all. Most probably all the females were the common
-property of the males, the strongest of whom took hold of several women,
-leaving the rest to their inferior chums.
-
-With the evolution of property rights these mates as well as their
-offspring came to be regarded as the absolute property of the husband
-and father, who could dispose of them at his pleasure by barter or
-otherwise. So it was among primitive men a hundred thousand years ago
-and so it is customary among aboriginal peoples to-day. At the death of
-the husband his rights generally go to the oldest son or to the person
-who becomes the head of the family.
-
-Accordingly as girls are not masters of their own bodies, so the barter
-for women is customary among all aboriginal tribes. If a man sees a girl
-to his liking he bargains with the head of her family about the price.
-Among pastoral tribes it is generally paid in cattle; among hunters in
-skins or other objects of value.
-
-Among the Zulu Kaffres the price for good-looking girls ranges from five
-to thirty cows. In Uganda it is three or four oxen; among the Samoyedes
-and Ostiaks of Siberia a number of reindeer; among the Sioux Indians two
-to twenty horses; among the Bedouins a number of camels; in Samoa pigs
-or canoes; among the Tatars sheep and several pounds of butter; among
-the Bongo twenty pounds of iron and twenty spear-heads; among other
-tribes a certain quantity of gold dust, beads, shells, and so on in
-endless variety. As soon as the price is paid the girl, without being
-asked her consent, is obliged to follow her new master.
-
-As among aborigines women have no will of their own, they cannot object
-if their husbands exchange, trade or loan them to other men. So it is
-customary among many tribes that if persons of importance come visiting,
-the daughters or the wives of the host are assigned to comfort them over
-night.
-
-If among the inhabitants of the Fiji Islands men became tired of their
-“better halves,” they killed and boiled them and arranged cannibal
-feasts in which all neighbors participated.
-
-Aboriginal women also must gracefully assent to their husbands’ taking
-several wives. Their number depends on the man’s means. While poor men
-satisfy themselves with one wife, chiefs generally buy numbers. The
-despots of Dahomey in West Africa, for instance, filled their houses
-with hundreds of women, who were obliged not only to amuse these kings
-during their lifetime, but also to follow them in death. When such an
-autocrat was assembled to his ancestors, his body was deposited in a
-large cave. But in order that he should not travel alone through
-eternity, his wives as well as all the members of his court were led
-into the cave and provided with food for several days, whereupon the
-entrance of the cave was closed and the occupants were left to their
-fate.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  CARRYING OFF A WOMAN IN AUSTRALIA
-]
-
-If among the aborigines a man is too poor to buy a wife, he generally
-tries to steal one. But as he must not do so within his own clan, as he
-would trespass upon the property rights of his fellow-men, nothing
-remains but to kidnap a girl of some neighboring tribe. So he lurks
-around the villages till some day a girl, while gathering berries or
-edible roots, unfortunately happens to come too near his hiding place.
-In this case the manner of his proposal is sudden, but effective. A blow
-with his war club makes the damsel unconscious, whereupon he drags her
-to some secure place. Here he keeps her till she has recovered her
-senses and is able to follow him to his lodge.
-
-George Gray, who has written about the natives of Australia, states that
-the life of young and attractive women among those tribes is a
-continuous chain of capture by different men, terrible wounds and long
-wanderings to unknown bands. In addition, such unfortunate females must
-suffer very often extremely bad treatment by other women, to whom they
-are brought as prisoners by their capturers.
-
-But women have been kidnapped not merely for sexual reasons, but also
-for their ability to work. Herewith we open the darkest chapter in
-woman’s history: Slavery, a word which has not lost its terrible meaning
-for women up to the present day.
-
-Slavery has been practiced in all parts of the world in some form. But
-Africa was the continent where it prevailed from time immemorial to the
-greatest extent and assumed the most cruel forms. Phœnicians, Greeks,
-Romans, Arabs, Turks, Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians, Frenchmen,
-Dutchmen, Englishmen and Americans sailed to its coasts, to capture men
-as well as women and children, to sell and use them for slaves.
-
-It is impossible for human imagination to conceive the horrors and
-misery, caused here by heartless pirates for thousands of years.
-
-Imagine a peaceful village, approached stealthily in the night by cruel
-enemies, who surround it and then set fire to the huts. As the
-inhabitants rush out in terror, those who resist capture are killed, and
-those who have escaped the blessing of immediate death are fettered and
-marched off. Imagine long columns of such unfortunate and often severely
-wounded men, women and children chained together and driven by ruthless
-brutes through pathless jungles and arid deserts, to far away markets.
-No matter how hot the sun burns down, they must move on. Woe to those
-who break down! They are left where they have dropped, to perish of
-hunger and thirst, or to be torn by wild beasts. Or, as a warning to the
-others, they are butchered in cold blood by their drivers. For those who
-reach their destination, where they are traded like cattle, an existence
-is waiting that will have fewer moments of joy than there are oases in
-an endless desert.
-
-For time immemorial women also fell prey to religious superstition. To
-keep evil demons in good humor, or to thank some imaginary gods for
-victories and other blessings, human beings have been sacrificed by
-thousands. The “Dark Continent” again holds the record in this respect.
-And again the autocrats of Dahomey were those who, in religious frenzy,
-spilled the blood of hundreds and thousands of men as well as of women.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  A BRIDE OF THE NILE
-
-  After a painting by W. Gentz.
-]
-
-From their country the so-called Vodoo-service, the worship of the
-“Great Snake,” has been brought by slaves to the West Indies, where it
-was handed down from generation to generation. It still prevails in
-Hayti, “the black man’s republic.” Here it is, that the Vodoo priests
-and their devout followers meet in silent forests, to pay homage to
-their ugly god by sacrificing women as well as children.
-
-Herodotus and other historians of classic times relate that every year
-in Egypt, when the Nile began to rise, to which that country owes its
-abundance, the priests persuaded a beautiful girl to become the bride of
-the river-god. Adorned with jewels and flowers, and greeted by all the
-people, this virgin was led to the flat roof of a temple overlooking the
-mighty river. After prayers and invocations had been made, she was
-tossed into the swirling floods, which swiftly carried her away.
-
-Among the early Latin peoples similar sacrifices seem to have been
-customary, as is indicated by the fact that in Rome on the 15th of May
-in every year the Vestal virgins, in presence of all the priests,
-municipal authorities and the people threw twenty-four life-size dolls,
-the so-called Argeer, into the Tiber.
-
-To calm the rage of the god of fire and earthquake, the priests of
-ancient Japan also hurled beautiful virgins into the flaming crater of
-Fuji Yama.
-
-Humanity needed thousands of years to shake off such monstrous illusions
-and customs, because nothing is so difficult as to eliminate ideas and
-customs that are rooted in religious superstition, and, through being
-handed down from generation to generation, become surrounded with a halo
-of sacredness and solemnity.
-
-To such institutions belonged also, what by some students of human
-culture has been characterized as “hierarchical or sacred prostitution.”
-As is generally known, there exist among almost all aboriginal tribes
-crafty charlatans, who pretend to have influence over those supernatural
-powers, which are believed to be the distributors of all blessings as
-well as of all evils. These so-called sorcerers, healers, conjurors,
-magicians, medicine-men, or shamans, the predecessors of the priests,
-usurped among many tribes the privilege of deflouring all virgins before
-their entrance into marriage. With the gradual evolution of priesthood
-this practice was made a rite, which among various nations of antiquity
-developed into the most voluptuous orgies known in history.
-
-
-
-
-                  Women during the Ages of Antiquity.
-
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  A NOBLEMAN AND HIS WIFE IN BABYLON
-]
-
-
-                          WOMEN IN BABYLONIA.
-
-As the cultivated nations of Antiquity sprang from inferior tribes, it
-is only natural that in their social life many of the habits and customs
-of prehistorical times survived. Nowhere was this fact more evident than
-in the status of women. Everywhere we find a strange mixture of the rude
-conceptions of the dim past and promising prospects for a brighter
-future. In many places women were still regarded as inferior creatures,
-subjected to the will of men and with no rights whatever over their own
-persons. We also note that polygamy, barter, rape, slavery and
-hierarchical prostitution still flourish in all kinds of forms and
-disguises. But at the same time we are surprised to see that among
-certain nations the members of the fair sex enjoy already the same
-respect and almost a similar amount of rights and liberty, as our women
-possess to-day.
-
-Modern archæologists are inclined to recognize those formerly fertile
-lands between the Persian Gulf and Asia Minor, and watered by the
-Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, as the “Cradle of Civilization,” or the
-place, where in misty ages, before history began, the so-called
-Sumerians, a Semitic people, first attempted to form themselves into
-organized communities. According to the traditions of the Hebrews here
-was the original home of the human race, the “Garden of Eden,” and here
-was, as is told in Genesis XI, “that men said one to another: ‘Go to,
-let us build a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven; and let
-us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the
-whole earth.’”
-
-This city was called Babylon, and the country =Babylonia=. Wonderful
-stories and legends are connected with these two names, but still more
-astounding are the revelations unearthed by the pick and shovel of
-modern explorers. By their diligent work it has been discovered that the
-people, living in this region somewhere about 4,000 to 6,000 years B. C.
-were already a highly organized and civilized race, skilled in various
-trades and professions, and living in towns of considerable size and
-importance. The inhabitants of these cities were by no means awkward in
-the fine arts. Most important of all, they had already evolved a very
-complete and highly developed system of writing, which in itself must
-have taken many centuries to reach the stage at which it was found by
-the explorers.
-
-As may be read in the elaborate works of Maspero, Hilprecht and other
-explorers, they discovered in the ruins of the principal cities of
-Babylonia several ancient libraries and archives containing thousands of
-tablets of clay, stone and bronze, covered with inscriptions of
-religious, astrological and magical texts, epics, chronicles and
-syllabaries. There are also contracts; records of debts; leases of
-lands, houses and slaves; deeds of transfer of all kinds of property;
-mortgages; documents granting power of attorney; tablets dealing with
-bankruptcy and inheritance; in fact, almost every imaginable kind of
-deed or contract is found among them.
-
-The most precious relic is the famous Code of Hammurabi, King of
-Babylonia. This collection of laws, engraved on stone 2,250 years B. C.
-and now preserved in the Louvre, is so elaborate and systematic that it
-can hardly have been the first one. Back of it there must have been a
-long period of usage and custom. But it is the first great collection of
-laws that has come down to us. In 282 sections it regulates almost every
-conceivable incident and relationship of life. Not only are the great
-crimes dealt with and penalized, but life is regulated down to its most
-minute details. There are laws on marriage, breach of promise, divorce,
-desertion, concubinage, rights of women, purchase-money of brides,
-guardianship of the widow and orphan, adoption of children, etc. Through
-these laws we gain full information about the position of women in
-ancient Babylonia. Three classes of women are recognized: wives,
-concubines, and slaves. From other sources we know that all women of the
-higher class were cloistered in the harem and never appeared by the side
-of husbands or brothers in public. The harem system, at least for
-Western Asia and Europe, most probably originated in Babylonia.
-
-The National Geographic Magazine of February, 1916, gives the text of a
-love letter, written several thousand years ago and sent by a young man
-to his sweetheart. It reads as follows: “To Bibea, thus says Gimil
-Marduk: may the Gods Shamash and Marduk permit thee to live forever for
-my sake. I write to inquire concerning thy health. Tell me how thou art.
-I went to Babylon, but did not see thee. I was greatly disappointed.
-Tell me the reason for thy leaving, that I may be happy. Do come in the
-month Marchesvan. Keep well always for my sake.”
-
-In the same place we find the following example of a marriage contract:
-
-“Nabu-nadin-akhi, son of Bel-akbe-iddin, grandson of Ardi-Nergal, spoke
-thus to Shum-ukina, son of Mushallimu: ‘Give me thy Ina-Esagila-banat,
-the virgin, to wife to Uballitsu-Gula, my son.’ Shum-ukina hearkened
-unto him and gave Ina-Esagila-banat, his virgin daughter, to
-Uballitsu-Gula, his son. One mina of silver, three female slaves,
-Latubashinnu, Inasilli-esabat and Taslimu, besides house furniture, with
-Ina-Esagila-banat, his daughter, as a marriage-portion he gave to
-Nabu-nadin-akhi. Nanâ-Gishirst, the slave of Shum-ukina, in lien of
-two-thirds of a mina of silver, her full price Shum-ukina gave to
-Nabu-Nadin-akhi out of the one mina of silver for her marriage-portion.
-One-third of a mina, the balance of the one mina, Shum-ukina will give
-Nabu-nadin-akhi, and her marriage-portion is paid. Each took a writing
-(or contract).”
-
-This document, written on a tablet of clay, is signed by six witnesses
-and the scribe.
-
-As Professor Clay explains “it has been the custom with most peoples in
-a large part of the ancient as well as the modern Orient to base a
-betrothal upon an agreement of the man or his parents to pay a sum of
-money to the girl’s father.” In Babylonia this “bride-money,” together
-with the gift of the father and other gifts, formed the marriage-portion
-which was given to the bride. There were prudential reasons for this
-practice. It gave the woman protection against ill-treatment and
-infidelity on the part of the husband, as well as against divorce; for
-if she returned to her father’s house she took with her the marriage
-portion unless she was the offending party. If she died childless, the
-marriage-portion was divided among them.
-
-In case the girl’s father rejected the suitor after the contract had
-been made, he was required to return double the amount of the bride
-price. The betrothals took place usually when the parties were young,
-and as a rule the engagements were made by the parents. A marriage
-contract was necessary to make a marriage legal. In some cases peculiar
-conditions were made, such as the bride’s being required to wait upon
-the mother-in-law, or even upon another wife. If it was stipulated that
-the man should not take a second wife, the woman could secure a divorce
-in case her husband broke the agreement.
-
-Concubinage was indulged in, especially when the wife was childless and
-she had not given her husband a slave maid that he might have children.
-The law fully determined the status of the concubine and protected her
-rights.
-
-At the husband’s death the wife received her marriage-portion and what
-was deeded to her during the husband’s life. If he had not given her a
-portion of the estate during his life, she received a son’s share and
-was permitted to retain her home, but she could marry again. A widow
-with young children could only marry with the consent of the judge. An
-inventory of the former husband’s property was made and it was intrusted
-to the couple for the dead party’s children.
-
-If a man divorced a woman, which he could do by saying to her “Thou art
-not my wife!” she received her marriage-portion and went back to her
-father’s home. In case there was no dowry, she received one mina of
-silver, if the man belonged to the gentry; but only one-third of a mina
-if he was a commoner.
-
-For infidelity the woman could divorce her husband and take the
-marriage-portion with her. In case of a woman’s infidelity, the husband
-could degrade her as a slave; he even could have her drowned or put to
-death with the sword. In case of disease, the man could take a second
-wife, but was compelled to maintain his invalid wife in his home. If she
-preferred to return to her father’s house, she could take the
-marriage-portion with her.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  THE MARRIAGE MARKET AT BABYLON
-
-  After a painting by Edwin Long.
-]
-
-From several of these engraved tablets it appears, that a woman received
-the same pay for the same work when she took a man’s place.
-
-To Herodotus, the so-called “Father of History,” we are indebted for
-some highly interesting notes about the “marriage market of ancient
-Babylon.” Its site, uncovered in 1913 by the German Oriental Society,
-was in close neighborhood of the palaces of Nebuchadnezzar and
-Belshazzar and occupied a rectangle of 100 by 150 feet. Open to the air
-on all four sides, it was most probably shielded from the sun by rich
-awnings devised to shelter the daughters of Babylon and bring out their
-charms. The marble block upon which they stood while being bid for was
-in the center of the spectators and richly carved with cherubs, who
-worshiped and protected the “Tree of Life.” Several inscriptions leave
-no doubt, that this was the actual market of which Herodotus gave the
-following description: “Once a year the maidens of age to marry in
-Babylon were collected at the market, while the men stood around them in
-a circle. Then a herald called up the damsels one by one and offered
-them for sale. He began with the most beautiful. When she was sold for
-no small sum he offered for sale the one who came next to her in beauty.
-All of them were to be sold as wives. The richest of the Babylonians who
-wished to wed bid against each other for the loveliest maidens, while
-the humbler wife seekers, who were indifferent about beauty, took the
-more homely damsels with marriage-portions. For the custom was that when
-the herald had gone through the whole number of the fair ones he should
-then call up the ugliest—a cripple if there chanced to be one—and offer
-her to the men, asking who would agree to take her with the smallest
-marriage-portion. And the man who offered to take the smallest sum had
-her assigned to him. The marriage-portions were furnished by the money
-paid for the beautiful girls, and thus the fairer maidens portioned out
-the uglier. No one was allowed to give his daughter to the man of his
-choice, nor might any one carry away the damsel he had purchased without
-finding bail really and truly to make her his wife. If, however, it was
-found that they did not agree the money might be paid back. All who
-liked might come, even from distant villages, and bid for the women.”
-
-Herodotus as well as the Roman Curtius Rufus have written also about the
-so-called “hierarchical or sacred prostitution,” as it was connected
-with the service of Mylitta or Belit, the Babylonian goddess of the
-producing agencies.[1] Her temple was surrounded by a grove, which, like
-the temple, became the scene of most voluptuous orgies, about which
-Jeremiah too has given indications in his letter directed to Baruch.
-(Baruch VI. 42, 43.)
-
-Footnote 1:
-
-  About this subject Rev. T. M. Lindsay, Professor of Divinity and
-  Church History, Free Church College, Glasgow, writes in the
-  Encyclopædia Britannica in an essay about Christianity: “All paganism
-  is at bottom a worship of Nature in some form or other, and in all
-  pagan religions the deepest and most awe-inspiring attribute of nature
-  was its power of reproduction. The mystery of birth and becoming was
-  the deepest mystery of Nature; it lay at the root of all thoughtful
-  paganism and appeared in various forms, some of a more innocent,
-  others of a most debasing type. To ancient pagan thinkers, as well as
-  to modern men of science the key to the hidden secret of the origin
-  and preservation of the universe lay in the mystery of sex. Two
-  energies or agents, one an active and generative, the other a
-  feminine, passive, or susceptible one, were everywhere thought to
-  combine for creative purpose, and heaven and earth, sun and moon, day
-  and night, were believed to co-operate to the production of being.
-  Upon some such basis as this rested almost all the polytheistic
-  worship of the old civilization, and to it may be traced back, stage
-  by stage, the separation of divinity into male and female gods, the
-  deification of distinct powers of nature, and the idealization of
-  man’s own faculties, desires, and lusts, where every power of his
-  understanding was embodied as an object of adoration, and every
-  impulse of his will became an incarnation of deity. But in each and
-  every form of polytheism we find the slime-track of the deification of
-  sex; there is not a single one of the ancient religions which has not
-  consecrated by some ceremonial rite even the grossest forms of sensual
-  indulgence, while many of them actually elevated prostitution into a
-  solemn service of religion.”
-
-According to these statements every woman was compelled to visit the
-temple of Mylitta at least once during her life and give herself over to
-any stranger, who would throw some money on her lap and with the words:
-“I appeal to Mylitta!” indicate his desire to possess her. Such an
-appeal could not be rejected, no matter how small the sum was, as this
-money was to be offered on the altar of the goddess and thus became
-sacred.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  HEBREW WOMEN DURING THE TIME OF ANTIQUITY.
-]
-
-
-                   WOMAN’S STATUS AMONG THE HEBREWS.
-
-The early =Hebrews= or =Israelites=, being of the same Semitic stock as
-the Babylonians, but preferring a pastoral life, observed similar habits
-in their relations to women. Matrimony to them was not a necessity based
-on mutual love and respect, but a divine order, binding especially the
-man. While it was his obligation to maintain the human race, especially
-the Jewish stock, woman was merely the medium to reach this end by her
-beauty and charm and by giving birth to children.
-
-For the conclusion of a marriage the mutual consent of the two
-contrahents was necessary. But generally the marriage was arranged by
-the fathers or some other relations, who likewise settled the question
-as to how much would be the dowry of the son as well as of the daughter.
-That sometimes even a faithful servant was charged with the negotiation
-of these delicate questions, is told in Genesis XXIV, where it is said
-that Abraham, in order to secure for his son Isaac a wife of his
-kindred, commissioned his eldest servant to make a journey to his former
-home in Mesopotamia. While resting at a well, he met Rebekah, the
-beautiful daughter of Bethuel, a son of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. When
-Rebekah consented to become Isaac’s wife, Abraham’s servant brought
-forth many jewels of silver and gold and raiment, and gave them to
-Rebekah. Having given also to her brother and to her mother many
-precious things, he started for the return journey, taking Rebekah and
-her maid servants with him.
-
-The story of Jacob and Rachel, as told in Genesis XXIX, proves, that
-among the early Hebrews the barter for women was customary, but that the
-wooer might obtain the girl of his longing likewise by serving her
-father for a certain length of time. As the early Hebrew had an aversion
-to mingling with the inhabitants of Canaan, Isaac, Jacob’s father, sent
-him to Mesopotamia, the former habitat of the Hebrews, to select a wife
-among the daughters of Laban, his mother’s brother.
-
-Meeting Rachel, Laban’s youngest daughter, he became so deeply impressed
-by her charm, and so eager to gain her, that he offered Laban to serve
-him for Rachel for seven years. Having fulfilled his contract, Jacob
-was, however, beguiled by Laban, who at the wedding-night substituted
-his eldest daughter Leah for Rachel. When in the morning Jacob became
-aware of the deception, Laban claimed that it was not customary, in his
-country, to give away a younger daughter before the firstborn. And so he
-succeeded in persuading Jacob to serve him for Rachel another term of
-seven years.
-
-While monogamy was the rule among the Hebrews, polygamy was permitted,
-especially if the first wife was barren. As this was the case with
-Sarah, the wife of Abraham, she gave her husband Hagar, an Egyptian
-maid-servant, with whom Abraham begat a son, Ishmael. Of Leah and
-Rachel, the two wives of Jacob, we may read in Genesis XXX, that they,
-not having born children to Jacob, likewise introduced to him their
-maids Bilhah and Zilpah, each of which bore Jacob two sons.—It is
-certain that some of the patriarchs had a great number of wives, and
-that not all of these held the same rank, some being inferior to the
-principal wife. The right of concubinage was practically unlimited.
-Abraham kept a number of concubines, as appears in Genesis XXV, 6, where
-it is said that he, when dividing his property, gave gifts to the sons
-of his concubines. Of Solomon the first book of Kings XI, 3, states,
-that he had 700 wives and 300 concubines.
-
-In the Mosaic law concubinage and divorce was a privilege of the husband
-only. A wife accused of adultery was compelled to undergo the horrible
-ordeal of the bitter water, as described in Numbers V. If found guilty,
-she might be stoned to death.
-
-To continue the male issue of the family was the paramount mission of
-the wife. That the birth of a male baby was regarded as an event of far
-greater importance than that of a female, appears from Leviticus XII,
-where it is said, that a woman, giving birth to a son, was regarded
-unclean for only seven days and must not touch hallowed things nor come
-into the sanctuary for a period of thirty-three days. But if
-unfortunately she became the mother of a girl, she was considered
-unclean for fourteen days and had to abstain from religious service for
-sixty-six days. Only after she had made atonement for the sin of
-motherhood by offering a lamb or a pair of pigeons, was she forgiven.
-
-The prejudice against woman is also confirmed by the fact, that,
-according to Exodus XXIII, 17, all male Jews were required to appear
-before the Lord three times in the year, and that they had to repair to
-Jerusalem once a year, with all their belongings. But the women were not
-privileged to accompany their husbands.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  HINDOO WOMEN FROM CASHMERE.
-]
-
-
-              WOMAN’S STATUS AMONG THE PARSEE AND HINDOO.
-
-To investigate woman’s position among the other ancient nations of Asia
-is also of interest.
-
-The =Parsee= or =Parsis=, belonging to the great Aryan or Indo-Germanic
-race, occupied two thousand years before Christ that part of Central
-Asia known at present as Iran or Persia. Whether this country was the
-original home of that race, is unknown. Some modern scientists are
-inclined to seek it in more northern parts of Asia or even of Europe, as
-the sacred songs of the Parsee contain indications, that the Aryans
-originally came from countries with a temperate or frigid zone. When for
-instance the Vedic singers in hot India prayed for long life, they asked
-for “a hundred winters.”
-
-In their treatment of women these Aryans or Parsee have been much more
-noble than any other Asiatic race. They believed in marriage for higher
-purposes than the mere begetting of children. The principal incentive to
-conclude a marriage was the desire to contribute to the great renovation
-hereafter, which, according to the sacred book of the Parsee, the
-Zend-Avesta, is promised to humanity. This renovation cannot be carried
-out in the individual self, but must be gradually worked out through a
-continuous line of sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons. The motive of
-marriage was therefore sacred. It was a religious purpose they had in
-view, when the male and female individuals contributed by marital union
-their assistance, first, in the propagation of the human race; second,
-in spreading the Zoroastrian faith; and third, in giving stability to
-the religious kingdom of God by contributing to the victory of the good
-cause, which victory will be complete about the time of resurrection.
-The objects of the marriage bond were, therefore, purely religious,
-tending to the success of light, piety or virtue in this world. For this
-reason the Avesta declares that married men are far above those who
-remain single; that those who have a settled home are far above those
-who have none; and that those who have children are of far greater value
-to humanity than those who have no offspring.
-
-While daughters were believed to be less useful than sons for the
-continuation of the father’s race, they were, however, not disliked, but
-also objects of love and tenderness. Marriages were not the result of
-any barter or capture, but of pure selection on the part of the two
-individuals. If they were still of minor age, the marriage was subject
-to the confirmation of the parents or guardians.
-
-Infanticide was strictly prohibited. There were also laws against the
-destruction of the fruit of adultery. Such illegitimate offspring had to
-be fed and brought up at the expense of the male sinner until they
-became seven years of age.
-
-                  *       *       *       *       *
-
-Like the valleys of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, and like the
-highlands of Central Asia, or Ariyana, so the mountains, plains and
-forests of =India= were inhabited long before the dawn of history by
-masses of men of various races and split into many hundreds of tribes.
-Of these races descendants exist in almost the same conditions as their
-ancestors did many thousand years ago. In Southern India the Kader are
-still living in primitive tree-huts. Assam and Bhutan are regions
-abounding with villages which are the exact counterparts of the
-prehistorical lake-dwellings of Switzerland.
-
-These vast regions of India were at some unknown time invaded by tribes
-of =Aryan= or =Indo-Germanic= race. While among the aborigines of India
-women were subjected to all the hardships and bad treatment of primeval
-times, the women of the Aryans enjoyed, as stated above, a far higher
-position. Like their husbands they were the “rulers of the house,” had
-the entire management of household affairs, and were allowed to appear
-freely in public. Husband and wife also drew near to the gods together
-in prayer. That the education of the females was not neglected is proven
-by the fact, that some of the most beautiful Vedas or national hymns and
-lyric poems were composed by ladies and queens.—
-
-With the decline of the Aryan race and culture in India, caused most
-probably by the hot, enervating climate of the country, the position of
-women also underwent a change for the worse. Especially the growing
-despotism of the Brahmanic priests gradually robbed women of all their
-former rights and liberty. In time they became completely subject to the
-authority of man. Mothers owed obedience to their own sons, and
-daughters were absolutely dependent upon the will of their fathers. The
-system of conventional precepts, known as “Manu’s Code of Laws,” clearly
-defined the relative position and the duties of the several castes and
-sexes, and determined the penalties to be inflicted on any transgressors
-of the limits assigned to each of them. But these laws are conceived
-with no human or sentimental scruples on the part of their authors. On
-the contrary, the offenses, committed by Brahmans against other castes,
-are treated with remarkable clemency, whilst the punishments inflicted
-for trespasses on the rights of the Brahmans and higher classes are the
-more severe and inhuman the lower the offender stands in the social
-scale.
-
-Against the female sex Manu’s laws are full of hostile expressions:
-“Women are able to lead astray in this world, not only the fools, but
-even learned men, and to make them slaves of lust and anger.”—
-
-“The cause of all dishonor is woman; the cause of hostility is woman;
-the cause of our worldly existence is woman; therefore we must turn away
-from woman.”—“Girls and wives must never do anything of their own will,
-not even in their own homes.”—“Women are by their nature inclined to
-seduce men; therefore no man shall sit even with his own relative in
-lonely places.”—“The wife must be devoted to her husband during her
-whole life as well as after his death. Even if he is not without blame,
-even if he is unfaithful and without a good character, she must
-nevertheless respect him like a god. She must do nothing that might
-displease him, neither during his life nor after his death.”—“Day and
-night must women be held in a state of dependence.”—
-
-As the subjection of women was made a cardinal principle of the Brahman
-priests, they did not shrink from misinterpreting the text of the Vedas
-accordingly. So the sentence: “You wife, ascend into the realm of life!
-Come to us! Do your duty toward your husband!” was explained to mean
-that a widow must not marry again but ought to follow her husband also
-in death. This led to the voluntary burning of the widows with the
-corpse of the husband, a practice which assumed great dimensions and was
-observed till the middle of the 19th Century. Mrs. Postans, an English
-lady, who during the first part of the last century resided many years
-in Cutch, one of the northern provinces of India, gave the following
-account of such a ceremony: “News of the widow’s intentions having
-spread, a great concourse of people of both sexes, the women clad in
-their gala costumes, assembled round the pyre. In a short time after
-their arrival the fated victim appeared, accompanied by the Brahmins,
-her relatives, and the body of the deceased. The spectators showered
-chaplets of mogree on her head, and greeted her appearance with
-laudatory exclamations at her constancy and virtue. The women especially
-pressed forward to touch her garments—an act which is considered
-meritorious, and highly desirable for absolution and protection from the
-“evil eye.””
-
-“The widow was a remarkably handsome woman, apparently about thirty, and
-most superbly attired. Her manner was marked by great apathy to all
-around her, and by a complete indifference to the preparations which for
-the first time met her eye. Physical pangs evidently excited no fears in
-her; her singular creed, the customs of her country, and her sense of
-confused duty excluded from her mind the natural emotions of personal
-dread, and never did martyr to a true cause go to the stake with more
-constancy and firmness, than did this delicate and gentle woman prepare
-to become the victim of a deliberate sacrifice to the demoniacal tenets
-of her heathen creed.”
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  A LADIES’ PARLOR IN CHINA.
-]
-
-
-                       WOMAN IN CHINA AND JAPAN.
-
-While the fate of women in India was shaped by Manu’s Code of Laws, in
-=China= it was decided by the orders of Confucius, the famous sage, born
-in the year 550 B. C. and in popular histories of his life praised in
-the lines:
-
-            “Confucius! Confucius! How great was Confucius!
-            Before him there was no Confucius,
-            Since him there has been no other.
-            Confucius! Confucius! How great was Confucius!”
-
-In the rules, which this savant gave to his followers, he demanded full
-subordination of woman to man; also, that the two sexes should have
-nothing in common and live separated in two different parts of the
-house. The husband must not mingle in the internal affairs of the home,
-while the wife must not concern herself in any outside matter. Also
-women should have no right to make decisions but in everything be guided
-by the orders of their husbands.
-
-Women have likewise no proper position before the law and cannot be
-witnesses in any court. The father may sell his daughter, and the
-husband may sell his wife. Concubines are permitted and often are housed
-under the same roof with the wife. Daughters are not welcomed, but
-treated with contempt.
-
-To get rid of a superabundance of infant girls which were regarded as a
-burden and as unwelcome eaters, the Chinese in former times resorted to
-exposure and infanticide to such an appalling extent that these
-cruelties became a national calamity and disgrace. Generally the female
-babies were drowned. In the provinces of Fukian and Kiangsi infanticide
-was so common, that, according to Douglas, at public canals stones could
-be seen bearing the inscription: “Infants must not be drowned here!”—
-
-To lessen these abuses one of the emperors of the Sung-dynasty decreed
-that all persons, willing to adopt exposed children, should be
-compensated by the government. But this well-meant decree brought evil
-results, as many people, who adopted such foundlings, raised them for
-the purpose of making them their own concubines, or to sell them to the
-keepers of brothels, of which every Chinese city had an abundance.
-Placed in these brothels when six or seven years old, the unfortunate
-girls were compelled to serve the older inmates for several years. Later
-on they assisted in entertaining visitors with song and music. But
-having reached the age of twelve or thirteen, they were regarded as
-sufficiently developed to bring profit in the lines of their actual
-designation.
-
-The final fate of such unfortunate beings was in most cases miserable
-beyond description. Having been exploited to the utmost by their
-heartless owners, they were, when withered and no longer desirable,
-thrown into the streets, to perish in some filthy corner.
-
-Women of the lower classes too had a hard life. In addition to such
-unfavorable conditions there existed among the aristocrats a strict
-adherence to ancient manners and customs. Accordingly the life of the
-whole nation became rigid and ossified. Foreigners, who came in close
-contact with Chinese aristocrats, speak of their women with greater pity
-than of the females of the poor, describing them as dull and boring
-creatures, with no higher interests than dress and gossip.
-
-As in Japan the rules of Confucius were likewise in force, the position
-of woman in “the Land of the Rising Sun” likewise was an inferior one.
-Obedience was her lifelong duty. As a girl she owed obedience to her
-father, as a wife to her husband, and as a widow to her oldest son. And
-in the “Onna Deigaku,” the classic manual for the education of women,
-she was advised to be constantly aware of the bar between the two sexes.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  AN ENTERTAINMENT AMONG THE GEISHAS OF JAPAN.
-]
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  AN EGYPTIAN QUEEN AND HER ATTENDANTS.
-]
-
-
-                       WOMAN AMONG THE EGYPTIANS.
-
-Of the many nations that occupy the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, the
-=Egyptians= are the oldest. To them one of the foremost scholars, George
-Ebers, paid the following compliment: “If it is true that the culture of
-a nation may be judged by the more or less favorable position, held by
-its women, then the culture of ancient Egypt surpassed that of all other
-nations of Antiquity.”
-
-Indeed, when we study the innumerable inscriptions, paintings and
-sculptures of Egyptian tombs, and investigate the many well preserved
-papyrus rolls, we find this praise fully justified. Not only did the
-Egyptians generally confine themselves to one wife, but they also
-extended to her more and greater privileges, than she had in any other
-country. Woman was honored as the source of life, as the mother of all
-being. Therefore contracts, carefully set up, protected her in her
-rights and secured her the title Neb-t-em pa, “the mistress of the
-house.” As such she had, if the authority of Diodorus can be credited,
-absolute control over all domestic affairs and no objection was made to
-her commands whatsoever they might be. It is also significant, that
-where biographical notes appear, on tombs, statues and sarcophagi, the
-name of the deceased mother is frequently given, while the name of the
-father is not mentioned. So it reads for instance: “Ani, born by
-Ptah-sit,” “Seti, brought to life by Ata.” The spirit of true affection
-and real family life likewise found expression in many poetical names
-given by sorrowful widowers to their departed wives. There is an
-inscription, in which a husband praises his lost mate as “the palm of
-loveliness and charm”; another one extols his spouse as “a faithful lady
-of the house, who was devoted to her husband in true fondness.”
-
-That the highly developed, culture of the Egyptians was based on strong
-ethical principles, also appears from the text of the so-called “Papyrus
-Prisse,” perhaps the oldest book of morals ever written. Its author,
-Prince Ptah-hotep, who lived about 3350 B. C., gives hints and advice in
-regard to social intercourse and manners, to be observed among people of
-refinement. Hear what he says about the treatment of women: “If you are
-wise, you will take proper care of your house and love your wife in all
-honor. Nourish, clothe and adorn her, as this is the joy of her limbs.
-Provide her with pleasing odors; make her glad and happy as long as you
-live, because she is a gift that shall be worthy of its owner. Don’t be
-a tyrant. By friendly conduct you will attain much more than by rough
-force. Then her breath will be merry and her eyes bright. Gladly she
-will live in your house and will work in it with affection and to her
-heart’s content.”
-
-Children were regarded as the gifts of the gods, and brought up in good
-manners and obedience.
-
-In company with their husbands Egyptian women took part in all kinds of
-social and public festivals. At social affairs the master and mistress
-of the house presided, sitting close together, while the guests, men and
-women, frequently mingled, strangers as well as members of the same
-family. Agreeable conversation was considered the principal charm of
-polite society, and according to Herodotus it was customary at such
-gatherings, to bring into the hall a wooden image of Osiris, the Lord of
-Life and Death, to remind the guests not only of the transitoriness of
-all earthly things and human pleasures, but also of the duty, to meet
-all others during the short span of this earthly life with kindness and
-love.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  A LADIES’ PARTY IN ANCIENT EGYPT.
-]
-
-That ladies’ parties are not an innovation of our times but date back
-thousands of years before Christ, we learn from many finely executed
-carvings and frescoes which represent feasts. In long rows we see the
-fair ones sitting together, in finest attire, with hair carefully
-dressed and adorned with lotus flowers. Waited upon by handmaids and
-female slaves, they chat and enjoy the delicious sweets, cakes and
-fruits, with which the tables are loaded. As the hours passed, fresh
-bouquets were brought to them, and the guests are shown in the act of
-burying their noses in the delicate petals, with an air of luxury which
-even the conventionalities of the draughtsman cannot hide. Wine was also
-partaken of, and that the ladies were not restricted in its use, is
-evident from the fact, that the painters have sometimes sacrificed their
-gallantry to a love of caricature. “We see some ladies call the servants
-to support them as they sit; others with difficulty prevent themselves
-from falling on those behind them; a basin is brought too late by a
-reluctant servant, and the faded flower, which is ready to drop from
-heated hands, is intended to be characteristic of their own
-sensations.”[2]
-
-Footnote 2:
-
-  Wilkinson, Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians, Vol. II, p.
-  166.
-
-In Egypt women were permitted to practice as physicians. They were
-likewise admitted into the service of the temple. In most solemn
-processions they advanced towards the altar with the priests, bearing
-the sacred sistrum, an instrument emitting jingling sounds when shaken
-by the dancer. Queens and princesses frequently accompanied the monarchs
-while they offered their prayers and sacrifices to the deity, holding
-one or two ceremonial instruments in their hands.
-
-The constitution of Egypt also provided that, when at the death of a
-king no male successor was at hand, the royal authority and supreme
-direction of affairs might be entrusted without reserve to one of the
-princesses, who in such case ascended the throne. History records
-several Egyptian queens, among them Cleopatra VI, who became famous
-through her relations to Cæsar and Anthony.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  IN THE TIME OF SAPPHO AND ASPASIA.
-]
-
-
-                        WOMAN AMONG THE GREEKS.
-
-The great regard extended to women by the Egyptians could not fail to
-influence to some extent those nations, with whom they came in contact,
-especially the =Greeks= and the =Romans=.
-
-Ancient Greece, or to be more correct, Hellas, was occupied by the
-=Hellenes=, belonging to the Aryan or Indo-Germanic race, who had
-immigrated from Central Asia in prehistoric times. A pastoral rather
-than an agricultural people, they were divided into several branches, of
-which the Dorians, Ionians, Aeolians, and Pelasgians were the most
-prominent.
-
-No people has ever recognized the charm of women with greater enthusiasm
-than the Greeks. To them the fair sex was the embodiment of cheerful
-life, of the joy of being. To this conception we owe many of the most
-excellent works of art, among them several unsurpassed statues of Venus,
-the goddess of beauty and love.
-
-In the treatment of their women the various branches of the Hellenes
-were not alike. But all took deep interest in the harmonious development
-of the body, of beauty and art. Gymnastic games and prize-fights were
-the favorite entertainments, especially among the Dorians, one branch of
-whom, the Spartans, became famous for their strict methods in rearing
-and educating boys as well as girls.
-
-To secure to the state a race of strong and healthy citizens, the
-Spartans allowed no sickly infant to live, and girls were required to
-take part in all gymnastic exercises of the young men. Women were even
-admitted to co-operate in all public affairs. As great attention was
-given also to their education, the women of Sparta gained in time such
-great influence over their men, that the other Hellenes jokingly spoke
-of “Sparta’s female government,” a remark, which was promptly answered
-with the reply, that the women of Sparta were also the only ones, who
-gave birth to real men.
-
-That the Hellenic women were treated with great dignity during the
-so-called “heroic age,” and that they enjoyed far greater liberty than
-in later periods, is evident from the poems of Homer. In the Iliad
-Achilles says: “Every true and sensible man will treat his wife
-respectfully and take proper care of her.” And in another place Homer
-declares that “besides beauty good judgment, intellect and skill in all
-female works are the merits, by which a wife will become a respected
-consort to her husband.”
-
-In the “Odyssey” Homer gives in Penelope a very attractive example of
-female faithfulness and dignity. He also makes Odysseus say to Nausikaa:
-“There is nothing so elevating and beautiful, as when husband and wife
-live in harmony in their home, to the annoyance of their adversaries, to
-the rejoicing of their friends, and to their own honor!”
-
-Among the many deities, worshiped by the Greeks, one of the most
-attractive figures was Hestia, the goddess of the home or hearth fire.
-As explained in a former chapter, the constant fire, kept by aboriginal
-bands in the centre of their villages, became in time a sacred symbol of
-home and family life, and by degrees grew into a religious cult of great
-sanctity and importance. As women in ancient Hellas too were the
-guardians of this tribal fire, so its deity was believed to be a
-goddess, Hestia, whose name means “home—or hearth-fire.” As the tribal
-fire was always kept burning so the fire in the Pytaneion, the temples
-of Hestia, was to remain alive. If by any mischance it became
-extinguished, only sacred fire made by friction, or got directly from
-the Sun, might be used to rekindle it. The Pytaneion was always in the
-center of the villages and cities. Around its fire the magistrates met,
-and received foreign guests. From this fire, representing the life of
-the city, was taken the fire wherewith that on the hearth of new
-colonies was kindled.
-
-In later times, however, the high conceptions the Greeks had of
-womanhood underwent considerable change, and the close intimacy between
-husband and wife, which had hitherto distinguished married life,
-vanished. When with the extension of navigation and commerce the Greeks
-came into closer touch with the luxurious life of Asiatic nations, they
-adopted many of their manners and thoughts. Suspicion and jealousy,
-conspicuous traits in the character of southern races, now made
-themselves felt. Besides misogynists like Hipponax, Antiphanes, Eubulos
-and others began to poison the minds of the people with degrading,
-insulting remarks about women and matrimony. As did for instance
-Hipponax by saying: “There are only two pleasant days in married life,
-the first, when you take your bride in your home, and the second, when
-you bury her.”—
-
-And Eubulos is responsible for the sentence: “Deuce may take him, who
-marries a second time! I shall not scold him, that he took his first
-wife, as he did not know what was in store for him. But later on he
-knows that this evil is woman.”—
-
-Euripides is responsible for the most degrading comment. He wrote the
-following lines:
-
-            “Dire is the violence of ocean waves,
-            And dire the blast of rivers and hot fires,
-            And dire is want, and dire are countless things,
-            But nothing is so dire and dread as woman.
-            No painting could express her dreadfulness,
-            No words describe it. If a god made woman
-            And fashioned her, he was for man the artist
-            Of woes unnumbered, and his deadly foe!”
-
-The undermining effect of such remarks was increased by numerous
-comedies in which married life was turned to ridicule, and husbands were
-depicted as despicable slaves to women. So bye and bye the high
-position, formerly held by the female sex, sank to a much lower level.
-Their liberty was greatly curtailed, and daughters as well as wifes were
-confined to the strict seclusion of the “Gynäkonitis” or women’s
-quarters at the back of the house. Here they spent their time with
-spinning, weaving, sewing and other female work, not seeing or hearing
-much of the outside world. For this reason they were often nicknamed
-“the locked up,” or “those reared in the shadow.” As they rarely got out
-into the fresh air, they relied greatly on rouge and cosmetics, to hide
-their faded complexion. The only interruption in this monotonous life
-were the festivals of the various deities, during which they joined the
-solemn processions and carried the ceremonial implements and vessels on
-their heads.
-
-As the education of the girls was greatly neglected, and as they
-generally married very early, they had no influence whatever on the male
-members of the family. They even didn’t appear at table with men, even
-with their husbands’ guests in their own homes. But the principal cause
-for the decline of woman’s, position and of family life in Hellas was
-the rise and growing prevalence of the “heteræ” or courtesans, many of
-whom became famous for their fascinating beauty and accomplishments.
-Clever in graceful dances, well educated in song, music and in the art
-of entertaining, these women, many of whom were natives of foreign
-countries, in time became constant guests of the symposiums of prominent
-citizens. Far outshining the housewives and their daughters in
-gracefulness and wit, they soon won a domineering influence over the all
-too susceptible men, many of whom became lost to their own neglected
-families.
-
-The most striking illustration of this is offered by the life of the
-famous Athenian statesman Pericles, who fell victim to the charms of
-Aspasia, a courtesan born in Miletus, Asia Minor. Her extraordinary
-beauty and still more remarkable mental gifts had gained her a wide
-reputation, which increased after her association with Pericles. Having
-divorced his wife, with whom he had been unhappy, Pericles attached
-himself to Aspasia as closely as was possible under the Athenian law,
-according to which marriage with a “barbarian” or foreigner was illegal
-and impossible. And after the death of his two sons by his lawful wife
-he secured the passage of a law, by which the children of irregular
-marriages might be rendered legitimate. His son by Aspasia was thus
-allowed to assume his father’s name.
-
-Aspasia enjoyed a high reputation as a teacher of rhetoric. It is said
-that she instructed Pericles in this art, and that even Socrates
-admitted to have learned very much from her. The house of Aspasia became
-the center of the most brilliant intellectual society. Men who were in
-the advance guard of Hellenic thought, Socrates and his friends
-included, gathered here.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  A DANCING LESSON IN THE TEMPLE OF DIONYSOS.
-
-  After a painting by H. Schneider.
-]
-
-Another noted courtesan was Phryne, who by her radiant beauty acquired
-so much wealth that she could offer to rebuild the walls of Thebes,
-which had been destroyed by Alexander (335 B. C.), on condition that the
-restored walls bear the inscription, “Destroyed by Alexander, restored
-by Phryne, the hetære.” When the festival of Poseidon was held at
-Eleusis, she laid aside her garments, let down her hair and stepped into
-the sea in the sight of the people, thus suggesting to Apelles his great
-painting of “Aphrodite rising from the sea.” The famous sculptor
-Praxiteles too used her as a model for his statue “the Cnidian
-Aphrodite,” which Pliny declared to be the most beautiful statue in the
-world.
-
-Anteia, Isostasion, Korinna, Phonion, Klepsydra, Thalatta, Danae, Mania,
-Nicarete, Herpyllis, Lamia, Lasthenia, Theis, Bachis and Theodota are
-the names of other courtesans, who became widely known for their
-relations with prominent men of Hellas and acquired enormous wealth.
-
-Sappho, the famous poetess, whom Plato dignified with the epithets of
-“the tenth Muse,” “the flower of the Graces,” and “a miracle,” most
-probably belonged likewise to this class. It is said that she
-established in Mytilene a literary association of women of tastes and
-pursuits similar to her own, and that these women devoted themselves to
-every species of refined and elegant pleasure, sensual and intellectual.
-Music and poetry, and the art of love, were taught by Sappho and her
-older companions to the younger members of the sisterhood.
-
-Hierarchical prostitution prevailed in Hellas. It was connected with the
-service of Aphrodite, the Greek counterpart of the Babylonian Mylitta.
-Strabo states, that in her temple of Corinth more than one thousand
-courtesans were devoted to the service of this goddess. The amount of
-money, earned by these girls and flowing into the priest’s treasury, was
-so enormous that Solon, the great statesman and law maker, envying the
-temples for such rich income, founded the Dikterion, a brothel of great
-style, the income of which went into the treasury of the state.
-
-Enticed by the luxurious and easy life of such courtesans, thousands of
-young girls chose the same profession and entered the schools, which
-were established by many courtesans for the special purpose of giving
-instruction in all the arts of seduction. As the legislators, bribed by
-heavy tributes, were most liberal in giving concessions to these
-institutions as well as to prostitutes and keepers of brothels, public
-life became in time thoroughly demoralized. In fact these conditions
-were greatly responsible for the final decay and downfall of the whole
-Hellenic nation.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-                        WOMAN AMONG THE ROMANS.
-
-Among the various nations who in early times occupied the Italian
-peninsula, the =Latins=, =Sabines= and =Etruscans= were the most
-prominent. That among them barter and the forceful abduction of women
-was customary, is indicated by the well-known story of the “Rape of the
-Sabine Women” by the original settlers of Rome.
-
-As the legend runs Romulus and his band of adventurers, having no women
-with them, and too poor to buy some from their neighbors, decided in the
-fourth month after the foundation of Rome to get wives by resorting to a
-stratagem. Accordingly they invited their Sabine neighbors to partake
-with their wives and daughters in the celebration of a festival.
-Suspecting nothing, the Sabines came and greatly enjoyed the
-entertainments provided for them. But in the middle of the feast the
-Romans, far outnumbering the unarmed Sabines, rushed upon their maiden
-guests and carried them off by force. To avenge themselves, the Sabines
-went to war, in which both parties suffered severely. But the fierce
-struggle was brought to an end, when the kidnapped girls flung
-themselves between the combatants, imploring their fathers and brothers
-to become reconciled, as they would like to stay with their Roman
-husbands. Their urgent appeals brought not alone peace, but resulted
-even in the confederation of the Sabines and Romans.
-
-It is impossible to say whether this legend rests on actual facts, but
-it indicates that the forceful abduction of women was customary in
-ancient Italy. Undoubtedly it took many centuries before this drastic
-means of securing wives gave way to more peaceful methods. But to remind
-people of the intervention by which the women had ended the bloodshed
-between Romans and Sabines, the Romans celebrated a festival on the
-first of March of each year, called “Matronalia.” It could only be
-participated in by women, who went with girdles loose, and on the
-occasion received presents from husbands, lovers, and friends.
-
-Laws were also instituted for the protection of women. Woe to those who
-dared to hurt their feelings by disorderly acts or insolent language.
-They were brought before the blood-judge, who dealt very severely with
-such evil-doers.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  THE VESTAL VIRGINS.
-
-  After the painting by H. le Roux.
-]
-
-Like the Greeks the Romans venerated a divine guardian of family life.
-Her name was Vesta, “the domestic hearth-fire.” The hearth, around which
-the members of the family assembled in the evening, was the place
-consecrated to her. Numa Pompilius is said to be the one who erected the
-first temple to this goddess in Rome. Round in shape, its center
-contained an altar with a fire that was never allowed to be
-extinguished. To keep this sacred flame always burning and to offer
-daily sacrifices and prayers for the welfare of the state, two virgins
-of the noblest families were chosen by the Pontifex maximus or
-High-Priest. Afterwards the number of these “Vestal Virgins” was
-increased to four, and later to six. Their garments were of spotless
-white, with a veil and a fillet round the hair. Strict observance of the
-vow of chastity during the thirty years of their term of service was one
-of their chief obligations.
-
-The privileges extended to these virgins were very remarkable. Free from
-any paternal control, except that of the Pontifex maximus, they could
-dispose by will of their own property. When appearing in a public
-procession they were preceded by a number of lictors, who carried with
-them the symbols of their judicial office, the fasces, a bundle of
-sticks, out of which an axe projected as a sign of sovereign power.
-Should it happen that in the street they met a criminal on his way to
-execution, they had the prerogative of pardoning him. In theatres, in
-the arena, and at other places of amusement the best seats were reserved
-for them. They also lived in great splendor; their home, the Atrium
-Vestæ, was not only very large, but of the best material and
-magnificently decorated. Like the emperors they shared the privilege of
-intramural burial.
-
-With all this esteem, the Vestal Virgin was severely punished if found
-guilty of neglecting her duty or violating her vow of chastity. The
-latter crime caused the whole city to mourn. While innumerable
-sacrifices and prayers were offered up to appease the offended goddess,
-preparations were made to punish the priestess as well as her seducer
-horribly. The man was scourged to death on the public market; the
-unfortunate priestess was placed in a subterranean chamber on the
-criminals’ field. After she had been provided with a bed, a lighted
-lamp, and some bread and water, the vault was closed, the earth thrown
-over it, and the priestess left to die.
-
-While the “Vestal Virgins” enjoyed many privileges, the Roman women
-during the first time of the republic were completely dependent. A
-daughter, if unmarried, remained under the guardianship of her father
-during his life, and after his death, she came into the control of her
-agnates, that is, those of her kinsmen by blood or adoption who would
-have been under the power of the common ancestor had he lived. If
-married she and her property passed into the power of her husband.
-Whatever she acquired by her industry or otherwise while the marriage
-lasted fell to her husband as a matter of course. Marriage was a
-religious ceremony, conducted by the high priests in the presence of ten
-witnesses. Its effect was to dissociate the wife entirely from her
-father’s house and to make her a member of her husband’s, provided he
-himself had grown to manhood and started a household of his own. If this
-was not the case, his wife and their children, as they were born, fell
-likewise into the power of the “pater familias,” the father-in-law of
-the wife, and the latter was entitled to exercise over his
-daughter-in-law and grandchildren the same rights as he had over his
-sons and unmarried daughters.
-
-Of the wife of the “pater-familias” the Romans spoke as the
-“mater-familias,” the “housemother,” or as the Domina, “the mistress of
-the house,” and she was treated as her husband’s equal. But in spite of
-the fact that her position in the family was one of dignity, she could
-not make a will or contract, nor could she be a witness or fill any
-civil or public office.
-
-So the life of a Roman woman was one of perpetual servitude. For
-centuries she had no control over her own person, no choice in marriage,
-no right to her own property, and no recourse against cruelty. Any man
-could beat his wife, sell her, or give her to some one else, when he was
-tired of her. He could even put her to death, acting as accuser, judge,
-jury, and executioner.
-
-The dependent position of the women changed considerably, when the
-Romans came in touch with the Greeks and other nations. Marriage was
-made easier. It became even possible, without the sanction of priests or
-civil authorities, to conclude an agreement to which men and women might
-live together on probation. If such union was kept up without
-interruption for one year, then it was considered a regular marriage
-with all its consequences. If, however, the two persons concerned wished
-to reserve for themselves the right of separation later on, it was only
-necessary that the wife should stay in the house of her parents for
-three nights before the end of the year.
-
-There was also perfect freedom in divorce, as it was regarded improper
-to force persons to continue in the bonds of matrimony when conjugal
-affection no longer existed.
-
-In later times women secured full right to dispose over their own
-property. Either they might manage it personally or have it administered
-by a “Procurator.”
-
-The Greek conception that the presence of women lends charm and luster
-to festivals, was adopted by the Romans. As they were convinced that no
-entertainment was worth while without the presence of the ladies,
-festivals were developed to even a far greater extent than was the case
-in Greece.
-
-This step for the better was due to the greater intelligence of the
-Roman women. Recognizing that the vast influence exerted by many
-courtesans over the prominent men of Hellas was not due solely to the
-beauty and grace of these women, but also to their refinement and
-knowledge of literature, music and art, the Roman ladies, to attach
-their husbands to their homes, eagerly endeavored to acquire similar
-merits. And so they devoted themselves to the culture of everything that
-makes life interesting and beautiful. We know the names of many Roman
-women, who in this way became real companions of their husbands. Hear,
-for instance, what Pliny, the famous naturalist, wrote about Kalpurnia,
-his wife, in one of his letters. Having praised her keen intellect,
-moderation and affection, he continues: “In addition to these virtues
-comes her deep interest in literature. My own books she not only
-possesses them, but reads them over and over again, until she knows them
-by heart. If I have to give a lecture, she sits close by behind a
-curtain, listening eagerly to the appreciation shown to me.” In similar
-terms Plutarch speaks of the wives of Pompejus and Kato; Tacitus of the
-wife of Agricola, of Cornelia, the mother of the Graches, of Aurelia and
-Atia, the mothers of Cæsar and Augustus.
-
-While such cultured women retained a strong sense of duty towards their
-home and family, the influence of Hellas, however, made itself felt also
-in other ways. Its universal corruption and immorality had made it easy
-for Rome to subjugate the whole country. But during the occupation of
-the country the Romans became acquainted with the luxurious life and
-lascivious debaucheries in which the rich Greeks indulged in full
-disregard of the dreadful distress of the lower classes. Many Roman
-officers, consuls and prefects, morally unfit to resist the allurements
-of such loose life, fell victims to all sorts of vices and crimes. And
-when, after several years, they returned to Italy, they generally took
-with them, besides enormous quantities of stolen valuables, numbers of
-courtesans and slaves.
-
-With the expansion of the empire these evils increased accordingly. And
-so Rome became finally permeated with foreign elements, manners and
-vices.
-
-Even religious life became demoralized. Not only the voluptuous worship
-of Aphrodite or Venus was transplanted to Roman cities, but also the
-obscene service of Astarte, the Phœnician goddess of the begetting
-agencies. The orgies, committed in the ostentatious temples of these
-deities, formed indeed a striking contrast against the chaste worship of
-Vesta.
-
-By all these conditions the life of the Roman women became deeply
-affected. The works of contemporary writers abound with complaints about
-the growing emancipation of the female sex, the neglect of their duties,
-and the ever increasing love of amusement. Comparing the women of his
-time with those of former days, Kolumella remarks: “Now, our women are
-sunk so deeply in luxury and laziness, that they are not even pleased to
-superintend the spinning and weaving. Disdaining home-made goods, they
-always seek in their perverted mania to extort from their husbands more
-elaborate ones, for which often great sums and even fortunes must be
-paid. No wonder that they regard housekeeping as a burden and that they
-do not care to stay at their country seats even for a few days. Because
-the ways of the former Roman and Sabine housewives are considered
-old-fashioned, it is necessary to engage a housekeeper, who takes charge
-of the duties of the mistress.”
-
-Young girls liked to stroll through the shady colonnades of the temples
-and through the groves, that surrounded them. Here they met their beaus,
-who in the art of flirt were just as cunning as are the Lotharios of
-to-day. The ladies of the aristocrats or patricians enjoyed to be
-carried about in sedan-chairs, as in these comfortable means of
-transportation they had full chance to show themselves to the public
-richly dressed and in graceful positions. As these sedan-chairs were
-always provided with costly canopies and curtains, and shouldered by
-fine-looking Syrian slaves, clad in red and gold, such a sight could not
-fail to attract general attention and to become the talk of the town.
-
-That this mode of shopping and paying calls became a real fashion may be
-concluded from a remark of Seneca, who grumbles that those husbands, who
-forbid their wives to be carried about and exhibit themselves in such
-manner are considered as unpolished and contemptible boors.
-
-As appears from the works of Juvenal, Sueton, Plutarch, Martial and
-others the growing passion for emancipation, notoriety and excitement,
-combined with the rage for gossip was responsible for the production of
-many unwomanly characters. We hear the complaint that scores of women
-boldly intrude into the meetings of men and often compete with them, in
-their drinking bouts. These authors also condemn that such females
-eagerly mix with officers and soldiers, to discuss with them the details
-and events of the war, while others try to spy out all domestic secrets,
-only to blab them out again in the street.
-
-Ovid too expresses his disappointment about the changes going on in the
-life of the fair sex. “Disdaining matronly seclusion, our ladies
-patronize circus, theatre and arena, eager to see and to be seen. Like
-an army of ants or like a swarm of bees they hurry in elaborate attires
-to the beloved plays, often in such crowds that I am utterly unable to
-guess their numbers.”
-
-This inordinate greediness for enjoyments grew in time into a real
-intoxication of the senses. Nothing indicates this more than the
-concentration of all thoughts, of the patricians as well as of the
-plebejans, of the men as well as of the women, of the free as well as of
-the slaves on the questions which party would win in the public games,
-how many hundred gladiators would fight each other, or how many
-thousands of wild beasts would be set loose in the arena.
-
-When we read that such public shows sometimes lasted for weeks and
-months, and that all regions of the known world were ransacked in order
-to secure some new and more cruel feature, that would set people wild
-with excitement, it will be clear that the susceptible mind of women
-must have suffered most. And indeed with the increasing degeneration of
-social life the female sex became more and more demoralized. As among
-the foreign slaves as well as among the freed and enfranchised were many
-fine-looking and accomplished persons, unfaithfulness and adultery
-increased. Especially among the ladies of the upper classes the “nicely
-curled procurator,” who managed the property of such women, served only
-too often as a “Cicisbeo,” in which role he figures in many satires and
-comedies. Men and women met in the public bath houses as well as in
-watering-places like Bajae, an ill-reputed resort, where libertinism and
-dissipation flourished, and from which it was said, that no virgin, who
-went there, ever returned as a virgin.
-
-Bajae and Rome were also the places where the mysterious rites of the
-Bachanalia found the greatest number of devotees. Originally a festival
-in honor of Dionysos, the Greek god of spring and wine, it degenerated
-into wild orgies after its introduction to Rome. This is what Livy
-writes about it: “The mysterious rites were at first imparted to a few,
-but were afterwards communicated to great numbers, both men and women.
-To their religious performances were added the pleasures of wine and
-feasting, to allure a greater number of proselytes. When wine,
-lascivious discourse, night, and the mingling of the sexes had
-extinguished every sentiment of modesty, then debaucheries of every kind
-were practiced, as every person found at hand that sort of enjoyment to
-which he was disposed by the passion most prevalent in his nature. Nor
-were they confined to one species of vice, the promiscuous intercourse
-of freeborn men and women. From this storehouse of villainy proceeded
-false witnesses, counterfeit seals, false evidences, and pretended
-discoveries. In the same place, too, were perpetrated secret murders and
-other unmentionable infamies. To consider nothing unlawful was the grand
-maxim of their religion.”
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  STREET LIFE IN ROME.
-
-  After a painting by L. Boulanger.
-]
-
-It was in Bajae where Marcellus, the son-in-law of Emperor Augustus, was
-poisoned by intriguing Livia; and here Agrippina, the mother of Nero,
-was clubbed to death after an attempt by her son to shipwreck and drown
-her during a cruise in a magnificent gondola had failed.
-
-In time adultery, poisoning and murder prevailed among the Roman society
-to such an extent, that men became afraid to enter matrimony, and
-addicted themselves to illicit intercourse.
-
-This period of moral degeneration was, however, distinguished by a most
-wonderful rise of literature, science and art. At no time before so many
-beautiful temples, basilicas, theatres, arenas, public buildings,
-palaces and country-seats were erected. And all these buildings were
-adorned with an abundance of mosaics, mural paintings and works of
-sculpture. There were also numbers of brilliant writers, poets,
-dramatists, orators, law-makers and men who made themselves famous as
-naturalists or philosophers.
-
-Of the philosophers the so-called Stoics, among them Seneca, Lucan,
-Epictetus and Musonius Rufus formed a school, which exerted a wide and
-active influence upon the world at the busiest and most important time
-in ancient history. This school was remarkable for its anticipation of
-modern ethical conceptions, for the lofty morality of its exhortations
-to forgive injuries and overcome evil with good. It also preached the
-obligation to universal benevolence on the principle that all men are
-brethren. Regarding virtue as the sole end, to be gained mainly by habit
-and training, the Stoics furthermore succeeded in reforming matrimonial
-life as well as the conceptions about women. In these efforts they were
-aided later on by an ethical movement of still greater power, namely
-Christianity.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  VALKYRIES, THE FAIR MAIDENS OF THE BATTLEFIELDS.
-]
-
-
-              WOMAN’S POSITION AMONG THE GERMANIC NATIONS.
-
-Before we consider woman’s position in Christianity, we must take a
-glance at her status among another important branch of the Aryan race,
-the =Germans=.
-
-As is familiar to every student of history, the Germans are indebted to
-an alien, the Roman Tacitus, for the best account of the character and
-manners of their ancestors. In his famous book “Germania” he describes
-them as a pure and unmixed race and gives many valuable particulars
-about their family life. He says: “Matrimony is the most respected of
-their institutions. They are almost the only barbarians who are content
-with one wife. Very few among them are exceptions to this rule and then
-they do so not for sensuality but for political considerations. The
-young men marry late, and their vigor is unimpaired. Nor are the maidens
-hurried into marriage. Well-matched and in full health they wed, and
-their offspring reproduce the strength of their parents. The wife does
-not bring a dowry to the man, but the husband to his bride. These
-presents are not trinkets to please female vanity or to serve for
-adornment, but on the contrary, they consist of cattle, a bridled horse,
-and a shield with sword and spear. While the wife is welcomed with such
-gifts, she too presents her husband with a piece of armor. All these
-things are held sacred as a mysterious symbol of matrimony. Lest the
-wife should think that she is shut out from heroic aspirations and from
-the perils of war, she is reminded by the ceremony which inaugurates
-marriage that now she is her husband’s partner in his toil as well as in
-all danger, and destined to share with him in peace and in war alike.
-This is the meaning of the yoked oxen, the bridled horse and the
-weapons. And she must live and die with the feeling that the weapons she
-has received, have to be handed down untarnished and undepreciated to
-her sons, from whom they are to pass to her daughters-in-law, and again
-to the grandchildren.
-
-“So the wife lives under the protection of clean manners, uncorrupted by
-the allurements of voluptuous comedies or licentious festivals.
-Clandestine communication by letters is absolutely unknown. Adultery
-among this numerous people is exceedingly rare. Its punishment is left
-to the husband and quickly executed. In the presence of her relatives
-the guilty woman is kicked out of the house, naked and with her hair
-cut. And thus she is whipped through the whole village. Loss of chastity
-finds no excuse. Neither beauty nor youth nor wealth wins the culprit a
-husband, because no one indulges in vice or pardons seduction. Blessed
-the country where only virgins enter matrimony and where their vow to
-the husband is binding and final for all time. As they are born only
-once so are they married but once and they devote themselves to their
-husband as well as to the duties of matrimony. To limit the number of
-children or to kill one of them is regarded as a sacrilege. Thus good
-habits accomplish more here than good laws in other countries.”
-
-Tacitus as well as other Roman writers state likewise that the women
-frequently accompanied the men in times of war and encouraged them in
-battle by their cheers and actions. “They always stay near them, so that
-the warriors may hear the voices of their wives and the wailing of their
-children. Women’s approval and praise is to the men of the highest
-value. To their mothers and wives they come with their wounds for
-relief, and the women do not hesitate to count the gashes, and dress the
-wounds. The women also encourage the men while they are fighting, and
-provide them with food and water. We have been told that wavering battle
-lines were made to stand fast by women, who with bare breasts mingled
-with the warriors and admonished them by their cries to new
-resistance.”—
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  A BETROTHAL AMONG THE ANCIENT GERMANS.
-
-  After a painting by F. Leeke.
-]
-
-Many of the names given to members of the fair sex, indicate the men’s
-great respect for women, and show that they were considered as able
-consorts even in battle. The names Daghilt, Sneburga, Swanhilt and
-Sunnihilt remind us of the purity of the daylight, the white of the snow
-and the swan, and the gold of the sunshine. And the qualities of
-strength, agility and skill in everything connected with war and victory
-we find in names like Hildegund, “the protectoress of the home”;
-Hadewig, “the mistress of battle”; Gertrud, “the thrower of the spear”;
-Gudrun, “the expert in war”; Thusinhilde or Thusnelda, “the giant
-fighter”; Sieglind, “the shield of victory”; Brunhild, “she who is
-strong like a bear,” and in many other names.
-
-The many noble female personages who figure in German mythology also
-testify to the high conception the Germans had of womanhood. There was
-Frigg, the spouse of Odin, and the ideal personification of a German
-housewife. There was Freya, the goddess of spring, beauty and love;
-Gerda, the bright consort of Fro, the sun god; Sigune, the faithful; not
-to forget the Valkyries, those beautiful maidens who hovered over the
-field of battle, wakened the dead heroes with a kiss and carried them on
-their swift cloud horses to Valhalla, where they were welcomed and
-feasted by the gods and enjoyed all kinds of martial games.
-
-The Germans saw in women also something that was sacred and prophetic.
-It was this belief that lent importance to Veleda, Alruna, and other
-prophetesses, who were looked up to as oracles, and played a conspicuous
-part during the time of the Roman invasion.
-
-
-           THE HEROIC WOMEN OF THE BRITONS AND THE NORSEMEN.
-
-The same noble spirit that distinguished the German women, was likewise
-found among the females of =Britain= and =Scandinavia=. Tacitus in his
-“Annals” XIV gives an account of Boadicea, queen of the Iceni, a tribe
-that occupied the eastern coasts of Britain. To defend the independence
-of her country against the Romans, this queen succeeded in uniting some
-of the British tribes and drove the invaders from several fortified
-places. When Suetonius, on hearing of the revolt, hastened up with a
-strong army, he found himself opposed by large numbers of the
-aborigines, men as well as women. Among the fighters were many
-priestesses or Druids, who, clothed in black, with streaming hair and
-brandished torches, fought like furies. When they saw themselves far
-outnumbered and realized that all was lost, these women preferred death
-to slavery and perished among the flames, which destroyed their
-stronghold.
-
-When the Roman legions met the main body of the Britons, they beheld
-Boadicea admonishing her warriors, to conquer or die in battle. In the
-fearful contest 70,000 Romans and 80,000 Britons were slain. But when
-the combat resulted in the complete defeat of the latter, Boadicea
-poisoned herself to avoid falling into the hands of the victor.
-
-The Edda and many other sagas of the Scandinavians contain likewise
-accounts about heroic women such as they were in those days of the past:
-strong in body as in mind, and equal to any emergency. Brave alike in
-heart and in character, independent, open and frank, they were loyal to
-their husbands and their duty when fitly matched. Fearlessly they joined
-in the daring expeditions of their sea-kings, who packed their
-“dragon-ships” to full capacity with warriors and made raids on all the
-coasts of Europe, even on the countries that border the Mediterranean
-Sea.
-
-From several interesting relics of old Icelandic literature we also know
-that as early as in 986 A. D. Norse women went with Eric the Red to
-Greenland. Here they helped in establishing a settlement, Brattahlid.
-And when in 1007 Thorfin Karlsefne sailed from this place to Vinland,
-some newly discovered country in the far Southwest, he too was
-accompanied by several women, among them his wife Gudrid. Some time
-after her arrival she gave birth to a son, Snorre, the first child of
-white parentage born on American soil.
-
-Another of these fearless women, Froejdisa, took active part in a hot
-skirmish with the aborigines of Vinland. When the Norsemen were about to
-yield to the overwhelming numbers of these “Skraelings,” it was she who
-encouraged the men to stubborn resistance. Several years later, in 1012,
-this same resolute woman, in company with two men, fitted out an
-expedition of her own to Vinland. After an absence of one year she
-returned to Brattahlid with a large cargo of valuable lumber, furs, and
-other goods, but also suspected of having killed her partners as well as
-their men with her own hands.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  CHRISTIANS OF THE THIRD CENTURY.
-]
-
-
-                   WOMAN AMONG THE EARLY CHRISTIANS.
-
-Just at the time, when the capitals of Hellas and Rome were reservoirs
-for all the streams of wickedness and infamy, there originated in
-Palestine a religious sect destined to exercise an enormous influence
-upon the moral and political life of the world. Its adherents called
-themselves =Christians=, “the Annointed,” and followed the doctrines of
-Jesus, who, according to the Jewish historian Josephus, was condemned
-for his teachings by Pilate, the Roman governor of Judæa, and crucified.
-
-As Jesus left no records or gospels written by himself, we do not know
-his personal views about woman, home, marriage, and maternity. We must
-rely on the accounts which were written by his followers many years
-after his death, and now are called the New Testament. After the death
-of Jesus some of his followers drifted from Palestine to Syria, Greece
-and Rome, where for their pure and austere morals they attracted the
-attention of numerous persons who stood aghast in views of the vices
-that surrounded them.
-
-For the spread of a new religion such as Christianity, the Roman world
-was wonderfully ripe. As it had been the politics of Rome not to
-interfere with the religions of the peoples subdued by her armies, there
-had been added to the already overcrowded pantheon of Rome many of the
-principal deities of the conquered nations. But there existed also a
-longing for some religion, which would have more individuality and
-personal power in it then were supplied by the thoughts of a supreme
-spiritual fate, or by the mere materialistic conception of the genius of
-Rome. There was a decided thirst for information about sacred things.
-Men discussed the claims of the various conflicting religions
-philosophically, and amid all the gross materialism of the time there
-were longings for some deeper, truer religion than any they had known.
-
-This longing was satisfied by the simple but sublime conceptions of God
-held by the Christians, and also by the noble purity of their life.
-These Christians had no settled form of doctrine, no settled rule of
-discipline, no body of magistrates. They were merely an association of
-believers in a common faith, with common sentiments, feelings, emotions
-and convictions. To women this new religion was particularly appealing,
-as it preached many important reforms. First of all, it granted to woman
-the full right of disposing of herself. By making her consent necessary
-for marriage, woman remained no longer a piece of property, which might
-be sold or disposed of at will by the father, brother, husband or other
-relatives. She also was not compelled any more to accommodate, with her
-own body, some visiting strangers. There was no hierarchical
-prostitution, either, but matrimony was elevated to a sacred ceremony,
-of which the benediction of a priest formed a necessary part. Chastity
-was regarded a supreme law, which governed the whole family life.
-
-The majority of these Christians consisted of poor illiterate people,
-who tried to lead a clean and honest life. Their simple manners and
-frugal habits contrasted strongly with the luxury of those Greek and
-Roman patricians among whom they dwelt. They regarded such extravagance
-with contempt, and the unlimited emancipation and licentiousness of the
-rich women filled them with horror.
-
-Accordingly they applied to themselves strict rules which would protect
-them against any temptation. For this reason their women never adorned
-themselves with jewelry or gaudy dresses of dyed cloth, silk, and
-embroideries; they never wore false or colored hair. If married, they
-took care of the house, attended to the children, and were devoted to
-their husbands, whom they respected as the head of the family. The only
-occasion for their going out was when they went to church, or to visit
-some poor or sick neighbor.
-
-Depending on one another, husband and wife endeavored to form that union
-recommended by the scriptures as the goal of married life.
-
-Such happy nuptial ties inspired Tertullian, a Carthaginian, who came in
-contact with Christians in Rome, to the following lines: “Whence are we
-to find language adequate to describe the happiness of that marriage
-which the church cements and the oblation confirms, and the benediction
-signs and seals, which angels report and the Father holds as ratified?
-Together they pray, together prostrate themselves, together they perform
-their fasts, mutually teaching, mutually exhorting, mutually
-sustaining.”
-
-Commemorations of conjugal happiness, and commendations of such female
-virtues as modesty, chastity, prudence and diligence, we also frequently
-find in many sepulchral inscriptions of the Catacombs, those famous
-subterranean cemeteries excavated by the early Christians of Rome for
-the express and sole purpose of burying their dead. There are
-inscriptions as for instance: “Our well deserving father and mother, who
-lived together (for 20, 30, 50 or even 60 years) without any complaint
-or quarrel, without taking or giving offense.”
-
-During the first centuries of Christianity women took a prominent part
-in all affairs of the church and they were allowed to be active wherever
-there was a chance to spread the Gospel. In particular, they taught the
-children, took charge of the orphans, and acted as door-keepers in the
-assembly rooms, directing the worshipers to their places, and seeing
-that all behaved quietly and reverently.
-
-The new sect, which in every respect contrasted so strongly with Roman
-customs and conceptions, could not fail to attract the attention and
-inquisitiveness of the people as well as of the Government. But also
-suspicion and hostility were aroused. As the Christians met secretly in
-private houses, people suspected that they were conspirators banded
-together for criminal purposes, that they occasionally slaughtered
-infants, poured their blood into a cup, and that passing this cup around
-they all drank of it. Their insistance in only one God, that of the
-despised Jews, and their aim to discredit and overthrow all other creeds
-of the world in order to fuse all mankind in their own faith, were
-decried as contempt of those deities, under which Rome had become great
-and prosperous. Naturally, their enmity against these deities was
-regarded as enmity against the State, which stood under the protection
-of these deities. Accused of being apostates and revolutionists, the
-Christians soon enough became the objects of much bitter persecution;
-such as has been described by Sienkiewicz in his famous book “Quo
-Vadis.”
-
-During these persecutions the Christian women shared with their
-husbands, children and brothers all the horrible cruelties Roman
-ingenuity could invent. In the arena they were thrown before lions,
-tigers, bears and other savage beasts. They were crucified, or besmeared
-with pitch and publicly burned. Worst of all, many of those women who
-regarded chastity as their highest virtue, were handed over to the
-keepers of brothels and made victims to the voluptuous passions of the
-lowest class of people.
-
-But in time the pure and noble ideals which inspired the hearts of those
-first Christians, began to appeal to the masses of the people. The
-scriptures of the great apologists Tertullian, Justin, Origenes and
-others were read and studied with growing interest. And when later on
-Emperor Constantine, surnamed the Great, for motives of political
-expediency, favored and adopted the new faith, the triumph of
-Christianity was secured.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  ARABIC WOMEN IN ANCIENT TIMES.
-]
-
-
-                      WOMAN AMONG THE MOHAMMEDANS.
-
-While thus the followers of Christ reformed the position of woman in the
-Roman empire, Mohammed, the founder of Islam or Mohammedanism, at the
-same time endeavored to better the condition of woman in the Orient.
-Born about the year 570 A. D. in Arabia he recognized, that the domestic
-life of the Arabs was marked by many embarrassing improprieties.
-Polygamy was customary everywhere, and while among the rich people the
-wife was nothing but a toy, for no other purpose but to satisfy passion,
-among the poorer classes she was merely a suppressed slave, who could be
-sent away, when she was no longer young, or had lost her good looks, or
-had become unable to work. Concubinage and prostitution prevailed among
-the population of the cities as well as among the Bedouins, who led the
-same nomadic life as had the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob several
-thousand years ago.
-
-To improve the position of woman, Mohammed inserted in the Koran, his
-great moral codex, a number of instructions, which shine forth like gold
-threads in the fabric of a beautiful curtain. He ordered the men to
-treat their wives with forbearance and respect, as was becoming in the
-stronger toward the weaker sex. Children were impressed to give love and
-comfort to their parents to the end of their days and show them the
-highest reverence.
-
-To diminish polygamy and to give women a secure legal standing, Mohammed
-also reduced the number of lawful wives to four, and allowed this number
-to such men only as were wealthy enough to provide for certain comforts.
-Furthermore, he placed the men under the obligation, to be faithful to
-their wives and treat all with equal kindness.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  VEILED.
-]
-
-To protect women from the many temptations of too close a social
-intercourse with men, Mohammed took pains to exclude women as much as
-possible from contact with the outer world. Therefore he insisted on the
-strict observance of the ancient Oriental custom that women must not
-appear in the streets or in presence of other men than their husbands
-except with their faces heavily veiled. This order has been observed in
-all Mohammedan countries up to the present day. Only slaves and peasant
-women are allowed to go unveiled, as the veil would hinder them at work.
-Therefore, outsiders can study the features of Mohammedan women only
-from members of the lower classes. To find out who is who among the
-veiled females seen in the streets of oriental cities is impossible even
-for their own husbands.
-
-About the domestic life of Mohammedan women during former centuries we
-know practically nothing, as reliable reports by disinterested observers
-are wanting. But the fact that Mohammedan homes and family life were
-always secluded from the external world and inaccessible to Christian
-explorers travelling through oriental countries, rendered the subject
-peculiarly liable to highly exaggerated and sensational reports.
-Especially the life in the “Harem,” the women’s quarter, has been
-pictured innumerable times as a combination of boundless luxuriance,
-lascivity, frivolity, laziness and intrigues. In contradiction several
-ladies, who had a chance to study Mohammedan life during the last
-century, have asserted, that these reports do not, by any means,
-correspond with the truth. There is for instance an essay of Else
-Marquardsen about the manners of the Turks, in which she discusses
-polygamy. She says: “Throughout the course of many years I was allowed
-to visit the homes of many prominent people as well as of the poorer
-classes, but I remember only one case, where a man, a high official, had
-more than one wife. As a rule I found in all families a spirit of quiet
-faithfulness to duty, such as it is not always the case among us. The
-women, often compelled to live together with the mother or other female
-relatives of their husbands, maintain a good-natured kindness toward
-each other, which is really solacing and knows no exception. The great
-devotion, shown to the mother by her son as well as by his wife, and
-which makes her the most respected member of the whole family, is an
-education in humility and self-control, the results of which fill one
-with admiration. As the life of the Mohammedan woman, of which her
-husband forms the center, is one of repose and seclusion, so she retains
-a child-like disposition of sentiment which is indeed touching. Unlike
-as it is with us, she is reared in full knowledge of the natural
-destination of woman. As soon as she has developed from childhood to
-womanhood, she is offered to a man, unknown to her, but whom she
-respects as the god-sent medium to impart the sacred mystery by which
-she may become a mother. As he gives her the crown of life, she honors
-him as her lord. But if it should be her fate to remain barren, then she
-does as Sarah, Leah and Rachel did several thousand years ago; she goes
-to find another woman, by whom her husband may have children.”
-
-The marriageable age for Mohammedan girls is about twelve, sometimes
-less and sometimes more, and the preliminaries are entirely a business
-matter conducted by the nearest relatives with much ceremony. After a
-definite contract is made it is then that the bride is permitted to see
-and speak to her future husband.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  A MOHAMMEDAN WOMAN OF MOROCCO.
-]
-
-According to an article by Broughton Brandenburg about the district of
-Biskra, the night before the wedding the bride’s hands and feet are
-steeped in henna, with which are stained the nails of all women who make
-any pretense of keeping up appearances. When the day comes on which the
-bride is to go to the house of her husband she is arrayed in rich robes;
-on her arms and ankles are bracelets, and about her slender waist she
-wears a corded girdle holding in place a broad plate of gold, silver and
-turquoise, usually an heirloom of great age and rare workmanship. The
-spangled bridal veil is cast over her head and she is led to the door by
-her parents and given over to a company of joyous friends, hired
-musicians and guests who parade through the streets beating the rawhide
-tambourines and cymbals, dancing and shouting. So the tumultuous pageant
-winds its way to the house of the groom, where the happy child takes off
-the girdle and plate, and hands them to her husband with a deep
-obeisance. After that, feasting and merry-making follow, and last as
-long as the bridegroom keeps his purse open.—
-
-But the great restrictions to which, for her own protection, the
-Mohammedan woman was subjected by the Koran, also caused some great
-disadvantages. Neither Mohammed nor his successors had a proper
-appreciation of the dignity, the many possibilities and the real mission
-of woman. Regarding her chiefly as the medium for the propagation of the
-race, they neglected her intellectual life. In consequence she never
-had, in her strict seclusion, a chance to develop her mental qualities.
-Unable to read books and hearing nothing of the events of the outer
-world, she remained in the state of semi-slavery, never attaining the
-high position reached by many Christian women of to-day, namely that of
-being a real consort to the husband.
-
-So the very best influence of woman was wanting. And as in time polygamy
-and concubinage increased again among many Mohammedan nations, the men
-became enervated and unable to resist hostile assaults.
-
-The most striking example is that of the Moors. After having conquered
-large parts of Northern Africa as well as of Spain, they were expelled
-again from Europe during the 15th Century. The charming Alhambra at
-Granada, the Alcazars of Seville and Toledo, the magnificent mosque at
-Cordova still preach the past glory of their former empire. But while we
-wander through the elaborate rooms, that once were occupied by the women
-of the califs and sultans, we cannot resist the conviction that these
-splendid halls were but golden cages for beautiful creatures, whose
-wings had been clipped.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                     Women During the Middle Ages.
-
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  A NOBLEWOMAN OF THE 16TH CENTURY.
-]
-
-
-                     WOMEN DURING THE MIDDLE AGES.
-
-From the accounts, given by Tertullian and other writers about the life
-of the early Christians, it appears that their conceptions in regard to
-women gave promise for a better future. But during the Middle Ages,
-which extend from the downfall of Rome to the discovery of America,
-Christianity unfortunately failed to realize these promises.
-
-First of all the ancient Oriental prejudice against women again took
-hold of the minds of many Christian leaders. Instead of making
-themselves champions of women’s rights and interests, they curtailed
-women’s influence in order to subject them to the dominion of their
-husbands. In these efforts the “Christian Fathers” complied with those
-commands that Paul the Apostle had given in several of his epistles to
-the Corinthians, Philippians, and to Timothy. They read as follows:
-
-“The head of every man is Christ, and the head of every woman is the
-man, and the head of Christ is God. For the man is not of the woman but
-the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman but the
-woman for the man.”—
-
-“Let your women keep silence in the churches, for it is not permitted
-unto them to speak but they are commanded to be under obedience. And if
-they would learn anything let them ask their husbands at home.”
-
-“Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a
-woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in
-silence.”—
-
-These narrow views destroyed the beneficial influence of woman in
-Christian lands and retarded her emancipation for more than eighteen
-hundred years. Approving of Paul’s commands, Ambrose, one of the eminent
-lights of the Church in the Fourth Century, said, to demonstrate the
-inferiority of woman: “Remember that God took a rib out of Adam’s body,
-not a part of his soul, to make her!” Another of these leaders made the
-name “Eve” synonymous with “deceiver,” accusing woman of having been the
-cause of men’s expulsion from Paradise. St. John Chrysostom wrote:
-“Woman is the source of evil, the author of sin, the gate of the tomb,
-the entrance to hell, the cause of all our misfortunes.” And St. John of
-Damascus told the world, that “woman is an evil animal, a hideous worm
-which makes its home in the heart of man.” Other teachers agreed with
-Paul that woman must veil her head because she is not, as is man, in
-God’s image!
-
-In face of such vicious promulgations we must not be surprised that
-among the discussions of the early “Fathers” none was more important
-than that, “has woman a soul?” This question was argued in the Sixth
-Century at the Council of Macon. It is also recorded that a few of these
-pious leaders entertained the opinion that because of the great power
-and goodness of the Almighty “women may possibly be permitted to rise as
-men at the resurrection.” And the Council of Auxerre, held in the Sixth
-Century, decided that women should wear gloves before they touched the
-holy sacrament.
-
-As at the same time ascetic thinkers impressed the minds of the
-Christians with an inordinate estimate of the virtue of celibacy,
-conceptions of matrimony also changed considerably. While marriage was
-not condemned, it was, however, regarded as an inferior state, and it
-was held, that persons who had not married, but remained pure, were
-nobler and more exalted beings than those who had married. With the
-advance of such ascetic ideas a large family came to be regarded almost
-as a disgrace, as a proof of lasciviousness.—
-
-All these doctrines of woman’s inferiority in time corroded the ideas of
-the Christian nations about woman to such a degree that her position in
-the religious service as well as in law and in all the customs of the
-early Middle Ages sank to a very low level.
-
-Another reason for the failure of Christianity in regard to woman’s
-emancipation was that the minds of the leaders of the Church became
-occupied by aims which to realize seemed to them of far greater value
-and importance.
-
-The early Christian communities had been simple associations of
-believers in a common faith. They had no settled form of doctrine or
-rules of discipline. They even had no body of magistrates. But the
-moment these associations began to advance and became a corporation,
-they started to mould a form of doctrine. At the same time the elders,
-who taught and preached, and morally governed the congregation, became
-priests, while those, who did service as overseers or inspectors, became
-bishops.
-
-Among the latter the bishops of Rome adopted not only the title of
-Pontiff or High-Priest, but also assumed dictatorship over the bishops
-of all other dioceses. Professing to be of divine appointment and the
-representative of Christ they claimed in his name authority over all
-things, both temporal and spiritual. Accordingly they made the
-propagation of the Christian faith throughout the world their chief
-mission and organized for this purpose an army of clerical dignitaries,
-who held themselves responsible to no other authority but the Pontiff or
-Pope, to whom they were bound by the strongest vows. Also numerous
-orders of monks and nuns were established, who assisted greatly in the
-extension and strengthening of the Church.
-
-The influence on human progress and culture of these vast religious
-armies has always been greatly overrated. No doubt, under the management
-of the monasteries and nunneries large tracts of virgin soil and forests
-were cultivated, and that architecture and art, as long as they served
-the interests of the Church, were patronized. But it is equally true
-that the Church tried to prevent its followers from thinking
-independently, that great masses of people, particularly those of the
-rural districts, were held in strict servitude and mental bondage, and
-that education and science were grossly neglected. Any attempts to
-question the authority of the Church or the truth of the Scriptures,
-were cursed as heresy and punished with death.
-
-Among the first who had to suffer the wrath of the Popes, were the
-Waldenses, Albigenses, Stedingers, and several other Christian sects,
-which during the 9th, 10th and 11th Centuries had formed in various
-parts of Europe for no other object than the re-establishment of the
-simplicity and sincerity of the early Christian communities. As these
-sects were found at variance with the rules of the Church, they were
-decried as heretical, and almost extinguished.
-
-Intolerant against all other creeds, the Popes also opened a series of
-wars against the Mohammedans, professedly for the purpose of delivering
-the “Holy Land” from the dominion of the “Infidels.” Aside from these
-“Crusades” a similar war was directed against the most western branch of
-the Mohammedans, the Moors, who had occupied a large part of the Iberian
-Peninsula. These struggles ended in 1492 with the fall of Granada and
-the surrender of the famous fortress Alhambra. While in the treaty of
-peace certain stipulated privileges had been granted to the conquered,
-one of which provided for free exercise of their religion, this liberty
-of worship was treacherously withdrawn in 1499 and the Moors either
-killed, expelled, or made Christians by forcible baptism. Those who
-survived by intermingling with the Spaniards produced a new race, the
-Andalusians, famous for their graceful women. The Spaniards adopted many
-of the Moorish manners and institutions, among them certain restrictions
-in the intercourse of the two sexes. Writers of the 15th Century state,
-that in these times the Spanish women used to sit in Oriental fashion,
-with legs crossed, on carpets and cushions, spending their time with
-embroideries and gossip, or telling the beads of the rosary. The
-husbands seldom sought their company, and even preferred to take their
-meals alone. Married ladies were not allowed to receive male visitors,
-and if their husbands brought friends along, they hardly dared to lift
-their eyes. The only breaks in this monotonous life were occasional
-calls by women friends, who were received with the greatest possible
-display of dress and jewelry. This unnatural segregation of the sexes
-still prevails in Spain to some extent and is chiefly due to the
-jealousy of men. Well aware of their own unfaithfulness and great
-inclination for love-adventures, they have no confidence in their wives
-either, but always watch them with suspicion.
-
-We find similar conditions in many other parts of Southern Europe. But
-as restrictions are always apt to breed intrigues we hear everywhere of
-plots and love-affairs, such as Boccaccio has related in his
-“Decamerone.” The stories of this famous book, which was written between
-1344 and 1350, without question are based on actual events, frequently
-among the fashionable ladies and gentlemen of the age.
-
-                  *       *       *       *       *
-
-Far higher than in Southern Europe was the status of women in those
-countries occupied by nations of Germanic stock.
-
-At the time of Tacitus the Germans had no settlements, but lived in
-isolated dwellings on the river banks or clearings in the majestic
-forests. With the migration of the nations, however, caused by the
-enormous pressure of vast Mongolian hordes upon the tribes of Eastern
-and Central Europe, the Germans were compelled to abandon this mode of
-life. For security’s sake they gathered together in villages and cities.
-These they surrounded with heavy walls and towers, and protected them by
-castles, erected on steep cliffs and mountains.
-
-The custody of these strongholds was entrusted to the most efficient
-warriors, who in time formed a separate class, the nobility, from which
-the heads of the whole nation, the princes, kings and emperors were
-chosen. The inhabitants of the cities formed the class of burghers, who
-devoted themselves to the trades and handicrafts. There was a third
-class, made up of the people remaining in the rural districts, the
-peasants.
-
-Of course the positions of the women of these various classes differed
-widely. While the women of the peasants and craftsmen were busy with the
-functions of their every day’s work, the women-folk of the rich
-merchants and the nobility had ample time to cultivate everything that
-makes life worth while. With blissful hearts they took part in all
-pleasures and festivals. And with the same feeling they accepted the
-tokens of respect and admiration, extended to them by the knights as
-well as by the many minstrels and troubadours, who travelled throughout
-the country to entertain with their songs of love, adventure and heroism
-all who liked to listen.
-
-Many songs of the 12th and the 13th Century express the high esteem of
-their authors for women. They also prove that the so-called
-“Minnedienst” of the German and French knights was to a great extent an
-ideal tribute and consisted chiefly in a restrained longing of the
-heart, in a pure remembrance of the beloved one.
-
-One of the best known rhymes dates from 1120 and reads as follows:
-
-                   Du bist min, ih bin din:
-                   des solt du gewis sin.
-                   du bist beslozzen
-                   in minem herzen;
-                   verlorn ist das sluzzelin:
-                   du musst immer darinne sin.
-
-                   Thou art mine, I am thine!
-                   Pray, what could be just as fine?
-                   Thou art enclosed
-                   Within my heart;
-                   The key is lost, so, as it were—
-                   Thou must now stay forever there.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  THE WELCOME TO A TROUBADOUR.
-
-  After a painting by B. Bruene.
-]
-
-Among the most beautiful poems, written in praise of women, we also find
-the “May-song” of Walter von der Vogelweide. In modern German it reads
-as follows:
-
-      “Wenn die Blumen aus dem Grase dringen,
-      Gleich als lachten sie hinauf zur Sonne
-      Des Morgens früh an einem Maientag,
-      Und die kleinen Vöglein lieblich singen
-      Ihre schönsten Weisen, welche Wonne
-      Böt’ wohl die Welt, die mehr ergötzen mag,
-      Ist’s doch wie im Himmelreiche.
-      Fragt ihr, was sich dem vergleiche,
-      So sag’ ich was viel wohler noch
-      Des öftern meinen Augen tat,
-      Und immer tut, erschau ich’s noch:
-      Denkt ein edles schönes Fräulein schreite
-      Wohlgekleidet und bekränzt hernieder
-      Unter Leuten froh sich zu ergehen,
-      Hochgemut im höfischen Geleite.
-      Züchtig um sich blickend und durch Anmut glänzend,
-      Wie Sonne unter Sternen anzusehen.
-      Welche Wonne käme gleich
-      Solchen Weibes Huldgestalt?
-      Der Mai mit allen Wundergaben
-      Kann doch nichts so wonnigliches haben
-      Als ihren minniglichen Leib.
-      Wir lassen alle Blumen steh’n
-      Und blicken nach dem werten Weib.”
-
-      When from the sod the flowerets spring,
-      And smile to meet the sun’s bright ray,
-      When birds their sweetest carols sing,
-      In all the morning pride of May,
-      What lovelier than the prospects there?
-      Can earth boast anything more fair?
-      To me it seems an almost heaven,
-      So beauteous to my eyes that vision bright is given.
-
-      But when a lady chaste and fair,
-      Noble, and clad in rich attire,
-      Walks through the throng with gracious air,
-      As sun that bids the stars retire,—
-      Then where are all thy boastings, May?
-        What hast thou beautiful and gay,
-      Compared with that supreme delight?
-      We leave the loveliest flowers, and watch that lady bright.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  A LADY’S ROOM DURING THE MIDDLE AGES.
-
-  After a drawing by F. A. Kaulbach.
-]
-
-Another German poet of the 13th Century was Heinrich von Meissen, better
-known under the name “Frauenlob.” This sobriquet he received because he
-sang much in praise of women, as for instance:
-
-            “O Frau, du selten reicher Hort,
-            Dass ich zu dir hie sprech’ aus reinem Munde.
-            Ich lob’ sie in des Himmels Pfort’;
-            Ihr Lob zu End’ ich nimmer bringen kunnte.
-            Dess lob’ ich hier die Frauen zart mit Rechten,
-            Und wo im Land ich immer fahr’
-            Muss stets mein Herz für holde Frauen fechten.”
-
-And at another time he sings:
-
-              “Ich lob’ die Frau für des Spiegel’s Wonne:
-              Dem Manne bringt sie grosse Freud’;
-              Recht als die klare Sonne
-              Durchleucht’ den Tag zu dieser Zeit,
-              Also erfreut die Frau des Mann’s Gemüte”—
-
-When in 1318 he died, in Mayence, the women of that city, in
-appreciation of his devotion to their cause, carried his coffin solemnly
-to the cathedral, in the cloisters of which he was buried.
-
-One of the most beautiful love-songs ever written dates from 1350.
-Having outlasted the centuries it is still sung and appreciated to-day
-wherever German is spoken.
-
-                    Ach wie ist’s möglich dann
-                    Dass ich dich lassen kann,
-                    Hab dich von Herzen lieb,
-                    Das glaube mir.
-
-                    Du hast die Seele mein
-                    So ganz genommen ein
-                    Dass ich kein’ and’re lieb’
-                    Als dich allein.
-
-                    Blau blüht ein Blümelein,
-                    Das heisst Vergiss-nicht-mein;
-                    Dies Blümlein leg’ an’s Herz
-                    Und denk’ an mich.
-
-                    Wär ich ein Vögelein,
-                    Bald wollt’ ich bei dir sein;
-                    Fürcht’ Falk’ und Habicht nicht,
-                    Flög’ gleich zu dir.
-
-                    Schöss’ mich ein Jäger tot,
-                    Fiel ich in deinen Schoss;
-                    Sähst du mich traurig an,
-                    Gern stürb’ ich dann.
-
-                    How can I leave thee so?
-                    How can I bear to go?
-                    That thou hast all my heart:
-                    Trust me, mine own!
-
-                    Thou hast this heart of mine
-                    So closely bound to thine
-                    None other can I love
-                    But thee alone.
-
-                    Blue is a floweret,
-                    ’Tis called Forget-me-not,
-                    Wear it upon thy heart
-                    And think of me!
-
-                    Flower and hope may die,
-                    Rich, dear, are you and I,
-                    Our love can’t pass away,
-                    Sweetest, believe.
-
-                    If I a bird could be,
-                    Soon would I speed to thee,
-                    Falcon nor hawk I’d fear
-                    Flying to thee.
-
-                    When by the fowler slain
-                    I in thy lap should lie,
-                    Thou sadly shouldst complain,
-                    Gladly I’d die.
-
-How deep-seated the respect for woman was among the German people in
-those times is also shown by the reception extended to Isabella, the
-sister of King Henry II. of England. When in 1235 she arrived at
-Cologne, to become the bride of Emperor Frederick II. ten thousand
-citizens, headed by all the clergy in full ornate, went out to greet her
-with joyful songs. While all the bells were ringing, children and young
-girls bestrewed the bride’s path with flowers.
-
-From Cologne the bride went by boat up the River Rhine to Castle
-Stolzenfels. Here she was met by the Emperor, who received his betrothed
-on bended knee. From there both went to Worms, where the wedding was
-celebrated with extraordinary splendor.—
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  A BRIDAL PARTY.
-
-  After a painting by L. Herterich.
-]
-
-Among the nobility as well as among the patricians weddings were great
-feasts, which extended over weeks and to which all relatives and friends
-from near and far were invited. After the priest had given his blessing
-to the young couple, the servants prepared the banquet table. Bridegroom
-and bride, occupying the place of honor, sat side by side on the
-beautiful bridal chair, eating and drinking from the same plate and the
-same goblet, to indicate, that now they regarded themselves as one soul
-and one body.
-
-If the young couple belonged to the nobility, the bridegroom led his
-bride to his castle in a pompous cavalcade. A number of shield-bearers,
-bedecked with flowers and ribbons, rode ahead, followed by a band of
-musicians and singers. Then came the bridal pair on horseback, as well
-as the parents of the bride, and the attendants. Such a cavalcade was
-hailed everywhere, especially in those villages which belonged to the
-dominion of the young nobleman. At the gate of the castle, however, the
-parents of the bridegroom and all the other inhabitants of the castle
-were waiting to welcome the new mistress with all honor.
-
-It must be said emphatically, that the great respect paid to their women
-by the Germans was indeed well deserved. For the majority of the German
-women were not merely good housekeepers, affectionate wives and loving
-mothers, but at the same time patronesses of everything that is
-beautiful. It was for them, that the homes became comfortable and
-artistic, as most of those exquisitely carved chests, buffets, tables,
-chairs and beds, which are now the show-pieces of our museums, were
-ordered by rich women fond of art. They adorned the cupboards of their
-cozy and paneled rooms with costly vessels of crystal and silver; they
-covered the floors with fine rugs and hung the walls with tapestries,
-etchings and paintings of famous masters.
-
-This taste for the beautiful would not allow the exterior of the houses
-to be neglected. Carvings, paintings and flowers were seen everywhere;
-even the most insignificant objects, such as the weather-vanes on the
-roof, and the brass-knockers on the doors were ornamented.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-                 THE GLORIOUS TIME OF THE RENAISSANCE.
-
-The close contact which, during the middle ages, existed between Germany
-and Italy also secured better conditions for the women of the latter
-country. The most remarkable change came, however, during the 14th and
-the 15th centuries, with that remarkable intellectual revolution known
-as the Renaissance.
-
-This movement, one of the most significant in the evolution of woman,
-originated in Italy at a time when the whole country was suffering from
-ecclesiastic and feudal despotism. It was then that men and women of
-high standing, striving for greater spiritual freedom, became attracted
-by the almost forgotten works of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Seneca,
-Cicero, and other authors of the classic past. It is to the glory of
-Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, and other poets of Italy to have revived
-interest in these literary treasures. Eager to unlock these rich stores
-of beauty and wisdom, they collected the precious manuscripts and
-established libraries and museums for their preservation.
-
-Many noblemen, patricians and merchant-princes, inspired by this sacred
-thirst for learning, and being aware that this effort was made in behalf
-of the emancipation of enslaved intelligence, aided the movement by
-their wealth. The art of printing with movable types, invented in 1450
-by Johannes Gutenberg in Mayence, and introduced into Italy, France and
-Spain by German printers, made it possible to reproduce what the
-collectors had recovered. So learning remained no longer the pursuit of
-monks and recluses only, but became fashionable and pervaded all
-classes. Professors of classic literature and of humanism began to
-journey from city to city, opening schools and lecture-rooms, or taking
-engagements as tutors in the families of the princes, noblemen, and
-wealthy merchants.
-
-The universities, founded at Bologna, Padua, Salerno and various other
-places, gave special attention to classical education and humanism. And,
-strange to say, all these schools and universities admitted women on
-equal terms with men. The number of women, who availed themselves of
-this privilege, may have been small, but evidently the way was clear.
-There were even several ladies, who acquired the degrees of doctor and
-professor of Greek language and literature, or of civil and canon law.
-Among these learned women were =Britisia Gozzadina=, who held a chair in
-the university of Bologna; and =Olympia Morata=, who, with her German
-husband, came to Heidelberg, where the chair for Greek at the university
-was offered to her.
-
-It was this revival of antique learning, art and science, and its
-application to the literature of the 16th Century, that shattered the
-narrow mental barriers imposed by mediæval orthodoxy.
-
-The stimulating movement met with full success, when a number of Italian
-princesses, in sincere enthusiasm, took the leadership. Among these
-ladies were =Elisabeth Gonzaga=, Duchess of Urbino; =Isabella d’Este=,
-Marchioness of Mantua; =Caterina Sforza=, Countess of Forli; =Veronica
-Gambara=, Countess of Corregio; =Lucrezia Borgia=, Duchess of Ferrara;
-the poetess =Lucrezia Tornabuoni= of Florence, and =Cassandra Fidelis=,
-“the pride and glory of Venice.” But above all stood the famous
-=Vittoria Colonna=, Marchioness Pescara, one of the most wonderful women
-of these great times.
-
-Ariosto said of her: “She has more eloquence and breathes more sweetness
-than all other women, and gives such force to her lofty words that she
-adorns the heavens in our day with another sun. She has not only made
-herself immortal by her beautiful poems and style, than which I have
-heard none better, but she can raise from the tomb those of whom she
-speaks or writes, and make them live forever.”
-
-Michael Angelo, to whom she was a close friend as well as an
-inspiration, and a polar star, wrote: “By her genius I was raised toward
-the skies; in her soul my thought was born; without wings, I flew with
-her wings.”
-
-Such exceptional women made their courts and drawing rooms the gathering
-places of the most refined and beautiful ladies of the time, of great
-artists like Raphael Sanzio, Leonardo da Vinci, Michael Angelo, Titian,
-Corregio and Bellini, of famous authors, poets and philosophers like
-Tasso, Ariosto, Bembo, and of distinguished statesmen, dignitaries and
-men of the world. They met here to listen to interesting debates about
-Humanism, the new doctrine, that man must endeavor to reconstitute
-himself as a free being, and throw off the shackles, that held him the
-thrall of theological despotism. They also read the classic
-philosophers, enjoyed the inspiring works of composers, or harkened to
-the wonderful accounts of daring discoverers, just returned from
-adventurous expeditions to India and the New World.
-
-Most attractive affairs were the festivals of the Roses, held in spring.
-Then poets and poetesses contested with their latest songs, rondos and
-sonnets, to be awarded laurel-wreaths or roses of gold and silver.
-
-It was at such gatherings that intimate friends united sweet discourses
-and platonic adoration, as shown in the following charming poem, written
-in those idyllic times:
-
-                “Donne e donzelle e giovanette accorte
-                rallegrando si vanno a le gran feste
-                d’amor si punte e deste
-                che par ciascuna che d’amar appaghi
-                e l’altre a punto in gonnellette corte
-                ginocano a l’ombra delle gran foreste,
-                tanto leggiadre e preste,
-                quai solean ninfe stare appresso i laghi
-                e in giovanetti vaghi
-                veggio seguire e donnear costoro
-                e talora danzare a mano a mano.”
-
-Translated these rhymes mean: “I behold lovely women and maidens as they
-joyfully hurry to the great feast. Struck and awakened by love they
-flourish with sweet desire. I see them at play in the shadows of the
-forest, and running with flowing garments, agile and graceful like
-nymphs at the border of the lakes. Bright young men follow these sweet
-women to amorous play. Here and there some of these happy couples
-disappear, wandering hand in hand.”
-
-It is difficult for us, to realize the great changes brought about by
-this movement in social manners as well as in the position of women. “To
-be a gentleman,” so J. A. Symonds says in his book “Renaissance in
-Italy,” “meant at this epoch to be a man acquainted with the rudiments
-at least of scholarship, refined in diction, capable of corresponding or
-of speaking in choice phrases, open to the beauty of the arts,
-intelligently interested in archæology, taking for his models of conduct
-the great men of antiquity rather than the saints of the church. He was
-also expected to prove himself an adept in physical exercises and in the
-courteous observances which survived from chivalry.”
-
-What was expected of a lady of rank we learn from a very interesting
-booklet, written in 1514 by Count Baldassare Castiglione, entitled
-“Libro del Cortegiano.” According to this “Manual for Courtiers” a lady
-should not be inferior to her husband in intellectual accomplishment and
-be able to read and write Latin. In classic literature as well as in
-music and arts she should be versed to such an extent as to have a
-correct judgment of her own; while she should possess individuality, her
-behavior should be easy but graceful and blameless. It was also expected
-that she should cultivate her personal merits and beauty. “Beauty,” so
-the manual says, “is of far greater importance to a lady than to a
-gentleman, because it is a divine gift which loses its charm when
-connected with an unworthy person. In her whole appearance, in her
-words, actions and attitude a lady must remain different from man. While
-virility should distinguish him, a lady should never try to copy him and
-be masculine. By nature woman is not inferior to man, therefore she
-should not imitate him. Both sexes are created to enjoy equal rights,
-but each sex has its own and individual right.”—
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  IN ITALY DURING THE TIME OF THE RENAISSANCE.
-
-  After a painting by Jacques Wagrez.
-]
-
-From Italy the Revival of Learning with its new conceptions of
-philosophy and religion spread to France, Germany, the Netherlands, and
-England, stimulating everywhere great intellectual life and
-achievements.
-
-In France it was ushered in by =Christine de Pisan=, the first French
-lady of the 14th Century who, at least in prose, gave evidence of a
-finished literary perception. In her works, which were often copied, she
-tried to rouse the self-respect of women by informing them about their
-sphere and duties. By her work “Cité des Dames” she made them acquainted
-with the character of famous women of the past, and endeavored to
-inspire their minds in order that they might join in the ethical efforts
-of the time.
-
-Christine de Pisan was perhaps also the first woman, who opened a sharp
-protest against the narrow views many men of her time had in regard to
-woman’s abilities and position. Defying the prejudice of woman’s
-inferiority, she gained a complete victory in her literary skirmishes
-over several clergymen of high standing.
-
-In Germany the cities of Nuremberg, Augsburg, Strassburg and Basel
-became the centers of learned societies, who gathered around scholars
-like Schedel, Pirckheimer, Agricola, Peutinger, Reuchlin and Brant. Here
-also Dürer, Holbein, Cranach, Schongauer and Vischer enriched the world
-with works of art that rank among the greatest of the Middle Ages. But
-most important of all, in Germany that great religious movement started
-which was in truth the Teutonic Renaissance: the Reformation, in which
-Luther, Melanchton, Hutten and Erasmus were the leading spirits.
-
-Kindred movements were started in Switzerland by Zwingli, in France by
-Lefevre d’Estaples, Berquin and Calvin; in England by Wycliffe, Bilney,
-Cranmer and Cromwell.
-
-While so numerous men and women strove for greater physical and
-intellectual liberty, ecclesiastic despotism, to prevent anybody from
-thinking independently, denounced all free thinkers as heretics who must
-be exterminated by fire and sword. The life of many brilliant men and
-women ended at the stake or on the scaffold. But far greater numbers
-perished through obscure superstition, for the spread of which the
-Church was in the first place responsible.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  ACCUSED OF WITCHCRAFT.
-
-  After a painting by F. Piloty.
-]
-
-
-                THE DARKEST CHAPTER IN WOMAN’S HISTORY.
-
-The belief in witchcraft, witches, evil spirits and devils is as old as
-humanity. It prevailed among all primeval people as well as among all
-nations of the classic past and the middle ages. It still exists among
-many nations who call themselves civilized. Witches have been and are
-feared as persons, who maintain intercourse with evil spirits, demons or
-devils. They are believed to be able, through the assistance of these
-spirits, of inflicting injury on other people, who attract their dislike
-and hatred. In former times people were convinced, that such witches
-could transform themselves into animals, clouds, water, rocks, trees or
-anything else; that they could cause disastrous thunderstorms, hail,
-invasions of grasshoppers, whirlwinds and droughts; that they could
-steal the dew and the rain, hide the moon and the stars, and produce
-plagues in men and cattle.
-
-From the Hebrews, who were firm believers in witchcraft and sorcery,
-this superstition was handed down to the early Christians, and with the
-extension of Christianity, it affected all other European nations. The
-earliest ecclesiastical decree against witchcraft appears to have been
-that of Ancyra, 315 A. D., condemning soothsayers to five years’
-penance. In canon law the Decretum subjected them to excommunication as
-idolators and enemies of Christ. And in accordance with the command of
-Moses: “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live,” all women suspected of
-witchcraft were killed.
-
-Later on the Popes John XXII. and Eugene IV. issued bulls exhorting all
-Christians to greater diligence “against heretics as well as the human
-agents of the Prince of Darkness, and especially against those who have
-the power to produce bad weather.” To exterminate these enemies of the
-Holy Faith all fighting forces of the church were set in motion, among
-them an institution, which had been founded in Spain during the 12th
-Century: the Inquisition.
-
-As its name, derived from the Latin “inquirere,” indicates, it was the
-office of this institution to inquire about, or spy into all sins
-committed against the Holy Faith and the authority of the church, and to
-deliver witches as well as heretics to the proper authorities for
-punishment.
-
-Confirmed and sanctioned by the Popes, this Inquisition had already
-performed excellent work during the crusades against the Albigenses and
-Waldenses. But the most vigorous crusade against witchcraft began when
-in 1484 Pope Innocent VIII. published his bull “Summis desiderantes
-affectibus,” of which Andrew D. White in his “History of the Warfare of
-Science with Theology” has said that of all documents, ever issued, this
-has doubtless caused the greatest shedding of innocent blood.
-
-By this bull several professors of theology were appointed as
-inquisitors for large parts of Germany, with full power to prevent the
-further spread of heresy and witchcraft. The clergy as well as all other
-authorities were warned that these inquisitors must not be hindered in
-any way nor by anyone. “All who try to do so, will be, whatever office
-they may hold, subdued by excommunication, suspension, interdict and
-other still more terrible punishments, without any appeal: and if
-necessary, they shall be turned over to the civil authorities. It shall
-not be permitted to anyone to act wantonly contrary to our message.
-Whoever may try to do so, should know that he directs upon himself the
-wrath of Almighty God as well as of the Apostles Peter and Paul.”
-
-Under the authority of this bull the inquisitors opened in Germany not
-only a systematic crusade against witchcraft, but at the same time
-prepared a manual, the Malleus Maleficarum, or “the Witch-Hammer,” which
-became the great text-book on procedure in all witchcraft cases. Never
-before had a volume been published that contained an equal amount of
-idiotic superstition. And never before nor after has any book caused
-more unnecessary suffering, misery, and disaster. When J. Scherr, one of
-the foremost historians of Germany, said that this bungling composition
-was written with the venom of monks, who had become crazy with violent
-fanaticism, voluptuousness, avarice and the passion for cruelty, he
-spoke only too true.
-
-Of the unfortunate human beings, who fell victims to this madness, the
-overwhelming majority were women.
-
-In fact, the authors of the “Witch-Hammer” boldly asserted, that
-witchcraft is more natural to women than to men, on account of the
-inherent wickedness of their hearts. “What else is woman but a necessary
-evil, a domestic danger, an attractive temptation, and a natural
-mischief, painted with nice colors? According to her mind woman seems to
-belong to another species than man. She is more voluptuous, as is proven
-by many immodest and lustful acts. This fault became apparent in the
-creation of the first woman, who was formed out of a crooked rib.”
-
-The inquisitors go on to explain: “Witchcraft is the most unpardonable
-among all acts of heresy and sins. Generally heretics are punished very
-severely. If they do not recant, they are burned. If they change for the
-better, they are imprisoned for life. But such dealing is not rigorous
-enough for witches. They must be annihilated, even if they regret their
-sins and announce their readiness to return to our Christian faith.
-Because the sins of the witches are far greater than the sins of the
-fallen angels and of the first men.”
-
-After having made these statements, the authors of the “Witch-Hammer”
-explain what witches are able to do to their unsuspecting fellow-men in
-violation to the rules of the church.
-
-Decency forbids the translation and reprinting of those passages which
-deal with the character of the obscene acts, charged to witches. We must
-confine ourselves to the remark that they were accused of sexual
-intercourse with innumerable devils, and that, in describing the various
-forms of such intercourse, the authors of the “Witch-Hammer” revealed
-their own infernal depravity.
-
-To point out only a few of the countless crimes ascribed to witches: it
-was asserted that witches, disguised as midwives, killed unborn children
-and tormented the unfortunate mothers by sharp thorns, bones and pieces
-of wood, produced in their wombs. Other witches, by looking at mothers
-and cows, made them dry; they also prevented milk from being churned
-into butter. By dipping brooms into water and swinging them in the air,
-numerous witches were accused of having caused terrible thunderstorms.
-Witches also stopped springs, wells and rivers from flowing; others
-caused an invasion of earthworms, mice, locusts, and other vermin.
-
-To remain undetected in the performance of such hellish tricks, the
-witches transformed themselves into dogs, cats, owls, bats and other
-animals.
-
-But the most horrible crime imputed to witches, was, that during certain
-nights they would go up chimneys and ride on broomsticks, goats, or pigs
-through the air to some bald hill, to take part in the celebration of
-the Witch-Sabbath. Here they would meet their master, Satan, whose upper
-half is that of a hairy man with a pale face and round fiery eyes. On
-his forehead he has three horns, the middle one serving as a lantern and
-radiating light similar to that of the full moon. The lower half of
-Satan’s body is that of a buck, but the tail and the left foot are those
-of a cow, while the right foot has the hoof of a horse. Assisted by
-innumerable devils of lower degrees Satan would preside over the
-Sabbath, during which the most sacred ceremonies of the church were
-ridiculed. Having read the Mass, he would administer the Devil’s
-Sacraments and the Devil’s Supper, after which the whole assemblage
-would indulge in the most obscene orgies.
-
-Even more nauseating volumes on witchcraft were published in Italy,
-Spain, France and the Netherlands. Their authors had wrenched the most
-insane confessions from tortured women about their carnal intercourse
-with the Prince of Hell and with hosts of other evil spirits.
-Notwithstanding the absurdity of such confessions they were believed by
-the superstitious priests as well as by the people, because the Popes
-and all other dignitaries of the church approved of such books and
-summoned every true Christian to join in the universal warfare upon
-witchcraft.
-
-As superstition, like hysteria and other mental diseases, is contagious,
-it cannot surprise us that the belief in witches also affected the
-countries in which the Reformation had taken root. We must consider that
-in these times education was still confined to a few. It was a privilege
-of the wealthy and of a small number of distinguished thinkers. Even
-these stood entirely under the influence of the Bible, and they
-believed, as the example of Luther proves, in the corporal existence of
-the devil and evil spirits. Among the common people, who grew up in
-blind credulity, enlightenment made very slow progress.
-
-Thus, all Christianity became polluted with superstition and the belief
-in witchcraft. Furthermore, from the European countries it spread to
-every Spanish, French, Dutch and English colony founded in different
-parts of the world.
-
-But there is also another explanation for the passionate zeal developed
-by the inquisitors. By the trials for witchcraft the church as well as
-the inquisitors and other officials grew enormously rich, as all
-property of the witches and their families was confiscated under the
-pretense that the taint of witchcraft hung to everything that had
-belonged to the condemned. If such property should remain, in the hands
-of their relatives it might cause them all kinds of misfortune and
-deliver them also into the hands of Satan.
-
-Where thus suspicion, ignorance and avarice were lying in wait, no woman
-was sure of her life for one hour. No matter what her social position
-might be, the slightest grounds of suspicion, or the slandering
-denunciation by some enemy was sufficient to deliver her into the power
-of the inquisitors.
-
-Generally the proceedings began with searching the body of the suspected
-witch for the mark of Satan, as it was asserted that all who consorted
-with devils had some secret mark about them, in some hidden place on
-their bodies, as, for instance, on the inside of the lips, between the
-hair of the eyebrows, in the hollows of the arm, inside of the thigh, or
-in still more private parts, from whence Satan drew nourishment. To find
-these marks, was the task of the “Witch-Prickers,” who, after divesting
-the supposed witch of all clothing, minutely examined all parts of her
-body. If they found a mole or another peculiar blemish, they pricked it
-with a needle. If the place proved insensitive and did not bleed, this
-was an undeniable proof that the person had sold herself to the devil,
-and that she must be turned over to the inquisitors.
-
-Then these human tigers began to ask questions, suggesting satisfactory
-answers, and if these answers were not equal to a confession of guilt,
-the prisoner was subjected to tortures which sooner or later surely
-brought out such answers and in such language as was suggested to her by
-the inquisitors. And these answers were given though the poor creature
-knew that they would send her to the stake or scaffold.
-
-To indicate the horrible sufferings, that hundreds of thousands of
-delicate and aged women had to go through, a few of the many implements
-of torture may be described. Robert G. Ingersoll in his great lecture
-“The Liberty of Man, Woman and Child” has said about them:
-
-“I used to read in books how our fathers persecuted mankind. But I never
-appreciated it. I read it, but it did not burn itself into my soul. I
-did not really appreciate the infamies that have been committed in the
-name of religion, until I saw the iron arguments that Christians used. I
-saw the Thumb-screw—two little pieces of iron, armed on the inner
-surface with protuberances, to prevent their slipping; through each end
-a screw uniting the two pieces. And when some person denied the efficacy
-of baptism or her guilt of witchcraft, then they put his thumb between
-these pieces of iron and in the name of love and forgiveness, began to
-screw these pieces together. When this was done most men said “I will
-confess!” Probably I should have done the same and I would have said:
-“Stop! I will admit that there is one god or a million, one hell or a
-billion; suit yourselves; but stop!”—
-
-“But there was now and then a person who would not swerve the breadth of
-a hair. Heroism did not excite the respect of our fathers. The person
-who would not confess or recant was not forgiven. They screwed the
-thumb-screws down to the last pang, and then threw their victim into
-some dungeon, where, in the throbbing silence and darkness, he might
-suffer the agonies of the fabled damned. This was done in the name of
-love—in the name of mercy—in the name of the compassionate Christ!
-
-“I saw, too, what they called the Collar of Torture. Imagine a circle of
-iron, and on the inside a hundred points almost as sharp as needles.
-This argument was fastened about the throat of the sufferer. Then he
-could not walk, nor sit down, nor stir without the neck being punctured
-by these points. In a little while the throat would begin to swell, and
-suffocation would end the agonies.
-
-“I saw another instrument, called the Scavenger’s Daughter. Think of a
-pair of shears with handles, not only where they now are, but at the
-points as well, and just above the pivot that unites the blades, a
-circle of iron. In the upper handles the hands would be placed; in the
-lower the feet; and through the iron ring, at the center, the head of
-the victim would be forced. In this condition, he would be thrown prone
-upon the earth, and the strain on the muscles produced such agony that
-insanity would in pity end his pain.”
-
-“I saw the Rack. This was a box like the bed of a wagon, with a windlass
-at each end, with levers, and ratchets to prevent slipping; over each
-windlass went chains; some were fastened to the ankles of the sufferer;
-others to his wrists. And then priests, clergymen, divines, saints,
-began turning these windlasses, and kept turning until the ankles, the
-knees, the hips, the shoulders, the elbows, the wrists of the victim
-were all dislocated, and the sufferer was wet with the sweat of agony.
-And they had standing by a physician to feel his pulse. What for? To
-save his life? Yes. In mercy? No; simply that they might rack him once
-again.
-
-“This was done, remember, in the name of civilization; in the name of
-law and order; in the name of mercy; in the name of religion; in the
-name of the most merciful Christ.”
-
-Christian people in England had invented a machine called the “Witches’
-Bridle.” It was so constructed that by means of a loop which passed over
-the victim’s head, a piece of iron having four points or prongs was
-forcibly thrust into the mouth. Two of these prongs pressed against the
-tongue and palate, the other outward to the cheeks. This infernal
-instrument was secured by a padlock. At the back of the collar was fixed
-a ring, by which to attach the witch to a staple in the wall of her
-cell. Thus “bridled,” and day and night watched over by some person
-appointed by her inquisitors, the unhappy creature, after a few days of
-such torture, maddened by misery and pain, would be brought to the point
-of confessing anything in order to be rid of her wretched life.
-
-But thumb-screws, the collar, the scavenger’s daughter, the rack and the
-bridle were not the only means of inflicting pain devised by the
-ingenuity of cruelty. There was also the “Spider,” a diabolic implement
-with curved claws, for tearing out a woman’s breast. There were the iron
-Spanish Boots, the inner sides of which were set with points. After
-these machines had been placed around the lower legs of the victim they
-were screwed so tightly that often the shin-bones were crushed. To
-increase the horrible pain the torturer from time to time knocked with a
-hammer on the screws, so that sharp shocks like strokes of lightning
-shot through the victim’s body.
-
-Another implement was an iron band which was fastened around the head
-and screwed tight and tighter until the eyes of the maltreated person
-protruded and she went almost crazy.
-
-If the rack had not brought confession, the inquisitors ordered the
-“Elevation.”
-
-After the writhing sufferer’s hands had been tied to the back, a rope,
-running over a pulley on the ceiling, was fastened to the hands. Then,
-by pulling the rope, the body of the victim was slowly lifted until the
-contorted and dislocated arms stood over the head, while the feet were
-high above the floor. To render such torment more severe, heavy stones
-were fastened to the feet, and now and then the body was allowed to drop
-suddenly, only to be lifted again after a while. In this dangling
-position the heretic or witch was often left for hours, while the
-tormentors sat in some nearby saloon over their ale and wine.
-
-There were many other methods of torment, each more cruel than the
-others, among them the gradual pouring of water drop by drop on a
-particular part of the head or body, or the pouring of water onto a
-piece of gauze in the back of the throat, thus gradually forcing the
-gauze into the stomach. Boiling hot oil, burning sulphur and pitch, or
-molten lead were poured on the naked body, or the poor creatures were
-incessantly pricked and prodded in their dungeons so that they could not
-rest a second for weeks at a time, until they were finally driven to
-despair and madness.
-
-No periods in human history are more terrible, revolting and depressing
-to contemplate than these times of the Inquisition and of persecution
-for witchcraft. The student, who has courage enough, to go through the
-blood-stained documents of these dreadful times, must feel as Ingersoll
-felt when he said:
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  A SUPPOSED WITCH BEFORE THE TRIBUNAL OF THE INQUISITION.
-
-  After a painting by H. Steinheil.
-]
-
-“Sometimes, when I read and think about these frightful things, it seems
-to me that I have suffered all these horrors myself. It seems sometimes,
-as though I had stood upon the shore of exile and gazed with tearful
-eyes toward home and native land; as though my nails had been torn from
-my hands, and into the bleeding quick needles had been thrust; as though
-my feet had been crushed in iron boots; as though I had been chained in
-the cell of the Inquisition and listened with dying ears for the coming
-footsteps of release; as though I had stood upon the scaffold and had
-seen the glittering axe fall upon me; as though I had been upon the rack
-and had seen, bending above me, the white faces of hypocrite priests; as
-though I had been taken from my fireside, from my wife and children,
-taken to the public square, chained, as though fagots had been piled
-about me; as though the flames had climbed around my limbs and scorched
-my eyes to blindness, and as though my ashes had been scattered to the
-four winds, by all the countless hands of hate.”
-
-From the records of trials for witchcraft still preserved in the
-archives of many European cities, it appears that the majority of
-victims were aged women; very frequently they had reared families and
-spent their youth and beauty in this self-denying work. But there are
-also many cases of the torturing of mere children; in several such cases
-little girls of seven and nine years gave affirmative answers to
-questions, as to whether they had held sexual intercourse with the
-devil. They even admitted to have given birth to children in consequence
-of such intercourse. A record covering the years 1627, 1628 and January,
-1629, states that during this period in Wurzburg, Bavaria, one hundred
-and sixty-three persons were tortured, and burnt at the stake. Among
-them were seventy-two women, and twenty-six children under fourteen
-years. Among the latter were little girls of nine years or less, and one
-was a little blind girl.
-
-On March 7, 1679, in Heimfels, Tyrol, a poor woman, Emerencia Pichler,
-was brought before the inquisitors. In spite of her solemn pledges by
-God and the Virgin that she knew nothing about witchcraft she was
-submitted to torture. On the third day of her sufferings the inquisitors
-wrung from the unfortunate creature a confession, that Satan had visited
-her one day, wearing a blue jacket, a white vest and red socks. In his
-company she made a flight to a high mountain, both riding on the same
-oven-shovel. Here they took part in the witches-sabbath, during which
-several infants were killed and eaten. The remains were used in
-concocting all kinds of ointments and powders, to be used in the
-producing of thunderstorms and plagues. The most horrible part of these
-confessions was that the woman, when questioned about accomplices, in
-her agonies named twenty-four persons, among them her own four children.
-Of course the poor woman withdrew her confessions, when the tortures
-were interrupted. Nevertheless she was found guilty. On her way to the
-place of execution she was twitched with red-hot pincers and afterwards
-burnt at the stake.
-
-Her two oldest children, a boy of fourteen and a girl of twelve, were
-beheaded and their bodies burnt to ashes on July 29, 1679. Their little
-brother Sebastian, nine years old, and his sister Maria, six years old,
-were terribly flogged and forced to attend the execution of their mother
-and playmates.
-
-Of all the other “accomplices,” named by the woman, not one escaped the
-clutches of the inquisitors and death at the stake.
-
-There are on record thousands and thousands of similar cases, many of
-them horrible beyond belief and defying description. No country in
-Europe escaped the visitation of such inquisitors, many of whom
-journeyed from place to place in search of victims. In numerous cities
-the arrival of these fiends was regarded with greater fear than famine
-or pestilence, especially by women, against whom their malice was
-chiefly directed. That there was cause for such fear, is proven by the
-fact that in Treves seven thousand women lost their lives. In Geneva
-five thousand were executed in a single month. And in Toulouse, France,
-four hundred witches were burnt in one day, dying the horrible death by
-fire for a crime which never existed save in the imagination of their
-benighted persecutors.—
-
-Among the countless women burnt as witches was also Jeanette d’Arc, who
-to-day is glorified by the French nation as =Jeanne d’Arc=, the Maid of
-Orleans, and who has been lately canonized. Born about 1411 at Dom-Remy,
-a small village in the Champagne, she witnessed the conquest of Northern
-France by the English. While brooding over this mishap, it became fixed
-in her mind that she was destined to deliver France from these invaders.
-This impression was strengthened by a number of visions, in which she
-believed to see St. Michael, the archangel of judgments and of battles,
-who commanded her to take up arms and hurry to the assistance of the
-king. In February, 1429, she set out on her perilous journey to the
-court of the Dauphin at Chinon. Here she succeeded in convincing the
-king of the divinity of her mission, so that she was permitted to start
-with an army of 5000 men for the relief of Orleans. Clothed like a man
-in a coat of mail, and carrying a white standard of her own design,
-embroidered with lilies and the image of God, she inspired her followers
-with a religious enthusiasm. Favored by good luck she entered the
-besieged city on the 29th of April, 1429, and by incessant attacks so
-discouraged the enemy that they withdrew on the 8th of May. However, in
-several other enterprises her luck failed, and on the 24th of May, after
-an unsuccessful sortie, she was taken prisoner through treachery,
-because, being pursued by the enemy, some Frenchmen shut the gates of
-the fortress into which she should have escaped.
-
-With her capture the halo of supernatural power that had surrounded her,
-vanished. Accused of being a heretic and a witch, she was turned over to
-the Inquisition for trial. Her examination lasted six days. Among other
-insidious and indelicate questions on the subject of her visions she was
-asked whether, when St. Michael appeared to her, he was naked, and if
-she had entertained sexual intercourse with the devil. But no point
-seemed graver to the judges than the sin of having assumed male attire.
-The judges told her that according to the canons, those who thus change
-the habit of their sex, are abominable in the sight of God.
-
-The decision to which the inquisitors finally came, was that the girl
-was wholly the devil’s; was impious in regard to her parents; had
-thirsted for Christian blood, adhered to a king who was a heretic and
-schismatic, and was herself a heretic, apostate and idolator. For all
-these crimes she was sentenced to death, and burnt alive on the market
-place of Rouen, May 30th, 1431.—
-
-As has been stated already persecutions for witchcraft were not confined
-to European countries, but were also carried on by Christian priests and
-judges in all colonies established by Europeans on other continents. In
-the British colonies of North America the most sensational trial for
-witchcraft was that in Salem, Massachusetts, about which J. M. Buckley
-in an article written for the Century Magazine (Vol. XLIII, pp. 408–422)
-speaks as follows:
-
-“The first settlers of New England brought across the Atlantic the
-sentiments which had been formed in their minds in Great Britain and on
-the Continent, as well as the tendencies which were the common heritage
-of such an ancestry. They were a very religious, and also a credulous
-people; having few books, no papers, little news, and virtually no
-science; removed by thousands of miles and months of time from Old-World
-civilization; living in the midst of an untamed wilderness, surrounded
-by Indians whom they believed to be under the control of the devil, and
-whose medicine-men they accounted wizards. Such a mental and moral soil
-was adapted to the growth of witchcraft, and to create an invincible
-determination to inflict the punishments pronounced against it in the
-Old Testament; but the co-operation of various exciting causes was
-necessary to a general agitation and a real epidemic.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  WOMEN, CONDEMNED FOR WITCHCRAFT, BURNT AT THE STAKE.
-]
-
-“Salem witchcraft thus arose: The Reverend Mr. Parris, minister of the
-church in Salem village, had formerly lived in the West Indies, and
-brought some negro slaves back with him. These slaves talked with the
-children of the neighborhood, some of whom could not read, while the
-others had but little to read. In the winter of 1691–92 they formed a
-kind of circle which met at Mr. Parris’ house, probably unknown to him,
-to practice palmistry and fortune-telling, and learn what they could of
-magic and necromancy.
-
-“Before the winter was over some of them fully believed that they were
-under the influence of spirits. Epidemic hysteria arose; physicians
-could not explain their state; the cry was raised that they were
-bewitched; and some began to make charges against those whom they
-disliked of having bewitched them. In the end those of a stronger mind
-among them became managers and plotters directing the rest at their
-will. By the time public attention was attracted Mr. Parris had come to
-the conclusion that they were bewitched and, having a theory to
-maintain, encouraged and flattered them, and by his questions made even
-those who had not believed themselves bewitched think that they were.
-
-“From March, 1692, to May, 1693, about two hundred persons were
-imprisoned. Of these some escaped by the help of friends, some by
-bribing their jailors; a number died in prison, and one hundred and
-fifty were set free at the close of the excitement by the proclamation
-of the Governor. Nineteen were executed, among them George Burroughs, a
-minister of the Gospel.
-
-“When it is remembered that a number of these persons were among the
-most pious and amiable of the people of Salem; that they were related by
-blood, marriage, friendship, and Christian fellowship to many who cried
-out against them, both as accusers and supporters of the prosecutions,
-the transaction must be classed among the darkest in human history.”
-
-Several historians have made attempts to ascertain the number of men,
-women and children, who lost their lives through this abominable
-superstition. O. Waechter, who published a book about this subject,
-calculates that the number of victims must have been at least three
-millions! Imagine, what a terrible amount of sighs, tears, and physical
-and mental agonies this number represents!
-
-
-
-
-                         Women in Modern Times.
-
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  DISPOSING OF EXHAUSTED CAPTIVES.
-]
-
-
-                           WOMAN IN SLAVERY.
-
-When our historians date the beginning of Modern Times from the
-discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, they are fully justified,
-as no other event has caused so many radical changes in the thoughts of
-men as well as in all commercial and social conditions. The earlier
-views about our terrestrial globe and its relation to the universe gave
-place to new and far greater conceptions. Almost every day brought new
-and astonishing disclosures in natural history, physics and other
-spheres of science.
-
-The end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th Century was also the
-time of the Renaissance as well as of the Reformation, of a revival of
-the wisdom of the classic past and of the rise and establishment of new
-sublime ideas about God and the destiny of man.
-
-It could not fail that in this period of spiritual fermentation and
-inspiration the views about women, matrimony and woman’s rights likewise
-underwent considerable changes. But before these new conceptions found
-general acceptance many mediæval traditions, prejudices and customs had
-to be overcome and cleared away.
-
-While the discovery of America brought incredible riches to various
-European nations, it caused nothing but misery and disaster to the
-aborigines of the New World. And to many million Africans as well.
-
-It must not be forgotten that the conquest of Mexico, Peru and other
-rich parts of America inflamed the greed of inumerable adventurers, and
-that these men, in order to wring gold and other treasures from the
-natives, resorted to the most heartless cruelties. We also must call to
-mind, that in company with these conquerors went hosts of monks and
-priests of all orders, eager to convert the “heathen” to the “only true
-creed.” Ruthlessly invading the temples of the “infidels,” they turned
-the banner of the Cross, this beacon light of promise, into an awful
-oriflame of war, spreading destruction and disaster. The well known
-accounts, given by the Spanish bishop Las Casas, disclose among other
-horrible events the fact—heretofore unheard of in human history—that
-whole bands and tribes of American Indians, to evade the tyranny of
-their European oppressors, slaughtered their own children, and then
-committed suicide.
-
-These Indians had been compelled not only to work in the gold mines and
-in the pearl fisheries, but to perform all other labor that white men
-were unable or unwilling to do. As under the cruel treatment of their
-oppressors the natives rapidly dwindled away and whole islands became
-depopulated the Portuguese as well as the Spaniards resorted to the
-importation of negro slaves, whom they captured in Africa and brought to
-America.
-
-It was not long before the profits, derived from this trade, attracted
-the eyes of English adventurers. The first to become engaged in that new
-branch of business, was William Hawkins. It was he who undertook the
-first regular slave hunts to the coast of Guinea and opened that
-shameful traffic in which England was engaged for nearly three
-centuries. His son, John Hawkins, sailing under a charter of Queen
-Elizabeth, continued the lucrative business and grew rich.
-
-That this men-hunter imagined himself under the special protection of
-the heavenly father appears from several entries in his log-book. When,
-invading a negro village near Sierra Leone, he almost fell into
-captivity himself and would have been exposed to the same fate that he
-inflicted, without compunction, upon thousands of other unfortunate men
-and women, he wrote: “God, who worketh all things for the best, would
-not have it so, and by Him all escaped without danger; His name be
-praised for it.” At another time, when his vessels were becalmed for a
-long time in midocean and great suffering ensued: “But Almighty God, who
-never suffereth His elect to perish, sent us the ordinarie Breeze, which
-is the northwest wind.”
-
-To what extent the name of Christianity was abused, we see from the fact
-that Hawkins, when entering upon his greatest expedition with five ships
-in 1567 sacrilegiously named his flagship “Jesus Christ.”
-
-Because of the riches Hawkins brought to England, Queen Elizabeth
-knighted him and granted him a coat of arms, showing, on a black shield,
-a golden lion rampant over blue waves. Three golden doubloons above the
-lions represented the riches Hawkins had secured for England. To give
-due credit to the piety of this “nobleman,” there was in the upper
-quartering of the shield a pilgrim’s scallop-shell, flanked by two
-pilgrim’s staffs, indicating that Hawkins’ slave-hunts were genuine
-crusades, undertaken in the name of Christianity. For a crest this
-coat-of-arms shows the half-length figure of a negro, with golden
-armlets on his arms, but bound and captive.
-
-In an article entitled “The American Slave,” published in “Pearson’s
-Magazine” for 1900, James S. Metcalf states that the slave trade quickly
-developed to tremendous extent and that from 1680 to 1786 there were
-carried from Africa to the British colonies in America 2,130,000 slaves,
-men as well as women. This does not include the number, vastly larger,
-taken to the Spanish and Portuguese colonies before, during and after
-the same period.
-
-The same author states, that the traffic in human flesh was a recognized
-commerce at the London Exchange, and that, in 1771, the English alone
-sent to Africa 192 ships equipped for the trade and with a carrying
-capacity of 47,146 slaves per trip.
-
-It was the tribal warfare among the aborigines of Africa that furnished
-the slave dealers with the greater part of their human merchandise.
-Small and unprotected villages were constantly in danger of being
-attacked by powerful roving bands. When in 1872 the famous explorer
-Nachtigal traveled through Central Africa, he witnessed a tragedy that
-happened at the shores of Chad Lake. Strong forces of Bagirmis made an
-assault on a negro village, to capture the inhabitants and carry them
-off for slaves. Alarmed by their guards, the negroes, terror-stricken,
-fled to some tree-huts, prepared for such emergency in a nearby forest.
-Here they considered themselves safe. But unfortunately the enemies were
-in possession of a few guns, with which they picked a number of the
-fugitives from the trees like birds. Falling from the dizzy heights, the
-wounded were hacked to pieces. After a while the cruel enemies succeeded
-in constructing some rough ladders, by which the trees were scaled.
-Unable to escape, many of the assaulted, preferring death to slavery,
-threw themselves upon the ground below, where they perished.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  A RAID OF SLAVE-DEALERS IN CENTRAL AFRICA.
-]
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  A SLAVE TRANSPORT IN CENTRAL AFRICA.
-]
-
-The most desperate fight ensued for the tree-house of the chief. It took
-several hours, before the enemies succeeded in reaching the lower
-platform, where within a rude enclosure food, water, and even a few
-goats had been hidden. Unable to hold this place, the chief with his two
-wives and four children withdrew to the highest branches. From there he
-defended his family with such ability, that the foes, after having
-exhausted their supply in powder, were compelled to abandon the siege.—
-
-The stronger portion of the captives made during such raids, were
-shackled hand and foot to prevent escape. The remainder often were
-killed and the flesh distributed among the victors, who, as a rule,
-after such a raid formed a small encampment, lighted their fires and
-gorged upon the human flesh. They then marched over to one of the
-numerous slave-markets on the rivers or the coasts, where they exchanged
-the captives with the slave-traders for beads, cloth, brass wire and
-other trinkets.
-
-Woe to those who became sick or exhausted during the long march to the
-markets! If unable to stagger on any longer they were, to set an example
-for the others, either butchered on the spot, or left behind to perish
-by hunger and thirst, or to be torn by wild beasts.
-
-In the further transportation of such kidnapped men and women no regard
-was paid to their comfort. In the best of slave-ships the height between
-decks in the quarters set aside for the living cargo was five feet and
-eight inches. Even in these not all the slaves had so much head room.
-Around the sides of the vessel, halfway up, ran a shelf, giving room for
-a double row of slaves, one above and one below. This was stowed with
-undersized negroes, including women, boys, and children. In the worst
-class of slavers the space between decks was no more than three feet,
-compelling the wretched occupants to make the entire journey in a
-sitting or crouching position, as they were oftentimes, in fact most of
-the times, so crowded together that lying down was an impossibility. In
-fact, the more ingenious traders often so figured out the available
-space that the slaves were packed in with their feet and legs across one
-another’s laps. To prevent revolt, the men were manacled in couples with
-leg irons and stowed below. The irons were fastened to the ceiling. As a
-rule the women were not handcuffed but crowded into compartments under
-grated hatches and locked doors. At sea there might be a faint
-possibility of a breath of air’s penetrating into those quarters, but
-under all circumstances the mortality among the slaves was frightful.
-
-“In the literature of the slave trade,” says Metcalff, “the horrors of
-the path of commerce stand out as prominently as the persecutions of the
-Roman emperors in the history of Christianity. When the sea gives up its
-dead there will come from this highway of cruelty a prodigious army of
-martyrs to man’s inhumanity to man. The best authorities agree in
-estimating that of all the slaves taken from Africa at least
-one-eighth—some authorities say more than a quarter—died or were killed
-in transit. It staggers the imagination to think of how thickly the
-traffic in these helpless savages, continued through almost four
-centuries, must have strewn with corpses the lower depths of the
-Atlantic.
-
-“Of course it was necessary, if any part of the cargo was to be
-delivered alive, that the negroes should occasionally be brought on deck
-and exercised. This was done with a few at a time, although their
-masters never went so far as to free even these from their irons. Often
-it was found when a couple was to be brought up that one of them had
-died and that his mate had spent hours, days even, in the stifling
-atmosphere of between-decks, manacled to and in constant contact with a
-corpse. It is small wonder that, as often happened, when the slaves were
-brought on deck they began jumping overboard in couples, sooner than
-return to the heat, thirst, stench, and filth of the hold, where the
-scalding perspiration of one ran to the body of another and where men
-were constantly dying in their full view. Sooner than endure these
-tortures even the savage Africans sought refuge in death by starvation.
-This was a contingency provided for in advance by the experienced
-trader, and if the gentle persuasion of the thumb-screw failed to cure
-the would-be suicide, the ships were always provided with a clever
-device to compel the human animal to take the nourishment which kept in
-him the life without which he ceased to possess any pecuniary value.
-This instrument consisted of a pair of iron compasses, the legs of which
-were driven into the mouth when closed and then forced open and held
-open by the action of a screw. Even the African negro, stoic to the
-pains incident to a life of savagery, would renounce the privilege of
-death by starvation to escape the immediate agony of forcibly distended
-jaws, especially when at the same time his thumbs were under the
-pressure of the screw with blood exuding from their ends.”
-
-Branded like cattle, the negroes, after their arrival in the American
-harbor, were sold by auction. And now the slave was, as the Civil Code
-of Louisiana said, “subject to the power of his master in such a manner
-that the master may sell him, dispose of his person, and of his labor.
-He can do nothing, possess nothing, nor acquire anything but that may
-belong to his master.”
-
-Of course this master had also the right to punish the slave for any
-neglect or wrong. To be sure, there were laws against excessive
-punishment, but as most of the plantations were far from the cities,
-such laws were practically ineffective against those who wished to
-violate them.
-
-We quote once more J. S. Metcalff: “Almost every plantation had its
-whipping post, consisting of an upright set in the ground with a short
-crosspiece near the top. The thumbs or wrists of the negro to be whipped
-were securely tied together, and placed around the upright above the
-crosspiece, so that the toes barely touched the ground. Sometimes the
-offending slaves were sent to the nearest jail to be whipped by the
-jailor, who was an expert in his line of work, and provided with the
-right kind of whips as well as a strong arm and an accurate eye to make
-his blows inflict the most pain. In other cases, this official paid
-regular visits to the plantation, and inflicted the punishments
-accumulated since his preceding visit. Thus the terror of anticipation
-was often added to the agony of realization. These events were occasions
-on the plantations, and the other slaves were compelled to witness the
-punishments and sufferings of their fellows as a deterrent to wrongdoing
-on their own part. In the case of some offenders which seemed cardinal
-against the foundation principles of slavery, such as striking a master,
-engaging in a conspiracy with other slaves, or aiding a fugitive, the
-punishments were made extraordinarily severe, and slaves from
-surrounding plantations were obliged by their masters to gather to
-witness them.
-
-“A case of this latter sort was the one of a negro and his wife, who had
-given their owner a severe beating. In spite of the fact that the first
-cause of the trouble was the rejection by the woman of the master’s
-advances, the offence was so flagrant that neighboring slave-owners
-feared to let it go by without severe and public punishment. At the time
-set the slaves from neighboring plantations were gathered, and the man
-and woman fastened to posts near each other. The man was to receive a
-hundred and fifty lashes and the woman a hundred. As the first strokes
-fell on the man’s back and loins he gave no sound, but the agony
-betrayed itself in the ashening of his dark skin, and in the involuntary
-contortion of his features. Meanwhile the woman encouraged him with
-crude expressions of pity and love. As the blows increased in number the
-torture became unbearable, and the sound of the regularly landing lash
-was punctuated with the shrieks of its agonized victim. Finally a
-blessed unconsciousness came to his relief, and he hung from the post a
-limp, unfeeling mass of bruised and bleeding flesh. While his back was
-being washed, the whipping of the woman began. The first blows brought
-shrieks of anguish from her lips, but as the whipping went on these
-subsided into a murmur of sobs, prayers, and appeals for mercy. With the
-exception of an occasional rest for the tired arm of the man wielding
-the whip, her punishment was carried to its end without her losing
-consciousness, although it was apparent that there had come some numbing
-influence to her faculties closely akin to insensibility. The man had
-now been restored to his senses and his punishment was resumed. When it
-was finished the wounds of both were washed with salt water, to
-intensify the effect of the blows, to prevent blood-poisoning and to
-heal the wounds more quickly, so that the slaves could resume their
-accustomed labor. This matter of the slave’s ability to work was always
-taken into account, and we have one instance of two economical lady
-slave-owners in Georgia who always inflicted their punishments Sunday
-mornings, so that by Monday the slaves would be able to go into the
-fields.”
-
-As the slave-holders were absolute masters over the negroes, they made
-their dusky female slaves only too often the objects of their passions.
-The effects of this intermingling were soon seen in all slave-holding
-countries of America in the mixed character of the population, which,
-gradually extending itself as time wore on, resulted in the race of the
-mulattoes. From the intercourse of these again with the whites or among
-themselves, innumerable shades of color sprang up, giving rise to the
-distinctions of octoroons, quadroons, terceroons, quinteroons, etc. To
-all these people, regular or irregular in birth, light or dark in color,
-were given the various names of “people of color,” “sang melée,” or
-“mulattoes.” Notwithstanding the fact, that some of these quadroons and
-octoroons could hardly be distinguished from white people in appearance,
-their condition followed always that of their mothers, and they were
-therefore chattels to be bought or sold.
-
-“On the plantations where negro children were brought up to be sold, it
-was,” as Metcalff states, “not an unheard-of thing for a master to sell
-his own son or daughter. In the break-up of family estates it sometimes
-happened that the heir was compelled to sell his own half-brother or
-half-sister. These relationships were seldom or never recognized.”
-
-In the slave-markets of New Orleans and the other large cities the
-personal appearance of the younger women was a decided element in fixing
-their value. The languorous beauty of the Southern quadroon and octoroon
-is famous the world over, and on the auction block and at private sale
-they brought the highest prices.
-
-The glory of having written the first formal protest against slavery and
-its countless cruelties, belongs to a small band of Mennonites from
-Germany, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1683, in the neighborhood of
-which city they started a settlement called Germantown.
-
-Becoming aware that in the colonies slaves were sold without the
-disapproval of the Puritans and Quakers, who claimed to be defenders of
-human rights, the Mennonites drew up a protest against slavery on
-February 18th, 1688. It was the first written in any language. This
-remarkable document, still preserved in the archives of the “Society of
-Friends” in Philadelphia, was directed to the Quakers and reads as
-follows:
-
-
-“This is to ye Monthly Meeting at Richard Warrel’s. These are the
-reasons why we are against the traffic of men Body, as followeth: Is
-there any that would be done or handled at this manner? to be sold or
-made a slave for all time of his life? How fearfull and fainthearted are
-many on sea when they see a strange vessel, being afraid it should be a
-Turk, and they should be taken and sold for slaves into Turkey. Now what
-is this better done as Turks do? Yea rather it is worse for them, which
-say they are Christians; for we hear that ye most part of such Negers
-are brought hither against their will and consent; and that many of them
-are stollen. Now, tho’ they are black, we cannot conceive there is more
-liberty to have them slaves, as it is to have other white ones. There is
-a saying, that we shall doe to all men, like as we will be done our
-selves; making no difference of what generation, descent or colour they
-are. And those who steal or robb men, and those who buy or purchase
-them, are they not alike? Here is liberty of conscience, which is right
-and reasonable; here ought to be likewise liberty of ye body, except of
-evil-doers, which is another case. But to bring men hither or to robb
-and sell them against their will, we stand against. In Europe there are
-many oppressed for conscience sake; and here there are those oppressed
-which are of a black colour. And we, who know that men must not commit
-adultery, some doe commit adultery in others, separating wifes from
-their husbands and giving them to others; and some sell the children of
-those poor creatures to other men. Oh! doe consider well this things,
-you who doe it, if you would be done at this manner, and if it is done
-according Christianity? You surpass Holland and Germany in this thing.
-This makes an ill report in all those countries of Europe, where they
-hear off, that ye Quakers doe here handel men like they handel there ye
-cattel. And for that reason some have no mind or inclination to come
-hither, and who shall maintain this your cause or plaid for it? Truly we
-can not do so, except you shall inform us better hereof, that Christians
-have liberty to practice this things. Pray! What thing on this world can
-be done worse towards us, then if men should robb or steal us away, and
-sell us for slaves to strange countries, separating husbands from their
-wifes and children. Being now this is not done at that manner, we will
-be done at, therefore we contradict and are against this traffick of
-menbody. And we who profess that it is not lawful to steal, must
-likewise avoid to purchase such things as are stollen, but rather help
-to stop this robbing and stealing if possible; and such men ought to be
-delivered out of ye hands of ye Robbers and sett free as well as in
-Europe. Then is Pennsylvania to have a good report, instead it hath now
-a bad one for this sake in other countries. Especially whereas ye
-Europeans are desirous to know in what manner ye Quackers doe rule in
-their Province; and most of them doe look upon us with an envious eye.
-But if this is done, well, what shall we say is done evil?
-
-“If once these slaves (which they say are so wicked and stubborn men)
-should joint themselves, fight for their freedom and handel their
-masters and mastrisses as they did handel them before, will these
-masters and mastrisses tacke the sword at hand and warr against these
-poor slaves, like we are able to believe, some will not refuse to doe?
-Or have these Negers not as much right to fight for their freedom, as
-you have to keep them slaves?
-
-“Now consider well this thing, if it is good or bad? and in case you
-find it to be good to handel these blacks at that manner, we desire and
-require you hereby lovingly, that you may inform us here in, which at
-this time never was done, that Christians have such a liberty to do so,
-to the end we shall be satisfied in this point, and satisfie likewise
-our good friends and acquaintances in our natif country, to whom it is a
-terrour or fairfull thing that men should be handeld so in Pennsylvania.
-
-“This is from our Meeting at Germantown held ye 18. of the 2. month
-1688. to be delivered to the monthly meeting at Richard Warrel’s.
-
-                                               “gerret hendericks
-                                               derick op de graeff
-                                               Francis Daniell Pastorius
-                                               Abraham op Den graeff.”
-
-
-This document, set up by the humble inhabitants of Germantown, compelled
-the Quakers to think. Becoming aware that the traffic in human beings
-did not harmonize with the Christian religion, they introduced in 1711
-an act to prevent the importation of negroes and Indians into
-Pennsylvania. Later on they also declared themselves against the slave
-trade. But as the Government found such laws inadmissible, the question
-dragged along, until 150 years later, by Lincoln’s Emancipation
-Proclamation, this black spot on the escutcheon of the United States was
-wiped out.
-
-                  *       *       *       *       *
-
-The Germans of Pennsylvania were also compelled to protest against other
-gross abuses, of which white men and women had become the victims. To
-review early immigration into America means to open one of the blackest
-pages of Colonial history. The constant wars, prevailing in Europe, the
-horrible persecutions to which the followers of certain religious sects
-were exposed, the frequent times of famine and pestilence led many
-thousands of unhappy beings to sail for the New World, where such
-sufferings would not be encountered. But the means of travel, then
-existing, did not meet the demands. Vessels, fit for the transportation
-of large numbers, were few and their accommodations extremely poor.
-Authorities took no interest in the proper treatment of the emigrants.
-Everything was left to the owners of the ships, who were responsible to
-nobody.
-
-What sort of people were these shippers? Many were smugglers and
-pirates, always on the lookout for prey. Others were slave-dealers,
-making fortunes in trading negro-slaves. No doubt, the moral standard of
-these gentlemen was very low. Do we wonder that many of these
-unscrupulous men established also a regular trade in =white= slaves, for
-which the increasing exodus from Europe to America opened most alluring
-inducements. If smart enough, they would amass great wealth and would no
-longer have to make the perilous voyage to Guinea, to kidnap black
-people at the risk of their own lives. For the white slaves could be
-seduced by a bait that had a flavor of high-spirited benevolence.
-
-Pretending willingness to help all persons without means, the
-ship-owners offered to give such persons credit for their passage across
-the ocean, on condition that they would work for it after their arrival
-in America, by hiring out as servants for a certain length of time to
-colonists, who would advance their wages by paying the passage money to
-the ship-owners. As the persons were redeeming themselves by performing
-this service, they were therefore called “Redemptioners.”
-
-With this harmless-looking decoy many thousands of men and women were
-lured on to sign contracts, only to find out later that they had become
-victims of villainous knaves and had to pay for their inexperience with
-the best years of their lives.
-
-The voyage across the ocean took as many weeks as it takes days at
-present. The ship-holds were in such horrible condition that words fail
-to describe them. And these dirty rooms were always packed beyond
-capacity. The food was poor and insufficient. Some captains kept their
-passengers on half rations from the day of the start, pretending that it
-was necessary to prevent famine. In consequence of the poor nourishment
-and the overcrowded quarters, all sorts of sickness prevailed and the
-mortality was terrific. For medical help and all other services
-excessive prices were charged. So it came that at the end of the journey
-almost all the passengers were deeply in debt. According to their amount
-and the physical condition of each immigrant the length of time was
-fixed for which he or she should serve any person, willing to pay the
-captain the amount of the immigrant’s debt. This servitude extended
-always from four to eight years, and sometimes to more. The captains had
-no difficulty in turning the bonds, signed by redemptioners, into cash.
-Cheaper labor could be obtained nowhere, and for this reason the
-colonists were always eager to secure the services of redemptioners. The
-offers were made through the newspapers or at the “Vendu,” the place
-where negroes were bought and sold. When applicants came, the
-redemptioner was not allowed to choose a master or to express wishes
-about the kind of work that would suit him. Members of the same family
-must not object to separation. So it happened frequently that a husband
-became parted from his wife or children, or children from their parents
-for many years or for life. As soon as the applicant paid the debt of a
-redemptioner, the latter was obliged to follow him. In case this master
-did not need his servant any longer, he could hire, transfer or sell him
-like chattel to someone else.
-
-As in such a case the redemptioner received no duplicate of his
-contract, the poor creature depended entirely upon the good will of his
-new master, who had it in his power to keep him or her in servitude far
-beyond the expiration of the true contract time. If any dispute arose, a
-redemptioner enjoyed no greater protection than a negro, like whom he
-was treated in many respects. If found ten miles away from home without
-the written consent of his master, he would be regarded as a run-away
-and submitted to heavy physical punishment. Persons guilty of hiding or
-assisting such fugitives were fined 500 pounds of tobacco for each
-twenty-four hours such fugitive had remained under their roof. Who
-captured a run-away was entitled to a reward of 200 pounds of tobacco or
-50 dollars. And to the run-away’s servitude ten days were added for
-every twenty-four hours absent, to say nothing of the severe whipping he
-was liable to get.
-
-The redemptioners went through all sorts of experiences, according to
-the different tempers of their masters. Some were lucky enough to find
-good homes, where they were well treated. But many fell into the hands
-of heartless, selfish people, who in their eagerness to get as much as
-possible out of the redemptioners, literally worked them to death, to
-say nothing of providing insufficient food, scanty clothing and poor
-lodging. Many owners made use of the right to punish redemptioners so
-frequently and so cruelly, that a law became necessary whereby it was
-forbidden to apply to a servant more than ten lashes for each “fault.”
-
-Female redemptioners were quite often exposed to lives of shame, which
-some of the laws seemed to invite. For instance in Maryland a law was
-passed in 1663 providing that any freeborn white woman, who married a
-colored slave, should together with her offspring become the property of
-the owner of that slave.
-
-Originally this abominable law was intended to deter white women from
-intermarriage with colored men. But many depraved colonists misused this
-law purposely and compelled their white female servants by threat or
-deceit to marry colored slaves, as the master then would legally secure
-permanent possession of the white freeborn woman as well as the children
-she might bear. Though everybody knew that such devilish tricks were
-practiced extensively, this law remained in force until 1721, when a
-peculiar incident led to its repeal. When Lord Baltimore, the founder of
-Maryland, visited his province in 1681, he brought over an Irish girl,
-Nellie, who had agreed to redeem the cost of passage to America by doing
-service. Before her time ended, Lord Baltimore returned to England.
-Prior to his departure he sold the unexpired term of Nellie’s service to
-a resident of Maryland, who some weeks thereafter gave Nellie to one of
-his negroes, making her thereby, together with two children that were
-born, forever his slave. When Lord Baltimore heard of this, he caused
-the abolishment of the law of 1663. But all efforts to release his
-former servant and her children were in vain. The case dragged along for
-years, until the courts decided, that Nellie and her children must
-remain slaves, as the latter were born before the annulment of the law.
-
-Incidents of similar character stirred the German citizens of
-Philadelphia to revolt against the unjust treatment to which their
-immigrant countrymen and women were subjected. At a meeting on Christmas
-Day of 1764, they formed “=The German Society of Pennsylvania=,” with
-the purpose of securing laws for the abolishment of all abuses which had
-grown out of the treatment of immigrants. Such a law was secured on May
-18th of the following year.
-
-The “German Society of Pennsylvania” became the model for many similar
-institutions in all parts of America. By uncovering evils and by
-vigorous persecutions of guilty persons, by continuously framing and
-recommending effective laws, these societies secured at last a better
-treatment of the immigrants on the ocean as well as after landing. With
-full justice these societies may be called the true originators of our
-modern immigration laws.—
-
-They also established the “Legal Aid Societies,” to assist poor people
-in need of legal advice and help. As these institutions spread over
-hundreds of cities of America as well as of Europe, we see that since
-the Christmas meeting in Philadelphia in 1764 untold millions of people
-have profited by the earnest work, begun by that small band of Germans,
-who had the welfare of their poor countrymen at heart, and showed what
-genuine Christmas spirit can do for humanity, if it is only put to a
-proper purpose.
-
-                  *       *       *       *       *
-
-There existed yet another form of female slavery, the worst of all. With
-the development of the feudal system in mediæval Europe, which made the
-poor man, especially the peasant, dependent on the lord or owner of the
-land he cultivated, the lords appropriated in time unlimited sway over
-their vassals. Among other rights they claimed not only that to marry
-him or her to whomsoever the lord might chose, but also absolute control
-of the vassal’s newly wedded bride for the first three days and nights.
-This custom, known by a variety of names, as “jus primæ noctis, droit de
-cuissage,” “marchetta” or “marquette,” had the sanction of the state as
-well as of the church and compelled newly married women to the most
-dishonorable servitude. If the female serf pleased the lord he enjoyed
-her, and it was from this custom, that the eldest son of the serf was
-always held as the son of the lord, “as perchance it was he, who begot
-him.”
-
-If it should happen that the young bride did not meet the fancy of the
-lord, he let her alone, but in such case the husband had to redeem her
-by paying the lord a certain amount of money, the name of which betrayed
-its nature.
-
-Matilde Joslyn Gage in her able book “Woman, Church and State” has
-devoted a whole chapter to the history of marquette and says:
-
-“The seigneural tenure of the feudal period was a law of Christian
-Europe more dishonorable than the worship of Astarte at Babylon. In
-order to fully comprehend the vileness of marquette we must remember
-that it did not originate in the pagan country many thousand years
-since; that it was not a heathen custom transplanted to Europe with many
-others adopted by the church, but that it arose in Christian countries a
-thousand years after the origin of that religion, continuing in
-existence until within the last century.”
-
-She further states that in France even the Bishops of Amiens and the
-canons of the cathedral of Lyons possessed the right over the women of
-their vassals, and that in several counties of the Piccardy the curés
-imitated the bishops and took the right of cuissage, when the bishop had
-become too old to take his right. She also states, that “marquette began
-to be abolished in France toward the end of the 16th Century, but still
-existed in the 19th Century in the County of Auvergne, and that the
-lower orders of the clergy were very unwilling to relinquish this usage,
-vigorously protesting to their archbishops against the deprivation of
-this right, declaring they could not be dispossessed.
-
-“But finally the reproach and infamy connected with the ‘droit de
-cuissage’ became so great, and the peasants became so recalcitrant over
-this nefarious exaction, that ultimately both lords spiritual and lords
-temporal, fearing for their own safety, commenced to lessen their
-demands.”
-
-From a letter, reproduced in the same book, it appears that instances of
-the survival of the feudal idea as to the right of the lord to the
-persons of his vassal woman occurred within the last decenniums of the
-Nineteenth Century. This letter, written by Mr. D. R. Locke, and dated
-December, 1891, reads: “One of the Landlords was shot a few years ago
-and a great ado was made about it. In this case as in most of the others
-it was not a question of rent. My Lord had visited his estates to see
-how much more money could be taken out of his tenants, and his lecherous
-eyes happened to rest upon a very beautiful girl, the eldest daughter of
-a widow with seven children. Now this girl was betrothed to a nice sort
-of boy, who, having been in America, knew a thing or two. My Lord,
-through his agent, who is always a pimp as well as a brigand, ordered
-Kitty to come to the castle. Kitty, knowing very well what that means,
-refused. “Very well,” says the agent, “yer mother is in arrear for rent,
-and you had better see My Lord, or I shall be compelled to evict
-her.”—Kitty knew what that meant also. It meant that her gray-haired
-mother, her six helpless brothers and sisters would be pitched out by
-the roadside to die of starvation and exposure, and so Kitty, without
-saying a word to her mother or anyone else, went to the castle and was
-kept there three days, till My Lord was tired of her, when she was
-permitted to go. She went to her lover, like an honest girl as she was,
-and told him she would not marry him, but refused to give any reason.
-Finally the truth was wrenched out of her, and Mike went and found a
-shot-gun that had escaped the eye of the royal constabulary, and he got
-powder and shot and old nails, and he lay behind a hedge under a tree
-for several days. Finally one day My Lord came riding by all so gay, and
-that gun went off. There was a hole, a blessed hole, clear through him,
-and he never was so good a man as before because there was less of him.
-Then Mike went out and told Kitty to be of good cheer and not to be cast
-down, that the little difference between him and My Lord had been
-settled, and that they would be married as soon as possible. And they
-were married, and I had the pleasure of taking in my hand the very hand
-that fired the blessed shot, and of seeing the wife, to avenge whose
-cruel wrongs the shot was fired.”
-
-In the same work we read that another of these British lords in Ireland,
-Leitram, was noted for his attempts to dishonor the wives and daughters
-of the peasantry upon his vast estate. His character was equal to that
-of the worst feudal barons, and like these he used his power as
-magistrate and noble, in addition to that of landlord, to accomplish his
-purpose. After an assault upon a beautiful and intelligent girl, by a
-brutal retainer of his lordship, his tenantry finally declared it
-necessary to resort to the last means in their power to preserve the
-honor of their wives and daughters. Six men were chosen as the
-instruments of their crude justice. They took an oath to be true to the
-end, in life or death, purchased arms, and seeking a convenient
-opportunity shot the tyrant to death. Nor were those firing the fatal
-shots ever discovered.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-                     THE DAWNING OF BRIGHTER DAYS.
-
-As the Reformation aimed at the restitution of the purity and simplicity
-of the first Christian communities, the position of woman in the Church
-as well as in private life was of course also considered.
-
-As has been shown in former chapters, the authorities of the mediæval
-Christian Church regarded the daughters of Eve not only as creatures
-inferior to man, but also as the medium preferred by Satan above all
-others to lead man astray. Seeing in woman nothing but a necessary evil,
-they claimed also that a nun is purer than a mother, just as a celibate
-monk is holier than a father. This prejudice of benighted theologians
-against woman had influenced the conduct of the State toward the woman
-and made her everywhere the victim of unjust laws. For a long time in
-certain countries to ask rights for women exposed one to the suspicion
-of infidelity.
-
-Therefore it must be regarded as an event of greatest importance in the
-history of woman, when Martin Luther, the most prominent figure in the
-Reformation, decided to take a wife. He married =Catherine von Bora=, a
-lady twenty-four years of age, of a noble Saxon family.
-
-She had left the convent of Nimbschen together with eight other nuns in
-order to worship Christ without being compelled to observe endless
-ceremonies, which gave neither light to the mind nor peace to the soul.
-Protected by pious citizens of Torgau, the former nuns had lived
-together in retirement. Luther married his betrothed on June 11, 1525,
-with Lucas Cranach and another friend as witnesses. The ceremony was
-performed by Melanchton.
-
-The marriage, blessed with six children, was a very happy one. Catherine
-proved to be a congenial mate, of whom Luther always spoke as “his
-heartily beloved house-frau.” The great reformer himself was a tender
-husband, and the most loving of fathers. Nothing he liked better than to
-sit amidst his dear ones, enjoying a glass of wine and those beautiful
-folk-songs, in which German literature is so rich.
-
-Many of these little poems breathe the sincere respect and high
-appreciation, in which woman was held by the Germans since time
-immemorial. There is for instance Simon Dach’s well known poem “Anne of
-Tharau.” Written in 1637, it reads:
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  THE WEDDING OF MARTIN LUTHER TO CATHERINE VON BORA.
-
-  After a painting by P. Thumann.
-]
-
-           “Aennchen von Tharau ist’s die mir gefällt,
-           Sie ist mein Leben, mein Gut und mein Geld;
-           Aennchen von Tharau hat wieder ihr Herz
-           Auf mich gerichtet in Lieb und in Schmerz.
-           Aennchen von Tharau, mein Reichtum, mein Gut,
-           Du meine Seele, mein Fleisch und mein Blut.
-
-           Würdest du gleich einmal von mir getrennt,
-           Lebtest dort, wo man die Sonne nicht kennt,
-           Ich will doch dir folgen durch Wälder und Meer,
-           Durch Schnee und Eis und durch feindliches Heer,
-           Aennchen von Tharau, mein Licht, meine Sonn’,
-           Mein Leben schliess ich um deines herum.—
-
-           Annie of Tharau, ’tis she that I love,
-           She is my life and all riches above;
-           Annie of Tharau has giv’n me her heart,
-           We shall be lovers till death us do part!
-           Annie of Tharau, my kingdom, my wealth,
-           Soul of my body, and blood of my health.
-
-           Say you should ever be parted from me,
-           Say that you dwelt where the sun they scarce see,
-           Where you go I go, o’er oceans and lands,
-           Prisons and fetters, and enemies’ hands.
-           Annie of Tharau, my sun and sunshine,
-           This life of mine will I throw around thine.”
-
-And who would be able to pay to female virtues a higher tribute than did
-Paul Fleming in a poem, directed to his betrothed:
-
-                 “Ein getreues Herz zu wissen
-                 Ist des höchsten Schatzes Preis;
-                 Der ist selig zu begrüssen
-                 Der ein solches Kleinod weiss.
-                 Mir ist wohl bei tiefstem Schmerz
-                 Denn ich weiss ein treues Herz.
-
-                 To call a faithful heart thine own
-                 That’s life’s true and only pleasure,
-                 And happy is the man alone
-                 To whom was given such a treasure.
-                 The deepest anguish does not smart
-                 For I know a faithful heart.”
-
-This poem was written at the time, when the tempests of the Thirty
-Years’ War swept over Germany, ruining that country beyond recognition.
-Hundreds of cities and villages were burned by Spanish, Italian,
-Hungarian, Dutch and Swedish soldiers, who made the unfortunate country
-their battleground. Of the seventeen million inhabitants thirteen
-millions were killed or swept away by starvation and the pest.
-Agriculture, commerce, industries and arts were annihilated. Of many
-villages nothing remained but their names. According to the chronicles
-of these times, one could wander for many miles without seeing a living
-creature except wolves and raven. All joy and happiness, in which the
-German people had been so rich, were extinguished. To women the cup of
-sorrow would never become empty, as hate, revenge, cruelty, and the
-lowest passions combined to fill their lives with endless mental and
-physical agonies.
-
-During these dreadful times such social gatherings as had become the
-fashion among the refined people of Italy during the period of the
-Renaissance, were of course out of the question. Far happier in this
-respect was France, where the era of the “Salons” began, many of which
-became known throughout Europe, for the inspiration and refinement that
-spread out from them.
-
-It was to the exceptional qualities of a young and noble-minded woman of
-Italian birth, that the first salon in France owed its origin and its
-distinctive character. This lady was =Catherine Pisani=, the daughter of
-Jean de Vivonne, Marquis of Pisani. Born at Rome in 1588, she married
-the French Marquis of Rambouillet, with whom she moved to Paris.
-Repelled by the gilded hollowness and license of the court of King Henry
-IV. she retired, about the year 1608, to her husband’s stately palace,
-which became famous as the “Hotel Rambouillet.” Its pride was a suite of
-salons or parlors, arranged for purposes of reception and so devised as
-to allow many visitors to move easily. With their draperies in blue and
-gold, their cozy corners, choice works of art, Venetian lamps, and
-crystal vases always filled with fragrant flowers, these rooms were
-indeed ideal places for social and literary gatherings.
-
-As Amelia Gere Mason has described in a series of articles about the
-French Salons, written for the “Century Magazine” of 1890, Mm. de
-Rambouillet “sought to assemble here all that was most distinguished,
-whether for wit, beauty, talent, or birth, into an atmosphere of
-refinement and simple elegance which would tone down all discordant
-elements and raise life to the level of a fine art. There was a strongly
-intellectual flavor in the amusements, as well as in the discussions of
-this salon, and the place of honor was given to genius, learning, and
-good manners, rather than to rank. But the spirit was by no means purely
-literary. The exclusive spirit of the old aristocracy, with its hauteur
-and its lofty patronage, found itself face to face with fresh ideals.
-The position of the hostess enabled her to break the traditional
-barriers and form a society upon a new basis, but, in spite of the
-mingling of classes hitherto separated, the dominant life was that of
-the noblesse. Women of rank gave the tone and made the laws. Their code
-of etiquette was severe. They aimed to combine the graces of Italy with
-the chivalry of Spain. The model man must have a keen sense of honor and
-wit without pedantry; he must be brave, heroic, generous, gallant, but
-he must also possess good breeding and gentle courtesy. The coarse
-passions and depraved manners which had disgraced the gay court of Henry
-IV. were refined into subtle sentiments, and women were raised upon a
-pedestal to be respectfully and platonically adored. In this reaction
-from extreme license familiarity was forbidden, and language was
-subjected to a critical censorship.”
-
-This definition of the salon of “the incomparable Arthenice”—an anagram
-for Mme. de Rambouillet, devised by two poets of renown—we find
-confirmed by the words of many distinguished men, who were fortunate
-enough to be admitted to this circle. Among them were Corneille,
-Descartes, and all the founders of the Académie Française.
-
-“Do you remember,” so said the eminent Abbé Fléchier many years later,
-“the salons which are still regarded with so much veneration, where the
-spirit was purified, where virtue was revered under the name of the
-‘incomparable Arthenice’; where people of merit and quality assembled
-who composed a select court, numerous without confusion, modest without
-constraint, learned without pride, polished without affectation?”—
-
-The salon of Mme. de Rambouillet continued till the death of its
-mistress, the 27th of December, 1665, having been, as Saint-Simon
-writes, “a tribunal with which it was necessary to count, and whose
-decisions upon the conduct and reputation of people of the court and the
-world had great weight.”
-
-There were other salons, modeled more or less after the present one.
-When the Hotel de Rambouillet was closed, Mademoiselle =Madeleine de
-Scudéry= held regular reunions by receiving her friends on Saturdays.
-Among this “Société du Samedi” were many authors and artists, who
-conversed upon all topics of the day, from fashion to politics, from
-literature and the arts to the last item of gossip. They read their
-works and vied with one another in improvising verses.
-
-About the personality of Mlle. de Scudéry Abbé de Pure wrote: “One may
-call her the muse of our age and the prodigy of her sex. It is not only
-her goodness and her sweetness, but her intellect shines with so much
-modesty, her sentiments are expressed with so much reserve, she speaks
-with so much discretion, and all that she says is so fit and reasonable,
-that one cannot help both admiring and loving her. Comparing what one
-sees of her, and what one owes to her personally, with what she writes,
-one prefers, without hesitation, her conversation to her works. Although
-her mind is wonderfully great, her heart outweighs it. It is in the
-heart of this illustrious woman that one finds true and pure generosity,
-an immovable constancy, a sincere and solid friendship.”
-
-Fearing to lose her liberty Mlle. de Scudéry never married. “I know,”
-she writes, “that there are many estimable men who merit all my esteem
-and who can retain a part of my friendship; but as soon as I regard them
-as husbands I regard them as masters, and so apt to become tyrants that
-I must hate them from that moment; and I thank the gods for giving me an
-inclination very much averse to marriage.”
-
-Under the pseudonym of “Sappho” Mlle. de Scudéry was acknowledged as the
-first “blue-stocking” of France and of the world. Several of her novels,
-in which she aimed at universal accomplishments, were the delight of all
-Europe. Having studied mankind in her contemporaries, she knew how to
-analyze and describe their characters with fidelity and point.
-
-Another noteworthy salon of the 17th Century was that of the beautiful
-and amiable =Marquise de Sablé=, one of the favorites of Mme. de
-Rambouillet. It was she who set the fashion, at that time, of condensing
-the thoughts and experiences of life into maxims and epigrams. While
-this was her special gift to literature, her influence became also felt
-through what she inspired others to do. A few of her maxims, as proven
-in Mrs. Mason’s articles about the French Salons, are worth copying, as
-they show the estimate Mme. De Sablé placed upon form and measure in the
-conduct of life.
-
-“A bad manner spoils everything, even justice and reason. The =how=
-constitutes the best part of things; and the air which one gives
-thoughts, gilds, modifies and softens the most disagreeable.”—
-
-“There is a certain command in the manner of speaking and acting which
-makes itself felt everywhere, and which gains, in advance, consideration
-and respect.”—
-
-“Wherever it is, love is always the master. It seems truly that it is to
-the soul of the one who loves, what the soul is to the body it
-animates.”—
-
-With the death of the Marquise de Sablé in 1678 the last salon of the
-brilliant era of the Renaissance was closed. With the approach of that
-period of affected and artificial life, known as the Rococo, new types
-of women came to the surface, gay, witty, piquant and amusing, but lax
-and without great moral sense or spiritual aspiration. The dangerous
-influence of the many mistresses of Louis XIV. and Louis XV., of
-Mesdames de Montespan, Maintenon and Pompadour pervaded the atmosphere,
-and turned the salons into headquarters of intrigue and political
-conspiracy. Especially at the time of the clever Mme. de Pompadour women
-were everywhere the power, without which no movement could be carried
-through successfully. “These women,” said the famous philosophical
-historian Montesquieu, “form a kind of republic, whose members, always
-active, aid and serve one another. It is a new state within the state;
-and whoever observes the action of those in power, if he does not know
-the women who govern them, is like a man who sees the action of a
-machine but does not know its secret springs.”
-
-Montesquieu himself, when in Paris, made the salons of =Madame de
-Tencin= and =Madame d’Aiguillon= his favorite resorts.
-
-Here he discussed with other brilliant thinkers of the time literary and
-political questions, and those theories, which he embodied in the most
-famous of his works: “Esprit des Lois” (the Spirit of the Laws). This
-book, dealing with law in general, with forms of government, military
-arrangements, taxation, economic matters, religion and individual
-liberty, was the first open attack on absolutism. Put on the Index by
-the Pope it was nevertheless eagerly read and discussed everywhere, and
-thus it became one of the factors leading to the French Revolution.—
-
-Among the salons of the 18th Century, known for their influence on
-scientific and political life, the most remarkable was that of the
-=Marquise de Lambert=. Her magnificent apartments in the famous Palais
-Mazarin, decorated by artists like Watteau, were a rendezvous for the
-most eminent men and women, among them the best of the “Forty
-Immortals,” or members of the Académie Française. As candidates for
-vacant chairs in this body were often proposed here the Salon Lambert
-was called “the Antechamber to Immortality.”
-
-The quality of the character and intellect of the hostess of this salon
-may be judged from a few of the bits of advice she wrote to her son. “I
-exhort you much more to cultivate your heart than to perfect your mind;
-the true greatness of the man is in the heart.”—“Let your studies flow
-into your manners, and your readings show themselves in your
-virtues.”—“It is merit which should separate you from the people, not
-dignity nor pride.”—“Too much modesty is a languor of the soul, which
-prevents it from taking flight and carrying itself rapidly towards
-glory.”—“Seek the society of your superiors, in order to accustom
-yourself to respect and politeness. With equals one grows negligent; the
-mind falls asleep.” She urged her daughter to treat servants with
-kindness. “One of the ancients says they should be regarded as
-unfortunate friends. Think that humanity and Christianity equalize
-all.”—
-
-Up to the latter half of the 18th Century the salon had become the most
-characteristic feature of Parisian society. Having multiplied
-indefinitely, they catered to all tastes and thoughts. Besides the
-rallying points for philosophers, literateurs and femmes d’esprit, there
-were other salons, where sly maitresses and political adventurers met
-the corrupt officials of the Government. Still other salons served as
-meeting places of fiery spirits, who, disgusted with the debauchery and
-unrestrained immorality of the ruling classes, made the discussion of
-politics and the deliverance of the oppressed people their chief topic.
-
-                  *       *       *       *       *
-
-Like the French Renaissance so the English Renaissance received its
-first impulse from Italy. But less concerned with culture as such, it
-was more practical in England and distinguished itself chiefly by the
-greater attention given to education. While the sons and daughters of
-the nobility were carefully trained by tutors, the children of the
-middle class received an education in grammar schools founded during the
-reign of King Henry VIII.
-
-This interest in education was greatly stimulated by the doctrines of
-the Reformation, which had spread from Germany to England, and which
-were favored by the king, as they served his political interests as well
-as his passion for the beautiful =Anne Boleyn=, one of the queen’s
-ladies-in-waiting. That he divorced his wife and married Anne Boleyn,
-and that she, on September 7th, 1533, gave birth to a girl, are facts
-familiar to everyone acquainted with English history.
-
-This girl later on ascended the throne and as =Queen Elizabeth= became
-famous as one of the most remarkable and illustrious of all female
-sovereigns.
-
-Most remarkable was her attitude toward Rome. When the “Virgin Queen” in
-her twenty-fifth year ascended the throne, it was not only as queen, but
-also as the head of the rebellious Church. Religious strife had already
-passed the point of reconciliation and Elizabeth’s position was
-extremely difficult, as the Catholic party was still very strong and was
-bent on maintaining the connection with Rome. Aware of this fact, the
-Pope, claiming England as a fief of the Holy See, refused to recognize
-Elizabeth’s title to the crown, and demanded that she should renounce
-all her pretensions so much the more since she was an illegitimate
-child. But whereas many monarchs would have cringed before the Pope,
-Elizabeth ignored his demands and answered the subsequent bull by Pope
-Pius V., by which all Catholics were released from their allegiance to
-the queen, by the famous Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity. Striking
-directly at the papal power, these acts compelled all clergymen and
-public functionaries to renounce the temporal and spiritual jurisdiction
-of every foreign prince and prelate; and all ministers, whether
-beneficed or not, were forbidden to use any but the established liturgy.
-These statutes were carried out with considerable severity, and many
-Catholics suffered death. Thus bending priests and prelates to her fiery
-will, the queen made England a bulwark of Protestantism.
-
-That the long reign of Elizabeth, which lasted from 1558 to 1603, was
-also a period of brilliant prosperity and advancement, during which
-England put forth her brightest genius, valor, and enterprise, has been
-recorded by history. It is also a well-known fact that the learning of
-Elizabeth was considerable, even in that age of learned ladies. Horace
-Walpole has assigned her a place in his “Catalogue of Royal and Noble
-Authors,” and a list of thirteen literary productions, chiefly
-translations from the Greek, Latin, and French, are attached to her
-name.
-
-There were quite a number of English ladies interested in literature and
-poetry. The most remarkable was =Mary Astell=, born in 1668 at
-Newcastle-on-Tyne. Having received a careful education by her uncle, a
-clergyman, she continued her studies in London. Here her attention and
-efforts were especially directed to the mental uplift of her own sex,
-and in 1697 she published a work entitled, “A Serious Proposal to the
-Ladies, Wherein a Method is Offered for the Improvement of Their Minds.”
-With the same end in view she elaborated a scheme for a ladies’ college,
-which was favorably entertained by Queen Anne, and would have been
-carried out had not Bishop Burnet interfered.
-
-During the reign of Queen Elizabeth England was called “the Paradise of
-Women,” on account of the great liberty, granted to them in all social
-affairs. There exists an interesting account of a Dutch traveller, Van
-Meteren, who spent some time in England. With surprise he saw that here
-the members of the fair sex enjoyed considerable freedom. “They are,” so
-he says, “not shut up as in Spain and elsewhere, and yet the young girls
-are better behaved than in the Netherlands. Having fine complexions,
-they also do not paint like the Italians and others. They sit before
-their doors, decked in fine clothes, in order to see and be seen by the
-passers-by. In all banquets and feasts they are shown the greatest
-honor: they are placed at the upper end of the table where they are the
-first served. All the rest of their time they employ in walking and
-riding, in playing cards, or visiting their friends and keeping company,
-conversing with their equals and neighbors, and making merry with them
-at child-birth, christening, churchings and funerals. And all this with
-the permission and knowledge of their husbands.”
-
-In strange contrast herewith was the legal position of women. It was, as
-D. Staars says in his interesting book “The English Woman,” “entirely
-detrimental. They were under the absolute authority of their husbands.
-In regard to property, husband and wife were considered by the law as
-forming one indivisible person. Therefore a husband could not make a
-deed of gift to his wife, or make a contract with her. The subordinate
-position of the married women was evident in the whole of her existence.
-The husband was his wife’s guardian, and if anyone carried her off he
-had a right to claim damages. He could also inflict corporal punishment
-on her sufficient to correct her. All the property which she might
-afterwards acquire, became by her marriage the common property of
-husband and wife, but only the husband had a right to the income,
-because he alone had control and administration of the property. Not
-only lands, but also funds, furniture, plate, and even the bed and
-ornaments of a woman, all became the husband’s property on the wedding
-day, and he could sell or dispose of it as he pleased. A married woman
-could not even make a will. Only when she became a widow, her clothes
-and personal possessions again became her own property, provided,
-however, that her husband had not otherwise disposed of them in his
-will. Furthermore, she had a right to the income of a third of all the
-husband’s property.”
-
-These unsatisfactory conditions later on caused the English women to
-join their American sisters in the struggle for emancipation.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-                    PIONEER WOMEN IN THE NEW WORLD.
-
-At the same time that ladies and gentlemen of refinement discussed human
-rights and liberty in the elegant salons of Italy and France, a race of
-hardy men and women amid the wilderness of the New World was engaged in
-establishing crude settlements, from which later on the spirit of
-genuine freedom should radiate throughout the world.
-
-When toward the end of the 16th Century European explorers arrived on
-the eastern coast of the North American continent, they found what later
-times demonstrated beyond dispute: the richest and finest land on the
-face of the globe. The unsurpassed beauty and grandeur of the scenery
-stirred their hearts with surprise and admiration. They became
-enthusiastic about everything, and in their reports described the newly
-discovered country as the most wonderful they had ever seen.
-
-The more these explorers saw of America, the more their amazement
-increased. When Henry Hudson in 1609 discovered that noble river which
-now bears his name, its magnificent shores were a revelation to him, who
-was accustomed to the modest surroundings of the Netherlands.
-
-The French, who entered North America by the way of the St. Lawrence
-River, met with still greater surprises. The Great Lakes, stretching
-like oceans toward the setting sun, thundering Niagara, the royal Ohio,
-the majestic Mississippi, and the beautiful forests girding these
-shores, made their hearts beat with wonder and delight and filled their
-imagination with dreams of vast empires full of wealth. Beyond the
-“Father of Waters” and the regions of forest, the explorers found the
-“Prairies,” boundless seas of fragrant grass and beautiful flowers.
-Beyond these plains rose majestic mountain-chains, with lovely valleys
-and parks, and snow-capped domes, towering above the clouds.
-
-Such majestic nature must of necessity exert a most powerful influence
-on all who came in contact with it. Many of those immigrants who in
-their native countries had been restrained by narrow traditions and
-customs, and oppressed by despotic rulers, were here given the first
-chance to develop and prove their abilities. The unlimited freedom of
-the boundless forests, plains, and mountains stimulated their energy and
-imbued them with a spirit of enterprise, hitherto unknown.
-
-New types of heroic men, such as never had lived in Europe, sprang into
-existence: the trappers, traders and “voyageurs,” who in the pursuit of
-the lucrative fur trade penetrated the vast continent in all directions,
-fighting their way through countless hardships and dangers.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  PIONEERS.
-
-  Modeled by A. Jaegers.
-]
-
-Later on these daring forerunners of civilization were followed by
-settlers, who, with their families, established the first permanent
-homes: single log houses and hamlets, like little islands in the vast
-ocean of the primeval forest.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  THE FIRST CABIN.
-]
-
-These “backwoodsmen,” completely isolated from the civilized world and
-compelled to wage constant battle with hostile nature as well as with
-ferocious savages and wild animals, have been justly glorified as
-heroes. They were at once explorers, carpenters, builders, woodmen,
-farmers, breeders, trappers, hunters and fighters,—in short, everything.
-But their wives and daughters, who accompanied them, certainly deserve
-to be honored too, as one can hardly conceive situations more trying
-than those which these courageous women had to face.
-
-First of all there were the daily labors of the household and farm, the
-unceasing cares of motherhood, the toils and sufferings in times of
-drought or sickness. Because of the isolation of their homesteads, void
-of even the slightest comforts and improvements, these women had to toil
-from early morning till late in the night. They worked with their
-husbands, clearing the lands. They planted and raised the vegetables in
-the little kitchen gardens. They prepared the meals, baked the bread,
-did the washing and scrubbing, the milking, preserving, pickling,
-churning and brewing. They also broke and heckled the flax, from which
-they spun the linens. They sheared the sheep and transformed the wool
-into yarn and cloth, which they dyed, cut and turned into suits and
-dresses. They knitted the socks and underwear, made the candles and many
-of the furnishings, in short, they produced whatever the family needed
-and consumed, giving all and asking little. They even helped to defend
-the cabin and the settlement in times of danger.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  DEFENDING A SETTLEMENT.
-
-  After an old engraving.
-]
-
-In the days of the Indian wars and of the Revolution such danger was
-always imminent, particularly when the men were working in the fields,
-or out hunting to provide food for the family. Then the women, with
-loaded guns, stood guard to protect the home and children from lurking
-enemies.
-
-The chronicles relating incidents of border warfare abound with stories
-of heroines who played conspicuous parts in the defense of single log
-houses, as well as of stations and forts. Moulding the bullets and
-loading the guns, they handed them to the men, who could consequently
-fire three times where they otherwise could have fired but once. If
-there happened to be a lull during the fight, the women carried water
-and food to the smoke-blackened fighters, tended the wounded, baked
-bread and cared for the children. In cases of emergency, they stood at
-the loop-holes, firing the rifles with all the skill and precision of
-men.
-
-When, during the War of Independence, the Mohawk Valley became the scene
-of many horrible ravages by the Indians and Tories, Christian Schell, a
-Palatine, together with his wife and six sons, occupied a lonely log
-house. It was in the early hours of August 6, 1781, when 48 Indians and
-16 Tories made a sudden raid upon this family. Schell and his sons were
-working in the field, but detected the enemy soon enough to make their
-escape to the house. All succeeded in reaching it, except the two
-youngest lads, who were captured by an Indian. The latter was shot by
-Schell, but it was impossible to free the boys, as they were hurried off
-by other Indians.
-
-Then the battle commenced and an almost incessant firing was kept up
-until night, =Mrs. Schell= assisting her husband and sons in loading the
-guns. Several times the attacks of the enemy were repelled. But when
-darkness had set in, McDonald, the leader of the Tories, succeeded in
-reaching the door of the cabin and attempted to force an entrance by
-using a crowbar he had found in front of the house. Suddenly a shot from
-Schell hit him in the leg and brought him down. Quick as lightning the
-bold German unbarred the door, grasped the wounded man and dragged him
-in a prisoner, thus saving the house from being set fire to, for in such
-a case the leader of the attacking party within, would likewise have
-perished in the flames.
-
-Enraged by the capture of their leader, the enemy made several furious
-assaults. Jumping close to the house, they thrust their guns through the
-loop-holes and began to fire into the building. But Mrs. Schell, cool
-and courageous, seized an axe and by well-directed blows spoiled every
-gun by destroying the barrels. As the men opened a terrific fire from
-above at the same time, the besiegers fell back in a hurry, and the
-following morning disappeared, having suffered a loss of twenty-three
-dead and wounded.
-
-Another example of noble-spirited womanhood is that of =Elizabeth Zane=,
-a young girl of seventeen years, living near Fort Henry in West
-Virginia. When in November, 1782, the fort was besieged by several
-hundred Indians and the little garrison of forty-two men had been
-reduced to only twelve, the situation became extremely desperate, as the
-supply of powder was nearly exhausted.
-
-There was a full keg of powder hidden in the cabin of the Zanes, but
-this hut stood some ninety yards from the gate of the fort and could be
-reached only by passing the whole distance under fire of the Indians, a
-feat which seemed altogether hopeless. But the perilous attempt had to
-be made. When the commander of the fort called for volunteers, several
-responded, among them, to the general surprise, Elizabeth Zane. She
-argued that the garrison of the fort was already too weak for the life
-of one of the soldiers to be risked. As her own life was of no
-importance, she claimed the privilege of attempting the dangerous task.
-Refusing to listen to any objection, Miss Zane slipped out of the gate
-and strolled leisurely to her home, as though there were no redskins in
-the whole world. The Indians, wondering what it meant, made no attempt
-to molest the girl.
-
-Entering the cabin, she found the keg of powder, and a few minutes later
-reappeared with the keg concealed under a tablecloth. Not before the
-girl had gone some distance did the Indians realize the meaning of the
-girl’s mission and at once opened a brisk fire on her. But the girl sped
-with the fleetness of a fawn and reached the fort in safety amid a
-shower of bullets, several of which passed through her clothes. By this
-daring act the little garrison was so inspired and fought with such
-tenacity that the Indians despaired of capturing the fort and finally
-retreated.—
-
-In 1787 John Merrill, a settler in Nelson County, Kentucky, was awakened
-one night by the furious barking of his dogs. Opening the door of his
-cabin to reconnoitre, he was shot by several Indians, but managed to bar
-the door, before sinking dead to the floor. His wife, a woman of great
-energy and strength, jumped out of bed, grasped a large axe and sprang
-forward to be prepared for the coming attack. Scarcely had she reached
-the door when the Indians began to chop it down with their tomahawks.
-But as soon as the savages sought to enter the breach, the woman, making
-a terrific effort, killed or badly wounded four of the enemy.
-
-Foiled in their attempt to force the door, some of the redskins climbed
-onto the roof of the cabin and tried to enter by way of the chimney. But
-again the solitary woman confronted them. Snatching her featherbed and
-hastily ripping it open, she flung its contents upon the still glowing
-embers. At once a furious blaze and stifling smoke ascended the chimney,
-overcoming two of the Indians. Dazed, they fell down into the fire,
-where they were instantly dispatched with the axe. Then, with a quick
-side stroke, the woman inflicted a terrible gash in the cheek of the
-only remaining savage, whose head just appeared in the breach of the
-door. With a horrible yell the intruder withdrew, to be seen no more.
-
-In Western Pennsylvania, in the year 1792, there stood some twenty-five
-miles from Pittsburgh the crude cabin of a settler, named Harbisson. One
-day, during his absence, the home was attacked by Indians, who, after
-ransacking the house, carried off the wife prisoner. But there were
-three children, two boys aged five and three respectively, and an
-infant. As the mother had no hand for the little fellow of three, one of
-the savages relieved her from this embarrassment by grasping the child,
-whirling it through the air and smashing his head against a tree. And
-when the older brother began to weep, his crying was stopped forever by
-cutting his throat. The mother fainted at the horrible sight, but the
-savages brought her back to consciousness again by giving her a few
-blows across the face. At night the poor woman noticed one of the
-savages busying himself with making two small hoops. The captive watched
-him with languid curiosity and saw that he had something in his hand.
-Then a flash of horror-struck recognition flickered in the woman’s eyes.
-She saw the bloody scalps of her children, which the savage was
-stretching on the hoops to dry. “Few mothers,” so the unfortunate woman
-said afterwards, “have been subjected to such dreadful trials. Those who
-did not see the scalps of their own children torn from their heads and
-handled in such a way, cannot imagine the horrible pain that tortured my
-heart!”
-
-In the dark of the second night the poor mother managed to make her
-escape. It rained in torrents, but hugging the baby to her breast, she
-entered the endless forest and wandered the whole night and the next
-days, making her way to the settlements. She arrived there on the sixth
-day after incredible sufferings and almost starved. So changed was she
-by the many hardships, that her nearest neighbors failed to recognize
-her. The skin and flesh of her feet and legs was hanging in pieces,
-pierced by hundreds of thorns, some of which went through her feet and
-came out a long time afterwards at the top.—
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  SLAUGHTERED.
-
-  A scene during the Seminole Indian War.
-]
-
-Such were the hardships and dangers the women of the settlers had to
-brave. But they endured their sufferings like heroines. In recognition
-of this fact it may justly be said that the establishment of the
-Republic of the United States of America, one of the grandest
-achievements in all history, would not have been possible without their
-aid. For it was among these hardy men and women that the spirit of
-American liberty was born. Their surroundings and manner of life
-compelled them to rely on themselves in everything. And while they
-assisted one another in all embarrassments and perils, they made their
-own regulations and selected their own officials, fully aware, that the
-laws of England would never suffice for the wilderness.
-
-From those autonomous settlements the spirit of independence spread in
-time to all the towns and cities on the coast, inspiring many of their
-inhabitants with the same enthusiasm for liberty. In New York and other
-places the People’s Party was organized, which strongly opposed the
-insolence and encroachments of the Government and aristocrats. Among its
-members was Peter Zenger, the fearless printer, whose caustic articles
-in the “New York Weekly Journal” in 1735 led to that famous trial,
-whereby one of the highest privileges—=the freedom of the press=—became
-established in America. And when in complete disregard of this
-significant omen England continued in her selfish policies toward the
-colonies, curtailing all privileges which had been granted to them by
-their charters, the spirit of rebellion spread like wildfire, and the
-great struggle for independence began.
-
-When a Declaration of Independence was considered, the men, selected to
-draw up such a document, were greatly influenced by two noble-minded
-women, whose names should not be omitted in a history of remarkable
-women: =Mrs. Mercy Otis Warren=, and =Abigail Smith Adams=. Mrs. Warren
-was a sister of James Otis, the famous lawyer, whose fiery words did so
-much to arouse the colonists against British aggression. She was one of
-the first persons who advocated separation, and she energetically
-impressed this view upon John Adams before the opening of the first
-Congress. With Abigail Smith Adams, the wife of John Adams, she shared
-the belief, that the declaration should not consider the freedom of man
-alone, but that of woman also.
-
-How outspoken Mrs. Adams was in her views about this question, appears
-in a letter she wrote in March, 1776, to her husband, who was then
-attending the Continental Congress. In this letter she says: “I long to
-hear you have declared an independency; and, by the way, in the new code
-of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire
-you would remember the ladies, and be more generous and favorable to
-them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands
-of husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If
-particular care and attention are not paid to the ladies, we are
-determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound to
-obey any laws in which we have no voice or representation.”—
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  STRUGGLING FOR INDEPENDENCE.
-]
-
-The Declaration of Independence, accepted on July 4th, 1776, in
-Philadelphia, by an assembly of delegates from all the colonies, is the
-greatest and most important political document that was ever set up and
-signed by men. Although the representatives knew that it would produce a
-long and terrific war against the most powerful and most inconsiderate
-government of the world, they solemnly agreed to choose liberty or
-death. Liberty to make their own laws and to elect their own officials,
-liberty of religion, liberty of speech and press, liberty of trade and
-commerce, liberty for man, woman and child.
-
-The eminent significance of the declaration becomes apparent from the
-following sentences: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
-men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with
-certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the
-pursuit of happiness. That, to secure these rights, governments are
-instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the
-governed. That, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of
-these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and
-to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles,
-and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most
-likely to effect their safety and happiness.”
-
-While the Declaration of Independence is silent in regard to women,
-there are, however, positive proofs of the fact, that the men of 1776
-regarded their faithful partners in all struggles and danger decidedly
-as their equals and entitled to the same rights and privileges. Two days
-before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, on July 2, 1776,
-the Provincial Assembly of New Jersey, when writing the constitution of
-that province, adopted the provision, that “=all inhabitants= of this
-colony, of full age, who are worth fifty pounds money clear estate in
-the same, and have resided within the county in which they claim to vote
-for twelve months immediately preceding the election, shall be entitled
-to vote for representatives in council and assembly, and also for all
-other public officers that shall be elected by the people of the county
-at large.”—
-
-Under this provision, women and free colored men of property exercised
-the electoral franchise for thirty years, voting also in the
-Presidential election of 1804, when Thomas Jefferson was re-elected for
-a second term. The acts of the New Jersey Legislature of 1790 clearly
-recognized the women, voters, saying:
-
-“No person shall be entitled to vote in any other town-house or precinct
-than that in which =he= or =she= doth actually reside at the time of
-election.”
-
-At first the law was construed to admit single women only, but afterward
-it was made to include females eighteen years old, married or single,
-without distinction of race. But as most of the women were on the side
-of the Federation and always delivered a heavy vote, a Democratic
-legislature, to defranchise Federalists, passed in 1807 an act defining
-the qualifications of electors, excluding women and free colored men by
-the use of the words “White =male= citizens.” This was a partisan piece
-of legislature, clearly in violation of the constitutional guarantee,
-and made under the pretext that male voters, by disguising themselves as
-women and negroes, had voted several times. It was on the strength of
-this pretext that the unconstitutional act was passed and upheld.
-
-It is on record that in Virginia likewise women at an early day
-exercised the right of voting. But it is unknown, for what reason this
-right was not preserved.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-                    WOMEN OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.
-
-There are few events in history that created such world-wide interest as
-the triumphant success of the American War for Liberation. The deepest
-impression was made on the French nation, which for centuries had
-suffered under the tyranny and coercion of extravagant kings, corrupt
-officials, greedy clergy and feudal nobility. In sharp contrast to the
-prodigality and lasciviousness of the court and its armies of courtiers
-and courtesans, who all revelled in luxuries, there was among the people
-a general feeling of misery and despair. Finances were in a frightful
-condition; public scandals were every-day occurrences; famines were
-frequent; the old creeds had lost their power to arouse enthusiasm,
-while out-worn institutions and customs still encumbered the land, and
-with their dead weight pressed men down. The deep longing to be
-delivered from all these parasites and encumbrances, the urgent need of
-reforms and relief was evident everywhere. In the streets, in all cafés,
-clubs and salons the discussion of politics was the foremost topic.
-
-The most conspicuous among such political salons were those of
-=Théroigne de Méricourt=, =Marie Olympe de Gouges=, and =Madame Roland=.
-
-The first of these three ladies was a quick-witted, strikingly handsome
-woman, intensely passionate in temper, and commanding an almost volcanic
-power of eloquence. Her salon was the birth-place of the “Club des Amis
-de la Loi,” the most noteworthy members of which were Jerome Pétion,
-author of “Les Lois Civiles,” and Camille Desmoulins, author of “La
-France Libre.” Both writers were among the leaders of the revolution,
-and it was Desmoulins, who in July, 1789, inflamed the people by his
-violent speeches to take up arms and storm the Bastille. At the fall of
-this ill-reputed prison Théroigne de Méricourt came prominently into
-notice and it was she who proposed to erect a temple for the National
-Assembly on the site of the razed fortress.
-
-With her friends she also had a hand in framing the “Déclaration des
-Droits de l’Homme,” which, together with the American Declaration of
-Independence, ranks among the greatest human documents of history. The
-most important points of this charter of the French Revolution are: that
-all men are born and continue free and equal in rights; that Society is
-an association of men to preserve the natural rights of men; that
-Sovereignty is vested in the nation; that all Authority, held by an
-individual or a body of men, comes expressly from the nation; that
-Liberty is the power of doing what we will, so long as it does not
-injure the same right of others; that the law can forbid only such
-actions as are mischievous to society; that Law is the expression of the
-general will; that all citizens have a right to take part, through their
-representatives, in the making of laws; that laws must be equal to all;
-that all citizens have equal rights to fulfill all offices in the state;
-that society has a right to demand from every public servant an account
-of his administration; that all men are free to hold what religious
-views they will, provided that they are not subversive of public order;
-that freedom of speech, of writing and printing is one of the most
-precious of the rights of man and that public force is needed to
-guarantee these rights; that property is an inviolable and sacred right,
-of which no one can be deprived, save when public necessity, legally
-established, evidently demands it, and then only with the condition of a
-just and previously determined indemnity.
-
-With the adoption of this declaration by the national assembly, all
-hereditary distinctions, such as nobility and peerage, feudal regime,
-titles, and orders of chivalry were abolished, also venality or
-hereditary succession in offices, feudal privileges, religious vows or
-other engagements which might be at variance with natural rights or the
-constitution.—
-
-Early in October, 1789, Théroigne de Méricourt also took a leading part
-in the march of the women to Versailles and it was she who by the
-violence of her speech won the royalist soldiers over to the revolution
-and so enforced the return of the royal family to Paris.
-
-Being accused of dangerous conduct and of having been engaged in a plot
-against the life of the queen Marie Antoinette, the daughter of Empress
-Maria Theresia of Austria, during a visit to Liége she was seized by
-warrant of the Austrian Government and for some time interned at the
-fortress of Kufstein. After her release in January, 1792, she returned
-to Paris, where she was hailed as a martyr of liberty. Resuming her
-former role she again became very active in all public affairs. On June
-20, 1792, she even commanded in person the 3d Corps of the so-called
-army of the Faubourges, and marched with them to the palace, where the
-king, wearing the red cap, met the revolutionists and assured them “that
-he would do whatever the constitution ordained that he should do.” But
-as soon afterwards the king’s secret connections with Austria and
-Prussia became public, the insurrection broke loose again, resulting in
-the massacre of the national guard on August 10th, in the Place Véndome.
-It was here, that Théroigne sprang at Suleau, a pamphleteer in royal
-service, and dragged him among the infuriated mob, where he was
-instantly killed.—
-
-It was a year before these incidents that Madame Roland opened a salon
-in Paris, whither her husband had been sent as the deputy from Lyons to
-the constituent assembly. Her salon had nothing in common with those
-frequented by people seeking recreation in conversation and belle
-esprit. Generally there were no women present except the hostess. But
-her salon was the rendezvous of such fiery spirits as Mirabeau, Brissot,
-Vergniaud, Robespierre and others, interested in the great movement,
-which was soon to reach its climax. It was in this salon that Madame
-Roland impressed her enthusiasm for a republic upon those men who
-likewise strove for progress and liberty. Here also she conceived the
-plan of a journal, entitled “The Republican,” which, however, was
-suppressed after its second issue. Here she penned that famous letter to
-the king, which, as it remained unanswered, was read aloud by her
-husband, the king’s appointed Minister of the Interior, in full council
-and in the king’s presence. Containing many terrible truths as to the
-royal refusal to sanction the decrees of the national assembly and as to
-the king’s position in the state, this letter initiated the dethronement
-of the king and the abolition of royalty.—
-
-It was in these troubled times, also, that another remarkable woman
-attracted great attention by matching the “Declaration of the rights of
-man” with a “Declaration des Droits de la Femme,” a declaration of the
-rights of women. In this document she preached for the first time not
-only the principle of equality of both sexes but she also demanded the
-right of women to vote and to hold public offices. This document was
-published just at the time when the equality of both sexes before the
-law and the guillotine had become a recognized fact, when not only the
-head of the king but also that of the queen Marie Antoinette had rolled
-into the dust. Pointing to these events Olympe de Gouges closed her
-manifesto with the flaming words: “When women have the right to ascend
-the scaffold then they must have the right to mount the platform of the
-orator!”
-
-When Olympe de Gouges wrote these lines, she hardly anticipated her own
-fate. Provoking in some way the anger of Robespierre, this rabid tyrant
-did send her also to the guillotine.—
-
-Théroigne de Méricourt likewise fell a victim of the furious hostility,
-which in 1793 arose between the two leading parties, the Girondists and
-the Montagnards, the latter party led by those most extreme autocrats as
-Marat, Danton and Robespierre. When Théroigne, being aware that her own
-party, the Gironde, was in peril at the hands of these bloodthirsty men,
-one day urged the mob to moderate their courses, she was seized,
-stripped naked and flogged in the public garden of the Tuilleries. This
-infamous affront affected her so that she became a raving maniac, never
-recovering her reason.—
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  THE ROLL-CALL FOR THE GUILLOTINE.
-
-  After the painting by C. L. Mueller.
-]
-
-For Madame Roland and her husband too the day of darkness was soon to
-come. They found that they could no longer control those passions
-which they had helped to call forth. Repulsed by the incredible
-excesses, which were committed during the progress of the revolution,
-Mr. Roland sent in his resignation on January 22, 1793, the day after
-the execution of the king. But all his and his wife’s efforts to
-regulate and elevate the Revolution failed. Both became more and more
-the butt of calumny and the object of increasing dislike on the part
-of the ultra-revolutionists, whose leaders, Marat and Danton, heaped
-the foulest falsehoods upon them. At the instigation of these men
-Madame Roland was arrested early on the morning of the last of July,
-1793, and thrown into the same prison cell, that had been occupied by
-Charlotte Corday a short time before. On November the 8th she was
-conveyed to the guillotine. Before yielding her head to the block, she
-bowed before the statue of Liberty, erected in the Place de la
-Revolution, uttering her famous apostrophe: “O Liberty! what crimes
-are committed in thy name!”—
-
-After the elimination of the three leading spirits of woman’s
-emancipation all attempts to claim political rights for women were
-sternly repressed. The bold deed of Charlotte Corday, who on July 17th,
-1793, killed Marat, the chief of the Mountain party, had given to his
-followers a warning of what resolute women were able to do. And so all
-female clubs and political meetings were forbidden by the Convention.
-Women were even excluded from the galleries of the hall where it sat,
-and Chaumette warned them that by entering into politics they would
-violate the law of nature and would be punished accordingly. French
-girls were also entirely excluded from all educational reforms that were
-instituted by the Convention and, later on, by Napoleon, who always
-maintained that female education should be of the most rudimentary
-description.
-
-                  *       *       *       *       *
-
-At the same time that Olympe de Gouges, Théroigne de Méricourt and
-Madame Roland took such a conspicuous part in the French Revolution,
-there appeared in England a most remarkable book, which might be called
-the first comprehensive attempt to establish the equality of the sexes.
-Its authoress was =Mary Wollstonecraft=, a woman of Irish extraction,
-born at Hoxton on April 27, 1759. Compelled to earn her own living, she,
-together with her sisters, had conducted a school for girls. Later on
-she held a position as governess in the family of Lord Kingsborough, in
-Ireland. Among her early publications are “Thoughts on the Education of
-Daughters” (1787) and “The Female Reader” (1789). That she followed the
-events of the French Revolution with the utmost interest, appears from
-her book: “An Historical and Moral View of the Origin and Progress of
-the French Revolution, and the Effects it has Produced in Europe.” It
-was intended to comprise several volumes, but after the first one had
-been published in 1790, the work remained unfinished. Two years later,
-in 1792, appeared the work with which the name of Mary Wollstonecraft is
-always associated, as from this book was born one of the grandest
-movements which exists in the world to-day—the =Woman Suffrage
-Movement=.
-
-This book, entitled “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman,” was a sharp
-protest against the assumption that woman is only a plaything of man. It
-is also a demand on her to become his equal and his companion.
-
-In the preface the authoress states the “main argument” of her work,
-“built on this simple principle that, if woman be not prepared by
-education to become the companion of man, she will stop the progress of
-knowledge, for truth must be common to all, or it will be inefficacious
-with respect to its influence or general practice.” In carrying out this
-argument she explains that woman can never be free until she is free
-economically; it makes no difference how poetic, romantic and chivalrous
-we become,—the fact is, there can be little equality between the sexes
-as long as the male partner has entire charge of the purse. Woman may be
-free socially; she may get rid of all sexual superstition, and she may
-crack and cast from her all theological trammels: but of what value is
-all this if she is still dependent upon man for food, raiment and
-shelter? What good does it do her to say “My body is my own, subject to
-the whims and lusts of no man,” if upon that very man depends her
-livelihood? Woman’s economic dependence is the root of that tree which
-nourishes the poisonous fruits of her subjection and abject slavery.
-Only when woman is on equal terms with man, can she be really virtuous
-and useful. But this result can only be obtained by rejecting the
-fallacious idea of weakness and refusing man’s help.
-
-After that the authoress states, that woman by open air exercise can
-become healthy and strong. By study she can acquire a solid education
-and useful knowledge, and thus become fit to earn her own living.
-Marriage will then cease to be her sole hope of salvation. If she
-marries she must not expect infinite romantic love from her husband,
-that would be an endeavor to perpetuate what is transitory in its very
-essence. From her husband she should require esteem and friendship. But
-before she can ask for or inspire these sentiments she must have shown
-herself a lofty mind and a sincere, benevolent, and independent temper.
-
-“But this ideal will remain a myth unless the system of education is
-entirely changed. It is the duty of the Government to organize schools
-and colleges, for boys and girls, both rich and poor, and of all ages.”
-
-Mary Wollstonecraft recommends that boys and girls should study
-together. She does not regard as an evil the attachment which might
-result under these conditions. On the contrary, she is an advocate of
-early marriage, and believes that the physical and moral health of young
-people would be greatly benefited thereby. “Do not separate the sexes,
-but accustom them to each other from infancy!” she demands. “By this
-plan such a degree of equality should be established between the sexes
-as would break up gallantry and coquetry, yet allow friendship and love
-to temper the heart for the discharge of higher duties.”
-
-Thus asking the widest opportunities of education for women, she demands
-also her participation in industry, political knowledge, and the rights
-of representation.
-
-While Mary Wollstonecraft in this manner advanced progressive ideas, she
-also discussed several questions, dangerous and explosive at that time.
-In regard to marriage she recommended emancipation from the coercions
-and ceremonies imposed upon all Christians by the Church. And where love
-had ceased, divorce should be made easy. These points, together with her
-extraordinary plainness of speech and her denial of the eternity of the
-torments of hell, caused an outcry of all classes, to whom the dust of
-tradition was sacred, or who saw their assumed authority endangered. The
-air grew thick with insults and insinuations, hurled at the champion of
-such principles by churchmen feeding on their worn-out thistle-creeds.
-There were also the shrill, polished shrieks of society, whose
-antiquated dogmas Mary Wollstonecraft had repudiated. But the impulse,
-given by her, did not die. It became the heritage of later and more
-advanced generations, who have tried to realize the ideas of this most
-remarkable woman of the 18th Century.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-                      WOMAN’S ENTRY INTO INDUSTRY.
-
-Since the stirring years of the American War of Independence and of the
-French Revolution the question of woman’s rights and woman suffrage has
-remained constantly before the public. Its significance greatly
-increased when with the invention of steam-engines, with the rapid
-growth and extension of trade and commerce, and with the introduction of
-modern methods all conditions of industrial life likewise became
-revolutionized. Many of those industries in which women participated,
-were transferred from the homes to factories, where the workmen and
-women were placed at machines, producing within one day greater
-quantities of goods than the laborers formerly had manufactured within
-weeks or months.
-
-With this industrial revolution came, however, also many evils. The
-laborers remained no longer masters of their own time and efforts. While
-hitherto they had been the owners of their little industry, now the
-factory owners and the great industries began to own them. They found
-themselves bound by strict rules, not of their own making, but
-prescribed and enforced by their employers, many of whom had not the
-slightest consideration for the people that worked for them. Just as
-soulless as their machines, and thinking only of gain, they abused their
-employees wherever possible, and in doing so often resorted to the
-meanest tricks.
-
-Nowhere did such evils become so appalling as in England, where the
-politicians subordinated all other considerations to industry. It was
-here that in order to reduce the small wages of the workman cheap woman-
-and child-labor was first introduced on a large scale, and feeble,
-defenseless creatures, without experience and organization, were
-subjected to the most cruel oppression and exploitation.
-
-At the end of the 18th and during the first half of the 19th Century
-large numbers of women and pauper children were shipped from the
-agricultural districts of Southern England to the northern districts to
-work in the factories which had been established there in consequence of
-the superior water-power.
-
-Tender women and girls, and even children from six to ten years were
-placed in cotton mills, where they were compelled to work in overcrowded
-rooms thirteen to fourteen hours daily. Robert Mackenzie in his book
-“The Nineteenth Century,” p. 77, states, that the accommodations
-provided for these people were of the most wretched nature. “If such
-children became over-tired and fell asleep they were flogged. Sometimes
-through exhaustion they fell upon the machinery and were
-injured—possibly crushed,—an occurrence which caused little concern to
-any except the mothers, who had learned to bear their pangs in silence.
-These children, who were stunted in size and disposed to various acute
-diseases, were often scrofulous and consumptive.”
-
-The Encyclopædia Britannica, in an article on Socialism, describes the
-conditions of the working people in England at that time as follows:
-“The English worker had no fixed interest in the soil. He had no voice
-either in local or national government. He had little education or none
-at all. His dwelling was wretched in the extreme. The right even of
-combination was denied him. The wages of the agricultural laborer were
-miserably low. The workman’s share in the benefits of the industrial
-revolution was doubtful. Great numbers of his class were reduced to
-utter poverty and ruin by the great changes consequent to the
-introduction of improved machinery; the tendency to readjustment was
-slow and continually disturbed by fresh change. The hours of work were
-mercilessly long. He had to compete against the labor of women, and of
-children brought frequently at the age of five or six from the
-workhouses. These children had to work the same long hours as the
-adults, and they were sometimes strapped by the overseers till the blood
-came. Destitute as they so often were of parental protection and
-oversight, with both sexes huddled together under immoral and unsanitary
-conditions, it was only natural that they should fall into the worst
-habits and that their offspring should to such a lamentable degree be
-vicious, improvident, and physically degenerate.”
-
-A report, delivered at the “International Congress of Women,” held in
-July, 1899, at London, states that the weak legs of those children,
-which were not strong enough to support the body for hours, were
-sustained by boots of wood and lead, in which they were obliged to
-stand. Hence the high scale of mortality among the children.
-
-Most revolting conditions prevailed in the English coal mines. Married
-women, girls and children worked here, harnessed to trucks and nearly
-naked, dragging on their hands and knees loads of coal through long low
-galleries to the pit mouth.
-
-When some philanthropists made complaints about these conditions,
-Parliament instituted a commission to inquire into the state of working
-women in these mines and the wages paid them. From its official report
-we quote the following: “Betty Harris, one of the numerous persons
-examined, aged thirty-seven, drawer in the coal-pit, said: ‘I have a
-belt around my waist and a chain between my legs to the truck, and I go
-on my hands and feet. The road is very steep and we have to hold by a
-rope, and when there is no rope, by anything we can catch hold of. There
-are six women and about six boys and girls in the pit I work in; it is
-very wet, and the water comes over our clog-tops always, and I have seen
-it up to my thighs; my clothes are always wet.’—
-
-“Margaret Hibbs, aged eighteen, said: ‘My employment after reaching the
-wall-face (the place where the coal is broken) is to fill my bagie or
-stype with two and a half or three hundred-weight of coal; I then hook
-it on to my chain and drag it through the seam, which is from twenty-six
-to twenty-eight inches high, till I get to the main road, a good
-distance, probably two hundred to four hundred yards. The pavement I
-drag over is wet, and I am obliged at all times to crawl on my hands and
-feet with my bagie hung to the chain and ropes. It is sad, sweating,
-sore and fatiguing work, and frequently maims the women.’
-
-“Robert Bald, the government coal-viewer, stated: In surveying the
-workings of an extensive colliery underground a married woman came
-forward groaning under an excessive weight of coal, trembling in every
-nerve, and almost unable to keep her knees from sinking under her. On
-coming up she said in a plaintive and melancholy voice: ‘Oh sir, this is
-sore, sore, sore work!’
-
-“And a sub-commissioner said: ‘It is almost incredible that human beings
-can submit to such employment—crawling on hands and knees, harnessed
-like horses, over soft, slushy floors, more difficult than dragging the
-same weight through our lowest sewers.’”—
-
-Mackenzie, in his above mentioned book, states that “there was no
-machinery in these English coal-pits to drag the coal to the surface,
-and women climbed long wooden stairs with baskets of coal upon their
-backs. Children of six were habitually employed. Their hours of labor
-were fourteen to sixteen daily. The horrors among which they lived
-induced disease and early death. Law did not seem to reach to the depths
-of a coal-pit, and the hapless children were often mutilated and
-occasionally killed with perfect impunity by the brutalized miners among
-whom they labored.”
-
-Other authorities state that the women were paid less than 20 cents per
-day! For the same kind of work men got three times as much pay; but the
-employers preferred girls and women to do the work “because of their
-lower wages and greater docility!” In the iron districts of the Midlands
-women earned for very hard work 4 to 5 shillings a week, (=$1.25) while
-the men received 14 shillings.
-
-These small wages, which forced upon the laborers the most barren mode
-of living, were, however, taken away again from them through the meanest
-tricks, devised by the employers particularly through the so-called
-Truck System. Under this abominable system the employers, instead of
-paying the wages in cash, forced their employees to take checks or
-orders, redeemable in all kinds of necessities and goods, but valid only
-in those “truck stores” or “tommy shops” run by the employers, or in
-which they had an interest. By cheating the workmen with goods of
-inferior quality, by overcharging them at the same time, by pressing
-them to take goods far beyond their need and wages, and by making long
-intervals—often from 40 to 60 days—between the real pay days, they
-forced the laborers into debt and absolute slavery.
-
-The situation of many thousands of those women who tried to make a
-living as seamstresses was also desperate. Always put off with wages far
-below the demands of a modest existence, they were real martyrs of
-labor. Thomas Hood, one of the foremost English poets of the first half
-of the 19th Century, gave in his famous “Song of the Shirt” a most
-touching picture of such woman’s toil and misery, of woman in her wasted
-life and in her hurried death. His poem reads:
-
-             With fingers weary and worn,
-             With eyelids heavy and red,
-             A woman sat, in unwomanly rags,
-             Plying her needle and thread—
-             Stitch! stitch! stitch!
-             In poverty, hunger and dirt,
-             And still with a voice of dolorous pitch,
-             She sang the “Song of the Shirt!”
-
-             “Work! work! work!
-             While the cock is crowing aloof!
-             And work—work—work,
-             Till the stars shine through the roof!
-             It’s Oh! to be a slave
-             Along with the barbarous Turk,
-             Where woman has never a soul to save,
-             If this is Christian work!
-
-             “Work—work—work
-             Till the brain begins to swim;
-             Work—work—work
-             Till the eyes are heavy and dim!
-             Seam, and gusset, and band,
-             Band, and gusset, and seam,
-             Till over the button I fall asleep,
-             And sew them on in a dream!
-
-             “Oh, Men, with Sisters dear!
-             Oh, Men, with Mothers and Wives!
-             It is not linen you’re wearing out,
-             But human creatures’ lives!
-             Stitch—stitch—stitch,
-             In poverty, hunger, and dirt,
-             Sewing at once, with a double thread,
-             A Shroud as well as a Shirt.
-
-             “But why do I talk of Death?
-             That Phantom of grisly bone,
-             I hardly fear his terrible shape,
-             It seems so like my own,
-             Because of the fasts I keep;
-             Oh, God! that bread be so dear,
-             And flesh and blood so cheap!
-
-             “Work—work—work!
-             My labor never flags;
-             And what are its wages? A bed of straw,
-             A crust of bread—and rags.
-             That shatter’d roof—and this naked floor—
-             A table—a broken chair—
-             And a wall so blank, my shadow I thank
-             For sometimes falling there!
-
-             “Work—work—work!
-             From weary chime to chime,
-             Work—work—work—
-             As prisoners work for crime!
-             Band, and gusset, and seam,
-             Seam, and gusset, and band,
-             Till the heart is sick, and the brain benumb’d
-             As well as the weary hand.
-
-             “Work—work—work,
-             In the dull December light,
-             And work—work—work,
-             When the weather is warm and bright—
-             While underneath the eaves
-             The brooding swallows cling,
-             As if to show me the sunny backs
-             And twit me with the spring.
-
-             “Oh! but to breathe the breath
-             Of the cowslip and primrose sweet—
-             With the sky above my head,
-             And the grass beneath my feet,
-             For only one short hour
-             To feel as I used to feel,
-             Before I knew the woes of want
-             And the walk that costs a meal.
-
-             “Oh! but for one short hour!
-             A respite however brief!
-             No blessed leisure for Love or Hope,
-             But only time for Grief!
-             A little weeping would ease my heart,
-             But in their briny bed
-             My tears must stop, for every drop
-             Hinders needle and thread!”
-
-             With fingers weary and worn,
-             With eyelids heavy and red,
-             A woman sat in unwomanly rags,
-             Plying her needle and thread thread—
-             Stitch! stitch! stitch!
-             In poverty, hunger, and dirt,
-             And still with a voice of dolorous pitch,
-             Would that its tone could reach the Rich!
-             She sang the “Song of the Shirt!”
-
-Constantly struggling with want and poverty and seeing health menaced by
-the machines, the working classes of England were filled with
-bitterness, when they found that their complaints brought no relief,
-while the law-makers, sitting in Parliament, favored any demands of the
-employers and of the big interests. To forget for a few hours their
-hopeless existence, large numbers of men and women resorted to liquor,
-hereby hastening their final collapse and ruin.
-
-Such was the life led by English laborers during the greater part of the
-Nineteenth Century. Feeble attempts to improve these deplorable
-conditions were made through a series of “Factory Acts,” the immediate
-cause for which was the fearful spread of epidemic diseases which
-wrought dreadful havoc among the laborers, especially among the women
-and children. If we glance over these factory acts, as they are sketched
-in the Encyclopædia Britannica, we find that even under these acts
-children below the age of nine were permitted in silk factories, and
-that they were required to work twelve hours a day, exclusive of an hour
-and a half for meal times. An act of 1833 provided that young persons
-from thirteen to eighteen and women were restricted to 68 hours a week.
-Ten years later a mining act was passed which prohibited underground
-work for children under ten and for women. In 1867 the Workshop
-Regulation Act fixed the working day for children from 6 a. m. to 8 p.
-m. = 14 hours, and for young persons and women from 5 a. m. to 9 p. m. =
-16 hours! After having made such sad disclosures, the Encyclopædia
-Britannica dared to say: “By these various enactments the state has
-emphatically taken under its protection the whole class of children and
-young persons employed in manufacturing industries. It has done this in
-the name of the moral and physical health of the community.”
-
-                  *       *       *       *       *
-
-The despicable methods employed by the British mine and factory owners
-in their dealings with the working classes spread to the Continent as
-well as to America. In France, Germany and Austria they led to those
-desperate struggles between capital and labor, out of which was born
-that most remarkable movement of the 19th Century called “Socialism.”
-
-In the United States soon enough attempts were made to imitate the
-detestable methods of the British mine and factory owners. But as the
-character of the population was quite different, the abuse of the
-working men and women never became so appalling as in Great Britain.
-
-The first industry to be established in factories was the weaving of
-cotton in the New England States, where a number of rapid streams, among
-them the Merrimac, the Connecticut and the Housatonic, furnished
-excellent water-power. And as during the pioneer and colonial times the
-housewives and daughters had spun and woven all the cloth and linen for
-family use, there was an ample number of expert workers at hand. After
-the first weaving machines were brought over from Europe, in 1814,
-Dover, Lowell, Waltham, Great Falls and Newmarket became the principal
-centers of the cotton industry.
-
-Here the daughters of the farmers and settlers did the work that
-formerly their mothers had done at home. Only they did it faster, by
-tending the machines all day long. At first the girls did not know that
-the employers might try to make the people in the factories work longer
-hours without any rest and adequate pay. Soon enough they found this
-out. But as the girls had inherited the independent spirit of their
-fathers and grandfathers, trouble began to brew. In December, 1828, four
-hundred girls in Dover, New Hampshire, formed a procession and marched
-out of the factory, in order to show their indignation at the growing
-oppression by their employers. They clad their complaints in verses, one
-of which ran:
-
-               “Who among the Dover girls could ever bear
-               The shocking fate of slaves to share!”
-
-Unorganized as they were at that time, they did not succeed in gaining
-all they desired. But five years later they walked out again, eight
-hundred strong, adopting resolutions stating that they had not been
-treated as “daughters of freemen” by their employers and the unfriendly
-newspapers. At the same time in Lowell, Mass., at a signal given by a
-Dover girl, two thousand girls, who had formed a “=Factory Girls’
-Association=,” joined in a sympathy strike, marched around town and
-issued the following proclamation:
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  SPINNERS IN THE COLONIAL TIMES.
-
-  After a painting by Carl Marr, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
-    New York.
-]
-
-
-“Union Is Power.”
-
-“Our present object is to have union and exertion, and we remain in
-possession of our own unquestionable rights. We circulate this paper,
-wishing to obtain the names of all who imbibe the spirit of our
-patriotic ancestors, who preferred privation to bondage and parted with
-all that renders life desirable—and even life itself—to produce
-independence for their children. The oppressing hand of avarice would
-enslave us, and to gain their object they very gravely tell us of the
-pressure of the times; this we are already sensible of and deplore it.
-If any are in want of assistance, the ladies will be compassionate and
-assist them, but we prefer to have the disposing of our charities in our
-own hands, and, as we are free, we would remain in possession of what
-kind Providence has bestowed upon us, and remain daughters of freemen
-still.
-
-“All who patronize this effort we wish to have discontinue their labor
-until terms of reconciliation are made.
-
-“Resolved. That we will not go back into the mills to work unless our
-wages are continued to us as they have been.
-
-“Resolved, That none of us will go back unless they receive us all as
-one.
-
-“Resolved, That if any have not money enough to carry them home they
-shall be supplied.
-
-                  “Let oppression shrug her shoulders,
-                  And a haughty tyrant frown,
-                  And little upstart Ignorance
-                  In mockery look down.
-                  Yet I value not the feeble threats,
-                  Of Tories in disguise,
-                  While the flag of independence,
-                  O’er our noble nation flies.”
-
-
-In 1843 the girls in the cotton mills of Pittsburg, Pa., whose working
-hours had been from five o’clock in the morning till a quarter of seven
-in the evening, rebelled also, when their employers attempted to
-increase the time one hour each day without extra pay. Two years later
-they co-operated with the factory girls of New England, concurring in
-the proposal to “declare their independence of the oppressive
-manufacturing power” unless the work day was limited to ten hours.
-
-The policy of these fighters for better conditions is outlined in the
-constitution of the “=Lowell Female Labor Reform Association=,” which
-had been organized in 1845. Article IX says:
-
-“The members of this association disapprove of all hostile measures,
-strikes and turn-outs until all pacific measures prove abortive, and
-then that it is the imperious duty of everyone to assert and maintain
-that independence which our brave ancestors bequeathed to us and sealed
-with their blood.”
-
-The spirit of these working women is likewise shown in the preamble
-adopted at the annual meeting of the association in January, 1846. It
-reads:
-
-“It now only remains for us to throw off the shackles which are binding
-us in ignorance and servitude and which prevent us from rising to that
-scale of being for which God designed us. With the present system of
-labor it is impossible. There must be reasonable hours for manual labor
-and a just portion of time allowed for the cultivation of the mental and
-moral faculties, and no other way can the great work be accomplished. It
-is evident that with the present system of labor the minds of the mass
-must remain uncultivated, their morals unimproved. Shall we, operatives
-of America, the land where democracy claims to be the principle by which
-we live and by which we are governed, see the evil daily increasing
-which separates more widely and more effectually the favored few and the
-unfortunate many without one exertion to stay the progress? God forbid!
-Let the daughters of New England kindle the spark of Philanthropy in
-every heart till its brightness shall fill the whole earth.”
-
-Not satisfied with securing thousands of signatures of factory
-operatives, who petitioned the legislature for a ten-hour day, prominent
-members of the union went before the Massachusetts legislative committee
-early in 1845 and testified as to the conditions in textile mills. This
-was the first American governmental investigation of labor conditions,
-and it was due almost solely to the petitions of the working women.
-About the same time the union appointed a committee to investigate and
-expose false statements published in newspapers concerning the factory
-operatives. Nor was this all. In their work of publicity they did not
-hesitate to call public men to account for assailing or ignoring their
-movement.
-
-The chairman of the legislative committee, before whom the working girls
-had testified, was the representative from the Lowell district, and
-should, therefore, have shown special interest in the complaints of the
-girls. Instead, he had treated them in a high-handed manner, withholding
-at the same time from the Legislature some of the most important facts
-presented by the Lowell girls. The latter expressed their just
-indignation in the following resolution, which was circulated before the
-elections of that year:
-
-“Resolved, That the Female Labor Reform Labor Association deeply deplore
-the lack of independence, honesty and humanity in the committee to whom
-were referred sundry petitions relative to the hours of labor,
-especially in the chairman of that committee; and as he is merely a
-corporation machine, or tool, we will use our best endeavors and
-influence to keep him in the “City of Spindles,” where he belongs, and
-not trouble Boston folks with him.”
-
-That the “endeavors” of the girls met with full success is evident from
-a second resolution published after election day:
-
-“Resolved, That the members of this association tender their grateful
-acknowledgments to the voters of Lowell for consigning William Schouler
-to the obscurity he so justly deserves for treating so ungentlemanly the
-defense made by the delegates of this association before the special
-committee of the legislature, to whom was referred petitions for the
-reduction of the hours of labor, of which he was chairman.”
-
-The result of all this agitation against long hours of work was that in
-1847, 1848, and 1851 the first ten-hour laws were passed in New
-Hampshire, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
-
-The success, won by the textile workers, inspired women workers in the
-tailoring and sewing trade, in the manufacture of shoes, cigars, and
-other necessities to similar efforts. In the tailoring and sewing trade
-wages were extremely low, as sweat-shop conditions existed from the
-beginning, and the trade was overcrowded.
-
-In 1845 New York City alone had over 10,000 sewing women, the majority
-of whom worked from twelve to sixteen hours a day to earn only from two
-to three dollars a week!
-
-As similar conditions prevailed in other occupations, the number of
-poorly paid women wage-earners in New York City in 1865 was between
-50,000 to 70,000, of whom 20,000 were in a constant fight with
-starvation, and of whom 7,000 lived in cellars. Their situation grew
-from bad to worse, as at the same time that they were falling into a
-state of physical and mental deterioration, the improvements in many
-machines made greater and greater demands on the capability of those who
-were operating them.
-
-Thus the situation became such as was sketched by W. I. Thomas in an
-article written some fifteen years ago for the “American Magazine,” in
-which he said:
-
-“The machine is a wonderful expression of man’s ingenuity, of his effort
-to create an artificial workman, to whom no wages have to be paid, but
-it falls just short of human intelligence. It has no discriminative
-judgment, no control of the work as a whole. It can only finish the work
-handed out to it, but it does this with superhuman energy. The
-manufacturer has, then, to purchase enough intelligence to supplement
-the machine, and he secures as low a grade of this as the nature of the
-machine will permit. The child, the woman and the immigrant are
-frequently adequate to furnish that oversight and judgment necessary to
-supplement the activity of the machine, and the more ignorant and
-necessitous the human being the more the profit to the industry. But now
-comes the ironical and pitiful part. The machine which was invented to
-save human energy, and which is so great a boon when the individual
-controls it, is a terrible thing when it controls the individual.
-Power-driven, it has almost no limit to its speed, and no limit whatever
-to its endurance, and it has no nerves. When, therefore, under the
-pressure of business competition the machine is speeded up and the girl
-operating it is speeded up to its pace, =we have finally a situation in
-which the machine destroys the worker=.”
-
-The rapidly increasing misery among such exhausted women workers aroused
-public attention and led to the formation of a number of woman’s
-organizations with the purpose to investigate abuses among such women
-workers, to teach them the value of trade unions, to agitate equal pay
-for equal work, to shorten the number of working hours, and to abolish
-child labor and prison work. The first national women’s trade union,
-formed in the United States, was that of the “=Daughters of St.
-Crispin=.” It held its first convention on July 28, 1869, at Lynn,
-Massachusetts. The delegates represented not only the local lodges of
-that state, but also lodges of Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois,
-and California.
-
-With the organization of the “=Knights of Labor=” in 1869, and the
-“=American Federation of Labor=” the position of woman in the American
-labor movement became more firmly established, as both federations made
-it one of their principal objects “to secure for both sexes equal pay
-for equal work.” They also appointed special committees to investigate
-the conditions of working women, and to organize them for concerted
-action.
-
-Other potent factors arising in this line were the “=National Consumers’
-League=” and the “=Women’s Trade Union League=.” The founding of the
-first federation was due to efforts to better the conditions of women in
-department stores. In 1890 a group of saleswomen of New York City
-pointed to the fact that girls in fashionable department stores were
-receiving wages too low to allow them a decent living. They also
-complained that these girls were forced to stand from ten to fourteen
-hours a day, and that sanitary conditions in the cloak and lunch rooms
-were such as to endanger health and life. While the plan of these
-saleswomen, to unite all women clerks of the city into a labor union,
-failed, their complaints, however, attracted the attention of a number
-of influential ladies interested in philanthropic efforts. They
-investigated the charges against the department stores, and what they
-discovered made them resolve that conditions demanded radical changes.
-In May, 1890, they called a mass meeting of prominent women and proposed
-a constructive plan for raising the standard in shop conditions, not by
-=blacklisting= any firm guilty of bad conduct, but by =white-listing=
-those firms which treated their employees humanely. “We can make and
-publish,” so the presiding lady said, “a list of all the shops where
-employees receive fair treatment, and we can agree to patronize only
-those shops. By acting openly, and publishing our White List we shall be
-able to create an immense public opinion in favor of just employers.” In
-other words, it was by the spirit of praise rather than condemnation
-that these ladies sought to stimulate stores to raise their standards.
-
-Adopting the name “=Consumers’ League of New York=,” the society
-organized on January 1, 1891, and published its first White List. It was
-a disappointingly small one, as it contained the names of only eight
-firms. Still more disappointing was the indifference of the many hundred
-other firms toward this reform movement. But soon enough these firms
-found that the League had also introduced into the New York Assembly a
-bill which became known as the “Mercantile Employers Bill.” It aimed to
-regulate the employment of women and children in all mercantile
-establishments, and to place all retail stores, from the smallest to the
-largest, under the inspection of the State Factory Department.
-
-Of course the merchants took prompt steps to defeat this obnoxious bill,
-and they were most complacent when their representatives in the Assembly
-succeeded in strangling it. But the bill appeared again and again,
-finally resulting in the appointment of a State Commission for the
-investigation of the conditions. As Reta Childe Dorr in her book “What
-Eight Million Women Want” graphically relates, “The findings of this
-Commission were sensational enough. Merchants reluctantly testified to
-employing grown women at a salary of =thirty-three cents a day=. They
-confessed to employing little girls of eleven and twelve years, in
-defiance of the child-labor law. They declared that pasteboard and
-wooden stock boxes were good enough seats for saleswomen; that they
-should not expect to sit down in business hours, anyhow. They defended,
-on what they called economic grounds, their long hours and uncompensated
-overtime. They defended their system of fines, which sometimes took away
-from a girl almost the entire amount of her weekly salary. They
-threatened, if a ten-hour law for women under twenty-one years old were
-passed, to employ older women. Thus thousands of young and helpless
-girls would be thrown out of employment, and forced to appeal to
-charity.”
-
-The Senate heard the report of the Commission, and in spite of the
-merchants’ protests, the women’s bill was passed without a dissenting
-vote. Its most important provision was the ten-hour limit which it
-placed on the work of women under twenty-one. The bill also provided
-seats for saleswomen, and specified the number of seats, one to every
-three clerks. It forbade the employment of children, except those
-holding working-certificates from the authorities.
-
-But soon it was found that the smart representatives of the merchants
-had succeeded in attaching to the bill a so-called “joker,” by which the
-inspection of the stores was entrusted to the local boards of health. As
-the officials of these boards, supposedly experts, proved, in fact,
-ignorant of industrial conditions and their relation to health and
-sanitation, the true objects of the bill could not be enforced. So the
-Consumers’ League was compelled to wage another tedious war, until it
-finally succeeded in convincing the Legislature that the inspection of
-all department and retail stores should be turned over to the State
-Factory Department. When this was done, there were reported in the first
-three months of the enforcement of the Mercantile Law over 1200
-violations in Greater New York. At the same time 923 under-age children
-were taken out of their positions as cash girls, stock girls, and
-wrappers, and sent back to school.
-
-It was natural that the good results and the purely benevolent motives
-of the Consumers’ League attracted wide attention. Similar Associations
-were formed in many other cities and states. The movement spread so
-rapidly, that in 1899 it was possible to organize “=The National
-Consumers’ League=,” with branches in twenty-two states.
-
-Encouraged by such success, the league now began to study the working
-conditions of girls employed in restaurants. It was found that in many
-cases these conditions were even worse than in the department stores.
-Girls of twenty years were found working as cooks from 6:30 in the
-morning to 11:30 at night, with no time off on Sundays or holidays! This
-meant 119 hours a week, more than twice the time the law permits for
-factory employees. Other girls, employed as waitresses, were serving
-every day from 7:30 a. m. to 10:30 p. m., or 105 hours each week! In
-going back and forth, they walked several miles a day, carrying heavy
-trays at the same time. In rush hours they worked at a constant nervous
-tension, for speed is one of their requirements. And they must not only
-remember a dizzying list of orders, but must fill them quickly and keep
-their temper under the exactions of the most rasping customer.
-
-Based on such findings, the Consumers’ League of New York caused the
-framing of a bill by which the hours of women in restaurants were
-limited to 54 hours weekly, which gave the girls one day of rest in
-seven, and prohibited their working between 10 p. m. and 6 a. m. In
-October, 1917, this bill became a law. In a number of other states
-minimum wage laws have also been secured.
-
-The Consumers’ League of Philadelphia took pains to investigate
-conditions in the silk mills of Pennsylvania. It was found that besides
-overwork and underpay there were often other evils, due to an erring as
-well as inhuman policy on the part of the employers. Like the owners of
-the department stores many of these men were possessed by the idea that
-the right to sit down would encourage slow work and laziness.
-Accordingly the girls in these mills were forced to stand from early
-morning till late at night, day after day, and month after month.
-
-The secretary of the Consumers’ League, who, under an assumed name,
-worked for some time in various mills, in order to study conditions,
-wrote:
-
-“The harmful effect of continuous standing, upon young and growing
-girls, is too well established a fact to require any elaboration. In
-addition to the permanent ill effects, much immediate and unnecessary
-suffering, especially in hot weather, is inflicted by the prohibition of
-sitting. I could always detect the existence of this rule by a glance at
-the stocking-feet of the workers, and at the rows of discarded shoes
-beneath the frames. For after a few hours the strain upon the swollen
-feet becomes intolerable, and one girl after another discards her
-shoes.”—
-
-Another harsh and very common practice of employers is to cover the
-lower sashes of the windows with paint, and to fasten them so that they
-cannot be raised in hot weather. This is done “so that the girls don’t
-waste time looking out.”
-
-The cruelty of these unnecessary rules is often aggravated by a most
-amazing lack of the common decencies and necessities of cleanliness.
-
-One of the most difficult tasks of the Consumers’ League was to overcome
-the absolute unwillingness of storekeepers to compensate their
-saleswomen for overtime. If it would be possible to compute the amount
-of such unpaid labor performed after the regular hours in many stores as
-well as in the bookkeeping and auditing departments, especially during
-the Christmas season, the sum would be startling indeed. A circular
-issued by the Women’s Trade Union League of Chicago some years ago
-stated that the 3000 clerks in only one department store of that city
-had been required to work during the holiday season overtime to the
-total amount of 96,000 hours, without receiving any compensation. At the
-rate of only ten cents an hour these clerks suffered a loss of $9,600,
-at the rate of 25 cents an hour a loss of $24,000.
-
-                  *       *       *       *       *
-
-The first “=Women’s Trade Union League=” was organized in 1875 by =Mrs.
-Emma Paterson=, the wife of an English trade unionist. While travelling
-in America, she had observed that women workers of various trades had
-formed unions, among which the “Umbrella Makers’ Union,” the “Women’s
-Typographical Union” and the “Women’s Protective Union” were the most
-prominent. Convinced that the utility of such combinations could be
-still more increased, Mrs. Paterson, after her return to England,
-organized a federation of such women’s unions, the “=British Women’s
-Trade Union League=,” which later on became the model for a similar
-organization in America. It was founded on November 14th, 1903, for the
-one main purpose to organize all women workers into trade unions, in
-order to protect them from exploitation, to help them raise their wages,
-shorten their hours, and improve sanitary conditions of the work shops.
-Becoming affiliated with the “American Federation of Labor,” the league
-gained a splendid victory during the years 1909 to 1911, when a series
-of huge strikes in the sewing trades spread over the East and the Middle
-West. Also an agreement was arrived at, that the principle of preference
-to unionists, first enforced in Australia, should be acknowledged. Under
-this plan manufacturers, when hiring help, must give to union workers of
-the necessary qualifications and degree of skill precedence over
-non-union workers.
-
-At all times ready to express the sentiments and voice the aspirations
-of those who toil, the “Women s Trade Union League” represents to-day
-over 100,000 working women. While it has had a wonderful effect in
-improving standards of wages, hours and sanitary conditions in what was
-originally an underpaid and unhealthy industry, it also has become the
-pioneer in another direction, that of education in the labor movement.
-At the initiative of a group of girls an educational movement was
-started which has extended into organizations including some half a
-million workers, men as well as women. In public schools of New York,
-Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and other cities educators
-of national reputation are co-operating with teachers and delegates from
-labor unions in giving lecture courses for adults on such subjects as
-social interpretation of literature, evolution of the labor movement,
-problems of reconstruction, social problems, trade unionism and
-co-operation, etc. At the same time a movement for co-operative housing
-has been developing. “The New York Ladies’ Waist and Dressmaker’s Union”
-for instance has bought in 1919 at a cost of several hundred thousand
-dollars a magnificent summer home for the exclusive use of its members.
-This “Unity House” at Forest Park, Pennsylvania, has accommodations for
-500 guests. Situated at a beautiful lake, surrounded by shady forests
-and green lawns, provided with tennis courts, a library and reading
-rooms, it is an ideal recreation ground of first order. The money for
-this estate was brought up by the 30,000 members of the union, each
-contributing one day’s wages.
-
-In New York City also a co-operative “Unity House” has been established
-with quarters for fifty girls. A great extension of this movement in the
-city is planned. The Philadelphia group of the same union is following
-these examples and has acquired a fine estate worth $40,000.
-
-At present the various woman’s organizations of the United States as
-well as of other countries aim at the following issues:
-
- =1.=       =To limit the working day for women to eight hours.=
-
- =2.=       =To demand for women equal pay with men for equal work.=
-
- =3.=       =To establish for all the various occupations minimum wage
-              scales, sufficient to grant all women workers an adequate
-              living.=
-
- =4.=       =To secure safe and sanitary working conditions, and clinics
-              for the treatment of diseases resulting from certain
-              industrial occupations.=
-
- =5.=       =To secure industrial insurance laws.=
-
- =6.=       =To secure for all women full citizenship with the right to
-              vote in all municipal and national elections.=
-
-As woman’s future position will depend on the realization of these
-demands, their discussion is of utmost importance.
-
-
-                  THE MOVEMENT FOR AN EIGHT-HOUR DAY.
-
-As has been shown in a former chapter, innumerable valuable lives of
-workmen, women and, in former years, children have been sacrificed
-through the unreasonable exploitation by employers, who in their greed
-for profits had lost all consideration for the welfare of their
-fellow-men. Hundreds of thousands of laborers have been slowly worked to
-death as no sufficient amount of time for recuperation was granted them.
-
-The only possible excuse for such incredible waste of human lives is
-that neither the employers nor the law-makers of those bygone days
-realized that the physical and mental abilities of the large laboring
-classes belong to the resources of a nation just as truly as do the
-water-power, the soil, the mineral deposits, the forests, and other
-natural means. Moreover, nobody was aware of the fact that it is one of
-the supreme duties of a wise government to guard these resources, so
-fundamentally necessary to the prosperity of a nation, from unscrupulous
-exploitation and possible destruction.
-
-The danger of the reckless exploitation of laborers, especially of women
-workers, has increased considerably with the improvement of many
-machines, the greater speed and output of which demand far greater
-attention and strain than before on the part of the men or women
-operating them.
-
-This is what Newton D. Baker, Secretary of War, said in 1917 at the
-annual meeting of the National Consumers’ League:
-
-“Machinery has given us one great delusion. People have imagined that
-when a machine was operated by a steam engine or by an electric motor,
-the steam engine or the electric motor actually did all the work, and
-the people who were attending it while it operated were more or less
-negligible. As a consequence, we indulged in the very unfortunate and
-often fatal belief that unlimited hours of labor were possible because
-it was the machines which were doing the work. We overlooked the fact,
-which we have lately begun to appreciate, that the person who tends the
-power-driven machine is far more susceptible to exhaustion, is far more
-open to fatigue and to the poisons that affect the system and that come
-from over-exertion than ever before.”
-
-Mrs. Florence Kelley, the able General Secretary of the National
-Consumers’ League, who studied woman’s occupation in the sewing trade,
-states that of late years the speed of the sewing machines has been
-increased so that girls using these improved machines are now
-responsible for twenty times as many stitches as twenty years ago, and
-that many girls and women, not capable of the sustained speed involved
-in this improvement, are no longer eligible for this occupation. Those
-who continue in the trade are required to feed twice as many garments to
-the machine as were required five years ago. The strain upon their eyes
-is, however, far more than twice what it was before the improvement. In
-the case of machines carrying multiple needles this is obvious; but it
-is true of the single needle machines as well.
-
-When a girl cannot keep the pace she is thrown out. A comment frequently
-made by the girls about such an unfortunate comrade is: “She got too
-slow. She couldn’t keep up with her machine any longer.” It amounts to
-this, that the girl can earn a living wage, if she is unusually gifted,
-=until she is worn out=.
-
-The nerve strain caused by innumerable rapid-working machines of the
-present day has become obvious in many cases. As the compressed
-air-hammer has shattered the nerves of many robust men, so the latest
-machines used in the sewing and other trades have impaired the health of
-many women. “Such nerve strain,” says Rheta Childe Dorr, “cannot be
-regulated. It is a Gordian knot that cannot be untied. The only thing to
-do is to cut it. The only solution of it is a shortened work-day. This
-is true for men as well as for women, but, in all probability, not to
-the same degree. Nerve strain affects men, certainly, and it demands,
-even in their case, a progressively shortened work-day as an alternative
-to a progressively shortened work-life. But with women the case becomes
-infinitely more urgent, infinitely more tragic, in exact proportion as
-woman’s nervous system is more unstable than man’s and more easily
-shaken from its equilibrium.”
-
-The advantages of an eight-hour day with rest at night for women and
-children have been summed up as follows:
-
-1.—Where the working day is short, the workers are less predisposed to
-diseases arising from fatigue. They are correspondingly less in danger
-of being out of work, for sickness is in turn one of the great causes of
-unemployment.
-
-2.—Accidents have diminished conspicuously wherever working hours have
-been reduced.
-
-3.—The workers have better opportunity for continuing their education
-out of working hours. Where they do this intelligently they become more
-valuable and are correspondingly less likely to become victims of
-unemployment.
-
-4.—A short working day established by law tends automatically to
-regularize work. The interest of the employer is to have all hands
-continuously active, and no one sitting idly waiting for needles, or
-thread, or materials, or for machines to be repaired. Every effort is
-bent towards having work ready for every hour of every working day in
-the year. In unregulated industry, on the contrary, there are cruel
-alternations of idleness and overwork.
-
-5.—For married women wage-earners it is especially necessary to have the
-working day short and work regular. For when they leave their workplace
-it is to cook, sew, and clean at home, sometimes even to care for the
-sick.—
-
-In the movement for an eight-hour day for the women workers its
-advocates have already succeeded in Australia, Great Britain, Germany,
-Denmark, Porto Rico, and Mexico. The eight-hour day has also been
-secured for all employees of the U. S. Government and for the women and
-workmen of a large number of the states.
-
-
-                       EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK.
-
-That women are entitled to equal pay with men for equal work, was
-recognized by the ancient Babylonians five or six thousand years ago.
-The justice of this demand is so self-evident, that it would hardly seem
-to need any discussion. Notwithstanding all labor organizations have
-been compelled to place it on their program, as many factory owners
-employed the cheaper woman- and child-labor only in order to underbid
-and reduce the wages of the male laborers. As female laborers have been
-much more poorly organized than men, they have been less capable of
-maintaining their claims.
-
-The first equal opportunity and equal pay laws were passed in the State
-of Washington. In 1890 a section was added to her Labor Laws reading as
-follows: “Hereafter in this state every avenue of employment shall be
-open to women; and any business, vocation, profession, and calling
-followed and pursued by men may be followed and pursued by women, and no
-person shall be disqualified from engaging in or pursuing any business,
-vocation, profession, calling or employment on account of sex.”
-
-Section 5 of Industrial Welfare Commission of the State of Washington,
-Order of September 10, 1918, is the first general equal pay law: “That
-women doing equal work with men in any occupation, trade, or industry in
-this state shall receive the same compensation therefor as men during
-work of the same character and of like quantity and quality, the
-determination of what constitutes equal work to rest with the Industrial
-Welfare Commission.”
-
-
-                    THE MEANING OF THE MINIMUM WAGE.
-
-The interests of every community demand that all workers, male as well
-as female, shall receive a fair living wage, to save them from
-pernicious effects upon their health and morals. The dangers to the
-health of women have been found to be twofold: lack of adequate
-nourishment and lack of medical care in sickness. Careful investigations
-as well as statistics have proven that with insufficient wages food is
-necessarily cut down below the requirements of subsistence, and health
-inevitably suffers. In order to meet unavoidable expenses for lodging
-and clothing, workingwomen reduce their diet to the lowest possible
-point.
-
-On the moral side, authorities agree in the opinion that, while
-underpayment and the consequent struggle to live may not be the primary
-cause for entering upon an immoral life, it is inevitably a highly
-important factor. When wages are too low to supply nourishment and other
-human needs, temptation is more readily yielded to.
-
-The discovery that inadequate wages menace the morals of women and
-through them the interests and the good name of the community in which
-they work, has had much to do with the adoption of minimum-wage laws in
-America as well as in other parts of the world.
-
-In the United States the first minimum-wage orders were those of the
-Oregon Industrial Commission, which fixed $8.64 as the legal weekly
-minimum for manufacturing establishments, and $9.25 for mercantile
-establishments, in the City of Portland. These rates were based upon the
-testimony of workers and employers gathered by the Oregon Consumers’
-League. The testimony had shown that the prevailing wage for beginners
-in department stores was $3.00 a week; that nearly half of these girls
-and women employed were receiving less than $9.00, and that female
-clerks never received above $10.00 a week, no matter how long the term
-of their service.
-
-After learning from the employers what wages were actually paid, the
-Oregon investigators sought to determine the amount necessary to protect
-the health and morals of the women workers through an examination of
-market prices and a careful study of the actual expenditures of the
-workers. One hundred and sixteen department-store workers furnished the
-information for the following table of averages:
-
-                                             Living at Home Adrift
-    Rent                                            $315.51 $118.00
-    Board                                                    196.25
-    Carfare                                           31.20   23.42
-    Clothing                                         161.36  139.63
-    Laundry                                           24.28   16.27
-    Doctor and Dentist                                29.23   23.82
-    Lodge and Church                                  12.19    9.72
-    Recreation                                        21.48   36.62
-    Books, etc.                                       10.11    6.69
-                                                    ——————— ———————
-        Total Expenses                              $605.36 $570.42
-
-    The total wages received in the average:
-        Total Wages                                 $459.50 $480.57
-                                                    ——————— ———————
-        Deficit                                     $145.86  $89.85
-
-These figures show that a majority of these women actually received less
-than it cost them to live.
-
-Investigations carried on in order to find how these women met the
-difference, disclosed that many of them, whether living at home or
-boarding, did extra chores in the morning before going to work and after
-work-hours in the evening. Others went into debt. And still others
-became “charity girls”—that is, they kept company with “gentlemen
-friends,” who came up for the balance, sometimes under promise of
-marriage when these “friends” should feel able to set up a household.
-That such promises are not always kept and that the girls quite often
-sink to lower levels, are facts well known.
-
-The first law embodying the principle of the minimum wage was enacted in
-New Zealand 25 years ago. From there it spread gradually to the other
-Australian States. In 1896 Victoria, the largest industrial State of
-Australia, passed the first act providing for special boards to fix
-minimum wages in different trades. Beginning with a few sweat-shop
-industries, the movement has grown by successive special acts, until, in
-1916, there were about 150 trades or occupations in which minimum wages
-were set by special wage boards.
-
-The same general plan was followed by Great Britain in the trade boards
-act of 1909. This bill, introduced in Parliament by delegates of the
-English Anti-sweating League and of the National Consumers’ League in
-January, 1909, was passed and signed in time to take effect at New
-Years, 1910.
-
-In the United States, up to the end of 1918, minimum-wage laws had been
-enacted in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kansas,
-Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin
-and in the District of Columbia, guaranteeing a living wage to women
-workers, especially in unorganized trades.
-
-
- EFFORTS TO SECURE SAFE AND SANITARY WORKING CONDITIONS AND CLINICS FOR
-    THE TREATMENT OF DISEASES RESULTING FROM INDUSTRIAL OCCUPATIONS.
-
-When in the industries human power began to be supplanted by
-steam-driven machines, when competition grew fierce and fiercer, it was
-found that with the ever increasing speed of the whirling wheels the
-dangers that threatened the workmen increased enormously. The use of
-almost every machine has brought with it some peculiar peril, this one
-crushing a finger or cutting a limb of the person in charge; that one
-tearing out an arm or killing the operator if for a fraction of a second
-his thoughts strayed from his work, or if he became drowsy after long
-hours of work.
-
-It was also found that many persons, engaged in certain occupations,
-became afflicted by peculiar diseases, unknown before and strictly
-confined to the persons doing that special work.
-
-According to conservative estimates, of the 38,000,000 wage earners of
-the United States, in every year 30,000 to 33,000 are killed by
-industrial accidents. In addition, there are approximately 2,000,000
-non-fatal accidents.
-
-Imagine a plain strewn with 35,000 corpses and two million men and women
-crying out under the pain of severe lacerations, burns, cuts, bruises,
-dislocations and fractures! Imagine the horrible sight of so many human
-beings with limbs torn into shreds, with faces having empty eye-holes,
-with breasts heaving from the effect of poisonous gases! If such numbers
-of men and women were killed and wounded in one day at one place, the
-whole world would be terrified, and register the day as the most
-dreadful in history. But as these losses extend over a whole year and a
-large territory, our nation takes only slight notice of them, hardly
-thinking of the fact, that these immense losses and sufferings are
-terrible realities, which affect the economic wealth of our nation as a
-whole in a very serious way.
-
-These conditions are the more deplorable as the majority of such
-accidents could be avoided by intelligent and rational methods, as is
-done in other civilized countries, where the possibilities for
-successful prevention of accidents have been clearly demonstrated.
-
-Granting that many of such industrial accidents are the result of
-ignorance, reckless indifference or carelessness, the fact remains that
-much that could be done in our country for the protection of working
-people is neglected.
-
-When in Europe with the increase of industries the number of accidents
-and “professional diseases” swelled in proportion, some philanthropists
-and economists, interested in the welfare of their fellow-citizens and
-convinced that every life saved is a national asset, became alarmed and
-searched for means to prevent such calamities. When in 1855 the first
-World’s Exposition was held at Paris, it had a special department in
-which were exhibited inventions for the safety of working people. Later
-on a permanent “Musée social” was established.
-
-Since then similar institutions have been opened in Berlin, Munich,
-Vienna, Amsterdam, Brussels, Zurich, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Budapest,
-Milan, Moscow, and several other places. These museums contain the
-latest and most select inventions for the restriction of accidents and
-in the interest of industrial hygiene. And as all exhibits are arranged
-in separate groups according to the various professions, every
-manufacturer and every working man and woman can inform himself without
-loss of time about all new inventions relating to his special trade.
-
-Perhaps the most comprehensive and most scientific of these museums is
-that of Charlottenburg, a suburb of Berlin. Its wonderfully interesting
-character is evident from the moment one enters the magnificent
-building, which occupies a whole city block. There are long rows of
-figures equipped with the various types of masks and helmets used by
-miners, divers, fire-fighters, and laborers, working in rooms filled
-with poisonous gases, dust, or irrespirable smoke. There are all the
-implements and attachments for the protection of persons working on
-men-killing machines.
-
-There are casts in plaster and reproductions in wax illustrating all the
-dreadful skin diseases and deformities of the limbs, by which the
-laborers engaged in certain industries become afflicted. Other exhibits
-illustrate what measures should be taken for the improvement of the
-conditions of the working classes; how to furnish the best nourishment
-at the lowest cost; how to settle laborers in pleasant colonies, and how
-to treat those, who have become sick or afflicted with industrial
-diseases.
-
-Among the most important exhibits are the statistics of three
-institutions provided for all persons employed in workshops and
-factories.
-
-Germany was first among the nations to recognize the need of reforms in
-the social conditions of the working classes. Before 1870 wages had been
-low, and many of the evils that developed in other industrial countries
-had spread to Germany. Believing that the working classes have a right
-to be considered by the State the Government in 1881 initiated the era
-of “State social politics,” which brought about an enormous change in
-the condition of the working classes. Besides many reforms in regard to
-the length of the working hours and to women’s and children’s labor,
-this State socialism provided for three important institutions: first, a
-compulsory insurance against sickness; second, a compulsory insurance
-against accidents; third, a compulsory insurance against invalidity and
-old age.
-
-To the funds of the first class all laborers earning less than 2000
-marks a year must pay two-thirds, and the employer one-third of the
-weekly premiums. In case of sickness, the insured person receives half
-the amount for twenty-six weeks. Doctors, hospitals and medicines are
-free. In 1913 14,555,609 laborers, men and women, were protected in this
-way. Many poor mothers were supported for several weeks before and after
-confinement. To prevent sickness, especially tuberculosis, the
-institution supported numbers of sanitariums and recreation homes, where
-thousands of people, who would otherwise have perished, regained their
-health.
-
-The insurance fees against accidents had to be paid entirely by the
-employer. In case of an accident, it was not the employer in whose
-factory it had happened who was held responsible, but the whole group of
-employers in the same branch of industry. Every group was compelled to
-establish an insurance company. In 1913 there were 25,800,000 men and
-women thus protected. An injured laborer received, during the time of
-his disability, two-thirds of his wages, also free medical treatment. In
-case of his death the family received at once fifteen per cent. of his
-annual wages and an annual support of sixty per cent. As the employers
-naturally wish to keep the amount of expenses as low as possible, this
-kind of compulsory insurance greatly stimulated the invention and
-institution of measures by which accidents may be prevented.
-
-The premiums for the insurance against invalidity and old age were paid
-half by the employees and half by the employer. Support was given to
-invalids without regard to age, and to persons above seventy years. To
-every lawful pension the Government contributed 50 marks. In 1914
-16,551,500 people were protected by this insurance. In the one year of
-1913, the amount distributed among needy people by these three branches
-of insurance was 775,000,000 marks. The miners of Germany were protected
-by similar institutions. The splendid results of such compulsory
-insurance induced the Government to prepare a special insurance for
-widows and orphans. It may be mentioned that the management of these
-insurance companies was entirely in the hands of the working classes and
-the employers.
-
-All in all, the “Permanent Expositions for the Welfare of the Working
-Classes,” as they exist in Berlin and in other European capitals,
-demonstrate what intelligent nations can do for the protection and the
-welfare of their laborers. How many millions of useful lives have been
-saved by the inventions brought here to the knowledge of the public, and
-what vast amounts of suffering, sorrow and tears have been averted, we
-can only guess.
-
-In view of these facts it must be stated that our United States, which
-of all countries is the greatest in industry and suffers most heavily
-through industrial accidents and diseases, is among the most backward in
-regard to social legislation as well as in the effort to interest
-employers and employees in these welfare institutions which are of such
-vital value for both parties.
-
-Yes, there was in 1910 a “Museum of Safety” established in New York, but
-so far it has remained the only one in the entire western hemisphere.
-And, as it is housed in the lower floors of an insignificant building in
-24th Street, it has failed to attract the attention and the support of
-the masses.
-
-In my opinion, every state should have a permanent museum which brings
-to public knowledge all inventions relating to the special industries
-and trades followed by its population. The agricultural states may
-confine themselves to exhibits by which accidents connected with the
-pursuit of agriculture can be prevented. The mining states may give
-preference to everything that increases safety in the mines. The states
-bordering our oceans and great lakes should collect all devices that
-make navigation safer; our industrial states must direct their efforts
-to collect such inventions as may restrict accidents in workshops and
-factories. If this should be done, and if our governments, legislators
-and factory inspectors would demand the installation of such inventions,
-the terrific number of victims that perish every year upon our
-industrial battlefields would most assuredly be greatly diminished. It
-is to these aims that our statesmen as well as our male and female
-workers should direct their utmost endeavors.
-
-
-                   WOMEN AS MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL.
-
-Perhaps in no other field of human activity has the disinclination of
-Christian men to make any concessions to women been so strong as in all
-matters regarding the church. While women were permitted to sit on
-thrones and rule vast empires, theological prejudice would not allow
-them to officiate at the altar or to occupy the pulpit. This vehement
-opposition was due to mediæval traditions and customs. The saying of the
-Apostle Paul: “I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority
-over the man, but to be in silence,” had been an inviolable law to all
-Catholic and Protestant dignitaries of the church. And so during the
-whole Middle Ages the idea was prevalent that a masculine priesthood
-alone was acceptable to God.
-
-The first attempt to overthrow these views was made in 1634 by =Anne
-Hutchinson=, who came from Lincolnshire to Boston. Joining a church
-there she found that the male members used to meet every week to discuss
-the sermon they had heard the preceding Sunday. Believing that the power
-of the Holy Ghost dwells in every believer, and that the inward
-revelations of the spirit, the conscious judgment of the mind, are a
-paramount authority. Mrs. Hutchinson established similar meetings for
-the women. Soon she had large audiences, in which she set forth
-sentiments of her own. But disputes arose among her followers and their
-opponents, which grew so hot, that the continued existence of the two
-opposing parties was considered inconsistent with public peace. A
-convention of ministers, the first synod in America, was called in 1637,
-which condemned the opinions of Mrs. Hutchinson, and caused her to be
-summoned before the General Court. After a trial of two days, she was
-convicted of censuring the ministers and advancing errors, and sentenced
-to banishment from Massachusetts. She found refuge in Rhode Island, but
-moved later on to the Dutch settlements, where she as well as her
-children were killed by Indians.
-
-In 1774 another English woman, =Anne Lee=, immigrated to New York.
-Professing to have received a special persuasion, she organized at
-Watervliet, N. Y., the first community of Shakers, to which she
-promulgated a doctrine of celibacy. Their previous training had led
-members of this sect to expect that the second coming of Christ would be
-in the form of a woman; as Eve was the mother of all living, so in their
-new leader the Shakers recognized “the first mother or spiritual parent
-in the line of the female.” These Shakers gave their women an equal
-share with men in the service and government of their society.
-
-With the history of the “Salvation Army” likewise the names of several
-women are closely connected. This religious body was organized in 1865
-on military lines by Rev. William Booth. In his revival and mission work
-among the lower classes of England he found in his wife Catherine a
-perfect helpmate. Together they conquered with their revivals first
-London, then the province, then the United Kingdom, and afterwards
-country after country in every part of the world.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  CATHERINE BOOTH, THE “MOTHER OF THE SALVATION ARMY.”
-]
-
-In England =Mrs. Booth= was the first woman preacher, and if she had
-done nothing else but vindicate the right of woman to speak in public
-and preach the Gospel, she would have done great work. But she did far
-more than this. By making her whole life, and every thought and action
-subservient to the cause of the Salvation Army, she brought comfort and
-happiness to many thousands of poor souls.
-
-The work of this “Mother of the Army” was continued by her daughter,
-=Evangeline Booth=, known in the history of the organization as “The
-Commander”; by =Emma Booth-Tucker=, known as “The Consul”; by =Mrs. W.
-Branwell Booth=, “The General,” and by =Elizabeth Swift Brengle=, known
-as “The Colonel.”
-
-The first woman in the Christian world to be ecclesiastically ordained
-was =Antoinette Brown Blackwell=, an American woman who had graduated
-from Oberlin, Ohio. She was ordained in 1852 in South Butler, N. Y., by
-a council called by the First Congregational Church. =Rev. Olympia
-Brown= was the next woman ordained ten years later. In December, 1863,
-the =Rev. Augusta J. Chapin= was the first woman to receive the title of
-Doctor of Divinity.
-
-Since the ordination of these women the number of female “clergymen” in
-the various denominations has increased rapidly. According to the Census
-of 1910 their number within the United States was 7395 in that year. The
-success of woman in the pulpit is no longer a question but an
-affirmation. This is what Rev. Phebe A. Hanford said on the subject:
-
-“Other things being equal, why may not a woman preach and pray and
-perform pastoral duty as well as a man? Why should she not preside at
-the Lord’s table, consecrate in baptism the child whose parents would
-dedicate their choicest possessions to God, or the adult who would thus
-express his faith in Christ and his determination that “whatever others
-may do he will serve the Lord”? When two loving hearts desire to join
-hands and walk the earthly pathway side by side, why should not a woman
-minister pronounce the sacred formula and convey the sanction of the Law
-and the Gospel to their matrimonial purpose? And when the voice of
-consolation is sorely needed, and the solemn words are to be spoken
-which consign the silent dust to its last resting-place, why should not
-a womanly woman officiate as well as any tender-hearted and eloquent
-man? Surely woman is proverbially compassionate; and that she is often
-eloquent with voice and pen, and with poetic expression and the fervor
-of truth which can reach the heart, who can deny?”
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-                    WOMAN IN THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.
-
-It is hard to realize in these days of professional equality between the
-sexes that only half a century ago a woman who desired to study medicine
-was considered such a phenomenon that her morality and the purity of her
-motives were questioned. And yet this desire is only natural, as the
-life of every woman has moments when she has to call for medical help.
-There are especially the transition to womanhood, all the experiences of
-motherhood, and the many ailments peculiar to women. To be compelled to
-consult in these cases a male physician, is for many bashful girls and
-women such a repellant thought, that they quite often postpone it from
-week to week, until too late.
-
-No doubt such were the reasons and experiences which caused =Agnodice=,
-an Athenian girl, born about 300 B. C., to disguise her sex in order
-that she might study medicine. Like Dr. Mary Walker in the 19th Century,
-she donned male attire and became a disciple of Herophilus, an eminent
-physician and anatomist of the Alexandrian School. Her specialty was
-midwifery and women’s diseases, and when she started to practice
-herself, she met with such great success that her male colleagues became
-jealous and tried to prevent her from practicing by accusing her of
-corruption before the Areopagus. But the result of the proceedings was
-quite contrary to their expectations, as a law was immediately passed
-allowing all freeborn women to learn midwifery.
-
-Since then female physicians practiced in Hellas as well as in
-Alexandria and in Rome. And when in the 9th Century after Christ the
-famous Schola Salernitana was established at Salerno, a department for
-women’s diseases was included, with a number of female professors as
-teachers. The names of several of these professors are still known; the
-most noted was the celebrated =Tortula=, who lived in the 11th Century.
-=Abella=, =Constanza=, =Calendas=, and =Hildegarde= too have been
-praised for their great ability.
-
-This eminent position held by women in the medical profession declined
-slowly after the 12th Century, and practically disappeared after the
-16th Century. The cause for this relapse was undoubtedly the increasing
-hostility of the Christian Church toward any occupation of women with
-sciences. This prejudice remained alive up to modern times. It was
-dominant in 1845 when a young American woman, =Elizabeth Blackwell=,
-decided to study medicine. The same motives as had moved the Athenian
-Agnodice and the loss of a dear woman friend caused the young American
-to write to various physicians asking as to the wisdom and possibility
-of a woman becoming a doctor. The answers she received were unanimously
-to the effect that while the idea was a valuable one it was impossible
-of accomplishment for many reasons. This verdict only served to
-intensify her determination to accomplish her purpose. After two years
-of private study she went to Philadelphia, which in those days, 1847,
-was considered the seat of medical learning in this country, and made
-application to the four medical colleges for admission as a regular
-student. But such a revolutionary idea was not to be entertained, and
-all the doors remained closed to her. One kindly Quaker adviser said to
-her: “Elizabeth, it is of no use trying. Thee cannot gain admission to
-these schools. Thee must go to Paris and don masculine attire to gain
-the necessary knowledge.”
-
-It had now become a moral crusade with Miss Blackwell, and the justice
-and common sense of her undertaking seemed so supreme that she
-determined to push the warfare to the farthest limit. After similarly
-unsuccessful attempts in New York, she obtained a complete list of all
-the smaller institutions of the Northern States, examined their
-prospectuses, and sent applications for admission to twelve of the most
-promising. After long delay an answer came from the medical department
-of the small university at Geneva, in the western part of New York
-State. It seems that the faculty had submitted Miss Blackwell’s letter
-to the medical class, who adopted the following resolutions:
-
-“Resolved—That one of the radical principles of a republican government
-is the universal education of both sexes; that to every branch of
-scientific education the door should be open equally to all; that the
-application of Elizabeth Blackwell to become a member of our class meets
-our entire approbation; and in extending our unanimous invitation we
-pledge ourselves that no conduct of ours shall cause her to regret her
-attendance at this institution.”
-
-Their gallantry won the day, the faculty cordially opened the doors of
-the institution, and she began her studies there at once.
-
-Being the first female student in the small place her appearance of
-course gave rise to many comments. Many people looked at this new woman
-in wonder; some even inclined to regard her as a lunatic, or a
-disorderly person. But her behavior and seriousness compelled respect,
-and when in 1849 she received her degree, the public press very
-generally commented upon the event in favorable terms and even in Europe
-some notice of it was taken. She found fewer obstacles in her path in
-her studies abroad, especially in Paris. After her return to America she
-began practice in New York City, and here again she had to do pioneer
-work. The medical fraternity stood aloof, refusing to consult with her,
-and society in general somewhat distrusted the innovation. But in time
-her work received just recognition and the status of women in the
-profession became fully established. In 1868 Dr. Blackwell founded the
-“Woman’s Medical College of New York.” The later years of her life were
-spent in England, where she also did much in moulding public opinion
-along the lines of philanthropy, especially in opening hospitals and
-dispensaries for women and children.
-
-A few years after Miss Blackwell had received her diploma, another
-remarkable woman, =Florence Nightingale=, aroused world-wide admiration
-by her noble service during the Crimean war of 1853–56. Intensely
-devoted to the alleviation of suffering, she had since 1849 paid great
-attention to the sanitary conditions of civilian as well as military
-hospitals, which in many cases she found rather poor. In 1851 she went
-into training as a nurse, and when in 1853 war was declared with Russia,
-and the hospitals on the Bosphorus were soon crowded with the sick and
-wounded, she offered the English Government to go out and organize a
-nursing department at Scutari. Starting with a unit of thirty-seven
-nurses, she arrived at Constantinople when the mortality in the
-hospitals had become appalling. Seeing clearly the cause for this
-frightful state in the bad sanitary arrangements of the hospitals, Miss
-Nightingale devoted incessant labor to the removal of these causes, as
-well as to the mitigation of their effects, with such success, that in
-the English army the death-rate fell from 22¼% to only 2¼%.
-
-After her return to England, in 1856, the Government as well as Queen
-Victoria and the public were not slow to acknowledge her splendid
-services. While the Queen presented her with a cross set with diamonds,
-the people subscribed a fund of several hundred thousand dollars for the
-purpose of enabling her to found an institution for the training of a
-superior order of nurses in connection with the St. Thomas’s and King’s
-College Hospitals. Miss Nightingale also enriched the medical literature
-by two valuable books, “Notes on Nursing” and “Notes on Hospitals,” in
-which she gave the results of her lifelong observations.
-
-The example of Miss Nightingale had much to do with calling forth the
-exertions of American women during the Civil War. As soon as there were
-wounded soldiers to heal, and military hospitals to serve, the patriotic
-and benevolent women of America remembered the great work of Florence
-Nightingale, and hastened to the front. As A. W. Calhoun states in his
-“Social History of the American Family,” by 1864 there were busy in the
-North 250 women physicians. Women planned and organized also the “U. S.
-Sanitary Commission,” for the alleviation of the sufferings of the
-battlefield. Its pre-eminent utility was universally recognized. It
-caused likewise several great charity fairs, the last two of which were
-held in New York and Philadelphia and yielded $1,000,000 and $1,200,000
-respectively.
-
-Among the female physicians, who did service during the Civil War, the
-most noteworthy was =Dr. Mary E. Walker=. Having studied medicine at the
-Medical College in Syracuse, N. Y., she was the first woman commissioned
-to serve on the surgical staff of any army in time of war. On assuming
-her duties as surgeon in the war, she found hospital efficiency and
-hoopskirts incompatible; so she sacrificed the skirt and donned a man’s
-coat and trousers. In recognition of her able services Congress not only
-awarded her a Medal of Honor, but also allowed her—the only instance in
-history—by a special act to continue to wear male attire. Dr. Walker
-declared many times that her sole reason for advocating dress reform for
-women were hygienic ones. A real pioneer in her profession, she also
-maintained for many years a farm for sufferers from tuberculosis and
-carried on a school for prevention of that disease modelled after a plan
-of her own.
-
-Among the women, whose names appear in the history of the Civil War, one
-of the most brilliant was =Miss Clara Barton=. Devoting herself to the
-care of the wounded soldiers, she won for herself as superintendent of
-the hospitals in the army of the James the surname “the Florence
-Nightingale of America.” During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71 she
-joined the German branch of the Red Cross Society, that noble
-institution, which in 1859 had been founded by Henry Durant, a citizen
-of Geneva, Switzerland.
-
-Inspired by the example of Miss Nightingale, and horrified by the
-ghastly scenes of the Italian battlefields, he resolved to work for the
-proper treatment and nursing of wounded soldiers, while still on the
-ground. At his strong appeal the Swiss Federal Council invited all
-European nations to a convention in order to discuss proper steps to be
-taken in this direction. Attended by delegates from Baden, Belgium,
-Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Prussia, Switzerland and Wurtemberg,
-the convention met on August 22, 1864, in Geneva, and decided, that
-henceforth not only all places where wounded soldiers are treated, but
-also all persons, engaged in this samaritan service, should be regarded
-as neutrals and distinguished by white flags or white bands showing a
-red cross. Such places must not be attacked, but protected by the
-soldiers of all combating armies.
-
-In the further history and evolution of this international =Society of
-the Red Cross= women have played a most prominent part. Miss Barton
-established during the Franco-Prussian War several military hospitals
-and, by conducting them, distinguished herself so that she was decorated
-with the Iron Cross. After her return to the United States she organized
-in 1882 the “American Red Cross Society,” of which she became the first
-president. The work of Miss Barton and the Red Cross in the
-Spanish-American War and the great help given to the sufferers after the
-great tidal wave in Galveston, Texas, caused the United States Senate
-and the Texas Legislature to adopt resolutions of thanks.
-
-All these great efforts of women could not fail to create a most
-favorable impression toward woman’s activity in medicine. In England an
-act of 1868 for the first time opened the study of pharmacy to women;
-and after a long struggle they obtained their footing as physicians. In
-1874 a special medical school was opened for women in London. In 1876 an
-act authorized every recognized medical body to open its doors to women.
-In 1878 a supplemental charter enabled the University of London to grant
-degrees to women in all its faculties, including medicine. As a result
-up to the close of 1895 264 women had been placed on the British
-register as duly qualified medical practitioners.
-
-In the United States similar progress was made.
-
-According to the census of 1910, there were 7399 women physicians and
-surgeons in the United States.
-
-Whereas fifty years ago there was great objection to admitting women to
-the medical societies, now the men of the profession welcome women
-physicians to the societies and to their discussions, and are more than
-willing to consult with them. The advantage of employing women
-physicians has been recognized likewise by many hospitals, sanitariums
-and insane asylums; the courts too recognize the justice of women’s
-preferring women in the physical examination required by law. There can
-be no doubt, that the 20th Century opens to women physicians
-undreamed-of possibilities in science and in the art of healing.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-                  WOMAN IN THE PROFESSION OF THE LAW.
-
-When in the year of our Lord 1869 American papers reported that in Iowa
-a woman had been admitted to the bar, most readers were inclined to
-regard this “bit of news” as one of the many jokes, sprung occasionally
-upon credulous people in order to warn them what the “new woman” might
-be able to do. But in this case the “joke” turned out to be a fact. And
-if people had been somewhat better acquainted with their Bibles, they
-would have known that the woman lawyer of Iowa was only another
-confirmation of Rabbi Ben Akiba’s famous saying: “There is nothing new
-under the sun!”
-
-Open your Bible and read in Chapter 4 of the Judges IV about =Deborah=,
-the Joan of Arc of the Hebrews. Of this most extraordinary woman
-recorded in Jewish history it is stated that she was a prophetess as
-well as a judge, “to whom the children of Israel came for judgment.”
-
-The Greeks and Romans too had female lawyers. From writers of the
-classic past we know that =Aspasia= pleaded causes in the Athenian
-forum, and =Amenia Sentia= and =Hortensia= in the Roman forum. And
-Valerius Maximus (Hist. lib. VIII, Chapter 3) states that the right of
-Roman women to follow the profession of advocate was taken away in
-consequence of the obnoxious conduct of =Caliphurnia=, who, from “excess
-of boldness” and “by reason of making the tribunals resound with
-howlings uncommon in the forum,” was forbidden to plead. The law, made
-to meet the especial case of Caliphurnia, ultimately “under the
-influence of the anti-feministic tendencies” of the period, was
-converted into a general one. In its wording the law sets forth that the
-original reason for woman’s exclusion “rested solely on the doings of
-said person.”
-
-The “howlings of Caliphurnia” furnished the legislators of all later
-periods with a welcome pretext to exclude women from practice of the
-law, and it was not till 1869 that a woman again obtained admission to
-the bar. This pioneer was =Miss Arabella A. Mansfield= of Mount
-Pleasant, Iowa, who was admitted to the Iowa bar in 1869, under the
-statute providing only for admission of “white male citizens.”
-
-The next female lawyer was =Mrs. Belva Ann Lockwood=, a graduate of the
-Law School of the National University at Washington, D. C. Having been
-admitted in 1873 to practice before the Supreme Court of the District of
-Columbia, she applied in October, 1876, for admission as practitioner of
-the Supreme Court of the United States, but was rejected under the
-following decision: “By the uniform practice of the Court from its
-organization to the present time, and by the fair construction of its
-rules, none but men are admitted to practice before it as attorneys and
-counselors. This is in accordance with immemorial usage in England, and
-the law and practice in all the States, until within a recent period;
-and the Court does not feel called upon to make a change until such a
-change is required by statute or a more extended practice in the highest
-courts of the States.”
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  BELVA A. LOCKWOOD.
-]
-
-But if the members of the Supreme Court had entertained the hope of
-scaring away women once and for all, they soon enough found that they
-were mistaken. Mrs. Lockwood drafted a bill and secured its passage in
-Congress, providing “that any woman who shall have been a member of the
-bar of the highest court of any State or Territory, or of the Supreme
-Court of the District of Columbia, for the space of three years, and
-shall have maintained a good standing before such court, and who shall
-be a person of good moral character, shall, on motion, and the
-production of such record, be admitted to practice before the Supreme
-Court of the United States.” This bill was approved on February 15th,
-1879. Since then Mrs. Lockwood as well as a number of other female
-lawyers have been admitted under this law to practice before the highest
-court of the United States.
-
-A “Woman’s International Bar Association” was organized in 1888, for the
-purpose of establishing law schools for women and of promoting the
-interests of female lawyers as well as of securing better legal
-conditions for women.
-
-According to the Census of 1910 there were 1010 woman lawyers in the
-United States.
-
-“Having taken up the law,” so said Miss Edith J. Griswold, herself a
-counsellor-at-law, “woman will not rest until she stands on a level with
-man, and the end of the Twentieth Century will probably find an
-equilibrium in the United States Government that can only be obtained
-(as in the home government) by the equal balancing of the different
-propensities of male and female mind in the making and enforcing of
-laws. The prophecy that the time is coming when woman will govern seems
-ludicrous, and yet it is no more ludicrous than the present lopsided
-arrangement whereby man has the exclusive power of government. With the
-rapid advance of woman conditions are being manifested that require
-woman’s judgment, and to obtain true justice in matters relating to both
-sexes an equal number of men and women should compose both the court and
-the jury. By the end of the Twentieth Century, I believe, a woman’s
-judgment will carry as much weight as a man’s, and the opinions handed
-down from our higher courts will have to be concurred in by an equal
-number of male and female judges.”
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-                          WOMEN AS INVENTORS.
-
-Sometimes, when the merits of the woman movement were discussed, its
-opponents made it their trump that the female sex is without any
-inventive spirit and that this want should be regarded as a convincing
-evidence for the inferiority of woman s mind. That this assertion was
-never true at all, but made in absolute ignorance of the real facts,
-becomes evident, when we recall, that primeval and aboriginal women have
-been the inventors of our most important industries, of agriculture,
-weaving, basketry, pottery, tannery, brewing, and many other peaceful
-arts. And there is not the slightest doubt, that during the times of
-Antiquity and the Middle Ages women have been the greatest factor in the
-evolution of these industries, in which they remained constantly busy.
-
-Among the few instances of which records have been preserved, is that of
-=Barbara Uttmann=, a German woman of Annaberg, Saxony, who in 1561
-invented the Cluny-lace. Herewith she opened, for the extremely poor
-people of the Erzgebirge, at the most critical time, a new and well
-paying industry, in which in 1800 about 35,000 girls and women were
-busy.
-
-Another important invention was made in 1792 in America by the widow of
-General Nathaniel Green. It was the so-called cotton gin by which the
-difficult work to separate the seed from the lint was greatly
-simplified. To pick the seed from one pound of cotton had been formerly
-considered a good day’s work. With the aid of the cotton gin, which
-consists of a series of saws revolving between the interstices of an
-iron bed upon which the cotton is placed so as to be drawn through
-whilst the seeds are left behind, several hundred pounds of cotton can
-be cleaned in the same time. This invention stimulated enormously the
-cultivation of cotton and the manufacture of cotton goods in America. In
-the South, where so far cotton had been produced only in small
-quantities, it now became the main product. While in 1792 the quantity
-exported from the United States was 138,324 pounds, it increased by the
-year 1800 to nearly 18,000,000 pounds. In the North it led to the
-establishment of cotton mills and factories on a large scale.
-
-As only few countries have taken the trouble to prepare statistics about
-inventions made by women it is impossible to give reliable facts about
-what women have contributed to human culture in this line.
-
-Their most intensive activity has been observed in the United States,
-especially since with the founding of woman’s colleges and the opening
-of the universities, the education of the female sex became a more
-careful and broader one.
-
-The U. S. Patent Office at Washington, D. C., has published “Lists of
-Women Inventors,” in three volumes, covering the period from 1790 to
-March 1, 1895. From these lists it appears that till 1849 only 32
-inventions by women have been registered at the Patent Office. This
-number increased to 290 during the period from 1850 to 1870; during
-1870–1890 to 2568, and up to 1910 to 7942. These numbers prove that with
-the increase of woman’s knowledge and with the closer contact with
-modern industrial life her inventive spirit has likewise developed. Also
-the inventions became more manifold. While prior to 1850 they were
-almost exclusively confined to dress and household, they now cover all
-fields of human activity.
-
-This fact became most evident during the terrible years of the World
-War. Some time ago the “Women Lawyer Journal” reported that of all the
-many inventions registered since 1914, fifty per cent. have been entered
-by women. Among these inventions have been such for the better
-protection of soldiers and aeronauts as well as for the greater comfort
-of the wounded and crippled. Other inventions meant improvement in
-wireless telegraphy, gas masks, submarine boats and hundreds of other
-objects.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-                       EMINENT FEMALE SCIENTISTS.
-
-Just as hostile as had been the clergy to the admission of women to
-ecclesiastical office, so unwilling were many prejudiced scholars to
-admit women into the sacred realms of science. By hundreds of arguments
-they tried to prove the inability of women to do any deeply scientific
-work. They explained that the hard study would impair their health,
-their chances of marriage, and their true destination as mothers. Higher
-education would make women unfit for domestic life, and, besides, they
-would hardly produce anything of real scientific value.
-
-If these learned gentlemen would have taken the trouble to make
-themselves somewhat more acquainted with the history of science they
-would have found the names of numerous women on record, who, at their
-time, were among the leaders in the most abstruse sciences. Several
-centuries before Christ Hellas as well as Rome had a number of brilliant
-female philosophers, among them =Damo=, the daughter of Pythagoras, who
-lived about 580–500 B. C. She was one of his favorite disciples, and to
-her the great savant entrusted all his writings, enjoining her not to
-make public all the secrets of his philosophy. This command she strictly
-obeyed, though tempted by large offers while she was struggling with
-poverty.
-
-Socrates, the great philosopher, declares that he learned of a woman,
-=Diotima=, the “divine philosophy,” how to find from corporeal beauty
-the beauty of the soul, the angelical mind. Diotima lived in Greece,
-about 468 B. C.
-
-=Arete= is known as the daughter of Aristippus of Cyrene, the founder of
-the Cyrenaic system of philosophy, who flourished about 380 B. C. She
-was carefully instructed by her father, and after his death taught his
-system with great success. =Leontium=, living about 350 B. C., was a
-disciple of Epicure, and wrote in defense of his philosophy. =Tymicha=,
-a Lacedaemonian, was the most celebrated female philosopher of the
-Pythagorean school. When she, in 330 B. C., was brought before
-Dionysius, the tyrant of Syracuse, as a prisoner, he made her very
-advantageous offers, if she would reveal the mysteries of Pythagorean
-science; but she rejected them all with scorn and contempt. And when he
-threatened her with torture, she instantly bit off her tongue, and spat
-it in the tyrant’s face, to show him that no pain could make her violate
-the pledge of secrecy.
-
-Of =Hipparchia=, a lady of Thrace, who lived about 328 B. C., it is
-known that her attachment to learning was so great, that having attended
-several lectures of Crates, the cynic, she resolved to marry him though
-he was old, ugly, and deformed. She accompanied him everywhere to public
-entertainments and other places, which was not customary with Greecian
-women. She also wrote several philosophical theses, and reasonings and
-questions proposed to Theodorus, the atheist; but none of her writings
-are extant.
-
-Ancient Rome too had a number of female philosophers, among them
-=Cornelia=, “the mother of the Gracchi.” She frequently gave public
-lectures and was more fortunate with her disciples than with her sons.
-It was Cicero, who said of her that, had she not been a woman, she would
-have deserved the first place among philosophers. In what esteem she was
-held is shown by the fact that a statue was erected to her with the
-inscription, “Cornelia, Mater Gracchorum.” She died about 230 B. C.
-
-The most renowned female philosopher of the classic times was =Hypatia=,
-the lovely daughter of Theon, the head of the famous Alexandrian School
-in Alexandria, Egypt. Born in 370 A. D., Hypatia was taught by her
-father and acquired such extensive knowledge and learning, that the
-Bycantine Church historian Socrates, as well as Nicephorus placed her
-far above all the philosophers of her time. Several other learned
-contemporaries praise her in similar terms. Sinesius, bishop of
-Ptolemais, never mentions her without the profoundest respect, and in
-terms of affection little short of adoration. In a letter to his brother
-Euoptius he writes: “Salute the most honored and the most beloved of
-God, the Philosopher Hypatia, and that happy society, which enjoys the
-blessing of her divine voice.” And in a long epistle he sends her with
-the manuscript of a book, he asks her opinion and states his resolution
-not to publish the book without her approbation.
-
-Hypatia succeeded her father in the government of the Alexandrian
-School, teaching from the chair where Ammonius, Hieracles, and other
-celebrated philosophers had taught; and this at a time, when men of
-immense learning abounded in Alexandria and in other parts of the Roman
-empire. In fact her renown was so universally acknowledged, that she had
-always a crowded auditorium. What a subject for an able artist, to
-present this beautiful woman in her chair, with the flower of all the
-youth of Africa, Asia and Europe sitting at her feet, eagerly imbibing
-knowledge from this oracle of wisdom.
-
-Socrates states that she was consulted by the magistrates of Alexandria
-in all important cases. This frequently brought her among the greatest
-assemblages of men without causing the least censure of her manners.
-“Considering the confidence and authority which she had acquired by her
-learning,” says Socrates, “she sometimes came to the judges with
-singular modesty. Nor was she anything abashed to appear thus among a
-crowd of men; for all persons, by reason of her extraordinary
-discretion, did at the same time both reverence and admire her.”
-
-Unfortunately this wonderful woman was to become a martyr of science.
-The population of Alexandria was split into three hostile groups—the
-Pagans, the Jews, and the Christians. The latter, under the leadership
-of the patriarch Cyril, assailed in violent zeal Jews as well as pagans,
-and heretics or supposed heretics alike, driving them by thousands from
-the city, destroying their synagogues and temples, and pillaging their
-houses. It was during one of these riots, that the illustrious Hypatia
-was attacked by a mob of vicious monks, torn from her carriage, dragged
-into a church, stripped naked and clubbed to death. Then the murderers
-in fanatic frenzy tore the body to pieces, carried the limbs to a public
-square and burnt them to ashes. This happened in Lent 415.
-
-All the writings of Hypatia, among them her treatise “On the
-Astronomical Canon of Diophantus” and another “On the Conics of
-Apollonius” are lost. Most probably they too were destroyed by the
-fanatic Christian mobs, who, after the murder of Hypatia, extinguished
-the Greek School of philosophers and scientists at Alexandria.—
-
-Astronomy, probably the most ancient of the sciences, has since early
-days exerted a singular attraction on women.
-
-Herman Davis, in his essay “Women Astronomers,” published in the reports
-of Columbia University, New York, gives the names of a large number of
-women astronomers, beginning with several of classic times. Of the
-Egyptians he mentions =Aganice=, =Athyrta=, =Berenice=, =Hipparchia= and
-=Occelo=, who were connected with the Alexandrian School. Of the Greeks
-he names =Aristocle= and =Athenais=, and of Thessaly =Aglaonice=. But
-nothing definite is known about their achievement.
-
-Davis likewise gives an account of =Hildegarde=, abbess of the monastery
-on Mount St. Rupert near Bingen on the Rhine. This learned woman, who
-lived from 1099 to 1180, wrote a book in Latin, in which some marvelous
-statements are claimed to have been made: 1. that the Sun is in the
-midst of the firmament retaining by its force the stars which move
-around it; 2. that when it is cold in the Northern hemisphere it is warm
-in the Southern, that the celestial temperature may thus be in
-equilibrium; 3. that the stars not only shine with unequal brilliancy
-but are themselves really unequal in magnitude; 4. that as blood moves
-in the veins and makes them pulsate, so do the stars move and send forth
-pulsations of light. “If even one-half of these marvelous statements are
-found in Hildegarde’s writings as early as the 12th Century,” says
-Davis, “then this woman may well be classed with the great forerunners
-of modern astronomy, with Copernicus, Galileo and Newton, for she was
-three centuries earlier than the first of them.”
-
-The first female astronomer of whom we have more intimate information,
-was =Marie Cunitz=, born in 1610 as the eldest daughter of a physician
-in Silesia. Commanding an extraordinary general culture, her principal
-study was mathematics and astronomy. Her tables, published under the
-title “Urania Propitia, sive Tabulæ Astronomicæ,” gained for her a great
-reputation, and the by-name “the Silesian Pallas.” Dedicated to the
-Emperor Ferdinand III. the book was published in Latin and in German in
-1650 and 1651.
-
-Another noted astronomer was =Caroline Lucretia Herschel=, born in 1750
-at Hanover, Germany. In 1772 she accompanied her brother William to
-England, and when he accepted the office of astronomer-royal, she became
-his constant assistant in his observations. In this capacity she
-succeeded in discovering independently eight comets, five of which had
-not been observed before. Also she discovered many of the small stellar
-nebulæ which were included in her brother’s catalogue. For her many
-contributions to astronomy in 1835 she was presented by the Astronomical
-Society with their gold medal, and was also elected an honorary member.
-
-When the memoirs of Miss Herschel were published, the editor, in
-describing her character, said: “Great men and great causes have always
-some helper of whom the outside world knows but little. These helpers
-and sustainers have the same quality in common—absolute devotion and
-unwavering faith in the individual or the cause. Seeking nothing for
-themselves, thinking nothing of themselves, they have all the intense
-power of sympathy, a noble love of giving themselves for the service of
-others. Of this noble company of unknown helpers Caroline Herschel was
-one.”—
-
-This capacity of self-denial distinguished likewise a number of other
-women, whose names are known in the history of astronomy, as for
-instance =Theresa= and =Madeline Manfredi=, the daughters of Eustachio
-Manfredi, from 1674 to 1739 director of the observatory of Bologna.
-Further, =Marie Margarethe Kirch=, who assisted her husband, the
-astronomer Kirch, in the upper Lausatia; Madame =Lepante=, the wife of
-the famous clock-maker Jean Andre Lepante; and nearer our own time,
-there is =Maria Mitchell=, born 1818 at Nantucket, Mass., who at an
-early age became the assistant of her father. Carrying on a series of
-independent observations, she was in 1865 appointed professor of
-astronomy in Vassar College.
-
-=Emilie de Bréteuil=, =Antonie C. Asher=, =Elizabeth von Matt=,
-=Wilhelmine Witte= and =Agnes Mary Clerke= likewise distinguished
-themselves in astronomy. The last named lady published in 1885 a
-“History of Astronomy” and in 1890 “The System of the Stars.” These
-writings, conspicuous for a careful sifting and due assimilation of
-facts, with a happy diction that is at the same time both popular and
-scientific, place the author in the foremost rank of writers on
-astronomy.—
-
-As an eminent mathematician, linguist and philosopher =Maria Gaetana
-Agnesi= is known to every student of science. Born 1718 at Milan, she
-gave early indication of extraordinary ability and devoted herself to
-the abstract sciences. In mathematics she attained such consummate
-skill, that, when her father, professor of mathematics at Bologna, died,
-the Pope allowed her to succeed him. In this capacity she wrote her
-famous work: “Instituzions Analitiche ad Uso Gioventu Italiana,” which
-was published at Milan in 1748. Its first volume treats of the analysis
-of finite quantities, and the second of the analysis of infinitesimals.
-The able mathematician John Colson, professor at the University of
-Cambridge, considered this work so excellent, that he studied Italian in
-order to translate it into English. Under the title “Analytical
-Institutions” this translation was published in 1801, to do honor to
-Maria Agnesi, and also to prove that women have minds capable of
-comprehending the most abstruse studies.
-
-Another female mathematician, =Sophie Germain=, born in 1776 in Paris,
-won the grand prize, offered by the Institute of France for the best
-memoir giving the mathematical theory of elastic surfaces and comparing
-it with experience. This question had come up in 1808. Great
-mathematicians were not wanting in Paris at that time—Lagrange, Laplace,
-Poisson, Fourier, and others, but none of them were inclined to tackle
-the question. Lagrange, in fact, had said that it could not be solved by
-any of the then known mathematical methods. The offer was twice renewed
-by the Institute, and in 1816 the prize was conferred upon Sophie
-Germain, who in 1808 as well as in 1810 had made two unsuccessful
-attempts to solve the difficult question. The same woman distinguished
-herself by a number of other valuable papers and philosophical writings.
-
-In more recent years =Sonja Kowalewska=, a Russian, who had studied
-mathematics at the universities of Berlin and Goettingen, became famous
-as the winner of the Prix Bordin, offered by the Academy of Paris. Later
-on, as a professor of mathematics in Stockholm, she wrote a number of
-excellent professional works, but died there in her fortieth year.
-
-Among the British scientific writers of the 19th Century the most famous
-was =Mary Somerville=, whom Laplace called the most learned woman of her
-age and the only woman who understood his works. In translating his
-brilliant work “Mécanique Celeste,” she greatly popularized its form.
-Its publication in 1831 under the title of “The Mechanism of the
-Heavens” at once made her famous. Her own works: “Connections of
-Physical Science,” “Physical Geography” and “Molecular and Microscopic
-Science” have been declared masterworks, distinguished by a clear and
-crisp style, and the underlying enthusiasm for the subject.
-
-In the history of chemistry the name of =Marie Curie= will be forever
-connected with the wonderful discovery of Radium and Radio-activity.
-Born on November 7, 1867, at Warsaw as Marja Sklodowska she came to
-Paris in 1888 and studied at the Faculté des Sciences. In 1895 she
-married Professor Pierre Curie and joined him in his chemical
-investigations. It was in 1898 that she published a most valuable work
-on metals in solution. Her investigations in collaboration with her
-husband led to the discovery of two new bodies: Polonium and Radium,
-which are found in certain minerals, especially in pitch blende in a
-state of extreme solution; as a matter of fact, to the extent only of a
-few decigrammes to the ton of mineral for Radium, and much less in the
-case of Polonium. The separation of these elements presented extreme
-difficulties.
-
-Further investigations led to the observation of most interesting
-phenomena in connection with these bodies—chemical effects, luminous
-effects, effects of heating, etc. New realms of science were
-disclosed—the science of Radio-active phenomena. In recognition of these
-discoveries in 1903 the Nobel Prize was awarded to Professor Curie and
-his wife. And when Mrs. Curie, after the tragic death of her husband,
-accomplished the “isolation” of Radium and also determined its atomic
-weight, she was awarded the Nobel Prize for a second time in 1911. At
-present Mrs. Curie is Director of the Physico-Chemical Department of the
-University of Paris.
-
-For valuable research work in bacteriology =Dr. Rhoda Erdmann=, a former
-assistant of the famous professor Robert Koch in Berlin, became most
-favorably known. Having published several excellent treatises on the
-amoeba and protozoa, she followed in 1913 a call to the
-Sheffield-Institute of Yale University.
-
-In the wide fields of archæology and ethnology likewise several women
-have achieved remarkable results. Among those scientists who devoted
-themselves to the study of archæology and the ancient history of America
-the name of =Zelia Nuttall= is well known. She is the author of many
-interesting essays on the relics left by the Aztecs, Toltecs, and Mayas.
-Science is also indebted to her for the so-called “Codex Nuttall,” now
-preserved in the Peabody-Museum at Cambridge, Mass.
-
-Another noteworthy ethnologist was =Erminnie Adele Smith=, who, as
-compiler of the famous Iroquois-English Dictionary, was distinguished by
-being elected the first woman member of the New York Academy of Science.
-
-=Alice Cunningham Fletcher= made most valuable investigations about the
-religious and social conditions of several Indian tribes of the Far
-West, especially of the Sioux, Omaha, and Pawnee Indians. Her very
-exhaustive studies have been published in the Annual Reports of the
-Bureau of American Ethnology.
-
-The same reports contain highly interesting papers by =Matilda Cox
-Stevenson= and =Tilly E. Stevenson= about the mythology, esoteric
-societies and sociology of the Zuni Indians.
-
-=Miss Elsie Clews Parsons= in New York has published valuable monographs
-about the folk-lore of the Pueblo Indians and the Negroes of the Bahama
-Islands. =A. M. Czaplicka=, =Mary Kingsley=, =Barbara Freire-Marreco=,
-=Adele Breton=, =Mrs. Jochelson-Brodsky=, and =Maria Tubino= are
-likewise most favorably known as writers on archæology and ethnology.
-
-For a number of years =Johanna Mestorf= has held the position of
-director of the Museum of Antiquities of Schleswig-Holstein.
-
-=Cornelia Horsford=, the learned daughter of the late Professor Eben
-Horsford of Cambridge, Mass., made great efforts to settle many
-questions in regard to the early voyages of discovery by the Norsemen to
-Greenland and Vinland. In the pursuit of these studies she sent several
-scientific expeditions to Iceland as well as to Greenland and published
-a number of valuable essays, among them “Graves of the Northmen”;
-“Dwellings of the Saga Time in Iceland, Greenland and Vinland”; “Vinland
-and its Ruins”; and “Ruins of the Saga-Times.”
-
-=Anne Pratt= is known as an able botanist. And =Eleanor Anne Ormerod=
-has been hailed in England as “the Protector of Agriculture,” as she
-organized the valuable “Annual Series of Reports on Injurious Insects
-and Pests,” distributed by the Government.
-
-Among the explorers of the Dark Continent a Dutch lady, =Miss
-Alexandrine Tinné=, created a sensation by her daring journeys in the
-upper Nile regions. During her first expedition, which lasted from 1861
-to 1864, she penetrated great stretches of unknown territory, and was
-the first to enter the land of the Niam Niam. Several members of her
-expedition died from the terrible hardships that had to be overcome.
-After her return to Cairo Miss Tinné started in January, 1869, on a
-still more hazardous expedition, which was to proceed from Tripoli to
-Lake Tchad, and from there by way of Wadai, Darfur, and Kordofan to the
-Upper Nile. But while her caravan was on the route from Murzuk to Rhat,
-the daring explorer was murdered by her own escort.
-
-An English lady, =Florence Caroline Dixie=, explored the wilderness of
-Central Patagonia. =Isabelle Bishop= became known for her extensive
-travels through Asia, and the masterful descriptions of those countries
-she had traversed. Her best work is “Korea and Her Neighbors.”
-
-=Therese, Princess of Bavaria=, wrote several highly interesting works
-about her extensive travels in Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, and
-the tropical regions of Brazil. =Cecilie Seler=, the wife of the famous
-archæologist Eduard Seler, is the author of the valuable book “On
-Ancient Roads in Mexico and Guatemala.”
-
-While these examples—which might be increased by many others—give ample
-proof of woman’s ability in regard to scientific work, it must be
-stated, that, up to the middle of the 19th Century, men did very little
-to encourage their struggling sisters in this line of activity. Indeed,
-there are not a few instances of strong disinclination on the part of
-statesmen as well as of scientists, to smooth woman’s road to higher
-education. Centuries passed before women succeeded in gaining the right
-to follow their studies in colleges and universities, a right they had
-enjoyed in Italy during the 10th and 11th Centuries as well as during
-the Renaissance.
-
-The first institution of modern times, that admitted women on the same
-footing with men, was Oberlin College in Ohio, founded in 1833 and open
-to all irrespective of sex and color. The first woman who graduated here
-was Miss Zerniah Porter, who in 1838 received her diploma in the
-so-called literary course. The State universities of the West that were
-founded later on all followed the example set by Oberlin College and
-gradually the older ones adopted the same policy, so that all over the
-West and South, where the State university is a strong influence, these
-institutions are open to women. Throughout these regions women’s
-education is for this reason almost synonymous with co-education. In the
-Eastern part of the United States, however, the private college
-predominates, and there is a greater degree of separation. But even here
-the restrictions are gradually being removed, and most of the men’s
-colleges and universities admit women to some departments with some
-restrictions, or have an affiliated woman’s college.
-
-America has also a number of independent colleges exclusively for women.
-The best known among them are Vassar College, at Poughkeepsie, New York,
-organized in 1861, with 1124 students and 144 teachers in 1918;
-Wellesley College in Massachusetts, organized in 1875, and with 1612
-students and 138 teachers in 1918; Bryn Mawr in Pennsylvania organized
-in 1880, and with 489 students and 63 teachers in 1918; Smith College at
-Northampton, Mass.
-
-France began to open its universities to women in 1858; England followed
-in 1864; Switzerland in 1866; Sweden in 1870; Denmark, Holland, Finland
-and India in 1875; Italy and Belgium in 1876; Australia in 1878; Norway
-in 1884; Iceland in 1886; Hungary in 1895; Austria in 1897; Prussia in
-1899, and Germany in 1900.
-
-To-day no one clings any longer to the old prejudices against the
-abilities of women. College education among women has become so common
-as to attract little or no attention. It is regarded as the essential
-training for intellectual, professional and business life, and it is no
-longer an effort to secure it, but rather to make it of the greatest
-possible value to the students and to the community. As women do a large
-proportion of the teaching in public schools as well as in colleges for
-both sexes, the education of the citizens of the 20th Century depends
-largely upon the opportunities available to women in the past, present
-and future.—
-
-As educators as well as founders of learned institutions large numbers
-of women became most favorably known. There was for instance =Jeanne
-Louise Henriette Campan=. When the tempests of the French Revolution
-began to rage, she held a position at the royal court as reader to the
-young princesses. Thrown on her own resources after the dethronement and
-execution of the King and the Queen she established a school at
-Saint-Germain. The institution prospered, and was patronized by Mme.
-Beauharnais, whose influence led to the appointment of Mme. Campan as
-superintendent of the Academy founded by Napoleon at Ecouen, for the
-education of the daughters and sisters of members of the Legion of
-Honor. While in this position Mme. Campan wrote a treatise “De
-l’Education des Femmes.”
-
-=Emmy Hart Willard= in 1823 founded Troy Female Seminary at Troy, N. Y.,
-over which she presided until 1838. =Mary Mason Lyon= established in
-1836 Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, of which she was president until her
-death in 1849.
-
-=Elizabeth Palmer Peabody= in Boston was largely instrumental in
-introducing Froebel’s kindergarten system in the United States. She
-likewise wrote a number of educational works. In England =Emily Anne
-Shireff= was active as President of the Froebel Society of England.
-=Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon=, who worked for the extension of
-university education to women, aided in 1868 in establishing Girton
-College, at Cambridge, England. =Anne Jemima Clough= founded in 1867 the
-North of England Council for Promoting the Higher Education of Women,
-and in 1875 the Newnham College for Women.
-
-The name of =Sophie Smith= is remembered as the founder of Smith College
-at Northampton, Mass., the first woman’s college in New England; the
-name of =Annie N. Meyer= as the founder of Barnard College, the woman’s
-department of Columbia University in New York.
-
-=Marie Montessori= was the inventor of a new system of teaching.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-                 NOTEWORTHY WOMEN IN WORLD LITERATURE.
-
-Reviewing the countless contributions women have made to literature is a
-task that can be mastered only by devoting to this subject several
-ponderous volumes. Whether such an attempt has even been made we are
-unable to say. But the theme is so attractive that I hope that some
-competent woman author may be inspired to undertake this task. What more
-beautiful mission could she have than to study and analyze all the
-scattered evidences of brilliant intellect, rich in imagination, deep
-emotion, power of expression, soaring enthusiasm, scintillating wit, and
-profound sorrow, to be found in many of the books written by women since
-the days of =Sappho= and =Erinna=.
-
-Only fragments remain of the beautiful odes, hymns and love-songs
-produced by the poetesses of the classic past. But that they inspired
-all Hellas and Rome we know from the testimony of the foremost authors
-and critics of their time. When Meleager of Gadara, the famous sophist
-and poet, selected the choicest poems of his predecessors and wove them
-into that delicious “Garland,” to be hung outside the gate of the
-Gardens of the Hesperides, he did not forget Sappho, because “though her
-flowers were few, they were all roses.” And a critic, writing five
-hundred years after Erinna’s death, speaks of still hearing her
-swan-note clear above the jangling chatter of the jays, and of still
-thinking those three hundred hexameter verses sung by this girl of
-nineteen in “The Distaff” as lovely as the loveliest of Homer. There is
-also a report, that =Corinna=, a native of Tanagra, in Bœotia, won five
-times in poetical contests the prize in competition with Pindar, the
-greatest lyric poet of Greece.
-
-With greater kindness fate treated the works of =Alphaizuli=, a Moorish
-poetess, who lived in Seville during the 8th Century A. D. Of her, who
-was called “the Arabian Sappho,” two volumes of excellent verses are
-preserved in the library of the Escurial. Likewise =Labana= and =Leela=,
-two Moorish poetesses, were famous throughout beautiful Andalusia during
-the 10th and the 13th Century. Of =Valada=, the daughter of the Moorish
-King Almostakeph, of Corduba, her contemporaries report that she several
-times contended with scholars noted for their eloquence and knowledge,
-and quite often bore away the palm.
-
-That such contests were held in great favor by learned ladies, appears
-from the institution of those famous poetical festivals known as “Jeux
-Floraux” or Floral Games. They are said to have been established in the
-11th or the 12th Century by a gay company of French minstrels, called
-“the seven troubadours.” But in time they had become forgotten. It is
-due to =Clemence Isaure=, a poetess born in 1464 at Toulouse, that these
-festivals were renewed. Fixing the first of May as the day of these
-Floral Games, she invited all poets and poetesses to participate in
-peaceful contest, assigning as prizes for the victors five different
-flowers, wrought in gold and silver. There was an amaranth of gold for
-the best ode; a silver violet for a poem of from sixty to one hundred
-Alexandrine lines; a silver eglantine for the best prose composition; a
-silver marigold for an elegy, and a silver lily for a hymn.
-
-These contests have been held in Toulouse through all the centuries.
-They were recognized by the French Government in 1694, and confirmed by
-letters-patent from the king. Some twenty-five years ago they were
-likewise introduced into Germany, and held first in Cologne.
-
-The brilliant age of the Renaissance produced several women writers and
-poets, whose works are still read. The literary annals of Italy shine
-with such illustrious names as =Cassandra Fidelis=, the Venetian;
-=Veronica Gambara=, of Brescia; =Lucia Bertana=, of Bologna; =Tarquenia
-Molza=, of Modena; =Gaspara Stampa=, of Padua; and the great =Vittoria
-Colonna=, of Marino, whose sonnets as well as her beauty and virtues
-were extolled by all contemporaries.
-
-In Spain =Marianne de Carbajal= and =Maria de Zayas=, during the 17th
-Century, the classic period of Spanish literature, became the pride of
-their country.
-
-In France =Marguerite d’Angouleme= wrote a delightful book, “the
-Heptameron,” similar in plan to the famous “Decamerone” by Boccaccio. In
-the middle of the 16th Century =Louise Labbé=, known in French
-literature as “La belle cordière,” produced her “Debat de Folie et
-d’Amour,” a work full of wit, originality and beauty. Erasmus and La
-Fontaine were both indebted to it; the former for the idea of “The
-Praise of Folly,” and the latter for “L’Amour et la Folie.” In truth, La
-Fontaine’s poem is only a versification of the prose story of Louise
-Labbé.
-
-Of the illustrious French women, who during the 16th, 17th and 18th
-Centuries made their “salons” the gathering-places for men and women of
-letters, several became widely known for their own poems and works of
-fiction. As for instance =Madeline de Scudéry=, =Anne de Seguier=,
-=Claudine de Tencin=, =Madame de la Sabliére=, =Madeline de Souvré=, and
-=Anne Dacier=, of whom Voltaire said, that no woman ever rendered
-greater services to literature.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  A FLORAL GAME DURING THE 14TH CENTURY.
-
-  After a painting by F. Padilla.
-]
-
-In the literature of the 19th Century =Anne Louise Germaine Necker,
-Baroness de Stael-Holstein=, held a singular position. Many of her
-contemporaries exalted her as “the founder of the romantic movement” who
-gave “ideas” to the world. To-day she is almost forgotten, and her
-novels and plays, among them “Corinne” and “Sophie and Jane Grey” lie
-undisturbed and dusty on the library shelves.
-
-Perhaps her most remarkable contribution to literature was her book
-“L’Allemagne,” which was announced in 1810. It gave a most intelligent
-exposition of the science, literature, arts, philosophy, and other
-characteristics of the Germans, gathered from the author’s own
-observations. The work, written with a spirited independence, quite at
-variance with the deadening political influence of Napoleon, irritated
-the emperor to such a degree that he ordered the minister of police to
-seize and destroy the whole edition of 10,000 copies. Besides this he
-exiled the author from France. When, after the overthrow of Napoleon,
-she returned to Paris, she had her book printed again, and had the
-satisfaction of seeing it eagerly read by millions of Frenchmen.
-
-Of all French authoresses of the 19th Century =Armantine Lucile Aurore
-Dudevant=, or “=George Sand=,” holds the supreme rank. In the long line
-of her thoughtful, concentrated and meditative novels “Valentine,”
-“Indiana,” “Lelia,” “Mauprat,” and “Le Meunier d’ Angibault” are real
-gems of fiction, whose influence can be traced in many later works by
-writers of France and other nations.
-
-Of her contemporaries =Louise Révoil Colet=, =Eugenie de Guérin=,
-=Pauline de la Ferronay Craven=, and, above all, =Delphine de Girardin=
-must be mentioned, whose “Letters Parisiennes” as well as her poems,
-novels, dramas and comedies belong to the most excellent productions of
-the 19th Century. By her dramatic pieces “L’Ecole des Journalistes,”
-“Judith,” “Cleopatra,” “C’est la faute du mari,” “Lady Tartufe,” and
-others she reaped a wide popularity. In the literary society of her time
-she exercised no small personal influence. Balzac, Alfred de Musset,
-Gautier, and Victor Hugo were among the frequenters of her salon.
-
-                  *       *       *       *       *
-
-Among the British woman writers of the latter part of the 18th Century
-=Jane Austen= was the most distinguished. Her novels “Sense and
-Sensibility,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “Emma,” “Northanger Abbey” and
-“Persuasion” have been likened to the carefully-executed paintings of
-the Dutch masters for their charming pictures of quiet, natural life.
-
-=Ann Ward Radcliffe= wrote three novels unsurpassed of their kind in
-English literature: “The Romance of the Forest,” “The Mysteries of
-Udolpho,” and “The Italian.” They are distinguished for originality,
-ingenuity of plot, fertility of incident, and skill in devising
-apparently supernatural occurrences capable of explanation by human
-agency and natural coincidence.
-
-=Mary Russell Mitford= edited several volumes of sketches of rural
-character and scenery, delightful and finished in style, and unrivalled
-in her manner of description. It is by these sketches of English life
-that she obtained the greatest share of her popularity. She wrote also
-an opera called “Sadak and Kalasrade,” and four tragedies, “Julian,”
-“Foscari,” “Rienzi,” and “Charles the First.” All were successful;
-“Rienzi,” in particular, long continued a favorite.
-
-=Elizabeth Inchbald’s= two novels “The Simple Story” and “Nature and
-Art,” have long ranked among standard works. Besides novels she wrote a
-number of dramas, some of which were very successful.
-
-=Maria Edgeworth= published a new work almost every year from the
-beginning of the 19th Century to 1825. The novels “Castle Rackrent,”
-“Belinda,” “Vivian.” “Harrington and Ormond,” and many others followed
-each other rapidly, and all were welcomed and approved by the public.
-Her best and last work of fiction, “Helen,” appeared in 1834.
-
-=Mary Shelley=, the wife of the famous poet Percy Shelley, is renowned
-as the author of the romances “Frankenstein,” “Valperga, or the Life and
-Adventures of Castruccio, Prince of Lucca”; “Falkner”; “Lodore,” and
-“The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck.” A most peculiar work is “The Last
-Men,” a fiction of the final agonies of human society owing to the
-universal spread of pestilence.
-
-Among the dramatists of the 19th Century =Joanna Baillie= was the
-foremost. In her “Plays of Passion” she illustrates each of the deepest
-and strongest passions of the human mind, such as Hate, Love, Jealousy,
-Fear, by a tragedy and a comedy. Other dramas were “The Family Legend”;
-“Henriquez”; “The Separation,” and other plays, which show remarkable
-power of analysis, and observation. They are all written in vigorous
-style.
-
-Of the numerous novelists of the 19th Century =Charlotte Bronté= was
-received with universal delight. Her novels “Jane Eyre,” “Shirley” and
-“Villette” have all the vigor and individuality of poetic genius. She
-was “a star-like soul, whose genius followed no tradition and left no
-successors.”
-
-=Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell= will be remembered for her intensely
-interesting books “Mary Barton,” “North and South,” the exquisitely
-humorous “Cranford,” and “Cousin Phyllis,” which has been fitly called
-an idyll in prose.
-
-The prolific =Catherine Grace Gore= gives in the novels “The Banker’s
-Wife,” “Cecil, or the Adventures of a Coxcomb,” “Greville,” and
-“Ormington,” masterful pictures of the life and pursuits of the English
-upper classes.
-
-=Caroline Elizabeth Norton=, after having given in her novel “The
-Undying One” a version of the legend of the Wandering Jew, became in her
-book “A voice from the Factories” a most eloquent priestess of reforms.
-She condemned especially child labor, the darkest blot on the social
-conditions of England.
-
-In the middle of the 19th Century =Mary A. Evans= became famous under
-her nom de plume “=George Eliot=.” Having translated in 1844 David
-Strauss’ brilliant work “Das Leben Jesu,” and Spinoza’s “Ethics,” she
-published in 1858 her novel “Adam Bede,” which placed her at once in the
-front rank of modern authors. Her later novels “The Mill on the Floss,”
-“Silas Marner,” “Romola” and “Felix Holt” proved so many contributions
-to her fame.
-
-In recent times the works of =Mary Edgeworth=, =Charlotte R. Lenox=,
-=Anne M. Fielding Hall=, =Mary Braddon=, =Elizabeth Sheppard=, =Louise
-de la Ramée= (Ouida), =Matilde Blind=, =Anna Seward= and =Charlotte M.
-Younge= have won much appreciation.
-
-Of the woman-authors born in Scotland, =Margaret Oliphant= wrote
-“Chronicles of Carlingford” and the charming novels “Merkland”; “The
-Quiet Heart”; “Zaidee,” all of which are exquisite delineations of
-Scottish life and character. Another Scottish woman-author deserving of
-mention is =Mary Ferrier=, whose novels “Marriage,” “The Inheritance,”
-and “Destiny” breathe much originality and humor.
-
-Of the Irish novelists =Julia Kavanagh= and =Margaret Hamilton
-Hungerford= must be mentioned, the former for her volumes “French Women
-of Letters”; and “English Women of Letters,” as well as for her novels
-“Adele”; “The Pearl Fountain”; “Sibyl’s Second Love”; and “Daisy Burns.”
-Marg. Hungerford’s novel “Molly Brown” has been much admired.
-
-=Mary Augusta Ward=, born in Tasmania, became favorably known through
-her principal novel “Robert Elsmere,” which delineates effectively the
-modern spiritual unrest and attempts to proclaim an ideal religion.
-
-Another noteworthy author of Tasmania is =Louisa Anne Meredith=.
-
-England has of course also a long roll of able poetesses, among them
-=Sarah Flower Adams=, who wrote the beautiful hymn “Nearer, My God, to
-Thee.” =Alison Cockburn=, =Anne Barnard= and =Caroline Oliphant= are the
-authors of many fine Scotch songs and ballads, among them the famous
-poems “Flowers of the Forest” and “Auld Robin Gray.”
-
-In recognition of the grace and delicacy of her lyrics =Elizabeth
-Barrett Browning= has been called “the most distinguished poet of her
-sex that England ever produced,” but at the same time “the most
-unreadable.” Her fame rests chiefly on her “Drama of Exile,” the “Casa
-Guidi Windows,” and “Aurora Leigh.” The latter is a social epic, which
-contains many noble passages that give evidence of great originality and
-power.
-
-=Sarah Coleridge= has been much admired for the gracefulness and the
-beautiful language of her poems “Phantasmion, a Fairy Tale”; “Sylvan
-Stay,” and “One Face Alone.”
-
-The poems of =Felicia Hemans= have been the result of a fine imagination
-and temperament, and of a life spent in romantic seclusion. Many of
-them, as for instance “Homes of England,” “The Treasures of the Deep,”
-“The Better Land,” and “The Wreck” rank among the best ever produced.
-
-=Adelaide Ann Proctor=, =Catherine Fowler Philips=, =Christina Rosetti=,
-=Mary Blackford Tighe=, and =Caroline Oliphant= have been the
-authoresses of many poems, still cherished for their beauty and nobility
-of thought.
-
-The United Kingdom has also several woman historians, among them
-=Catharine Macaulay=, whose “History of England,” in six volumes,
-appeared in 1763.
-
-The love and reverence she was taught from childhood to cherish for the
-queens of her country induced =Miss Agnes Strickland=, of Roydon Hall,
-Suffolk, to write her great work “The Lives of the Queens of England.”
-Its twelve volumes appeared at intervals from 1840 till 1848. In 1850
-she began to publish a similar series about the “Lives of the Queens of
-Scotland,” completing it in eight volumes in 1859. Unresting in her
-industry, she wrote likewise “The Lives of the Last Four Stuart
-Princesses,” published in 1872.
-
-=Harriet Martineau= too deserves an honorable place among English women
-of letters. Her series of tales designed as “Illustrations of Political
-Economy” and “Illustrations of Taxation” brought her at once into great
-prominence. Later on she produced an amazing quantity of works, relating
-to the laws of man’s nature and development, mesmerism, travel, and
-other subjects.
-
-                  *       *       *       *       *
-
-In American literature woman’s activity began with =Anne Bradstreet=,
-the daughter of Governor Bradstreet of Massachusetts. To him she
-dedicated the first volume of poetry published on the Western
-hemisphere. Printed in 1642, it had the somewhat verbose title: “Several
-Poems, compiled with great variety of wit and learning, full of delight;
-wherein especially is contained a complete discourse and description of
-the four elements, constitutions, ages of man, seasons of the year,
-together with an exact epitome of the three first monarchies, viz.: the
-Assyrian, Persian, Greecian, and Roman Commonwealth, from the beginning
-to the end of their last king, with divers other pleasant and serious
-poems. By a Gentlewoman of New England.” Three editions of this
-collection appeared.
-
-Of several poems, directed to her husband, we give the following lines:
-
-               “If ever two were one, then surely we;
-               If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;
-               If ever wife were happy in a man,
-               Compare with me, ye women, if ye can!”
-
-=Hannah Adams=, born in 1755, was the first American woman who made
-literature her profession. Interested in religious controversy she
-compiled a “View of Religions,” in three parts. After that she wrote
-“Evidences of Christianity,” a “History of the Jews,” and a “History of
-New England.” As far as pecuniary matters went, she was, however,
-singularly unsuccessful, probably from her want of knowledge of
-business, and ignorance in worldly matters. At the time when she was
-engaged in compiling her books, so rare were woman-writers in America,
-that she was looked upon as one of the wonders of her age.
-
-In 1790 appeared a novel, “Charlotte Temple,” a story of love, betrayal,
-and desertion, by =Mrs. Susanna Haswell Rowson=, a book of which more
-than a hundred editions are known.
-
-With the beginning of the 19th Century the number of American
-authoresses increased rapidly. =Catharine= and =Susan Sedgwick= wrote
-their “New England Tales,” which were received with such favor, that
-Catharine in 1824 published a novel in two volumes, entitled “Redwood,”
-a work which met with great success, was republished in England, and
-translated into French and Italian. It was followed by a large number of
-other novels, which were greatly appreciated for their purity of
-language and grace of style.
-
-Somewhat later =Lydia Maria Child= developed as one of the first and
-foremost progressive writers. Having commenced her literary life with
-“Hobomok, a Story of the Pilgrims,” she later on devoted herself to the
-cause of woman and the abolition of slavery. She wrote a “History of
-Woman,” which was followed in 1833 by a strong “Appeal for that Class of
-Americans Called Africans,” the first anti-slavery work ever printed in
-book form in America. In 1841 she moved to New York and assisted her
-husband in editing “The National Anti-Slavery Standard.”
-
-As is very generally known, her contemporary, =Harriet Beecher Stowe=,
-too, was interested in the question of abolition. In 1850 she wrote for
-the “National Era,” an anti-slavery paper, a serial entitled “Uncle
-Tom’s Cabin.” When this novel was republished in book form it met with
-tremendous success. In the United States between 300,000 and 400,000
-copies were sold within three years, and the printing press had to run
-day in and out to meet the demand. In Europe the book was devoured with
-the same deep interest. There are thirty-five different editions in
-English, and translations in at least twenty different languages. As the
-novel was also dramatized in various forms, it became a great factor in
-the abolishment of slavery.
-
-Of the later stories by Mrs. Stowe “The Minister’s Wooing,” a tale of
-New England life in the latter part of the 18th Century, has been
-pronounced to be her best. But her reputation, while it lasts, will rest
-chiefly upon “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”
-
-=Sarah Margaret Fuller= too belongs to those authors who espoused the
-cause of woman’s rights. In “The Dial,” a little quarterly journal, the
-organ of the transcendentalists and of the famous community at Brook
-Farm, she first published “The Great Lawsuit.” It formed the nucleus of
-a larger volume entitled “Woman in the Nineteenth Century.” Far in
-advance of the ideas of her times, it is with its noble sentiments and
-valuable hints a spirited plea for the rights of the female sex.
-
-=Elizabeth Ellet= is favorably known for her valuable work “The Women of
-the American Revolution,” published in 1848 in three volumes. It was
-followed in 1850 by the “Domestic History of the American Revolution,”
-designed to give an inside view into the spirit of that period, and to
-describe the social and domestic conditions of the colonists and their
-feelings during the war.
-
-=Ann Sophia Stephens=, and =Emma D. Southworth= were likewise immensely
-popular fiction writers during the first half of the 19th Century. So
-was =Maria S. Cummins=, who in “The Lamplighter” achieved a success
-comparable to that of Mrs. Stowe’s “Uncle Tom.”
-
-The many short stories and novels of =Mary Virginia Terhune=, who wrote
-under the pseudonym of Marion Harland; the romances of =Harriet Prescott
-Spofford=, =Miriam Coles Harris=, =Elizabeth Barstow Stoddard=, and
-=Adeline Whitney=, are now almost forgotten. Also the novels of =Lydia
-Sigourney= of Norwich, Connecticut, who holds the record of being one of
-the most prolific female writers in America. She produced not less than
-fifty-seven volumes, among them “Letters to Mothers”; “Water-Drops,” a
-contribution to the temperance-cause; “Pleasant Memories in Pleasant
-Lands”; “Pocahontas”; and “Traits of the Aborigines of America,” a
-descriptive poem in five cantos.
-
-=Elizabeth Stuart Phelps= enjoyed with her “Sunny Side” and other tales
-a phenomenal success. Her daughter, =Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward=, was
-in her time regarded as the greatest American woman novelist, who has
-most influenced the women of the United States. “The Silent Partner”;
-“Hedged In”; “Dr. Zay”; “The Story of Avis” as almost all other stories
-of the Phelps are laid in New England and exquisitely describe its
-nature, past, and present conditions.
-
-=Jane Goodwin Austin=, =Rose Terry Cooke=, =Annie Trumbull Slosson=,
-=Clara Louise Burnham=, =Alice Brown= and =Mary E. Wilkins Freeman=
-belong also to the woman-authors whose works deal with colonial and
-present-day life in the New England States.
-
-Of the woman-authors, who realized the possibilities of the romantic
-life and history of the early settlers and pioneers, =Mary Johnston= and
-=Mary Hartwell Catherwood= were the most successful. To the former we
-are indebted for the romances “Prisoners of Hope,” and “To Have and to
-Hold”; to the latter for the novels “The Lady of Fort St. John,” “The
-White Islander,” “Old Kaskaskia,” “Lazarre” and others.
-
-Under the pen name of Charles Egbert Craddock =Mary Noailles Murfree=
-published a series of highly interesting short stories “In the Tennessee
-Mountains.” Displaying an intimate knowledge of the mountaineers of
-Eastern Tennessee, and full of life, these stories attracted at once
-wide attention. They were followed later on by a large number of other
-novels, of which “The Prophet of the Great Smoky Mountains,” “In the
-Clouds,” “The Frontiersmen” and “The Storm Centre” have secured to Miss
-Murfree a place of honor among present-day writers.
-
-=Alice French= under her well-known pen name Octave Thanet sketched in
-her short stories life in Iowa and Arkansas; =Ruth McEnery Stuart= wrote
-amusing stories of negro life in Louisiana.
-
-=Gertrude Franklin Atherton= achieved a wide reputation with her
-charming romances of early Californian life, among which “The
-Doomswoman” and “The Californians” are the most remarkable. Of her later
-novels “The Conqueror” and “A Whirl Asunder” need to be mentioned.
-
-=Mary Hallock Foote=, having likewise studied the conditions of the Far
-West, in her admirable stories “The Led-Horse Claim,” “Cœur d’Alene,”
-and “The Chosen Valley” carries the reader into the romance of Western
-mining camps and of the virgin wilderness.
-
-=Helen Hunt Jackson=, whose literary productions, over the signature “H.
-H.,” began to attract attention about 1870, offered a truly native
-flower to American literature in her poetic book “Ramona.” Intensely
-alive and involving the reader in its movement, it yet contains an idyl
-of singular loveliness. “Ramona,” says Helen J. Cone in an essay about
-American literature, “stands as the most finished, though not the most
-striking, example that what American women have done notably in
-literature they have done nobly.”
-
-The various works of =Constance Fenimore Woolson=, a grand-niece of
-Fenimore Cooper, also enjoyed general approval. In her best known
-novels: “East Angels,” “Jupiter Lights,” and “Horace Chase” she attained
-a high standard of excellence.
-
-=Frances Hodgson Burnett= created in her book “Through One
-Administration” a pathetic story of the intricate political life in
-Washington. Furthermore she gave in “Louisiana” and in “The Pretty
-Sister of José” charming pictures of Southern conditions.
-
-=Mrs. Burton N. Harrison= and =Edith Wharton= delighted their many
-readers with highly interesting novels and short stories of New York
-City Life, full of local color. Of the former author’s works “The
-Anglomaniacs,” “Golden Rod,” and “The Circle of a Century” show her
-great skill in the dialogue. Of the many novels and short stories of
-Miss Wharton “The House of Mirth,”, “The Greater Inclination,”
-“Sanctuary,” and “Crucial Instances” are perhaps the best.
-
-Among the American novelists of our present days =Margaret Deland= is
-without question one of the most popular. Her novels “John Ward,”
-“Sidney,” “Tommy Dove,” “Philip and His Wife,” “The Wisdom of Fools,”
-“Dr. Lavendar’s People,” and “The Awakening of Helen Richie” rank among
-the best in American fiction.
-
-The literary work of =Anna Katherine Green=, =Kate Douglas Wiggins=,
-=Molly Elliot Seawell=, =Ellen Glasgow=, =Mary Shipman Andrews=, =Leona
-Dalrymple=, =Margaret Sherwood=, and many other woman authors, excellent
-as much as it is, can only be referred to summarily.
-
-To enrol the names of those American women who since the days of Anne
-Bradstreet have expressed their thoughts and emotions in poetry, would
-be a task far exceeding the limits of this volume. Confining ourselves
-to the most noteworthy, we mention first the sisters =Alice= and =Phœbe
-Cary=. Among their many splendid poems and novels “Hualco, a Romance of
-the Golden Age of Tezcuco,” is founded upon adventures of a young
-Mexican chief, as related by several Spanish historians of the time of
-the conquest. Of Alice Cary exist several hymns, one of which is almost
-a classic in the purity of its sentiment.
-
-The poetic spirit of =Julia Ward Howe= found expression in “Passion
-Flowers” (1854) and “Lyrics” (1866). Her most memorable poem is the
-“Battle Hymn of the Republic,” which breathes fervent patriotism and
-gives expression to the deep moral purpose of the Civil War.
-
-The poetry of =Helen Jackson= unquestionably takes rank above that of
-any American woman. Emerson rated it above that of almost all American
-men. Her works include simple poetry of domestic life as well as
-love-poems of extraordinary intensity and imaginative fullness,
-furthermore, verses showing most intimate sympathy with external nature;
-and lastly, a few poems of the highest dignity and melody in the nature
-of odes, such as “A Christmas Symphony” and “A Funeral March.”
-
-The numerous lyrics of =Elizabeth Oakes Smith=, =E. O. Kinney=, =Frances
-S. Osgood=, =Anne L. Botta=, =Sarah Helen Whitman=, =Maria Lowell=,
-=Harriet W. Sewall=, =Emily Judson= and many other women poets of the
-last half century show a development corresponding to that traceable in
-the field of American fiction.
-
-In recent times a large number of gifted women have contributed to the
-general chorus new notes of unusual strength and beauty. Many names
-deserve a place upon the honor roll; among them =Margaret J. Preston=,
-=Elizabeth Allen=, =Julia Dorr=, =Mary E. Bradley=, =Nora Perry=, =Mary
-C. Hudson=, =Margaret Sangster=, =Charlotte Bates=, =May Riley Smith=,
-=Edna Dean Proctor=, =Elizabeth Stuart Phelps=, =Alice Wellington
-Rollins=, =Edith Thomas=, =Emma Lazarus=, =Kate Osgood=, and =Ella
-Wheeler Wilcox=.
-
-In other branches of literature, to which comparatively few women have
-chosen to devote themselves, as for instance in history, several
-American women have shown remarkable talent and thoroughness.
-
-First among these historians stands =Mrs. Mercy Otis Warren=, the same
-who with Mrs. Abigail Smith Adams, the wife of President John Adams,
-shared the belief that the Declaration of Independence should consider
-not the freedom of man alone, but that of woman also. Having warmly
-entered the contest between England and America, Mrs. Warren had
-corresponded with many of the leading men of the time; these often
-consulted her, and acknowledged the soundness of her judgment on many of
-the important events before and after the war. The most valuable of her
-writings appeared in 1805, under the title “The History of the Rise,
-Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution, interspersed with
-Biographical, Political, and Moral Observations.” The three volumes of
-this work, dedicated to George Washington, are valuable as a true record
-of the events and feelings of those great times.
-
-To =Martha Lamb= the citizens of the metropolis on the Hudson River are
-indebted for a comprehensive “History of New York City.” =Agnes Laut=
-penned a series of articles about the discovery of the farthest
-Northwest. =Ellen Mackay Hutchinson= compiled with Edmund Clarence
-Stedman “A Library of American Literature,” which in 1888 appeared in
-ten volumes; it shows excellent judgment, knowledge and care. =Ida
-Tarbell= produced among many other works a “Life of Abraham Lincoln” and
-an exceedingly interesting “History of the Standard Oil Company.”
-=Katherine Coman= published the “Industrial History of the United
-States.”
-
-“A Century of Dishonor” is the title of a sensational book, written by
-=Helen Hunt Jackson=, and published in 1881. During her extensive
-travels in the Far West the author became deeply interested in the much
-maltreated Indians. Disgusted by the shameless robberies and lawless
-acts committed by many Indian Agents on the reservations, Mrs. Jackson
-wrote her book, which is one of the strongest indictments ever directed
-against the Government. Through this volume she succeeded in doing much
-to ameliorate the unfortunate conditions of the Red Race.
-
-=Mrs. John A. Logan= compiled a valuable volume, entitled “The Part
-taken by Women in American History.”
-
-Woman’s status in the laws of the forty-eight states belonging to the
-United States of America has been treated by =Rose Falls Bres= in the
-valuable book “The Law and the Woman,” published in 1917 at New York.
-
-The great movement for Women Suffrage found of course likewise its
-historians. Four of the most prominent leaders and best authorities:
-=Elizabeth Cady Stanton=, =Susan B. Anthony=, =Matilda Joslyn Gage=, and
-=Ida Husted Harper= combined for the difficult task of collecting,
-sifting, and putting together the immense mass of material. Their
-“History of Woman Suffrage,” published in five huge volumes, is not only
-a noble record, but at the same time a magnificent monument to women’s
-courage, indefatigability and perseverance.
-
-A considerable number of women have also contributed to the literature
-about suffrage, social culture, labor questions, and kindred subjects.
-=Anna G. Spencer= produced the book “Woman’s Share in Social Culture”;
-=Charlotte P. Gilman= devoted a volume to “Home” and a second volume to
-“Woman and Economics”; =Alice M. Earle= described “Childlife in Colonial
-Times”; =Ellen Key= gave a study of “Love and Marriage”; =Mary Eastman=
-published “Woman’s Work in America”; =Olive Schreiner= wrote “Woman and
-Labor,” and =Elisabeth Butler= “Woman in the Trades.” To =Jane Addams=
-the world is indebted for several well written works, among them:
-“Democracy and Social Ethics”; “The Spirit of Youth”; “An Ancient Evil
-and a New Conscience,” and “New Ideals of Peace.” She gave a record of
-her great settlement work in Chicago in her delightful book “Twenty
-Years at Hull House.”
-
-                  *       *       *       *       *
-
-For many centuries the Germans have been known as great writers, poets
-and philosophers. Perhaps no other nation has contributed so much to the
-world’s literature. Before the unfortunate year of 1914 the annual
-output of Germany in works of science, art, philosophy, technics and
-fiction far surpassed that of any other country, even that of France,
-Great Britain and America combined.
-
-In these contributions German women have a conspicuous share. Their
-great interest in this line of activity can be traced back to the early
-days of the Middle Ages, when nuns like =Hroswitha= glorified the deeds
-of great emperors, or, like the =Abbess of Hohenburg=, undertook the
-bold enterprise of compiling a cyclopædia of general knowledge.
-
-Germany had also the first periodicals for women, the earliest dating
-back to 1644, much read and patronized by the members of the gentle sex.
-Its title “Frauenzimmer-Gesprächspiele” (“Playful discussion for
-ladies”) indicates that it was devoted exclusively to matters of the
-“eternal feminine.”
-
-A similar periodical was “Die vernünftigen Tadlerinnen” (“The reasonable
-fault-finders”), edited by Johann Christoph Gottsched, professor of
-philosophy and poetry at the University at Leipzig. The most faithful of
-his assistants and collaborators was his wife, known in German
-literature as =Louise Adelgunde Gottschedin=. To the “Deutsche
-Schaubühne,” likewise published by her husband, she contributed several
-translations of French Dramas and five comedies of her own, which are
-still of interest as they illustrate the manners of the time, the middle
-of the 18th Century.
-
-=Meta Moller=, the wife of the famous poet Klopstock, =Friedericke C.
-Neuber=, and =Rahel Levin=, the wife of the historian Varnhagen von
-Ense, made similar use of their great literary abilities. The salon of
-Mrs. Varnhagen in Berlin from 1814 to 1830 was the meeting place for the
-most celebrated intellects of Germany, among them Humboldt, Fichte,
-Schleiermacher, von Kleist, and Heinrich Heine.
-
-The great poetess =Annette von Droste-Hülshoff= (1797–1848) wrote a most
-powerful novel, “Die Judenbuche”, which is based on the belief that
-murderers are forced by a mysterious power to return to the scene of
-their crimes.
-
-The prolific but now almost forgotten writers =Karoline Pichler=,
-=Henriette Paalzow=, =Otilie Wildermut=, Countess =Ida Hahn-Hahn=,
-=Fanny Lewald= and =Louise Mühlbach= were followed in the second part of
-the 19th Century by =Eugenie John=, better known under her nom de plume
-=Marlitt=. Her novels “Das Geheimniss der alten Mamsell” (“Old
-Mamselle’s Secret”), “Heideprinzesschen” (“The Princess of the Moor”),
-“Gold Else” (“Gold Elsie”) and others met with tremendous success and
-have been in translations also enjoyed by many English and American
-readers.
-
-With like enthusiasm the women of Germany read the novels of =Wilhelmine
-Heimburg=, =Louise von Francois= (“Die letzte Reckenburgerin”) and
-=Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach=. The latter is regarded as the greatest of
-all modern novelists of Germany, Paul Heyse not excepted. When the
-University in Vienna bestowed upon her the degree of Doctor phil.
-honoris causa, the enormous body of her readers heartily rejoiced. Her
-most famous novel is “Das Gemeindekind” (“The child of the Parish”). She
-also published a volume of “Aphorisms.”
-
-=Wilhelmine von Hillern’s= once much read novel “Die Geierwally” has
-been surpassed by far more valuable works of =Ilse Frapan=, =Ida
-Boy-Ed=, =Helene Pichler=, =Margarete von Bülow=, =Bianca Bobertag=,
-=Ossip Schubin=, =Helene Böhlau=, =Emma Vely=, =Emmy von Dinklage=,
-=Dora Dunker=, =Marie von Bunsen=, =Sophie Junghans=, =Louise
-Westkirch=, =Clara Blüthgen=, =Olga Wohlbrück=, =Carry Brachvogel= and a
-number of other modern writers.
-
-Among them =Enrica von Handel-Mazetti= and =Ricarda Huch= are
-distinguished by their great ability in drawing strong characters as
-well as deeply affecting situations. The first of the two authors
-transports her readers in the two novels “Meinrad Helmpergers
-denkwürdiges Jahr” and “Jesse und Maria” to the turbulent times of the
-17th and 18th Centuries, when a superstitious world was upset by cruel
-warfare between Catholics and Protestants. Ricarda Huch created works of
-equal value in the novels “Erinnerungen von Ludolf Urslen dem Jüngeren”
-(“Reminiscences of Ludolf Urslen, Junior”), “Aus der Triumphgasse”
-(“From the Alley of Triumph”) and “The Verteidigung Roms” (“The Defense
-of Rome”).
-
-=Elizabeth von Heyking= carried the reader to the more recent times of
-the Chinese Boxer War with her admirable novel “Briefe die ihn nicht
-erreichten” (“Letters he did not get”).
-
-=Clara Viebig= belongs likewise to the great novelists of modern times.
-Having manifested in her first collection of short stories, “Kinder der
-Eifel” (“Children of the Eifel Plateau”), a most extraordinary gift of
-observation and description, she brought this talent to full development
-in her splendid novels “Rheinlandstoechter” (“Daughters of the Rhein”),
-“Das schlafende Heer” (“The sleeping army”) and “Absolve te.”
-
-=Gabriele Reuter= treated in her novels “Aus guter Familie” (“Of good
-family”), “Frau Bürgelin und ihre Söhne,” “Ellen von der Weiden,” and
-“Liselotte von Reckling” various phases of the woman’s question. In the
-first book she protests against the injustice created by custom and
-tradition, which allows men to propose, while women are condemned to
-remain silent.
-
-Finally we must mention the noble woman who, most intensely realizing
-the deep longing of mankind for peace, with her famous book “Die Waffen
-nieder!” (“Lay down your arms!”) exerted probably the greatest influence
-any author ever had through a single volume: the Austrian =Bertha von
-Suttner=. The powerful appeal of this great book, which was translated
-into more than twenty different languages, led Alfred B. Nobel, a rich
-Swedish scientist and the inventor of dynamite, to bequeath the annual
-interest of his great fortune to whoever has contributed most to the
-peaceful progress of mankind during the year immediately preceding. It
-was not more than just that the great merit of Madame von Suttner was
-acknowledged by awarding to her in 1905 the Nobel Prize for peace.
-
-Having devoted her whole life to the cause of peace, Bertha von Suttner
-died in June, 1914, while engaged in preparations for an International
-Peace Congress to be held in September of that same year in Vienna. Fate
-spared her the bitter disappointment to see the outbreak of the most
-cruel and destructive war in history. But her call “Lay down your arms!”
-will live. It will remain the watchword and summons of all who with this
-high-priestess of peace believe that war is the most unreasonable and
-most criminal act men can commit.
-
-Of course, German women have also contributed to the literature about
-the woman’s question. Perhaps the most valuable work in this line is
-=Dr. Kaethe Schirmacher’s= book “Die moderne Frauenbewegung,” giving a
-history of the woman’s rights movement in all countries of the world. As
-there has been no English book covering this broad subject, it was
-translated by =C. C. Eckhardt= and in 1912 published at New York under
-the title “The Modern Woman’s Rights Movement.”
-
-                  *       *       *       *       *
-
-Rich as German literature is in prose works of women writers, its poems
-and lyrics written by women are no less noteworthy. There can be no
-doubt that many of the beautiful folk songs of the Middle Ages were
-created by women. For instance the following was discovered in a
-collection of songs of the 13th Century, compiled by the nuns of a
-convent at Blaubeuren, Bavaria:
-
-                       Kume, kum, geselle min,
-                       ih enbite harte din,
-                       ih enbite harte din,
-                       kume, kum, geselle min!
-
-                       Süsser rosen-varmer munt,
-                       kum und mache mich gesunt,
-                       kum und mache mich gesunt,
-                       süsser rosen-varmer munt!
-
-That women took deep interest in folk-songs we know from the fact that
-several of the most valuable collections of mediæval songs came down to
-us through women like Clara Haetzler, a nun in Augsburg, and Katharine
-Zell. The latter states that these lovely poems were sung by workmen and
-vintages as well as by the mothers at the cradle, and by the servants
-while they were washing the dishes.
-
-It is not before the 17th Century that women authors of poems begin to
-write under their names. Among them we find the countesses =Anna Sophie
-von Hesse-Darmstadt= (1638–1683) and =Amalia Juliane von
-Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt=. The latter was the author of about six hundred
-songs, of which the funeral-hymn “Wer weiss wie nahe mir mein Ende” is
-sung in all Protestant churches of Germany to-day.
-
-The 18th Century produced a number of other women poets, among them
-=Louise Adelgunde Gottsched=, =Dorothea, Countess von Zinzendorf=, =Anna
-Louise Karsch=, =Sidonie Zäunemann=, and =Christine Marianne von
-Ziegler=. The last two enjoyed the special patronage of the Emperor, who
-bestowed upon them the title “Kayserlich gekrönte Poetinnen.”
-
-With the beginning of the 19th Century appeared new groups of women
-poets, among them =Bettina von Arnim=, =Karoline von Günderode=,
-=Elisabeth Kulmann=, =Louise Brachmann=, =Betty Paoli=, =Louise von
-Ploennies= and =Adelheid von Stolterfoth=, the “Philomele of the Rhine,”
-so called for her lovely songs and tales in praise of that noble river.
-In 1797 one of the greatest female poets of all times was born: =Annette
-von Droste-Hülshoff=, a native of Westphalia. Compelled to lead a quiet,
-secluded life by the delicate state of her health, she devoted herself
-to study and literature, and wrote a number of masterful ballads of
-which “The Battle in Loenerbruch” has few equals in powerful and
-realistic description. Her poem “Die beschränkte Frau” is one of the
-gems of German poetry.
-
-Among the large numbers of German poets of the latter part of the 19th
-and the beginning of the 20th Century =Isolde Kurz=, =Lulu von Strauss=,
-=Margarete Beutler=, =Agnes Miegel=, =Tekla Lingen=, =Ricarda Huch=,
-=Frieda Schanz=, =Anna Ritter=, =Hedwig Dransfeld=, =Wilhelmine
-Wickenburg-Almasy=, =Hermione von Preuschen=, =Klara Müller-Jahnke=,
-=Hedda Sauer=, =Maria Eugenie delle Grazie=, =Angelika von Hörmann=,
-=Marie Janitschek=, =Ada Christen=, =Mia Holm=, =Alberta von
-Puttkammer=, =Anna Klie=, are the names of a few of the many
-distinguished poets of our present days.
-
-Among American women of German descent we find likewise a number of
-gifted poets. The two anthologies “Deutsch in Amerika” (Chicago, 1892)
-and “Vom Lande des Sternenbanners” (Ellenville, N. Y., 1905) contain
-many contributions of =Dorothea Boettcher=, =Elizabeth Mesch=, =Edna
-Fern=, =Amalie von Ende=, =Marianne Kuenhold=, =Maria Raible=, =Minna
-Kleeberg=, =Bella Fiebing=, =Henni Hubel=, =Martha Toeplitz=, and
-others, distinguished in form as well as rich in imagination and
-powerful in expression. Several German-American women also became
-favorably known by valuable works in prose, as for instance =Therese
-Albertine Louise Jacob=, the wife of Professor Robinson, of New York.
-Under the name of Talvj, she wrote historical works about Captain John
-Smith and the colonization of New England, and a “Historical Review of
-the Language and Literature of the Slavic Nations, with a Sketch of
-their Popular Poetry.” Of her many poems and translations Goethe spoke
-with great admiration. Her novels are far superior to the average in
-style and interest.
-
-                  *       *       *       *       *
-
-In the Netherlands the novels of =Elizabeth Bekker= were extremely
-popular at the end of the 18th Century. She ranks high among Dutch
-authors. Her “Historie van William Levend,” the “Historie van Sara
-Burgerhart,” “Abraham Blankaart” and “Cornelia Wildshut” are her
-greatest works. The poems of =Agathe Dekken= are to this day esteemed
-masterpieces of Dutch poetry. During the 19th Century =Mrs.
-Bosboom-Toussaint’s= novels, and =Helen Swarth’s= poems “Passiebloemen”
-have been widely read.
-
-The most eminent woman writer of Denmark was =Thomasine Kristine
-Baroness Gyllembourg-Ehrensvärd=, who introduced into Danish literature
-a novel vein of realism and domestic humor. Although she has had many
-imitators, she is still without a rival. =Hadda Raonkilde= has exerted a
-powerful influence upon Scandinavian literature.
-
-The two most successful women-novelists of Norway are =Anna Magdalene
-Thoresen= and =Jacobine Camilla Collet=, author of the excellent novel
-“Amtmandens Döttre” (“The Governor’s Daughters”). In 1894 all Norway
-celebrated her eightieth birthday as a national holiday.
-
-The most eminent Swedish novelist of the 19th Century was =Frederika
-Bremer=. Her “Sketches of Every Day Life” attracted immediate attention.
-But this success was far surpassed by the novels “The H—— Family” and
-“The Neighbors.” Both manifest the author’s purity, simplicity, and love
-of domestic life. These books as well as almost all of the author’s
-later works have been translated into English, German and French.
-
-Another Swedish author of note was =Anne Charlotte Edgren=. Of =Emily
-Carlen’s= novels “The Rose of Thistle Island” and “The Magic Goblet” are
-most appreciated. =Anna Maria Lenngren= belongs likewise to the most
-popular Swedish writers. The Swedish Academy ordered a medal cast in her
-honor. And of the Swedish authors of the 20th Century =Selma Lagerloef=
-was in 1909 awarded the Nobel Prize for her beautiful modern saga
-“Goesta Berling.”
-
-Finland and Poland too have noteworthy women-writers. Finland, “Country
-of the thousand lakes,” was the birth-place of =Sarah Wacklin=,
-=Wilhelmina Nordström= and =Helen Westermark=. The literature of Poland
-was enriched by the poems and novels of =Elizabeth Jaraczewska=, =Lucya
-Rautenstrauss=, =Narcyza Zwichowska= and =Comtesse Mostowska=.
-
-Spain has produced in modern times several remarkable woman authors:
-=Gertrudis de Avellaneda=, =Maria de Pinar-Sinues=, and =Angela Grassi=.
-Italy has the excellent novelists =Rosa Taddei=, =Francesca Lutti=,
-=Matilda Serao=, =Grazia Pierantoni-Mancini=, =Fanny Zampini-Salazar=,
-and the Marchesa =Vincenza de Felice-Lancellotti=. Furthermore =Ada
-Negri=, one of the most powerful poets of all times.
-
-                  *       *       *       *       *
-
-Having glanced at woman’s part in world’s literature, a few words should
-be said about women journalists. During the middle of the last century
-the publishers of several leading newspapers of England and America,
-desiring to infuse new life into their papers, added a number of women
-to their staffs. The complete success of this experiment was confirmed
-by the rapid increase in the number of such women journalists. Whereas
-in 1845 England had only 15 of them, this number grew to more than 800
-in 1891. In the United States the number increased from 350 in 1889 to
-2193 in 1910. Many of these women journalists received careful training
-in the special schools of journalism at the universities of New York,
-Philadelphia, and elsewhere.
-
-Jeannette Gilder, herself a journalist, writes about her profession:
-“Woman as a mere fashion writer is a thing of the past. To-day she
-expects to rank with the man writer. In the future she will expect to be
-his superior, for a woman is not stationary in her ambitions, she likes
-variety. A man is wedded to his old clothes. He sighs when he has to
-throw aside the old and comfortably fitting coat for a new one not so
-comfortably fitting. A woman sighs when she has to wear an old dress.
-She would like fashions to change every week instead of every three
-months, as they do now. This love for variety in personal matters is
-carried into her professional life. If she reports a Salvation Army
-meeting to-day she hails with glee an opportunity to report an
-automobile race to-morrow. With boundless ambition, with adaptability,
-energy and a pleasing style, there is nothing to keep women from
-monopolizing the journalistic profession if they put their minds to it.
-The only trouble is they are apt to marry and leave the ranks. But, then
-there are others standing ready to fill the vacant places. In the next
-hundred years why may we not see all newspapers owned by women, edited
-by women, written by women, with women compositors and women pressmen.
-Already there is one such in France.”
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-                       WOMEN IN MUSIC AND DRAMA.
-
-The prejudice which excluded women for centuries from the realms of
-science, interfered likewise with their participation in music and art.
-Up to the midst of the 19th Century almost all European conservatories
-and art academies were closed to female students. Previous to 1876 no
-women students of the violin were allowed at the High School in London,
-and for a long time they could not compete for prizes or receive
-diplomas. When =Elizabeth Sterling= presented her beautiful CXXX Psalm
-for five voices and orchestra to the university at Oxford for the degree
-of Mus. Bac., the degree, although the work was accepted and its merits
-acknowledged, could not be given for want of power to confer this degree
-upon a woman!
-
-As the views of publishers of music and of conductors of orchestras were
-influenced by similar prejudices, nobody should wonder that women’s work
-in music has shown comparatively unsatisfactory results.
-
-Yet, in spite of all these obstacles, there have been a number of women
-composers, whose works were appreciated by all their contemporaries.
-During the glorious time of the Renaissance =Francesca Caccini=, born in
-1581 at Florence, was the pride of her city because of her magnificent
-church music and madrigals. Compositions of =Vittoria Aleotti=, a native
-of Argenta, were likewise much admired, especially her great opus, which
-was published at Venice, in 1593, under the flowery title “Ghirlanda dei
-Madrigali a 4 voci.” =Maddalena Casulana= of Brescia, produced also a
-number of fine madrigals, which were issued in two volumes in 1568 and
-1583. =Cornelia Calegari=, of Bergamo, =Barbara Strozzi=, of Venice,
-belong also to the Italian composers of the Renaissance. =Maria Teresa
-Agnesi=, born during the 18th Century, produced a number of cantatas,
-and three operas, “Sophonisbe,” “Ciro in Armenia,” and “Nitocri,” which
-were the delight of all Italy.
-
-In Austria at the same time appeared =Maria Teresa Paradies=, born at
-Vienna in 1759. Notwithstanding her blindness, dating from her fourth
-year, she had become a most remarkable pianist and composer, dictating
-her cantatas and several operettas. In 1784 she set out on a concert
-tour through Germany and England, everywhere exciting admiration by her
-rare endowments. She often moved her audiences to tears by a cantata,
-the words of which were written by the blind poet Pfeffel, in which her
-own fate was depicted. During the later part of her life she presided
-over an excellent musical institute in Vienna.
-
-In another native of Vienna, =Marianne Martinez=, the qualities of many
-distinguished artists were combined. Not only did she sing beautifully,
-but she was likewise an excellent pianist; her compositions showed a
-vigor of conception together with extensive learning. She composed
-several cantatas, and a miserere, with orchestral accompaniment. Her
-oratorio “Isacca” was in 1788 produced by the Tonkuenstler Gesellschaft.
-Her salons, in which she gave weekly concerts, were the rendezvous of
-many musical celebrities.
-
-Foremost among the women-composers of Germany was =Clara Josephine
-Wieck-Schumann=, the accomplished pianist and unexcelled interpreter of
-her husband’s, Robert Schumann’s, splendid works. She also produced a
-large number of songs of great merit, many of which have been published.
-
-=Francesca Lebrun=, born 1756 at Mannheim, wrote several sonatas for
-piano, and trios for piano, violin and cello. =Louise Reichard=, of
-Berlin, =Corona Schroeter=, the famous artist of the 18th Century,
-=Fanny Cecilia Hensel=, born 1805 in Hamburg, and =Josephine Lang=, born
-1815 in Munich, composed very beautiful songs. A “Suite for Pianoforte”
-(Op. 2) by =Adele aus der Ohe= has likewise received highest praise.
-
-Among the women composers of France =Elizabeth Claude Guerre=, born at
-Paris in 1669; =Edme Sophie Gail Garré=, born in 1775, and =Louise
-Bertin= were the pioneers. Elizabeth Guerre’s opera “Cephale et Pœris”
-was performed at the Royal Academie. She also composed a Te Deum, and a
-number of cantatas.
-
-The most successful composer of recent years was =Cécile Louise
-Stephanie Chaminade=, born at Paris in 1861. Her most ambitious
-compositions are “Les Amazones,” a lyric symphony with choruses; “La
-Sevillane”; “Callirhœ”; “Etude Symphonique,” and a large number of
-compositions for piano, many of which became very popular.
-
-Of =Augusta Mary Ann Holmes=, likewise a native of Paris, the opera
-“Hero et Leandre” had great success.
-
-Of the women composers of England =M. Virginia Gabriel= was very
-popular. She wrote the cantatas “Evangeline” and “Dreamland,” and the
-operettas “Grass Widows,” “Widows Bewitched” and “Who’s the Heir?” =Leza
-Lehman= was the author of the song cycle “In a Persian Garden,” and of
-“Nonsense Songs.” =Clara Angela Macirone’s= anthem “By the Waters of
-Babylon” has been sung in all the cathedrals of Great Britain.
-
-=Lady Helen Dufferin= is known principally for her songs and ballads,
-which, both for comic humor and pathos, rank among the best in the
-English language. “The Irish Emigrant’s Lament” compares favorably with
-any English lyric. =Charlotte Sainton Dolby=, =Elizabeth Mounsey= and
-=Harriet Abrams= composed likewise numerous songs, and =Kate Fanny
-Loder= the operette “Fleur d’Epine.”
-
-There exist also many splendid compositions by American women. When in
-1893 the Woman’s Building at the World’s Columbian Exposition at Chicago
-was dedicated, =Mrs. H. A. Beach’s= “Jubilate” was received with
-greatest enthusiasm. Also her “Gaelic Symphony” was played by many
-famous orchestras.
-
-The “Dramatic Overture” (Op. 12) of =Miss Margaret Ruthven Lang= has
-been frequently performed by the famous Boston Symphony Orchestra.
-
-                  *       *       *       *       *
-
-Of the innumerable virtuosos, who interpreted works of the above-named
-composers and others, the American violinists =Arma Senkrah= and =Maud
-Powell=, the Italian =Teresina Tua=, the German =Maria Soldat=, and the
-South-American pianists =Terese Careno= and =Giomar Novaez=, not to
-forget the Hungarian =Sophie Menter= and the Russian =Annette Essipoff=
-have been the most eminent.
-
-                  *       *       *       *       *
-
-“Dem Mimen flicht die Nachwelt keine Kränze,” the great German poet
-Schiller has said in one of his poems, pointing out that, while the
-painter, sculptor, composer and writer transmit their works to remote
-generations, the glory won by the actor and singer exhales with their
-disappearance from the stage as quickly as does the fragrance of a
-delicate flower. The record of the performer’s and singer’s gift remains
-only as a tradition, as a legend.
-
-So it is. The majority of those actors and singers, who in bygone times
-held large audiences spellbound, are forgotten. There are only few
-exceptions which in the history of dramatic art and music will remain.
-So for instance with the history of the English stage of the latter part
-of the 17th Century the names of two great actresses are inseparably
-connected: =Gwynn= and =Elizabeth Barry=. The former especially was the
-darling of the people, and much favored by King Charles II. During the
-following century =Anne Oldfield=, =Mary Porter=, =Elizabeth
-Billington=, =Anne Spranger Barry=, =Hannah Pritchard=, =Mary Robinson=,
-=Jane Pope=, =Susanne Cibber=, =Frances Abington= and =Margaret
-Woffington= were celebrated for their talent, charm, and elegance. Of
-=Sarah Siddons=, called “the Incomparable,” it has been reported that by
-means of her excellent art as well as by her beauty, dignity and
-personal distinction she reduced her audiences to an awe-struck
-reverence. Edmund Gosse, in an article devoted to the memory of Sarah
-Siddons says: “Under the effect she produced, women as well as men lost
-all command over themselves, and sobbed, moaned, and even howled with
-emotion. Young ladies used suddenly to shriek; men were carried out,
-gibbering, in hysterics.”
-
-Of the many excellent English actresses of the 19th Century and of our
-present days =Louise Nisbett=, =Mary Stirling=, =Elizabeth O’Neill=,
-=Helen Faucit=, =Lillian Neilson=, =Deborah Lacy=, =Frances Kemble=,
-=Adelaide Kemble-Sartoris=, =Charlotte Dolby=, =Ellen Terry=, =Gertrude=
-and =Rose Coghlan= have to be mentioned. Also we must remember the great
-triumphs of =Nellie Melba=, a native of Australia, but at home on the
-stages and in the concert halls of Europe as well as of America.
-
-The United States produced likewise a number of brilliant actresses and
-opera stars. Among the former were =Clara Fisher=, =Mary Vincent=,
-=Laura Keene=, =Anna Gilbert=, =Anna= and =Cora Ritshie=, not to forget
-=Mary Ann Dyke-Duff=, whom the elder Booth declared to be “the greatest
-actress in the world.” Furthermore, there was the classic =Mary
-Anderson=, who was followed later on by such eminent performers as =Ida
-Conquest=, =Adelaide Phillips=, =Julia Marlowe=, =Leslie Carter=, =Maud
-Adams=, and =Ethel Barrymore=.
-
-Our United States have been also the native land of the famous opera
-stars =Minni Hauck=, =Lillian Nordica=, =Emma Eames=, =Olive Fremstadt=,
-=Florence Macbeth=, =Mary Garden=, =Anna Case= and =Geraldine Farrar=.
-
-Germany and Austria too have produced numbers of accomplished actresses
-and singers who stood high in public esteem and thrilled vast audiences
-by splendid revelations of their art. The name of =Charlotte Wolter= is
-forever connected with the famous Burgtheater in Vienna as the greatest
-tragedienne in the history of that famous institution. To the many
-actresses, whose fame is not limited to their native countries but has
-extended to America as well, belong the following stars of the 19th
-Century: =Marie Seebach=, =Ottilie Genee=, =Kathie Schratt=, =Hedwig
-Niemann-Rabe=, =Fanny Janauschek=, =Magda Irschik=, =Anna Haverland=,
-=Marie Geistinger=, =Agnes Sorma=, =Helene Odilon=, =Francisca
-Ellmenreich=, =Fanny Eysolt=, =Irene Triebsch= and =Else Lehmann=.
-
-As stars in grand opera and concert singers the most famous of the
-former century have been =Henriette Sontag=, =Pauline Lucca=, =Marie
-Schroeder-Hanfstängl=, =Teresa Tietiens=, =Etelka Gerster=, =Lilli
-Lehmann=, =Fanny Moran-Olden=, =Rosa Sucher=, =Amalie Materna=, =Marie
-Brema=, =Katharine Klaffsky= and =Marianne Brand=. Our present
-generation has paid tribute to =Milka Ternina=, =Marie Rappold=, =Alma
-Gluck=, =Elene Gerhard=, =Johanna Gadski=, =Julia Culp=, =Ernestine
-Schumann-Heink=, =Melanie Kurt=, =Margarete Ober=, and =Frida Hempel=.
-
-With the history of the French drama the names of the great tragediennes
-=Elizabeth Rachel= and =Sarah Bernhardt= are inseparably connected,
-while in opera =Madeline Arnould=, =Magdalene Marie Desgarcins=, =Louise
-Françoise Contat=, =Marie Felicite Malibran=, =Louise Angelique Bertin=,
-=Sophie Cruvelli=, =Emma Calvé=, =Lucienne Breval=, =Felia Litvinne= and
-=Desiré Artot= have been stars of the first order.
-
-Italy gave birth to the famous actresses and singers =Guilia Grisi=,
-=Marietta Alboni=, =Angelica Catalani=, =Adelaide Ristori=, =Eleonora
-Duse=, =L. Scalchi=, =Louisa Tetrazzina=, and =Amelia Galli-Curci=.
-
-Poland had her superb =Helena Modjeska= and =Marcella Sembrich=; Bohemia
-the marvelous =Emmy Destinn=.
-
-Sweden treasures the memory of =Jenny Lind= and =Christine Nilsson= as
-superlative artists. Jenny Lind was called “the Swedish Nightingale,”
-and was famous for her great charm as well as for her musical gifts. Her
-splendid tour in America under the management of P. T. Barnum in 1849
-was one of the greatest artistic and financial triumphs ever achieved by
-one single artist.
-
-A somewhat international position has been held by the famous =Adelina
-Patti=, born in 1843 at Madrid, as the daughter of a Sicilian tenor and
-the Spanish Signora Barilli. Taught singing by the Moravian Maurice
-Strakosch, she commanded an unusually high soprano of rich bell-like
-tone and remarkable evenness, and was equally at home in the tenderness
-of deep passion and the sprightly vivacity of comedy, and in oratorio.
-For these reasons she has been regarded as one of the greatest singers
-of all times. That her reputation was founded on her rare qualities, is
-best shown by the testimony of two of her fellow-artists, Marcella
-Sembrich and Lilli Lehmann. The former expressed her admiration in the
-words: “When one speaks of Patti one speaks of something that occurred
-only once in the history of the world.” The latter, famous in a totally
-different school of her art, wrote the following lines: “In Adelaine
-Patti everything was united—the splendid voice, paired with great talent
-for singing. All was absolutely good, correct and flawless, the voice
-like a bell that you seemed to hear long after the singing had ceased.”
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-                  WHAT WOMEN HAVE ACCOMPLISHED IN ART.
-
-As is familiar to every student of the classic past the Greeks and
-Romans hailed a female deity, Pallas Athene, or Minerva, as the
-protectress of their arts and industries. She was believed to have
-invented spinning, weaving, embroidering, painting, and every other
-handicraft that has brought mankind comfort and happiness.
-
-Of course this goddess had many eager women disciples. There was hardly
-any Greek or Roman woman without a thorough command of the above named
-crafts. Since the days of Homer, who praised Penelope, the beautiful
-wife of Ulysses, for her skill in tapestry-weaving, all women devoted
-themselves to useful arts. In Ephesus Pliny admired a picture of Diana,
-painted by =Timarata=, the gifted daughter of an able artist. He also
-praises =Laya= for her excellent miniature portraits on ivory, which
-were held in great favor by the rich ladies of Rome. The names of
-several other female artists are known, but unfortunately none of their
-works have come down to us.
-
-Enthusiastic authors of the Middle Ages glorify =Agnes, Abbess of
-Quedlinburg=, for her great skill in illuminating manuscripts with
-figures, beautiful initial letters and elaborate border ornaments, which
-she enriched with all the splendor of color and gilding.
-
-It was only natural, that the magnificent works of art, produced by
-Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Correggio, Tintoretto and other
-great masters of the Italian Renaissance, inspired the women who came in
-daily contact with these men; especially their daughters, many of whom
-inherited their fathers’ enthusiasm for beauty and art. Constantly
-witnessing the origin and progress of the products of their fathers’
-genius, it could not fail that such women likewise devoted themselves to
-art. As did =Lavinia Fontana=, the daughter of Prospero Fontana of
-Bologna, whom Michael Angelo recommended to Pope Julius III., in whose
-service he remained for many years. Lavinia was born in Rome in 1552.
-Inspired by her father’s art, she too won great fame. The old patrician
-palaces of Rome, Bologna, and other Italian cities still contain many
-portraits of beautiful women and illustrious men, who once were among
-her sitters. She likewise painted various other works which show great
-care and delicacy.
-
-Among her most admired works are a Venus, now in the Museum at Berlin;
-the Virgin lifting a veil from the sleeping infant Christ, now in the
-Escurial; and the Queen of Sheba visiting Solomon. Her masterpiece,
-however, is her own portrait, which shows her in all her radiant beauty.
-
-=Sofonisba Anguisciola=, born in 1533 at Cremona, likewise ranks high
-among the foremost portrait painters of the 16th Century. On
-recommendation of the Duke of Alba, Philippe II., King of Spain, invited
-her to his court in Madrid, where she was received with extraordinary
-honors. Here she painted numerous portraits of the king as well as of
-the queen, the infantas and the members of the court. A few specimens of
-her art are still to be seen in the Escurial at Madrid and at Florence.
-Van Dyck acknowledged himself more benefited by her than by his study of
-all other masters.
-
-=Marietta Tintoretto=, born in 1560, a daughter of the great Venetian
-artist Jacopo Robusti, commonly called Tintoretto, was one of the most
-appreciated portrait painters in the “Queen City of the Adriatic.” She
-was so favorably known for the beauty of her work and the exactness of
-resemblance that she was solicited by Emperor Maximilian as well as by
-Philippe II., King of Spain, to visit their courts. But her affectionate
-attachment to her father was so great that she declined these honors,
-and remained in Venice, where she died in 1590.
-
-The 17th Century likewise produced a number of excellent women artists.
-Bologna, the birth-place of so many famous men and women, was also the
-native town of =Elizabeth Sirani=, who, born in 1638 to Gian Andrea
-Sirani, a painter of some reputation, attracted attention to her
-attempts at drawing when scarcely more than an infant. Her rare talents
-developed as she grew older. Before she had attained her eighteenth
-year, she had finished several paintings, which were greatly admired and
-given places of honor in various churches. Her most admired work, a
-Lord’s Supper, grand in conception, is in the church of the Certosini,
-and is considered one of the best examples of the Bolognesian School of
-art. Unfortunately this promising woman died suddenly when only
-twenty-seven years of age.
-
-=Rosalba Carriera=, a Venetian, born in 1675, became famous over all
-Europe for her admirable miniature- and crayon- or pastel-portraits,
-which, through her, became the fashion of the 18th Century.
-
-Among the Dutch artists of the 17th Century =Maria van Osterwyck= and
-=Rachel Ruisch= excelled in painting flowers and fruits. =Elisabeth
-Cheron=, a French woman, born in Paris in 1648, was famous for her
-miniatures and historical subjects.
-
-England too had some fine women artists: =Mary Beale=, born 1632 in
-Suffolk, and =Anne Killigrew=, born in London. Both are known for
-excellent portraits of notable persons. The National Portrait Gallery in
-London contains for instance Mary Beale’s portraits of King Charles II.,
-of the Duke of Norfolk, and of Cowley.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  MARIE S. LEBRUN WITH HER DAUGHTER.
-
-  After her own painting.
-]
-
-The 18th Century produced two women artists, who were among the leaders
-of their time: =Angelica Kauffmann= and =Marie LeBrun=. Angelica
-Kauffmann, the daughter of an artist, was born in 1740 at Coire in
-Switzerland, from where she went later on to Italy, to study the great
-masters. In 1765 she came to London. Here she painted many excellent
-portraits as well as numerous classic and allegorical subjects. In 1781
-she returned to Italy. Here she was always much feted and admired for
-her talents as well as for her personal charm. Goethe, who met Angelica
-Kauffmann in Rome, admired her works very much. “No living painter,” so
-he wrote in a letter, “excels her in dignity or in the delicate taste
-with which she handles the pencil.” And Raphael Mengs, one of the most
-brilliant artists of the Rococo, praised her in the following words: “As
-an artist Angelica Kauffmann is the pride of the female sex in all times
-and all nations. Nothing is wanting; composition, coloring, fancy, all
-are here.” When she died in November, 1807, she was honored by a
-splendid funeral under the direction of Canova. The entire Academy of
-St. Luke at Rome with numerous ecclesiastics and virtuosi followed her
-funeral train and, as at the burial of Raphael, two of her latest
-paintings were carried behind her coffin in the procession.
-
-Of =Madame LeBrun=, who was born in 1755 in France, it has been said
-that “a more ideal artist never lived.” The well-known portrait of
-herself and her daughter has been termed “the tenderest of all
-pictures.” She also painted several portraits of the unfortunate Queen
-Marie Antoinette. The Louvre has one of her best paintings: “Peace
-bringing back Abundance.”
-
-Madame LeBrun was one of the most prolific artists of all times. In her
-autobiography, entitled “Souvenirs,” she states that she finished six
-hundred and sixty-two portraits, fifteen large compositions, and two
-hundred landscapes, the latter sketched during her travels in
-Switzerland and England.
-
-During the 18th Century Germany was the scene of the greatest activity
-of women artists. France held the second place and Italy the third, thus
-reversing the conditions of preceding centuries. Flanders and Antwerp
-too were famous for women artists, some of whom went to other countries
-where they were recognized for their talent and attainments.
-
-The most famous woman artist of the 19th Century was =Rosa Bonheur=,
-born in 1832 at Bordeaux, the daughter of Raymond Bonheur, an artist of
-merit. From him she received her first instructions. In 1841 she began
-exhibiting in the Paris Salon, with several small animal paintings,
-indicating the direction in which she was to attain her future eminence.
-Her great success in painting animals was due to her conscientious study
-of living subjects. One of her masterpieces, “Plowing with Oxen,” ranks
-among the gems of the Luxembourg. Another excellent painting, “The Horse
-Fair,” was the chief attraction of the Paris Salon in 1853, and later on
-became the property of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. Of all
-animal paintings ever executed, this one is perhaps the most animated,
-and the best in composition as well as in color. Another canvass,
-“Horses Threshing Corn,” shows the same merits. Containing ten horses in
-full life size, it is the largest animal picture ever produced.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  THE HORSE FAIR.
-
-  After the painting by Rosa Bonheur in the New York Metropolitan Museum
-    of Art.
-]
-
-Another painting, “The Monarch of the Glen,” received much praise at the
-World’s Columbian Exposition.
-
-In just appreciation of her genius Rosa Bonheur was proposed in 1853 for
-the Cross of the Legion of Honor, but because of her sex the decoration
-was withheld until 1865.—
-
-One of the four daughters of an early German pioneer of California, who
-distinguished themselves in different lines of activity, =Anne Elizabeth
-Klumpke= followed in the footsteps of Rosa Bonheur, of whom she became a
-close friend, and who, in appreciation of her great talent, bequeathed
-to her her beautiful chateau as well as her entire fortune.
-
-The second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th Century
-produced a surprising abundance of women artists, some of whom gained
-the most coveted prizes and medals offered by the great annual
-exhibitions in Paris, London, Berlin, Munich and other centers of art.
-Clara Erskine Clemens in her book “Women in the Fine Arts” has compiled
-notes about several hundred of them, without enumerating them all. To
-mention a few of the most excellent, we name of the German artists
-=Louise Parmentier Begas=, =Tina Blau=, =Dora Hitz=, =Lucia von Gelder=,
-=Herminie von Janda=, =Countess Marie Kalckreuth=, =Minna Stock=, =Toni
-Stadler=, =Frieda Ritter=, =Margarethe von Schack=, =Vilma Parlaghy=,
-and =Margarethe Waldau=.
-
-Italy names among its best modern painters =Alceste Campriani=, =Ada
-Negri=, =Juana Romani=, =Erminia de Sanctis=, and =Clelia Bompiani=.
-
-The French extol the genius of =Louise Labé=, =Marceline
-Desbordes-Valmore= and =Louise Ackermann=.
-
-Belgium and Holland number among their women artists =Therese
-Schwartze=, =Adele Kindt= and =Henriette Ronner=; Spain points with
-pride to the works of =Fernanda Frances y Arribas=, =Adele Gines= and
-=Antonia de Banuelos=. Denmark’s famous artist, =Elizabet Jerichau
-Baumann=, is remembered especially for her magnificent painting
-“Christian Martyrs in the Catacombs”; Switzerland has two portraitists
-of the first order, =Louise Catherine Breslau= and =Aimée Rapin=, while
-Russia produced in =Marie Bashkirttseff= an artist of rare ability.
-
-Perhaps in no other country is the number of female artists so large as
-in England. We will name only a few of them. =Laura Alma Tadema= was the
-gifted daughter of the famous artist Laurenz Alma Tadema. =Margaret
-Sarah Carpenter= won wide reputation as a gifted portrait painter.
-=Ethel Wright’s= beautiful painting “The Song of the Ages” belongs to
-the best examples of English art. =Clara Montalba= is favorably known
-for her splendid scenes of Venice, and landscapes of the Adriatic
-coasts. =Elizabeth Thompson= demonstrated by many excellent sketches and
-pictures that women are not afraid to make a specialty of battle scenes.
-
-Ambitious American women are likewise hard at work gaining honor and
-laurels in the various fields of art. The morning promises fair, as
-there are already many shining names upon the scroll. To begin with one
-of the middle of the last century, we mention =Cornelia Adele Facett=,
-whose chief work, “The Election Commission in Open Session,” contains
-258 portraits of men and women, prominent in the political, literary,
-scientific and social circles of their time. It adorns the Senate
-Chamber in the Capitol at Washington.
-
-The most brilliant woman artist of the United States is without question
-=Cecilia Beaux=, a Philadelphian, who, as a portrait painter, compares
-with the very best of any nation. Her portrait of a “Girl in White,”
-owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, verifies what a
-critic said about her: “Miss Beaux has approached the task of painting
-the society woman of to-day, not as one to whom this type is known only
-by exterior, but with a sympathy as complete as a similar tradition and
-artistic temperament will allow. Thus she starts with an advantage
-denied to all but a very few American portrait painters, and this
-explains the instinctive way in which she gives to her pictured subjects
-an air of natural ease and good breeding.”
-
-=Sadie Waters=, born in St. Louis, produced a number of religious
-paintings, her best and largest showing the Madonna in a bower of roses.
-
-=Violet Oakley= of New Jersey had a prominent part in decorating the new
-Capitol at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, one of the most elaborate and
-costly public buildings in America. The mural painting “The Romance of
-the Founding of the State” in the Governor’s room is her work.
-
-=Anna Mary Richards= excelled as a marine painter. Her large canvass
-“The Wild Horses of the Sea” has been especially admired.
-
-=Anny Shaw=, =Grace Hudson=, =Lucie Fairchild Fuller=, =Mary Cassatt=,
-and =Matilde Lotz= are among the latest women artists of America,
-favorably known for many creditable works.
-
-                  *       *       *       *       *
-
-Although comparatively few women have devoted themselves to sculpture,
-there are several among them well worth mentioning.
-
-The first female sculptor of whom anything is known, was =Sabina von
-Steinbach=, a daughter of Erwin von Steinbach, the famous architect of
-the magnificent cathedral at Strassburg, in Alsace. After the southern
-portal of this minster had been erected, Sabina adorned it with the
-statues of the apostles, one of which, that of John, held in his hands a
-scroll with the following inscription:
-
-        “Gratia divinæ pietatis adesto Savinæ,
-        De petra dura per quam sum facta figura.”
-        “The grace of God be with thee, O Sabina,
-        Whose hands from this hard stone have formed my image.”
-
-Nothing further is known about this artist of the end of the 13th
-Century.
-
-=Properzia de Rossi= was an Italian woman sculptor, born near the end of
-the 15th Century at Bologna or Modena. The first-named city cherishes
-still a number of her works, among them a fine marble statue of Count
-Guido de Pepoli, and several figures that adorn the three gates of the
-facade of St. Petroneus. Vasari in his biographies of celebrated artists
-calls her “a virtuous maiden, possessing every merit of her sex,
-together with science and learning all men may envy.” And when she died
-in 1530, the following epitaph was written in her praise:
-
-              Fero splendor di due begit occhi accrebbe
-              Gia marmi a marmi; e stupor nuovo e strano
-              Ruvidi marmi delicta mano
-              Fea dianzi vivi, ahi! morte invidia n’ebbe.
-
-In modern Germany =Anna von Kahle=, =Marie Schlafhorst=, =Dora Beer=,
-=Helene Quitmann=, =Henny Geyer Spiegel= and =Lilly Finzelberg= have
-done much excellent work.
-
-In France several statues by =Jeanne Hasse=, a Parisian, have been
-purchased by the government and presented to various provincial museums.
-
-In England =Mary Thornycroft=, daughter and pupil of John Francis, the
-sculptor, has won the praise of the severest critics.
-
-In America =Annie Whitney’s= statue of “Lady Godiva” as well as her
-“Africa” and “Roma” have been much praised.
-
-=Helen Farnworth Mears= is well known for her “Fountain of Life.”
-=Vinnie Ream Hoxie= modelled a life-size statue of Lincoln, which stands
-in the rotunda of the Capitol at Washington. A statue of Farragut in
-Farragut Square is by the same artist.
-
-Another American woman sculptor of renown was =Harriet Hosmer=, born in
-1830 in Watertown, Mass. Having received her first instruction in Boston
-and St. Louis, she went to Rome in 1852 where she became a pupil of
-Gibson. Of her various works, the best known are “Beatrice Cenci in Her
-Cell”; “Willo’-the-Wisp”; “The Sleeping and the Waking Faun”; and a
-colossal statue of “Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, in Chains.” She exhibited
-a statue of Queen Isabella of Spain at the World’s Columbian Exposition.
-A statue of “Puck” was so spirited and original, that it was ordered
-more than thirty times, is also her work.
-
-=Emma Stebbins= (1815–1882) produced a statue of Horace Mann for Boston,
-and a large fountain for Central Park, New York, the subject being “The
-Angel of the Waters.”
-
-The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has in its collections
-several works by =Frances Grimes=, =Laura Gardin=, =Malvina Hoffman=,
-and =Evelyn Longman=. Miss Hoffman’s best known work, “The Russian
-Bachanale,” showing two almost nude dancing figures in bronze, was in
-1919 presented by an American connoisseur to the famous Gardens of the
-Luxembourg in Paris.
-
-                  *       *       *       *       *
-
-The United States of America produced also the first women architects.
-In 1881 =Louise Bethune= took the lead. Somewhat later the New York firm
-=Hands & Gannon=, both members of which were women, designed the plans
-for numerous schools, hospitals, and model homes for the working people.
-=Elizabeth Holman= in Philadelphia became favorably known for her
-excellent designs for theatres, hotels, and cottages. =Mrs. Wagner= in
-Pittsburgh made a specialty of university buildings, churches and
-chapels.
-
-=Miss Sophie G. Hayden= of Boston, a graduate of the architectural
-school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was the architect
-of the beautiful Women’s Pavilion at the World’s Columbian Exposition.
-The task of adorning this building with sculptures, emblematic of
-woman’s great work in the world, was after an extremely vigorous contest
-awarded to =Miss Alice Rideout=, of San Francisco. Women architects
-likewise designed the imposing woman’s palaces at the expositions in St.
-Louis, Atlanta, and San Francisco. Since then the number of women in
-this line of activity has steadily increased. According to the Census of
-1910 the United States had in that year 1037 women architects, designers
-and draftsmen.
-
-Thus we find woman hard at work in all the various realms of art. And
-since her joy in beauty is supreme, we may well expect that her
-expression of the highest beauty, the spiritual, will in time favorably
-compare with that of her brother-artists.
-
-
-                GREAT MONUMENTS OF WOMAN’S PHILANTHROPY.
-
-Woman and philanthropy have always been inseparably connected, for
-charity has been regarded in all ages as one of the noblest virtues of
-the gentle sex.
-
-There is scarcely any country which does not cherish the memory of some
-women for great works of charity. Germany, for instance, has the lovely
-story of Elizabeth, the wife of Ludwig IV., landgrave of Thuringia, who
-reigned during the first half of the 13th Century. Feeling an aversion
-to worldly pleasures, and making the early Christians her example,
-Elizabeth devoted herself to works of benevolence. In these she was so
-liberal, that her husband became uneasy, fearing she might impoverish
-his estate by her alms-giving. He accordingly bade her to give less to
-the poor. But secretly she spent just as much. One day, while she was
-carrying a heavy load of bread in her basket, she was stopped by her
-husband, who inquired what she was hiding. “Roses, my Lord, roses!” she
-said, hoping that he would not investigate. But when he insisted on
-seeing them, she was forced to open her basket and, oh wonder! all the
-loaves of bread had turned into the most beautiful roses.—
-
-America remembers =Dorothea Dix= as one of the most distinguished women
-it ever has produced. Compelled by declining health to go to Europe from
-1834 to 1837, she had ample opportunity to study in Liverpool and other
-cities of England the terrible conditions of the poor, especially of the
-inmates of poor-houses and insane-asylums. As at that time similar
-institutions in America were just as bad, she gave after her return to
-the United States all her time, strength and influence to ameliorate
-suffering, and to persuade the public to furnish suitable asylums, also
-to improve the moral discipline of prisons and penitentiaries. For this
-purpose she visited every State east of the Rocky Mountains, seeking out
-intelligent and benevolent people, and trying to kindle in their hearts
-the same enthusiasm that filled her own.
-
-Fearless in lifting her voice against abuses, she was so persistent in
-reiterating her protests and in pleading needed reforms, that attention
-had to be given her. The founding of many state hospitals and
-insane-asylums in the United States as well as in Nova Scotia and
-Newfoundland is due to her indefatigable work.
-
-A similar case is that of =Margaret Fuller=, the famous author. Warmly
-espousing the cause of reform in many directions and making herself the
-champion of truth and human rights at any cost, she visited prisons and
-charitable institutions and talked freely with the female inmates. It
-was on the common ground of womanhood that she approached these degraded
-of her own sex, true to her unalterable faith in awakening whatever
-divine spark might be there. She was surprised herself at the
-results—the touching traits and the possibilities that still survived in
-beings so forlorn and degraded. Many of them expressed a wish to see her
-alone, in order to confide to her the secrets of their ruined lives, and
-their ardent desire to enter a new course whereby they might regain
-respectability. Thus making herself the friend of the friendless,
-Margaret Fuller began what we call to-day “settlement work.”
-
-In the matter of prison reform the name of =Elizabeth Guerney Fry=
-(1780–1845) will likewise be remembered as one of the first women
-promoters in this line of charity. An accidental visit to Newgate Prison
-in London disclosed to her the horrible conditions prevailing in this
-ill-reputed dungeon. Like most prisons at the time it was dark, damp,
-and cold in winter. The prisoners were usually half-starved, and clad in
-rags; often loaded with chains, and oftener yet pestered by vermin and
-rats. The ward, into which Miss Fry penetrated, although strongly
-dissuaded by the officials, was like a den of wild beasts. It was filled
-with a hundred and sixty women and children, gambling, fighting,
-swearing, yelling, dancing. It justly deserved its name of “hell above
-ground.” The general disorder and abject misery of the women confined
-there so impressed Miss Fry, that she took immediate and effectual means
-to relieve them. The first step in the great public work of her life was
-the forming of “The Association for the Improvement of the Female
-Prisoners in Newgate,” in April, 1817. Its aim was the establishment of
-what is now regarded as “prison discipline,” such as entire separation
-of the sexes, classification of criminals, female supervision for the
-women, and adequate provision for their religious and secular
-instruction, as also for their useful employment. Disregarding sarcastic
-critics, who protested against the “ultra-humanitarianism which sought
-to make jails too comfortable and tended to pamper criminals,” Miss Fry
-pursued her way and finally brought about the passing of Acts (1823–24),
-in which it was laid down that over and above safe custody it was
-essential to preserve health, improve morals, and enforce useful labor
-in all prisons. Not content with these results, Miss Fry likewise
-inspected during the time from 1818 to 1841 the principal prisons of
-Scotland, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Southern
-Germany, and Denmark, everywhere conferring personally with the leading
-prison officials. By keeping up a constant correspondence with them she
-had the satisfaction of hearing from almost every quarter of Europe that
-the authorities were giving an ever increasing consideration to her
-suggestions.—
-
-Following the example set by Miss Fry, women in many countries aided in
-forming societies for the improvement of prison-discipline. They also
-established reformatories for women and juvenile delinquents. For
-instance =Mrs. Abbey Hopper Gibbons= assisted in founding the “Women’s
-Prison Association of New York” in 1844 and the “Isaac T. Hopper Home.”
-Its objects were: “First, the improvement of the condition of the
-prisoners, whether detained on trial or finally convicted, or as
-witnesses; secondly, the support and encouragement of reformed convicts
-after their discharge, by affording them an opportunity of obtaining an
-honest livelihood, and sustaining them in their efforts to reform.”
-
-The association employs an executive secretary who visits all the places
-where women are detained in the State or City of New York, keeps track
-of the housing conditions and studies the treatment of the prisoners. On
-the basis of this exact knowledge, the Association has proposed various
-reforms; for example the establishment of Bedford Reformatory was
-largely due to the efforts of this society, and the appointment of
-police matrons in the city station houses. Through the instrumentality
-of Mrs. Hopper Gibbons the “New York State Reformatory for Women and
-Girls” was established by the Legislature.
-
-Through the efforts of =Linda Gilbert= various prisons throughout the
-country were provided with libraries. She also secured the incorporation
-of the “Gilbert Library and Prisoners’ Aid Society” under the laws of
-the State of New York. Furthermore she procured employment for thousands
-of ex-convicts, and aided others in establishing in business in a small
-way.—
-
-To enumerate what women have contributed to culture as founders and
-patronesses of infant homes, foundling and orphan asylums, industrial
-schools and homes for boys and girls, of refuges for unfortunate women,
-invalids and the aged, of hospitals for destitute children and for
-people afflicted with tuberculosis, cancer, and incurable diseases, is a
-task impossible for the limited space of this book. Besides, all
-information is fragmentary and far too insufficient to give a true idea
-of the vast sums and immense amount of time, labor, and effort, devoted
-by women to these works of charity. Constantly on the lookout to
-alleviate sorrow and provide comfort, they have not forgotten even those
-lonely men, who do duty in remote light houses and life-saving stations.
-It was through the efforts of women that these involuntary hermits, who
-often do not come in touch with other human beings for several months,
-are regularly provided with interesting books and entertaining games.
-
-=Mrs. Matilde Ziegler= of New York has taken a special interest in the
-blind. Mrs. Ziegler, at an expense of $20,000 a year, founded a monthly
-magazine for the blind, which has a printing press of double the
-capacity of any printing plant for the blind in any other country. Blind
-girls do all the work connected with this magazine.
-
-=Georgia Trader= in Cincinnati established school classes for the blind
-and a library with over 25,000 volumes, from which books in raised type
-are sent to the blind all over the country, free of any charge. She also
-founded a working-home for blind girls, where they are profitably
-employed in weaving rugs, and in various artistic work and handicraft.
-
-=Jane Addams= in 1889 opened in Chicago a social settlement, known as
-“Hull House.” Wonderful work in sociology is done there. Many thousands
-of men, women and children are instructed in all kinds of handicraft,
-and directed to places, where they can make an honest and profitable
-living. They have also access to an excellent library, comfortable club
-rooms, lecture-halls, kindergarten, play-grounds and other institutions.
-
-Miss Addams is to-day recognized as one of the foremost women in her
-line of work, and by her example as well as through her public lectures
-and able books, has probably done more than anybody else for the
-extension of practical sociology.
-
-Women have also taken charge of thousands of tired working-girls and
-sent them to the country for a short rest during the summer, thus
-enabling them to take up their lives of toil with renewed vigor and
-courage.
-
-Similar organizations have established vacation schools to save children
-from the demoralization of the long summer idleness, and to secure for
-them fresh air vacations.
-
-Moved by a sincere desire to improve the conditions of the despised and
-maltreated American Indians, =Helen Hunt Jackson=, =Alice Fletcher=, and
-=Mary L. Bonney= succeeded after indefatigable efforts in awakening
-interest among the legislators in their work. Miss Fletcher, in her
-valuable book “Indian Civilization and Education,” gave such ample proof
-of her special qualifications that she was appointed by President
-Cleveland in 1887 as a special agent of the Government, to allot lands
-to various Indian tribes. Mary L. Bonney devoted herself principally to
-educational work and, in 1881, was foremost in the task of organizing
-the “Indian Treaty-Keeping and Protective Association” by which the many
-unlawful encroachments of white settlers, and the oppression of the Red
-Men by government agents were stopped.
-
-In their efforts to alleviate the hard lot of negro slaves, =Lucretia
-Mott=, =Sarah= and =Angelica Grimke=, =Harriet Beecher Stowe=, and many
-others, braved criticism, insults and social ostracism.
-
-By organizing societies for the prevention of cruelty to children and
-animals, women have taken care of those who cannot speak for themselves.
-In many cities they have likewise provided drinking fountains for men
-and for animals.
-
-All women members of the “National Association of the Audubon
-Societies,” that protect bird-life in America, bind themselves never to
-decorate their hats with plumes and feathers. They have also secured
-laws that forbid hunters to kill useful birds, and prevent milliners
-from buying or exhibiting feathers and stuffed skins of such birds.
-
-As generous patronesses of education, science and art many women have
-set themselves lasting monuments.
-
-=Catherine L. Wolfe= donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New
-York not only her magnificent collection of paintings, but likewise a
-fund of $200,000 for its preservation and increase. A million dollars
-was also bequeathed by her to several educational institutions founded
-by her father and herself. She is also known as the founder of the New
-York Home for Incurables.
-
-=Mary Tileston Hemenway= supported the so-called Hemenway Expeditions
-for the archæological exploration of certain regions of Arizona and New
-Mexico.
-
-=Jane Lathrop Stanford=, wife of Leland Stanford, railway constructor,
-and U. S. Senator from California, founded in memory of her son the
-“Leland Stanford Jr. University” at Palo Alto, near San Francisco. At
-her own expense Mrs. Stanford established a museum, connected with the
-university, containing objects of art, and many things she had collected
-during her extensive travels. At her death the entire estate of the
-Stanfords, amounting to about $50,000,000, was left to endow this great
-university. Her San Francisco home, on Nob Hill, became an art gallery
-and museum.
-
-=Phœbe Hearst=, wife of George Hearst, and mother of William Randolph
-Hearst, made large donations to the University of California. These
-included $800,000 for the erection and equipment of the Hearst Memorial
-Mining Building. She also made provision for twenty scholarships for
-women, and founded a number of free libraries in mining towns with which
-her husband had been associated. Mrs. Hearst was also actively
-interested in every kind of organization for the welfare of women.
-Furthermore she established and maintained two kindergarten schools in
-San Francisco, and three in Washington, one of which is for colored
-children. Her most important gift to the District of Columbia was the
-National Cathedral School for Girls, erected on a beautiful site on the
-outskirts of the city.
-
-=Margaret Olivia Sage=, the widow of Russell Sage, donated between
-seventy-five and eighty million dollars for charitable and educational
-purposes. With ten millions she established in 1907 the “Sage Foundation
-for Social Betterment.” Its purpose is the improvement of social and
-living conditions in the United States. It does not attempt to relieve
-individual or family need, but tries to seek out and eliminate causes of
-this evil. It furthers education that more directly affects social and
-living conditions, such as industrial education, education in household
-arts, and the training of social workers. In the pursuit of these aims
-the Sage Foundation subsidized worthy activities and organizations; it
-has established investigational and propagandist departments of its own;
-invested its funds in activities with a social purpose; and published
-extensively books and pamphlets on social subjects. Since the work of
-the Russell Sage Foundation aids social advance for people of every
-nation, Mrs. Sage became one of the benefactors not only of this
-country, but of the world.
-
-Among the many donations Mrs. Sage made to other institutions, were
-$600,000 to the Troy Female Seminary, which was one of the first schools
-in America for the higher education of girls; $1,600,000 to the Woman’s
-Hospital of New York; $1,600,000 to the Children’s Aid Society;
-$1,600,000 to the Metropolitan Museum of Art; $1,600,000 to the American
-Museum of Natural History; and $1,600,000 to Syracuse University.
-
-The list here given mentions only a few of the innumerable philanthropic
-works of American women. Similar lists could be made for all other
-countries, but the material has never been properly collected. Besides,
-by far the greatest number of such benevolent acts have been performed
-without public knowledge. But wherever we go, we find women active,
-helpful, and persevering, always rejoicing in the accomplishment of
-good.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-             THE HUNDRED YEARS’ BATTLE FOR WOMAN SUFFRAGE.
-
-“If particular care and attention are not paid to the ladies, we are
-determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound to
-obey any laws in which we have no voice or representation.”—This was the
-warning directed by =Mrs. John Adams= in March, 1776, to her husband
-while he was attending the Continental Congress, assembled in
-Philadelphia to consider the Declaration of Independence.
-
-When this document was framed and adopted without recognizing the rights
-of women, Mrs. Adams and a number of other women, deeply indignant, made
-good the threat of Mrs. Adams and opened that most remarkable warfare,
-which has lasted for more than a hundred years and may be called
-“=Woman’s Battle for Suffrage=.”
-
-That they were deeply disappointed by the inattention of Congress, may
-be inferred from a letter by =Hannah Lee=, the sister of General Lee, in
-which she asks her brother to demand from Congress suffrage for women,
-as otherwise they would not pay any taxes. The same request was made by
-various other prominent women, who pointed to the fact that, while their
-husbands and sons had fought for the inherent rights of men, they had
-likewise fought for the rights of women. But as at that time American
-women were not organized their demands failed to make the necessary
-impression and remained unheeded. Besides, the majority of American
-women receiving only a very limited education, took little interest in
-the question, because of their ignorance of its importance. Thus, the
-subject of woman’s rights and suffrage dragged on until women had
-discovered, that there is strength in numbers, in federation, and that
-federation is the preliminary requirement to make victory possible.
-
-The evolution of women’s clubs during the 19th Century is one of the
-most striking and most important phenomena in woman’s history. The
-movement began with the sewing or spinning circles of long ago, and made
-a great stride when the custom was initiated of some members reading
-while the others sewed. Later on these circles evolved into
-reading-clubs, which again developed into literary societies and
-associations for public improvement, aiming at the establishment of
-public schools and libraries, the erection of hospitals, orphan asylums,
-the sanitation of the streets, and other public works.
-
-Such women’s clubs were not even afraid to tackle such most difficult
-problems as the abolition of slavery, which, at the end of the 18th and
-the beginning of the 19th Century, became the burning question of the
-time. The hot discussion of this problem split the population of the
-United States into two hostile factions, of which the South with its
-partisans in the North made desperate efforts to prevent the free
-expression of opinion respecting the institution of slavery. In the
-slave States even the Christian churches used their influence in favor
-of the maintenance of slavery.
-
-Among the first and strongest advocates of abolition were =Sarah= and
-=Angelina Grimke=, the daughters of a family of Salzburgers, who during
-the 18th Century had immigrated into South Carolina and Georgia. Shocked
-by the inhuman treatment and cruelties inflicted upon the slaves all
-round, and suffering intensely from the stand taken by their own
-relatives, the sisters resolved to fight these abuses.
-
-While visiting Philadelphia, Sarah came under the influence of the
-Quakers, and read the strong protest against slavery, which Pastorius
-and the settlers of Germantown in 1688 had directed to the Quaker
-meeting. Returning to her home, Sarah besought her relatives to free
-their slaves. Failing in this effort, she left her home, joined the
-Quaker society of the “Friends” in Philadelphia, and in 1835 directed an
-“Appeal to the Christian Women of the South,” imploring them to become
-active on behalf of the slaves. This pamphlet aroused such a profound
-sensation wherever it was read, that when some time afterward Miss
-Grimke expressed a desire to visit her former home, the mayor of
-Charleston called upon her mother and informed her that the police had
-been instructed to prevent her daughter’s landing when the steamer
-should come into port. He also would see to it that she might not
-communicate with any person, by letter or otherwise, and that, if she
-should elude the vigilance of the police and go ashore, she was to be
-arrested and imprisoned until the return of the vessel. As threats of
-personal violence were also made, Miss Grimke abandoned her visit, but
-published soon afterward “An Epistle to the Clergy of the Southern
-States,” and, at the same time, began to address meetings in
-Pennsylvania as well as in the New England States, in order to rouse the
-dormant moral sense of the hearers to protest against the colossal sin
-of the nation. She was assisted by her sister Angelina and such eloquent
-speakers as =Lucretia Mott=, =Elizabeth Stanton=, =William Lloyd
-Garrison= and others. These agitators finally created such a stir, that
-the conservatives and opponents of abolition decided that they must be
-silenced. Quite often their meetings were disturbed by mobs; halls were
-refused them, and violence was threatened. The General Association of
-Congregational Ministers of Massachusetts passed a resolution censuring
-the Grimke sisters, and issued a pastoral letter containing a tirade
-against “female preachers.” But in spite of all efforts, public
-sentiment in the North in favor of abolition steadily grew, until it
-became evident that the question could not be settled without an armed
-conflict.
-
-At a gathering of abolitionists, held on July 19th, 1848, at the home of
-=Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton= in Seneca, N.Y., the question of women’s
-rights was eagerly discussed. Mrs. Stanton, the daughter of a lawyer,
-had found by frequent visits to her father’s office that according to
-the then existing laws, which had been adopted from England, married
-women had no right of disposal over their own inherited property, their
-own income, or their own children, no matter how unfit, degraded, and
-cruel their husbands might be. There was even no redress for corporal
-punishment which the husbands might inflict on their wives.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  ELIZABETH CADY STANTON.
-]
-
-Another woman, present at the gathering, was =Lucretia Mott=, a Quaker
-teacher. It had been her experience, that female teachers, having paid
-for their education just as much as the males, obtained, when teaching,
-only half of the compensation granted to male teachers.
-
-But the indignation of the two women over the inferior position of woman
-had been especially excited while attending the World’s Anti-Slavery
-Convention, held in 1840 at London. Both women, together with Mrs.
-Wendell Phillips, had been appointed delegates by the abolitionists of
-America, and as they were able speakers, much had been expected from
-their eloquence. But when the women submitted their credentials, they
-discovered that the English abolitionists had not reformed their
-antiquated views of male predominance and would not admit any woman as
-delegate nor on the platform. When the question was submitted to vote,
-the women were excluded by a large majority. This flat refusal to
-recognize woman’s right to an equal participation in all social,
-political, and religious affairs brought what is termed “the Woman
-Question” into greater prominence than ever before. The gathering in the
-Wesleyan chapel, at Seneca Falls, N.Y., Mrs. Stanton’s home, is known as
-the =First Woman’s Rights Convention=. Held on the 19th and 20th of
-July, 1848, it was attended by 68 women and 38 men. The simultaneous
-discussion of the subject of slavery and the natural rights of man had
-as their logical consequence, on the part of women, the demand of a
-privilege exercised in many cases by persons far below them in
-intelligence and education. They asserted that many of their number were
-taxpayers, that all were interested in good government, and that it
-would be unjust for women of intelligence to be deprived of a vote while
-ignorant negroes could have a voice in the government. Furthermore they
-asserted that the participation of women would have a purifying effect
-on politics.
-
-At the close of the second day the convention adopted the following:
-
-
-                       Declaration of Sentiments.
-
-“The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and
-usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the
-establishment of an absolute tyranny over her. To prove this, let facts
-be submitted to a candid world.
-
-“He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to the
-elective franchise.
-
-“He has compelled her to submit to laws in the formation of which she
-had no voice.
-
-“He has withheld from her rights which are given to the most ignorant
-and degraded men—both natives and foreigners.
-
-“Having deprived her of this first right of a citizen, the elective
-franchise, thereby leaving her without representation in the halls of
-legislation, he has oppressed her on all sides.
-
-“He has made her, if married, in the eye of the law, civilly dead.
-
-“He has taken from her all right in property, even to the wages she
-earns.
-
-“He has so framed the laws of divorce as to what shall be the proper
-causes, and, in case of separation, to whom the guardianship of the
-children shall be given, as to be wholly regardless of the happiness of
-women—the law in all cases going upon a false supposition of the
-supremacy of man, and giving all power into his hands.
-
-“After depriving her of all rights as a married woman, if single and the
-owner of property, he has taxed her to support a government which
-recognizes her only when her property can be made profitable to it.
-
-“He has monopolized nearly all the profitable employments, and from
-those she is permitted to follow she receives but a scanty remuneration.
-He closes against her all the avenues of wealth and distinction which he
-considers most honorable to himself. As a teacher of theology, medicine,
-or law, she is not known.
-
-“He allows her in church, as well as state, but a subordinate position,
-claiming Apostolic authority for her exclusion from the ministry and,
-with some exceptions, from any public participation in the affairs of
-the church.
-
-“He has created a false public sentiment by giving to the world a
-different code of morals for men and women, by which moral delinquencies
-which exclude women from society are not only tolerated but deemed of
-little account in man.
-
-“He has usurped the prerogative of Jehovah himself, claiming it as his
-right to assign for her a sphere of action, when that belongs to her
-conscience and God.
-
-“He has endeavored, in every way that he could, to destroy her
-confidence in her own powers, to lessen her self-respect, and to make
-her willing to lead a dependent and abject life.
-
-“Now, in view of this disfranchisement of one-half the people of this
-country, their social and religious degradation; in view of the unjust
-laws mentioned, and because women do feel themselves aggrieved,
-oppressed and fraudulently deprived of their most sacred rights, we
-insist that they have immediate admission to all the rights and
-privileges which belong to them as citizens of the United States.”
-
-
-Of course, this declaration, modeled after the immortal Declaration of
-1776, did not fail to create a sensation everywhere. Other conventions
-were held in Rochester and Syracuse, N.Y., and in Salem, Ohio. They
-brought to the front a number of wonderful women, whose names were
-henceforth connected with this movement, first among them =Susan B.
-Anthony=, =Lucy Stone=, =Paulina Wright Davis= and =Anna Howard Shaw=.
-In October, 1850, the =First National Woman’s Rights Convention= was
-held at Worcester, Mass. Attended by delegates from nine states it was
-distinguished by addresses and papers of the highest character, which
-filled the audiences with enthusiasm. A National Committee was formed,
-under whose management conventions were held annually in various cities.
-An account of the convention, written by =Mrs. John Stuart Mill=, in the
-“Westminster Review,” London, marked the beginning of the movement for
-woman suffrage in Great Britain. But in spite of all efforts and
-agitation, progress was but slow. The first result was not gained before
-1861, when Kansas granted school suffrage to women, a step that was not
-followed by other states for many years afterwards.
-
-How averse the stronger sex was to grant women suffrage became evident,
-when in 1868 the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution of the
-United States were adopted. These amendments abolished slavery and gave
-the freed negroes of the South all privileges of citizenship, including
-the right to vote. Section 1 of the 15th amendment reads:
-
-      “The right of citizens to vote shall not be denied or
-      abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account
-      of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
-
-As the advocates of woman suffrage were American citizens, they held
-themselves entitled to the same rights as granted to the negroes. But
-their demands to be registered as legal voters were denied by the
-registrars of elections. Now the women appealed to the courts, to see if
-their claim would be sustained by invoking the aid of those
-constitutional amendments above cited. But the uniform decision in each
-court was that these amendments had in no way changed or abridged the
-right of each State to restrict suffrage to =males=, and that they
-applied only to the men of color and to existing rights and privileges.
-An appeal to the Supreme Court resulted in the decision that this body
-was in accordance with the decisions of the State courts.
-
-To test the application of the 14th and 15th amendments to the
-Constitution =Susan B. Anthony=,—who in 1860 with others had been
-successful in securing the passage of an Act of the New York
-Legislation, giving to married women the possession of their earnings,
-as well as the guardianship of their children,—cast in 1872 ballots at
-the State and Congressional elections in New York. Miss Anthony was
-indicted and in 1873 found guilty of criminal offense against the United
-States for knowingly voting for congressmen without having a lawful
-right to vote, which offense was punishable, under Act of Congress, by a
-heavy fine or imprisonment. Fined $100 for illegal voting, Miss Anthony
-declared that she would never pay the penalty, and in fact it has never
-been collected.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  SUSAN B. ANTHONY.
-]
-
-Undaunted by the decision of the Court, Miss Anthony in 1875 proposed
-the following amendment to Article 1 of the Constitution:
-
-“Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not
-be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on =account
-of sex=.
-
-“Section 2. Congress shall have power by appropriate legislation to
-enforce the provisions of this article.”
-
-This resolution was introduced by Senator Sargent of California in 1878,
-but was rejected several times. In 1887 it secured in the Senate only 14
-affirmative to 34 negative votes.
-
-But several years before the indictment of Miss Anthony woman suffrage
-had already won its first victory, in the Territory of Wyoming. The
-Organic Act for the regulation of the Territorial governments provides
-that at the first election in any Territory male citizens of the age of
-twenty-one years shall vote, but
-
-      “at all subsequent elections the qualifications of voters
-      and for holding office shall be such as may be prescribed by
-      the legislative assembly of each Territory.”
-
-Under this act the first legislative assembly of Wyoming, in 1869,
-granted women the right to vote and to hold office upon the same terms
-as men. An effort made in 1871, to repeal this statute, failed, and to
-the men of Wyoming belongs the honor, of having been first to recognize
-the rights of women.
-
-A further gain was made when the Republican National Convention of 1872
-and 1876 resolved that “the honest demands” of women for additional
-rights should be treated with respectful consideration.
-
-Of still greater importance was the organization of two national Woman
-Suffrage Associations, the one with headquarters in New York, the other
-in Boston. A union of these two bodies was effected in 1890 under the
-title of “=The National American Woman Suffrage Association=.”
-
-Mrs. Stanton was elected president of the new organization. When in 1892
-she resigned from her office because of advancing age, she was followed
-by Miss Anthony, who in 1900 resigned at the age of 80. Her successors
-were =Miss Anna Howard Shaw= and =Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt=.
-
-Under the able leadership of these brilliant women victory was now
-followed by victory. Up to 1914 Colorado, Idaho, Washington, California,
-Arizona, Kansas, Oregon, Nevada, Utah and Montana had joined the ranks
-of Woman Suffrage States; also the Territory of Alaska.
-
-To these Western regions the Eastern and Southern States formed a
-strange contrast, as so far the suffragists had been unable to conquer
-one of them. For this surprising fact I fail to find any other
-explanation but that the Western men are much more conscious of a great
-historical truth, which the men in the East and South seem to have
-almost forgotten, namely: =that to the women the founding of real
-culture in America is due. Having heroically shared with their husbands
-all hardships and dangers, having gone with them on their hazardous
-journeys into the wilderness, even on their long voyages across the
-prairies and Rocky Mountains to far Oregon and California, the women
-provided the first permanent homes and filled them with comfort,
-sunshine and happiness. In recognition of these facts the Western men
-granted their partners only a well deserved tribute of gratitude.=
-
-In many places the men expressed their respect for the gentler sex by
-electing women to important public offices, and in almost all cases
-these positions have been filled to the fullest satisfaction.
-
-                  *       *       *       *       *
-
-The steady progress of woman suffrage in the United States was followed
-by the women of other countries with intense interest, especially by
-those of Great Britain and Australia. Encouraged to like activity, they
-demonstrated with convincing clearness the injustice of the legislatures
-toward women and thus prepared the way for a similar movement in favor
-of woman suffrage. The result was that the English government in 1869
-adopted the Municipal Reform Act, which permits women to vote in all
-municipal elections. An Act of 1870 gave them the school vote. The Act
-of 1888 made them voters for the county councils. An Act of 1894
-abolished in all departments of local government the qualification of
-sex.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  DR. ANNA HOWARD SHAW.
-]
-
-New Zealand, one of the most progressive of all countries, went even
-farther. The women there were granted suffrage in 1893 on the same basis
-with men. A similar step was taken in the following year by South
-Australia. And when in 1901 the Commonwealth of Australia was formed by
-the federation of the six provinces, or states, of New South Wales,
-Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania,
-one of the first steps was to give all women full national suffrage.
-
-In the countries of continental Europe the evolution of local women’s
-organizations to State- and National Unions had been the same as in the
-United States and in England. But the majority of these societies
-remained conservative in regard to woman suffrage. Germany since 1813
-has had the “=Vaterlaendische Frauenverein=” (Patriotic Women’s League),
-a union of wonderful helpers for suffering humanity, both in peace and
-in war. Since 1865 a “General Association of German Women” tried to
-secure new rights for women, both along political and economic lines. A
-“=Society for Woman Suffrage=” was not formed before 1902. But only two
-years later the “=International Suffrage Alliance=” was formed in
-Berlin, with =Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt=, of New York, as president. The
-progressive movement in Germany took largely the form of educational and
-industrial training. And the women shared the national belief that
-education precedes every good, and that for their legal and political
-protection from injustice they might rely upon their male relatives.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  CARRIE CHAPMAN CATT.
-]
-
-In certain districts of Germany, Austria, Denmark, Hungary and Russia
-women who owned property, were permitted to cast their votes on various
-communal matters, either by proxy or in person. In Belgium, the
-Netherlands, France, Italy, Switzerland, Roumania and Bulgaria women had
-no political rights whatever, but were permitted to vote for certain
-state boards—educational, philanthropic, correctional and industrial. In
-France, women as a rule showed little sympathy with suffrage, retaining
-their racial instinct that they might accomplish more through social
-influence, personal suasion and the special charms of their sex than by
-working openly through the ballot.
-
-In Switzerland few women had the courage to seek emancipation, as those
-who favored the movement were looked upon as disreputable persons
-without regard for social laws. In Portugal and Spain women remained
-absolutely indifferent. Sweden had given women the right to vote in all
-elections, except for representatives, while Finland and Norway in 1906
-and 1907 granted full suffrage rights and eligibility to women upon
-exceedingly generous terms.
-
-Since the beginning of the 20th Century the Modern Woman’s Rights
-Movement has also caused significant changes in the status of the women
-of the Balkan States, and of the countries of the Orient and the Far
-East. Restrictions and obstacles, placed on woman by tradition and
-religious rules, have been abolished. Many Mohammedan women for instance
-appear to-day on the streets without veils, a thing that no prominent
-woman could do formerly. The establishment of girls’ schools, woman’s
-colleges, universities, woman clubs and journals mark likewise the
-progress of the movement. And in Servia, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Egypt
-and Japan exist federations of women’s clubs, which can be regarded as
-political organizations.
-
-Thus, at the beginning of the memorable year of 1914 woman throughout
-the civilized world had gained various degrees of freedom in the
-exercise of her political rights.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-                   WHY WOMEN WANT AND NEED THE VOTE.
-
-Few questions have been so universally and intensely discussed as the
-right and expediency of Woman Suffrage. Its opponents assert that the
-true woman needs no governing authority conferred upon her by law. While
-discussing this question one “gentleman” said “that the highest evidence
-of respect that man could exhibit toward woman, and the noblest service
-he could perform for her, were to vote =Nay= to the proposition that
-would take from her the diadem of pearls, the talisman of faith, hope
-and love, by which all other requests are won from men, and substitute
-for it the iron crown of authority.”
-
-The chief arguments brought forward against woman suffrage are: that the
-majority of the women never desired it, because they were already
-represented by their husbands, fathers and brothers; that there were
-already too many voters, and that by admitting women to suffrage the
-whole machinery and cost of voting would be doubled without changing the
-result; that women would not have time to perform their political duties
-without neglecting their higher duties at home; that women were too
-emotional and sentimental to be entrusted with the ballot; that women
-would cease to vote after the novelty had worn off; that the
-introduction of women into political life would increase its bitterness,
-and would abolish chivalry with its refining influence on men; that the
-franchise, in a large majority of instances, would be exercised under
-the influence of priests, parsons, and ministers, under the power of
-religious prejudice, and that religious feuds would affect political
-life much more than under present circumstances. And finally it has been
-asserted that woman suffrage would place a new and terrible strain upon
-family relations as the introduction of political disputes into domestic
-life would lead to quarrels and divorce.
-
-These arguments were answered in an editorial of the “New York American”
-of October 6, 1912, as follows:
-
-“The ballot is the weapon that men use in defending their rights. It is
-the voice with which men express their opinions, their wishes, as to
-law, in the more settled civilization where the ballot is the recognized
-power. Little by little the mass of the people—that is to say, of the
-men—have got the ballot. Originally there was no ballot. Savage tribes
-held disorganized meetings, and shouted their opinions. The loudest
-shouters won, and the man who could hit the hardest led the others.
-Little by little the big man formed his own opinions, alone reached his
-own decisions, and the others had nothing to say. The expression of
-opinion was confined to one, or to a few leaders, gathered under a
-chief, or, where religion ruled, opinion was controlled by the priests
-in the old temples making up their minds what would be good =for them=,
-and forcing their will on ignorant people. For many centuries the kings,
-the nobles and the priests ruled—and the people had nothing to say. =Men
-and women alike were without the vote.=
-
-“Little by little, the men got the vote, and now, in civilized
-countries, universal suffrage became the rule, =as regards men=. The
-women were shut out because men always have had the idea that voting was
-in some way connected with fighting. Their thoughts went back to the old
-savage mob shouting its determination to attack and kill—leaving the
-women at home. And the ignoring of women persists, although little by
-little the voting power has been used, not to make war, =but to prevent
-war=.
-
-“Now, in every country calling itself civilized, the chief use of the
-ballot is to express ideas of peace—justice. The ballot that was once
-the expression of man’s fighting quality is now the expression of his
-=better nature=, and for that reason it is time to give that ballot to
-the better half of the human race, to the women that have civilized it.
-
-“Supporters of women suffrage are, and for many years have been, the
-best men in the country. Men that are unselfish, just, scorning
-ridicule, and proud to vindicate the rights of their own mothers and
-sisters, have long demanded votes for women. The women that have worked
-and fought for the suffrage have been, beyond all comparison, the best
-women of this and other countries. Humorists used to talk of
-“short-haired women and long-haired men” as the advocates of woman
-suffrage. That is a foolish and false division. The women with good
-foreheads, earnest, gentle and dignified faces have been the advocates
-of votes for women. The women with low foreheads, plastered with hair,
-the women with their faces painted, the women with a hundred thoughts
-for dress and no thought for anything else, have been the opponents of
-women suffrage. And the men, brutal, conceited, looking upon woman as a
-piece of property, created for man’s pleasure or for his service, have
-been the men that opposed suffrage. Another class opposed to woman
-suffrage is the most dangerous class of all. That is the class that
-would keep in ignorance women, and men, too, if it could. Those that
-prey upon the ignorance and superstition of women are anxious that women
-shall know as little as possible. They do not want the women to vote,
-=for voting means thinking, and thinking means freedom=. Wherever women
-have voted they have bettered conditions.”—
-
-Lecky in his valuable book “Democracy and Liberty” writes on page 547:
-“It has been gravely alleged that the whole character of the female sex
-would be revolutionized, or at least seriously impaired, if they were
-brought by the suffrage into public life. There is perhaps no subject in
-which exaggerations so enormous and so grotesque may be found in the
-writings of considerable men. Considered in itself, the process of
-voting is now merely that of marking once in several years a
-ballot-paper in a quiet room, and it may be easily accomplished in five
-minutes. And can it reasonably be said that the time or thought which an
-average male elector bestows on the formation of his political opinions
-is such as to interfere in any appreciable degree with the currents of
-his thoughts, with the tendencies of his character or life? Men wrote on
-this subject as if public life and interests formed the main occupation
-of an ordinary voter. It is said that domestic life should be the one
-sphere of woman. Very many women—especially those to whom the vote would
-be conceded—have no domestic, or but few domestic duties to attend to,
-and are compelled, if they are not wholly frivolous or wholly apathic,
-to seek spheres of useful activity beyond their homes. Even a full
-domestic life is scarcely more absorbing to a woman than professional
-life to a man. Scarcely any woman is so engrossed in it that she cannot
-bestow on public affairs an amount of time and intelligence equal to
-that which is bestowed on it by thousands of masculine voters. Nothing
-can be more fantastic than to argue as if electors were a select body,
-mainly occupied with political studies and public interests.
-
-“Women form a great section of the community, and they have many special
-interests. The opening to them of employments, professions and
-endowments; the regulation of their labor; questions of women’s property
-and succession; the punishment of crimes against women; female
-education; laws relating to marriage, guardianship, and divorce, may all
-be cited; and in the great drink question they are even more interested
-than men, for though they are the more sober sex, they are also the sex
-which suffers most from the consequences of intemperance. With such a
-catalogue of special interests it is impossible to say that they have
-not a claim to representation.”—
-
-Among the arguments in favor of woman suffrage the most important are
-the following: As women are citizens of a Government =of= the people,
-=by= the people, and =for= the people, and =as women are people=, who
-wish to do their civic duty, it is unfair that they should be governed
-by laws in the making of which they have no voice. As women are equally
-concerned with men in good and bad government, and equally responsible
-for civic righteousness, and as they must obey the laws just as men do,
-they should vote equally with men.
-
-If it is true that “taxation without representation is tyranny” then
-tax-paying women who support the government by paying taxes, should have
-the right to vote to elect such representatives, who protect them
-against unjust taxation.
-
-Working women need the ballot to regulate the conditions under which
-they work. Millions of women are wage-earners and their health is often
-endangered by bad working conditions and sweat-shop methods that can
-only be remedied by legislation.
-
-Business women need the ballot to secure for themselves a fair
-opportunity in their business, and to protect themselves against adverse
-legislation.
-
-Mothers and housekeepers need the vote to regulate the moral and
-sanitary conditions under which their families must live. Women are
-forever told that their place is in the home. But what do men expect of
-them in the home? Merely to stay there is not enough. They are a failure
-unless they do certain things for the home. They must minister, as far
-as their means allow, to the health and welfare, moral as well as
-physical, of their family, and especially of the children. They, more
-than anybody else, are held responsible for what becomes of the
-children. Women are responsible for the cleanliness of the house, for
-the wholesomeness of the food, for their children’s health and morals.
-But mothers cannot control these things, if the neighbors are allowed to
-live in filth, if dealers are permitted to sell poor or adulterated
-food, if the plumbing in the house is unsanitary, if garbage accumulates
-and the halls and stairs are left dirty. They can take every care to
-avoid fire, but if the house has been badly built, if the fire-escapes
-are insufficient or not fire-proof, they cannot guard their children
-from the horrors of being maimed or killed by fire. They can open the
-windows to give the children the air that we are told is so necessary.
-But if the air is laden with infection and contagious diseases, they
-cannot protect the children from this danger. They can send the children
-out for air and exercise, but if the conditions that surround them in
-the streets are immoral and degrading, they cannot protect them from
-these influences. Women alone cannot make these things right. But the
-City administration can do it. The administration is elected by the
-people, to protect the interests of the people. As men hold women
-responsible for the conditions under which the children live, the women
-should have something to say about the city’s housekeeping, even if they
-must introduce an occasional house-cleaning.
-
-What enormous influence women are able to exert in vital questions has
-been demonstrated in the =Temperance Movement=; which originated in the
-United States. Since the beginning of the colonization of the Western
-Hemisphere Americans have been heavy consumers of rum, whiskey, and
-other intoxicating liquors. “Everybody drank, and on all occasions,”
-says a writer who has left us a pen picture of these bibulous days.
-Drunkenness and all the evils resulting from it increased with the
-gradual development of the “saloon” and the habit of “treating,” two
-institutions peculiar to America and almost unknown in Europe.
-
-For generations the women were the greatest sufferers from the
-intemperance of the men, because many husbands came home besotted, their
-faculties benumbed to an unconsciousness of their own degradation, with
-wages gone, and employment forfeited. The purer and gentler the wife in
-such case, the more intense her suffering. So it was but natural, that
-when the first “=Anti-Spirits Association=” was formed in 1808 in
-Greenfield, Saratoga County, New York, several women should join it. The
-movement made rapid progress, and in 1826 the “=American Temperance
-Society=” was founded. In 1829 and 1830 similar associations were
-started in Ireland and England; and in 1846 the first “=World’s
-Temperance Convention=” was held at London. In 1873 women became a real
-force in the field when the women inhabitants of Hillsborough, a small
-town in Ohio, started what became known as “The Women’s Crusade.”
-
-Frances E. Willard, one of its principal leaders, described the
-proceedings in the following graphic manner: “Usually the women came in
-a long procession from their rendezvous at some church, where they had
-held a morning prayer meeting. Marching two and two in a column, they
-entered the saloon with kind faces, and the sweet songs of church and
-home upon their lips, while some Madonna-like leader with the Gospel in
-her looks, took her stand beside the bar and gently asked if she might
-read God’s word and offer prayer. After that the ladies seated
-themselves, took their knitting or embroidery, and watched the men who
-patronized the saloons. While some of them cursed the women openly, and
-some quietly slunk out of sight, others began to sign the pledge these
-women brought with them. In the meantime one of the ladies pleaded with
-the proprietor to give up his business. Many of these liquor dealers
-surrendered and then followed stirring scenes, and amid songs and the
-ringing of the church bells the contents of barrels and bottles were
-gurgling into the gutter, while the whole town assembled to rejoice in
-this new fashion of exorcising the evil spirits.
-
-“Not everywhere the ladies met with success. In Cincinnati such a
-procession of women, including the wives of leading pastors, were
-arrested and locked up in jail; at other places dogs were set on the
-crusaders, or they were smoked out, or had the hose turned on them.”
-
-The movement, wholly emotional, and in many cases hysterical, spread
-throughout the country like a prairie fire. In 1874 it led to the
-organization of “=The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union=,” and, in
-1883, to the founding of “=The World’s Women’s Temperance Union=,” the
-members of which wear a white ribbon and have the motto: “Woman will
-bless and brighten every place she enters, and she will enter every
-place.”
-
-Since the founding of this world’s union the movement has extended over
-many countries and has branched out into a multitude of organizations.
-Their influence has been widely felt in legislatures, and in all
-elections in which laws have been voted upon for the regulation of the
-production and sale of liquors.—
-
-Another question in which women are deeply concerned is that of
-=Child-labor=, the reckless exploitation of children in the interest of
-industry. Evidences that in England the dreadful abuses, committed by
-unscrupulous mine- and factory-owners, as described in a former chapter,
-have continued to the present times, were submitted to the International
-Women’s Congress, held in 1899 in London. It was reported that at that
-time 144,026 children below the age of 12 years were employed in
-workshops, mines, factories and warehouses. Of these children 131 had
-not yet reached the age of 7 years; 1120 were under 8; 4211 under 9;
-11,027 under 10, and 122,131 under 11 years of age. Miss Montessori, the
-Italian delegate to the Congress, described the hard work of the
-children employed in the sulphur mines of Sicily. As they have to carry
-heavy loads on their shoulders through low gangways and over steep
-ladders and stairways, they are compelled to walk in a stooped position,
-and therefore in time become deformed and crippled.
-
-In the United States the question of child-labor is likewise a matter of
-deep concern to men as well as to women. As every State has its own
-Legislature, there exists a varied assortment of child-labor laws. Ten
-or fifteen years ago several states had none whatever. Others prohibited
-the employment of children under ten years, while still others had an
-age limit of twelve or fourteen years. The same diversity prevailed in
-regard to the hours of labor. Some states had no legislation in this
-direction, while others forbade any child to work longer than ten hours
-daily.
-
-During the year 1890 there was a total of 860,786 children between the
-ages of ten and fifteen years at work in various occupations in the
-United States. A report of the Bureau of Mines of Pennsylvania for 1901
-stated 24,023 of the employees of the anthracite coal mines in
-Pennsylvania were children.
-
-In 1918 investigators of the children’s bureau of the Department of
-Labor reported that the number of minors employed in factories, mines
-and quarries has increased at a rapid rate since the U. S. Supreme
-Court, on June 5th, 1918, nullified the child-labor act of 1916 as
-unconstitutional. Not only are a greatly increased number of children
-employed, but they are kept at work longer hours than before. Since the
-future of such children as well as the future of the country depend to a
-very great extent upon what legislators do in regard to children, it is
-obvious that women are deeply concerned in this question.—
-
-The need of women’s participation in government and of an “occasional
-house-cleaning” in the Legislatures as well as in the Municipal
-Administrations becomes evident, when we realize that one of the most
-revolting crimes is committed daily in our communities, quite often with
-the silent protection of corrupt officials and politicians. We refer to
-the =White Slave Trade=. As few people have any definite idea of its
-extent and terrors, some authentic facts are here given, which, at the
-same time, demonstrate men’s indifference as well as the urgent need of
-woman’s interference for its suppression.
-
-As everybody knows, the traffic in young girls for purposes of
-prostitution is as old as humanity. It has flourished in all ages and in
-all countries. But it was during the 19th Century that it found its
-systematic organization and its most extensive development.
-
-With alarming frequency, the papers report that some young woman or girl
-is “missing,” having stepped out of her home on some household errand,
-and from this moment having vanished as though swallowed by the earth.
-Such was the case of Dorothy Arnold, who some years ago left her cosy
-home in New York, to do some shopping in a department store. She never
-returned and no trace of her was ever discovered. This particular case
-attracted wide attention all over the United States, as Miss Arnold, a
-beautiful girl of eighteen, was the daughter of wealthy parents, who
-spent a fortune in desperate but futile attempts to recover their
-child.—
-
-Every year hundreds of similar cases occur in our country, some in San
-Francisco, some in New York, Baltimore, St. Louis, Chicago and
-elsewhere. If the exact number of such missing girls could be known, the
-public might well be shocked; and horrified if it would know the sad lot
-that befalls the majority of these unfortunate girls. Where efforts to
-ascertain their fate have met with success, it was found that in ninety
-out of a hundred cases such girls became victims of the most detestable
-fiends on earth, human ghouls, who make fortunes by luring innocent and
-inexperienced women into the most degrading slavery.
-
-There were many events that favored the development of the white slave
-trade. The discovery of gold in California and the construction of many
-transcontinental railroads were followed by the opening of the rich
-mining- and lumber-districts in the northwestern and western parts of
-the United States, and in Canada. In more recent years came the opening
-of the gold and diamond fields in South Africa, of the gold grounds in
-Alaska, the construction of the Panama Canal and the great
-transcontinental railroads through Siberia and Africa. All these great
-undertakings attracted many thousands of men, who were ready to squander
-their earnings in gambling, drinking and any other kind of dissipation.
-Women, of course, stood at the head of things in demand. And as there
-are always people eager to profit by catering to such passions, the
-white slave trade assumed most threatening proportions.
-
-To ensnare victims, the slave dealers insert enticing advertisements
-offering profitable positions to waitresses, chambermaids, servants,
-governesses, and other female help in hotels, boarding houses and
-private families. They send their “procurers” or agents to the
-dance-halls and cheap pleasure resorts, and to those industrial towns,
-where large numbers of poorly paid young girls toil in mills and
-factories. Here they approach their prey under all kinds of disguises
-and pretenses. One especially ingenious procurer of New York has been
-credited with gaining the acquaintance of young girls in the garb of a
-priest. And George Kibbe Turner in an article “The Daughters of the
-Poor” (published in 1910 in McClure’s Magazine) made the statement that
-a gang of such fiends worked under the name “The New York Independent
-Benevolent Association”!
-
-However, the chief recruiting-grounds for the white slave trade are the
-miserable Jewish Ghettos of Poland, Russia, Galicia, Hungary, Austria
-and Roumania, where always numbers of degraded men can be found, ready
-to sell their own kindred for any price offered. With the help of such
-procurers four principal centers of the white slave trade were created:
-Lemberg, London, Paris and New York, with branches in all parts of
-America, Africa and Asia.
-
-Of course such a villainous trade would not be possible without the
-silent protection of corrupt officials and political machines, who share
-in its enormous profits. Inside information on this subject was received
-through the disclosures, made during the latter parts of the last
-century about conditions in the mining and lumber regions of Michigan
-and Wisconsin. In January, 1887, Representative Breen appeared before
-the House Judiciary Committee of the legislature of Michigan and stated
-the existence of a regular trade in young and innocent girls for
-purposes of prostitution between Chicago, Duluth and other cities with
-the mining and lumber districts south of Lake Superior. As he said that
-the horrors of the camps into which these girls were lured beggared
-description, several newspapers, among them the “Chicago Herald” and
-“The New York World,” dispatched representatives, disguised as woodmen,
-to those regions to investigate the truth of these statements. They
-found that almost without exception the girls, kept in these camps, had
-been secured under promise of respectable employment. The houses, in
-which they were imprisoned, were surrounded by stockades twenty or
-thirty feet in height, the one door guarded night and day by a man with
-a rifle, while within were a number of bulldogs to prevent the girls
-from escaping. In the largest of such lumber camps dens from twenty to
-seventy-five girls were found.
-
-On January 24, 1887, the “New York World” published the story of an
-unfortunate girl, who had been lured by an advertisement to work in a
-lumberman’s hotel in the North. Believing the position to be
-respectable, she went there, but after her arrival at the place she was
-taken to a rough two-story building surrounded by a slab fence twenty
-feet high, within which was a cordon of bulldogs, thirteen in number,
-chained to iron stakes driven into the ground. In this place she was
-compelled, like all the other girls, of which there were always from
-eleven to thirty, to drink and dance with the men of the mining and
-lumber camps. They were not permitted to refuse any request of those
-visitors. A complaint of any kind, even of sickness, meant a whipping,
-frequently with a rawhide upon the naked body, sometimes with the butt
-of a revolver. When the log drives were going on, there would be
-hundreds of men there night and day, not human beings, but fiends.
-
-“Oh, it was awful, awful!” cried the girl after her release. “I would
-rather stay in prison until I die than go back there for one day. I
-tried to escape three times and was caught. They unchained the dogs and
-let them get so near me that I cried out in terror and begged them to
-take the dogs away and I would go back. Then, of course, I was beaten. I
-tried, too, to smuggle out notes to the Sheriff through visitors, but
-they would take them to the proprietor instead, and he would pay for
-them. Once I did get a note to the Deputy Sheriff at Florence,
-Wisconsin, and he came and inquired. But the proprietor gave him $50,
-and he went away. I was awfully beaten then. While I lived this life,
-from March until September, two inmates died, both from brutal
-treatment. They were as good as murdered. Nearly all the girls came
-without knowing the character of the house, and first implored to get
-away. The county officers came to the places to drink and dance with the
-girls. They are controlled by a rich man in Iron Mountain, who owns
-these houses and rents them for $100 a month.”
-
-That the den keepers were always on good terms with the officials,
-appears also from the following report of the “Chicago Herald” of April
-17, 1892, in which attention is called to the continuance of the
-horrible conditions in the mining- and lumber-camps. “Four years ago,
-when “The Herald” exposed the pinery dens, Marinette was known as the
-wickedest city in the country. It was the rendezvous of every species of
-bad men. Thugs, thieves and gamblers practically held possession of the
-town. Their influence was felt in all municipal affairs. Certain
-officers of the law seemed in active sympathy with them, and it was
-almost impossible to secure the arrest and conviction of men guilty of
-infamous crimes. Dives of the vilest character ran open on the outskirts
-of the town. Their inmates, recruited from all parts of the country by
-the subtle arts of well known procurers, were kept in a state of abject
-slavery. Iron balls and chains, suffocating cords and the whistling lash
-were used on refractory girls and women. Bodies of ill-starred victims
-were sometimes found in the woods, but the discovery was rarely followed
-by investigation. The dive keepers were wealthy and knew how to ease the
-conscience of any over-zealous officer.”
-
-Another report states: “Many den-keepers wield a powerful influence in
-the local elections; one of the worst of such, after paying the
-constable $12 for the return of a girl who had tried to escape, beat her
-with a revolver until tired and was then only prevented by a woodman
-from turning loose a bulldog upon her; but such was his political
-influence that he was elected justice of the peace the following
-spring!”—
-
-About the same time, at a session of the National Social Purity Congress
-held in Baltimore, the following statement was made: “Of the 230,000
-erring girls in this country, over half have been snared or sold into
-their lives of shame. Their average life is five years. Forty-six
-thousand are carted out to Potters Field every year. Over one hundred
-American homes have to be desolated every day to recruit the ranks of
-shame. Isn’t it time for somebody to try to save these girls from
-falling into those dens of iniquity? Twenty million Christians can
-rescue 230,000 erring girls, or surely the religion of Jesus Christ is a
-failure.”
-
-Terrible happenings, as for instance the murder of Ruth Cruger of New
-York in 1917, and similar cases in February and March, 1919, have
-disclosed that gangs of white slave traders still exist in America and
-do a flourishing business. The prices paid to agents depend upon the
-girl’s youth and beauty, ranging from $20 to $1000, and even more.
-
-The enormous and thoroughly organized traffic in girl-children in
-England was exposed by the revelations of the “Pall Mall Gazette,” which
-roused the people to earnest efforts against this commerce and secured
-the formation of the “Society for the Prevention of Traffic in English
-Girls.” In giving details of this traffic the paper said:
-
-“London, the great metropolis of Christian England, the largest city of
-ancient and modern times, is acknowledged by statisticians and
-sociologists to be the point where crime, vice, despair, and misery are
-found in their deepest depth and greatest diversity. Not Babylon of old,
-whose name is the synonym of all that is vile; not Rome, “Mother of
-Harlots,” not Corinth, in whose temple a thousand girls were kept for
-prostitution in service of God, not the most savage lands in all their
-barbarity have ever shown a thousandth part of the human woe to be found
-in the city of London, that culmination of modern Christian
-civilization. The nameless crimes of Sodom and Gomorrah, the vileness of
-ancient Greece, which garnered its most heroic men, its most profound
-philosophers, are but amusements among young men of the highest rank in
-England; West End, the home of rank and wealth, of university education,
-being the central hell of this extended radius of vice.”
-
-As in many countries priests and police departments have failed to stop
-this heinous traffic in young girls, women must step in, and, by their
-votes, must place such legislators and police commissioners in office,
-that proper laws and their strict enforcement can be expected.
-
-In Germany the “white slave trade” is practically unknown. For many
-years two women associations have existed,—a Protestant and a
-Catholic,—whose representatives, recognizable by distinct arm bands,
-patrol all important railway stations, in order to furnish correct
-information to incoming girls who are looking for positions, and to
-escort them to the homes of the associations, where they may stay till
-respectable places have been found for them.
-
-It is obvious, that the problems connected with the temperance question,
-child-labor and the white slave trade are of vital importance to every
-woman and mother. Salvation must come through the woman’s ballot. They
-must defend themselves and their children as men have done: by
-co-operating in the elections, by controlling those that make the laws,
-and by controlling those who are appointed to enforce them.
-
-                  *       *       *       *       *
-
-A few words may be said in regard to the claim that woman would cease to
-vote “after the novelty of her new toy had worn off.” Statistics as well
-as the testimony of competent observers confute this claim. In all
-states where women enjoy full suffrage, they have shown themselves eager
-to vote. In Idaho the Chief Justice and all the justices of the State
-Supreme Court signed a statement that “the large vote cast by the women
-establishes the fact that they take a lively interest.” In Wyoming,
-Colorado and other full suffrage states it has been observed that 90 per
-cent. of the women vote.
-
-In Australia, in 1903, at the first national election in which women
-took part, 359,315 women voted; in 1906, 431,033; in 1910, 601,946.
-
-In New Zealand the number has increased at each triennial parliamentary
-election. In 1893 90,290 women voted; in 1896, 108,793; in 1899,
-119,550; in 1902, 138,565; in 1905, 175,046; in 1908, 190,114; in 1911,
-221,858.
-
-The following is a testimonial from Sir Joseph Ward, Prime Minister of
-New Zealand, in regard to Woman Suffrage in practice:
-
-
-                                          Prime Minister’s Office,
-                                            Wellington, Oct. 17th, 1907.
-
-Woman Suffrage exists in New Zealand because it dawned upon the minds of
-thinking men that they were daily wasting an almost unlimited supply of
-mental and moral force. From the time their baby hands had found support
-and safety by holding the folds of their mother’s gowns, they had
-trusted the happiness of their lives hourly to the common sense, the
-purity and the sympathy of women. Strange to say, in one department of
-life alone, and that perhaps the most important, viz.: the political,
-had they denied the right of speech and of direct influence to women.
-Men of different countries had for centuries preached and written of
-evils which deformed their systems of Government and even tainted the
-aspirations of statesmen for just laws within the state, and equitable
-relations abroad. Nevertheless these men neglected, or refused to avail
-themselves of the support and counsel of women’s hearts and women’s
-brains, which they accepted on other matters. Indeed, they were ready to
-listen to foolish arguments against the idea of women entering political
-life; such as: women would lose their grace, modesty, and love of home
-if they voted; since they could not be soldiers, they had no right to
-control questions of peace and war.
-
-In New Zealand we have not found that making a “pencil mark on a voting
-paper” once in three years has resulted in any loss of grace or beauty
-among our women, or even in neglect of home duties. On the contrary the
-women’s vote has had a distinctly clarifying effect on the process of
-elections. The old evil memories of election day, the ribaldry, the
-fighting, have been succeeded by a decorous gravity befitting people
-exercising their highest national privilege. When the contention, that
-women should not be entitled to vote because they cannot bear arms, is
-used by one whose mother could only make his life and citizenship
-possible by passing through pain and danger greater than the average
-soldier has to face, it becomes inconsistently ridiculous. Besides, many
-men (clergymen, government officials, etc., etc.), are exempt from
-actual military service, and that fact has never been used to deprive
-them of a vote. The main argument, however, which weighed with us, was
-that of right, of abstract right. If the foundation of government is the
-consent of the governed, it appears monstrously unfair that one half of
-the population should not be represented or have any share in it.
-Therefore, after long and grave consideration, we gave our women an
-equal right with men in deciding on the qualifications of candidates to
-represent them in Parliament.
-
-We have no reason to regret the decision. I feel confident that if any
-great crisis in national morals should arise, the women’s vote would
-press with irresistable weight in the direction of clean, honest and
-efficient legislation. New Zealand has not repented having abolished set
-disqualifications among those men and women who have unitedly helped to
-build the foundations of a nation. I write as one who advocated the
-extension of the franchise to women before my entry into Parliament
-twenty years ago. I have always supported it in Parliament, and, while
-closely watching its effect, have never seen any genuine cause for
-believing that it has not worked for the good of the Dominion.
-
-
-Similar testimonials have been given by the governors of all Western
-States of the Union.
-
-Governor Bryant B. Brooks of Wyoming said: “Nothing can be so far from
-the truth as the idea that Woman Suffrage has the slightest tendency to
-disrupt the home. Indeed it has the very opposite effect. As a result of
-it politics is talked freely in the family circle, and political
-questions are settled by intelligent discussion. This has a great and
-good influence on the growing generation. The children grow up in an
-atmosphere that encourages intelligent consideration and debate of
-public problems, and are thus better equipped to deal with public
-questions when they reach voting age.”
-
-Governor Shafroth of Colorado said: “Our State has Woman Suffrage for
-many years, and has found it of inestimable benefit to her people,” and
-Governor James H. Brady of Idaho said: “Woman Suffrage has been an
-unqualified success, not only in Idaho, but in all Western States
-adopting the principle.”
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  PREPARING BANDAGES.
-]
-
-
-                 WOMAN’S ACTIVITY DURING THE WORLD WAR.
-
-When in August, 1914, the most dreadful disaster that ever befell
-humanity burst upon the European nations, women at first stood paralyzed
-with fear and terror, foreseeing the tremendous burden and sacrifices
-they would have to bear. But after every hope for a peaceful solution
-had vanished and nothing remained but to face the inevitable, they
-rallied and prepared to weather the coming hurricane.
-
-The manner in which they met it during the long and terrible years of
-1914, 1915, 1916, 1917 and 1918 was perhaps the greatest revelation the
-world has ever experienced. Never before have members of the “weaker
-sex” braved such a catastrophe more heroically and made such supreme
-sacrifices. In fact, woman’s activity during the World War has been a
-grand manifestation, which stands out in glorious colors from a black
-background of man’s hatred, revengefulness, slander, calumniation,
-treason, avarice, atrocities, and murder.
-
-When the vast armies were mobilized it became necessary to close the
-innumerable gaps caused by the sudden drafting and departure of so many
-million men. To refill the positions they had occupied, was the most
-urgent necessity, as otherwise the whole machinery of national life
-would become disorganized, and that at the most critical time.
-
-At once immense numbers of women and girls responded to the call. They
-went into the tramway and railway service to act as ticket sellers and
-punchers, as conductors, brakemen and motormen. They replaced the letter
-carriers and chauffeurs; they climbed the lofty seats formerly occupied
-by cab-drivers and postilions. Mounting motor-cycles they delivered
-telegrams and performed other urgent errands. They formed
-street-cleaning and fire-brigades and took care of the sanitation and
-protection of the cities. In the offices and stores they assumed the
-duties of the bookkeeper and floor-walker; in the schools they
-substituted for male teachers who had followed the call of the war
-trumpet. They repaired telegraph-wires and installed telephones; they
-became blacksmiths and repaired the roofs of houses. They cleaned
-windows and chimneys, delivered newspapers and carried the coal from the
-wagon into the bins and bunkers. They acted as “ice-men” and collected
-the garbage and ashes. They tilled the fields and vegetable gardens, and
-brought in the crops and the harvests. They thrashed the wheat and
-served in the mills as well as in the bakeries. They furnished clothes,
-and made and mended shoes. They finished the public roads and other
-works that had been left uncompleted. They built houses and tore down
-others. In Berlin the excavation for a new underground railway, badly
-needed, was done by women, and half of the gangs that worked on the
-railroad tracks were made up of girls.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  WOMEN FILLING SHELLS IN A BRITISH AMMUNITION FACTORY.
-]
-
-In England as well as in France and Germany thousands of women could be
-seen in the ship-yards working side by side with men on the scaffolds,
-at bolting and riveting, forging and casting, as if they had always done
-this work. In fact, women did everything that heretofore had been
-regarded as “man’s work.”
-
-But they did much more. Hundreds of thousands of women entered the gun-
-and ammunition factories in order that the armies might not lack ample
-means for the defense of the country.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  WOMEN IN A SHELL FACTORY.
-]
-
-Donning overalls, oil-cloth caps and gas masks they became engaged in
-the hazardous manufacture of high explosives, of filling and packing the
-deadly gas-shells and other projectiles. At the same time millions of
-busy hands prepared the bandages and other necessities for the treatment
-of the wounded. Whole brigades of Red Cross nurses were formed and went
-to the battlefields and hospitals, to attend those who in the grim
-conflict might lose their limbs, their eye-sight, or become sufferers
-from the effect of poisonous gases.
-
-All too soon long trains and hospital-ships brought in such
-unfortunates, at first a few hundred, then in ever increasing numbers,
-by the thousands and by tens of thousands. Within a few months most of
-the countries engaged in the dreadful struggle were turned into immense
-hospitals, filled with moaning and suffering. What noble and
-indefatigable women did here to alleviate this misery and distress, can
-never be fully told and will never be forgotten. Whoever was witness of
-the self-control and perseverance shown year after year by many Red
-Cross nurses will always think of them with reverence.
-
-There is not a single Army Medical Corps of the many nations engaged in
-the World War, which does not freely admit, that the immense amount of
-work could not have been done without the help of women. In a tribute to
-the Red Cross Major-General Merritte W. Ireland, Surgeon-General U. S.
-Army, said:
-
-“Probably the greatest single service rendered by the Red Cross home
-forces was the supply of trained nurses it furnished our hospitals. The
-Army Medical Corps trains a few nurses, but could never hope to turn out
-the large number provided through Miss Delano’s department. If we needed
-a thousand nurses for a given work, we telegraphed the War Department.
-The War Department notified Miss Delano. And the nurses arrived on
-schedule.
-
-“An especially notable service rendered by Red Cross nurses occurred
-during the early American campaign when our men were brigaded with
-French divisions. When wounded, they were, of course, taken to French
-hospitals. Unable to answer questions or tell their needs, they were in
-a very unhappy plight. Scores of Red Cross nurses speaking both French
-and English were immediately sent to these hospitals—and the problem was
-solved.
-
-“The work of the Red Cross was often the theme of discussions at
-American General Headquarters at Chaumont. I remember that it was
-enlarged upon there in a conversation between General Pershing, Mr. H.
-P. Davison, the Chairman of the War Council of the American Red Cross,
-and myself. We were speaking of the value of the service rendered by the
-millions of our women and how they helped keep the influence of home
-about the boys at the front. And General Pershing said: “The women of
-the United States deserve a large share of the credit for the success of
-the American forces.”
-
-“Our Army officers have often admired not only the spirit but the
-efficiency of the American Red Cross organization. It provided an
-inexhaustible store of supplies; it possessed a remarkable facility for
-adapting itself to any emergency, however unexpected; and its personnel
-always evinced the finest readiness for co-operation. The millions of
-surgical dressings, knitted articles, refugee garments, and other
-supplies it contributed—for these things alone it would have deserved
-the Army’s unstinted praise. All the splints used in all our hospitals
-in France, both of the Army and of the Red Cross, came from the Red
-Cross. It furnished more than a quarter of a billion surgical dressings.
-It sent over enough sweaters for every man in our overseas forces to
-possess one.”
-
-Similar tributes have been freely extended to the nurses of all other
-Red Cross branches, which co-operated with the Medical Corps of the
-various powers engaged in the terrible war.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  A GOOD SAMARITAN.
-]
-
-While performing their merciful work, many women had to bear the
-depressing anxiety caused by husbands, sons, or brothers, fighting in
-the trenches or on the ocean; or for those unfortunates who as prisoners
-had fallen into the hands of the enemy.
-
-The women of the Central powers had to face many additional problems of
-the most perplexing nature. As the soil of Germany and Austria does not
-yield enough to support the whole population, and as all imports of
-foodstuffs were cut off by hostile fleets, provisions became more scarce
-and more expensive from day to day. There was not sufficient milk to
-keep the millions of babies alive; and not enough food to save adults
-from slow starvation. To stretch the scant supplies the most careful and
-rigid methods of administration had to be invented and applied. Public
-kitchens were established to reduce the cost of living to the lowest
-point possible. In Berlin twenty-three committees of the National
-Women’s Service with several thousand voluntary workers were running
-such charitable kitchens, from which tens of thousands regularly
-received their daily meals. The same organizations later on supervised
-the system of bread-, milk-, grocery- and butter-cards, when the
-increasing shortage of food forced the governments to the severest
-restrictions.
-
-Among the many German relief organizations those of the Red Cross took
-the leading place. Originally divided into five main sections under the
-general control of a central committee and designed to combat of
-sickness and destitution in the civil population, it now was increased
-to twenty-three divisions. Their welfare work assumed such importance
-during the progress of the war that it had to be subdivided into three
-groups, the first of which became engaged in fighting tuberculosis and
-contagious diseases, the second in the protection of infancy and
-motherhood, the third in family welfare work in the narrower meaning of
-the term. In all these branches the organization of the Red Cross
-provided the framework within which the numerous national, state and
-local social activities of the country grouped themselves naturally in
-accordance with their separate functions.
-
-The activity of the organizations during the years 1917, 1918, and 1919,
-the dreadful years of general distress and starvation, forms one of the
-most pathetic chapters in woman’s history. Not only the food, but the
-cotton, wool, leather, rubber, fat, oil, soap, and hundreds of other
-necessities gave out completely. People were compelled to live on
-substitutes. And as these became too scarce or too expensive, they lived
-on substitutes for these substitutes. Imagine the heartrending pain
-mothers were bearing when at the end of 1918 and in 1919 large numbers
-of mayors of German cities and numerous professors of medicine were
-compelled to send urgent appeals for help to all medical faculties of
-the world, stating that since the signing of the truce 800,000 people in
-Germany had died from starvation. “Many millions of human beings,” one
-of the appeals reads, “are living on only half or even less than half
-the quantity of food necessary to sustain life. Utterly exhausted they
-have lost all power of resistance and succumb to any kind of sickness
-that may befall them. The worst sufferers are the children and those
-mothers, who fast for the sake of their children. There are too the
-neurasthenics of all kinds, the numbers of which have, for four years,
-increased immensely. Furthermore, there are the overworked, and those
-who have become sick through the unheard-of monotony of food and from
-the absolute absence of every stimulant. Their existence becomes more
-unbearable from day to day. While the physicians of Germany are
-profoundly impressed with the terrible ravages caused by hunger, they
-have absolutely no means of combating them.”
-
-                  *       *       *       *       *
-
-While during these dreadful times millions of women devoted themselves
-to the noble work of healing the terrible wounds and sufferings, other
-groups eagerly tried to bring about a cessation of hostilities.
-Immediately after the first declaration of war, the “International Woman
-Suffrage Alliance” directed an urgent appeal to the British Foreign
-Office as well as to all Foreign Embassies in London, to leave untried
-no method of conciliation or arbitration to avert the threatening
-disaster. Numerous women’s societies in Holland, Sweden, Germany and
-Switzerland arose simultaneously and joined the good cause. Soon a great
-movement for peace began to sweep through the women of the entire world.
-
-But women’s efforts to bring the conflict to a standstill lacked as yet
-the necessary strength. They were overpowered by the influence and
-machinations of those statesmen, financiers, publishers of newspapers
-and countless others, who wanted war. And so nothing remained for women
-but to repeat ever and again their protests against the madness of men.
-
-When in December, 1914, suffering Christianity prepared to celebrate the
-natal day of the Messiah, the Prince of Peace, a noble-minded woman of
-London, =Miss Emily Hobhouse=, wrote the following letter:
-
-
- “To American Women, Friends of Humanity and Peace!
-
-“Friends:—May I appeal to you in the name of Humanity, on behalf of the
-children of Europe, before whom suffering or death has already taken
-place, and whose future is fraught with pain? In you lies our hope of
-help for them, for you are free to speak and act.
-
-“Will you not come to our troubled world, unite with the women of other
-neutral lands and initiate a crusade—a real ‘holy’ war, fought with the
-swords of the Spirit?
-
-“Appalling as is this massacre of the manhood of Europe, that is not the
-worst. As long as men adopt barbaric methods of settling disputes they
-must abide by the consequences; but for those innocent victims, the
-non-combatants—women, babes, old and sick—I crave your help. Their names
-and numbers will never be known. They are multiplying in Poland and
-Galicia, in Belgium and France, in East Prussia and Holland, and
-elsewhere. Ponder this vast host, voiceless, suffering, dying, crouching
-beside their blackened ruins or fleeing from the devastated areas both
-east and west. Think of disease let loose, of the horrors of cold and
-famine!
-
-“I know it is not easy to visualize details of conditions so foreign to
-average experience. It needs a mental effort few can make. It is because
-I was daily witness of such things in the South African War that I dare
-not be silent. Disease, devastation, starvation and death were words I
-then learned as war interprets them. I saw a country burnt and
-devastated as large parts of Europe are to-day; I saw old and sick,
-women and children turned out of house and home; I saw them, half clad,
-starving, lying sick to death upon the bare earth; I saw babies that
-were born in open, crowded trucks; I saw haggard, endless sick, gaunt
-skeletons, hourly deaths. There in the Boer States death swept away
-non-combatants in the proportion of five to one of those who fell in the
-field.
-
-“It is because I know the brunt of this war, too, is falling and must
-fall, heaviest upon the weak and young, that I appeal now on their
-behalf, not merely to those who love peace, but to the great body of
-women who love children. Little children, more sensitive to exposure, to
-extremes of heat and cold, to tainted food, to starvation, and to the
-stench, the poisonous stench of war, quickly fade, quickly die.
-
-“Will you not arise and work for peace?—For peace alone can save the
-children. It would be, I well know, a struggle against powers of
-darkness and will need the whole armor of God. Yet every sentiment of
-pity and of civilization, leave alone Christianity, demands the effort.
-The victims cannot help themselves; succor must come from without.
-
-“Relief, we know, you pour most generously, but relief cannot meet a
-want so colossal, neither can it touch the worst ills. Cut at the root
-of the evil—the war itself. A strong lead is needed. Myriads want peace;
-they never wanted war. In each country this is true; constant proofs
-reach us from Germany and France, as well as various parts of England.
-The press of each nation asserts that the people are unanimous for war.
-It is not so, but those who have the means of speaking, and who swim
-with their governmental streams, can speak the loudest and alone are
-heard. Many dare not, many cannot speak. Others make a truce and save
-thousands of human lives and receive the blessings of thousands of wives
-and mothers.
-
-“A union of neutral women could investigate the facts of the sufferings
-amongst non-combatants, and founded upon acquired personal knowledge
-they could in the name of Humanity formulate demands persistent, cogent,
-irresistible, not in favor of any one party or nation, but simply for
-Peace.
-
-“It seems futile to turn to statesmen, governments or prelates for aid.
-They are tied and bound by position, custom and mutual fear. They await
-propitious movements. Famine, disease and death do not wait.
-
-“=Women have this advantage: they are still unfettered by custom and
-expediency; they need consult only the dictates of humanity. If ever the
-world needed their intervention on a vast scale, it needs it now!=
-
-“Failure in such a task would have no fears for them; failure in a noble
-effort is often a measure to success! The greatest have seemed to fail.
-Judged by human standards, Christ’s life on earth was a failure. =The
-effort in any case would leave its mark upon the thought and history of
-the world. Womanhood will have arisen in vindication of a higher
-humanity—to avenge desolated motherhood and protect martyred children;
-it will have asserted its right to shield the weak and young from the
-fatal results of the organized murder called war.=”
-
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  MISS JANE ADDAMS.
-]
-
-The appeal was not made in vain. The day after its receipt a number of
-prominent American women called a convention in Washington, D. C., on
-January 10th, 1915. =Miss Jane Addams= of Chicago acted as chairman. The
-result of this meeting was the organization of the “=Woman’s Peace
-Party=,” which adopted the following
-
-
-                         Preamble and Platform.
-
-“We women of the United States, assembled in behalf of World Peace,
-grateful for the security of our own country, but sorrowing for the
-misery of all involved in the present struggle among warring nations, do
-hereby band ourselves together to demand that war be abolished.
-
-“Equally with men pacifists, we understand that planned-for, legalized,
-wholesale, human slaughter is to-day the sum of all villainies.
-
-“=As women, we feel a peculiar moral passion of revolt against both the
-cruelty and the waste of war. As women, we are especially the custodians
-of the life of the ages.= We will not longer consent to its reckless
-destruction.
-
-“=As women, we are particularly charged with the future of childhood and
-with the care of the helpless and the unfortunate.= We will not longer
-endure without protest that added burden of maimed and invalid men and
-poverty-stricken widows and orphans which war places upon us.
-
-“=As women, we have builded by the patient drudgery of the past the
-basic foundation of the home and of peaceful industry.= We will not
-longer accept without a protest, that must be heard and heeded by men,
-that hoary evil which in an hour destroys the social structure that
-centuries of toil have reared.
-
-“=As women, we are called upon to start each generation onward toward a
-better humanity.= We will not longer tolerate without determined
-opposition that denial of the sovereignty of reason and justice by which
-war and all that makes war to-day render impotent the idealism of the
-race.
-
-“Therefore, as human beings and the mother half of humanity, we demand
-that our right to be consulted in the settlement of questions concerning
-not alone the life of individuals but of nations be recognized and
-respected.
-
-“We demand that women be given a share in deciding between war and peace
-in all the courts of high debate—within the home, the school, the
-church, the industrial order, and the state.
-
-“So protesting, and so demanding, we hereby form ourselves into a
-national organization to be called the =Woman’s Peace Party=.
-
-“We hereby adopt the following as our platform of principles, some of
-the items of which have been accepted by a majority vote, and more of
-which have been the unanimous choice of those attending the conference
-that initiated the formation of this organization. We have sunk all
-differences of opinion on minor matters and given freedom of expression
-to a wide divergence of opinion in the details of our platform and in
-our statement of explanation and information, in a common desire to make
-our woman’s protest against war and all that makes for war, vocal,
-commanding and effective. We welcome to our membership all who are in
-substantial sympathy with that fundamental purpose of our organization,
-whether or not they can accept in full our detailed statement of
-principles.
-
-
-                               Platform.
-
-“The Purpose of this Organization is to enlist all American women in
-arousing the nations to respect the sacredness of human life and to
-abolish war. The following is adopted as our platform:
-
- 1.  The immediate calling of a convention of neutral nations in the
-       interest of early peace.
-
- 2.  Limitation of armaments and the nationalization of their
-       manufacture.
-
- 3.  Organized opposition to militarism in our own country.
-
- 4.  Education of youth in the ideals of peace.
-
- 5.  Democratic control of foreign policies.
-
- 6.  The further humanizing of governments by the extension of the
-       franchise to women.
-
- 7.  “Concert of Nations” to supersede “Balance of Power.”
-
- 8.  Action toward the gradual organization of the world to substitute
-       Law for War.
-
- 9.  The substitution of an international police for rival armies and
-       navies.
-
- 10. Removal of the economic causes of war.
-
- 11. The appointment by our Government of a commission of men and women,
-       with an adequate appropriation, to promote international peace.”
-
-In the meantime women of other countries had not remained idle. =Dr.
-Aletta H. Jacobs=, President of the Dutch National Society for Woman
-Suffrage, directed a letter to the most prominent women societies of
-various nations, saying that it was of the greatest importance to bring
-those women, representing the women societies of the world, together in
-an =international meeting in a neutral country=, to show “that in =these
-dreadful times, in which so much hate has been spread among the
-different nations, the women at least retained their solidarity and that
-they were able to maintain mutual friendship=.” At the same time she
-suggested to hold this International Congress in Holland, and offered to
-make the necessary arrangements.
-
-While many women welcomed this first effort to renew international
-relations it was only natural that, especially in belligerent countries,
-a fierce criticism should be directed against this daring move. This
-criticism came even from some of the women’s organizations. “It was to
-be impossible to hold the Congress! No one would attend! Even if the
-Congress were held the nationalities would quarrel amongst themselves!”
-But those who had undertaken the work were not deterred by this
-criticism, but encouraged by many enthusiastic responses. The
-announcement that Miss Jane Addams had accepted the invitation to
-preside at the Congress gave courage to all who were working for it. And
-so the memorable “=International Congress of Women for Permanent Peace=”
-came to pass. It was held at the Hague from April 28 to May 1, 1915, and
-attended by 1136 delegates and a large number of visitors. The countries
-represented were Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Great
-Britain, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United
-States of America.
-
-In her address of Welcome, Dr. Aletta H. Jacobs, the President of the
-Executive Committee, said: “In arranging this International Congress we
-have naturally had to put aside all thoughts of a festive reception, we
-have simply endeavored to receive you in such a way that you may feel
-assured of our sympathy, our mutual sisterly feelings, our goodwill to
-link the nations together again in the bonds of fellowship and trustful
-co-operation.
-
-“With mourning in our hearts we stand united here. We grieve for the
-many brave young men, who have lost their lives in barbaric fratricide
-before even attaining their full manhood; we mourn with the poor mothers
-bereft of their sons; with thousands and thousands of young widows and
-fatherless children; we will not endure in this Twentieth Century
-civilization, that governments shall longer tolerate brute force as the
-only method of solving their international disputes. The culture of
-centuries standing and the progress of science must no longer be
-recklessly employed to perfect the implements of modern warfare. The
-accumulated knowledge, handed down to us through the ages, must no
-longer be used to kill and to destroy and to annihilate the products of
-centuries of toil.
-
-“Our cry of protest must be heard at last. Too long already has the
-mother-heart of woman suffered in silence. O, I know and feel most
-strongly, that it is impossible that a world-fire, such as has been
-blazing forth for the last nine months, can be extinguished, until the
-last bit of inflamable material has been reduced to ashes, but I also
-feel most strongly that we must raise our voices now, if the new era of
-civilization that will arise from these ashes is to rest upon a more
-substantial basis, a basis on which the women with their inherent
-conserving and pacific qualities shall have the opportunity to assist
-men in conducting the world’s affairs.
-
-“We women judge war differently from men. Men consider in the first
-place its economic results. What it costs in money, its loss or its gain
-to national commerce and industries, the extension of power and so
-forth. But what is material loss to us women, in comparison to the
-number of fathers, brothers, husbands and sons who march out to war
-never to return. We women consider above all the damage to the race
-resulting from war, and the grief, the pain and misery it entails. We
-know only too well that whatever may be gained by a war, it is not worth
-the bloodshed and the tears, the cruel sufferings, the wasted lives, the
-agony and despair it has caused.
-
-“Important as are the economic interests of a country, the interests of
-the race are more vital. And, since by virtue of our womanhood, these
-interests are to us of greater sanctity and value, women must have a
-voice in the governments of all countries.
-
-“Not until women can bring direct influence to bear upon Governments,
-not until in the parliaments the voice of the women is heard mingling
-with that of the men, shall we have the power to prevent recurrence of
-such catastrophes.
-
-“The Governments of the world, based on the insight of the half of
-humanity, have failed to find a right solution of how to settle
-international disputes. We therefore feel it more and more strongly,
-that it is the duty, the sacred duty of every woman, to stand up now and
-claim her share with men in the government of the world. Only when women
-are in the parliaments of all nations, only when women have a political
-voice and vote, will they have the power effectively to demand that
-international disputes shall be solved as they ought to be, by a court
-of arbitration or conciliation. Therefore on a programme of the
-conditions whereby wars in future may be avoided, the question of woman
-suffrage should not be lacking, on the contrary, it should have the
-foremost place.
-
-“May this Congress be the dawn of a better world, a world in which each
-realizes that it is good to serve one’s own country, but that above the
-interests of one’s Country stand the interests of humanity, by serving
-which a still higher duty is fulfilled.”—
-
-The business sessions, presided over by Miss Jane Addams, led to the
-adoption of the following resolutions:
-
-
-                           I. WOMEN AND WAR.
-
-
-1. Protest.
-
-We women, in International Congress assembled, protest against the
-madness and the horror of war, involving as it does a reckless sacrifice
-of human life and the destruction of so much that humanity has labored
-through centuries to build up.
-
-
-2. Women’s Sufferings in War.
-
-This International Congress of Women opposes the assumption that women
-can be protected under the conditions of modern warfare. It protests
-vehemently against the odious wrongs of which women are the victims in
-time of war, and especially against the horrible violation of women
-which attends all war.
-
-
-                       II. ACTION TOWARDS PEACE.
-
-
-3. The Peace Settlement.
-
-This International Congress of Women of different nations, classes,
-creeds and parties is united in expressing sympathy with the suffering
-of all, whatever their nationality, who are fighting for their country
-or laboring under the burden of war.
-
-Since the mass of the people in each of the countries now at war believe
-themselves to be fighting, not as aggressors but in self-defence and for
-their national existence, there can be no irreconcilable differences
-between them, and their common ideals afford a basis upon which a
-magnanimous and honorable peace might be established. The Congress
-therefore urges the Governments of the world to put an end to this
-bloodshed, and to begin peace negotiations. It demands that the peace
-which follows shall be permanent and therefore based on principles of
-justice, including those laid down in the resolutions 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9
-adopted by this Congress.
-
-
-4. Continuous Mediation.
-
-This International Congress of Women resolves to ask the neutral
-countries to take immediate steps to create a conference of neutral
-nations which shall without delay offer continuous mediation. The
-Conference shall invite suggestions for settlement from each of the
-belligerent nations and in any case shall submit to all of them
-simultaneously, reasonable proposals as a basis of peace.
-
-
-                 III. PRINCIPLES OF A PERMANENT PEACE.
-
-
-5. Respect for Nationality.
-
-This International Congress of Women, recognizing the right of the
-people to self-government, affirms that there should be no transference
-of territory without the consent of the men and women residing therein,
-and urges that autonomy and a democratic parliament should not be
-refused to any people.
-
-
-6. Arbitration and Conciliation.
-
-This International Congress of Women, believing that war is the negation
-of progress and civilization, urges the governments of all nations to
-come to an agreement to refer future international disputes to
-arbitration and conciliation.
-
-
-7. International Pressure.
-
-This International Congress of Women urges the governments of all
-nations to come to an agreement to unite in bringing social, moral and
-economic pressure to bear upon any country, which resorts to arms
-instead of referring its case to arbitration or conciliation.
-
-
-8. Democratic Control of Foreign Policy.
-
-Since War is commonly brought about not by the mass of the people, who
-do not desire it, but by groups representing particular interests, this
-International Congress of Women urges that Foreign Politics shall be
-subject to Democratic Control; and declares that it can only recognize
-as democratic a system which includes the equal representation of men
-and women.
-
-
-9. The Enfranchisement of Women.
-
-Since the combined influence of the women of all countries is one of the
-strongest forces for the prevention of war, and since women can only
-have full responsibility and effective influence when they have equal
-political rights with men, this International Congress of Women demands
-their political enfranchisement.
-
-
-                    IV. INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION.
-
-
-10. Third Hague Conference.
-
-This International Congress of Women urges that a third Hague Conference
-be convened immediately after the war.
-
-
-11. International Organization.
-
-This International Congress of Women urges that the organization of the
-Society of Nations should be further developed on the basis of a
-constructive peace, and that it should include:
-
-_a._ As a development of the Hague Court of Arbitration, a permanent
-International Court of Justice to settle questions or differences of a
-justifyable character, such as arise on the interpretation of treaty
-rights or of the law of nations.
-
-_b._ As a development of the constructive work of the Hague Conference,
-a permanent International Conference holding regular meetings in which
-women should take part, to deal not with the rules of warfare but with
-practical proposals for further International Co-operation among the
-States. This Conference should be so constituted that it could formulate
-and enforce those principles of justice, equity and goodwill in
-accordance with which the struggles of subject communities could be more
-fully recognized and the interests and rights not only of the great
-Powers and small Nations but also those of weaker countries and
-primitive peoples gradually adjusted under an enlightened international
-public opinion.
-
-This International Conference shall appoint:
-
-A permanent Council of Conciliation and Investigation for the settlement
-of international differences arising from economic competition,
-expanding commerce, increasing population and changes in social and
-political standards.
-
-
-12. General Disarmament.
-
-The International Congress of Women, advocating universal disarmament
-and realizing that it can only be secured by international agreement,
-urges, as a step to this end, that all countries should, by such an
-international agreement, take over the manufacture of arms and munitions
-of war and should control all international traffic in the same. It sees
-in the private profits accruing from the great armament factories a
-powerful hindrance to the abolition of war.
-
-
-13. Commerce and Investments.
-
-_a._ The International Congress of Women urges that in all countries
-there shall be liberty of commerce, that the seas shall be free and the
-trade routes open on equal terms to the shipping of all nations.
-
-_b._ Inasmuch as the investment by capitalists of one country in the
-resources of another and the claims arising therefrom are a fertile
-source of international complications, this International Congress of
-Women urges the widest possible acceptance of the principle that such
-investments shall be made at the risk of the investor, without claim to
-the official protection of his government.
-
-
-14. National Foreign Policy.
-
-_a._ This International Congress of Women demands that all secret
-treaties shall be void and that for the ratification of future treaties,
-the participation of at least the legislature of every government shall
-be necessary.
-
-_b._ This International Congress of Women recommends that National
-Commissions be created, and International Conferences convened for the
-scientific study and elaboration of the principles and conditions of
-permanent peace, which might contribute to the development of an
-International Federation.
-
-These Commissions and Conferences should be recognized by the
-Governments and should include women in their deliberations.
-
-
-15. Women in National and International Politics.
-
-This International Congress of Women declares it to be essential, both
-nationally and internationally, to put into practice the principle that
-women should share all civil and political rights and responsibilities
-on the same terms as men.
-
-
-                     V. THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN.
-
-
-=16.= This International Congress of Women urges the necessity of so
-directing the education of children that their thoughts and desires may
-be directed towards the ideal of constructive peace.
-
-
-             VI. WOMEN AND THE PEACE SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE.
-
-
-=17.= This International Congress of Women urges, that in the interests
-of lasting peace and civilization the Conference which shall frame the
-Peace settlement after the war should pass a resolution affirming the
-need in all countries of extending the parliamentary franchise to women.
-
-
-=18.= This International Congress of Women urges that representatives of
-the people should take part in the conference that shall frame the peace
-settlement after the war, and claims that amongst them women should be
-included.
-
-
-                        VII. ACTION TO BE TAKEN.
-
-
-19. Women’s Voice in the Peace Settlement.
-
-This International Congress of Women resolves that an international
-meeting of women shall be held in the same place and at the same time as
-the Conference of the Powers which shall frame the terms of the peace
-settlement after the war for the purpose of presenting practical
-proposals to that Conference.
-
-
-20. Envoys to the Governments.
-
-In order to urge the Governments of the world to put an end to this
-bloodshed and to establish a just and lasting peace, this International
-Congress of Women delegates envoys to carry the message expressed in the
-Congress Resolutions to the rulers of the belligerent and neutral
-nations of Europe and to the President of the United States.
-
-These Envoys shall be women of both neutral and belligerent nations,
-appointed by the International Committee of this Congress. They shall
-report the result of their missions to the International Women’s
-Committee for Constructive Peace as a basis for further action.
-
-                  *       *       *       *       *
-
-The memorable Congress adjourned on May 1. In closing the sessions
-Miss Addams said: “This is the first International Congress of Women
-met in the cause of peace in the necessity brought about by the
-greatest war the world has ever seen. For three days we have met
-together, so conscious of the bloodshed and desolation surrounding us,
-that all irrelevant and temporary matters fell away and we spoke
-solemnly to each other of the great and eternal issues as to those who
-meet around the bedside of the dying. We have been able to preserve
-good will and good fellowship, we have considered in perfect harmony
-and straightforwardness the most difficult propositions, and we part
-better friends than we met. It seems to me most significant that women
-have been able to do this at this moment and that they have done it,
-in my opinion, extremely well.
-
-“We have formulated our message and given it to the world to heed when
-it will, confident that at last the great Court of International Opinion
-will pass righteous judgment upon all human affairs.”—
-
-In accordance with Paragraph 20 of the resolutions the members of the
-different delegations appointed to present the resolutions to the rulers
-of the belligerent and neutral nations of Europe and to the President of
-the United States of America began their work on May 7th. Various
-delegations with Miss Addams and Dr. Jacobs as speakers, were received
-on that day in the Hague by Prime Minister Cort van der Linden; on May
-13th and 14th in London by Foreign Minister Sir Edward Grey and Prime
-Minister Asquith; on May 21st and 22d in Berlin by Foreign Minister von
-Jagow and Chancellor von Bethmann Hollweg; on May 26th in Vienna by
-Foreign Minister von Burian; on May 30th in Buda Pest by Prime Minister
-von Tisza; on June 2d in Berne by Foreign Minister Hoffmann and
-President Motta; on June 4th and 5th in Rome by Foreign Minister
-Sonnino, and Prime Minister Salandra; on June 8th by the Pope; on June
-12th and 14th in Paris by Foreign Minister Delcassé and Prime Minister
-Viviani; and on June 16th in Havre by the Foreign Minister of Belgium,
-M. d’Avignon. Other delegations submitted the resolutions to the Prime
-Ministers of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Russia. The resolutions were
-likewise sent to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of all countries not
-visited by the delegates, and to President Woodrow Wilson.—
-
-That all these efforts by noble-minded women, to secure the cessation of
-hostilities, failed, is a grave reproach to those men who directed the
-war. Blinded by hate and revenge they insisted that the murderous
-struggle be carried on to the bitter end. And to do this unhindered and
-unmolested, they decried all “pacifists” as despicable creatures to whom
-no attention should be paid. To speak of peace was made a crime, equal
-to illoyalty and sedition, and so the resolutions of the Woman’s Peace
-Conference were drowned under waves of detraction and calumny.
-
-One of the most glaring examples of this sort of warfare was that of
-=Miss Jeanette Rankin=, who in 1917 had been sent by the State of
-Montana as the first woman member to the House of Representatives. Her
-first act in this body was very dramatic. When on the memorable April
-6th, 1917, the House voted on the question, if the United States should
-enter the World War, she answered the call with the words: “I love my
-country and I want to stand by it. But I cannot vote for war! No!” After
-these words she sank, tears in her eyes, into her chair. Although Miss
-Rankin had without doubt expressed the feeling of the overwhelming
-majority of American women, she nevertheless excited the wrath of the
-notorious “National Security League,” who in 1918 defeated the
-re-election of Miss Rankin by sending broadcast to Montana tons of
-literature in which her vote against the declaration of war was
-stigmatized as an “infamous and damning act.”
-
-Undaunted by such persecutions the gallant women once more raised their
-voices when it became evident that the so-called Peace Congress of the
-allied delegates at Versailles, instead of giving quick relief to the
-starving millions, and instead of promoting good will and better
-understanding among the different nations, was degenerating into an orgy
-of autocracy, merciless extortion and land-grabbing, repudiating all the
-high-sounding phrases of humanity, democracy, self-government, political
-and economic liberty, with which the war had been carried on.
-
-On May 12th, 1919, delegates of the “International Women’s Party for
-Permanent Peace” assembled at Zurich, Switzerland, to discuss the work
-of the Peace Congress in Versailles and the movement for a League of
-Nations. Sixteen countries were represented, the neutral with
-thirty-five, the countries of the Entente with forty-nine, and the
-Central Powers with thirty-six delegates. Among the twenty-three
-delegates of the United States were Jane Addams, and Jeanette Rankin,
-ex-member of Congress for Montana. Again Miss Addams acted as president.
-
-The noble spirit, that had brought these women together, found
-expression first in the following address of the French delegates to the
-German women:
-
-“To-day for the first time our hands which have sought each other in the
-night can be joined. We are a single humanity, we women. Our work, our
-joys, our children, are the same. French and Germans! The soldiers which
-have been killed between are for both of us alike victims. It is our
-brothers and our sisters who have suffered. We do not want vengeance. We
-hate all war. We push from us both the pride of victory and the rancor
-of defeat. United by the same faith, by the same sense of service, we
-agree to consecrate ourselves to the fight against war and to the
-struggle for everlasting peace.
-
-“All women against all wars!
-
-“Come, to work! Publicly, in the face of those who have vowed eternal
-hate, let us unite, let us love each other!”
-
-To this address the German women made the following reply:
-
-“We German women have heard the greetings of our French sisters with the
-deepest joy, and we respond to them from the depths of our souls. We too
-protest against the perpetuation of a hate which was always foreign to
-women’s hearts. Our French sisters! It is with joy that we grasp your
-extended hand. We will stand and march together, in common effort for
-the good of mankind. On the ruins of a materialist world, founded by
-force and violence, on misunderstanding and hate, we women will, through
-death and sorrow, clear the road to the new humanity. As mothers of the
-coming generations, we, women of all nations, want love and
-understanding and peace. Despite the dark gloom of the present we
-stumble, comforted, toward the sunshine of the future.”
-
-On May the 14th the delegates passed the following resolution, which was
-sent to the Congress at Versailles:
-
-“This International Congress of Women expresses its deep regret that
-the terms of peace proposed at Versailles should so seriously violate
-the principles upon which alone a just and lasting peace can be
-secured, and which the Democracies of the world had come to accept. By
-guaranteeing the fruits of the secret treaties to the conquerors the
-terms tacitly sanction secret diplomacy. They deny the principle of
-self-determination, recognize the right of the victors to the spoils
-of war, and create all over Europe discords and animosities, which can
-lead only to future wars. By the demand for the disarmament of one set
-of belligerents only, the principle of justice is violated and the
-rule of force is continued. By the financial and economic proposals a
-hundred million people of this generation in the heart of Europe are
-condemned to poverty, disease and despair, which must result in the
-spread of hatred and anarchy within each nation. With a deep sense of
-responsibility this Congress strongly urges the Allied Governments to
-accept such amendments of the terms as may be proposed to bring the
-peace into harmony with those principles first enunciated by President
-Wilson upon the faithful carrying out of which the honor of the Allied
-peoples depends.”
-
-This communication was proposed by Mrs. Philip Snowden of England and
-seconded by Miss Jeanette Rankin of the United States.
-
-Another resolution protested against the prolongation of the blockade as
-bringing starvation and death to innumerable innocent women and children
-of the Central Powers. It also urged that all resources of the world,
-food, raw materials, finance, transport should be organized immediately
-for the relief of the peoples, in order to serve humanity and bring
-about the reconciliation and union of the peoples. A third resolution
-demanded representation in the League of Nations for women, and that
-Miss Addams be the first woman representative. At its concluding session
-the Congress voted unanimously to call a world-wide strike of women in
-the event another war be declared, even if such a war should be
-sanctioned by the League of Nations.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-                           WOMAN TRIUMPHANT.
-
-The wonderful spirit displayed by many millions of women during the
-World War gave foundation to the hope that universal suffrage would be
-an inevitable result of the war, and that the law-makers of all the
-belligerent countries would no longer deny this crowning privilege to
-those mothers, wives, and sisters, who had worked so nobly, suffered so
-keenly, and endured so patiently through the long years of this cruel
-catastrophe. In a large number of countries this expectation has been
-verified. To name them in chronological order, we begin with neutral
-=Denmark=, which in 1915 granted to her women full parliamentary
-suffrage and eligibility. Nine women were elected to Parliament.
-=Iceland= extended to her women the same rights, and one woman was sent
-to Parliament.
-
-The next country was =England=, for many years the storm center of the
-suffrage movement. While in all other lands had been steps in evolution,
-England was the scene of a revolution. Not one with guns, and powder and
-bloodshed, but nevertheless with all other evidences of war. As Mrs.
-Carrie Chapman Catt, President of the International Woman Suffrage
-Alliance, graphically described, “there were brave generals and well
-trained armies, and many a well-fought battle; there have been tactics
-and strategies, sorties, sieges, and even prisoners of war, many of whom
-had to be released as they went on a hunger-strike. But in time, by the
-restless activity of the leaders, every class, including women of the
-nobility, working girls, housewives and professional women, became
-engaged in the campaign, and not a man, woman or child in England was
-permitted to plead ignorance concerning the meaning of woman suffrage.
-Together, men and women suffragists carried their appeal into the byways
-and most hidden corners of the kingdom. They employed more original
-methods, enlisted a larger number of women workers, and grasped the
-situation in a bolder fashion than had been done elsewhere. In other
-countries persuasion had been the chief, if not the only, weapon relied
-upon; in England it was persuasion plus political methods.
-
-“First, the world expressed disgust at the alleged unfeminine conduct of
-English suffragists. Editorial writers in many lands scourged the
-suffrage workers of their respective countries over the shoulders of
-these lively English militants. But time passed; comment ceased; and the
-world, which had ridiculed, watched the contest in silence, but with
-never an eye closed. It assumed the attitude of the referee who realizes
-he is watching a cleverly played game, with the chances hanging in the
-balance. Then came a laugh. The dispatches flashed the news to the
-remotest corners of the globe that English Cabinet Ministers were
-“protected” in the street by bodyguards; the houses of Cabinet Ministers
-were “protected” by relays of police, and even the great Houses of
-Parliament were “protected” by a powerful cordon of police. Protected!
-and from what? The embarrassing attack of unarmed women! In other lands
-police have protected emperors, czars, kings and presidents from the
-assaults of hidden foes, whose aim has been to kill. That there has been
-such need is tragic; and when, in contrast, the vision was presented of
-the Premier of England hiding behind locked doors, skulking along side
-streets, and guarded everywhere by officers, lest an encounter with a
-feminine interrogation point should put him to rout, it proved too much
-for the ordinary sense of humor.
-
-“Again, the dispatches presented another view. Behold, they said, the
-magnificent and world-renowned House of Parliament surrounded by police,
-and every woman approaching that sacred precinct, halted, examined, and
-perhaps arrested! Behold all this elaborate precaution to save members
-of Parliament from inopportune tidings that women would have votes; yet,
-despite it all, the forbidden message is delivered, for over the Houses
-floats conspicuously and defiantly a huge “Votes for Women” kite.
-Perhaps England did not know the big world laughed then; but the world
-did laugh, and more, from that moment it conceded the victory to the
-suffragists. The only question remaining unanswered, was: ‘How will the
-Government surrender, and at the same time preserve its dignity and
-consistency?’”
-
-Surrender came when in January, 1917, the Lower House of Commons adopted
-a resolution favoring a bill making women eligible as members of
-Parliament.
-
-The bill was discussed again in October, 1918, and a vote of 274 to 25
-on October 24th gave women the right to sit as members of Parliament.
-
-Voting in the general elections on December 14th, 1918, for the first
-time, the British women enjoyed at last the victory for which they
-bravely fought. While they did not succeed to elect one of their women
-candidates for a seat in the Parliament, the election was nevertheless
-one of the most notable in years. Nearly in all districts the women
-voters made a satisfactory showing as compared to that of men. In
-=Ireland= one woman, Countess =Georgina Markievicz=, an Irish by birth
-and the leading female figure in the Sinn Fein movement, was elected to
-the House of Commons, the first woman ever sent to this body.
-
-=Canada= likewise granted full suffrage to women. A bill passed the
-third reading on May 3d and received Royal Assent May 23d, 1918.
-
-In =Nova Scotia= a bill was passed April 26th, 1919.
-
-In =South Africa= Parliament accepted a Woman Suffrage Bill on April
-1st, 1919, by 44 votes to 42.
-
-When the revolution came in =Russia=, equal suffrage for women was
-accepted by the men of all parties without opposition. It has had, as
-Catherine Breshkovsky, the “Grandmother of the Russian Revolution,”
-explained, “a profound effect upon the minds of the peasant women. They
-used to be often beaten by their husbands. Now the idea of freedom and
-equal rights has taken firmer root among them. Instead of submitting to
-beatings from her husband the sturdy peasant woman defends herself, and
-sometimes she even beats him, especially if he is drunk. The fact that
-during the war the women have had to do every kind of work has also
-contributed to this sense of independence.”
-
-When in November, 1918, the =German Republic= was declared, paragraph 31
-of the Constitution provided that the representatives of the people be
-elected by all men as well as women over twenty years, and that women
-are eligible for all Federal and State Legislatures and municipal
-bodies. Under this regulation on January 19th, 1919, 36 women were
-elected to the Federal Parliament, and 22 to State Legislatures. Among
-the women elected to the Parliament were several of the most prominent
-leaders of the suffrage movement in Germany: =Dr. Gertrud Bäumer=, =Dr.
-Käthe Schirmacher=, and =Dr. Alice Salomon=.
-
-In =Austria= the downfall of the monarchy nullified the law which
-forbade women to take part in political societies. The 12th of November,
-1918, brought to the women universal, equal, direct, and secret suffrage
-and eligibility with the announcement of the republic. Seven women were
-elected, among them the well-known suffragist =Adelheid Popp=, who was
-also elected to the Vienna Municipal Council.
-
-The Government of the =Hungarian Republic= likewise adopted a suffrage
-law which gives the vote to all men of 21 and to women of 24 if they can
-read and write. While this is not equality of the sexes yet, the
-government gave at the same time evidence of its profound respect for
-the abilities of women by taking one of the most important steps in the
-history of woman’s progress. It appointed =Miss Rose Bédy Schwimmer=,
-highly respected for her activity and literary works on suffrage and
-peace, as ambassador extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to
-Switzerland. But the conservative members of the Federal Council of that
-country refused to accept a woman ambassador, and so Miss Bédy Schwimmer
-found it advisable to tender her resignation, a month after having
-accepted her difficult task.
-
-The new republic =Czecho-Slovakia= as well as the newly reconstituted
-state of =Poland= at once conceded full political citizenship to their
-women. In Czecho-Slovakia eight, and in Poland five women were elected
-to the Parliaments.
-
-In =Sweden= full suffrage was accorded to women May 28th, 1919, when a
-bill was passed by large majorities in both houses of the National
-Parliament, according to which every subject, man or woman, who has
-attained his or her twenty-third year, is qualified to vote.
-
-In =France= the “Union Française pour le Suffrage des Femmes” sent on
-January 24th, 1919, a proclamation to the Parliament demanding that
-French women be given the franchise. The proclamation pointed to the
-fact that the right to vote had been recognized in enemy and allied
-countries and that therefore France should not be backward. But in spite
-of this on April 4th two women suffrage amendments to the Electoral
-Reform Bill were killed in the Chamber of Deputies. The provision making
-women eligible for election to the Chamber was defeated, 302 votes to
-187. The vote against transmission of the right to vote to the next of
-kin of heads of families, without distinction of sex, was defeated 335
-to 134. But on May 20th the Chamber of Deputies adopted a bill granting
-women the right to vote in all elections for members of the Communal and
-Departmental Assemblies. The vote was 377 to 97. The measure then went
-to the Senate.
-
-=Switzerland=, with the European spread of woman suffrage all around,
-may be expected to soon respond to the wave of democratic sentiment. On
-January 22, 1919, the delegates of the Swiss Union of Women’s Clubs
-adopted a resolution to request the Federal Council to order a radical
-revision of the Constitution, and grant to women equal political rights
-with men. On March 17th, the Grand Council of the Canton of Neuchâtel
-declared for the principle of Woman Suffrage, and likewise instructed
-the Government to prepare a suffrage bill. If passed this bill will
-probably be decided by referendum.
-
-The =Belgian= Chamber of Deputies, by unanimous vote, adopted on April
-11th, 1919, an Electoral Reform Bill, under the terms of which the right
-to vote is limited to widows who have not remarried, to the mothers of
-soldiers killed in battle and to the mothers of civilians shot by the
-enemy.
-
-In =Holland= the first Chamber of the Dutch Parliament adopted on July
-12th, 1919, a motion to introduce woman suffrage by a vote of 34 to 5.
-
-In the United States of America the Western States have, as pointed out
-in a former chapter, never hesitated to acknowledge the rights of women
-to vote. But the Southern and Eastern States had remained reluctant in
-granting this privilege. And so the suffragists were compelled to
-conquer these regions step by step. The women of New York won full
-suffrage in 1917, those of South Dakota, Michigan and Oklahoma in 1918.
-Presidential suffrage was secured in 1917 in North Dakota, Nebraska, and
-Rhode Island, and in 1919 in Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin,
-Missouri and Maine.
-
-For many years efforts had also been made by the friends of Woman
-Suffrage to induce Congress to act on the so-called “Susan Anthony
-Amendments to the Constitution,” reading as follows:
-
-“Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not
-be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of
-sex.
-
-“Section 2. The Congress shall have power by appropriate legislation to
-enforce the provisions of this article.”
-
-In 1914 the Senate again voted these amendments down by 11 votes. Again,
-in September, 1918, it was rejected by two votes, and again in February,
-1919, by one vote. The House voted upon the resolution three times,
-rejecting it in 1915 by 78 votes, passing it in 1918 by a margin of one
-vote, and again, on May 21st, 1919, by a vote of 304 to 89. The fight
-ended on June 4, 1919, when the Senate adopted the resolution by a vote
-of 56 to 25.
-
-“The credit of having won this victory,” so the “New York American” said
-in an editorial, “belongs chiefly to the resourceful women of the land
-who have, for generations, been pushing this issue to the front in spite
-of stupid opposition and almost as stupid indifference.
-
-“Liberal-minded men, a few in the early days, many more recently, have
-helped. But, primarily, it is a woman’s victory, and no man will
-begrudge the acknowledment. Equal partners in the economic and social
-life of the nation, American women will now be equal sharers in its
-political life and in the responsibilities which this will involve.
-
-“The joy of triumph will be of brief duration. The period of
-responsibility will be long and trying. But the women of America will
-certainly meet it equally with the men, and if they do that the men will
-have no just basis of complaint. Political rule by men has been full of
-blunders. Women, too, will blunder, but they will not be likely to make
-the same kind of blunders that men make. The blunders that men make will
-tend to be corrected by the superior insight and intuition of women; and
-probably in time the blunders to which women will be prone will have
-counteraction by the men. So instead of the blundering being increased
-by the widened circle of electoral responsibility it is more likely to
-be lessened, for the cure for the ills of democracy is always more
-democracy.
-
-“Anyhow, the change is here. It is world-wide. It comes as a resultant
-of increased freedom and it presages more freedom.”
-
-
-                     WOMAN’S MISSION IN THE FUTURE.
-
-As woman now is man’s equal partner, she must share in the difficult
-task of solving the many problems connected with the economic, social
-and political life of that nation to which she belongs. That she will
-assume this obligation, fully aware of its significance, cannot be
-doubted; we need only recall the noble spirit, enthusiasm, intelligence
-and perseverance which have distinguished all the leaders in the great
-movement for woman’s emancipation.
-
-Woman’s mission in the future will be many-sided. Paramount among all
-questions, that demand her utmost consideration, is the prevention of
-future wars. And it may be said right here that mankind, through the
-efforts of women, will most probably find the final realization of hopes
-cherished for centuries by all right-minded people. We hardly need point
-to the glaring contrasts between the Peace Congresses called together by
-women at the Hague and in Zurich, and the conferences held by men at
-Versailles to secure a League of Nations. While the former meetings were
-distinguished by the perfect harmony and cordiality among the delegates
-of all belligerent and neutral nations, and while their resolutions
-expressed the good will and lofty disinterestedness of all members, the
-wearisome discussions at Versailles were characterized by suspicion,
-avarice and merciless extortion. The “Allies” no longer spoke for a
-common cause, but were rivals over the spoils of war. Each clamored for
-an individual gain. And instead of extending brotherly hands to the
-conquered enemy, instead of instilling hope in the hearts of the
-desperate, and instead of feeding the starving, they increased the
-bitterness and sufferings by an unwarranted and cruel blockade, through
-which more than a million innocent children and women were condemned to
-agony and death.
-
-Many far-seeing men have expressed grave doubts that the “Covenant of
-Peace” and the “League of Nations” can prevent future wars. So we hope
-that women, who would again become the greatest sufferers through such a
-catastrophe, will continue in their efforts to re-establish
-international good will and solidarity. Deep abysses of antagonism must
-be bridged; hate and the thirst for revenge must be quenched, and
-thousands of smarting wounds must be healed before humanity can hope for
-a better future. But women can perform these wonders. Since the
-organization of the “International Woman’s Peace Party” the voice of
-women will be heard in the council of nations, and their influence will
-be mighty, for the women outnumber the men.
-
-Most naturally the demands of women will also be directed to an
-international regulation of women’s relations to men, which in most
-countries are far from satisfactory. The World War has emphasized the
-fact that in almost all countries women, on marrying foreigners, forfeit
-their own nationality and are compelled to adopt that of their husbands.
-Thus it happened in 1914 that many French and English women, having
-married Germans or Austrians, residents or citizens in France or
-England, were deported from their native countries, at the same time
-losing all personal property that they were unable to take with them.
-
-Under the laws of the United States a loyal American woman, who marries
-an alien enemy, becomes herself an alien enemy, while a woman enemy
-alien who marries an American becomes herself a loyal American. By
-allowing the woman no choice of allegiance this law works injustice both
-to her and to the country.
-
-An international agreement has been proposed that women shall not be
-deprived of their own nationality against their will, irrespective of
-marriage, and, when deported into enemy territory, shall be restored to
-their own country.—
-
-Full equality between husband and wife, father and mother is also
-desired in regard to property and responsibilities, especially parental.
-In some countries, as for instance in Great Britain, under the existing
-laws only the father is recognized as the guardian of the children. He
-is the sole judge of what shall be their maintenance and education; and
-he has, prima facie, the sole right to their custody.
-
-Another important question which demands regulation through
-international agreement, is the suppression of the White Slave Trade,
-that horrible evil, which under the imperfect conditions of civilization
-has assumed such amazing proportions. To abolish it, women have
-presented to the League of Nations Commission resolutions saying, that
-States who enter into the League shall undertake to suppress the sale of
-women and children and to punish severely the traffic in women, whether
-under or over age, and of children of both sexes, for the purposes of
-prostitution.—
-
-The suppression of tuberculosis, of syphilis and other venereal diseases
-is likewise a serious problem calling for international regulation. The
-energetic co-operation of women is of utmost importance, as far too
-often innocent women become sufferers from these horrible diseases
-through infection from their unscrupulous husbands, who have concealed
-from their wives the fact that they were afflicted with such maladies.
-
-The supervision of such diseases by health officers, and the provision
-of clinics for all infected persons will be demanded by woman
-legislators; likewise penalizing for infecting with venereal diseases.
-
-While in most countries no questions are asked in regard to the health
-of the candidates for marriage, it has been through the activity of
-women, that the new marriage law that came into force in Norway on
-January 1st, 1919, demands that both candidates must declare in writing
-that they are not suffering from epilepsy, leprosy, syphilis,
-tuberculosis, or other diseases in an infectious form. Written
-declarations must also be given as to previous marriages and to children
-born to them out of wedlock. As this new marriage law contains not less
-than eighty-one sections, it is evident that henceforth in Norway it
-will be difficult to marry in haste.
-
-Such laws for the protection of women are nowhere more needed than in
-the forty-eight States which together form the American Union. As
-everyone of these States makes its own laws, there exists a variety of
-laws in regard to the “age of consent,” to marriage and divorce, far too
-intricate for any woman or lawyer to be thoroughly informed about them
-all. For instance the legislators of Florida have fixed the “age of
-consent” at 10 years (!), documenting herewith their utter ignorance in
-such a serious question. In other States it is 12 or 14 years, in
-Wyoming it is 18. How competent women think about this subject, may be
-judged by a resolution of the “Woman’s Political Association of
-Australia,” asking the Government to raise the age of consent to 21
-years, and to extend this provision to cover girls as well as boys.
-
-Very heterogeneous are also the marriage laws of the United States. In
-Tennessee girls may marry without their parents’ consent when only
-twelve years old, while in other states they must not do so before
-eighteen, or even twenty-one. Missouri is one of the few states which
-still recognize common law marriages. As this state sets no minimum
-legal age for marriage, a boy or girl of twelve may without their
-parents’ consent live together as man and wife.
-
-Still more perplexing is the diversity in regard to the causes for
-absolute divorce. While South Carolina grants no divorce, other states
-are very liberal and acknowledge eight or ten different reasons as
-sufficient reasons for divorce. Marriages between Whites and Indians, or
-between Whites and Negroes or persons of negro descent, or between
-Whites and Chinese are prohibited and punishable in a number of states,
-while they are allowed in others.
-
-Improvement in the status of the illegitimate child; child-labor and
-welfare; woman’s status in industries; mothers’ insurance during
-maternity; proper insurance for the invalid and aged; combating of
-alcoholism; the suppression of the traffic in opium and other injurious
-narcotics; the traffic in arms, especially with uncivilized or
-semi-civilized tribes and nations, and many other questions call for
-international regulation and the co-operation of women. To compare the
-laws of the various countries and to select the best and clearest laws
-to be used as a standard to which other states should be urged to raise
-their legislation, will be one of the great missions for the women
-lawyers connected with the various national leagues of women voters.
-
-That women have the ability as well as the hearty desire to contribute
-in this way to the progress and welfare of the human race, needs no
-further explanation. It is for the men to accept and encourage their
-help and to utilize it to the fullest extent. The beneficial result of
-such co-operation can not be doubted. Women with their intuitive
-judgment, spiritual insight and knowledge of the needs of women,
-children, public education, sanitation, philanthropy, etc., will become
-a most important factor in the vast task of human betterment. And man,
-working with woman side by side in these noble endeavors, will not only
-profit, but learn that nature has given him nothing more sublime than
-woman.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                               CONTENTS.
-
-
- Women During the Remote Past.
-     Primeval Man, His Origin and Severe Struggle for Existence        7
-     The Division of Labor and Responsibilities                       14
-     Women as Objects or Rape, Barter and Religious Sacrifice         22
-
- Women During the Ages of Antiquity.
-     Women in Babylonia                                               29
-     Woman’s Status Among the Hebrews                                 36
-     Woman’s Status Among the Parsee and Hindoo                       39
-     Woman in China and Japan                                         43
-     Woman Among the Egyptians                                        46
-     Woman Among the Greeks                                           50
-     Woman Among the Romans                                           56
-     Woman’s Position Among the Germanic Nations                      65
-     Woman Among the Early Christians                                 70
-     Woman Among the Mohammedans                                      74
-
- Women During the Middle Ages.
-     Women During the Middle Ages                                     81
-     The Glorious Time of the Renaissance                             93
-     The Darkest Chapter in Woman’s History                           98
-
- Women in Modern Times.
-     Women in Slavery                                                113
-     The Dawning of Brighter Days                                    130
-     Pioneer Women in the New World                                  140
-     Women of the French Revolution                                  152
-     Woman’s Entry Into Industry                                     159
-     Women as Ministers of the Gospel                                184
-     Women in the Medical Profession                                 187
-     Woman in the Profession of the Law                              192
-     Women as Inventors                                              195
-     Eminent Female Scientists                                       197
-     Noteworthy Women in World Literature                            207
-     Women in Music and Drama                                        227
-     What Women Have Accomplished in Art                             232
-     Great Monuments of Woman’s Philanthropy                         241
-     The Hundred Years’ Battle for Woman Suffrage                    247
-     Why Women Want and Need the Vote                                258
-     Woman’s Activity During the World War                           271
-     Woman Triumphant                                                292
-     Woman’s Mission in the Future                                   297
-
-
-
-
-                          OUR WASTEFUL NATION
-
-
-The Story of American Prodigality and the Abuse of our National
-Resources.
-
-                           By RUDOLF CRONAU.
-
-
-                               CONTENTS.
-
-  The Land of Inexhaustible Resources—The Destruction of Our Forests—The
-      Waste of Water—The Waste of Soil—The Waste of Our Mineral
-      Resources—The Extermination of Our Game, Fur, and Great Marine
-      Animals—Our Vanishing Birds—Our Decreasing Fish Supplies—The Waste
-      of Public Lands and Privileges—The Waste of Public Money and of
-      Property—The Waste of Human Lives—Conclusion.
-
-One of the weightiest problems before the American nation is here
-treated in a most impressive manner. Based upon cold facts, the book
-shows conclusively that our nation suffers, by sheer carelessness and
-wasteful methods, losses amounting to many hundred millions of dollars
-annually.
-
-
-“The book tells a story that is astounding. Some of the descriptions of
-the past are told in figures so great as to be beyond our
-comprehension.”
-
-                                                —_Word To-Day_, Chicago.
-
-“This volume should be read, pondered and re-read by every individual in
-America who has reached the age of reasoning.”
-
-                                                    —_Union_, New Haven.
-
-“The book is a practical little sermon, much needed in this period.”
-
-                                             —_San Francisco Chronicle._
-
-“There are but 134 pages in this book, but within the limited compass
-there is set forth the most terrific impeachment that was ever laid to
-the charge of a nation. This little volume should be scattered over the
-country in tens of thousands.”
-
-                                                       —_Boston Herald._
-
-“It is a book, that every person should be compelled to learn by heart.”
-
-                                                  —_Chicago Daily News._
-
-
-   At all Booksellers, or from Author, 340 E. 198 St., New York, sent
-                     postpaid on receipt of price.
-
-                  WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BOARDS. $1.00 NET
-
-[Illustration: OUR WASTEFUL NATION _by Rudolf Cronau_]
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
-
-
-                          TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
-
-
- 1. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling.
- 2. Anachronistic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as
-      printed.
- 3. Footnotes have been re-indexed using numbers.
- 4. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.
- 5. Enclosed bold font in =equals=.
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Woman Triumphant, by R. Cronau
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-<pre>
-
-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Woman Triumphant, by R. Cronau
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
-of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll
-have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using
-this ebook.
-
-
-
-Title: Woman Triumphant
-       The story of her struggles for freedom, education and
-              political rights. Dedicated to all noble-minded women by
-              an appreciative member of the other sex.
-
-Author: R. Cronau
-
-Release Date: October 20, 2019 [EBook #60535]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WOMAN TRIUMPHANT ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed
-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was
-produced from images made available by the HathiTrust
-Digital Library.)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-</pre>
-
-
-<div class='tnotes covernote'>
-
-<p class='c000'><b>Transcriber’s Note:</b></p>
-
-<p class='c000'>The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</p>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class='titlepage'>
-
-<div>
-  <h1 class='c001'>WOMAN TRIUMPHANT<br /> <span class='xlarge'>The Story of Her Struggles for Freedom, Education and Political Rights.</span></h1>
-</div>
-
-<div class='nf-center-c0'>
-<div class='nf-center c002'>
-    <div><span class='small'>DEDICATED TO ALL NOBLE-MINDED WOMEN BY AN APPRECIATIVE MEMBER OF THE OTHER SEX.</span></div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<img src='images/title.jpg' alt='_By R. Cronau_' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div class='nf-center-c0'>
-  <div class='nf-center'>
-    <div>Published by R. CRONAU</div>
-    <div>340 East 198th Street, New York.</div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class='nf-center-c0'>
-<div class='nf-center c003'>
-    <div>Copyright 1919 by R. CRONAU</div>
-    <div>New York.</div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<div class='section ph2'>
-
-<div class='nf-center-c0'>
-<div class='nf-center c003'>
-    <div>WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR.</div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='c004'><b>America, the History of Its Discovery.</b> 2 vols., with 545
-illustrations and 37 maps. (Leipzig 1890–92.) Award
-World’s Columbian Exposition.</p>
-
-<p class='c005'><b>America, historia de su descubrimiento.</b> 3 vols., with several
-hundred illustrations and maps. (Barcelona 1892.)
-Award World’s Columbian Exposition.</p>
-
-<p class='c005'><b>From Wonderland to Wonderland, Sketches of American Life
-and Scenery.</b> With 50 heliogravures. (Leipzig 1886.)</p>
-
-<p class='c005'><b>Through the Wild West</b>, Journeys of an Artist through the
-Prairies and Rocky Mountains of America. Illustrated.
-(Braunschweig 1890.)</p>
-
-<p class='c005'><b>Travels in the Land of the Sioux Indians.</b> (Leipzig 1886.)</p>
-
-<p class='c005'><b>Our Wasteful Nation; the Story of American Prodigality and
-the Abuse of Our National Resources.</b> Illustrated. (New
-York 1908.)</p>
-
-<p class='c005'><b>Three Centuries of German Life in the United States</b>, with
-210 illustrations. (Berlin 1909.) Award by the University
-of Chicago.</p>
-
-<p class='c005'><b>Illustrative Cloud Forms for the Guidance of Observers in
-the Classification of Clouds.</b> (U. S. Publication No. 112.
-Washington, D. C., 1897.)</p>
-
-<div class='nf-center-c0'>
-<div class='nf-center c002'>
-    <div>SOON TO APPEAR:</div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c005'><b>In the Realm of Clouds and Gods.</b> Illustrated with 25 color-prints.</p>
-
-<p class='c005'><b>Three Great Questions in American History Answered.</b> With
-many maps and illustrations</p>
-
-<div class='chapter'>
-  <h2 class='c006'>PREFACE.</h2>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c007'>Are you aware of the fact that you are living in the
-most important period of human history? Not for the reason
-that a World’s War has been fought and a “League of Nations”
-formed, but because all civilized nations are beginning to
-acknowledge that women, who form the greater part of the
-human race, are entitled to the same rights and recognition as
-have heretofore been enjoyed by men only. The entry of
-woman into industry, the professions, literature, science and
-art in modern times, her participation in social and political
-life, mark the beginning of an era of a significance, equal, if
-not greater, than when by the discovery of America a New
-World was added to the old.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Although it is a fact that man owes innumerable benefits
-to woman’s care, devotion, and mental initiative, it is also
-true that through egoism and self-conceit he has never appreciated
-woman’s work and achievements at their full value.
-On the contrary: while she was giving all and asking little,
-while she shared with man all hardships and perils, she was
-for thousands of years without any rights, not even as regards
-her own person and property. From ancient times up to the
-present day she has been an object of rape and barter, and
-quite often, for sexual purposes, held in the most horrible
-slavery. During the Middle Ages innumerable women were
-persecuted for witchcraft, subjected to the most cruel tortures,
-dragged to the scaffold to be beheaded, or burnt alive at the
-stake.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Woman’s status to-day is the result of her own energy,
-efforts and ability. She overcame the prejudice and stubborn
-opposition of bigoted priests, pedantic scholars and reactionary
-statesmen, who were unable to see that the advance and
-emancipation of woman is synonymous with the progress and
-liberation of the greater part of the entire human race. To
-short sighted people such as these Tennyson directed his lines:</p>
-
-<p class='c009'>“The Woman’s Cause is Man’s! They rise or sink
-together, dwarf’d or godlike, bond or free; if she be
-small, slight-natured, miserable, how shall men grow!”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The book submitted here gives an account of woman’s
-evolution, of her enduring and trying struggles for liberty,
-education, and recognition. While this account will make
-every woman proud of the achievements of her sex, man,
-by reading it, will become aware that it is his solemn duty
-not only to protect woman from injustice, brutality and
-exploitation, but to give her all possible assistance in her
-endeavors to attain that position in which she will be man’s
-ideal consort and friend.</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-r'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>RUDOLPH CRONAU.</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_004.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div class='chapter'>
-  <h2 class='c006'>Women During the Remote Past.</h2>
-</div>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span>
-<img src='images/i_007.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>ABORIGINAL HUTS AT THE AMAZON RIVER</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<h3 class='c010'>PRIMEVAL MAN, HIS ORIGIN AND SEVERE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE.</h3>
-
-<p class='c011'>While we were young and credulous, black-robed
-theologians impressed upon our minds their theory of creation,
-according to which the first man was moulded by the
-divine author of all things in his own image and placed in
-an enchanting paradise. Here he enjoyed with his mate,
-whom the same deity formed from one of man’s ribs, a state
-of innocence, bliss and happiness, since want, sickness, and
-death were as yet unknown, and all animals lived together
-in peace and harmony.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In later years, after we had become inquisitive, we found
-that this story of creation is merely one of innumerable similar
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span>myths, invented by aboriginal people when they began to
-ponder over their origin. We also became acquainted with
-the theory of evolution, as taught by Lamarck, Darwin,
-Haeckel, Huxley, Tylor, Lubbock, Osborn, and other eminent
-anthropologists. And by investigating and comparing fossil
-facts and living forms we became convinced that man was
-not specially created, but gradually evolved from far lower
-animal forms. Furthermore, we recognized that primitive
-man never enjoyed paradisical peace and happiness, but was
-constantly compelled to a far more desperate struggle for
-existence than any human beings had to carry on during
-later periods.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>To realize the innumerable hardships and terrors of
-this battle is almost beyond the power of imagination. Try
-to place yourself in the situation of such naked and unarmed
-beings. Day in and out they were persecuted by wild beasts,
-which in size as well as in strength and ferocity far surpassed
-those of to-day.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>There were the terrible sabre-toothed tigers, whose
-enormous fangs hung like daggers from their upper jaws.
-There were fierce lions and bears, in comparison to which
-the present species would appear dwarfed. The plains and
-forests were infested with bloodthirsty hyenas and wolves,
-that hunted in packs and allowed no creature to escape which
-they were able to cut off from its retreat. Ugly snakes, quick
-as lightning, lurked in the underbrush and trees. The lakes
-and rivers were alive with hideous alligators, that made every
-attempt to get a drink a hazardous task. Even the skies were
-full of danger, as sharp-eyed eagles and vultures circled about,
-ready to swoop on any living thing that might expose itself
-to view. Awe-inspiring were also the immense mammoths,
-elephants and rhinoceros, which with heavy tread broke
-through the dense forests.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In contrast to these powerful beasts man was not protected
-at all. Indeed, his means of defense were so poor,
-that his survival strikes us almost as an inconceivable wonder.
-Neither was he armed with strong teeth, sharp claws, horns
-or poisonous stings. His body had no covering but a very
-thin and vulnerable skin. To escape his many pursuers, he
-was compelled to hide in almost inaccessible places, among
-the branches of high trees, or in the crags and on top of
-towering cliffs.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The never-ending struggle increased, when his kin
-multiplied and began to split into various bands, tribes and
-races. With this separation quarrels arose over the limits of
-the hunting grounds. Men began to fight and kill their neighbors.
-Even worse, they slaughtered the captives and devoured
-their flesh during cannibal feasts.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span>
-<img src='images/i_009.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>AN APE-MAN</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>In physical appearance primeval men were far from
-resembling those ideal figures of Adam and Eve, pictured
-by mediæval artists who strove to give an idea of the glories
-of our lost Paradise. While these products of imagination
-can claim no greater authenticity than the illustrations to other
-fairy tales, we nevertheless owe to the diligent works of able
-scientists restorations of the figures of primeval men. These
-deserve full credit, as they are based on skeletons and bones,
-found in caves, which some hundred thousand years ago were
-inhabited by human-like beings. From such remains it appears
-that our predecessors were near relatives to the so-called man-apes,
-the orang outang, chimpanzee, gibbon, and gorilla.
-Ages passed before these ape-men, in the slow course of
-evolution, developed into man, distinctly human, though still
-on a far lower level than any savage people of to-day.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The ape-man probably knew no other shelter than nests
-of twigs and leaves, similar to those constructed by the orang
-outang and the gorilla. But with the gradual development
-of man’s brain and intelligence he improved these nests to
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>tree-huts like those still used by certain aborigines of New
-Guinea, India, and Central Africa. To these huts they retreated
-at night, to be safe from wild beasts, and also at sudden
-attacks by superior enemies.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<img src='images/i_010.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>TREE HUTS IN NEW GUINEA</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>The cliff dwellings, abounding among the steep cañons
-of Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona were similar retreats.
-Here we find thousands of stone houses, many hidden at
-such places and so high above the rivers that they can
-hardly be detected from below. In the cañon of the Rio
-Mancos several cliff dwellings are 800 feet above the river.
-To locate them from below a telescope is needed. How it
-was possible for human beings to get to some of these places,
-is a mystery still unsolved.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Other dwellings stand on almost unscalable boulders, or
-they are placed within the fissures and shallow caverns of
-perpendicular walls. They can be reached only by descending
-from the upper rim of the cañon by means of long ropes,
-or by climbing upwards from below by using hands as well
-as feet. If one succeeds in getting to these places, one finds
-them always provided with store rooms for food and water.
-Constant danger of hostile assaults must have compelled
-people to live in such difficult retreats, which could be prepared
-only at enormous expenditure of time and labor.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id005'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span>
-<img src='images/i_011.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>CLIFF DWELLINGS IN THE CANON OF RIO SAN JUAN, NEW MEXICO</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span>
-<img src='images/i_012.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>LAKE DWELLINGS IN NEW GUINEA</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>Another form of refuge were the lake-dwellings, which
-were erected far out in the lakes on platforms resting on
-heavy posts. Traces of such structures have been found in
-many parts of the world. They are still used by some of
-the aborigines of New Guinea and India, and also by the
-Goajiro Indians of Northern Venezuela. Indeed, Venezuela
-owes its name to the fact, that the Spanish discoverers of
-these lake-dwellings were reminded of Venice, the queen city
-of the Adriatic.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>When in time such aboriginal tribes increased, so that
-their number spelled warning to their neighbors, they created
-more comfortable camps on the shores. Or they moved into
-caves, such as abound in all countries where limestone is
-prevailing.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Nomadic peoples like the Indians of North America and
-some tribes of Siberia prepare tents of dressed skins, which
-are sewed together and stretched over a framework of poles.
-Many aborigines of Southern Africa and Australia are satisfied
-with bush shelters. Or they construct lodges of willows,
-which they cover with bark or mud, to afford protection
-against rain and the fierce rays of the sun.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>People, living in cold regions like the Eskimo, seek shelter
-from the biting winter storms by digging pits five or six feet
-deep. These holes they cover with dome-shaped roofs of
-whale-ribs and turf. Where these materials are not at hand
-the Eskimos rely on hemispherical houses, built of regular
-blocks of snow laid in spiral courses. The entrance is gained
-by a long passage-way that shuts off cold as well as penetrating
-winds.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Having thus summarized the principal kinds of primitive
-dwellings, we shall now briefly consider the activity of
-aboriginal peoples.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_013.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>
-<img src='images/i_014.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>WOMEN OF KAMBALA. CENTRAL AFRICA, CRUSHING GRAIN</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<h3 class='c010'>THE DIVISION OF LABOR AND RESPONSIBILITIES BETWEEN THE SEXES.</h3>
-
-<p class='c011'>Explorers and scientists, who have lived among aboriginal
-tribes in order to study their manners and customs, have
-always found, that each sex has its own sphere of duty and
-work. To the stronger man fell the obligation of protecting
-his family, which consisted of his wife or wives and their
-offspring. It was also his share to support them with the
-products of the chase, and to provide suitable material for
-the building of the lodge. “These activities,” so states J .N.
-B. Hewitt in the ‘Handbook of American Indians’ (Vol. II,
-969), “required health, strength and skill. The warrior was
-usually absent from the fireside on the chase, on the warpath,
-or on the fishing-trip, days, weeks or months, during
-which he often traveled many miles and was subjected to
-the hardships and perils of hunting and fighting, and to the
-inclemency of the weather, often without adequate shelter or
-food.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>To the lot of women fell the care of the children, the
-labor required in the home and in all that directly affected it.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The essential principle governing this division of labor
-and responsibility between the two sexes lies much deeper
-than in an apparent tyranny of the man. The ubiquity of
-danger from human foes as well as from wild beasts, the
-suddenness of their assaults when least expected, compelled
-aboriginal men to keep their weapons always at hand. During
-the day they hardly lay them aside, even for a minute, and
-at night they are always within reach. This fact explains,
-why the women and children transport all the loads, while
-the men carry nothing but their weapons when aborigines
-move from one place to another.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>This division of functions consequently led men to confine
-their ingenuity and activity chiefly to the improvement
-and skillful handling of their arms, to the invention of snares
-for the game and to methods of fighting animal and human
-foes. It led also to the inclination to regard hunting and
-warfare as the only occupations worthy of men, and to relegate
-all domestic work to the women, since such labor would be
-degrading to the warrior.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>But the despised work of the weaker sex has proven of
-far greater value to the progress of the human race than all
-heroic acts ever accomplished by fighting men. To woman’s
-ingenuity we owe our comfortable homes. Women kept the
-warming hearth-fire burning, prepared the meals, watched
-faithfully over the children and made the clothes that gave
-protection against rain and cold. To women’s inventive sense
-we owe also our most important industries: agriculture, weaving,
-pottery, tannery, basketry, dyeing, brewing, and many
-other peaceful arts.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>It has been said that human culture began with man’s
-knowledge and control of fire, that mysterious, ever consuming,
-ever brightly flaming element, which was regarded by
-all aborigines as a thing of life, by some even as an animal.
-It must have all the more forcibly impressed men’s imagination,
-inasmuch as it not alone promoted man’s comfort, but
-even made life endurable, especially in cold climates.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>It is certain that the practical knowledge of fire was
-obtained not at one given spot only but in many different
-parts of the world and in a variety of ways. In time men
-discovered also various methods of producing sparks, generally
-by rubbing two sticks of wood or by knocking two flints
-together. But as these methods were slow and laborious, it
-became the custom for each band to maintain a constant fire
-for the use of all families in order to avoid the troublesome
-necessity of obtaining it by friction. Generally this constant
-fire was kept in the centre of the village, to be in reach for
-everybody. The duty to keep it always burning fell naturally
-to the women, as they remained always in the village, and
-especially to those women not burdened with the cares of
-maternity. As fire later on was regarded as a present of the
-good spirits or gods to men, these central fires were held
-sacred, and so the fire worship grew by degrees into a religious
-cult of great sanctity and importance.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>
-<img src='images/i_016.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>LIFE AMONG PREHISTORIC CAVE-DWELLERS</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<hr class='c012' />
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>
-<img src='images/i_017.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>WOMAN OF LOANGO, TILLING THE SOIL</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>While searching for edible roots and berries, women
-became aware of the usefulness of many plants. And soon
-they made attempts to cultivate them in closer proximity to
-their lodges.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Having cleaned a suitable spot women made with their
-primitive digging sticks the holes, into which they sunk the
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>seeds, from which the plants were expected to develop.
-Experience, the mother of all wisdom, taught women that
-these plants needed constant attention. So the ground was
-kept free from weeds and properly watered. From time to
-time it was loosened with hoes, which in the beginning were
-made of bones, shells or stones, and later on of metal.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Such was the origin of our vegetable gardens, orchards,
-and grain fields. The continuous care, devoted to these
-plantations, greatly improved the quality of useful plants.
-Poor and tasteless varieties developed in time into those rich
-and palatable species, without which our present human race
-could scarcely exist for a single day. I need only name wheat,
-corn, barley, rye, peas, lentils, beans, rice, tapioca, potatoes,
-yams, turnips, bread-fruit, pears, apples, plums, cherries,
-bananas, dates, figs, nuts, oranges, coffee, cacao, tea, cotton
-and hemp, to convince the reader of the immense value of
-women’s activity in agriculture.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As simple as were the tools for the cultivation of the
-soil, just as simple were the implements for the extraction of
-flour from the grain. Recent archæological research has disclosed
-the fact that many thousand years before Christ
-Egyptian women ground corn between two stones in just
-the same manner as the women of the Apache and Pueblo
-Indians and many other aboriginal tribes are doing to this day.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Other aboriginal women crushed the seeds in mortars
-of wood or stone. In several parts of Asia women succeeded
-in inventing hand-mills, which proved much more effective.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The necessity of storing provisions for the winter and
-hard times led to the invention of receptacles in which grain,
-nuts and dried berries might be kept and be safe from destruction
-by rain and animals. While pondering over the best
-methods of accomplishing this, women observed that certain
-insects and birds moulded their nests from wet clay, and
-that such nests, after hardening, were rain-proof. By this
-observation women became induced to use the same material
-for all kinds of nest-like vessels, in which provisions could
-be stored successfully. By accident such vessels came in
-contact with fire. Then it was found that by such baking
-the hardness of the vessels increased considerably. And so
-the preliminaries were discovered for the art of pottery, in
-which many aborigines became masters.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Similar observations led to the art of weaving. The
-nets, spread out everywhere by spiders for the capture of
-insects, gave women the first hint to make similar fabrics
-for the capture of birds and fishes. The spider’s thread was
-imitated by long hair and the fibres of certain plants. These
-were twisted together in a manner similar to that used by
-the weaver-birds in constructing their airy nests.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>For many thousand years weaving was done exclusively
-by hand. But in time all kinds of apparatus were invented.
-And so weaving developed into an art that among many
-aboriginal tribes was improved to the highest degree. At
-the same time these female weavers created a genuine native
-art. So for instance the garters, belts, sashes and blankets
-of the Navajo and Pueblo Indians are, for their splendid
-quality as well as for their tasteful designs and colors, highly
-appreciated by all connoisseurs. The same is true in regard
-to the ponchos of the Mexicans and Peruvians, and the magnificent
-shawls and carpets, made by the women of Cashmere,
-Afghanistan, Persia and other countries of the Orient.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<img src='images/i_019.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>A TOLTEC WOMAN SPINNING COTTON.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>Basketry, including matting and bagging, belongs also
-to the primitive textile arts in which many native women
-excelled. By using choice materials, or by adding resinous
-substances, some aboriginal women are able to make baskets
-water-tight for holding or carrying water for cooking. From
-crude beginnings basketry developed into an industry, which
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>in many countries grew to great importance, as for instance
-in Morocco, where the markets are always supplied with
-large quantities of bags and baskets of beautiful design and
-workmanship.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Aboriginal women also attended to the dressing and
-tanning of skins of those animals which the men brought home
-from their hunting expeditions. In the domestic economy of
-many tribes skins were and are the most valued and useful
-property, especially in all regions having a severe climate.
-Every kind of skin, large enough to be stripped from the
-carcass of beast, bird or fish, is used here in some way.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>A painting by George Catlin, the well-known artist, who
-during the first part of the last century travelled among the
-various Indian tribes of North America, illustrates the methods
-by which the skins of buffalo and deer are staked out upon
-the ground or between poles. We see the women engaged
-in scraping off the flesh and fat, a process which is followed
-by several others until the skin is fit to be used for tent covers,
-beddings, shields, saddles, lassoes, boats, clothes, mocassins,
-and thousands of other things.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Most skillful tanners and dressmakers are likewise the
-women of the Eskimo tribes. They make excellent suits from
-the skins and even the entrails of whales, walrus, seals and
-other animals.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>To the keen sense of women we also owe undoubtedly
-most of our domestic implements. From the bones of fish
-and other animals they made needles and pins; from the
-horns splendid spoons and combs. Gourds, pumpkins and
-cocoanuts were turned into water bottles. Women also devised
-the comfortable hammocks. About the cribs, cradles and
-swings, invented in endless variety by aboriginal mothers for
-the protection and comfort of their darlings, volumes might
-be written. And by innumerable pictures and photographs
-it could be proven that the great care, bestowed nowadays
-upon our babies, is not the outcome of our advanced culture,
-but originated many thousand years ago among aboriginal
-women.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The same is true in regard to the dolls and play-things
-with which women seek to amuse those little ones, dearest
-to their hearts. What motherly affection, ever present and
-everlasting, has done for the welfare and progress of mankind,
-no one can conceive, nor describe, nor illustrate.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As brief as these remarks about aboriginal woman’s
-activity are, they indicate, however, sufficiently her share in
-the founding and evolution of human culture. To appreciate
-this even more, we must not forget that the life of those
-women was one of constant care, misery and danger. The
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span>blissful happiness of aboriginal existence, of which we read
-sometimes in novels, written by poetical dreamers, was never
-enjoyed by these women. How full of hardships their share
-was in reality, we find by investigating their place in the
-social life of their tribes.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<img src='images/i_021.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>WOMAN OF NORTHERN AFRICA TENDING TO HER BABY</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<div>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>
-  <h3 class='c010'>WOMEN AS OBJECTS OF RAPE, BARTER AND RELIGIOUS SACRIFICE.</h3>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c011'>Matrimony is, like all other human institutions, the result
-of evolution. In the dim past, after the ape-man had evolved
-to true man, it was not known at all. Most probably all the
-females were the common property of the males, the strongest
-of whom took hold of several women, leaving the rest to
-their inferior chums.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>With the evolution of property rights these mates as
-well as their offspring came to be regarded as the absolute
-property of the husband and father, who could dispose of
-them at his pleasure by barter or otherwise. So it was among
-primitive men a hundred thousand years ago and so it is
-customary among aboriginal peoples to-day. At the death
-of the husband his rights generally go to the oldest son or
-to the person who becomes the head of the family.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Accordingly as girls are not masters of their own bodies,
-so the barter for women is customary among all aboriginal
-tribes. If a man sees a girl to his liking he bargains with
-the head of her family about the price. Among pastoral tribes
-it is generally paid in cattle; among hunters in skins or other
-objects of value.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among the Zulu Kaffres the price for good-looking girls
-ranges from five to thirty cows. In Uganda it is three or
-four oxen; among the Samoyedes and Ostiaks of Siberia a
-number of reindeer; among the Sioux Indians two to twenty
-horses; among the Bedouins a number of camels; in Samoa
-pigs or canoes; among the Tatars sheep and several pounds
-of butter; among the Bongo twenty pounds of iron and
-twenty spear-heads; among other tribes a certain quantity of
-gold dust, beads, shells, and so on in endless variety. As
-soon as the price is paid the girl, without being asked her
-consent, is obliged to follow her new master.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As among aborigines women have no will of their own,
-they cannot object if their husbands exchange, trade or loan
-them to other men. So it is customary among many tribes
-that if persons of importance come visiting, the daughters or
-the wives of the host are assigned to comfort them over night.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>If among the inhabitants of the Fiji Islands men became
-tired of their “better halves,” they killed and boiled them and
-arranged cannibal feasts in which all neighbors participated.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Aboriginal women also must gracefully assent to their
-husbands’ taking several wives. Their number depends on
-the man’s means. While poor men satisfy themselves with
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>one wife, chiefs generally buy numbers. The despots of
-Dahomey in West Africa, for instance, filled their houses
-with hundreds of women, who were obliged not only to
-amuse these kings during their lifetime, but also to follow
-them in death. When such an autocrat was assembled to
-his ancestors, his body was deposited in a large cave. But
-in order that he should not travel alone through eternity, his
-wives as well as all the members of his court were led into
-the cave and provided with food for several days, whereupon
-the entrance of the cave was closed and the occupants were
-left to their fate.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<img src='images/i_023.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>CARRYING OFF A WOMAN IN AUSTRALIA</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>If among the aborigines a man is too poor to buy a wife,
-he generally tries to steal one. But as he must not do so
-within his own clan, as he would trespass upon the property
-rights of his fellow-men, nothing remains but to kidnap a
-girl of some neighboring tribe. So he lurks around the villages
-till some day a girl, while gathering berries or edible roots,
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>unfortunately happens to come too near his hiding place.
-In this case the manner of his proposal is sudden, but effective.
-A blow with his war club makes the damsel unconscious,
-whereupon he drags her to some secure place. Here he keeps
-her till she has recovered her senses and is able to follow
-him to his lodge.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>George Gray, who has written about the natives of
-Australia, states that the life of young and attractive women
-among those tribes is a continuous chain of capture by different
-men, terrible wounds and long wanderings to unknown bands.
-In addition, such unfortunate females must suffer very often
-extremely bad treatment by other women, to whom they
-are brought as prisoners by their capturers.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>But women have been kidnapped not merely for sexual
-reasons, but also for their ability to work. Herewith we open
-the darkest chapter in woman’s history: Slavery, a word which
-has not lost its terrible meaning for women up to the present
-day.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Slavery has been practiced in all parts of the world in
-some form. But Africa was the continent where it prevailed
-from time immemorial to the greatest extent and assumed the
-most cruel forms. Phœnicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Turks,
-Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians, Frenchmen, Dutchmen, Englishmen
-and Americans sailed to its coasts, to capture men
-as well as women and children, to sell and use them for slaves.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>It is impossible for human imagination to conceive the
-horrors and misery, caused here by heartless pirates for thousands
-of years.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Imagine a peaceful village, approached stealthily in the
-night by cruel enemies, who surround it and then set fire to
-the huts. As the inhabitants rush out in terror, those who
-resist capture are killed, and those who have escaped the
-blessing of immediate death are fettered and marched off.
-Imagine long columns of such unfortunate and often severely
-wounded men, women and children chained together and
-driven by ruthless brutes through pathless jungles and arid
-deserts, to far away markets. No matter how hot the sun
-burns down, they must move on. Woe to those who break
-down! They are left where they have dropped, to perish of
-hunger and thirst, or to be torn by wild beasts. Or, as a warning
-to the others, they are butchered in cold blood by their
-drivers. For those who reach their destination, where they
-are traded like cattle, an existence is waiting that will have
-fewer moments of joy than there are oases in an endless desert.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>For time immemorial women also fell prey to religious
-superstition. To keep evil demons in good humor, or to
-thank some imaginary gods for victories and other blessings,
-human beings have been sacrificed by thousands. The “Dark
-Continent” again holds the record in this respect. And again
-the autocrats of Dahomey were those who, in religious frenzy,
-spilled the blood of hundreds and thousands of men as well
-as of women.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>
-<img src='images/i_025.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>A BRIDE OF THE NILE<br /><br /><span class='right'>After a painting by W. Gentz.</span></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>From their country the so-called Vodoo-service, the worship
-of the “Great Snake,” has been brought by slaves to the
-West Indies, where it was handed down from generation to
-generation. It still prevails in Hayti, “the black man’s republic.”
-Here it is, that the Vodoo priests and their devout followers
-meet in silent forests, to pay homage to their ugly god by
-sacrificing women as well as children.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Herodotus and other historians of classic times relate
-that every year in Egypt, when the Nile began to rise, to
-which that country owes its abundance, the priests persuaded
-a beautiful girl to become the bride of the river-god. Adorned
-with jewels and flowers, and greeted by all the people, this
-virgin was led to the flat roof of a temple overlooking the
-mighty river. After prayers and invocations had been made,
-she was tossed into the swirling floods, which swiftly carried
-her away.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among the early Latin peoples similar sacrifices seem
-to have been customary, as is indicated by the fact that in
-Rome on the 15th of May in every year the Vestal virgins, in
-presence of all the priests, municipal authorities and the people
-threw twenty-four life-size dolls, the so-called Argeer, into the
-Tiber.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>To calm the rage of the god of fire and earthquake, the
-priests of ancient Japan also hurled beautiful virgins into
-the flaming crater of Fuji Yama.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Humanity needed thousands of years to shake off such
-monstrous illusions and customs, because nothing is so difficult
-as to eliminate ideas and customs that are rooted in religious
-superstition, and, through being handed down from generation
-to generation, become surrounded with a halo of sacredness
-and solemnity.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>To such institutions belonged also, what by some students
-of human culture has been characterized as “hierarchical or
-sacred prostitution.” As is generally known, there exist among
-almost all aboriginal tribes crafty charlatans, who pretend
-to have influence over those supernatural powers, which are
-believed to be the distributors of all blessings as well as of
-all evils. These so-called sorcerers, healers, conjurors, magicians,
-medicine-men, or shamans, the predecessors of the
-priests, usurped among many tribes the privilege of deflouring
-all virgins before their entrance into marriage. With the
-gradual evolution of priesthood this practice was made a
-rite, which among various nations of antiquity developed
-into the most voluptuous orgies known in history.</p>
-
-<div class='chapter'>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span>
-  <h2 class='c006'>Women during the Ages of Antiquity.</h2>
-</div>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>
-<img src='images/i_029.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>A NOBLEMAN AND HIS WIFE IN BABYLON</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<h3 class='c010'>WOMEN IN BABYLONIA.</h3>
-
-<p class='c011'>As the cultivated nations of Antiquity sprang from
-inferior tribes, it is only natural that in their social life many
-of the habits and customs of prehistorical times survived.
-Nowhere was this fact more evident than in the status of
-women. Everywhere we find a strange mixture of the rude
-conceptions of the dim past and promising prospects for a
-brighter future. In many places women were still regarded
-as inferior creatures, subjected to the will of men and with
-no rights whatever over their own persons. We also note that
-polygamy, barter, rape, slavery and hierarchical prostitution
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>still flourish in all kinds of forms and disguises. But at the
-same time we are surprised to see that among certain nations
-the members of the fair sex enjoy already the same respect
-and almost a similar amount of rights and liberty, as our
-women possess to-day.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Modern archæologists are inclined to recognize those
-formerly fertile lands between the Persian Gulf and Asia
-Minor, and watered by the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, as
-the “Cradle of Civilization,” or the place, where in misty ages,
-before history began, the so-called Sumerians, a Semitic
-people, first attempted to form themselves into organized
-communities. According to the traditions of the Hebrews here
-was the original home of the human race, the “Garden of
-Eden,” and here was, as is told in Genesis XI, “that men
-said one to another: ‘Go to, let us build a city and a tower
-whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a
-name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole
-earth.’”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>This city was called Babylon, and the country <b>Babylonia</b>.
-Wonderful stories and legends are connected with these two
-names, but still more astounding are the revelations unearthed
-by the pick and shovel of modern explorers. By their diligent
-work it has been discovered that the people, living in this
-region somewhere about 4,000 to 6,000 years B. C. were
-already a highly organized and civilized race, skilled in various
-trades and professions, and living in towns of considerable
-size and importance. The inhabitants of these cities were by
-no means awkward in the fine arts. Most important of all,
-they had already evolved a very complete and highly
-developed system of writing, which in itself must have taken
-many centuries to reach the stage at which it was found by
-the explorers.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As may be read in the elaborate works of Maspero,
-Hilprecht and other explorers, they discovered in the ruins
-of the principal cities of Babylonia several ancient libraries
-and archives containing thousands of tablets of clay, stone
-and bronze, covered with inscriptions of religious, astrological
-and magical texts, epics, chronicles and syllabaries. There are
-also contracts; records of debts; leases of lands, houses and
-slaves; deeds of transfer of all kinds of property; mortgages;
-documents granting power of attorney; tablets dealing with
-bankruptcy and inheritance; in fact, almost every imaginable
-kind of deed or contract is found among them.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The most precious relic is the famous Code of Hammurabi,
-King of Babylonia. This collection of laws, engraved on stone
-2,250 years B. C. and now preserved in the Louvre, is so
-elaborate and systematic that it can hardly have been the
-first one. Back of it there must have been a long period of
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>usage and custom. But it is the first great collection of laws
-that has come down to us. In 282 sections it regulates almost
-every conceivable incident and relationship of life. Not only
-are the great crimes dealt with and penalized, but life is
-regulated down to its most minute details. There are laws
-on marriage, breach of promise, divorce, desertion, concubinage,
-rights of women, purchase-money of brides, guardianship
-of the widow and orphan, adoption of children, etc.
-Through these laws we gain full information about the position
-of women in ancient Babylonia. Three classes of women are
-recognized: wives, concubines, and slaves. From other
-sources we know that all women of the higher class were
-cloistered in the harem and never appeared by the side of
-husbands or brothers in public. The harem system, at least
-for Western Asia and Europe, most probably originated in
-Babylonia.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The National Geographic Magazine of February, 1916,
-gives the text of a love letter, written several thousand years
-ago and sent by a young man to his sweetheart. It reads
-as follows: “To Bibea, thus says Gimil Marduk: may the
-Gods Shamash and Marduk permit thee to live forever for
-my sake. I write to inquire concerning thy health. Tell me
-how thou art. I went to Babylon, but did not see thee. I was
-greatly disappointed. Tell me the reason for thy leaving,
-that I may be happy. Do come in the month Marchesvan.
-Keep well always for my sake.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the same place we find the following example of a
-marriage contract:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Nabu-nadin-akhi, son of Bel-akbe-iddin, grandson of
-Ardi-Nergal, spoke thus to Shum-ukina, son of Mushallimu:
-‘Give me thy Ina-Esagila-banat, the virgin, to wife to Uballitsu-Gula,
-my son.’ Shum-ukina hearkened unto him and gave
-Ina-Esagila-banat, his virgin daughter, to Uballitsu-Gula, his
-son. One mina of silver, three female slaves, Latubashinnu,
-Inasilli-esabat and Taslimu, besides house furniture, with Ina-Esagila-banat,
-his daughter, as a marriage-portion he gave
-to Nabu-nadin-akhi. Nanâ-Gishirst, the slave of Shum-ukina,
-in lien of two-thirds of a mina of silver, her full price Shum-ukina
-gave to Nabu-Nadin-akhi out of the one mina of silver
-for her marriage-portion. One-third of a mina, the balance
-of the one mina, Shum-ukina will give Nabu-nadin-akhi, and
-her marriage-portion is paid. Each took a writing (or contract).”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>This document, written on a tablet of clay, is signed by
-six witnesses and the scribe.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As Professor Clay explains “it has been the custom with
-most peoples in a large part of the ancient as well as the
-modern Orient to base a betrothal upon an agreement of the
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span>man or his parents to pay a sum of money to the girl’s father.”
-In Babylonia this “bride-money,” together with the gift of
-the father and other gifts, formed the marriage-portion which
-was given to the bride. There were prudential reasons for
-this practice. It gave the woman protection against ill-treatment
-and infidelity on the part of the husband, as well
-as against divorce; for if she returned to her father’s house
-she took with her the marriage portion unless she was the
-offending party. If she died childless, the marriage-portion
-was divided among them.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In case the girl’s father rejected the suitor after the contract
-had been made, he was required to return double the
-amount of the bride price. The betrothals took place usually
-when the parties were young, and as a rule the engagements
-were made by the parents. A marriage contract was necessary
-to make a marriage legal. In some cases peculiar conditions
-were made, such as the bride’s being required to wait upon
-the mother-in-law, or even upon another wife. If it was stipulated
-that the man should not take a second wife, the woman
-could secure a divorce in case her husband broke the agreement.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Concubinage was indulged in, especially when the wife
-was childless and she had not given her husband a slave maid
-that he might have children. The law fully determined the
-status of the concubine and protected her rights.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>At the husband’s death the wife received her marriage-portion
-and what was deeded to her during the husband’s
-life. If he had not given her a portion of the estate during
-his life, she received a son’s share and was permitted to
-retain her home, but she could marry again. A widow with
-young children could only marry with the consent of the
-judge. An inventory of the former husband’s property was
-made and it was intrusted to the couple for the dead party’s
-children.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>If a man divorced a woman, which he could do by saying
-to her “Thou art not my wife!” she received her marriage-portion
-and went back to her father’s home. In case there
-was no dowry, she received one mina of silver, if the man
-belonged to the gentry; but only one-third of a mina if he
-was a commoner.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>For infidelity the woman could divorce her husband and
-take the marriage-portion with her. In case of a woman’s
-infidelity, the husband could degrade her as a slave; he even
-could have her drowned or put to death with the sword. In
-case of disease, the man could take a second wife, but was
-compelled to maintain his invalid wife in his home. If she
-preferred to return to her father’s house, she could take the
-marriage-portion with her.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span>
-<img src='images/i_033.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>THE MARRIAGE MARKET AT BABYLON<br /><br /><span class='right'>After a painting by Edwin Long.</span></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>From several of these engraved tablets it appears, that
-a woman received the same pay for the same work when
-she took a man’s place.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>To Herodotus, the so-called “Father of History,” we
-are indebted for some highly interesting notes about the
-“marriage market of ancient Babylon.” Its site, uncovered
-in 1913 by the German Oriental Society, was in close neighborhood
-of the palaces of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar
-and occupied a rectangle of 100 by 150 feet. Open to the
-air on all four sides, it was most probably shielded from the
-sun by rich awnings devised to shelter the daughters of
-Babylon and bring out their charms. The marble block upon
-which they stood while being bid for was in the center of
-the spectators and richly carved with cherubs, who worshiped
-and protected the “Tree of Life.” Several inscriptions leave
-no doubt, that this was the actual market of which Herodotus
-gave the following description: “Once a year the maidens
-of age to marry in Babylon were collected at the market,
-while the men stood around them in a circle. Then a herald
-called up the damsels one by one and offered them for sale.
-He began with the most beautiful. When she was sold for
-no small sum he offered for sale the one who came next to
-her in beauty. All of them were to be sold as wives. The
-richest of the Babylonians who wished to wed bid against
-each other for the loveliest maidens, while the humbler wife
-seekers, who were indifferent about beauty, took the more
-homely damsels with marriage-portions. For the custom was
-that when the herald had gone through the whole number
-of the fair ones he should then call up the ugliest—a cripple
-if there chanced to be one—and offer her to the men, asking
-who would agree to take her with the smallest marriage-portion.
-And the man who offered to take the smallest sum
-had her assigned to him. The marriage-portions were furnished
-by the money paid for the beautiful girls, and thus
-the fairer maidens portioned out the uglier. No one was
-allowed to give his daughter to the man of his choice, nor
-might any one carry away the damsel he had purchased without
-finding bail really and truly to make her his wife. If,
-however, it was found that they did not agree the money
-might be paid back. All who liked might come, even from
-distant villages, and bid for the women.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Herodotus as well as the Roman Curtius Rufus have
-written also about the so-called “hierarchical or sacred prostitution,”
-as it was connected with the service of Mylitta or
-Belit, the Babylonian goddess of the producing agencies.<a id='r1' /><a href='#f1' class='c013'><sup>[1]</sup></a>
-Her temple was surrounded by a grove, which, like the
-temple, became the scene of most voluptuous orgies, about
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>which Jeremiah too has given indications in his letter directed
-to Baruch. (Baruch VI. 42, 43.)</p>
-
-<div class='footnote' id='f1'>
-<p class='c008'><a href='#r1'>1</a>. About this subject Rev. T. M. Lindsay, Professor of Divinity and
-Church History, Free Church College, Glasgow, writes in the Encyclopædia
-Britannica in an essay about Christianity: “All paganism is at
-bottom a worship of Nature in some form or other, and in all pagan
-religions the deepest and most awe-inspiring attribute of nature was its
-power of reproduction. The mystery of birth and becoming was the
-deepest mystery of Nature; it lay at the root of all thoughtful paganism
-and appeared in various forms, some of a more innocent, others of a
-most debasing type. To ancient pagan thinkers, as well as to modern
-men of science the key to the hidden secret of the origin and preservation
-of the universe lay in the mystery of sex. Two energies or agents,
-one an active and generative, the other a feminine, passive, or susceptible
-one, were everywhere thought to combine for creative purpose, and
-heaven and earth, sun and moon, day and night, were believed to
-co-operate to the production of being. Upon some such basis as this
-rested almost all the polytheistic worship of the old civilization, and to
-it may be traced back, stage by stage, the separation of divinity into
-male and female gods, the deification of distinct powers of nature, and
-the idealization of man’s own faculties, desires, and lusts, where every
-power of his understanding was embodied as an object of adoration,
-and every impulse of his will became an incarnation of deity. But in
-each and every form of polytheism we find the slime-track of the deification
-of sex; there is not a single one of the ancient religions which
-has not consecrated by some ceremonial rite even the grossest forms
-of sensual indulgence, while many of them actually elevated prostitution
-into a solemn service of religion.”</p>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>According to these statements every woman was compelled
-to visit the temple of Mylitta at least once during her
-life and give herself over to any stranger, who would throw
-some money on her lap and with the words: “I appeal to
-Mylitta!” indicate his desire to possess her. Such an appeal
-could not be rejected, no matter how small the sum was, as
-this money was to be offered on the altar of the goddess and
-thus became sacred.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_035.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>
-<img src='images/i_036.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>HEBREW WOMEN DURING THE TIME OF ANTIQUITY.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<h3 class='c010'>WOMAN’S STATUS AMONG THE HEBREWS.</h3>
-
-<p class='c011'>The early <b>Hebrews</b> or <b>Israelites</b>, being of the same Semitic
-stock as the Babylonians, but preferring a pastoral life,
-observed similar habits in their relations to women. Matrimony
-to them was not a necessity based on mutual love and
-respect, but a divine order, binding especially the man. While
-it was his obligation to maintain the human race, especially
-the Jewish stock, woman was merely the medium to reach this
-end by her beauty and charm and by giving birth to children.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>For the conclusion of a marriage the mutual consent of
-the two contrahents was necessary. But generally the marriage
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>was arranged by the fathers or some other relations, who
-likewise settled the question as to how much would be the
-dowry of the son as well as of the daughter. That sometimes
-even a faithful servant was charged with the negotiation of
-these delicate questions, is told in Genesis XXIV, where it is
-said that Abraham, in order to secure for his son Isaac a wife
-of his kindred, commissioned his eldest servant to make
-a journey to his former home in Mesopotamia. While resting
-at a well, he met Rebekah, the beautiful daughter of Bethuel,
-a son of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. When Rebekah consented
-to become Isaac’s wife, Abraham’s servant brought
-forth many jewels of silver and gold and raiment, and gave
-them to Rebekah. Having given also to her brother and to
-her mother many precious things, he started for the return
-journey, taking Rebekah and her maid servants with him.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The story of Jacob and Rachel, as told in Genesis XXIX,
-proves, that among the early Hebrews the barter for women
-was customary, but that the wooer might obtain the girl of
-his longing likewise by serving her father for a certain length
-of time. As the early Hebrew had an aversion to mingling
-with the inhabitants of Canaan, Isaac, Jacob’s father, sent
-him to Mesopotamia, the former habitat of the Hebrews, to
-select a wife among the daughters of Laban, his mother’s
-brother.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Meeting Rachel, Laban’s youngest daughter, he became
-so deeply impressed by her charm, and so eager to gain her,
-that he offered Laban to serve him for Rachel for seven years.
-Having fulfilled his contract, Jacob was, however, beguiled
-by Laban, who at the wedding-night substituted his eldest
-daughter Leah for Rachel. When in the morning Jacob
-became aware of the deception, Laban claimed that it was
-not customary, in his country, to give away a younger daughter
-before the firstborn. And so he succeeded in persuading Jacob
-to serve him for Rachel another term of seven years.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>While monogamy was the rule among the Hebrews,
-polygamy was permitted, especially if the first wife was barren.
-As this was the case with Sarah, the wife of Abraham, she
-gave her husband Hagar, an Egyptian maid-servant, with
-whom Abraham begat a son, Ishmael. Of Leah and Rachel,
-the two wives of Jacob, we may read in Genesis XXX, that
-they, not having born children to Jacob, likewise introduced
-to him their maids Bilhah and Zilpah, each of which bore
-Jacob two sons.—It is certain that some of the patriarchs
-had a great number of wives, and that not all of these held
-the same rank, some being inferior to the principal wife. The
-right of concubinage was practically unlimited. Abraham
-kept a number of concubines, as appears in Genesis XXV, 6,
-where it is said that he, when dividing his property, gave
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span>gifts to the sons of his concubines. Of Solomon the first book
-of Kings XI, 3, states, that he had 700 wives and 300 concubines.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the Mosaic law concubinage and divorce was a privilege
-of the husband only. A wife accused of adultery was
-compelled to undergo the horrible ordeal of the bitter water,
-as described in Numbers V. If found guilty, she might be
-stoned to death.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>To continue the male issue of the family was the paramount
-mission of the wife. That the birth of a male baby
-was regarded as an event of far greater importance than that
-of a female, appears from Leviticus XII, where it is said, that
-a woman, giving birth to a son, was regarded unclean for
-only seven days and must not touch hallowed things nor come
-into the sanctuary for a period of thirty-three days. But if
-unfortunately she became the mother of a girl, she was considered
-unclean for fourteen days and had to abstain from
-religious service for sixty-six days. Only after she had made
-atonement for the sin of motherhood by offering a lamb or
-a pair of pigeons, was she forgiven.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The prejudice against woman is also confirmed by the
-fact, that, according to Exodus XXIII, 17, all male Jews were
-required to appear before the Lord three times in the year,
-and that they had to repair to Jerusalem once a year, with
-all their belongings. But the women were not privileged to
-accompany their husbands.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_038.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span>
-<img src='images/i_039.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>HINDOO WOMEN FROM CASHMERE.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<h3 class='c010'>WOMAN’S STATUS AMONG THE PARSEE AND HINDOO.</h3>
-
-<p class='c011'>To investigate woman’s position among the other ancient
-nations of Asia is also of interest.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The <b>Parsee</b> or <b>Parsis</b>, belonging to the great Aryan or
-Indo-Germanic race, occupied two thousand years before
-Christ that part of Central Asia known at present as Iran or
-Persia. Whether this country was the original home of that
-race, is unknown. Some modern scientists are inclined to seek
-it in more northern parts of Asia or even of Europe, as the
-sacred songs of the Parsee contain indications, that the Aryans
-originally came from countries with a temperate or frigid zone.
-When for instance the Vedic singers in hot India prayed for
-long life, they asked for “a hundred winters.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In their treatment of women these Aryans or Parsee have
-been much more noble than any other Asiatic race. They
-believed in marriage for higher purposes than the mere
-begetting of children. The principal incentive to conclude a
-marriage was the desire to contribute to the great renovation
-hereafter, which, according to the sacred book of the Parsee,
-the Zend-Avesta, is promised to humanity. This renovation
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span>cannot be carried out in the individual self, but must be
-gradually worked out through a continuous line of sons,
-grandsons, and great-grandsons. The motive of marriage was
-therefore sacred. It was a religious purpose they had in view,
-when the male and female individuals contributed by marital
-union their assistance, first, in the propagation of the human
-race; second, in spreading the Zoroastrian faith; and third, in
-giving stability to the religious kingdom of God by contributing
-to the victory of the good cause, which victory will be
-complete about the time of resurrection. The objects of the
-marriage bond were, therefore, purely religious, tending to
-the success of light, piety or virtue in this world. For this
-reason the Avesta declares that married men are far above
-those who remain single; that those who have a settled home
-are far above those who have none; and that those who
-have children are of far greater value to humanity than those
-who have no offspring.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>While daughters were believed to be less useful than
-sons for the continuation of the father’s race, they were, however,
-not disliked, but also objects of love and tenderness.
-Marriages were not the result of any barter or capture, but
-of pure selection on the part of the two individuals. If they
-were still of minor age, the marriage was subject to the
-confirmation of the parents or guardians.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Infanticide was strictly prohibited. There were also laws
-against the destruction of the fruit of adultery. Such illegitimate
-offspring had to be fed and brought up at the expense
-of the male sinner until they became seven years of age.</p>
-
-<hr class='c012' />
-
-<p class='c008'>Like the valleys of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, and
-like the highlands of Central Asia, or Ariyana, so the mountains,
-plains and forests of <b>India</b> were inhabited long before
-the dawn of history by masses of men of various races and
-split into many hundreds of tribes. Of these races descendants
-exist in almost the same conditions as their ancestors did
-many thousand years ago. In Southern India the Kader are
-still living in primitive tree-huts. Assam and Bhutan are
-regions abounding with villages which are the exact counterparts
-of the prehistorical lake-dwellings of Switzerland.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>These vast regions of India were at some unknown time
-invaded by tribes of <b>Aryan</b> or <b>Indo-Germanic</b> race. While
-among the aborigines of India women were subjected to all
-the hardships and bad treatment of primeval times, the women
-of the Aryans enjoyed, as stated above, a far higher position.
-Like their husbands they were the “rulers of the house,” had
-the entire management of household affairs, and were allowed
-to appear freely in public. Husband and wife also drew near
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>to the gods together in prayer. That the education of the
-females was not neglected is proven by the fact, that some
-of the most beautiful Vedas or national hymns and lyric
-poems were composed by ladies and queens.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>With the decline of the Aryan race and culture in India,
-caused most probably by the hot, enervating climate of the
-country, the position of women also underwent a change for
-the worse. Especially the growing despotism of the Brahmanic
-priests gradually robbed women of all their former rights
-and liberty. In time they became completely subject to the
-authority of man. Mothers owed obedience to their own sons,
-and daughters were absolutely dependent upon the will of
-their fathers. The system of conventional precepts, known
-as “Manu’s Code of Laws,” clearly defined the relative position
-and the duties of the several castes and sexes, and determined
-the penalties to be inflicted on any transgressors of the limits
-assigned to each of them. But these laws are conceived with
-no human or sentimental scruples on the part of their authors.
-On the contrary, the offenses, committed by Brahmans against
-other castes, are treated with remarkable clemency, whilst the
-punishments inflicted for trespasses on the rights of the
-Brahmans and higher classes are the more severe and inhuman
-the lower the offender stands in the social scale.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Against the female sex Manu’s laws are full of hostile
-expressions: “Women are able to lead astray in this world,
-not only the fools, but even learned men, and to make them
-slaves of lust and anger.”—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“The cause of all dishonor is woman; the cause of hostility
-is woman; the cause of our worldly existence is woman; therefore
-we must turn away from woman.”—“Girls and wives
-must never do anything of their own will, not even in their
-own homes.”—“Women are by their nature inclined to
-seduce men; therefore no man shall sit even with his own
-relative in lonely places.”—“The wife must be devoted to
-her husband during her whole life as well as after his death.
-Even if he is not without blame, even if he is unfaithful and
-without a good character, she must nevertheless respect him
-like a god. She must do nothing that might displease him,
-neither during his life nor after his death.”—“Day and night
-must women be held in a state of dependence.”—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As the subjection of women was made a cardinal principle
-of the Brahman priests, they did not shrink from misinterpreting
-the text of the Vedas accordingly. So the sentence: “You
-wife, ascend into the realm of life! Come to us! Do your
-duty toward your husband!” was explained to mean that a
-widow must not marry again but ought to follow her husband
-also in death. This led to the voluntary burning of the widows
-with the corpse of the husband, a practice which assumed
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>great dimensions and was observed till the middle of the
-19th Century. Mrs. Postans, an English lady, who during the
-first part of the last century resided many years in Cutch, one
-of the northern provinces of India, gave the following account
-of such a ceremony: “News of the widow’s intentions having
-spread, a great concourse of people of both sexes, the women
-clad in their gala costumes, assembled round the pyre. In a
-short time after their arrival the fated victim appeared, accompanied
-by the Brahmins, her relatives, and the body of the
-deceased. The spectators showered chaplets of mogree on
-her head, and greeted her appearance with laudatory exclamations
-at her constancy and virtue. The women especially
-pressed forward to touch her garments—an act which is
-considered meritorious, and highly desirable for absolution
-and protection from the “evil eye.””</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“The widow was a remarkably handsome woman,
-apparently about thirty, and most superbly attired. Her
-manner was marked by great apathy to all around her, and
-by a complete indifference to the preparations which for the
-first time met her eye. Physical pangs evidently excited no
-fears in her; her singular creed, the customs of her country,
-and her sense of confused duty excluded from her mind the
-natural emotions of personal dread, and never did martyr to
-a true cause go to the stake with more constancy and firmness,
-than did this delicate and gentle woman prepare to
-become the victim of a deliberate sacrifice to the demoniacal
-tenets of her heathen creed.”</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_042.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id006'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span>
-<img src='images/i_043.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>A LADIES’ PARLOR IN CHINA.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<h3 class='c010'>WOMAN IN CHINA AND JAPAN.</h3>
-
-<p class='c011'>While the fate of women in India was shaped by Manu’s
-Code of Laws, in <b>China</b> it was decided by the orders of Confucius,
-the famous sage, born in the year 550 B. C. and in
-popular histories of his life praised in the lines:</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c014'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“Confucius! Confucius! How great was Confucius!</div>
-      <div class='line'>Before him there was no Confucius,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Since him there has been no other.</div>
-      <div class='line'>Confucius! Confucius! How great was Confucius!”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the rules, which this savant gave to his followers, he
-demanded full subordination of woman to man; also, that
-the two sexes should have nothing in common and live
-separated in two different parts of the house. The husband
-must not mingle in the internal affairs of the home, while the
-wife must not concern herself in any outside matter. Also
-women should have no right to make decisions but in everything
-be guided by the orders of their husbands.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Women have likewise no proper position before the
-law and cannot be witnesses in any court. The father may
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>sell his daughter, and the husband may sell his wife. Concubines
-are permitted and often are housed under the same
-roof with the wife. Daughters are not welcomed, but treated
-with contempt.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>To get rid of a superabundance of infant girls which
-were regarded as a burden and as unwelcome eaters, the
-Chinese in former times resorted to exposure and infanticide
-to such an appalling extent that these cruelties became a
-national calamity and disgrace. Generally the female babies
-were drowned. In the provinces of Fukian and Kiangsi
-infanticide was so common, that, according to Douglas, at
-public canals stones could be seen bearing the inscription:
-“Infants must not be drowned here!”—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>To lessen these abuses one of the emperors of the Sung-dynasty
-decreed that all persons, willing to adopt exposed
-children, should be compensated by the government. But
-this well-meant decree brought evil results, as many people,
-who adopted such foundlings, raised them for the purpose
-of making them their own concubines, or to sell them to
-the keepers of brothels, of which every Chinese city had an
-abundance. Placed in these brothels when six or seven years
-old, the unfortunate girls were compelled to serve the older
-inmates for several years. Later on they assisted in entertaining
-visitors with song and music. But having reached the
-age of twelve or thirteen, they were regarded as sufficiently
-developed to bring profit in the lines of their actual designation.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The final fate of such unfortunate beings was in most
-cases miserable beyond description. Having been exploited
-to the utmost by their heartless owners, they were, when
-withered and no longer desirable, thrown into the streets, to
-perish in some filthy corner.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Women of the lower classes too had a hard life. In
-addition to such unfavorable conditions there existed among
-the aristocrats a strict adherence to ancient manners and
-customs. Accordingly the life of the whole nation became rigid
-and ossified. Foreigners, who came in close contact with
-Chinese aristocrats, speak of their women with greater pity
-than of the females of the poor, describing them as dull and
-boring creatures, with no higher interests than dress and
-gossip.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As in Japan the rules of Confucius were likewise in force,
-the position of woman in “the Land of the Rising Sun” likewise
-was an inferior one. Obedience was her lifelong duty.
-As a girl she owed obedience to her father, as a wife to her
-husband, and as a widow to her oldest son. And in the
-“Onna Deigaku,” the classic manual for the education of
-women, she was advised to be constantly aware of the bar
-between the two sexes.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>
-<img src='images/i_045.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>AN ENTERTAINMENT AMONG THE GEISHAS OF JAPAN.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>
-<img src='images/i_046.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>AN EGYPTIAN QUEEN AND HER ATTENDANTS.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<h3 class='c010'>WOMAN AMONG THE EGYPTIANS.</h3>
-
-<p class='c011'>Of the many nations that occupy the shores of the
-Mediterranean Sea, the <b>Egyptians</b> are the oldest. To them
-one of the foremost scholars, George Ebers, paid the following
-compliment: “If it is true that the culture of a nation
-may be judged by the more or less favorable position, held
-by its women, then the culture of ancient Egypt surpassed
-that of all other nations of Antiquity.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Indeed, when we study the innumerable inscriptions,
-paintings and sculptures of Egyptian tombs, and investigate
-the many well preserved papyrus rolls, we find this praise
-fully justified. Not only did the Egyptians generally confine
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>themselves to one wife, but they also extended to her more
-and greater privileges, than she had in any other country.
-Woman was honored as the source of life, as the mother of
-all being. Therefore contracts, carefully set up, protected her
-in her rights and secured her the title Neb-t-em pa, “the
-mistress of the house.” As such she had, if the authority of
-Diodorus can be credited, absolute control over all domestic
-affairs and no objection was made to her commands whatsoever
-they might be. It is also significant, that where
-biographical notes appear, on tombs, statues and sarcophagi,
-the name of the deceased mother is frequently given, while
-the name of the father is not mentioned. So it reads for
-instance: “Ani, born by Ptah-sit,” “Seti, brought to life by
-Ata.” The spirit of true affection and real family life likewise
-found expression in many poetical names given by sorrowful
-widowers to their departed wives. There is an inscription,
-in which a husband praises his lost mate as “the palm of
-loveliness and charm”; another one extols his spouse as “a
-faithful lady of the house, who was devoted to her husband
-in true fondness.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>That the highly developed, culture of the Egyptians was
-based on strong ethical principles, also appears from the text
-of the so-called “Papyrus Prisse,” perhaps the oldest book
-of morals ever written. Its author, Prince Ptah-hotep, who
-lived about 3350 B. C., gives hints and advice in regard to
-social intercourse and manners, to be observed among people
-of refinement. Hear what he says about the treatment of
-women: “If you are wise, you will take proper care of your
-house and love your wife in all honor. Nourish, clothe and
-adorn her, as this is the joy of her limbs. Provide her with
-pleasing odors; make her glad and happy as long as you
-live, because she is a gift that shall be worthy of its owner.
-Don’t be a tyrant. By friendly conduct you will attain much
-more than by rough force. Then her breath will be merry
-and her eyes bright. Gladly she will live in your house and
-will work in it with affection and to her heart’s content.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Children were regarded as the gifts of the gods, and
-brought up in good manners and obedience.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In company with their husbands Egyptian women took
-part in all kinds of social and public festivals. At social affairs
-the master and mistress of the house presided, sitting close
-together, while the guests, men and women, frequently
-mingled, strangers as well as members of the same family.
-Agreeable conversation was considered the principal charm
-of polite society, and according to Herodotus it was customary
-at such gatherings, to bring into the hall a wooden image
-of Osiris, the Lord of Life and Death, to remind the guests
-not only of the transitoriness of all earthly things and human
-pleasures, but also of the duty, to meet all others during the
-short span of this earthly life with kindness and love.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>
-<img src='images/i_048.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>A LADIES’ PARTY IN ANCIENT EGYPT.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>That ladies’ parties are not an innovation of our times
-but date back thousands of years before Christ, we learn
-from many finely executed carvings and frescoes which represent
-feasts. In long rows we see the fair ones sitting
-together, in finest attire, with hair carefully dressed and
-adorned with lotus flowers. Waited upon by handmaids and
-female slaves, they chat and enjoy the delicious sweets, cakes
-and fruits, with which the tables are loaded. As the hours
-passed, fresh bouquets were brought to them, and the guests
-are shown in the act of burying their noses in the delicate
-petals, with an air of luxury which even the conventionalities
-of the draughtsman cannot hide. Wine was also partaken of,
-and that the ladies were not restricted in its use, is evident
-from the fact, that the painters have sometimes sacrificed
-their gallantry to a love of caricature. “We see some ladies
-call the servants to support them as they sit; others with difficulty
-prevent themselves from falling on those behind them;
-a basin is brought too late by a reluctant servant, and the
-faded flower, which is ready to drop from heated hands, is
-intended to be characteristic of their own sensations.”<a id='r2' /><a href='#f2' class='c013'><sup>[2]</sup></a></p>
-
-<div class='footnote' id='f2'>
-<p class='c008'><a href='#r2'>2</a>. Wilkinson, Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians, Vol.
-II, p. 166.</p>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>In Egypt women were permitted to practice as physicians.
-They were likewise admitted into the service of the temple.
-In most solemn processions they advanced towards the altar
-with the priests, bearing the sacred sistrum, an instrument
-emitting jingling sounds when shaken by the dancer. Queens
-and princesses frequently accompanied the monarchs while
-they offered their prayers and sacrifices to the deity, holding
-one or two ceremonial instruments in their hands.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The constitution of Egypt also provided that, when at
-the death of a king no male successor was at hand, the royal
-authority and supreme direction of affairs might be entrusted
-without reserve to one of the princesses, who in such case
-ascended the throne. History records several Egyptian queens,
-among them Cleopatra VI, who became famous through her
-relations to Cæsar and Anthony.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_049.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id005'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>
-<img src='images/i_050.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>IN THE TIME OF SAPPHO AND ASPASIA.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<h3 class='c010'>WOMAN AMONG THE GREEKS.</h3>
-
-<p class='c011'>The great regard extended to women by the Egyptians
-could not fail to influence to some extent those nations, with
-whom they came in contact, especially the <b>Greeks</b> and the
-<b>Romans</b>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Ancient Greece, or to be more correct, Hellas, was occupied
-by the <b>Hellenes</b>, belonging to the Aryan or Indo-Germanic
-race, who had immigrated from Central Asia in
-prehistoric times. A pastoral rather than an agricultural
-people, they were divided into several branches, of which
-the Dorians, Ionians, Aeolians, and Pelasgians were the most
-prominent.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>No people has ever recognized the charm of women with
-greater enthusiasm than the Greeks. To them the fair sex
-was the embodiment of cheerful life, of the joy of being. To
-this conception we owe many of the most excellent works of
-art, among them several unsurpassed statues of Venus, the
-goddess of beauty and love.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the treatment of their women the various branches of
-the Hellenes were not alike. But all took deep interest in
-the harmonious development of the body, of beauty and art.
-Gymnastic games and prize-fights were the favorite entertainments,
-especially among the Dorians, one branch of whom,
-the Spartans, became famous for their strict methods in
-rearing and educating boys as well as girls.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>To secure to the state a race of strong and healthy
-citizens, the Spartans allowed no sickly infant to live, and
-girls were required to take part in all gymnastic exercises of
-the young men. Women were even admitted to co-operate
-in all public affairs. As great attention was given also to
-their education, the women of Sparta gained in time such
-great influence over their men, that the other Hellenes jokingly
-spoke of “Sparta’s female government,” a remark, which
-was promptly answered with the reply, that the women of
-Sparta were also the only ones, who gave birth to real men.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>That the Hellenic women were treated with great dignity
-during the so-called “heroic age,” and that they enjoyed far
-greater liberty than in later periods, is evident from the poems
-of Homer. In the Iliad Achilles says: “Every true and sensible
-man will treat his wife respectfully and take proper care of
-her.” And in another place Homer declares that “besides
-beauty good judgment, intellect and skill in all female works
-are the merits, by which a wife will become a respected
-consort to her husband.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the “Odyssey” Homer gives in Penelope a very
-attractive example of female faithfulness and dignity. He
-also makes Odysseus say to Nausikaa: “There is nothing so
-elevating and beautiful, as when husband and wife live in
-harmony in their home, to the annoyance of their adversaries,
-to the rejoicing of their friends, and to their own honor!”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among the many deities, worshiped by the Greeks, one
-of the most attractive figures was Hestia, the goddess of the
-home or hearth fire. As explained in a former chapter, the
-constant fire, kept by aboriginal bands in the centre of their
-villages, became in time a sacred symbol of home and family
-life, and by degrees grew into a religious cult of great sanctity
-and importance. As women in ancient Hellas too were the
-guardians of this tribal fire, so its deity was believed to be
-a goddess, Hestia, whose name means “home—or hearth-fire.”
-As the tribal fire was always kept burning so the fire
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span>in the Pytaneion, the temples of Hestia, was to remain alive.
-If by any mischance it became extinguished, only sacred fire
-made by friction, or got directly from the Sun, might be
-used to rekindle it. The Pytaneion was always in the center
-of the villages and cities. Around its fire the magistrates met,
-and received foreign guests. From this fire, representing the
-life of the city, was taken the fire wherewith that on the
-hearth of new colonies was kindled.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In later times, however, the high conceptions the Greeks
-had of womanhood underwent considerable change, and the
-close intimacy between husband and wife, which had hitherto
-distinguished married life, vanished. When with the extension
-of navigation and commerce the Greeks came into closer
-touch with the luxurious life of Asiatic nations, they adopted
-many of their manners and thoughts. Suspicion and jealousy,
-conspicuous traits in the character of southern races, now
-made themselves felt. Besides misogynists like Hipponax,
-Antiphanes, Eubulos and others began to poison the minds
-of the people with degrading, insulting remarks about women
-and matrimony. As did for instance Hipponax by saying:
-“There are only two pleasant days in married life, the first,
-when you take your bride in your home, and the second,
-when you bury her.”—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>And Eubulos is responsible for the sentence: “Deuce
-may take him, who marries a second time! I shall not scold
-him, that he took his first wife, as he did not know what was
-in store for him. But later on he knows that this evil is
-woman.”—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Euripides is responsible for the most degrading comment.
-He wrote the following lines:</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c014'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“Dire is the violence of ocean waves,</div>
-      <div class='line'>And dire the blast of rivers and hot fires,</div>
-      <div class='line'>And dire is want, and dire are countless things,</div>
-      <div class='line'>But nothing is so dire and dread as woman.</div>
-      <div class='line'>No painting could express her dreadfulness,</div>
-      <div class='line'>No words describe it. If a god made woman</div>
-      <div class='line'>And fashioned her, he was for man the artist</div>
-      <div class='line'>Of woes unnumbered, and his deadly foe!”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>The undermining effect of such remarks was increased
-by numerous comedies in which married life was turned to
-ridicule, and husbands were depicted as despicable slaves to
-women. So bye and bye the high position, formerly held by
-the female sex, sank to a much lower level. Their liberty was
-greatly curtailed, and daughters as well as wifes were confined
-to the strict seclusion of the “Gynäkonitis” or women’s
-quarters at the back of the house. Here they spent their time
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span>with spinning, weaving, sewing and other female work, not
-seeing or hearing much of the outside world. For this reason
-they were often nicknamed “the locked up,” or “those reared
-in the shadow.” As they rarely got out into the fresh air,
-they relied greatly on rouge and cosmetics, to hide their faded
-complexion. The only interruption in this monotonous life
-were the festivals of the various deities, during which they
-joined the solemn processions and carried the ceremonial
-implements and vessels on their heads.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As the education of the girls was greatly neglected, and
-as they generally married very early, they had no influence
-whatever on the male members of the family. They even
-didn’t appear at table with men, even with their husbands’
-guests in their own homes. But the principal cause for the
-decline of woman’s, position and of family life in Hellas was
-the rise and growing prevalence of the “heteræ” or courtesans,
-many of whom became famous for their fascinating beauty
-and accomplishments. Clever in graceful dances, well educated
-in song, music and in the art of entertaining, these
-women, many of whom were natives of foreign countries, in
-time became constant guests of the symposiums of prominent
-citizens. Far outshining the housewives and their daughters in
-gracefulness and wit, they soon won a domineering influence
-over the all too susceptible men, many of whom became lost
-to their own neglected families.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The most striking illustration of this is offered by the
-life of the famous Athenian statesman Pericles, who fell victim
-to the charms of Aspasia, a courtesan born in Miletus, Asia
-Minor. Her extraordinary beauty and still more remarkable
-mental gifts had gained her a wide reputation, which increased
-after her association with Pericles. Having divorced his wife,
-with whom he had been unhappy, Pericles attached himself
-to Aspasia as closely as was possible under the Athenian law,
-according to which marriage with a “barbarian” or foreigner
-was illegal and impossible. And after the death of his two
-sons by his lawful wife he secured the passage of a law, by
-which the children of irregular marriages might be rendered
-legitimate. His son by Aspasia was thus allowed to assume
-his father’s name.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Aspasia enjoyed a high reputation as a teacher of
-rhetoric. It is said that she instructed Pericles in this art, and
-that even Socrates admitted to have learned very much from
-her. The house of Aspasia became the center of the most
-brilliant intellectual society. Men who were in the advance
-guard of Hellenic thought, Socrates and his friends included,
-gathered here.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span>
-<img src='images/i_054.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>A DANCING LESSON IN THE TEMPLE OF DIONYSOS.<br /><br /><span class='right'>After a painting by H. Schneider.</span></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span>Another noted courtesan was Phryne, who by her radiant
-beauty acquired so much wealth that she could offer to rebuild
-the walls of Thebes, which had been destroyed by Alexander
-(335 B. C.), on condition that the restored walls bear the
-inscription, “Destroyed by Alexander, restored by Phryne,
-the hetære.” When the festival of Poseidon was held at
-Eleusis, she laid aside her garments, let down her hair and
-stepped into the sea in the sight of the people, thus suggesting
-to Apelles his great painting of “Aphrodite rising from the
-sea.” The famous sculptor Praxiteles too used her as a model
-for his statue “the Cnidian Aphrodite,” which Pliny declared
-to be the most beautiful statue in the world.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Anteia, Isostasion, Korinna, Phonion, Klepsydra,
-Thalatta, Danae, Mania, Nicarete, Herpyllis, Lamia, Lasthenia,
-Theis, Bachis and Theodota are the names of other courtesans,
-who became widely known for their relations with prominent
-men of Hellas and acquired enormous wealth.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Sappho, the famous poetess, whom Plato dignified with
-the epithets of “the tenth Muse,” “the flower of the Graces,”
-and “a miracle,” most probably belonged likewise to this class.
-It is said that she established in Mytilene a literary association
-of women of tastes and pursuits similar to her own, and that
-these women devoted themselves to every species of refined
-and elegant pleasure, sensual and intellectual. Music and
-poetry, and the art of love, were taught by Sappho and her
-older companions to the younger members of the sisterhood.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Hierarchical prostitution prevailed in Hellas. It was
-connected with the service of Aphrodite, the Greek counterpart
-of the Babylonian Mylitta. Strabo states, that in her
-temple of Corinth more than one thousand courtesans were
-devoted to the service of this goddess. The amount of money,
-earned by these girls and flowing into the priest’s treasury,
-was so enormous that Solon, the great statesman and law
-maker, envying the temples for such rich income, founded
-the Dikterion, a brothel of great style, the income of which
-went into the treasury of the state.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Enticed by the luxurious and easy life of such courtesans,
-thousands of young girls chose the same profession and
-entered the schools, which were established by many courtesans
-for the special purpose of giving instruction in all the
-arts of seduction. As the legislators, bribed by heavy tributes,
-were most liberal in giving concessions to these institutions
-as well as to prostitutes and keepers of brothels, public life
-became in time thoroughly demoralized. In fact these conditions
-were greatly responsible for the final decay and downfall
-of the whole Hellenic nation.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_055.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span>
-  <h3 class='c010'>WOMAN AMONG THE ROMANS.</h3>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c011'>Among the various nations who in early times occupied
-the Italian peninsula, the <b>Latins</b>, <b>Sabines</b> and <b>Etruscans</b> were
-the most prominent. That among them barter and the forceful
-abduction of women was customary, is indicated by the
-well-known story of the “Rape of the Sabine Women” by
-the original settlers of Rome.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As the legend runs Romulus and his band of adventurers,
-having no women with them, and too poor to buy some from
-their neighbors, decided in the fourth month after the foundation
-of Rome to get wives by resorting to a stratagem.
-Accordingly they invited their Sabine neighbors to partake
-with their wives and daughters in the celebration of a festival.
-Suspecting nothing, the Sabines came and greatly enjoyed
-the entertainments provided for them. But in the middle of
-the feast the Romans, far outnumbering the unarmed Sabines,
-rushed upon their maiden guests and carried them off by force.
-To avenge themselves, the Sabines went to war, in which
-both parties suffered severely. But the fierce struggle was
-brought to an end, when the kidnapped girls flung themselves
-between the combatants, imploring their fathers and brothers
-to become reconciled, as they would like to stay with their
-Roman husbands. Their urgent appeals brought not alone
-peace, but resulted even in the confederation of the Sabines
-and Romans.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>It is impossible to say whether this legend rests on actual
-facts, but it indicates that the forceful abduction of women
-was customary in ancient Italy. Undoubtedly it took many
-centuries before this drastic means of securing wives gave
-way to more peaceful methods. But to remind people of
-the intervention by which the women had ended the bloodshed
-between Romans and Sabines, the Romans celebrated
-a festival on the first of March of each year, called “Matronalia.”
-It could only be participated in by women, who went
-with girdles loose, and on the occasion received presents from
-husbands, lovers, and friends.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Laws were also instituted for the protection of women.
-Woe to those who dared to hurt their feelings by disorderly
-acts or insolent language. They were brought before the
-blood-judge, who dealt very severely with such evil-doers.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span>
-<img src='images/i_057.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>THE VESTAL VIRGINS.<br /><br /><span class='right'>After the painting by H. le Roux.</span></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>Like the Greeks the Romans venerated a divine guardian
-of family life. Her name was Vesta, “the domestic hearth-fire.”
-The hearth, around which the members of the family
-assembled in the evening, was the place consecrated to her.
-Numa Pompilius is said to be the one who erected the first
-temple to this goddess in Rome. Round in shape, its center
-contained an altar with a fire that was never allowed to be
-extinguished. To keep this sacred flame always burning and
-to offer daily sacrifices and prayers for the welfare of the
-state, two virgins of the noblest families were chosen by the
-Pontifex maximus or High-Priest. Afterwards the number
-of these “Vestal Virgins” was increased to four, and later
-to six. Their garments were of spotless white, with a veil
-and a fillet round the hair. Strict observance of the vow of
-chastity during the thirty years of their term of service was
-one of their chief obligations.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The privileges extended to these virgins were very
-remarkable. Free from any paternal control, except that of
-the Pontifex maximus, they could dispose by will of their
-own property. When appearing in a public procession they
-were preceded by a number of lictors, who carried with them
-the symbols of their judicial office, the fasces, a bundle of
-sticks, out of which an axe projected as a sign of sovereign
-power. Should it happen that in the street they met a
-criminal on his way to execution, they had the prerogative
-of pardoning him. In theatres, in the arena, and at other
-places of amusement the best seats were reserved for them.
-They also lived in great splendor; their home, the Atrium
-Vestæ, was not only very large, but of the best material and
-magnificently decorated. Like the emperors they shared the
-privilege of intramural burial.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>With all this esteem, the Vestal Virgin was severely
-punished if found guilty of neglecting her duty or violating
-her vow of chastity. The latter crime caused the whole city
-to mourn. While innumerable sacrifices and prayers were
-offered up to appease the offended goddess, preparations
-were made to punish the priestess as well as her seducer
-horribly. The man was scourged to death on the public
-market; the unfortunate priestess was placed in a subterranean
-chamber on the criminals’ field. After she had been provided
-with a bed, a lighted lamp, and some bread and water, the
-vault was closed, the earth thrown over it, and the priestess
-left to die.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>While the “Vestal Virgins” enjoyed many privileges,
-the Roman women during the first time of the republic were
-completely dependent. A daughter, if unmarried, remained
-under the guardianship of her father during his life, and after
-his death, she came into the control of her agnates, that is,
-those of her kinsmen by blood or adoption who would have
-been under the power of the common ancestor had he lived.
-If married she and her property passed into the power of her
-husband. Whatever she acquired by her industry or otherwise
-while the marriage lasted fell to her husband as a matter
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span>of course. Marriage was a religious ceremony, conducted by
-the high priests in the presence of ten witnesses. Its effect
-was to dissociate the wife entirely from her father’s house
-and to make her a member of her husband’s, provided he
-himself had grown to manhood and started a household of
-his own. If this was not the case, his wife and their children,
-as they were born, fell likewise into the power of the “pater
-familias,” the father-in-law of the wife, and the latter was
-entitled to exercise over his daughter-in-law and grandchildren
-the same rights as he had over his sons and unmarried
-daughters.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of the wife of the “pater-familias” the Romans spoke as
-the “mater-familias,” the “housemother,” or as the Domina,
-“the mistress of the house,” and she was treated as her
-husband’s equal. But in spite of the fact that her position
-in the family was one of dignity, she could not make a will
-or contract, nor could she be a witness or fill any civil or
-public office.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>So the life of a Roman woman was one of perpetual
-servitude. For centuries she had no control over her own
-person, no choice in marriage, no right to her own property,
-and no recourse against cruelty. Any man could beat his
-wife, sell her, or give her to some one else, when he was tired
-of her. He could even put her to death, acting as accuser,
-judge, jury, and executioner.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The dependent position of the women changed considerably,
-when the Romans came in touch with the Greeks
-and other nations. Marriage was made easier. It became
-even possible, without the sanction of priests or civil authorities,
-to conclude an agreement to which men and women
-might live together on probation. If such union was kept up
-without interruption for one year, then it was considered a
-regular marriage with all its consequences. If, however, the
-two persons concerned wished to reserve for themselves the
-right of separation later on, it was only necessary that the
-wife should stay in the house of her parents for three nights
-before the end of the year.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>There was also perfect freedom in divorce, as it was
-regarded improper to force persons to continue in the bonds
-of matrimony when conjugal affection no longer existed.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In later times women secured full right to dispose over
-their own property. Either they might manage it personally
-or have it administered by a “Procurator.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The Greek conception that the presence of women lends
-charm and luster to festivals, was adopted by the Romans.
-As they were convinced that no entertainment was worth while
-without the presence of the ladies, festivals were developed
-to even a far greater extent than was the case in Greece.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>This step for the better was due to the greater intelligence
-of the Roman women. Recognizing that the vast influence
-exerted by many courtesans over the prominent men of Hellas
-was not due solely to the beauty and grace of these women,
-but also to their refinement and knowledge of literature,
-music and art, the Roman ladies, to attach their husbands
-to their homes, eagerly endeavored to acquire similar merits.
-And so they devoted themselves to the culture of everything
-that makes life interesting and beautiful. We know the
-names of many Roman women, who in this way became
-real companions of their husbands. Hear, for instance, what
-Pliny, the famous naturalist, wrote about Kalpurnia, his wife,
-in one of his letters. Having praised her keen intellect,
-moderation and affection, he continues: “In addition to these
-virtues comes her deep interest in literature. My own books
-she not only possesses them, but reads them over and over
-again, until she knows them by heart. If I have to give a
-lecture, she sits close by behind a curtain, listening eagerly
-to the appreciation shown to me.” In similar terms Plutarch
-speaks of the wives of Pompejus and Kato; Tacitus of the
-wife of Agricola, of Cornelia, the mother of the Graches, of
-Aurelia and Atia, the mothers of Cæsar and Augustus.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>While such cultured women retained a strong sense of
-duty towards their home and family, the influence of Hellas,
-however, made itself felt also in other ways. Its universal
-corruption and immorality had made it easy for Rome to
-subjugate the whole country. But during the occupation of
-the country the Romans became acquainted with the luxurious
-life and lascivious debaucheries in which the rich Greeks
-indulged in full disregard of the dreadful distress of the lower
-classes. Many Roman officers, consuls and prefects, morally
-unfit to resist the allurements of such loose life, fell victims
-to all sorts of vices and crimes. And when, after several
-years, they returned to Italy, they generally took with them,
-besides enormous quantities of stolen valuables, numbers of
-courtesans and slaves.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>With the expansion of the empire these evils increased
-accordingly. And so Rome became finally permeated with
-foreign elements, manners and vices.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Even religious life became demoralized. Not only the
-voluptuous worship of Aphrodite or Venus was transplanted
-to Roman cities, but also the obscene service of Astarte,
-the Phœnician goddess of the begetting agencies. The orgies,
-committed in the ostentatious temples of these deities, formed
-indeed a striking contrast against the chaste worship of Vesta.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>By all these conditions the life of the Roman women
-became deeply affected. The works of contemporary writers
-abound with complaints about the growing emancipation of
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span>the female sex, the neglect of their duties, and the ever
-increasing love of amusement. Comparing the women of
-his time with those of former days, Kolumella remarks:
-“Now, our women are sunk so deeply in luxury and laziness,
-that they are not even pleased to superintend the spinning
-and weaving. Disdaining home-made goods, they always
-seek in their perverted mania to extort from their husbands
-more elaborate ones, for which often great sums and even
-fortunes must be paid. No wonder that they regard housekeeping
-as a burden and that they do not care to stay at their
-country seats even for a few days. Because the ways of the
-former Roman and Sabine housewives are considered old-fashioned,
-it is necessary to engage a housekeeper, who takes
-charge of the duties of the mistress.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Young girls liked to stroll through the shady colonnades
-of the temples and through the groves, that surrounded them.
-Here they met their beaus, who in the art of flirt were just
-as cunning as are the Lotharios of to-day. The ladies of the
-aristocrats or patricians enjoyed to be carried about in sedan-chairs,
-as in these comfortable means of transportation they
-had full chance to show themselves to the public richly dressed
-and in graceful positions. As these sedan-chairs were always
-provided with costly canopies and curtains, and shouldered
-by fine-looking Syrian slaves, clad in red and gold, such a
-sight could not fail to attract general attention and to become
-the talk of the town.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>That this mode of shopping and paying calls became
-a real fashion may be concluded from a remark of Seneca,
-who grumbles that those husbands, who forbid their wives
-to be carried about and exhibit themselves in such manner
-are considered as unpolished and contemptible boors.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As appears from the works of Juvenal, Sueton, Plutarch,
-Martial and others the growing passion for emancipation,
-notoriety and excitement, combined with the rage for gossip
-was responsible for the production of many unwomanly
-characters. We hear the complaint that scores of women
-boldly intrude into the meetings of men and often compete
-with them, in their drinking bouts. These authors also condemn
-that such females eagerly mix with officers and soldiers,
-to discuss with them the details and events of the war, while
-others try to spy out all domestic secrets, only to blab them
-out again in the street.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Ovid too expresses his disappointment about the changes
-going on in the life of the fair sex. “Disdaining matronly
-seclusion, our ladies patronize circus, theatre and arena, eager
-to see and to be seen. Like an army of ants or like a swarm
-of bees they hurry in elaborate attires to the beloved plays,
-often in such crowds that I am utterly unable to guess their
-numbers.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span>This inordinate greediness for enjoyments grew in time
-into a real intoxication of the senses. Nothing indicates this
-more than the concentration of all thoughts, of the patricians
-as well as of the plebejans, of the men as well as of the
-women, of the free as well as of the slaves on the questions
-which party would win in the public games, how many
-hundred gladiators would fight each other, or how many
-thousands of wild beasts would be set loose in the arena.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>When we read that such public shows sometimes lasted
-for weeks and months, and that all regions of the known
-world were ransacked in order to secure some new and more
-cruel feature, that would set people wild with excitement, it
-will be clear that the susceptible mind of women must have
-suffered most. And indeed with the increasing degeneration
-of social life the female sex became more and more demoralized.
-As among the foreign slaves as well as among the freed
-and enfranchised were many fine-looking and accomplished
-persons, unfaithfulness and adultery increased. Especially
-among the ladies of the upper classes the “nicely curled
-procurator,” who managed the property of such women,
-served only too often as a “Cicisbeo,” in which role he figures
-in many satires and comedies. Men and women met in the
-public bath houses as well as in watering-places like Bajae,
-an ill-reputed resort, where libertinism and dissipation
-flourished, and from which it was said, that no virgin, who
-went there, ever returned as a virgin.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Bajae and Rome were also the places where the mysterious
-rites of the Bachanalia found the greatest number of
-devotees. Originally a festival in honor of Dionysos, the
-Greek god of spring and wine, it degenerated into wild orgies
-after its introduction to Rome. This is what Livy writes about
-it: “The mysterious rites were at first imparted to a few,
-but were afterwards communicated to great numbers, both
-men and women. To their religious performances were
-added the pleasures of wine and feasting, to allure a greater
-number of proselytes. When wine, lascivious discourse, night,
-and the mingling of the sexes had extinguished every sentiment
-of modesty, then debaucheries of every kind were
-practiced, as every person found at hand that sort of enjoyment
-to which he was disposed by the passion most prevalent
-in his nature. Nor were they confined to one species of vice,
-the promiscuous intercourse of freeborn men and women.
-From this storehouse of villainy proceeded false witnesses,
-counterfeit seals, false evidences, and pretended discoveries.
-In the same place, too, were perpetrated secret murders and
-other unmentionable infamies. To consider nothing unlawful
-was the grand maxim of their religion.”</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_63'>63</span>
-<img src='images/i_063.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>STREET LIFE IN ROME.<br /><br /><span class='right'>After a painting by L. Boulanger.</span></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span>It was in Bajae where Marcellus, the son-in-law of
-Emperor Augustus, was poisoned by intriguing Livia; and
-here Agrippina, the mother of Nero, was clubbed to death
-after an attempt by her son to shipwreck and drown her during
-a cruise in a magnificent gondola had failed.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In time adultery, poisoning and murder prevailed among
-the Roman society to such an extent, that men became afraid
-to enter matrimony, and addicted themselves to illicit intercourse.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>This period of moral degeneration was, however, distinguished
-by a most wonderful rise of literature, science and
-art. At no time before so many beautiful temples, basilicas,
-theatres, arenas, public buildings, palaces and country-seats
-were erected. And all these buildings were adorned with an
-abundance of mosaics, mural paintings and works of sculpture.
-There were also numbers of brilliant writers, poets, dramatists,
-orators, law-makers and men who made themselves famous as
-naturalists or philosophers.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of the philosophers the so-called Stoics, among them
-Seneca, Lucan, Epictetus and Musonius Rufus formed a school,
-which exerted a wide and active influence upon the world
-at the busiest and most important time in ancient history.
-This school was remarkable for its anticipation of modern
-ethical conceptions, for the lofty morality of its exhortations
-to forgive injuries and overcome evil with good. It also
-preached the obligation to universal benevolence on the
-principle that all men are brethren. Regarding virtue as the
-sole end, to be gained mainly by habit and training, the Stoics
-furthermore succeeded in reforming matrimonial life as well as
-the conceptions about women. In these efforts they were
-aided later on by an ethical movement of still greater power,
-namely Christianity.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_064.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_65'>65</span>
-<img src='images/i_065.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>VALKYRIES, THE FAIR MAIDENS OF THE BATTLEFIELDS.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<h3 class='c010'>WOMAN’S POSITION AMONG THE GERMANIC NATIONS.</h3>
-
-<p class='c011'>Before we consider woman’s position in Christianity,
-we must take a glance at her status among another important
-branch of the Aryan race, the <b>Germans</b>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As is familiar to every student of history, the Germans
-are indebted to an alien, the Roman Tacitus, for the best
-account of the character and manners of their ancestors. In
-his famous book “Germania” he describes them as a pure
-and unmixed race and gives many valuable particulars about
-their family life. He says: “Matrimony is the most respected
-of their institutions. They are almost the only barbarians who
-are content with one wife. Very few among them are exceptions
-to this rule and then they do so not for sensuality but
-for political considerations. The young men marry late, and
-their vigor is unimpaired. Nor are the maidens hurried into
-marriage. Well-matched and in full health they wed, and
-their offspring reproduce the strength of their parents. The
-wife does not bring a dowry to the man, but the husband
-to his bride. These presents are not trinkets to please female
-vanity or to serve for adornment, but on the contrary, they
-consist of cattle, a bridled horse, and a shield with sword
-and spear. While the wife is welcomed with such gifts, she
-too presents her husband with a piece of armor. All these
-things are held sacred as a mysterious symbol of matrimony.
-Lest the wife should think that she is shut out from heroic
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_66'>66</span>aspirations and from the perils of war, she is reminded by
-the ceremony which inaugurates marriage that now she is her
-husband’s partner in his toil as well as in all danger, and
-destined to share with him in peace and in war alike. This
-is the meaning of the yoked oxen, the bridled horse and
-the weapons. And she must live and die with the feeling
-that the weapons she has received, have to be handed down
-untarnished and undepreciated to her sons, from whom they
-are to pass to her daughters-in-law, and again to the grandchildren.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“So the wife lives under the protection of clean manners,
-uncorrupted by the allurements of voluptuous comedies or
-licentious festivals. Clandestine communication by letters is
-absolutely unknown. Adultery among this numerous people
-is exceedingly rare. Its punishment is left to the husband and
-quickly executed. In the presence of her relatives the guilty
-woman is kicked out of the house, naked and with her hair
-cut. And thus she is whipped through the whole village.
-Loss of chastity finds no excuse. Neither beauty nor youth
-nor wealth wins the culprit a husband, because no one indulges
-in vice or pardons seduction. Blessed the country where
-only virgins enter matrimony and where their vow to the
-husband is binding and final for all time. As they are born
-only once so are they married but once and they devote
-themselves to their husband as well as to the duties of matrimony.
-To limit the number of children or to kill one of
-them is regarded as a sacrilege. Thus good habits accomplish
-more here than good laws in other countries.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Tacitus as well as other Roman writers state likewise
-that the women frequently accompanied the men in times
-of war and encouraged them in battle by their cheers and
-actions. “They always stay near them, so that the warriors
-may hear the voices of their wives and the wailing of their
-children. Women’s approval and praise is to the men of
-the highest value. To their mothers and wives they come
-with their wounds for relief, and the women do not hesitate
-to count the gashes, and dress the wounds. The women also
-encourage the men while they are fighting, and provide them
-with food and water. We have been told that wavering battle
-lines were made to stand fast by women, who with bare
-breasts mingled with the warriors and admonished them by
-their cries to new resistance.”—</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_67'>67</span>
-<img src='images/i_067.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>A BETROTHAL AMONG THE ANCIENT GERMANS.<br /><br /><span class='right'>After a painting by F. Leeke.</span></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_68'>68</span>Many of the names given to members of the fair sex,
-indicate the men’s great respect for women, and show that
-they were considered as able consorts even in battle. The
-names Daghilt, Sneburga, Swanhilt and Sunnihilt remind us
-of the purity of the daylight, the white of the snow and the
-swan, and the gold of the sunshine. And the qualities of
-strength, agility and skill in everything connected with war
-and victory we find in names like Hildegund, “the protectoress
-of the home”; Hadewig, “the mistress of battle”; Gertrud,
-“the thrower of the spear”; Gudrun, “the expert in war”;
-Thusinhilde or Thusnelda, “the giant fighter”; Sieglind, “the
-shield of victory”; Brunhild, “she who is strong like a bear,”
-and in many other names.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The many noble female personages who figure in German
-mythology also testify to the high conception the Germans
-had of womanhood. There was Frigg, the spouse of Odin,
-and the ideal personification of a German housewife. There
-was Freya, the goddess of spring, beauty and love; Gerda,
-the bright consort of Fro, the sun god; Sigune, the faithful;
-not to forget the Valkyries, those beautiful maidens who
-hovered over the field of battle, wakened the dead heroes
-with a kiss and carried them on their swift cloud horses to
-Valhalla, where they were welcomed and feasted by the gods
-and enjoyed all kinds of martial games.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The Germans saw in women also something that was
-sacred and prophetic. It was this belief that lent importance
-to Veleda, Alruna, and other prophetesses, who were looked
-up to as oracles, and played a conspicuous part during the
-time of the Roman invasion.</p>
-
-<h3 class='c010'>THE HEROIC WOMEN OF THE BRITONS AND THE NORSEMEN.</h3>
-
-<p class='c011'>The same noble spirit that distinguished the German
-women, was likewise found among the females of <b>Britain</b> and
-<b>Scandinavia</b>. Tacitus in his “Annals” XIV gives an account
-of Boadicea, queen of the Iceni, a tribe that occupied the
-eastern coasts of Britain. To defend the independence of
-her country against the Romans, this queen succeeded in
-uniting some of the British tribes and drove the invaders
-from several fortified places. When Suetonius, on hearing
-of the revolt, hastened up with a strong army, he found
-himself opposed by large numbers of the aborigines, men as
-well as women. Among the fighters were many priestesses
-or Druids, who, clothed in black, with streaming hair and
-brandished torches, fought like furies. When they saw themselves
-far outnumbered and realized that all was lost, these
-women preferred death to slavery and perished among the
-flames, which destroyed their stronghold.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>When the Roman legions met the main body of the
-Britons, they beheld Boadicea admonishing her warriors, to
-conquer or die in battle. In the fearful contest 70,000
-Romans and 80,000 Britons were slain. But when the combat
-resulted in the complete defeat of the latter, Boadicea
-poisoned herself to avoid falling into the hands of the victor.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_69'>69</span>The Edda and many other sagas of the Scandinavians
-contain likewise accounts about heroic women such as they
-were in those days of the past: strong in body as in mind,
-and equal to any emergency. Brave alike in heart and in
-character, independent, open and frank, they were loyal to
-their husbands and their duty when fitly matched. Fearlessly
-they joined in the daring expeditions of their sea-kings, who
-packed their “dragon-ships” to full capacity with warriors
-and made raids on all the coasts of Europe, even on the
-countries that border the Mediterranean Sea.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>From several interesting relics of old Icelandic literature
-we also know that as early as in 986 A. D. Norse women
-went with Eric the Red to Greenland. Here they helped in
-establishing a settlement, Brattahlid. And when in 1007
-Thorfin Karlsefne sailed from this place to Vinland, some
-newly discovered country in the far Southwest, he too was
-accompanied by several women, among them his wife Gudrid.
-Some time after her arrival she gave birth to a son, Snorre,
-the first child of white parentage born on American soil.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Another of these fearless women, Froejdisa, took active
-part in a hot skirmish with the aborigines of Vinland. When
-the Norsemen were about to yield to the overwhelming numbers
-of these “Skraelings,” it was she who encouraged the
-men to stubborn resistance. Several years later, in 1012, this
-same resolute woman, in company with two men, fitted out
-an expedition of her own to Vinland. After an absence of
-one year she returned to Brattahlid with a large cargo of
-valuable lumber, furs, and other goods, but also suspected
-of having killed her partners as well as their men with her
-own hands.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_069.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_70'>70</span>
-<img src='images/i_070.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>CHRISTIANS OF THE THIRD CENTURY.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<h3 class='c010'>WOMAN AMONG THE EARLY CHRISTIANS.</h3>
-
-<p class='c011'>Just at the time, when the capitals of Hellas and Rome
-were reservoirs for all the streams of wickedness and infamy,
-there originated in Palestine a religious sect destined to exercise
-an enormous influence upon the moral and political life
-of the world. Its adherents called themselves <b>Christians</b>, “the
-Annointed,” and followed the doctrines of Jesus, who, according
-to the Jewish historian Josephus, was condemned for his
-teachings by Pilate, the Roman governor of Judæa, and
-crucified.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As Jesus left no records or gospels written by himself,
-we do not know his personal views about woman, home,
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_71'>71</span>marriage, and maternity. We must rely on the accounts which
-were written by his followers many years after his death,
-and now are called the New Testament. After the death of
-Jesus some of his followers drifted from Palestine to Syria,
-Greece and Rome, where for their pure and austere morals
-they attracted the attention of numerous persons who stood
-aghast in views of the vices that surrounded them.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>For the spread of a new religion such as Christianity,
-the Roman world was wonderfully ripe. As it had been the
-politics of Rome not to interfere with the religions of the
-peoples subdued by her armies, there had been added to the
-already overcrowded pantheon of Rome many of the principal
-deities of the conquered nations. But there existed also
-a longing for some religion, which would have more individuality
-and personal power in it then were supplied by the
-thoughts of a supreme spiritual fate, or by the mere materialistic
-conception of the genius of Rome. There was a decided
-thirst for information about sacred things. Men discussed
-the claims of the various conflicting religions philosophically,
-and amid all the gross materialism of the time there were
-longings for some deeper, truer religion than any they had
-known.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>This longing was satisfied by the simple but sublime conceptions
-of God held by the Christians, and also by the
-noble purity of their life. These Christians had no settled
-form of doctrine, no settled rule of discipline, no body of
-magistrates. They were merely an association of believers in
-a common faith, with common sentiments, feelings, emotions
-and convictions. To women this new religion was particularly
-appealing, as it preached many important reforms. First of
-all, it granted to woman the full right of disposing of herself.
-By making her consent necessary for marriage, woman
-remained no longer a piece of property, which might be sold
-or disposed of at will by the father, brother, husband or
-other relatives. She also was not compelled any more to
-accommodate, with her own body, some visiting strangers.
-There was no hierarchical prostitution, either, but matrimony
-was elevated to a sacred ceremony, of which the benediction
-of a priest formed a necessary part. Chastity was regarded
-a supreme law, which governed the whole family life.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The majority of these Christians consisted of poor illiterate
-people, who tried to lead a clean and honest life. Their
-simple manners and frugal habits contrasted strongly with
-the luxury of those Greek and Roman patricians among whom
-they dwelt. They regarded such extravagance with contempt,
-and the unlimited emancipation and licentiousness of the
-rich women filled them with horror.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Accordingly they applied to themselves strict rules which
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_72'>72</span>would protect them against any temptation. For this reason
-their women never adorned themselves with jewelry or gaudy
-dresses of dyed cloth, silk, and embroideries; they never wore
-false or colored hair. If married, they took care of the house,
-attended to the children, and were devoted to their husbands,
-whom they respected as the head of the family. The only
-occasion for their going out was when they went to church,
-or to visit some poor or sick neighbor.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Depending on one another, husband and wife endeavored
-to form that union recommended by the scriptures as the
-goal of married life.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Such happy nuptial ties inspired Tertullian, a Carthaginian,
-who came in contact with Christians in Rome, to the
-following lines: “Whence are we to find language adequate
-to describe the happiness of that marriage which the church
-cements and the oblation confirms, and the benediction signs
-and seals, which angels report and the Father holds as
-ratified? Together they pray, together prostrate themselves,
-together they perform their fasts, mutually teaching, mutually
-exhorting, mutually sustaining.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Commemorations of conjugal happiness, and commendations
-of such female virtues as modesty, chastity, prudence
-and diligence, we also frequently find in many sepulchral
-inscriptions of the Catacombs, those famous subterranean
-cemeteries excavated by the early Christians of Rome for
-the express and sole purpose of burying their dead. There
-are inscriptions as for instance: “Our well deserving father
-and mother, who lived together (for 20, 30, 50 or even 60
-years) without any complaint or quarrel, without taking or
-giving offense.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>During the first centuries of Christianity women took a
-prominent part in all affairs of the church and they were
-allowed to be active wherever there was a chance to spread
-the Gospel. In particular, they taught the children, took
-charge of the orphans, and acted as door-keepers in the
-assembly rooms, directing the worshipers to their places, and
-seeing that all behaved quietly and reverently.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The new sect, which in every respect contrasted so
-strongly with Roman customs and conceptions, could not fail
-to attract the attention and inquisitiveness of the people as
-well as of the Government. But also suspicion and hostility
-were aroused. As the Christians met secretly in private houses,
-people suspected that they were conspirators banded together
-for criminal purposes, that they occasionally slaughtered
-infants, poured their blood into a cup, and that passing this
-cup around they all drank of it. Their insistance in only one
-God, that of the despised Jews, and their aim to discredit
-and overthrow all other creeds of the world in order to fuse
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_73'>73</span>all mankind in their own faith, were decried as contempt of
-those deities, under which Rome had become great and
-prosperous. Naturally, their enmity against these deities was
-regarded as enmity against the State, which stood under the
-protection of these deities. Accused of being apostates and
-revolutionists, the Christians soon enough became the objects
-of much bitter persecution; such as has been described by
-Sienkiewicz in his famous book “Quo Vadis.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>During these persecutions the Christian women shared
-with their husbands, children and brothers all the horrible
-cruelties Roman ingenuity could invent. In the arena they
-were thrown before lions, tigers, bears and other savage beasts.
-They were crucified, or besmeared with pitch and publicly
-burned. Worst of all, many of those women who regarded
-chastity as their highest virtue, were handed over to the
-keepers of brothels and made victims to the voluptuous
-passions of the lowest class of people.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>But in time the pure and noble ideals which inspired the
-hearts of those first Christians, began to appeal to the
-masses of the people. The scriptures of the great apologists
-Tertullian, Justin, Origenes and others were read and studied
-with growing interest. And when later on Emperor Constantine,
-surnamed the Great, for motives of political expediency,
-favored and adopted the new faith, the triumph of Christianity
-was secured.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_073.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_74'>74</span>
-<img src='images/i_074.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>ARABIC WOMEN IN ANCIENT TIMES.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<h3 class='c010'>WOMAN AMONG THE MOHAMMEDANS.</h3>
-
-<p class='c011'>While thus the followers of Christ reformed the position
-of woman in the Roman empire, Mohammed, the founder
-of Islam or Mohammedanism, at the same time endeavored
-to better the condition of woman in the Orient. Born about
-the year 570 A. D. in Arabia he recognized, that the domestic
-life of the Arabs was marked by many embarrassing improprieties.
-Polygamy was customary everywhere, and while among
-the rich people the wife was nothing but a toy, for no other
-purpose but to satisfy passion, among the poorer classes she
-was merely a suppressed slave, who could be sent away, when
-she was no longer young, or had lost her good looks, or had
-become unable to work. Concubinage and prostitution prevailed
-among the population of the cities as well as among
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_75'>75</span>the Bedouins, who led the same nomadic life as had the
-patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob several thousand years
-ago.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>To improve the position of woman, Mohammed inserted
-in the Koran, his great moral codex, a number of instructions,
-which shine forth like gold threads in the fabric of a beautiful
-curtain. He ordered the men to treat their wives with forbearance
-and respect, as was becoming in the stronger toward
-the weaker sex. Children were impressed to give love and
-comfort to their parents to the end of their days and show
-them the highest reverence.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>To diminish polygamy and to give women a secure legal
-standing, Mohammed also reduced the number of lawful
-wives to four, and allowed this number to such men only as
-were wealthy enough to provide for certain comforts. Furthermore,
-he placed the men under the obligation, to be faithful
-to their wives and treat all with equal kindness.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<img src='images/i_075.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>VEILED.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>To protect women from the many temptations of too
-close a social intercourse with men, Mohammed took pains
-to exclude women as much as possible from contact with the
-outer world. Therefore he insisted on the strict observance
-of the ancient Oriental custom that women must not appear
-in the streets or in presence of other men than their husbands
-except with their faces heavily veiled. This order has been
-observed in all Mohammedan countries up to the present day.
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_76'>76</span>Only slaves and peasant women are allowed to go unveiled,
-as the veil would hinder them at work. Therefore, outsiders
-can study the features of Mohammedan women only from
-members of the lower classes. To find out who is who among
-the veiled females seen in the streets of oriental cities is
-impossible even for their own husbands.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>About the domestic life of Mohammedan women during
-former centuries we know practically nothing, as reliable
-reports by disinterested observers are wanting. But the fact
-that Mohammedan homes and family life were always
-secluded from the external world and inaccessible to Christian
-explorers travelling through oriental countries, rendered the
-subject peculiarly liable to highly exaggerated and sensational
-reports. Especially the life in the “Harem,” the women’s
-quarter, has been pictured innumerable times as a combination
-of boundless luxuriance, lascivity, frivolity, laziness and
-intrigues. In contradiction several ladies, who had a chance
-to study Mohammedan life during the last century, have
-asserted, that these reports do not, by any means, correspond
-with the truth. There is for instance an essay of Else Marquardsen
-about the manners of the Turks, in which she discusses
-polygamy. She says: “Throughout the course of many years
-I was allowed to visit the homes of many prominent people
-as well as of the poorer classes, but I remember only one case,
-where a man, a high official, had more than one wife. As a
-rule I found in all families a spirit of quiet faithfulness to
-duty, such as it is not always the case among us. The women,
-often compelled to live together with the mother or other
-female relatives of their husbands, maintain a good-natured
-kindness toward each other, which is really solacing and
-knows no exception. The great devotion, shown to the mother
-by her son as well as by his wife, and which makes her the
-most respected member of the whole family, is an education
-in humility and self-control, the results of which fill one with
-admiration. As the life of the Mohammedan woman, of which
-her husband forms the center, is one of repose and seclusion,
-so she retains a child-like disposition of sentiment which is
-indeed touching. Unlike as it is with us, she is reared in full
-knowledge of the natural destination of woman. As soon as
-she has developed from childhood to womanhood, she is
-offered to a man, unknown to her, but whom she respects as
-the god-sent medium to impart the sacred mystery by which
-she may become a mother. As he gives her the crown of
-life, she honors him as her lord. But if it should be her fate
-to remain barren, then she does as Sarah, Leah and Rachel
-did several thousand years ago; she goes to find another
-woman, by whom her husband may have children.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The marriageable age for Mohammedan girls is about
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_77'>77</span>twelve, sometimes less and sometimes more, and the preliminaries
-are entirely a business matter conducted by the nearest
-relatives with much ceremony. After a definite contract is
-made it is then that the bride is permitted to see and speak
-to her future husband.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<img src='images/i_077.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>A MOHAMMEDAN WOMAN OF MOROCCO.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>According to an article by Broughton Brandenburg about
-the district of Biskra, the night before the wedding the bride’s
-hands and feet are steeped in henna, with which are stained
-the nails of all women who make any pretense of keeping up
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_78'>78</span>appearances. When the day comes on which the bride is to
-go to the house of her husband she is arrayed in rich robes;
-on her arms and ankles are bracelets, and about her slender
-waist she wears a corded girdle holding in place a broad plate
-of gold, silver and turquoise, usually an heirloom of great age
-and rare workmanship. The spangled bridal veil is cast over
-her head and she is led to the door by her parents and given
-over to a company of joyous friends, hired musicians and
-guests who parade through the streets beating the rawhide
-tambourines and cymbals, dancing and shouting. So the
-tumultuous pageant winds its way to the house of the groom,
-where the happy child takes off the girdle and plate, and
-hands them to her husband with a deep obeisance. After that,
-feasting and merry-making follow, and last as long as the
-bridegroom keeps his purse open.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>But the great restrictions to which, for her own protection,
-the Mohammedan woman was subjected by the Koran,
-also caused some great disadvantages. Neither Mohammed
-nor his successors had a proper appreciation of the dignity,
-the many possibilities and the real mission of woman. Regarding
-her chiefly as the medium for the propagation of the race,
-they neglected her intellectual life. In consequence she never
-had, in her strict seclusion, a chance to develop her mental
-qualities. Unable to read books and hearing nothing of the
-events of the outer world, she remained in the state of semi-slavery,
-never attaining the high position reached by many
-Christian women of to-day, namely that of being a real consort
-to the husband.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>So the very best influence of woman was wanting. And
-as in time polygamy and concubinage increased again among
-many Mohammedan nations, the men became enervated and
-unable to resist hostile assaults.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The most striking example is that of the Moors. After
-having conquered large parts of Northern Africa as well as
-of Spain, they were expelled again from Europe during the
-15th Century. The charming Alhambra at Granada, the
-Alcazars of Seville and Toledo, the magnificent mosque at
-Cordova still preach the past glory of their former empire.
-But while we wander through the elaborate rooms, that once
-were occupied by the women of the califs and sultans, we
-cannot resist the conviction that these splendid halls were
-but golden cages for beautiful creatures, whose wings had
-been clipped.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_078.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div class='chapter'>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_79'>79</span>
-  <h2 class='c006'>Women During the Middle Ages.</h2>
-</div>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_81'>81</span>
-<img src='images/i_081.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>A NOBLEWOMAN OF THE 16TH CENTURY.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<h3 class='c010'>WOMEN DURING THE MIDDLE AGES.</h3>
-
-<p class='c011'>From the accounts, given by Tertullian and other writers
-about the life of the early Christians, it appears that their
-conceptions in regard to women gave promise for a better
-future. But during the Middle Ages, which extend from the
-downfall of Rome to the discovery of America, Christianity
-unfortunately failed to realize these promises.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>First of all the ancient Oriental prejudice against women
-again took hold of the minds of many Christian leaders.
-Instead of making themselves champions of women’s rights
-and interests, they curtailed women’s influence in order to
-subject them to the dominion of their husbands. In these
-efforts the “Christian Fathers” complied with those commands
-that Paul the Apostle had given in several of his epistles to
-the Corinthians, Philippians, and to Timothy. They read as
-follows:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“The head of every man is Christ, and the head of every
-woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. For the
-man is not of the woman but the woman of the man. Neither
-was the man created for the woman but the woman for the
-man.”—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Let your women keep silence in the churches, for it
-is not permitted unto them to speak but they are commanded
-to be under obedience. And if they would learn anything
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_82'>82</span>let them ask their husbands at home.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But
-I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over
-the man, but to be in silence.”—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>These narrow views destroyed the beneficial influence of
-woman in Christian lands and retarded her emancipation for
-more than eighteen hundred years. Approving of Paul’s
-commands, Ambrose, one of the eminent lights of the Church
-in the Fourth Century, said, to demonstrate the inferiority of
-woman: “Remember that God took a rib out of Adam’s body,
-not a part of his soul, to make her!” Another of these leaders
-made the name “Eve” synonymous with “deceiver,” accusing
-woman of having been the cause of men’s expulsion from
-Paradise. St. John Chrysostom wrote: “Woman is the source
-of evil, the author of sin, the gate of the tomb, the entrance
-to hell, the cause of all our misfortunes.” And St. John of
-Damascus told the world, that “woman is an evil animal, a
-hideous worm which makes its home in the heart of man.”
-Other teachers agreed with Paul that woman must veil her
-head because she is not, as is man, in God’s image!</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In face of such vicious promulgations we must not be
-surprised that among the discussions of the early “Fathers”
-none was more important than that, “has woman a soul?” This
-question was argued in the Sixth Century at the Council of
-Macon. It is also recorded that a few of these pious leaders
-entertained the opinion that because of the great power and
-goodness of the Almighty “women may possibly be permitted
-to rise as men at the resurrection.” And the Council of
-Auxerre, held in the Sixth Century, decided that women
-should wear gloves before they touched the holy sacrament.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As at the same time ascetic thinkers impressed the minds
-of the Christians with an inordinate estimate of the virtue
-of celibacy, conceptions of matrimony also changed considerably.
-While marriage was not condemned, it was, however,
-regarded as an inferior state, and it was held, that persons
-who had not married, but remained pure, were nobler and
-more exalted beings than those who had married. With the
-advance of such ascetic ideas a large family came to be
-regarded almost as a disgrace, as a proof of lasciviousness.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>All these doctrines of woman’s inferiority in time corroded
-the ideas of the Christian nations about woman to
-such a degree that her position in the religious service as well
-as in law and in all the customs of the early Middle Ages
-sank to a very low level.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Another reason for the failure of Christianity in regard
-to woman’s emancipation was that the minds of the leaders of
-the Church became occupied by aims which to realize seemed
-to them of far greater value and importance.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_83'>83</span>The early Christian communities had been simple associations
-of believers in a common faith. They had no settled
-form of doctrine or rules of discipline. They even had no
-body of magistrates. But the moment these associations began
-to advance and became a corporation, they started to mould
-a form of doctrine. At the same time the elders, who taught
-and preached, and morally governed the congregation, became
-priests, while those, who did service as overseers or inspectors,
-became bishops.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among the latter the bishops of Rome adopted not only
-the title of Pontiff or High-Priest, but also assumed dictatorship
-over the bishops of all other dioceses. Professing to be
-of divine appointment and the representative of Christ they
-claimed in his name authority over all things, both temporal
-and spiritual. Accordingly they made the propagation of the
-Christian faith throughout the world their chief mission and
-organized for this purpose an army of clerical dignitaries, who
-held themselves responsible to no other authority but the
-Pontiff or Pope, to whom they were bound by the strongest
-vows. Also numerous orders of monks and nuns were established,
-who assisted greatly in the extension and strengthening
-of the Church.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The influence on human progress and culture of these
-vast religious armies has always been greatly overrated. No
-doubt, under the management of the monasteries and nunneries
-large tracts of virgin soil and forests were cultivated, and
-that architecture and art, as long as they served the interests
-of the Church, were patronized. But it is equally true that
-the Church tried to prevent its followers from thinking independently,
-that great masses of people, particularly those of
-the rural districts, were held in strict servitude and mental
-bondage, and that education and science were grossly
-neglected. Any attempts to question the authority of the
-Church or the truth of the Scriptures, were cursed as heresy
-and punished with death.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among the first who had to suffer the wrath of the
-Popes, were the Waldenses, Albigenses, Stedingers, and
-several other Christian sects, which during the 9th, 10th and
-11th Centuries had formed in various parts of Europe for
-no other object than the re-establishment of the simplicity
-and sincerity of the early Christian communities. As these sects
-were found at variance with the rules of the Church, they
-were decried as heretical, and almost extinguished.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Intolerant against all other creeds, the Popes also opened
-a series of wars against the Mohammedans, professedly for
-the purpose of delivering the “Holy Land” from the dominion
-of the “Infidels.” Aside from these “Crusades” a similar war
-was directed against the most western branch of the Mohammedans,
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_84'>84</span>the Moors, who had occupied a large part of the
-Iberian Peninsula. These struggles ended in 1492 with the
-fall of Granada and the surrender of the famous fortress
-Alhambra. While in the treaty of peace certain stipulated
-privileges had been granted to the conquered, one of which
-provided for free exercise of their religion, this liberty of
-worship was treacherously withdrawn in 1499 and the Moors
-either killed, expelled, or made Christians by forcible baptism.
-Those who survived by intermingling with the Spaniards
-produced a new race, the Andalusians, famous for their graceful
-women. The Spaniards adopted many of the Moorish
-manners and institutions, among them certain restrictions in
-the intercourse of the two sexes. Writers of the 15th Century
-state, that in these times the Spanish women used to sit in
-Oriental fashion, with legs crossed, on carpets and cushions,
-spending their time with embroideries and gossip, or telling
-the beads of the rosary. The husbands seldom sought their
-company, and even preferred to take their meals alone.
-Married ladies were not allowed to receive male visitors, and
-if their husbands brought friends along, they hardly dared
-to lift their eyes. The only breaks in this monotonous life
-were occasional calls by women friends, who were received
-with the greatest possible display of dress and jewelry. This
-unnatural segregation of the sexes still prevails in Spain to
-some extent and is chiefly due to the jealousy of men. Well
-aware of their own unfaithfulness and great inclination for
-love-adventures, they have no confidence in their wives either,
-but always watch them with suspicion.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>We find similar conditions in many other parts of Southern
-Europe. But as restrictions are always apt to breed intrigues
-we hear everywhere of plots and love-affairs, such as Boccaccio
-has related in his “Decamerone.” The stories of this
-famous book, which was written between 1344 and 1350,
-without question are based on actual events, frequently among
-the fashionable ladies and gentlemen of the age.</p>
-
-<hr class='c012' />
-
-<p class='c008'>Far higher than in Southern Europe was the status of
-women in those countries occupied by nations of Germanic
-stock.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>At the time of Tacitus the Germans had no settlements,
-but lived in isolated dwellings on the river banks or clearings
-in the majestic forests. With the migration of the nations,
-however, caused by the enormous pressure of vast Mongolian
-hordes upon the tribes of Eastern and Central Europe, the
-Germans were compelled to abandon this mode of life. For
-security’s sake they gathered together in villages and cities.
-These they surrounded with heavy walls and towers, and
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_85'>85</span>protected them by castles, erected on steep cliffs and mountains.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The custody of these strongholds was entrusted to the
-most efficient warriors, who in time formed a separate class,
-the nobility, from which the heads of the whole nation, the
-princes, kings and emperors were chosen. The inhabitants
-of the cities formed the class of burghers, who devoted themselves
-to the trades and handicrafts. There was a third class,
-made up of the people remaining in the rural districts, the
-peasants.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of course the positions of the women of these various
-classes differed widely. While the women of the peasants
-and craftsmen were busy with the functions of their every
-day’s work, the women-folk of the rich merchants and the
-nobility had ample time to cultivate everything that makes
-life worth while. With blissful hearts they took part in all
-pleasures and festivals. And with the same feeling they
-accepted the tokens of respect and admiration, extended to
-them by the knights as well as by the many minstrels and
-troubadours, who travelled throughout the country to entertain
-with their songs of love, adventure and heroism all who liked
-to listen.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Many songs of the 12th and the 13th Century express the
-high esteem of their authors for women. They also prove
-that the so-called “Minnedienst” of the German and French
-knights was to a great extent an ideal tribute and consisted
-chiefly in a restrained longing of the heart, in a pure remembrance
-of the beloved one.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>One of the best known rhymes dates from 1120 and
-reads as follows:</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c014'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Du bist min, ih bin din:</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">des solt du gewis sin.</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">du bist beslozzen</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">in minem herzen;</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">verlorn ist das sluzzelin:</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">du musst immer darinne sin.</span></div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>Thou art mine, I am thine!</div>
-      <div class='line'>Pray, what could be just as fine?</div>
-      <div class='line'>Thou art enclosed</div>
-      <div class='line'>Within my heart;</div>
-      <div class='line'>The key is lost, so, as it were—</div>
-      <div class='line'>Thou must now stay forever there.</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_86'>86</span>
-<img src='images/i_086.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>THE WELCOME TO A TROUBADOUR.<br /><br /><span class='right'>After a painting by B. Bruene.</span></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_87'>87</span>Among the most beautiful poems, written in praise of
-women, we also find the “May-song” of Walter von der
-Vogelweide. In modern German it reads as follows:</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c014'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Wenn die Blumen aus dem Grase dringen,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Gleich als lachten sie hinauf zur Sonne</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Des Morgens früh an einem Maientag,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Und die kleinen Vöglein lieblich singen</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Ihre schönsten Weisen, welche Wonne</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Böt’ wohl die Welt, die mehr ergötzen mag,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Ist’s doch wie im Himmelreiche.</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Fragt ihr, was sich dem vergleiche,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">So sag’ ich was viel wohler noch</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Des öftern meinen Augen tat,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Und immer tut, erschau ich’s noch:</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Denkt ein edles schönes Fräulein schreite</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Wohlgekleidet und bekränzt hernieder</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Unter Leuten froh sich zu ergehen,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Hochgemut im höfischen Geleite.</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Züchtig um sich blickend und durch Anmut glänzend,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Wie Sonne unter Sternen anzusehen.</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Welche Wonne käme gleich</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Solchen Weibes Huldgestalt?</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Der Mai mit allen Wundergaben</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Kann doch nichts so wonnigliches haben</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Als ihren minniglichen Leib.</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Wir lassen alle Blumen steh’n</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Und blicken nach dem werten Weib.</span>”</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>When from the sod the flowerets spring,</div>
-      <div class='line'>And smile to meet the sun’s bright ray,</div>
-      <div class='line'>When birds their sweetest carols sing,</div>
-      <div class='line'>In all the morning pride of May,</div>
-      <div class='line'>What lovelier than the prospects there?</div>
-      <div class='line'>Can earth boast anything more fair?</div>
-      <div class='line'>To me it seems an almost heaven,</div>
-      <div class='line'>So beauteous to my eyes that vision bright is given.</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>But when a lady chaste and fair,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Noble, and clad in rich attire,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Walks through the throng with gracious air,</div>
-      <div class='line'>As sun that bids the stars retire,—</div>
-      <div class='line'>Then where are all thy boastings, May?</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>What hast thou beautiful and gay,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Compared with that supreme delight?</div>
-      <div class='line'>We leave the loveliest flowers, and watch that lady bright.</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_88'>88</span>
-<img src='images/i_088.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>A LADY’S ROOM DURING THE MIDDLE AGES.<br /><br /><span class='right'>After a drawing by F. A. Kaulbach.</span></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_89'>89</span>Another German poet of the 13th Century was Heinrich
-von Meissen, better known under the name “Frauenlob.”
-This sobriquet he received because he sang much in praise
-of women, as for instance:</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c014'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">O Frau, du selten reicher Hort,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Dass ich zu dir hie sprech’ aus reinem Munde.</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Ich lob’ sie in des Himmels Pfort’;</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Ihr Lob zu End’ ich nimmer bringen kunnte.</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Dess lob’ ich hier die Frauen zart mit Rechten,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Und wo im Land ich immer fahr’</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Muss stets mein Herz für holde Frauen fechten.</span>”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>And at another time he sings:</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c014'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Ich lob’ die Frau für des Spiegel’s Wonne:</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Dem Manne bringt sie grosse Freud’;</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Recht als die klare Sonne</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Durchleucht’ den Tag zu dieser Zeit,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Also erfreut die Frau des Mann’s Gemüte</span>”—</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>When in 1318 he died, in Mayence, the women of that
-city, in appreciation of his devotion to their cause, carried his
-coffin solemnly to the cathedral, in the cloisters of which he
-was buried.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>One of the most beautiful love-songs ever written dates
-from 1350. Having outlasted the centuries it is still sung
-and appreciated to-day wherever German is spoken.</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c014'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Ach wie ist’s möglich dann</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Dass ich dich lassen kann,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Hab dich von Herzen lieb,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Das glaube mir.</span></div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Du hast die Seele mein</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">So ganz genommen ein</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Dass ich kein’ and’re lieb’</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Als dich allein.</span></div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Blau blüht ein Blümelein,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Das heisst Vergiss-nicht-mein;</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Dies Blümlein leg’ an’s Herz</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Und denk’ an mich.</span></div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Wär ich ein Vögelein,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Bald wollt’ ich bei dir sein;</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Fürcht’ Falk’ und Habicht nicht,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Flög’ gleich zu dir.</span></div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_90'>90</span><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Schöss’ mich ein Jäger tot,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Fiel ich in deinen Schoss;</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Sähst du mich traurig an,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Gern stürb’ ich dann.</span></div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>How can I leave thee so?</div>
-      <div class='line'>How can I bear to go?</div>
-      <div class='line'>That thou hast all my heart:</div>
-      <div class='line'>Trust me, mine own!</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>Thou hast this heart of mine</div>
-      <div class='line'>So closely bound to thine</div>
-      <div class='line'>None other can I love</div>
-      <div class='line'>But thee alone.</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>Blue is a floweret,</div>
-      <div class='line'>’Tis called Forget-me-not,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Wear it upon thy heart</div>
-      <div class='line'>And think of me!</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>Flower and hope may die,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Rich, dear, are you and I,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Our love can’t pass away,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Sweetest, believe.</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>If I a bird could be,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Soon would I speed to thee,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Falcon nor hawk I’d fear</div>
-      <div class='line'>Flying to thee.</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>When by the fowler slain</div>
-      <div class='line'>I in thy lap should lie,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Thou sadly shouldst complain,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Gladly I’d die.</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>How deep-seated the respect for woman was among the
-German people in those times is also shown by the reception
-extended to Isabella, the sister of King Henry II. of England.
-When in 1235 she arrived at Cologne, to become the bride
-of Emperor Frederick II. ten thousand citizens, headed by all
-the clergy in full ornate, went out to greet her with joyful
-songs. While all the bells were ringing, children and young
-girls bestrewed the bride’s path with flowers.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>From Cologne the bride went by boat up the River Rhine
-to Castle Stolzenfels. Here she was met by the Emperor, who
-received his betrothed on bended knee. From there both
-went to Worms, where the wedding was celebrated with
-extraordinary splendor.—</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_91'>91</span>
-<img src='images/i_091.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>A BRIDAL PARTY.<br /><br /><span class='right'>After a painting by L. Herterich.</span></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_92'>92</span>Among the nobility as well as among the patricians
-weddings were great feasts, which extended over weeks and
-to which all relatives and friends from near and far were
-invited. After the priest had given his blessing to the young
-couple, the servants prepared the banquet table. Bridegroom
-and bride, occupying the place of honor, sat side by side on
-the beautiful bridal chair, eating and drinking from the same
-plate and the same goblet, to indicate, that now they regarded
-themselves as one soul and one body.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>If the young couple belonged to the nobility, the bridegroom
-led his bride to his castle in a pompous cavalcade.
-A number of shield-bearers, bedecked with flowers and
-ribbons, rode ahead, followed by a band of musicians and
-singers. Then came the bridal pair on horseback, as well
-as the parents of the bride, and the attendants. Such a cavalcade
-was hailed everywhere, especially in those villages which
-belonged to the dominion of the young nobleman. At the
-gate of the castle, however, the parents of the bridegroom
-and all the other inhabitants of the castle were waiting to
-welcome the new mistress with all honor.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>It must be said emphatically, that the great respect paid
-to their women by the Germans was indeed well deserved.
-For the majority of the German women were not merely good
-housekeepers, affectionate wives and loving mothers, but at
-the same time patronesses of everything that is beautiful. It
-was for them, that the homes became comfortable and
-artistic, as most of those exquisitely carved chests, buffets,
-tables, chairs and beds, which are now the show-pieces of
-our museums, were ordered by rich women fond of art. They
-adorned the cupboards of their cozy and paneled rooms with
-costly vessels of crystal and silver; they covered the floors
-with fine rugs and hung the walls with tapestries, etchings
-and paintings of famous masters.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>This taste for the beautiful would not allow the exterior
-of the houses to be neglected. Carvings, paintings and flowers
-were seen everywhere; even the most insignificant objects,
-such as the weather-vanes on the roof, and the brass-knockers
-on the doors were ornamented.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_092.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_93'>93</span>
-  <h3 class='c010'>THE GLORIOUS TIME OF THE RENAISSANCE.</h3>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c011'>The close contact which, during the middle ages, existed
-between Germany and Italy also secured better conditions
-for the women of the latter country. The most remarkable
-change came, however, during the 14th and the 15th centuries,
-with that remarkable intellectual revolution known as the
-Renaissance.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>This movement, one of the most significant in the evolution
-of woman, originated in Italy at a time when the whole
-country was suffering from ecclesiastic and feudal despotism.
-It was then that men and women of high standing, striving
-for greater spiritual freedom, became attracted by the almost
-forgotten works of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Seneca, Cicero,
-and other authors of the classic past. It is to the glory of
-Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, and other poets of Italy to have
-revived interest in these literary treasures. Eager to unlock
-these rich stores of beauty and wisdom, they collected the
-precious manuscripts and established libraries and museums
-for their preservation.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Many noblemen, patricians and merchant-princes, inspired
-by this sacred thirst for learning, and being aware that
-this effort was made in behalf of the emancipation of enslaved
-intelligence, aided the movement by their wealth. The art of
-printing with movable types, invented in 1450 by Johannes
-Gutenberg in Mayence, and introduced into Italy, France and
-Spain by German printers, made it possible to reproduce
-what the collectors had recovered. So learning remained no
-longer the pursuit of monks and recluses only, but became
-fashionable and pervaded all classes. Professors of classic
-literature and of humanism began to journey from city to
-city, opening schools and lecture-rooms, or taking engagements
-as tutors in the families of the princes, noblemen, and
-wealthy merchants.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The universities, founded at Bologna, Padua, Salerno
-and various other places, gave special attention to classical
-education and humanism. And, strange to say, all these
-schools and universities admitted women on equal terms with
-men. The number of women, who availed themselves of this
-privilege, may have been small, but evidently the way was
-clear. There were even several ladies, who acquired the
-degrees of doctor and professor of Greek language and literature,
-or of civil and canon law. Among these learned women
-were <b>Britisia Gozzadina</b>, who held a chair in the university
-of Bologna; and <b>Olympia Morata</b>, who, with her German
-husband, came to Heidelberg, where the chair for Greek at
-the university was offered to her.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_94'>94</span>It was this revival of antique learning, art and science,
-and its application to the literature of the 16th Century, that
-shattered the narrow mental barriers imposed by mediæval
-orthodoxy.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The stimulating movement met with full success, when
-a number of Italian princesses, in sincere enthusiasm, took
-the leadership. Among these ladies were <b>Elisabeth Gonzaga</b>,
-Duchess of Urbino; <b>Isabella d’Este</b>, Marchioness of Mantua;
-<b>Caterina Sforza</b>, Countess of Forli; <b>Veronica Gambara</b>, Countess
-of Corregio; <b>Lucrezia Borgia</b>, Duchess of Ferrara; the
-poetess <b>Lucrezia Tornabuoni</b> of Florence, and <b>Cassandra
-Fidelis</b>, “the pride and glory of Venice.” But above all stood
-the famous <b>Vittoria Colonna</b>, Marchioness Pescara, one of the
-most wonderful women of these great times.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Ariosto said of her: “She has more eloquence and
-breathes more sweetness than all other women, and gives such
-force to her lofty words that she adorns the heavens in our
-day with another sun. She has not only made herself immortal
-by her beautiful poems and style, than which I have heard
-none better, but she can raise from the tomb those of whom
-she speaks or writes, and make them live forever.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Michael Angelo, to whom she was a close friend as well
-as an inspiration, and a polar star, wrote: “By her genius
-I was raised toward the skies; in her soul my thought was
-born; without wings, I flew with her wings.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Such exceptional women made their courts and drawing
-rooms the gathering places of the most refined and beautiful
-ladies of the time, of great artists like Raphael Sanzio,
-Leonardo da Vinci, Michael Angelo, Titian, Corregio and
-Bellini, of famous authors, poets and philosophers like Tasso,
-Ariosto, Bembo, and of distinguished statesmen, dignitaries
-and men of the world. They met here to listen to interesting
-debates about Humanism, the new doctrine, that man must
-endeavor to reconstitute himself as a free being, and throw
-off the shackles, that held him the thrall of theological despotism.
-They also read the classic philosophers, enjoyed the
-inspiring works of composers, or harkened to the wonderful
-accounts of daring discoverers, just returned from adventurous
-expeditions to India and the New World.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Most attractive affairs were the festivals of the Roses,
-held in spring. Then poets and poetesses contested with their
-latest songs, rondos and sonnets, to be awarded laurel-wreaths
-or roses of gold and silver.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>It was at such gatherings that intimate friends united
-sweet discourses and platonic adoration, as shown in the
-following charming poem, written in those idyllic times:</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c014'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_95'>95</span>“<span lang="it" xml:lang="it">Donne e donzelle e giovanette accorte</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="it" xml:lang="it">rallegrando si vanno a le gran feste</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="it" xml:lang="it">d’amor si punte e deste</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="it" xml:lang="it">che par ciascuna che d’amar appaghi</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="it" xml:lang="it">e l’altre a punto in gonnellette corte</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="it" xml:lang="it">ginocano a l’ombra delle gran foreste,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="it" xml:lang="it">tanto leggiadre e preste,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="it" xml:lang="it">quai solean ninfe stare appresso i laghi</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="it" xml:lang="it">e in giovanetti vaghi</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="it" xml:lang="it">veggio seguire e donnear costoro</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="it" xml:lang="it">e talora danzare a mano a mano.</span>”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>Translated these rhymes mean: “I behold lovely women
-and maidens as they joyfully hurry to the great feast. Struck
-and awakened by love they flourish with sweet desire. I see
-them at play in the shadows of the forest, and running with
-flowing garments, agile and graceful like nymphs at the border
-of the lakes. Bright young men follow these sweet women
-to amorous play. Here and there some of these happy couples
-disappear, wandering hand in hand.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>It is difficult for us, to realize the great changes brought
-about by this movement in social manners as well as in the
-position of women. “To be a gentleman,” so J. A. Symonds
-says in his book “Renaissance in Italy,” “meant at this epoch
-to be a man acquainted with the rudiments at least of scholarship,
-refined in diction, capable of corresponding or of speaking
-in choice phrases, open to the beauty of the arts, intelligently
-interested in archæology, taking for his models of conduct
-the great men of antiquity rather than the saints of the church.
-He was also expected to prove himself an adept in physical
-exercises and in the courteous observances which survived
-from chivalry.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>What was expected of a lady of rank we learn from
-a very interesting booklet, written in 1514 by Count Baldassare
-Castiglione, entitled “<span lang="it" xml:lang="it">Libro del Cortegiano</span>.” According to
-this “Manual for Courtiers” a lady should not be inferior to
-her husband in intellectual accomplishment and be able to
-read and write Latin. In classic literature as well as in music
-and arts she should be versed to such an extent as to have
-a correct judgment of her own; while she should possess
-individuality, her behavior should be easy but graceful and
-blameless. It was also expected that she should cultivate her
-personal merits and beauty. “Beauty,” so the manual says, “is
-of far greater importance to a lady than to a gentleman,
-because it is a divine gift which loses its charm when connected
-with an unworthy person. In her whole appearance, in her
-words, actions and attitude a lady must remain different from
-man. While virility should distinguish him, a lady should
-never try to copy him and be masculine. By nature woman
-is not inferior to man, therefore she should not imitate him.
-Both sexes are created to enjoy equal rights, but each sex has
-its own and individual right.”—</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_96'>96</span>
-<img src='images/i_096.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>IN ITALY DURING THE TIME OF THE RENAISSANCE.<br /><br /><span class='right'>After a painting by Jacques Wagrez.</span></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_97'>97</span>From Italy the Revival of Learning with its new conceptions
-of philosophy and religion spread to France, Germany,
-the Netherlands, and England, stimulating everywhere great
-intellectual life and achievements.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In France it was ushered in by <b>Christine de Pisan</b>, the
-first French lady of the 14th Century who, at least in prose,
-gave evidence of a finished literary perception. In her works,
-which were often copied, she tried to rouse the self-respect
-of women by informing them about their sphere and duties.
-By her work “Cité des Dames” she made them acquainted
-with the character of famous women of the past, and
-endeavored to inspire their minds in order that they might
-join in the ethical efforts of the time.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Christine de Pisan was perhaps also the first woman,
-who opened a sharp protest against the narrow views many
-men of her time had in regard to woman’s abilities and position.
-Defying the prejudice of woman’s inferiority, she gained
-a complete victory in her literary skirmishes over several
-clergymen of high standing.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In Germany the cities of Nuremberg, Augsburg, Strassburg
-and Basel became the centers of learned societies, who
-gathered around scholars like Schedel, Pirckheimer, Agricola,
-Peutinger, Reuchlin and Brant. Here also Dürer, Holbein,
-Cranach, Schongauer and Vischer enriched the world with
-works of art that rank among the greatest of the Middle
-Ages. But most important of all, in Germany that great
-religious movement started which was in truth the Teutonic
-Renaissance: the Reformation, in which Luther, Melanchton,
-Hutten and Erasmus were the leading spirits.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Kindred movements were started in Switzerland by
-Zwingli, in France by Lefevre d’Estaples, Berquin and Calvin;
-in England by Wycliffe, Bilney, Cranmer and Cromwell.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>While so numerous men and women strove for greater
-physical and intellectual liberty, ecclesiastic despotism, to
-prevent anybody from thinking independently, denounced all
-free thinkers as heretics who must be exterminated by fire
-and sword. The life of many brilliant men and women ended
-at the stake or on the scaffold. But far greater numbers
-perished through obscure superstition, for the spread of which
-the Church was in the first place responsible.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_097.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id006'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_98'>98</span>
-<img src='images/i_098.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>ACCUSED OF WITCHCRAFT.<br /><br /><span class='right'>After a painting by F. Piloty.</span></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<h3 class='c010'>THE DARKEST CHAPTER IN WOMAN’S HISTORY.</h3>
-
-<p class='c011'>The belief in witchcraft, witches, evil spirits and devils
-is as old as humanity. It prevailed among all primeval people
-as well as among all nations of the classic past and the middle
-ages. It still exists among many nations who call themselves
-civilized. Witches have been and are feared as persons, who
-maintain intercourse with evil spirits, demons or devils. They
-are believed to be able, through the assistance of these spirits,
-of inflicting injury on other people, who attract their dislike
-and hatred. In former times people were convinced, that
-such witches could transform themselves into animals, clouds,
-water, rocks, trees or anything else; that they could cause
-disastrous thunderstorms, hail, invasions of grasshoppers,
-whirlwinds and droughts; that they could steal the dew and
-the rain, hide the moon and the stars, and produce plagues
-in men and cattle.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>From the Hebrews, who were firm believers in witchcraft
-and sorcery, this superstition was handed down to the early
-Christians, and with the extension of Christianity, it affected
-all other European nations. The earliest ecclesiastical decree
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_99'>99</span>against witchcraft appears to have been that of Ancyra, 315
-A. D., condemning soothsayers to five years’ penance. In
-canon law the Decretum subjected them to excommunication
-as idolators and enemies of Christ. And in accordance with
-the command of Moses: “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to
-live,” all women suspected of witchcraft were killed.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Later on the Popes John XXII. and Eugene IV. issued
-bulls exhorting all Christians to greater diligence “against
-heretics as well as the human agents of the Prince of Darkness,
-and especially against those who have the power to produce
-bad weather.” To exterminate these enemies of the Holy
-Faith all fighting forces of the church were set in motion,
-among them an institution, which had been founded in Spain
-during the 12th Century: the Inquisition.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As its name, derived from the Latin “<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">inquirere</span>,” indicates,
-it was the office of this institution to inquire about, or
-spy into all sins committed against the Holy Faith and the
-authority of the church, and to deliver witches as well as
-heretics to the proper authorities for punishment.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Confirmed and sanctioned by the Popes, this Inquisition
-had already performed excellent work during the crusades
-against the Albigenses and Waldenses. But the most vigorous
-crusade against witchcraft began when in 1484 Pope Innocent
-VIII. published his bull “<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Summis desiderantes affectibus</span>,” of
-which Andrew D. White in his “History of the Warfare of
-Science with Theology” has said that of all documents, ever
-issued, this has doubtless caused the greatest shedding of
-innocent blood.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>By this bull several professors of theology were appointed
-as inquisitors for large parts of Germany, with full power to
-prevent the further spread of heresy and witchcraft. The
-clergy as well as all other authorities were warned that these
-inquisitors must not be hindered in any way nor by anyone.
-“All who try to do so, will be, whatever office they may hold,
-subdued by excommunication, suspension, interdict and other
-still more terrible punishments, without any appeal: and if
-necessary, they shall be turned over to the civil authorities.
-It shall not be permitted to anyone to act wantonly contrary
-to our message. Whoever may try to do so, should know
-that he directs upon himself the wrath of Almighty God as
-well as of the Apostles Peter and Paul.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Under the authority of this bull the inquisitors opened in
-Germany not only a systematic crusade against witchcraft,
-but at the same time prepared a manual, the Malleus Maleficarum,
-or “the Witch-Hammer,” which became the great
-text-book on procedure in all witchcraft cases. Never before
-had a volume been published that contained an equal amount
-of idiotic superstition. And never before nor after has any
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_100'>100</span>book caused more unnecessary suffering, misery, and disaster.
-When J. Scherr, one of the foremost historians of Germany,
-said that this bungling composition was written with the venom
-of monks, who had become crazy with violent fanaticism,
-voluptuousness, avarice and the passion for cruelty, he spoke
-only too true.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of the unfortunate human beings, who fell victims to
-this madness, the overwhelming majority were women.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In fact, the authors of the “Witch-Hammer” boldly
-asserted, that witchcraft is more natural to women than to
-men, on account of the inherent wickedness of their hearts.
-“What else is woman but a necessary evil, a domestic danger,
-an attractive temptation, and a natural mischief, painted with
-nice colors? According to her mind woman seems to belong
-to another species than man. She is more voluptuous, as is
-proven by many immodest and lustful acts. This fault became
-apparent in the creation of the first woman, who was formed
-out of a crooked rib.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The inquisitors go on to explain: “Witchcraft is the most
-unpardonable among all acts of heresy and sins. Generally
-heretics are punished very severely. If they do not recant,
-they are burned. If they change for the better, they are
-imprisoned for life. But such dealing is not rigorous enough
-for witches. They must be annihilated, even if they regret
-their sins and announce their readiness to return to our
-Christian faith. Because the sins of the witches are far greater
-than the sins of the fallen angels and of the first men.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>After having made these statements, the authors of the
-“Witch-Hammer” explain what witches are able to do to
-their unsuspecting fellow-men in violation to the rules of the
-church.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Decency forbids the translation and reprinting of those
-passages which deal with the character of the obscene acts,
-charged to witches. We must confine ourselves to the remark
-that they were accused of sexual intercourse with innumerable
-devils, and that, in describing the various forms of such intercourse,
-the authors of the “Witch-Hammer” revealed their
-own infernal depravity.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>To point out only a few of the countless crimes ascribed
-to witches: it was asserted that witches, disguised as midwives,
-killed unborn children and tormented the unfortunate mothers
-by sharp thorns, bones and pieces of wood, produced in their
-wombs. Other witches, by looking at mothers and cows, made
-them dry; they also prevented milk from being churned into
-butter. By dipping brooms into water and swinging them
-in the air, numerous witches were accused of having caused
-terrible thunderstorms. Witches also stopped springs, wells
-and rivers from flowing; others caused an invasion of earthworms,
-mice, locusts, and other vermin.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_101'>101</span>To remain undetected in the performance of such hellish
-tricks, the witches transformed themselves into dogs, cats,
-owls, bats and other animals.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>But the most horrible crime imputed to witches, was,
-that during certain nights they would go up chimneys and
-ride on broomsticks, goats, or pigs through the air to some
-bald hill, to take part in the celebration of the Witch-Sabbath.
-Here they would meet their master, Satan, whose upper half
-is that of a hairy man with a pale face and round fiery eyes.
-On his forehead he has three horns, the middle one serving
-as a lantern and radiating light similar to that of the full moon.
-The lower half of Satan’s body is that of a buck, but the
-tail and the left foot are those of a cow, while the right foot
-has the hoof of a horse. Assisted by innumerable devils of
-lower degrees Satan would preside over the Sabbath, during
-which the most sacred ceremonies of the church were ridiculed.
-Having read the Mass, he would administer the Devil’s Sacraments
-and the Devil’s Supper, after which the whole assemblage
-would indulge in the most obscene orgies.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Even more nauseating volumes on witchcraft were published
-in Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands. Their
-authors had wrenched the most insane confessions from tortured
-women about their carnal intercourse with the Prince
-of Hell and with hosts of other evil spirits. Notwithstanding
-the absurdity of such confessions they were believed by the
-superstitious priests as well as by the people, because the Popes
-and all other dignitaries of the church approved of such books
-and summoned every true Christian to join in the universal
-warfare upon witchcraft.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As superstition, like hysteria and other mental diseases,
-is contagious, it cannot surprise us that the belief in witches
-also affected the countries in which the Reformation had taken
-root. We must consider that in these times education was
-still confined to a few. It was a privilege of the wealthy and
-of a small number of distinguished thinkers. Even these stood
-entirely under the influence of the Bible, and they believed,
-as the example of Luther proves, in the corporal existence
-of the devil and evil spirits. Among the common people,
-who grew up in blind credulity, enlightenment made very
-slow progress.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Thus, all Christianity became polluted with superstition
-and the belief in witchcraft. Furthermore, from the European
-countries it spread to every Spanish, French, Dutch and English
-colony founded in different parts of the world.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>But there is also another explanation for the passionate
-zeal developed by the inquisitors. By the trials for witchcraft
-the church as well as the inquisitors and other officials grew
-enormously rich, as all property of the witches and their
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_102'>102</span>families was confiscated under the pretense that the taint
-of witchcraft hung to everything that had belonged to the
-condemned. If such property should remain, in the hands of
-their relatives it might cause them all kinds of misfortune and
-deliver them also into the hands of Satan.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Where thus suspicion, ignorance and avarice were lying
-in wait, no woman was sure of her life for one hour. No
-matter what her social position might be, the slightest grounds
-of suspicion, or the slandering denunciation by some enemy
-was sufficient to deliver her into the power of the inquisitors.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Generally the proceedings began with searching the body
-of the suspected witch for the mark of Satan, as it was asserted
-that all who consorted with devils had some secret mark about
-them, in some hidden place on their bodies, as, for instance,
-on the inside of the lips, between the hair of the eyebrows,
-in the hollows of the arm, inside of the thigh, or in still more
-private parts, from whence Satan drew nourishment. To find
-these marks, was the task of the “Witch-Prickers,” who, after
-divesting the supposed witch of all clothing, minutely examined
-all parts of her body. If they found a mole or another
-peculiar blemish, they pricked it with a needle. If the place
-proved insensitive and did not bleed, this was an undeniable
-proof that the person had sold herself to the devil, and that
-she must be turned over to the inquisitors.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Then these human tigers began to ask questions, suggesting
-satisfactory answers, and if these answers were not equal
-to a confession of guilt, the prisoner was subjected to tortures
-which sooner or later surely brought out such answers and
-in such language as was suggested to her by the inquisitors.
-And these answers were given though the poor creature knew
-that they would send her to the stake or scaffold.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>To indicate the horrible sufferings, that hundreds of
-thousands of delicate and aged women had to go through,
-a few of the many implements of torture may be described.
-Robert G. Ingersoll in his great lecture “The Liberty of Man,
-Woman and Child” has said about them:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“I used to read in books how our fathers persecuted
-mankind. But I never appreciated it. I read it, but it did
-not burn itself into my soul. I did not really appreciate the
-infamies that have been committed in the name of religion,
-until I saw the iron arguments that Christians used. I saw the
-Thumb-screw—two little pieces of iron, armed on the inner
-surface with protuberances, to prevent their slipping; through
-each end a screw uniting the two pieces. And when some
-person denied the efficacy of baptism or her guilt of witchcraft,
-then they put his thumb between these pieces of iron
-and in the name of love and forgiveness, began to screw these
-pieces together. When this was done most men said “I will
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_103'>103</span>confess!” Probably I should have done the same and I would
-have said: “Stop! I will admit that there is one god or a
-million, one hell or a billion; suit yourselves; but stop!”—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“But there was now and then a person who would not
-swerve the breadth of a hair. Heroism did not excite the
-respect of our fathers. The person who would not confess or
-recant was not forgiven. They screwed the thumb-screws
-down to the last pang, and then threw their victim into some
-dungeon, where, in the throbbing silence and darkness, he
-might suffer the agonies of the fabled damned. This was done
-in the name of love—in the name of mercy—in the name
-of the compassionate Christ!</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“I saw, too, what they called the Collar of Torture.
-Imagine a circle of iron, and on the inside a hundred points
-almost as sharp as needles. This argument was fastened
-about the throat of the sufferer. Then he could not walk,
-nor sit down, nor stir without the neck being punctured by
-these points. In a little while the throat would begin to swell,
-and suffocation would end the agonies.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“I saw another instrument, called the Scavenger’s Daughter.
-Think of a pair of shears with handles, not only where
-they now are, but at the points as well, and just above the
-pivot that unites the blades, a circle of iron. In the upper
-handles the hands would be placed; in the lower the feet;
-and through the iron ring, at the center, the head of the
-victim would be forced. In this condition, he would be thrown
-prone upon the earth, and the strain on the muscles produced
-such agony that insanity would in pity end his pain.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“I saw the Rack. This was a box like the bed of a wagon,
-with a windlass at each end, with levers, and ratchets to
-prevent slipping; over each windlass went chains; some were
-fastened to the ankles of the sufferer; others to his wrists.
-And then priests, clergymen, divines, saints, began turning
-these windlasses, and kept turning until the ankles, the knees,
-the hips, the shoulders, the elbows, the wrists of the victim
-were all dislocated, and the sufferer was wet with the sweat
-of agony. And they had standing by a physician to feel his
-pulse. What for? To save his life? Yes. In mercy? No;
-simply that they might rack him once again.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“This was done, remember, in the name of civilization;
-in the name of law and order; in the name of mercy; in the
-name of religion; in the name of the most merciful Christ.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Christian people in England had invented a machine
-called the “Witches’ Bridle.” It was so constructed that by
-means of a loop which passed over the victim’s head, a piece
-of iron having four points or prongs was forcibly thrust into
-the mouth. Two of these prongs pressed against the tongue
-and palate, the other outward to the cheeks. This infernal
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_104'>104</span>instrument was secured by a padlock. At the back of the
-collar was fixed a ring, by which to attach the witch to a
-staple in the wall of her cell. Thus “bridled,” and day and
-night watched over by some person appointed by her inquisitors,
-the unhappy creature, after a few days of such torture,
-maddened by misery and pain, would be brought to the
-point of confessing anything in order to be rid of her wretched
-life.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>But thumb-screws, the collar, the scavenger’s daughter,
-the rack and the bridle were not the only means of inflicting
-pain devised by the ingenuity of cruelty. There was also the
-“Spider,” a diabolic implement with curved claws, for tearing
-out a woman’s breast. There were the iron Spanish Boots,
-the inner sides of which were set with points. After these
-machines had been placed around the lower legs of the victim
-they were screwed so tightly that often the shin-bones were
-crushed. To increase the horrible pain the torturer from time
-to time knocked with a hammer on the screws, so that sharp
-shocks like strokes of lightning shot through the victim’s body.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Another implement was an iron band which was fastened
-around the head and screwed tight and tighter until the eyes
-of the maltreated person protruded and she went almost crazy.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>If the rack had not brought confession, the inquisitors
-ordered the “Elevation.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>After the writhing sufferer’s hands had been tied to
-the back, a rope, running over a pulley on the ceiling, was
-fastened to the hands. Then, by pulling the rope, the body
-of the victim was slowly lifted until the contorted and dislocated
-arms stood over the head, while the feet were high
-above the floor. To render such torment more severe, heavy
-stones were fastened to the feet, and now and then the body
-was allowed to drop suddenly, only to be lifted again after
-a while. In this dangling position the heretic or witch was
-often left for hours, while the tormentors sat in some nearby
-saloon over their ale and wine.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>There were many other methods of torment, each more
-cruel than the others, among them the gradual pouring of
-water drop by drop on a particular part of the head or body,
-or the pouring of water onto a piece of gauze in the back of
-the throat, thus gradually forcing the gauze into the stomach.
-Boiling hot oil, burning sulphur and pitch, or molten lead
-were poured on the naked body, or the poor creatures were
-incessantly pricked and prodded in their dungeons so that
-they could not rest a second for weeks at a time, until they
-were finally driven to despair and madness.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>No periods in human history are more terrible, revolting
-and depressing to contemplate than these times of the Inquisition
-and of persecution for witchcraft. The student, who has
-courage enough, to go through the blood-stained documents
-of these dreadful times, must feel as Ingersoll felt when he
-said:</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_105'>105</span>
-<img src='images/i_105.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>A SUPPOSED WITCH BEFORE THE TRIBUNAL OF THE INQUISITION.<br /><br /><span class='right'>After a painting by H. Steinheil.</span></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_106'>106</span>“Sometimes, when I read and think about these frightful
-things, it seems to me that I have suffered all these horrors
-myself. It seems sometimes, as though I had stood upon the
-shore of exile and gazed with tearful eyes toward home and
-native land; as though my nails had been torn from my hands,
-and into the bleeding quick needles had been thrust; as
-though my feet had been crushed in iron boots; as though
-I had been chained in the cell of the Inquisition and listened
-with dying ears for the coming footsteps of release; as though
-I had stood upon the scaffold and had seen the glittering
-axe fall upon me; as though I had been upon the rack and
-had seen, bending above me, the white faces of hypocrite
-priests; as though I had been taken from my fireside, from
-my wife and children, taken to the public square, chained,
-as though fagots had been piled about me; as though the
-flames had climbed around my limbs and scorched my eyes
-to blindness, and as though my ashes had been scattered to
-the four winds, by all the countless hands of hate.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>From the records of trials for witchcraft still preserved
-in the archives of many European cities, it appears that the
-majority of victims were aged women; very frequently they
-had reared families and spent their youth and beauty in
-this self-denying work. But there are also many cases of the
-torturing of mere children; in several such cases little girls of
-seven and nine years gave affirmative answers to questions,
-as to whether they had held sexual intercourse with the devil.
-They even admitted to have given birth to children in consequence
-of such intercourse. A record covering the years
-1627, 1628 and January, 1629, states that during this period
-in Wurzburg, Bavaria, one hundred and sixty-three persons
-were tortured, and burnt at the stake. Among them were
-seventy-two women, and twenty-six children under fourteen
-years. Among the latter were little girls of nine years or less,
-and one was a little blind girl.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>On March 7, 1679, in Heimfels, Tyrol, a poor woman,
-Emerencia Pichler, was brought before the inquisitors. In
-spite of her solemn pledges by God and the Virgin that she
-knew nothing about witchcraft she was submitted to torture.
-On the third day of her sufferings the inquisitors wrung from
-the unfortunate creature a confession, that Satan had visited
-her one day, wearing a blue jacket, a white vest and red
-socks. In his company she made a flight to a high mountain,
-both riding on the same oven-shovel. Here they took part
-in the witches-sabbath, during which several infants were
-killed and eaten. The remains were used in concocting all
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_107'>107</span>kinds of ointments and powders, to be used in the producing
-of thunderstorms and plagues. The most horrible part of
-these confessions was that the woman, when questioned about
-accomplices, in her agonies named twenty-four persons, among
-them her own four children. Of course the poor woman
-withdrew her confessions, when the tortures were interrupted.
-Nevertheless she was found guilty. On her way to the place
-of execution she was twitched with red-hot pincers and afterwards
-burnt at the stake.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Her two oldest children, a boy of fourteen and a girl
-of twelve, were beheaded and their bodies burnt to ashes
-on July 29, 1679. Their little brother Sebastian, nine years
-old, and his sister Maria, six years old, were terribly flogged
-and forced to attend the execution of their mother and playmates.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of all the other “accomplices,” named by the woman,
-not one escaped the clutches of the inquisitors and death at
-the stake.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>There are on record thousands and thousands of similar
-cases, many of them horrible beyond belief and defying
-description. No country in Europe escaped the visitation of
-such inquisitors, many of whom journeyed from place to place
-in search of victims. In numerous cities the arrival of these
-fiends was regarded with greater fear than famine or pestilence,
-especially by women, against whom their malice was chiefly
-directed. That there was cause for such fear, is proven by
-the fact that in Treves seven thousand women lost their lives.
-In Geneva five thousand were executed in a single month.
-And in Toulouse, France, four hundred witches were burnt
-in one day, dying the horrible death by fire for a crime which
-never existed save in the imagination of their benighted
-persecutors.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among the countless women burnt as witches was also
-Jeanette d’Arc, who to-day is glorified by the French nation
-as <b>Jeanne d’Arc</b>, the Maid of Orleans, and who has been lately
-canonized. Born about 1411 at Dom-Remy, a small village
-in the Champagne, she witnessed the conquest of Northern
-France by the English. While brooding over this mishap,
-it became fixed in her mind that she was destined to deliver
-France from these invaders. This impression was strengthened
-by a number of visions, in which she believed to see St.
-Michael, the archangel of judgments and of battles, who
-commanded her to take up arms and hurry to the assistance
-of the king. In February, 1429, she set out on her perilous
-journey to the court of the Dauphin at Chinon. Here she
-succeeded in convincing the king of the divinity of her
-mission, so that she was permitted to start with an army of
-5000 men for the relief of Orleans. Clothed like a man in
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_108'>108</span>a coat of mail, and carrying a white standard of her own
-design, embroidered with lilies and the image of God, she
-inspired her followers with a religious enthusiasm. Favored
-by good luck she entered the besieged city on the 29th of
-April, 1429, and by incessant attacks so discouraged the
-enemy that they withdrew on the 8th of May. However, in
-several other enterprises her luck failed, and on the 24th of
-May, after an unsuccessful sortie, she was taken prisoner
-through treachery, because, being pursued by the enemy, some
-Frenchmen shut the gates of the fortress into which she should
-have escaped.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>With her capture the halo of supernatural power that had
-surrounded her, vanished. Accused of being a heretic and a
-witch, she was turned over to the Inquisition for trial. Her
-examination lasted six days. Among other insidious and
-indelicate questions on the subject of her visions she was
-asked whether, when St. Michael appeared to her, he was
-naked, and if she had entertained sexual intercourse with
-the devil. But no point seemed graver to the judges than
-the sin of having assumed male attire. The judges told her
-that according to the canons, those who thus change the habit
-of their sex, are abominable in the sight of God.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The decision to which the inquisitors finally came, was
-that the girl was wholly the devil’s; was impious in regard
-to her parents; had thirsted for Christian blood, adhered to a
-king who was a heretic and schismatic, and was herself a
-heretic, apostate and idolator. For all these crimes she was
-sentenced to death, and burnt alive on the market place of
-Rouen, May 30th, 1431.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As has been stated already persecutions for witchcraft
-were not confined to European countries, but were also
-carried on by Christian priests and judges in all colonies established
-by Europeans on other continents. In the British colonies
-of North America the most sensational trial for witchcraft was
-that in Salem, Massachusetts, about which J. M. Buckley in
-an article written for the Century Magazine (Vol. XLIII, pp.
-408–422) speaks as follows:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“The first settlers of New England brought across the
-Atlantic the sentiments which had been formed in their minds
-in Great Britain and on the Continent, as well as the tendencies
-which were the common heritage of such an ancestry. They
-were a very religious, and also a credulous people; having
-few books, no papers, little news, and virtually no science;
-removed by thousands of miles and months of time from Old-World
-civilization; living in the midst of an untamed wilderness,
-surrounded by Indians whom they believed to be under
-the control of the devil, and whose medicine-men they
-accounted wizards. Such a mental and moral soil was adapted
-to the growth of witchcraft, and to create an invincible determination
-to inflict the punishments pronounced against it in
-the Old Testament; but the co-operation of various exciting
-causes was necessary to a general agitation and a real epidemic.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id005'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_109'>109</span>
-<img src='images/i_109.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>WOMEN, CONDEMNED FOR WITCHCRAFT, BURNT AT THE STAKE.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_110'>110</span>“Salem witchcraft thus arose: The Reverend Mr. Parris,
-minister of the church in Salem village, had formerly lived in
-the West Indies, and brought some negro slaves back with
-him. These slaves talked with the children of the neighborhood,
-some of whom could not read, while the others had
-but little to read. In the winter of 1691–92 they formed a
-kind of circle which met at Mr. Parris’ house, probably
-unknown to him, to practice palmistry and fortune-telling,
-and learn what they could of magic and necromancy.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Before the winter was over some of them fully believed
-that they were under the influence of spirits. Epidemic
-hysteria arose; physicians could not explain their state;
-the cry was raised that they were bewitched; and some
-began to make charges against those whom they disliked
-of having bewitched them. In the end those of a stronger
-mind among them became managers and plotters directing
-the rest at their will. By the time public attention was attracted
-Mr. Parris had come to the conclusion that they were bewitched
-and, having a theory to maintain, encouraged and flattered
-them, and by his questions made even those who had not
-believed themselves bewitched think that they were.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“From March, 1692, to May, 1693, about two hundred
-persons were imprisoned. Of these some escaped by the help
-of friends, some by bribing their jailors; a number died in
-prison, and one hundred and fifty were set free at the close
-of the excitement by the proclamation of the Governor. Nineteen
-were executed, among them George Burroughs, a minister
-of the Gospel.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“When it is remembered that a number of these persons
-were among the most pious and amiable of the people of
-Salem; that they were related by blood, marriage, friendship,
-and Christian fellowship to many who cried out against them,
-both as accusers and supporters of the prosecutions, the transaction
-must be classed among the darkest in human history.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Several historians have made attempts to ascertain the
-number of men, women and children, who lost their lives
-through this abominable superstition. O. Waechter, who published
-a book about this subject, calculates that the number
-of victims must have been at least three millions! Imagine,
-what a terrible amount of sighs, tears, and physical and mental
-agonies this number represents!</p>
-
-<div class='chapter'>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_111'>111</span>
-  <h2 class='c006'>Women in Modern Times.</h2>
-</div>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_113'>113</span>
-<img src='images/i_113.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>DISPOSING OF EXHAUSTED CAPTIVES.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<h3 class='c010'>WOMAN IN SLAVERY.</h3>
-
-<p class='c011'>When our historians date the beginning of Modern Times
-from the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus,
-they are fully justified, as no other event has caused so many
-radical changes in the thoughts of men as well as in all commercial
-and social conditions. The earlier views about our
-terrestrial globe and its relation to the universe gave place to
-new and far greater conceptions. Almost every day brought
-new and astonishing disclosures in natural history, physics and
-other spheres of science.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th
-Century was also the time of the Renaissance as well as of
-the Reformation, of a revival of the wisdom of the classic
-past and of the rise and establishment of new sublime ideas
-about God and the destiny of man.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>It could not fail that in this period of spiritual fermentation
-and inspiration the views about women, matrimony and
-woman’s rights likewise underwent considerable changes. But
-before these new conceptions found general acceptance many
-mediæval traditions, prejudices and customs had to be overcome
-and cleared away.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>While the discovery of America brought incredible riches
-to various European nations, it caused nothing but misery
-and disaster to the aborigines of the New World. And to
-many million Africans as well.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>It must not be forgotten that the conquest of Mexico,
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_114'>114</span>Peru and other rich parts of America inflamed the greed of
-inumerable adventurers, and that these men, in order to wring
-gold and other treasures from the natives, resorted to the
-most heartless cruelties. We also must call to mind, that in
-company with these conquerors went hosts of monks and
-priests of all orders, eager to convert the “heathen” to the
-“only true creed.” Ruthlessly invading the temples of the
-“infidels,” they turned the banner of the Cross, this beacon
-light of promise, into an awful oriflame of war, spreading
-destruction and disaster. The well known accounts, given by
-the Spanish bishop Las Casas, disclose among other horrible
-events the fact—heretofore unheard of in human history—that
-whole bands and tribes of American Indians, to evade
-the tyranny of their European oppressors, slaughtered their
-own children, and then committed suicide.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>These Indians had been compelled not only to work in
-the gold mines and in the pearl fisheries, but to perform all
-other labor that white men were unable or unwilling to do.
-As under the cruel treatment of their oppressors the natives
-rapidly dwindled away and whole islands became depopulated
-the Portuguese as well as the Spaniards resorted to the importation
-of negro slaves, whom they captured in Africa and
-brought to America.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>It was not long before the profits, derived from this trade,
-attracted the eyes of English adventurers. The first to become
-engaged in that new branch of business, was William Hawkins.
-It was he who undertook the first regular slave hunts to the
-coast of Guinea and opened that shameful traffic in which
-England was engaged for nearly three centuries. His son,
-John Hawkins, sailing under a charter of Queen Elizabeth,
-continued the lucrative business and grew rich.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>That this men-hunter imagined himself under the special
-protection of the heavenly father appears from several entries
-in his log-book. When, invading a negro village near Sierra
-Leone, he almost fell into captivity himself and would have
-been exposed to the same fate that he inflicted, without compunction,
-upon thousands of other unfortunate men and
-women, he wrote: “God, who worketh all things for the
-best, would not have it so, and by Him all escaped without
-danger; His name be praised for it.” At another time, when
-his vessels were becalmed for a long time in midocean and
-great suffering ensued: “But Almighty God, who never suffereth
-His elect to perish, sent us the ordinarie Breeze, which
-is the northwest wind.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>To what extent the name of Christianity was abused, we
-see from the fact that Hawkins, when entering upon his
-greatest expedition with five ships in 1567 sacrilegiously named
-his flagship “Jesus Christ.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_115'>115</span>Because of the riches Hawkins brought to England,
-Queen Elizabeth knighted him and granted him a coat of
-arms, showing, on a black shield, a golden lion rampant over
-blue waves. Three golden doubloons above the lions represented
-the riches Hawkins had secured for England. To give due
-credit to the piety of this “nobleman,” there was in the upper
-quartering of the shield a pilgrim’s scallop-shell, flanked by
-two pilgrim’s staffs, indicating that Hawkins’ slave-hunts were
-genuine crusades, undertaken in the name of Christianity.
-For a crest this coat-of-arms shows the half-length figure of
-a negro, with golden armlets on his arms, but bound and
-captive.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In an article entitled “The American Slave,” published
-in “Pearson’s Magazine” for 1900, James S. Metcalf states
-that the slave trade quickly developed to tremendous extent
-and that from 1680 to 1786 there were carried from Africa
-to the British colonies in America 2,130,000 slaves, men as
-well as women. This does not include the number, vastly
-larger, taken to the Spanish and Portuguese colonies before,
-during and after the same period.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The same author states, that the traffic in human flesh
-was a recognized commerce at the London Exchange, and
-that, in 1771, the English alone sent to Africa 192 ships
-equipped for the trade and with a carrying capacity of
-47,146 slaves per trip.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>It was the tribal warfare among the aborigines of Africa
-that furnished the slave dealers with the greater part of their
-human merchandise. Small and unprotected villages were constantly
-in danger of being attacked by powerful roving bands.
-When in 1872 the famous explorer Nachtigal traveled through
-Central Africa, he witnessed a tragedy that happened at the
-shores of Chad Lake. Strong forces of Bagirmis made an
-assault on a negro village, to capture the inhabitants and
-carry them off for slaves. Alarmed by their guards, the
-negroes, terror-stricken, fled to some tree-huts, prepared for
-such emergency in a nearby forest. Here they considered
-themselves safe. But unfortunately the enemies were in
-possession of a few guns, with which they picked a number
-of the fugitives from the trees like birds. Falling from the
-dizzy heights, the wounded were hacked to pieces. After a
-while the cruel enemies succeeded in constructing some rough
-ladders, by which the trees were scaled. Unable to escape,
-many of the assaulted, preferring death to slavery, threw
-themselves upon the ground below, where they perished.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_116'>116</span>
-<img src='images/i_116.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>A RAID OF SLAVE-DEALERS IN CENTRAL AFRICA.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_117'>117</span>
-<img src='images/i_117.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>A SLAVE TRANSPORT IN CENTRAL AFRICA.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_118'>118</span>The most desperate fight ensued for the tree-house of
-the chief. It took several hours, before the enemies succeeded
-in reaching the lower platform, where within a rude enclosure
-food, water, and even a few goats had been hidden. Unable
-to hold this place, the chief with his two wives and four
-children withdrew to the highest branches. From there he
-defended his family with such ability, that the foes, after
-having exhausted their supply in powder, were compelled to
-abandon the siege.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The stronger portion of the captives made during such
-raids, were shackled hand and foot to prevent escape. The
-remainder often were killed and the flesh distributed among
-the victors, who, as a rule, after such a raid formed a small
-encampment, lighted their fires and gorged upon the human
-flesh. They then marched over to one of the numerous slave-markets
-on the rivers or the coasts, where they exchanged the
-captives with the slave-traders for beads, cloth, brass wire
-and other trinkets.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Woe to those who became sick or exhausted during the
-long march to the markets! If unable to stagger on any longer
-they were, to set an example for the others, either butchered
-on the spot, or left behind to perish by hunger and thirst,
-or to be torn by wild beasts.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the further transportation of such kidnapped men and
-women no regard was paid to their comfort. In the best of
-slave-ships the height between decks in the quarters set aside
-for the living cargo was five feet and eight inches. Even in
-these not all the slaves had so much head room. Around
-the sides of the vessel, halfway up, ran a shelf, giving room
-for a double row of slaves, one above and one below. This
-was stowed with undersized negroes, including women, boys,
-and children. In the worst class of slavers the space between
-decks was no more than three feet, compelling the wretched
-occupants to make the entire journey in a sitting or crouching
-position, as they were oftentimes, in fact most of the times,
-so crowded together that lying down was an impossibility.
-In fact, the more ingenious traders often so figured out the
-available space that the slaves were packed in with their feet
-and legs across one another’s laps. To prevent revolt, the
-men were manacled in couples with leg irons and stowed
-below. The irons were fastened to the ceiling. As a rule
-the women were not handcuffed but crowded into compartments
-under grated hatches and locked doors. At sea there
-might be a faint possibility of a breath of air’s penetrating
-into those quarters, but under all circumstances the mortality
-among the slaves was frightful.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“In the literature of the slave trade,” says Metcalff, “the
-horrors of the path of commerce stand out as prominently
-as the persecutions of the Roman emperors in the history of
-Christianity. When the sea gives up its dead there will come
-from this highway of cruelty a prodigious army of martyrs
-to man’s inhumanity to man. The best authorities agree in
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_119'>119</span>estimating that of all the slaves taken from Africa at least
-one-eighth—some authorities say more than a quarter—died
-or were killed in transit. It staggers the imagination to think
-of how thickly the traffic in these helpless savages, continued
-through almost four centuries, must have strewn with corpses
-the lower depths of the Atlantic.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Of course it was necessary, if any part of the cargo was
-to be delivered alive, that the negroes should occasionally
-be brought on deck and exercised. This was done with a
-few at a time, although their masters never went so far as
-to free even these from their irons. Often it was found when
-a couple was to be brought up that one of them had died
-and that his mate had spent hours, days even, in the stifling
-atmosphere of between-decks, manacled to and in constant
-contact with a corpse. It is small wonder that, as often happened,
-when the slaves were brought on deck they began
-jumping overboard in couples, sooner than return to the heat,
-thirst, stench, and filth of the hold, where the scalding perspiration
-of one ran to the body of another and where men were
-constantly dying in their full view. Sooner than endure these
-tortures even the savage Africans sought refuge in death by
-starvation. This was a contingency provided for in advance
-by the experienced trader, and if the gentle persuasion of
-the thumb-screw failed to cure the would-be suicide, the ships
-were always provided with a clever device to compel the
-human animal to take the nourishment which kept in him
-the life without which he ceased to possess any pecuniary
-value. This instrument consisted of a pair of iron compasses,
-the legs of which were driven into the mouth when closed
-and then forced open and held open by the action of a screw.
-Even the African negro, stoic to the pains incident to a life
-of savagery, would renounce the privilege of death by starvation
-to escape the immediate agony of forcibly distended jaws,
-especially when at the same time his thumbs were under the
-pressure of the screw with blood exuding from their ends.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Branded like cattle, the negroes, after their arrival in
-the American harbor, were sold by auction. And now the
-slave was, as the Civil Code of Louisiana said, “subject to
-the power of his master in such a manner that the master
-may sell him, dispose of his person, and of his labor. He
-can do nothing, possess nothing, nor acquire anything but
-that may belong to his master.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of course this master had also the right to punish the
-slave for any neglect or wrong. To be sure, there were laws
-against excessive punishment, but as most of the plantations
-were far from the cities, such laws were practically ineffective
-against those who wished to violate them.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>We quote once more J. S. Metcalff: “Almost every
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_120'>120</span>plantation had its whipping post, consisting of an upright set
-in the ground with a short crosspiece near the top. The
-thumbs or wrists of the negro to be whipped were securely
-tied together, and placed around the upright above the crosspiece,
-so that the toes barely touched the ground. Sometimes
-the offending slaves were sent to the nearest jail to be whipped
-by the jailor, who was an expert in his line of work, and
-provided with the right kind of whips as well as a strong
-arm and an accurate eye to make his blows inflict the most
-pain. In other cases, this official paid regular visits to the
-plantation, and inflicted the punishments accumulated since
-his preceding visit. Thus the terror of anticipation was often
-added to the agony of realization. These events were occasions
-on the plantations, and the other slaves were compelled
-to witness the punishments and sufferings of their fellows as
-a deterrent to wrongdoing on their own part. In the case
-of some offenders which seemed cardinal against the foundation
-principles of slavery, such as striking a master, engaging
-in a conspiracy with other slaves, or aiding a fugitive, the
-punishments were made extraordinarily severe, and slaves
-from surrounding plantations were obliged by their masters
-to gather to witness them.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“A case of this latter sort was the one of a negro and his
-wife, who had given their owner a severe beating. In spite
-of the fact that the first cause of the trouble was the rejection
-by the woman of the master’s advances, the offence was so
-flagrant that neighboring slave-owners feared to let it go
-by without severe and public punishment. At the time set
-the slaves from neighboring plantations were gathered, and
-the man and woman fastened to posts near each other. The
-man was to receive a hundred and fifty lashes and the woman
-a hundred. As the first strokes fell on the man’s back and
-loins he gave no sound, but the agony betrayed itself in the
-ashening of his dark skin, and in the involuntary contortion
-of his features. Meanwhile the woman encouraged him with
-crude expressions of pity and love. As the blows increased
-in number the torture became unbearable, and the sound of
-the regularly landing lash was punctuated with the shrieks of
-its agonized victim. Finally a blessed unconsciousness came
-to his relief, and he hung from the post a limp, unfeeling
-mass of bruised and bleeding flesh. While his back was being
-washed, the whipping of the woman began. The first blows
-brought shrieks of anguish from her lips, but as the whipping
-went on these subsided into a murmur of sobs, prayers, and
-appeals for mercy. With the exception of an occasional rest
-for the tired arm of the man wielding the whip, her punishment
-was carried to its end without her losing consciousness,
-although it was apparent that there had come some numbing
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_121'>121</span>influence to her faculties closely akin to insensibility. The man
-had now been restored to his senses and his punishment was
-resumed. When it was finished the wounds of both were
-washed with salt water, to intensify the effect of the blows,
-to prevent blood-poisoning and to heal the wounds more
-quickly, so that the slaves could resume their accustomed
-labor. This matter of the slave’s ability to work was always
-taken into account, and we have one instance of two economical
-lady slave-owners in Georgia who always inflicted their
-punishments Sunday mornings, so that by Monday the slaves
-would be able to go into the fields.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As the slave-holders were absolute masters over the
-negroes, they made their dusky female slaves only too often
-the objects of their passions. The effects of this intermingling
-were soon seen in all slave-holding countries of America in the
-mixed character of the population, which, gradually extending
-itself as time wore on, resulted in the race of the mulattoes.
-From the intercourse of these again with the whites or among
-themselves, innumerable shades of color sprang up, giving rise
-to the distinctions of octoroons, quadroons, terceroons, quinteroons,
-etc. To all these people, regular or irregular in birth,
-light or dark in color, were given the various names of
-“people of color,” “sang melée,” or “mulattoes.” Notwithstanding
-the fact, that some of these quadroons and octoroons
-could hardly be distinguished from white people in appearance,
-their condition followed always that of their mothers,
-and they were therefore chattels to be bought or sold.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“On the plantations where negro children were brought
-up to be sold, it was,” as Metcalff states, “not an unheard-of
-thing for a master to sell his own son or daughter. In the
-break-up of family estates it sometimes happened that the
-heir was compelled to sell his own half-brother or half-sister.
-These relationships were seldom or never recognized.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the slave-markets of New Orleans and the other large
-cities the personal appearance of the younger women was
-a decided element in fixing their value. The languorous
-beauty of the Southern quadroon and octoroon is famous
-the world over, and on the auction block and at private sale
-they brought the highest prices.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The glory of having written the first formal protest
-against slavery and its countless cruelties, belongs to a small
-band of Mennonites from Germany, who arrived in Philadelphia
-in 1683, in the neighborhood of which city they started
-a settlement called Germantown.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Becoming aware that in the colonies slaves were sold
-without the disapproval of the Puritans and Quakers, who
-claimed to be defenders of human rights, the Mennonites drew
-up a protest against slavery on February 18th, 1688. It was
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_122'>122</span>the first written in any language. This remarkable document,
-still preserved in the archives of the “Society of Friends” in
-Philadelphia, was directed to the Quakers and reads as follows:</p>
-
-<p class='c007'>“This is to ye Monthly Meeting at Richard Warrel’s.
-These are the reasons why we are against the traffic of men
-Body, as followeth: Is there any that would be done or
-handled at this manner? to be sold or made a slave for all
-time of his life? How fearfull and fainthearted are many on
-sea when they see a strange vessel, being afraid it should be
-a Turk, and they should be taken and sold for slaves into
-Turkey. Now what is this better done as Turks do? Yea
-rather it is worse for them, which say they are Christians; for
-we hear that ye most part of such Negers are brought hither
-against their will and consent; and that many of them are
-stollen. Now, tho’ they are black, we cannot conceive there
-is more liberty to have them slaves, as it is to have other
-white ones. There is a saying, that we shall doe to all men,
-like as we will be done our selves; making no difference of
-what generation, descent or colour they are. And those who
-steal or robb men, and those who buy or purchase them, are
-they not alike? Here is liberty of conscience, which is right
-and reasonable; here ought to be likewise liberty of ye body,
-except of evil-doers, which is another case. But to bring men
-hither or to robb and sell them against their will, we stand
-against. In Europe there are many oppressed for conscience
-sake; and here there are those oppressed which are of a black
-colour. And we, who know that men must not commit
-adultery, some doe commit adultery in others, separating wifes
-from their husbands and giving them to others; and some
-sell the children of those poor creatures to other men. Oh!
-doe consider well this things, you who doe it, if you would
-be done at this manner, and if it is done according Christianity?
-You surpass Holland and Germany in this thing. This
-makes an ill report in all those countries of Europe, where
-they hear off, that ye Quakers doe here handel men like they
-handel there ye cattel. And for that reason some have no
-mind or inclination to come hither, and who shall maintain
-this your cause or plaid for it? Truly we can not do so, except
-you shall inform us better hereof, that Christians have liberty
-to practice this things. Pray! What thing on this world can
-be done worse towards us, then if men should robb or steal
-us away, and sell us for slaves to strange countries, separating
-husbands from their wifes and children. Being now this is
-not done at that manner, we will be done at, therefore we
-contradict and are against this traffick of menbody. And
-we who profess that it is not lawful to steal, must likewise
-avoid to purchase such things as are stollen, but rather help
-to stop this robbing and stealing if possible; and such men
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_123'>123</span>ought to be delivered out of ye hands of ye Robbers and sett
-free as well as in Europe. Then is Pennsylvania to have a
-good report, instead it hath now a bad one for this sake in
-other countries. Especially whereas ye Europeans are desirous
-to know in what manner ye Quackers doe rule in their
-Province; and most of them doe look upon us with an envious
-eye. But if this is done, well, what shall we say is done evil?</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“If once these slaves (which they say are so wicked and
-stubborn men) should joint themselves, fight for their freedom
-and handel their masters and mastrisses as they did handel
-them before, will these masters and mastrisses tacke the sword
-at hand and warr against these poor slaves, like we are able
-to believe, some will not refuse to doe? Or have these Negers
-not as much right to fight for their freedom, as you have to
-keep them slaves?</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Now consider well this thing, if it is good or bad? and
-in case you find it to be good to handel these blacks at that
-manner, we desire and require you hereby lovingly, that you
-may inform us here in, which at this time never was done,
-that Christians have such a liberty to do so, to the end we
-shall be satisfied in this point, and satisfie likewise our good
-friends and acquaintances in our natif country, to whom it is
-a terrour or fairfull thing that men should be handeld so in
-Pennsylvania.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“This is from our Meeting at Germantown held ye 18. of
-the 2. month 1688. to be delivered to the monthly meeting
-at Richard Warrel’s.</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-r'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“<span lang="lb" xml:lang="lb">gerret hendericks</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="lb" xml:lang="lb">derick op de graeff</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="lb" xml:lang="lb">Francis Daniell Pastorius</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="lb" xml:lang="lb">Abraham op Den graeff.</span>”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c007'>This document, set up by the humble inhabitants of
-Germantown, compelled the Quakers to think. Becoming
-aware that the traffic in human beings did not harmonize with
-the Christian religion, they introduced in 1711 an act to
-prevent the importation of negroes and Indians into Pennsylvania.
-Later on they also declared themselves against the
-slave trade. But as the Government found such laws inadmissible,
-the question dragged along, until 150 years later, by
-Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, this black spot on the
-escutcheon of the United States was wiped out.</p>
-
-<hr class='c012' />
-
-<p class='c008'>The Germans of Pennsylvania were also compelled to
-protest against other gross abuses, of which white men and
-women had become the victims. To review early immigration
-into America means to open one of the blackest pages of
-Colonial history. The constant wars, prevailing in Europe,
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_124'>124</span>the horrible persecutions to which the followers of certain
-religious sects were exposed, the frequent times of famine
-and pestilence led many thousands of unhappy beings to
-sail for the New World, where such sufferings would not be
-encountered. But the means of travel, then existing, did not
-meet the demands. Vessels, fit for the transportation of large
-numbers, were few and their accommodations extremely poor.
-Authorities took no interest in the proper treatment of the
-emigrants. Everything was left to the owners of the ships,
-who were responsible to nobody.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>What sort of people were these shippers? Many were
-smugglers and pirates, always on the lookout for prey. Others
-were slave-dealers, making fortunes in trading negro-slaves.
-No doubt, the moral standard of these gentlemen was very
-low. Do we wonder that many of these unscrupulous men
-established also a regular trade in <b>white</b> slaves, for which the
-increasing exodus from Europe to America opened most alluring
-inducements. If smart enough, they would amass great
-wealth and would no longer have to make the perilous voyage
-to Guinea, to kidnap black people at the risk of their own
-lives. For the white slaves could be seduced by a bait that
-had a flavor of high-spirited benevolence.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Pretending willingness to help all persons without means,
-the ship-owners offered to give such persons credit for their
-passage across the ocean, on condition that they would work
-for it after their arrival in America, by hiring out as servants
-for a certain length of time to colonists, who would advance
-their wages by paying the passage money to the ship-owners.
-As the persons were redeeming themselves by performing
-this service, they were therefore called “Redemptioners.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>With this harmless-looking decoy many thousands of
-men and women were lured on to sign contracts, only to find
-out later that they had become victims of villainous knaves
-and had to pay for their inexperience with the best years of
-their lives.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The voyage across the ocean took as many weeks as
-it takes days at present. The ship-holds were in such horrible
-condition that words fail to describe them. And these dirty
-rooms were always packed beyond capacity. The food was
-poor and insufficient. Some captains kept their passengers on
-half rations from the day of the start, pretending that it was
-necessary to prevent famine. In consequence of the poor
-nourishment and the overcrowded quarters, all sorts of sickness
-prevailed and the mortality was terrific. For medical
-help and all other services excessive prices were charged. So
-it came that at the end of the journey almost all the passengers
-were deeply in debt. According to their amount and the
-physical condition of each immigrant the length of time was
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_125'>125</span>fixed for which he or she should serve any person, willing to
-pay the captain the amount of the immigrant’s debt. This
-servitude extended always from four to eight years, and sometimes
-to more. The captains had no difficulty in turning the
-bonds, signed by redemptioners, into cash. Cheaper labor
-could be obtained nowhere, and for this reason the colonists
-were always eager to secure the services of redemptioners.
-The offers were made through the newspapers or at the
-“Vendu,” the place where negroes were bought and sold.
-When applicants came, the redemptioner was not allowed to
-choose a master or to express wishes about the kind of work
-that would suit him. Members of the same family must not
-object to separation. So it happened frequently that a husband
-became parted from his wife or children, or children from
-their parents for many years or for life. As soon as the
-applicant paid the debt of a redemptioner, the latter was
-obliged to follow him. In case this master did not need his
-servant any longer, he could hire, transfer or sell him like
-chattel to someone else.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As in such a case the redemptioner received no duplicate
-of his contract, the poor creature depended entirely upon
-the good will of his new master, who had it in his power to
-keep him or her in servitude far beyond the expiration of
-the true contract time. If any dispute arose, a redemptioner
-enjoyed no greater protection than a negro, like whom he
-was treated in many respects. If found ten miles away from
-home without the written consent of his master, he would be
-regarded as a run-away and submitted to heavy physical
-punishment. Persons guilty of hiding or assisting such fugitives
-were fined 500 pounds of tobacco for each twenty-four hours
-such fugitive had remained under their roof. Who captured
-a run-away was entitled to a reward of 200 pounds of tobacco
-or 50 dollars. And to the run-away’s servitude ten days were
-added for every twenty-four hours absent, to say nothing of
-the severe whipping he was liable to get.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The redemptioners went through all sorts of experiences,
-according to the different tempers of their masters. Some
-were lucky enough to find good homes, where they were well
-treated. But many fell into the hands of heartless, selfish
-people, who in their eagerness to get as much as possible out
-of the redemptioners, literally worked them to death, to say
-nothing of providing insufficient food, scanty clothing and
-poor lodging. Many owners made use of the right to punish
-redemptioners so frequently and so cruelly, that a law became
-necessary whereby it was forbidden to apply to a servant
-more than ten lashes for each “fault.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Female redemptioners were quite often exposed to lives
-of shame, which some of the laws seemed to invite. For
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_126'>126</span>instance in Maryland a law was passed in 1663 providing that
-any freeborn white woman, who married a colored slave,
-should together with her offspring become the property of
-the owner of that slave.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Originally this abominable law was intended to deter
-white women from intermarriage with colored men. But
-many depraved colonists misused this law purposely and compelled
-their white female servants by threat or deceit to marry
-colored slaves, as the master then would legally secure permanent
-possession of the white freeborn woman as well as
-the children she might bear. Though everybody knew that
-such devilish tricks were practiced extensively, this law
-remained in force until 1721, when a peculiar incident led
-to its repeal. When Lord Baltimore, the founder of Maryland,
-visited his province in 1681, he brought over an Irish
-girl, Nellie, who had agreed to redeem the cost of passage to
-America by doing service. Before her time ended, Lord Baltimore
-returned to England. Prior to his departure he sold
-the unexpired term of Nellie’s service to a resident of Maryland,
-who some weeks thereafter gave Nellie to one of his
-negroes, making her thereby, together with two children that
-were born, forever his slave. When Lord Baltimore heard
-of this, he caused the abolishment of the law of 1663. But
-all efforts to release his former servant and her children were
-in vain. The case dragged along for years, until the courts
-decided, that Nellie and her children must remain slaves, as
-the latter were born before the annulment of the law.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Incidents of similar character stirred the German citizens
-of Philadelphia to revolt against the unjust treatment to which
-their immigrant countrymen and women were subjected. At
-a meeting on Christmas Day of 1764, they formed “<b>The
-German Society of Pennsylvania</b>,” with the purpose of securing
-laws for the abolishment of all abuses which had grown
-out of the treatment of immigrants. Such a law was secured
-on May 18th of the following year.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The “German Society of Pennsylvania” became the
-model for many similar institutions in all parts of America.
-By uncovering evils and by vigorous persecutions of guilty
-persons, by continuously framing and recommending effective
-laws, these societies secured at last a better treatment of the
-immigrants on the ocean as well as after landing. With full
-justice these societies may be called the true originators of
-our modern immigration laws.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>They also established the “Legal Aid Societies,” to
-assist poor people in need of legal advice and help. As these
-institutions spread over hundreds of cities of America as well
-as of Europe, we see that since the Christmas meeting in
-Philadelphia in 1764 untold millions of people have profited
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_127'>127</span>by the earnest work, begun by that small band of Germans,
-who had the welfare of their poor countrymen at heart, and
-showed what genuine Christmas spirit can do for humanity,
-if it is only put to a proper purpose.</p>
-
-<hr class='c012' />
-
-<p class='c008'>There existed yet another form of female slavery, the
-worst of all. With the development of the feudal system in
-mediæval Europe, which made the poor man, especially the
-peasant, dependent on the lord or owner of the land he
-cultivated, the lords appropriated in time unlimited sway over
-their vassals. Among other rights they claimed not only that
-to marry him or her to whomsoever the lord might chose,
-but also absolute control of the vassal’s newly wedded bride
-for the first three days and nights. This custom, known by
-a variety of names, as “<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">jus primæ noctis, droit de cuissage</span>,”
-“<span lang="it" xml:lang="it">marchetta</span>” or “marquette,” had the sanction of the state
-as well as of the church and compelled newly married women
-to the most dishonorable servitude. If the female serf pleased
-the lord he enjoyed her, and it was from this custom, that
-the eldest son of the serf was always held as the son of the
-lord, “as perchance it was he, who begot him.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>If it should happen that the young bride did not meet the
-fancy of the lord, he let her alone, but in such case the
-husband had to redeem her by paying the lord a certain
-amount of money, the name of which betrayed its nature.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Matilde Joslyn Gage in her able book “Woman, Church
-and State” has devoted a whole chapter to the history of
-marquette and says:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“The seigneural tenure of the feudal period was a law
-of Christian Europe more dishonorable than the worship of
-Astarte at Babylon. In order to fully comprehend the vileness
-of marquette we must remember that it did not originate
-in the pagan country many thousand years since; that it was
-not a heathen custom transplanted to Europe with many
-others adopted by the church, but that it arose in Christian
-countries a thousand years after the origin of that religion,
-continuing in existence until within the last century.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>She further states that in France even the Bishops of
-Amiens and the canons of the cathedral of Lyons possessed
-the right over the women of their vassals, and that in several
-counties of the Piccardy the curés imitated the bishops and
-took the right of cuissage, when the bishop had become too
-old to take his right. She also states, that “marquette began
-to be abolished in France toward the end of the 16th Century,
-but still existed in the 19th Century in the County of Auvergne,
-and that the lower orders of the clergy were very unwilling
-to relinquish this usage, vigorously protesting to their archbishops
-against the deprivation of this right, declaring they
-could not be dispossessed.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_128'>128</span>“But finally the reproach and infamy connected with the
-‘droit de cuissage’ became so great, and the peasants became
-so recalcitrant over this nefarious exaction, that ultimately
-both lords spiritual and lords temporal, fearing for their own
-safety, commenced to lessen their demands.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>From a letter, reproduced in the same book, it appears
-that instances of the survival of the feudal idea as to the right
-of the lord to the persons of his vassal woman occurred within
-the last decenniums of the Nineteenth Century. This letter,
-written by Mr. D. R. Locke, and dated December, 1891,
-reads: “One of the Landlords was shot a few years ago and
-a great ado was made about it. In this case as in most of
-the others it was not a question of rent. My Lord had visited
-his estates to see how much more money could be taken out
-of his tenants, and his lecherous eyes happened to rest upon
-a very beautiful girl, the eldest daughter of a widow with
-seven children. Now this girl was betrothed to a nice sort
-of boy, who, having been in America, knew a thing or two.
-My Lord, through his agent, who is always a pimp as well
-as a brigand, ordered Kitty to come to the castle. Kitty,
-knowing very well what that means, refused. “Very well,”
-says the agent, “yer mother is in arrear for rent, and you had
-better see My Lord, or I shall be compelled to evict her.”—Kitty
-knew what that meant also. It meant that her gray-haired
-mother, her six helpless brothers and sisters would be
-pitched out by the roadside to die of starvation and exposure,
-and so Kitty, without saying a word to her mother or anyone
-else, went to the castle and was kept there three days, till
-My Lord was tired of her, when she was permitted to go.
-She went to her lover, like an honest girl as she was, and
-told him she would not marry him, but refused to give any
-reason. Finally the truth was wrenched out of her, and Mike
-went and found a shot-gun that had escaped the eye of the
-royal constabulary, and he got powder and shot and old nails,
-and he lay behind a hedge under a tree for several days.
-Finally one day My Lord came riding by all so gay, and that
-gun went off. There was a hole, a blessed hole, clear through
-him, and he never was so good a man as before because there
-was less of him. Then Mike went out and told Kitty to be
-of good cheer and not to be cast down, that the little difference
-between him and My Lord had been settled, and that they
-would be married as soon as possible. And they were married,
-and I had the pleasure of taking in my hand the very hand
-that fired the blessed shot, and of seeing the wife, to avenge
-whose cruel wrongs the shot was fired.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the same work we read that another of these British
-lords in Ireland, Leitram, was noted for his attempts to dishonor
-the wives and daughters of the peasantry upon his vast
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_129'>129</span>estate. His character was equal to that of the worst feudal
-barons, and like these he used his power as magistrate and
-noble, in addition to that of landlord, to accomplish his
-purpose. After an assault upon a beautiful and intelligent
-girl, by a brutal retainer of his lordship, his tenantry finally
-declared it necessary to resort to the last means in their power
-to preserve the honor of their wives and daughters. Six men
-were chosen as the instruments of their crude justice. They
-took an oath to be true to the end, in life or death, purchased
-arms, and seeking a convenient opportunity shot the tyrant
-to death. Nor were those firing the fatal shots ever discovered.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_129.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_130'>130</span>
-  <h3 class='c010'>THE DAWNING OF BRIGHTER DAYS.</h3>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c011'>As the Reformation aimed at the restitution of the purity
-and simplicity of the first Christian communities, the position
-of woman in the Church as well as in private life was of
-course also considered.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As has been shown in former chapters, the authorities of
-the mediæval Christian Church regarded the daughters of
-Eve not only as creatures inferior to man, but also as the
-medium preferred by Satan above all others to lead man
-astray. Seeing in woman nothing but a necessary evil, they
-claimed also that a nun is purer than a mother, just as a
-celibate monk is holier than a father. This prejudice of
-benighted theologians against woman had influenced the conduct
-of the State toward the woman and made her everywhere
-the victim of unjust laws. For a long time in certain countries
-to ask rights for women exposed one to the suspicion of
-infidelity.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Therefore it must be regarded as an event of greatest
-importance in the history of woman, when Martin Luther, the
-most prominent figure in the Reformation, decided to take
-a wife. He married <b>Catherine von Bora</b>, a lady twenty-four
-years of age, of a noble Saxon family.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>She had left the convent of Nimbschen together with
-eight other nuns in order to worship Christ without being
-compelled to observe endless ceremonies, which gave neither
-light to the mind nor peace to the soul. Protected by pious
-citizens of Torgau, the former nuns had lived together in
-retirement. Luther married his betrothed on June 11, 1525,
-with Lucas Cranach and another friend as witnesses. The
-ceremony was performed by Melanchton.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The marriage, blessed with six children, was a very happy
-one. Catherine proved to be a congenial mate, of whom
-Luther always spoke as “his heartily beloved house-frau.”
-The great reformer himself was a tender husband, and the
-most loving of fathers. Nothing he liked better than to sit
-amidst his dear ones, enjoying a glass of wine and those
-beautiful folk-songs, in which German literature is so rich.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Many of these little poems breathe the sincere respect
-and high appreciation, in which woman was held by the
-Germans since time immemorial. There is for instance Simon
-Dach’s well known poem “Anne of Tharau.” Written in 1637,
-it reads:</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_131'>131</span>
-<img src='images/i_131.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>THE WEDDING OF MARTIN LUTHER TO CATHERINE VON BORA.<br /><br /><span class='right'>After a painting by P. Thumann.</span></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c014'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_132'>132</span>“<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Aennchen von Tharau ist’s die mir gefällt,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Sie ist mein Leben, mein Gut und mein Geld;</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Aennchen von Tharau hat wieder ihr Herz</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Auf mich gerichtet in Lieb und in Schmerz.</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Aennchen von Tharau, mein Reichtum, mein Gut,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Du meine Seele, mein Fleisch und mein Blut.</span></div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Würdest du gleich einmal von mir getrennt,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Lebtest dort, wo man die Sonne nicht kennt,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Ich will doch dir folgen durch Wälder und Meer,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Durch Schnee und Eis und durch feindliches Heer,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Aennchen von Tharau, mein Licht, meine Sonn’,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Mein Leben schliess ich um deines herum.</span>—</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>Annie of Tharau, ’tis she that I love,</div>
-      <div class='line'>She is my life and all riches above;</div>
-      <div class='line'>Annie of Tharau has giv’n me her heart,</div>
-      <div class='line'>We shall be lovers till death us do part!</div>
-      <div class='line'>Annie of Tharau, my kingdom, my wealth,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Soul of my body, and blood of my health.</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>Say you should ever be parted from me,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Say that you dwelt where the sun they scarce see,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Where you go I go, o’er oceans and lands,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Prisons and fetters, and enemies’ hands.</div>
-      <div class='line'>Annie of Tharau, my sun and sunshine,</div>
-      <div class='line'>This life of mine will I throw around thine.”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>And who would be able to pay to female virtues a higher
-tribute than did Paul Fleming in a poem, directed to his
-betrothed:</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c014'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Ein getreues Herz zu wissen</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Ist des höchsten Schatzes Preis;</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Der ist selig zu begrüssen</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Der ein solches Kleinod weiss.</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Mir ist wohl bei tiefstem Schmerz</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Denn ich weiss ein treues Herz.</span></div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>To call a faithful heart thine own</div>
-      <div class='line'>That’s life’s true and only pleasure,</div>
-      <div class='line'>And happy is the man alone</div>
-      <div class='line'>To whom was given such a treasure.</div>
-      <div class='line'>The deepest anguish does not smart</div>
-      <div class='line'>For I know a faithful heart.”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>This poem was written at the time, when the tempests
-of the Thirty Years’ War swept over Germany, ruining that
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_133'>133</span>country beyond recognition. Hundreds of cities and villages
-were burned by Spanish, Italian, Hungarian, Dutch and
-Swedish soldiers, who made the unfortunate country their
-battleground. Of the seventeen million inhabitants thirteen
-millions were killed or swept away by starvation and the pest.
-Agriculture, commerce, industries and arts were annihilated.
-Of many villages nothing remained but their names. According
-to the chronicles of these times, one could wander for
-many miles without seeing a living creature except wolves
-and raven. All joy and happiness, in which the German
-people had been so rich, were extinguished. To women the
-cup of sorrow would never become empty, as hate, revenge,
-cruelty, and the lowest passions combined to fill their lives
-with endless mental and physical agonies.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>During these dreadful times such social gatherings as
-had become the fashion among the refined people of Italy
-during the period of the Renaissance, were of course out of
-the question. Far happier in this respect was France, where
-the era of the “Salons” began, many of which became known
-throughout Europe, for the inspiration and refinement that
-spread out from them.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>It was to the exceptional qualities of a young and noble-minded
-woman of Italian birth, that the first salon in France
-owed its origin and its distinctive character. This lady was
-<b>Catherine Pisani</b>, the daughter of Jean de Vivonne, Marquis
-of Pisani. Born at Rome in 1588, she married the French
-Marquis of Rambouillet, with whom she moved to Paris.
-Repelled by the gilded hollowness and license of the court
-of King Henry IV. she retired, about the year 1608, to her
-husband’s stately palace, which became famous as the “Hotel
-Rambouillet.” Its pride was a suite of salons or parlors,
-arranged for purposes of reception and so devised as to
-allow many visitors to move easily. With their draperies in
-blue and gold, their cozy corners, choice works of art, Venetian
-lamps, and crystal vases always filled with fragrant flowers,
-these rooms were indeed ideal places for social and literary
-gatherings.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As Amelia Gere Mason has described in a series of
-articles about the French Salons, written for the “Century
-Magazine” of 1890, Mm. de Rambouillet “sought to assemble
-here all that was most distinguished, whether for wit, beauty,
-talent, or birth, into an atmosphere of refinement and simple
-elegance which would tone down all discordant elements and
-raise life to the level of a fine art. There was a strongly
-intellectual flavor in the amusements, as well as in the discussions
-of this salon, and the place of honor was given to
-genius, learning, and good manners, rather than to rank.
-But the spirit was by no means purely literary. The exclusive
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_134'>134</span>spirit of the old aristocracy, with its hauteur and its lofty
-patronage, found itself face to face with fresh ideals. The
-position of the hostess enabled her to break the traditional
-barriers and form a society upon a new basis, but, in spite
-of the mingling of classes hitherto separated, the dominant
-life was that of the noblesse. Women of rank gave the tone
-and made the laws. Their code of etiquette was severe.
-They aimed to combine the graces of Italy with the chivalry
-of Spain. The model man must have a keen sense of honor
-and wit without pedantry; he must be brave, heroic, generous,
-gallant, but he must also possess good breeding and gentle
-courtesy. The coarse passions and depraved manners which
-had disgraced the gay court of Henry IV. were refined into
-subtle sentiments, and women were raised upon a pedestal
-to be respectfully and platonically adored. In this reaction
-from extreme license familiarity was forbidden, and language
-was subjected to a critical censorship.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>This definition of the salon of “the incomparable
-Arthenice”—an anagram for Mme. de Rambouillet, devised
-by two poets of renown—we find confirmed by the words
-of many distinguished men, who were fortunate enough to
-be admitted to this circle. Among them were Corneille, Descartes,
-and all the founders of the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Académie Française</span>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Do you remember,” so said the eminent Abbé Fléchier
-many years later, “the salons which are still regarded with
-so much veneration, where the spirit was purified, where
-virtue was revered under the name of the ‘incomparable
-Arthenice’; where people of merit and quality assembled who
-composed a select court, numerous without confusion, modest
-without constraint, learned without pride, polished without
-affectation?”—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The salon of Mme. de Rambouillet continued till the
-death of its mistress, the 27th of December, 1665, having
-been, as Saint-Simon writes, “a tribunal with which it was
-necessary to count, and whose decisions upon the conduct
-and reputation of people of the court and the world had great
-weight.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>There were other salons, modeled more or less after the
-present one. When the Hotel de Rambouillet was closed,
-Mademoiselle <b>Madeleine de Scudéry</b> held regular reunions by
-receiving her friends on Saturdays. Among this “Société du
-Samedi” were many authors and artists, who conversed upon
-all topics of the day, from fashion to politics, from literature
-and the arts to the last item of gossip. They read their
-works and vied with one another in improvising verses.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>About the personality of Mlle. de Scudéry Abbé de Pure
-wrote: “One may call her the muse of our age and the prodigy
-of her sex. It is not only her goodness and her sweetness,
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_135'>135</span>but her intellect shines with so much modesty, her sentiments
-are expressed with so much reserve, she speaks with so much
-discretion, and all that she says is so fit and reasonable, that
-one cannot help both admiring and loving her. Comparing
-what one sees of her, and what one owes to her personally,
-with what she writes, one prefers, without hesitation, her conversation
-to her works. Although her mind is wonderfully
-great, her heart outweighs it. It is in the heart of this illustrious
-woman that one finds true and pure generosity, an immovable
-constancy, a sincere and solid friendship.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Fearing to lose her liberty Mlle. de Scudéry never married.
-“I know,” she writes, “that there are many estimable men
-who merit all my esteem and who can retain a part of my
-friendship; but as soon as I regard them as husbands I regard
-them as masters, and so apt to become tyrants that I must
-hate them from that moment; and I thank the gods for giving
-me an inclination very much averse to marriage.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Under the pseudonym of “Sappho” Mlle. de Scudéry was
-acknowledged as the first “blue-stocking” of France and of
-the world. Several of her novels, in which she aimed at
-universal accomplishments, were the delight of all Europe.
-Having studied mankind in her contemporaries, she knew
-how to analyze and describe their characters with fidelity
-and point.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Another noteworthy salon of the 17th Century was that
-of the beautiful and amiable <b>Marquise de Sablé</b>, one of the
-favorites of Mme. de Rambouillet. It was she who set the
-fashion, at that time, of condensing the thoughts and experiences
-of life into maxims and epigrams. While this was her
-special gift to literature, her influence became also felt through
-what she inspired others to do. A few of her maxims, as
-proven in Mrs. Mason’s articles about the French Salons, are
-worth copying, as they show the estimate Mme. De Sablé
-placed upon form and measure in the conduct of life.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“A bad manner spoils everything, even justice and
-reason. The <b>how</b> constitutes the best part of things; and the
-air which one gives thoughts, gilds, modifies and softens the
-most disagreeable.”—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“There is a certain command in the manner of speaking
-and acting which makes itself felt everywhere, and which gains,
-in advance, consideration and respect.”—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Wherever it is, love is always the master. It seems truly
-that it is to the soul of the one who loves, what the soul is
-to the body it animates.”—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>With the death of the Marquise de Sablé in 1678 the
-last salon of the brilliant era of the Renaissance was closed.
-With the approach of that period of affected and artificial
-life, known as the Rococo, new types of women came to
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_136'>136</span>the surface, gay, witty, piquant and amusing, but lax and
-without great moral sense or spiritual aspiration. The
-dangerous influence of the many mistresses of Louis XIV.
-and Louis XV., of Mesdames de Montespan, Maintenon and
-Pompadour pervaded the atmosphere, and turned the salons
-into headquarters of intrigue and political conspiracy. Especially
-at the time of the clever Mme. de Pompadour women
-were everywhere the power, without which no movement
-could be carried through successfully. “These women,” said
-the famous philosophical historian Montesquieu, “form a
-kind of republic, whose members, always active, aid and
-serve one another. It is a new state within the state; and
-whoever observes the action of those in power, if he does
-not know the women who govern them, is like a man who
-sees the action of a machine but does not know its secret
-springs.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Montesquieu himself, when in Paris, made the salons of
-<b>Madame de Tencin</b> and <b>Madame d’Aiguillon</b> his favorite
-resorts.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Here he discussed with other brilliant thinkers of the time
-literary and political questions, and those theories, which he
-embodied in the most famous of his works: “Esprit des Lois”
-(the Spirit of the Laws). This book, dealing with law in
-general, with forms of government, military arrangements,
-taxation, economic matters, religion and individual liberty,
-was the first open attack on absolutism. Put on the Index
-by the Pope it was nevertheless eagerly read and discussed
-everywhere, and thus it became one of the factors leading to
-the French Revolution.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among the salons of the 18th Century, known for their
-influence on scientific and political life, the most remarkable
-was that of the <b>Marquise de Lambert</b>. Her magnificent apartments
-in the famous Palais Mazarin, decorated by artists like
-Watteau, were a rendezvous for the most eminent men and
-women, among them the best of the “Forty Immortals,” or
-members of the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Académie Française</span>. As candidates for vacant
-chairs in this body were often proposed here the Salon Lambert
-was called “the Antechamber to Immortality.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The quality of the character and intellect of the hostess
-of this salon may be judged from a few of the bits of advice
-she wrote to her son. “I exhort you much more to cultivate
-your heart than to perfect your mind; the true greatness of
-the man is in the heart.”—“Let your studies flow into your
-manners, and your readings show themselves in your virtues.”—“It
-is merit which should separate you from the people, not
-dignity nor pride.”—“Too much modesty is a languor of
-the soul, which prevents it from taking flight and carrying
-itself rapidly towards glory.”—“Seek the society of your
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_137'>137</span>superiors, in order to accustom yourself to respect and politeness.
-With equals one grows negligent; the mind falls asleep.”
-She urged her daughter to treat servants with kindness. “One
-of the ancients says they should be regarded as unfortunate
-friends. Think that humanity and Christianity equalize all.”—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Up to the latter half of the 18th Century the salon had
-become the most characteristic feature of Parisian society.
-Having multiplied indefinitely, they catered to all tastes and
-thoughts. Besides the rallying points for philosophers, literateurs
-and femmes d’esprit, there were other salons, where sly
-maitresses and political adventurers met the corrupt officials
-of the Government. Still other salons served as meeting
-places of fiery spirits, who, disgusted with the debauchery
-and unrestrained immorality of the ruling classes, made the
-discussion of politics and the deliverance of the oppressed
-people their chief topic.</p>
-
-<hr class='c012' />
-
-<p class='c008'>Like the French Renaissance so the English Renaissance
-received its first impulse from Italy. But less concerned with
-culture as such, it was more practical in England and distinguished
-itself chiefly by the greater attention given to
-education. While the sons and daughters of the nobility were
-carefully trained by tutors, the children of the middle class
-received an education in grammar schools founded during
-the reign of King Henry VIII.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>This interest in education was greatly stimulated by the
-doctrines of the Reformation, which had spread from Germany
-to England, and which were favored by the king, as they
-served his political interests as well as his passion for the
-beautiful <b>Anne Boleyn</b>, one of the queen’s ladies-in-waiting.
-That he divorced his wife and married Anne Boleyn, and
-that she, on September 7th, 1533, gave birth to a girl, are
-facts familiar to everyone acquainted with English history.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>This girl later on ascended the throne and as <b>Queen
-Elizabeth</b> became famous as one of the most remarkable and
-illustrious of all female sovereigns.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Most remarkable was her attitude toward Rome. When
-the “Virgin Queen” in her twenty-fifth year ascended the
-throne, it was not only as queen, but also as the head of
-the rebellious Church. Religious strife had already passed the
-point of reconciliation and Elizabeth’s position was extremely
-difficult, as the Catholic party was still very strong and was
-bent on maintaining the connection with Rome. Aware of
-this fact, the Pope, claiming England as a fief of the Holy See,
-refused to recognize Elizabeth’s title to the crown, and
-demanded that she should renounce all her pretensions so
-much the more since she was an illegitimate child. But whereas
-many monarchs would have cringed before the Pope,
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_138'>138</span>Elizabeth ignored his demands and answered the subsequent
-bull by Pope Pius V., by which all Catholics were released
-from their allegiance to the queen, by the famous Acts of
-Supremacy and Uniformity. Striking directly at the papal
-power, these acts compelled all clergymen and public functionaries
-to renounce the temporal and spiritual jurisdiction of
-every foreign prince and prelate; and all ministers, whether
-beneficed or not, were forbidden to use any but the established
-liturgy. These statutes were carried out with considerable
-severity, and many Catholics suffered death. Thus bending
-priests and prelates to her fiery will, the queen made England
-a bulwark of Protestantism.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>That the long reign of Elizabeth, which lasted from 1558
-to 1603, was also a period of brilliant prosperity and advancement,
-during which England put forth her brightest genius,
-valor, and enterprise, has been recorded by history. It is
-also a well-known fact that the learning of Elizabeth was
-considerable, even in that age of learned ladies. Horace
-Walpole has assigned her a place in his “Catalogue of Royal
-and Noble Authors,” and a list of thirteen literary productions,
-chiefly translations from the Greek, Latin, and French, are
-attached to her name.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>There were quite a number of English ladies interested
-in literature and poetry. The most remarkable was <b>Mary
-Astell</b>, born in 1668 at Newcastle-on-Tyne. Having received
-a careful education by her uncle, a clergyman, she continued
-her studies in London. Here her attention and efforts were
-especially directed to the mental uplift of her own sex, and
-in 1697 she published a work entitled, “A Serious Proposal
-to the Ladies, Wherein a Method is Offered for the Improvement
-of Their Minds.” With the same end in view she
-elaborated a scheme for a ladies’ college, which was favorably
-entertained by Queen Anne, and would have been carried
-out had not Bishop Burnet interfered.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>During the reign of Queen Elizabeth England was called
-“the Paradise of Women,” on account of the great liberty,
-granted to them in all social affairs. There exists an interesting
-account of a Dutch traveller, Van Meteren, who spent
-some time in England. With surprise he saw that here the
-members of the fair sex enjoyed considerable freedom. “They
-are,” so he says, “not shut up as in Spain and elsewhere, and
-yet the young girls are better behaved than in the Netherlands.
-Having fine complexions, they also do not paint like the
-Italians and others. They sit before their doors, decked in
-fine clothes, in order to see and be seen by the passers-by.
-In all banquets and feasts they are shown the greatest honor:
-they are placed at the upper end of the table where they
-are the first served. All the rest of their time they employ
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_139'>139</span>in walking and riding, in playing cards, or visiting their
-friends and keeping company, conversing with their equals
-and neighbors, and making merry with them at child-birth,
-christening, churchings and funerals. And all this with the
-permission and knowledge of their husbands.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In strange contrast herewith was the legal position of
-women. It was, as D. Staars says in his interesting book “The
-English Woman,” “entirely detrimental. They were under
-the absolute authority of their husbands. In regard to
-property, husband and wife were considered by the law as
-forming one indivisible person. Therefore a husband could
-not make a deed of gift to his wife, or make a contract with
-her. The subordinate position of the married women was
-evident in the whole of her existence. The husband was his
-wife’s guardian, and if anyone carried her off he had a right
-to claim damages. He could also inflict corporal punishment
-on her sufficient to correct her. All the property which
-she might afterwards acquire, became by her marriage the
-common property of husband and wife, but only the husband
-had a right to the income, because he alone had control and
-administration of the property. Not only lands, but also
-funds, furniture, plate, and even the bed and ornaments of
-a woman, all became the husband’s property on the wedding
-day, and he could sell or dispose of it as he pleased. A
-married woman could not even make a will. Only when
-she became a widow, her clothes and personal possessions
-again became her own property, provided, however, that her
-husband had not otherwise disposed of them in his will.
-Furthermore, she had a right to the income of a third of all
-the husband’s property.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>These unsatisfactory conditions later on caused the
-English women to join their American sisters in the struggle
-for emancipation.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_139.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_140'>140</span>
-  <h3 class='c010'>PIONEER WOMEN IN THE NEW WORLD.</h3>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c011'>At the same time that ladies and gentlemen of refinement
-discussed human rights and liberty in the elegant salons of
-Italy and France, a race of hardy men and women amid the
-wilderness of the New World was engaged in establishing
-crude settlements, from which later on the spirit of genuine
-freedom should radiate throughout the world.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>When toward the end of the 16th Century European
-explorers arrived on the eastern coast of the North American
-continent, they found what later times demonstrated beyond
-dispute: the richest and finest land on the face of the globe.
-The unsurpassed beauty and grandeur of the scenery stirred
-their hearts with surprise and admiration. They became
-enthusiastic about everything, and in their reports described
-the newly discovered country as the most wonderful they
-had ever seen.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The more these explorers saw of America, the more their
-amazement increased. When Henry Hudson in 1609 discovered
-that noble river which now bears his name, its
-magnificent shores were a revelation to him, who was accustomed
-to the modest surroundings of the Netherlands.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The French, who entered North America by the way
-of the St. Lawrence River, met with still greater surprises.
-The Great Lakes, stretching like oceans toward the setting
-sun, thundering Niagara, the royal Ohio, the majestic Mississippi,
-and the beautiful forests girding these shores, made
-their hearts beat with wonder and delight and filled their
-imagination with dreams of vast empires full of wealth.
-Beyond the “Father of Waters” and the regions of forest, the
-explorers found the “Prairies,” boundless seas of fragrant
-grass and beautiful flowers. Beyond these plains rose majestic
-mountain-chains, with lovely valleys and parks, and snow-capped
-domes, towering above the clouds.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Such majestic nature must of necessity exert a most
-powerful influence on all who came in contact with it. Many
-of those immigrants who in their native countries had been
-restrained by narrow traditions and customs, and oppressed
-by despotic rulers, were here given the first chance to develop
-and prove their abilities. The unlimited freedom of the
-boundless forests, plains, and mountains stimulated their
-energy and imbued them with a spirit of enterprise, hitherto
-unknown.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>New types of heroic men, such as never had lived in
-Europe, sprang into existence: the trappers, traders and
-“voyageurs,” who in the pursuit of the lucrative fur trade
-penetrated the vast continent in all directions, fighting their
-way through countless hardships and dangers.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_141'>141</span>
-<img src='images/i_141.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>PIONEERS.<br /><br /><span class='right'>Modeled by A. Jaegers.</span></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_142'>142</span>Later on these daring forerunners of civilization were
-followed by settlers, who, with their families, established
-the first permanent homes: single log houses and hamlets,
-like little islands in the vast ocean of the primeval forest.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<img src='images/i_142.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>THE FIRST CABIN.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>These “backwoodsmen,” completely isolated from the
-civilized world and compelled to wage constant battle with
-hostile nature as well as with ferocious savages and wild
-animals, have been justly glorified as heroes. They were at
-once explorers, carpenters, builders, woodmen, farmers, breeders,
-trappers, hunters and fighters,—in short, everything.
-But their wives and daughters, who accompanied them, certainly
-deserve to be honored too, as one can hardly conceive
-situations more trying than those which these courageous
-women had to face.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>First of all there were the daily labors of the household
-and farm, the unceasing cares of motherhood, the toils and
-sufferings in times of drought or sickness. Because of the
-isolation of their homesteads, void of even the slightest comforts
-and improvements, these women had to toil from early
-morning till late in the night. They worked with their
-husbands, clearing the lands. They planted and raised the
-vegetables in the little kitchen gardens. They prepared the
-meals, baked the bread, did the washing and scrubbing, the
-milking, preserving, pickling, churning and brewing. They
-also broke and heckled the flax, from which they spun the
-linens. They sheared the sheep and transformed the wool
-into yarn and cloth, which they dyed, cut and turned into
-suits and dresses. They knitted the socks and underwear,
-made the candles and many of the furnishings, in short, they
-produced whatever the family needed and consumed, giving
-all and asking little. They even helped to defend the cabin
-and the settlement in times of danger.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_143'>143</span>
-<img src='images/i_143.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>DEFENDING A SETTLEMENT.<br /><br /><span class='right'>After an old engraving.</span></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_144'>144</span>In the days of the Indian wars and of the Revolution
-such danger was always imminent, particularly when the men
-were working in the fields, or out hunting to provide food
-for the family. Then the women, with loaded guns, stood
-guard to protect the home and children from lurking enemies.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The chronicles relating incidents of border warfare
-abound with stories of heroines who played conspicuous parts
-in the defense of single log houses, as well as of stations and
-forts. Moulding the bullets and loading the guns, they handed
-them to the men, who could consequently fire three times
-where they otherwise could have fired but once. If there
-happened to be a lull during the fight, the women carried
-water and food to the smoke-blackened fighters, tended the
-wounded, baked bread and cared for the children. In cases
-of emergency, they stood at the loop-holes, firing the rifles
-with all the skill and precision of men.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>When, during the War of Independence, the Mohawk
-Valley became the scene of many horrible ravages by the
-Indians and Tories, Christian Schell, a Palatine, together with
-his wife and six sons, occupied a lonely log house. It was
-in the early hours of August 6, 1781, when 48 Indians and
-16 Tories made a sudden raid upon this family. Schell and
-his sons were working in the field, but detected the enemy
-soon enough to make their escape to the house. All succeeded
-in reaching it, except the two youngest lads, who were
-captured by an Indian. The latter was shot by Schell, but
-it was impossible to free the boys, as they were hurried off
-by other Indians.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Then the battle commenced and an almost incessant
-firing was kept up until night, <b>Mrs. Schell</b> assisting her
-husband and sons in loading the guns. Several times the
-attacks of the enemy were repelled. But when darkness had
-set in, McDonald, the leader of the Tories, succeeded in reaching
-the door of the cabin and attempted to force an entrance
-by using a crowbar he had found in front of the house.
-Suddenly a shot from Schell hit him in the leg and brought
-him down. Quick as lightning the bold German unbarred
-the door, grasped the wounded man and dragged him in
-a prisoner, thus saving the house from being set fire to, for
-in such a case the leader of the attacking party within, would
-likewise have perished in the flames.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Enraged by the capture of their leader, the enemy made
-several furious assaults. Jumping close to the house, they
-thrust their guns through the loop-holes and began to fire
-into the building. But Mrs. Schell, cool and courageous, seized
-an axe and by well-directed blows spoiled every gun by
-destroying the barrels. As the men opened a terrific fire
-from above at the same time, the besiegers fell back in a hurry,
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_145'>145</span>and the following morning disappeared, having suffered a
-loss of twenty-three dead and wounded.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Another example of noble-spirited womanhood is that
-of <b>Elizabeth Zane</b>, a young girl of seventeen years, living near
-Fort Henry in West Virginia. When in November, 1782, the
-fort was besieged by several hundred Indians and the little
-garrison of forty-two men had been reduced to only twelve,
-the situation became extremely desperate, as the supply of
-powder was nearly exhausted.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>There was a full keg of powder hidden in the cabin of
-the Zanes, but this hut stood some ninety yards from the
-gate of the fort and could be reached only by passing the
-whole distance under fire of the Indians, a feat which seemed
-altogether hopeless. But the perilous attempt had to be made.
-When the commander of the fort called for volunteers,
-several responded, among them, to the general surprise,
-Elizabeth Zane. She argued that the garrison of the fort
-was already too weak for the life of one of the soldiers to
-be risked. As her own life was of no importance, she claimed
-the privilege of attempting the dangerous task. Refusing to
-listen to any objection, Miss Zane slipped out of the gate
-and strolled leisurely to her home, as though there were no
-redskins in the whole world. The Indians, wondering what
-it meant, made no attempt to molest the girl.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Entering the cabin, she found the keg of powder, and
-a few minutes later reappeared with the keg concealed under
-a tablecloth. Not before the girl had gone some distance
-did the Indians realize the meaning of the girl’s mission and
-at once opened a brisk fire on her. But the girl sped with
-the fleetness of a fawn and reached the fort in safety amid
-a shower of bullets, several of which passed through her
-clothes. By this daring act the little garrison was so inspired
-and fought with such tenacity that the Indians despaired of
-capturing the fort and finally retreated.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In 1787 John Merrill, a settler in Nelson County, Kentucky,
-was awakened one night by the furious barking of
-his dogs. Opening the door of his cabin to reconnoitre, he
-was shot by several Indians, but managed to bar the door,
-before sinking dead to the floor. His wife, a woman of great
-energy and strength, jumped out of bed, grasped a large axe
-and sprang forward to be prepared for the coming attack.
-Scarcely had she reached the door when the Indians began
-to chop it down with their tomahawks. But as soon as the
-savages sought to enter the breach, the woman, making a
-terrific effort, killed or badly wounded four of the enemy.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Foiled in their attempt to force the door, some of the
-redskins climbed onto the roof of the cabin and tried to enter
-by way of the chimney. But again the solitary woman confronted
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_146'>146</span>them. Snatching her featherbed and hastily ripping
-it open, she flung its contents upon the still glowing embers.
-At once a furious blaze and stifling smoke ascended the
-chimney, overcoming two of the Indians. Dazed, they fell
-down into the fire, where they were instantly dispatched
-with the axe. Then, with a quick side stroke, the woman
-inflicted a terrible gash in the cheek of the only remaining
-savage, whose head just appeared in the breach of the door.
-With a horrible yell the intruder withdrew, to be seen no more.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In Western Pennsylvania, in the year 1792, there stood
-some twenty-five miles from Pittsburgh the crude cabin of a
-settler, named Harbisson. One day, during his absence, the
-home was attacked by Indians, who, after ransacking the
-house, carried off the wife prisoner. But there were three
-children, two boys aged five and three respectively, and an
-infant. As the mother had no hand for the little fellow of
-three, one of the savages relieved her from this embarrassment
-by grasping the child, whirling it through the air and
-smashing his head against a tree. And when the older brother
-began to weep, his crying was stopped forever by cutting
-his throat. The mother fainted at the horrible sight, but the
-savages brought her back to consciousness again by giving
-her a few blows across the face. At night the poor woman
-noticed one of the savages busying himself with making two
-small hoops. The captive watched him with languid curiosity
-and saw that he had something in his hand. Then a flash
-of horror-struck recognition flickered in the woman’s eyes.
-She saw the bloody scalps of her children, which the savage
-was stretching on the hoops to dry. “Few mothers,” so
-the unfortunate woman said afterwards, “have been subjected
-to such dreadful trials. Those who did not see the scalps
-of their own children torn from their heads and handled in
-such a way, cannot imagine the horrible pain that tortured
-my heart!”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the dark of the second night the poor mother managed
-to make her escape. It rained in torrents, but hugging the
-baby to her breast, she entered the endless forest and wandered
-the whole night and the next days, making her way to the
-settlements. She arrived there on the sixth day after incredible
-sufferings and almost starved. So changed was she by the
-many hardships, that her nearest neighbors failed to recognize
-her. The skin and flesh of her feet and legs was hanging in
-pieces, pierced by hundreds of thorns, some of which went
-through her feet and came out a long time afterwards at
-the top.—</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_147'>147</span>
-<img src='images/i_147.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>SLAUGHTERED.<br /><br /><span class='right'>A scene during the Seminole Indian War.</span></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_148'>148</span>Such were the hardships and dangers the women of the
-settlers had to brave. But they endured their sufferings like
-heroines. In recognition of this fact it may justly be said
-that the establishment of the Republic of the United States
-of America, one of the grandest achievements in all history,
-would not have been possible without their aid. For it was
-among these hardy men and women that the spirit of American
-liberty was born. Their surroundings and manner of
-life compelled them to rely on themselves in everything. And
-while they assisted one another in all embarrassments and
-perils, they made their own regulations and selected their
-own officials, fully aware, that the laws of England would
-never suffice for the wilderness.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>From those autonomous settlements the spirit of independence
-spread in time to all the towns and cities on the
-coast, inspiring many of their inhabitants with the same
-enthusiasm for liberty. In New York and other places the
-People’s Party was organized, which strongly opposed the
-insolence and encroachments of the Government and aristocrats.
-Among its members was Peter Zenger, the fearless
-printer, whose caustic articles in the “New York Weekly
-Journal” in 1735 led to that famous trial, whereby one of
-the highest privileges—<b>the freedom of the press</b>—became
-established in America. And when in complete disregard of
-this significant omen England continued in her selfish policies
-toward the colonies, curtailing all privileges which had been
-granted to them by their charters, the spirit of rebellion spread
-like wildfire, and the great struggle for independence began.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>When a Declaration of Independence was considered,
-the men, selected to draw up such a document, were greatly
-influenced by two noble-minded women, whose names should
-not be omitted in a history of remarkable women: <b>Mrs.
-Mercy Otis Warren</b>, and <b>Abigail Smith Adams</b>. Mrs. Warren
-was a sister of James Otis, the famous lawyer, whose fiery
-words did so much to arouse the colonists against British
-aggression. She was one of the first persons who advocated
-separation, and she energetically impressed this view upon
-John Adams before the opening of the first Congress. With
-Abigail Smith Adams, the wife of John Adams, she shared
-the belief, that the declaration should not consider the freedom
-of man alone, but that of woman also.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>How outspoken Mrs. Adams was in her views about
-this question, appears in a letter she wrote in March, 1776,
-to her husband, who was then attending the Continental
-Congress. In this letter she says: “I long to hear you have
-declared an independency; and, by the way, in the new
-code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to
-make, I desire you would remember the ladies, and be more
-generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do
-not put such unlimited power into the hands of husbands.
-Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular
-care and attention are not paid to the ladies, we are
-determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves
-bound to obey any laws in which we have no voice or
-representation.”—</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_149'>149</span>
-<img src='images/i_149.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>STRUGGLING FOR INDEPENDENCE.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_150'>150</span>The Declaration of Independence, accepted on July 4th,
-1776, in Philadelphia, by an assembly of delegates from all
-the colonies, is the greatest and most important political
-document that was ever set up and signed by men. Although
-the representatives knew that it would produce a long and
-terrific war against the most powerful and most inconsiderate
-government of the world, they solemnly agreed to choose
-liberty or death. Liberty to make their own laws and to
-elect their own officials, liberty of religion, liberty of speech
-and press, liberty of trade and commerce, liberty for man,
-woman and child.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The eminent significance of the declaration becomes
-apparent from the following sentences: “We hold these
-truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that
-they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable
-rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of
-happiness. That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted
-among men, deriving their just powers from the consent
-of the governed. That, whenever any form of government
-becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people
-to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government,
-laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its
-powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to
-effect their safety and happiness.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>While the Declaration of Independence is silent in regard
-to women, there are, however, positive proofs of the fact,
-that the men of 1776 regarded their faithful partners in all
-struggles and danger decidedly as their equals and entitled to
-the same rights and privileges. Two days before the signing
-of the Declaration of Independence, on July 2, 1776, the
-Provincial Assembly of New Jersey, when writing the constitution
-of that province, adopted the provision, that “<b>all
-inhabitants</b> of this colony, of full age, who are worth fifty
-pounds money clear estate in the same, and have resided
-within the county in which they claim to vote for twelve
-months immediately preceding the election, shall be entitled
-to vote for representatives in council and assembly, and also
-for all other public officers that shall be elected by the people
-of the county at large.”—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Under this provision, women and free colored men of
-property exercised the electoral franchise for thirty years,
-voting also in the Presidential election of 1804, when Thomas
-Jefferson was re-elected for a second term. The acts of the
-New Jersey Legislature of 1790 clearly recognized the women,
-voters, saying:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_151'>151</span>“No person shall be entitled to vote in any other town-house
-or precinct than that in which <b>he</b> or <b>she</b> doth actually
-reside at the time of election.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>At first the law was construed to admit single women
-only, but afterward it was made to include females eighteen
-years old, married or single, without distinction of race. But
-as most of the women were on the side of the Federation
-and always delivered a heavy vote, a Democratic legislature,
-to defranchise Federalists, passed in 1807 an act defining the
-qualifications of electors, excluding women and free colored
-men by the use of the words “White <b>male</b> citizens.” This
-was a partisan piece of legislature, clearly in violation of the
-constitutional guarantee, and made under the pretext that
-male voters, by disguising themselves as women and negroes,
-had voted several times. It was on the strength of this pretext
-that the unconstitutional act was passed and upheld.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>It is on record that in Virginia likewise women at an
-early day exercised the right of voting. But it is unknown, for
-what reason this right was not preserved.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_151.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_152'>152</span>
-  <h3 class='c010'>WOMEN OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.</h3>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c011'>There are few events in history that created such world-wide
-interest as the triumphant success of the American War
-for Liberation. The deepest impression was made on the
-French nation, which for centuries had suffered under the
-tyranny and coercion of extravagant kings, corrupt officials,
-greedy clergy and feudal nobility. In sharp contrast to the
-prodigality and lasciviousness of the court and its armies of
-courtiers and courtesans, who all revelled in luxuries, there
-was among the people a general feeling of misery and despair.
-Finances were in a frightful condition; public scandals were
-every-day occurrences; famines were frequent; the old creeds
-had lost their power to arouse enthusiasm, while out-worn
-institutions and customs still encumbered the land, and with
-their dead weight pressed men down. The deep longing to
-be delivered from all these parasites and encumbrances, the
-urgent need of reforms and relief was evident everywhere.
-In the streets, in all cafés, clubs and salons the discussion of
-politics was the foremost topic.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The most conspicuous among such political salons were
-those of <b>Théroigne de Méricourt</b>, <b>Marie Olympe de Gouges</b>,
-and <b>Madame Roland</b>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The first of these three ladies was a quick-witted, strikingly
-handsome woman, intensely passionate in temper, and
-commanding an almost volcanic power of eloquence. Her
-salon was the birth-place of the “Club des Amis de la Loi,”
-the most noteworthy members of which were Jerome Pétion,
-author of “Les Lois Civiles,” and Camille Desmoulins, author
-of “La France Libre.” Both writers were among the leaders
-of the revolution, and it was Desmoulins, who in July, 1789,
-inflamed the people by his violent speeches to take up arms
-and storm the Bastille. At the fall of this ill-reputed prison
-Théroigne de Méricourt came prominently into notice and it
-was she who proposed to erect a temple for the National
-Assembly on the site of the razed fortress.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>With her friends she also had a hand in framing the
-“<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Déclaration des Droits de l’Homme</span>,” which, together with
-the American Declaration of Independence, ranks among the
-greatest human documents of history. The most important
-points of this charter of the French Revolution are: that all
-men are born and continue free and equal in rights; that
-Society is an association of men to preserve the natural rights
-of men; that Sovereignty is vested in the nation; that all
-Authority, held by an individual or a body of men, comes
-expressly from the nation; that Liberty is the power of doing
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_153'>153</span>what we will, so long as it does not injure the same right of
-others; that the law can forbid only such actions as are mischievous
-to society; that Law is the expression of the general
-will; that all citizens have a right to take part, through their
-representatives, in the making of laws; that laws must be
-equal to all; that all citizens have equal rights to fulfill all
-offices in the state; that society has a right to demand from
-every public servant an account of his administration; that all
-men are free to hold what religious views they will, provided
-that they are not subversive of public order; that freedom of
-speech, of writing and printing is one of the most precious
-of the rights of man and that public force is needed to guarantee
-these rights; that property is an inviolable and sacred
-right, of which no one can be deprived, save when public
-necessity, legally established, evidently demands it, and then
-only with the condition of a just and previously determined
-indemnity.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>With the adoption of this declaration by the national
-assembly, all hereditary distinctions, such as nobility and
-peerage, feudal regime, titles, and orders of chivalry were
-abolished, also venality or hereditary succession in offices,
-feudal privileges, religious vows or other engagements which
-might be at variance with natural rights or the constitution.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Early in October, 1789, Théroigne de Méricourt also
-took a leading part in the march of the women to Versailles
-and it was she who by the violence of her speech won the
-royalist soldiers over to the revolution and so enforced the
-return of the royal family to Paris.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Being accused of dangerous conduct and of having been
-engaged in a plot against the life of the queen Marie Antoinette,
-the daughter of Empress Maria Theresia of Austria, during
-a visit to Liége she was seized by warrant of the Austrian
-Government and for some time interned at the fortress of
-Kufstein. After her release in January, 1792, she returned
-to Paris, where she was hailed as a martyr of liberty. Resuming
-her former role she again became very active in all public
-affairs. On June 20, 1792, she even commanded in person
-the 3d Corps of the so-called army of the Faubourges, and
-marched with them to the palace, where the king, wearing
-the red cap, met the revolutionists and assured them “that
-he would do whatever the constitution ordained that he should
-do.” But as soon afterwards the king’s secret connections with
-Austria and Prussia became public, the insurrection broke loose
-again, resulting in the massacre of the national guard on
-August 10th, in the Place Véndome. It was here, that
-Théroigne sprang at Suleau, a pamphleteer in royal service,
-and dragged him among the infuriated mob, where he was
-instantly killed.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_154'>154</span>It was a year before these incidents that Madame Roland
-opened a salon in Paris, whither her husband had been sent
-as the deputy from Lyons to the constituent assembly. Her
-salon had nothing in common with those frequented by people
-seeking recreation in conversation and belle esprit. Generally
-there were no women present except the hostess. But her
-salon was the rendezvous of such fiery spirits as Mirabeau,
-Brissot, Vergniaud, Robespierre and others, interested in the
-great movement, which was soon to reach its climax. It was
-in this salon that Madame Roland impressed her enthusiasm
-for a republic upon those men who likewise strove for progress
-and liberty. Here also she conceived the plan of a journal,
-entitled “The Republican,” which, however, was suppressed
-after its second issue. Here she penned that famous letter to
-the king, which, as it remained unanswered, was read aloud
-by her husband, the king’s appointed Minister of the Interior,
-in full council and in the king’s presence. Containing many
-terrible truths as to the royal refusal to sanction the decrees
-of the national assembly and as to the king’s position in the
-state, this letter initiated the dethronement of the king and
-the abolition of royalty.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>It was in these troubled times, also, that another remarkable
-woman attracted great attention by matching the “Declaration
-of the rights of man” with a “Declaration des Droits
-de la Femme,” a declaration of the rights of women. In this
-document she preached for the first time not only the principle
-of equality of both sexes but she also demanded the right of
-women to vote and to hold public offices. This document
-was published just at the time when the equality of both sexes
-before the law and the guillotine had become a recognized
-fact, when not only the head of the king but also that of the
-queen Marie Antoinette had rolled into the dust. Pointing
-to these events Olympe de Gouges closed her manifesto with
-the flaming words: “When women have the right to ascend
-the scaffold then they must have the right to mount the platform
-of the orator!”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>When Olympe de Gouges wrote these lines, she hardly
-anticipated her own fate. Provoking in some way the anger
-of Robespierre, this rabid tyrant did send her also to the
-guillotine.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Théroigne de Méricourt likewise fell a victim of the
-furious hostility, which in 1793 arose between the two leading
-parties, the Girondists and the Montagnards, the latter party
-led by those most extreme autocrats as Marat, Danton and
-Robespierre. When Théroigne, being aware that her own
-party, the Gironde, was in peril at the hands of these bloodthirsty
-men, one day urged the mob to moderate their courses,
-she was seized, stripped naked and flogged in the public
-garden of the Tuilleries. This infamous affront affected her
-so that she became a raving maniac, never recovering her
-reason.—</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_155'>155</span>
-<img src='images/i_155.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>THE ROLL-CALL FOR THE GUILLOTINE.<br /><br /><span class='right'>After the painting by C. L. Mueller.</span></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_156'>156</span>For Madame Roland and her husband too the day of
-darkness was soon to come. They found that they could no
-longer control those passions which they had helped to call
-forth. Repulsed by the incredible excesses, which were committed
-during the progress of the revolution, Mr. Roland sent
-in his resignation on January 22, 1793, the day after the
-execution of the king. But all his and his wife’s efforts to
-regulate and elevate the Revolution failed. Both became more
-and more the butt of calumny and the object of increasing
-dislike on the part of the ultra-revolutionists, whose leaders,
-Marat and Danton, heaped the foulest falsehoods upon them.
-At the instigation of these men Madame Roland was arrested
-early on the morning of the last of July, 1793, and thrown
-into the same prison cell, that had been occupied by Charlotte
-Corday a short time before. On November the 8th she was
-conveyed to the guillotine. Before yielding her head to the
-block, she bowed before the statue of Liberty, erected in the
-Place de la Revolution, uttering her famous apostrophe: “O
-Liberty! what crimes are committed in thy name!”—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>After the elimination of the three leading spirits of
-woman’s emancipation all attempts to claim political rights for
-women were sternly repressed. The bold deed of Charlotte
-Corday, who on July 17th, 1793, killed Marat, the chief of
-the Mountain party, had given to his followers a warning of
-what resolute women were able to do. And so all female clubs
-and political meetings were forbidden by the Convention.
-Women were even excluded from the galleries of the hall
-where it sat, and Chaumette warned them that by entering
-into politics they would violate the law of nature and would
-be punished accordingly. French girls were also entirely
-excluded from all educational reforms that were instituted by
-the Convention and, later on, by Napoleon, who always maintained
-that female education should be of the most rudimentary
-description.</p>
-
-<hr class='c012' />
-
-<p class='c008'>At the same time that Olympe de Gouges, Théroigne de
-Méricourt and Madame Roland took such a conspicuous part
-in the French Revolution, there appeared in England a most
-remarkable book, which might be called the first comprehensive
-attempt to establish the equality of the sexes. Its authoress
-was <b>Mary Wollstonecraft</b>, a woman of Irish extraction, born
-at Hoxton on April 27, 1759. Compelled to earn her own
-living, she, together with her sisters, had conducted a school
-for girls. Later on she held a position as governess in the
-family of Lord Kingsborough, in Ireland. Among her early
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_157'>157</span>publications are “Thoughts on the Education of Daughters”
-(1787) and “The Female Reader” (1789). That she followed
-the events of the French Revolution with the utmost interest,
-appears from her book: “An Historical and Moral View of
-the Origin and Progress of the French Revolution, and the
-Effects it has Produced in Europe.” It was intended to comprise
-several volumes, but after the first one had been published
-in 1790, the work remained unfinished. Two years
-later, in 1792, appeared the work with which the name of
-Mary Wollstonecraft is always associated, as from this book
-was born one of the grandest movements which exists in the
-world to-day—the <b>Woman Suffrage Movement</b>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>This book, entitled “A Vindication of the Rights of
-Woman,” was a sharp protest against the assumption that
-woman is only a plaything of man. It is also a demand on
-her to become his equal and his companion.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the preface the authoress states the “main argument”
-of her work, “built on this simple principle that, if woman
-be not prepared by education to become the companion of
-man, she will stop the progress of knowledge, for truth must
-be common to all, or it will be inefficacious with respect to
-its influence or general practice.” In carrying out this argument
-she explains that woman can never be free until she is free
-economically; it makes no difference how poetic, romantic
-and chivalrous we become,—the fact is, there can be little
-equality between the sexes as long as the male partner has
-entire charge of the purse. Woman may be free socially; she
-may get rid of all sexual superstition, and she may crack and
-cast from her all theological trammels: but of what value is
-all this if she is still dependent upon man for food, raiment
-and shelter? What good does it do her to say “My body is
-my own, subject to the whims and lusts of no man,” if upon
-that very man depends her livelihood? Woman’s economic
-dependence is the root of that tree which nourishes the
-poisonous fruits of her subjection and abject slavery. Only
-when woman is on equal terms with man, can she be really
-virtuous and useful. But this result can only be obtained by
-rejecting the fallacious idea of weakness and refusing man’s
-help.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>After that the authoress states, that woman by open air
-exercise can become healthy and strong. By study she can
-acquire a solid education and useful knowledge, and thus
-become fit to earn her own living. Marriage will then cease
-to be her sole hope of salvation. If she marries she must not
-expect infinite romantic love from her husband, that would
-be an endeavor to perpetuate what is transitory in its very
-essence. From her husband she should require esteem and
-friendship. But before she can ask for or inspire these sentiments
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_158'>158</span>she must have shown herself a lofty mind and a
-sincere, benevolent, and independent temper.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“But this ideal will remain a myth unless the system of
-education is entirely changed. It is the duty of the Government
-to organize schools and colleges, for boys and girls, both rich
-and poor, and of all ages.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Mary Wollstonecraft recommends that boys and girls
-should study together. She does not regard as an evil the
-attachment which might result under these conditions. On the
-contrary, she is an advocate of early marriage, and believes
-that the physical and moral health of young people would
-be greatly benefited thereby. “Do not separate the sexes, but
-accustom them to each other from infancy!” she demands.
-“By this plan such a degree of equality should be established
-between the sexes as would break up gallantry and coquetry,
-yet allow friendship and love to temper the heart for the
-discharge of higher duties.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Thus asking the widest opportunities of education for
-women, she demands also her participation in industry, political
-knowledge, and the rights of representation.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>While Mary Wollstonecraft in this manner advanced progressive
-ideas, she also discussed several questions, dangerous
-and explosive at that time. In regard to marriage she recommended
-emancipation from the coercions and ceremonies imposed
-upon all Christians by the Church. And where love
-had ceased, divorce should be made easy. These points,
-together with her extraordinary plainness of speech and her
-denial of the eternity of the torments of hell, caused an outcry
-of all classes, to whom the dust of tradition was sacred, or
-who saw their assumed authority endangered. The air grew
-thick with insults and insinuations, hurled at the champion of
-such principles by churchmen feeding on their worn-out thistle-creeds.
-There were also the shrill, polished shrieks of society,
-whose antiquated dogmas Mary Wollstonecraft had repudiated.
-But the impulse, given by her, did not die. It became the
-heritage of later and more advanced generations, who have
-tried to realize the ideas of this most remarkable woman of
-the 18th Century.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_158.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_159'>159</span>
-  <h3 class='c010'>WOMAN’S ENTRY INTO INDUSTRY.</h3>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c011'>Since the stirring years of the American War of Independence
-and of the French Revolution the question of woman’s
-rights and woman suffrage has remained constantly before
-the public. Its significance greatly increased when with the
-invention of steam-engines, with the rapid growth and extension
-of trade and commerce, and with the introduction of
-modern methods all conditions of industrial life likewise
-became revolutionized. Many of those industries in which
-women participated, were transferred from the homes to
-factories, where the workmen and women were placed at
-machines, producing within one day greater quantities of
-goods than the laborers formerly had manufactured within
-weeks or months.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>With this industrial revolution came, however, also many
-evils. The laborers remained no longer masters of their own
-time and efforts. While hitherto they had been the owners
-of their little industry, now the factory owners and the great
-industries began to own them. They found themselves bound
-by strict rules, not of their own making, but prescribed and
-enforced by their employers, many of whom had not the
-slightest consideration for the people that worked for them.
-Just as soulless as their machines, and thinking only of gain,
-they abused their employees wherever possible, and in doing
-so often resorted to the meanest tricks.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Nowhere did such evils become so appalling as in England,
-where the politicians subordinated all other considerations
-to industry. It was here that in order to reduce the
-small wages of the workman cheap woman- and child-labor
-was first introduced on a large scale, and feeble, defenseless
-creatures, without experience and organization, were subjected
-to the most cruel oppression and exploitation.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>At the end of the 18th and during the first half of the
-19th Century large numbers of women and pauper children
-were shipped from the agricultural districts of Southern England
-to the northern districts to work in the factories which
-had been established there in consequence of the superior
-water-power.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Tender women and girls, and even children from six to
-ten years were placed in cotton mills, where they were compelled
-to work in overcrowded rooms thirteen to fourteen
-hours daily. Robert Mackenzie in his book “The Nineteenth
-Century,” p. 77, states, that the accommodations provided
-for these people were of the most wretched nature. “If such
-children became over-tired and fell asleep they were flogged.
-Sometimes through exhaustion they fell upon the machinery
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_160'>160</span>and were injured—possibly crushed,—an occurrence which
-caused little concern to any except the mothers, who had
-learned to bear their pangs in silence. These children, who
-were stunted in size and disposed to various acute diseases,
-were often scrofulous and consumptive.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The Encyclopædia Britannica, in an article on Socialism,
-describes the conditions of the working people in England
-at that time as follows: “The English worker had no fixed
-interest in the soil. He had no voice either in local or
-national government. He had little education or none at all.
-His dwelling was wretched in the extreme. The right even
-of combination was denied him. The wages of the agricultural
-laborer were miserably low. The workman’s share in the
-benefits of the industrial revolution was doubtful. Great
-numbers of his class were reduced to utter poverty and ruin
-by the great changes consequent to the introduction of improved
-machinery; the tendency to readjustment was slow
-and continually disturbed by fresh change. The hours of work
-were mercilessly long. He had to compete against the labor
-of women, and of children brought frequently at the age of
-five or six from the workhouses. These children had to work
-the same long hours as the adults, and they were sometimes
-strapped by the overseers till the blood came. Destitute as
-they so often were of parental protection and oversight, with
-both sexes huddled together under immoral and unsanitary
-conditions, it was only natural that they should fall into the
-worst habits and that their offspring should to such a lamentable
-degree be vicious, improvident, and physically degenerate.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>A report, delivered at the “International Congress of
-Women,” held in July, 1899, at London, states that the weak
-legs of those children, which were not strong enough to support
-the body for hours, were sustained by boots of wood and
-lead, in which they were obliged to stand. Hence the high
-scale of mortality among the children.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Most revolting conditions prevailed in the English coal
-mines. Married women, girls and children worked here,
-harnessed to trucks and nearly naked, dragging on their hands
-and knees loads of coal through long low galleries to the pit
-mouth.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>When some philanthropists made complaints about these
-conditions, Parliament instituted a commission to inquire into
-the state of working women in these mines and the wages
-paid them. From its official report we quote the following:
-“Betty Harris, one of the numerous persons examined, aged
-thirty-seven, drawer in the coal-pit, said: ‘I have a belt around
-my waist and a chain between my legs to the truck, and I
-go on my hands and feet. The road is very steep and we
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_161'>161</span>have to hold by a rope, and when there is no rope, by anything
-we can catch hold of. There are six women and about
-six boys and girls in the pit I work in; it is very wet, and the
-water comes over our clog-tops always, and I have seen it
-up to my thighs; my clothes are always wet.’—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Margaret Hibbs, aged eighteen, said: ‘My employment
-after reaching the wall-face (the place where the coal is
-broken) is to fill my bagie or stype with two and a half or
-three hundred-weight of coal; I then hook it on to my chain
-and drag it through the seam, which is from twenty-six to
-twenty-eight inches high, till I get to the main road, a good
-distance, probably two hundred to four hundred yards. The
-pavement I drag over is wet, and I am obliged at all times
-to crawl on my hands and feet with my bagie hung to the
-chain and ropes. It is sad, sweating, sore and fatiguing work,
-and frequently maims the women.’</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Robert Bald, the government coal-viewer, stated: In
-surveying the workings of an extensive colliery underground
-a married woman came forward groaning under an excessive
-weight of coal, trembling in every nerve, and almost unable
-to keep her knees from sinking under her. On coming up
-she said in a plaintive and melancholy voice: ‘Oh sir, this
-is sore, sore, sore work!’</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“And a sub-commissioner said: ‘It is almost incredible
-that human beings can submit to such employment—crawling
-on hands and knees, harnessed like horses, over soft, slushy
-floors, more difficult than dragging the same weight through
-our lowest sewers.’”—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Mackenzie, in his above mentioned book, states that
-“there was no machinery in these English coal-pits to drag
-the coal to the surface, and women climbed long wooden
-stairs with baskets of coal upon their backs. Children of
-six were habitually employed. Their hours of labor were
-fourteen to sixteen daily. The horrors among which they
-lived induced disease and early death. Law did not seem to
-reach to the depths of a coal-pit, and the hapless children
-were often mutilated and occasionally killed with perfect
-impunity by the brutalized miners among whom they labored.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Other authorities state that the women were paid less
-than 20 cents per day! For the same kind of work men got
-three times as much pay; but the employers preferred girls
-and women to do the work “because of their lower wages
-and greater docility!” In the iron districts of the Midlands
-women earned for very hard work 4 to 5 shillings a week,
-(=$1.25) while the men received 14 shillings.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>These small wages, which forced upon the laborers the
-most barren mode of living, were, however, taken away
-again from them through the meanest tricks, devised by the
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_162'>162</span>employers particularly through the so-called Truck System.
-Under this abominable system the employers, instead of
-paying the wages in cash, forced their employees to take
-checks or orders, redeemable in all kinds of necessities and
-goods, but valid only in those “truck stores” or “tommy
-shops” run by the employers, or in which they had an interest.
-By cheating the workmen with goods of inferior quality, by
-overcharging them at the same time, by pressing them to
-take goods far beyond their need and wages, and by making
-long intervals—often from 40 to 60 days—between the
-real pay days, they forced the laborers into debt and absolute
-slavery.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The situation of many thousands of those women who
-tried to make a living as seamstresses was also desperate.
-Always put off with wages far below the demands of a
-modest existence, they were real martyrs of labor. Thomas
-Hood, one of the foremost English poets of the first half of
-the 19th Century, gave in his famous “Song of the Shirt” a
-most touching picture of such woman’s toil and misery, of
-woman in her wasted life and in her hurried death. His
-poem reads:</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c014'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>With fingers weary and worn,</div>
-      <div class='line'>With eyelids heavy and red,</div>
-      <div class='line'>A woman sat, in unwomanly rags,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Plying her needle and thread—</div>
-      <div class='line'>Stitch! stitch! stitch!</div>
-      <div class='line'>In poverty, hunger and dirt,</div>
-      <div class='line'>And still with a voice of dolorous pitch,</div>
-      <div class='line'>She sang the “Song of the Shirt!”</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“Work! work! work!</div>
-      <div class='line'>While the cock is crowing aloof!</div>
-      <div class='line'>And work—work—work,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Till the stars shine through the roof!</div>
-      <div class='line'>It’s Oh! to be a slave</div>
-      <div class='line'>Along with the barbarous Turk,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Where woman has never a soul to save,</div>
-      <div class='line'>If this is Christian work!</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“Work—work—work</div>
-      <div class='line'>Till the brain begins to swim;</div>
-      <div class='line'>Work—work—work</div>
-      <div class='line'>Till the eyes are heavy and dim!</div>
-      <div class='line'>Seam, and gusset, and band,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Band, and gusset, and seam,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Till over the button I fall asleep,</div>
-      <div class='line'>And sew them on in a dream!</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_163'>163</span>“Oh, Men, with Sisters dear!</div>
-      <div class='line'>Oh, Men, with Mothers and Wives!</div>
-      <div class='line'>It is not linen you’re wearing out,</div>
-      <div class='line'>But human creatures’ lives!</div>
-      <div class='line'>Stitch—stitch—stitch,</div>
-      <div class='line'>In poverty, hunger, and dirt,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Sewing at once, with a double thread,</div>
-      <div class='line'>A Shroud as well as a Shirt.</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“But why do I talk of Death?</div>
-      <div class='line'>That Phantom of grisly bone,</div>
-      <div class='line'>I hardly fear his terrible shape,</div>
-      <div class='line'>It seems so like my own,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Because of the fasts I keep;</div>
-      <div class='line'>Oh, God! that bread be so dear,</div>
-      <div class='line'>And flesh and blood so cheap!</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“Work—work—work!</div>
-      <div class='line'>My labor never flags;</div>
-      <div class='line'>And what are its wages? A bed of straw,</div>
-      <div class='line'>A crust of bread—and rags.</div>
-      <div class='line'>That shatter’d roof—and this naked floor—</div>
-      <div class='line'>A table—a broken chair—</div>
-      <div class='line'>And a wall so blank, my shadow I thank</div>
-      <div class='line'>For sometimes falling there!</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“Work—work—work!</div>
-      <div class='line'>From weary chime to chime,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Work—work—work—</div>
-      <div class='line'>As prisoners work for crime!</div>
-      <div class='line'>Band, and gusset, and seam,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Seam, and gusset, and band,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Till the heart is sick, and the brain benumb’d</div>
-      <div class='line'>As well as the weary hand.</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“Work—work—work,</div>
-      <div class='line'>In the dull December light,</div>
-      <div class='line'>And work—work—work,</div>
-      <div class='line'>When the weather is warm and bright—</div>
-      <div class='line'>While underneath the eaves</div>
-      <div class='line'>The brooding swallows cling,</div>
-      <div class='line'>As if to show me the sunny backs</div>
-      <div class='line'>And twit me with the spring.</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“Oh! but to breathe the breath</div>
-      <div class='line'>Of the cowslip and primrose sweet—</div>
-      <div class='line'>With the sky above my head,</div>
-      <div class='line'>And the grass beneath my feet,</div>
-      <div class='line'>For only one short hour</div>
-      <div class='line'>To feel as I used to feel,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Before I knew the woes of want</div>
-      <div class='line'>And the walk that costs a meal.</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_164'>164</span>“Oh! but for one short hour!</div>
-      <div class='line'>A respite however brief!</div>
-      <div class='line'>No blessed leisure for Love or Hope,</div>
-      <div class='line'>But only time for Grief!</div>
-      <div class='line'>A little weeping would ease my heart,</div>
-      <div class='line'>But in their briny bed</div>
-      <div class='line'>My tears must stop, for every drop</div>
-      <div class='line'>Hinders needle and thread!”</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>With fingers weary and worn,</div>
-      <div class='line'>With eyelids heavy and red,</div>
-      <div class='line'>A woman sat in unwomanly rags,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Plying her needle and thread thread—</div>
-      <div class='line'>Stitch! stitch! stitch!</div>
-      <div class='line'>In poverty, hunger, and dirt,</div>
-      <div class='line'>And still with a voice of dolorous pitch,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Would that its tone could reach the Rich!</div>
-      <div class='line'>She sang the “Song of the Shirt!”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>Constantly struggling with want and poverty and seeing
-health menaced by the machines, the working classes of England
-were filled with bitterness, when they found that their
-complaints brought no relief, while the law-makers, sitting in
-Parliament, favored any demands of the employers and of
-the big interests. To forget for a few hours their hopeless
-existence, large numbers of men and women resorted to
-liquor, hereby hastening their final collapse and ruin.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Such was the life led by English laborers during the
-greater part of the Nineteenth Century. Feeble attempts to
-improve these deplorable conditions were made through a
-series of “Factory Acts,” the immediate cause for which was
-the fearful spread of epidemic diseases which wrought dreadful
-havoc among the laborers, especially among the women
-and children. If we glance over these factory acts, as they
-are sketched in the Encyclopædia Britannica, we find that
-even under these acts children below the age of nine were
-permitted in silk factories, and that they were required to
-work twelve hours a day, exclusive of an hour and a half
-for meal times. An act of 1833 provided that young persons
-from thirteen to eighteen and women were restricted to 68
-hours a week. Ten years later a mining act was passed which
-prohibited underground work for children under ten and for
-women. In 1867 the Workshop Regulation Act fixed the
-working day for children from 6 a. m. to 8 p. m. = 14 hours,
-and for young persons and women from 5 a. m. to 9 p. m.
-= 16 hours! After having made such sad disclosures, the
-Encyclopædia Britannica dared to say: “By these various
-enactments the state has emphatically taken under its protection
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_165'>165</span>the whole class of children and young persons
-employed in manufacturing industries. It has done this in
-the name of the moral and physical health of the community.”</p>
-
-<hr class='c012' />
-
-<p class='c008'>The despicable methods employed by the British mine
-and factory owners in their dealings with the working classes
-spread to the Continent as well as to America. In France,
-Germany and Austria they led to those desperate struggles
-between capital and labor, out of which was born that most
-remarkable movement of the 19th Century called “Socialism.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the United States soon enough attempts were made
-to imitate the detestable methods of the British mine and
-factory owners. But as the character of the population was
-quite different, the abuse of the working men and women
-never became so appalling as in Great Britain.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The first industry to be established in factories was the
-weaving of cotton in the New England States, where a number
-of rapid streams, among them the Merrimac, the Connecticut
-and the Housatonic, furnished excellent water-power. And
-as during the pioneer and colonial times the housewives and
-daughters had spun and woven all the cloth and linen for
-family use, there was an ample number of expert workers at
-hand. After the first weaving machines were brought over
-from Europe, in 1814, Dover, Lowell, Waltham, Great Falls
-and Newmarket became the principal centers of the cotton
-industry.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Here the daughters of the farmers and settlers did the
-work that formerly their mothers had done at home. Only
-they did it faster, by tending the machines all day long. At
-first the girls did not know that the employers might try to
-make the people in the factories work longer hours without
-any rest and adequate pay. Soon enough they found this
-out. But as the girls had inherited the independent spirit
-of their fathers and grandfathers, trouble began to brew. In
-December, 1828, four hundred girls in Dover, New Hampshire,
-formed a procession and marched out of the factory,
-in order to show their indignation at the growing oppression
-by their employers. They clad their complaints in verses,
-one of which ran:</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c014'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“Who among the Dover girls could ever bear</div>
-      <div class='line'>The shocking fate of slaves to share!”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>Unorganized as they were at that time, they did not
-succeed in gaining all they desired. But five years later they
-walked out again, eight hundred strong, adopting resolutions
-stating that they had not been treated as “daughters of freemen”
-by their employers and the unfriendly newspapers. At
-the same time in Lowell, Mass., at a signal given by a Dover
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_166'>166</span>girl, two thousand girls, who had formed a “<b>Factory Girls’
-Association</b>,” joined in a sympathy strike, marched around
-town and issued the following proclamation:</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<img src='images/i_166.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>SPINNERS IN THE COLONIAL TIMES.<br /><br />After a painting by Carl Marr, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c007'>“Union Is Power.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Our present object is to have union and exertion, and
-we remain in possession of our own unquestionable rights.
-We circulate this paper, wishing to obtain the names of all
-who imbibe the spirit of our patriotic ancestors, who preferred
-privation to bondage and parted with all that renders life
-desirable—and even life itself—to produce independence
-for their children. The oppressing hand of avarice would
-enslave us, and to gain their object they very gravely tell us
-of the pressure of the times; this we are already sensible of
-and deplore it. If any are in want of assistance, the ladies
-will be compassionate and assist them, but we prefer to have
-the disposing of our charities in our own hands, and, as we
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_167'>167</span>are free, we would remain in possession of what kind Providence
-has bestowed upon us, and remain daughters of freemen
-still.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“All who patronize this effort we wish to have discontinue
-their labor until terms of reconciliation are made.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Resolved. That we will not go back into the mills to
-work unless our wages are continued to us as they have been.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Resolved, That none of us will go back unless they
-receive us all as one.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Resolved, That if any have not money enough to carry
-them home they shall be supplied.</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c014'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“Let oppression shrug her shoulders,</div>
-      <div class='line'>And a haughty tyrant frown,</div>
-      <div class='line'>And little upstart Ignorance</div>
-      <div class='line'>In mockery look down.</div>
-      <div class='line'>Yet I value not the feeble threats,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Of Tories in disguise,</div>
-      <div class='line'>While the flag of independence,</div>
-      <div class='line'>O’er our noble nation flies.”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c007'>In 1843 the girls in the cotton mills of Pittsburg, Pa.,
-whose working hours had been from five o’clock in the morning
-till a quarter of seven in the evening, rebelled also, when
-their employers attempted to increase the time one hour each
-day without extra pay. Two years later they co-operated with
-the factory girls of New England, concurring in the proposal
-to “declare their independence of the oppressive manufacturing
-power” unless the work day was limited to ten hours.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The policy of these fighters for better conditions is outlined
-in the constitution of the “<b>Lowell Female Labor Reform
-Association</b>,” which had been organized in 1845. Article IX
-says:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“The members of this association disapprove of all
-hostile measures, strikes and turn-outs until all pacific measures
-prove abortive, and then that it is the imperious duty of
-everyone to assert and maintain that independence which our
-brave ancestors bequeathed to us and sealed with their blood.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The spirit of these working women is likewise shown in
-the preamble adopted at the annual meeting of the association
-in January, 1846. It reads:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“It now only remains for us to throw off the shackles
-which are binding us in ignorance and servitude and which
-prevent us from rising to that scale of being for which God
-designed us. With the present system of labor it is impossible.
-There must be reasonable hours for manual labor and a just
-portion of time allowed for the cultivation of the mental and
-moral faculties, and no other way can the great work be
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_168'>168</span>accomplished. It is evident that with the present system of
-labor the minds of the mass must remain uncultivated, their
-morals unimproved. Shall we, operatives of America, the
-land where democracy claims to be the principle by which
-we live and by which we are governed, see the evil daily
-increasing which separates more widely and more effectually
-the favored few and the unfortunate many without one
-exertion to stay the progress? God forbid! Let the daughters
-of New England kindle the spark of Philanthropy in every
-heart till its brightness shall fill the whole earth.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Not satisfied with securing thousands of signatures of
-factory operatives, who petitioned the legislature for a ten-hour
-day, prominent members of the union went before the
-Massachusetts legislative committee early in 1845 and testified
-as to the conditions in textile mills. This was the first American
-governmental investigation of labor conditions, and it was
-due almost solely to the petitions of the working women.
-About the same time the union appointed a committee to
-investigate and expose false statements published in newspapers
-concerning the factory operatives. Nor was this all.
-In their work of publicity they did not hesitate to call public
-men to account for assailing or ignoring their movement.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The chairman of the legislative committee, before whom
-the working girls had testified, was the representative from
-the Lowell district, and should, therefore, have shown special
-interest in the complaints of the girls. Instead, he had treated
-them in a high-handed manner, withholding at the same time
-from the Legislature some of the most important facts presented
-by the Lowell girls. The latter expressed their just
-indignation in the following resolution, which was circulated
-before the elections of that year:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Resolved, That the Female Labor Reform Labor Association
-deeply deplore the lack of independence, honesty and
-humanity in the committee to whom were referred sundry
-petitions relative to the hours of labor, especially in the chairman
-of that committee; and as he is merely a corporation
-machine, or tool, we will use our best endeavors and influence
-to keep him in the “City of Spindles,” where he belongs,
-and not trouble Boston folks with him.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>That the “endeavors” of the girls met with full success
-is evident from a second resolution published after election
-day:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Resolved, That the members of this association tender
-their grateful acknowledgments to the voters of Lowell for
-consigning William Schouler to the obscurity he so justly
-deserves for treating so ungentlemanly the defense made by
-the delegates of this association before the special committee
-of the legislature, to whom was referred petitions for the
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_169'>169</span>reduction of the hours of labor, of which he was chairman.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The result of all this agitation against long hours of
-work was that in 1847, 1848, and 1851 the first ten-hour
-laws were passed in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and New
-Jersey.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The success, won by the textile workers, inspired women
-workers in the tailoring and sewing trade, in the manufacture
-of shoes, cigars, and other necessities to similar efforts. In
-the tailoring and sewing trade wages were extremely low, as
-sweat-shop conditions existed from the beginning, and the
-trade was overcrowded.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In 1845 New York City alone had over 10,000 sewing
-women, the majority of whom worked from twelve to sixteen
-hours a day to earn only from two to three dollars a week!</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As similar conditions prevailed in other occupations, the
-number of poorly paid women wage-earners in New York City
-in 1865 was between 50,000 to 70,000, of whom 20,000
-were in a constant fight with starvation, and of whom 7,000
-lived in cellars. Their situation grew from bad to worse, as
-at the same time that they were falling into a state of physical
-and mental deterioration, the improvements in many machines
-made greater and greater demands on the capability of
-those who were operating them.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Thus the situation became such as was sketched by
-W. I. Thomas in an article written some fifteen years ago
-for the “American Magazine,” in which he said:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“The machine is a wonderful expression of man’s ingenuity,
-of his effort to create an artificial workman, to whom
-no wages have to be paid, but it falls just short of human
-intelligence. It has no discriminative judgment, no control
-of the work as a whole. It can only finish the work handed
-out to it, but it does this with superhuman energy. The manufacturer
-has, then, to purchase enough intelligence to supplement
-the machine, and he secures as low a grade of this as
-the nature of the machine will permit. The child, the woman
-and the immigrant are frequently adequate to furnish that
-oversight and judgment necessary to supplement the activity
-of the machine, and the more ignorant and necessitous the
-human being the more the profit to the industry. But now
-comes the ironical and pitiful part. The machine which was
-invented to save human energy, and which is so great a boon
-when the individual controls it, is a terrible thing when it
-controls the individual. Power-driven, it has almost no limit
-to its speed, and no limit whatever to its endurance, and it
-has no nerves. When, therefore, under the pressure of business
-competition the machine is speeded up and the girl
-operating it is speeded up to its pace, <b>we have finally a situation
-in which the machine destroys the worker</b>.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_170'>170</span>The rapidly increasing misery among such exhausted
-women workers aroused public attention and led to the
-formation of a number of woman’s organizations with the
-purpose to investigate abuses among such women workers,
-to teach them the value of trade unions, to agitate equal pay
-for equal work, to shorten the number of working hours, and
-to abolish child labor and prison work. The first national
-women’s trade union, formed in the United States, was that
-of the “<b>Daughters of St. Crispin</b>.” It held its first convention
-on July 28, 1869, at Lynn, Massachusetts. The delegates
-represented not only the local lodges of that state, but also
-lodges of Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and California.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>With the organization of the “<b>Knights of Labor</b>” in
-1869, and the “<b>American Federation of Labor</b>” the position
-of woman in the American labor movement became more
-firmly established, as both federations made it one of their
-principal objects “to secure for both sexes equal pay for
-equal work.” They also appointed special committees to
-investigate the conditions of working women, and to organize
-them for concerted action.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Other potent factors arising in this line were the “<b>National
-Consumers’ League</b>” and the “<b>Women’s Trade Union
-League</b>.” The founding of the first federation was due to
-efforts to better the conditions of women in department stores.
-In 1890 a group of saleswomen of New York City pointed
-to the fact that girls in fashionable department stores were
-receiving wages too low to allow them a decent living. They
-also complained that these girls were forced to stand from
-ten to fourteen hours a day, and that sanitary conditions in
-the cloak and lunch rooms were such as to endanger health
-and life. While the plan of these saleswomen, to unite all
-women clerks of the city into a labor union, failed, their
-complaints, however, attracted the attention of a number of
-influential ladies interested in philanthropic efforts. They
-investigated the charges against the department stores, and
-what they discovered made them resolve that conditions
-demanded radical changes. In May, 1890, they called a
-mass meeting of prominent women and proposed a constructive
-plan for raising the standard in shop conditions, not by
-<b>blacklisting</b> any firm guilty of bad conduct, but by <b>white-listing</b>
-those firms which treated their employees humanely.
-“We can make and publish,” so the presiding lady said,
-“a list of all the shops where employees receive fair treatment,
-and we can agree to patronize only those shops. By acting
-openly, and publishing our White List we shall be able to
-create an immense public opinion in favor of just employers.”
-In other words, it was by the spirit of praise rather than condemnation
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_171'>171</span>that these ladies sought to stimulate stores to raise
-their standards.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Adopting the name “<b>Consumers’ League of New York</b>,”
-the society organized on January 1, 1891, and published its
-first White List. It was a disappointingly small one, as it
-contained the names of only eight firms. Still more disappointing
-was the indifference of the many hundred other firms
-toward this reform movement. But soon enough these firms
-found that the League had also introduced into the New York
-Assembly a bill which became known as the “Mercantile
-Employers Bill.” It aimed to regulate the employment of
-women and children in all mercantile establishments, and to
-place all retail stores, from the smallest to the largest, under
-the inspection of the State Factory Department.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of course the merchants took prompt steps to defeat
-this obnoxious bill, and they were most complacent when
-their representatives in the Assembly succeeded in strangling
-it. But the bill appeared again and again, finally resulting
-in the appointment of a State Commission for the investigation
-of the conditions. As Reta Childe Dorr in her book
-“What Eight Million Women Want” graphically relates, “The
-findings of this Commission were sensational enough. Merchants
-reluctantly testified to employing grown women at a
-salary of <b>thirty-three cents a day</b>. They confessed to employing
-little girls of eleven and twelve years, in defiance of the
-child-labor law. They declared that pasteboard and wooden
-stock boxes were good enough seats for saleswomen; that
-they should not expect to sit down in business hours, anyhow.
-They defended, on what they called economic grounds, their
-long hours and uncompensated overtime. They defended
-their system of fines, which sometimes took away from a girl
-almost the entire amount of her weekly salary. They
-threatened, if a ten-hour law for women under twenty-one
-years old were passed, to employ older women. Thus thousands
-of young and helpless girls would be thrown out of
-employment, and forced to appeal to charity.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The Senate heard the report of the Commission, and in
-spite of the merchants’ protests, the women’s bill was passed
-without a dissenting vote. Its most important provision was
-the ten-hour limit which it placed on the work of women
-under twenty-one. The bill also provided seats for saleswomen,
-and specified the number of seats, one to every
-three clerks. It forbade the employment of children, except
-those holding working-certificates from the authorities.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>But soon it was found that the smart representatives of
-the merchants had succeeded in attaching to the bill a so-called
-“joker,” by which the inspection of the stores was
-entrusted to the local boards of health. As the officials of
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_172'>172</span>these boards, supposedly experts, proved, in fact, ignorant
-of industrial conditions and their relation to health and
-sanitation, the true objects of the bill could not be enforced.
-So the Consumers’ League was compelled to wage another
-tedious war, until it finally succeeded in convincing the Legislature
-that the inspection of all department and retail stores
-should be turned over to the State Factory Department.
-When this was done, there were reported in the first three
-months of the enforcement of the Mercantile Law over 1200
-violations in Greater New York. At the same time 923
-under-age children were taken out of their positions as cash
-girls, stock girls, and wrappers, and sent back to school.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>It was natural that the good results and the purely
-benevolent motives of the Consumers’ League attracted wide
-attention. Similar Associations were formed in many other
-cities and states. The movement spread so rapidly, that in
-1899 it was possible to organize “<b>The National Consumers’
-League</b>,” with branches in twenty-two states.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Encouraged by such success, the league now began to
-study the working conditions of girls employed in restaurants.
-It was found that in many cases these conditions were even
-worse than in the department stores. Girls of twenty years
-were found working as cooks from 6:30 in the morning to
-11:30 at night, with no time off on Sundays or holidays! This
-meant 119 hours a week, more than twice the time the law
-permits for factory employees. Other girls, employed as
-waitresses, were serving every day from 7:30 a. m. to 10:30
-p. m., or 105 hours each week! In going back and forth, they
-walked several miles a day, carrying heavy trays at the same
-time. In rush hours they worked at a constant nervous tension,
-for speed is one of their requirements. And they must not
-only remember a dizzying list of orders, but must fill them
-quickly and keep their temper under the exactions of the
-most rasping customer.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Based on such findings, the Consumers’ League of New
-York caused the framing of a bill by which the hours of
-women in restaurants were limited to 54 hours weekly, which
-gave the girls one day of rest in seven, and prohibited their
-working between 10 p. m. and 6 a. m. In October, 1917,
-this bill became a law. In a number of other states minimum
-wage laws have also been secured.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The Consumers’ League of Philadelphia took pains to
-investigate conditions in the silk mills of Pennsylvania. It
-was found that besides overwork and underpay there were
-often other evils, due to an erring as well as inhuman policy
-on the part of the employers. Like the owners of the department
-stores many of these men were possessed by the idea
-that the right to sit down would encourage slow work and
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_173'>173</span>laziness. Accordingly the girls in these mills were forced to
-stand from early morning till late at night, day after day,
-and month after month.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The secretary of the Consumers’ League, who, under
-an assumed name, worked for some time in various mills,
-in order to study conditions, wrote:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“The harmful effect of continuous standing, upon young
-and growing girls, is too well established a fact to require
-any elaboration. In addition to the permanent ill effects, much
-immediate and unnecessary suffering, especially in hot weather,
-is inflicted by the prohibition of sitting. I could always detect
-the existence of this rule by a glance at the stocking-feet of
-the workers, and at the rows of discarded shoes beneath the
-frames. For after a few hours the strain upon the swollen
-feet becomes intolerable, and one girl after another discards
-her shoes.”—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Another harsh and very common practice of employers
-is to cover the lower sashes of the windows with paint, and
-to fasten them so that they cannot be raised in hot weather.
-This is done “so that the girls don’t waste time looking out.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The cruelty of these unnecessary rules is often aggravated
-by a most amazing lack of the common decencies and necessities
-of cleanliness.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>One of the most difficult tasks of the Consumers’ League
-was to overcome the absolute unwillingness of storekeepers
-to compensate their saleswomen for overtime. If it would be
-possible to compute the amount of such unpaid labor performed
-after the regular hours in many stores as well as in
-the bookkeeping and auditing departments, especially during
-the Christmas season, the sum would be startling indeed.
-A circular issued by the Women’s Trade Union League of
-Chicago some years ago stated that the 3000 clerks in only
-one department store of that city had been required to work
-during the holiday season overtime to the total amount of
-96,000 hours, without receiving any compensation. At the
-rate of only ten cents an hour these clerks suffered a loss of
-$9,600, at the rate of 25 cents an hour a loss of $24,000.</p>
-
-<hr class='c012' />
-
-<p class='c008'>The first “<b>Women’s Trade Union League</b>” was organized
-in 1875 by <b>Mrs. Emma Paterson</b>, the wife of an English trade
-unionist. While travelling in America, she had observed that
-women workers of various trades had formed unions, among
-which the “Umbrella Makers’ Union,” the “Women’s Typographical
-Union” and the “Women’s Protective Union” were
-the most prominent. Convinced that the utility of such combinations
-could be still more increased, Mrs. Paterson, after
-her return to England, organized a federation of such women’s
-unions, the “<b>British Women’s Trade Union League</b>,” which
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_174'>174</span>later on became the model for a similar organization in
-America. It was founded on November 14th, 1903, for the
-one main purpose to organize all women workers into trade
-unions, in order to protect them from exploitation, to help
-them raise their wages, shorten their hours, and improve
-sanitary conditions of the work shops. Becoming affiliated
-with the “American Federation of Labor,” the league gained
-a splendid victory during the years 1909 to 1911, when a
-series of huge strikes in the sewing trades spread over the
-East and the Middle West. Also an agreement was arrived
-at, that the principle of preference to unionists, first enforced
-in Australia, should be acknowledged. Under this plan manufacturers,
-when hiring help, must give to union workers of
-the necessary qualifications and degree of skill precedence
-over non-union workers.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>At all times ready to express the sentiments and voice
-the aspirations of those who toil, the “Women s Trade Union
-League” represents to-day over 100,000 working women.
-While it has had a wonderful effect in improving standards
-of wages, hours and sanitary conditions in what was originally
-an underpaid and unhealthy industry, it also has become the
-pioneer in another direction, that of education in the labor
-movement. At the initiative of a group of girls an educational
-movement was started which has extended into organizations
-including some half a million workers, men as well as women.
-In public schools of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago,
-Los Angeles, and other cities educators of national reputation
-are co-operating with teachers and delegates from labor
-unions in giving lecture courses for adults on such subjects
-as social interpretation of literature, evolution of the labor
-movement, problems of reconstruction, social problems, trade
-unionism and co-operation, etc. At the same time a movement
-for co-operative housing has been developing. “The
-New York Ladies’ Waist and Dressmaker’s Union” for instance
-has bought in 1919 at a cost of several hundred thousand
-dollars a magnificent summer home for the exclusive use of
-its members. This “Unity House” at Forest Park, Pennsylvania,
-has accommodations for 500 guests. Situated at a
-beautiful lake, surrounded by shady forests and green lawns,
-provided with tennis courts, a library and reading rooms, it
-is an ideal recreation ground of first order. The money for
-this estate was brought up by the 30,000 members of the
-union, each contributing one day’s wages.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In New York City also a co-operative “Unity House”
-has been established with quarters for fifty girls. A great
-extension of this movement in the city is planned. The Philadelphia
-group of the same union is following these examples
-and has acquired a fine estate worth $40,000.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_175'>175</span>At present the various woman’s organizations of the
-United States as well as of other countries aim at the following
-issues:</p>
-
-  <dl class='dl_1'>
-    <dt><b>1.</b></dt>
-    <dd><b>To limit the working day for women to eight hours.</b>
-    </dd>
-    <dt><b>2.</b></dt>
-    <dd><b>To demand for women equal pay with men for equal work.</b>
-    </dd>
-    <dt><b>3.</b></dt>
-    <dd><b>To establish for all the various occupations minimum wage scales, sufficient to grant
-    all women workers an adequate living.</b>
-    </dd>
-    <dt><b>4.</b></dt>
-    <dd><b>To secure safe and sanitary working conditions, and clinics for the treatment of
-    diseases resulting from certain industrial occupations.</b>
-    </dd>
-    <dt><b>5.</b></dt>
-    <dd><b>To secure industrial insurance laws.</b>
-    </dd>
-    <dt><b>6.</b></dt>
-    <dd><b>To secure for all women full citizenship with the right to vote in all municipal and
-    national elections.</b>
-    </dd>
-    </dl>
-
-<p class='c008'>As woman’s future position will depend on the realization
-of these demands, their discussion is of utmost importance.</p>
-
-<h3 class='c010'>THE MOVEMENT FOR AN EIGHT-HOUR DAY.</h3>
-
-<p class='c011'>As has been shown in a former chapter, innumerable
-valuable lives of workmen, women and, in former years, children
-have been sacrificed through the unreasonable exploitation
-by employers, who in their greed for profits had lost all
-consideration for the welfare of their fellow-men. Hundreds
-of thousands of laborers have been slowly worked to death
-as no sufficient amount of time for recuperation was granted
-them.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The only possible excuse for such incredible waste of
-human lives is that neither the employers nor the law-makers
-of those bygone days realized that the physical and mental
-abilities of the large laboring classes belong to the resources
-of a nation just as truly as do the water-power, the soil, the
-mineral deposits, the forests, and other natural means. Moreover,
-nobody was aware of the fact that it is one of the
-supreme duties of a wise government to guard these resources,
-so fundamentally necessary to the prosperity of a nation, from
-unscrupulous exploitation and possible destruction.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The danger of the reckless exploitation of laborers,
-especially of women workers, has increased considerably with
-the improvement of many machines, the greater speed and
-output of which demand far greater attention and strain than
-before on the part of the men or women operating them.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>This is what Newton D. Baker, Secretary of War, said
-in 1917 at the annual meeting of the National Consumers’
-League:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Machinery has given us one great delusion. People
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_176'>176</span>have imagined that when a machine was operated by a steam
-engine or by an electric motor, the steam engine or the electric
-motor actually did all the work, and the people who were
-attending it while it operated were more or less negligible.
-As a consequence, we indulged in the very unfortunate and
-often fatal belief that unlimited hours of labor were possible
-because it was the machines which were doing the work. We
-overlooked the fact, which we have lately begun to appreciate,
-that the person who tends the power-driven machine is far
-more susceptible to exhaustion, is far more open to fatigue
-and to the poisons that affect the system and that come from
-over-exertion than ever before.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Mrs. Florence Kelley, the able General Secretary of the
-National Consumers’ League, who studied woman’s occupation
-in the sewing trade, states that of late years the speed
-of the sewing machines has been increased so that girls using
-these improved machines are now responsible for twenty times
-as many stitches as twenty years ago, and that many girls
-and women, not capable of the sustained speed involved in
-this improvement, are no longer eligible for this occupation.
-Those who continue in the trade are required to feed twice
-as many garments to the machine as were required five years
-ago. The strain upon their eyes is, however, far more than
-twice what it was before the improvement. In the case of
-machines carrying multiple needles this is obvious; but it is
-true of the single needle machines as well.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>When a girl cannot keep the pace she is thrown out.
-A comment frequently made by the girls about such an unfortunate
-comrade is: “She got too slow. She couldn’t keep
-up with her machine any longer.” It amounts to this, that
-the girl can earn a living wage, if she is unusually gifted,
-<b>until she is worn out</b>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The nerve strain caused by innumerable rapid-working
-machines of the present day has become obvious in many
-cases. As the compressed air-hammer has shattered the nerves
-of many robust men, so the latest machines used in the sewing
-and other trades have impaired the health of many women.
-“Such nerve strain,” says Rheta Childe Dorr, “cannot be
-regulated. It is a Gordian knot that cannot be untied. The
-only thing to do is to cut it. The only solution of it is a
-shortened work-day. This is true for men as well as for
-women, but, in all probability, not to the same degree. Nerve
-strain affects men, certainly, and it demands, even in their
-case, a progressively shortened work-day as an alternative to
-a progressively shortened work-life. But with women the case
-becomes infinitely more urgent, infinitely more tragic, in exact
-proportion as woman’s nervous system is more unstable than
-man’s and more easily shaken from its equilibrium.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_177'>177</span>The advantages of an eight-hour day with rest at night
-for women and children have been summed up as follows:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>1.—Where the working day is short, the workers are less
-predisposed to diseases arising from fatigue. They are correspondingly
-less in danger of being out of work, for sickness
-is in turn one of the great causes of unemployment.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>2.—Accidents have diminished conspicuously wherever
-working hours have been reduced.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>3.—The workers have better opportunity for continuing
-their education out of working hours. Where they do this
-intelligently they become more valuable and are correspondingly
-less likely to become victims of unemployment.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>4.—A short working day established by law tends automatically
-to regularize work. The interest of the employer
-is to have all hands continuously active, and no one sitting
-idly waiting for needles, or thread, or materials, or for
-machines to be repaired. Every effort is bent towards having
-work ready for every hour of every working day in the year.
-In unregulated industry, on the contrary, there are cruel alternations
-of idleness and overwork.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>5.—For married women wage-earners it is especially
-necessary to have the working day short and work regular.
-For when they leave their workplace it is to cook, sew, and
-clean at home, sometimes even to care for the sick.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the movement for an eight-hour day for the women
-workers its advocates have already succeeded in Australia,
-Great Britain, Germany, Denmark, Porto Rico, and Mexico.
-The eight-hour day has also been secured for all employees
-of the U. S. Government and for the women and workmen
-of a large number of the states.</p>
-
-<h3 class='c010'>EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK.</h3>
-
-<p class='c011'>That women are entitled to equal pay with men for equal
-work, was recognized by the ancient Babylonians five or six
-thousand years ago. The justice of this demand is so self-evident,
-that it would hardly seem to need any discussion.
-Notwithstanding all labor organizations have been compelled
-to place it on their program, as many factory owners employed
-the cheaper woman- and child-labor only in order to underbid
-and reduce the wages of the male laborers. As female laborers
-have been much more poorly organized than men, they have
-been less capable of maintaining their claims.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The first equal opportunity and equal pay laws were
-passed in the State of Washington. In 1890 a section was
-added to her Labor Laws reading as follows: “Hereafter in
-this state every avenue of employment shall be open to
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_178'>178</span>women; and any business, vocation, profession, and calling
-followed and pursued by men may be followed and pursued
-by women, and no person shall be disqualified from engaging
-in or pursuing any business, vocation, profession, calling or
-employment on account of sex.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Section 5 of Industrial Welfare Commission of the State
-of Washington, Order of September 10, 1918, is the first
-general equal pay law: “That women doing equal work
-with men in any occupation, trade, or industry in this state
-shall receive the same compensation therefor as men during
-work of the same character and of like quantity and quality,
-the determination of what constitutes equal work to rest with
-the Industrial Welfare Commission.”</p>
-
-<h3 class='c010'>THE MEANING OF THE MINIMUM WAGE.</h3>
-
-<p class='c011'>The interests of every community demand that all workers,
-male as well as female, shall receive a fair living wage,
-to save them from pernicious effects upon their health and
-morals. The dangers to the health of women have been found
-to be twofold: lack of adequate nourishment and lack of
-medical care in sickness. Careful investigations as well as
-statistics have proven that with insufficient wages food is
-necessarily cut down below the requirements of subsistence,
-and health inevitably suffers. In order to meet unavoidable
-expenses for lodging and clothing, workingwomen reduce
-their diet to the lowest possible point.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>On the moral side, authorities agree in the opinion that,
-while underpayment and the consequent struggle to live may
-not be the primary cause for entering upon an immoral life,
-it is inevitably a highly important factor. When wages are
-too low to supply nourishment and other human needs, temptation
-is more readily yielded to.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The discovery that inadequate wages menace the morals
-of women and through them the interests and the good name
-of the community in which they work, has had much to do
-with the adoption of minimum-wage laws in America as well
-as in other parts of the world.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the United States the first minimum-wage orders were
-those of the Oregon Industrial Commission, which fixed $8.64
-as the legal weekly minimum for manufacturing establishments,
-and $9.25 for mercantile establishments, in the City of Portland.
-These rates were based upon the testimony of workers
-and employers gathered by the Oregon Consumers’ League.
-The testimony had shown that the prevailing wage for beginners
-in department stores was $3.00 a week; that nearly half
-of these girls and women employed were receiving less than
-$9.00, and that female clerks never received above $10.00
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_179'>179</span>a week, no matter how long the term of their service.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>After learning from the employers what wages were
-actually paid, the Oregon investigators sought to determine
-the amount necessary to protect the health and morals of the
-women workers through an examination of market prices and
-a careful study of the actual expenditures of the workers.
-One hundred and sixteen department-store workers furnished
-the information for the following table of averages:</p>
-
-<table class='table0' summary=''>
-  <tr>
-    <th class='c015'></th>
-    <th class='c016'>Living at Home</th>
-    <th class='c017'>Adrift</th>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>Rent</td>
-    <td class='c018'>$315.51</td>
-    <td class='c019'>$118.00</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>Board</td>
-    <td class='c018'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c019'>196.25</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>Carfare</td>
-    <td class='c018'>31.20</td>
-    <td class='c019'>23.42</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>Clothing</td>
-    <td class='c018'>161.36</td>
-    <td class='c019'>139.63</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>Laundry</td>
-    <td class='c018'>24.28</td>
-    <td class='c019'>16.27</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>Doctor and Dentist</td>
-    <td class='c018'>29.23</td>
-    <td class='c019'>23.82</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>Lodge and Church</td>
-    <td class='c018'>12.19</td>
-    <td class='c019'>9.72</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>Recreation</td>
-    <td class='c018'>21.48</td>
-    <td class='c019'>36.62</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>Books, etc.</td>
-    <td class='c018'>10.11</td>
-    <td class='c019'>6.69</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c018'><hr /></td>
-    <td class='c019'><hr /></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'><span class='pad'>Total Expenses </span></td>
-    <td class='c018'>$605.36</td>
-    <td class='c019'>$570.42</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c018'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c019'>&nbsp;</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>The total wages received in the average:</td>
-    <td class='c018'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c019'>&nbsp;</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'><span class='pad'>Total Wages    </span></td>
-    <td class='c018'>$459.50</td>
-    <td class='c019'>$480.57</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c018'><hr /></td>
-    <td class='c019'><hr /></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'><span class='pad'>Deficit        </span></td>
-    <td class='c018'>$145.86</td>
-    <td class='c019'>$89.85</td>
-  </tr>
-</table>
-
-<p class='c008'>These figures show that a majority of these women
-actually received less than it cost them to live.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Investigations carried on in order to find how these
-women met the difference, disclosed that many of them,
-whether living at home or boarding, did extra chores in the
-morning before going to work and after work-hours in the
-evening. Others went into debt. And still others became
-“charity girls”—that is, they kept company with “gentlemen
-friends,” who came up for the balance, sometimes under
-promise of marriage when these “friends” should feel able
-to set up a household. That such promises are not always
-kept and that the girls quite often sink to lower levels, are
-facts well known.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The first law embodying the principle of the minimum
-wage was enacted in New Zealand 25 years ago. From there
-it spread gradually to the other Australian States. In 1896
-Victoria, the largest industrial State of Australia, passed the
-first act providing for special boards to fix minimum wages
-in different trades. Beginning with a few sweat-shop industries,
-the movement has grown by successive special acts, until, in
-1916, there were about 150 trades or occupations in which
-minimum wages were set by special wage boards.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_180'>180</span>The same general plan was followed by Great Britain in
-the trade boards act of 1909. This bill, introduced in Parliament
-by delegates of the English Anti-sweating League and
-of the National Consumers’ League in January, 1909, was
-passed and signed in time to take effect at New Years, 1910.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the United States, up to the end of 1918, minimum-wage
-laws had been enacted in Arizona, Arkansas, California,
-Colorado, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon,
-Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and in the District of
-Columbia, guaranteeing a living wage to women workers,
-especially in unorganized trades.</p>
-
-<h3 class='c010'>EFFORTS TO SECURE SAFE AND SANITARY WORKING CONDITIONS AND CLINICS FOR THE TREATMENT OF DISEASES RESULTING FROM INDUSTRIAL OCCUPATIONS.</h3>
-
-<p class='c011'>When in the industries human power began to be supplanted
-by steam-driven machines, when competition grew
-fierce and fiercer, it was found that with the ever increasing
-speed of the whirling wheels the dangers that threatened the
-workmen increased enormously. The use of almost every
-machine has brought with it some peculiar peril, this one
-crushing a finger or cutting a limb of the person in charge;
-that one tearing out an arm or killing the operator if for a
-fraction of a second his thoughts strayed from his work, or
-if he became drowsy after long hours of work.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>It was also found that many persons, engaged in certain
-occupations, became afflicted by peculiar diseases, unknown
-before and strictly confined to the persons doing that special
-work.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>According to conservative estimates, of the 38,000,000
-wage earners of the United States, in every year 30,000 to
-33,000 are killed by industrial accidents. In addition, there
-are approximately 2,000,000 non-fatal accidents.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Imagine a plain strewn with 35,000 corpses and two
-million men and women crying out under the pain of severe
-lacerations, burns, cuts, bruises, dislocations and fractures!
-Imagine the horrible sight of so many human beings with limbs
-torn into shreds, with faces having empty eye-holes, with
-breasts heaving from the effect of poisonous gases! If such
-numbers of men and women were killed and wounded in one
-day at one place, the whole world would be terrified, and
-register the day as the most dreadful in history. But as these
-losses extend over a whole year and a large territory, our
-nation takes only slight notice of them, hardly thinking of
-the fact, that these immense losses and sufferings are terrible
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_181'>181</span>realities, which affect the economic wealth of our nation as
-a whole in a very serious way.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>These conditions are the more deplorable as the majority
-of such accidents could be avoided by intelligent and rational
-methods, as is done in other civilized countries, where the
-possibilities for successful prevention of accidents have been
-clearly demonstrated.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Granting that many of such industrial accidents are the
-result of ignorance, reckless indifference or carelessness, the
-fact remains that much that could be done in our country
-for the protection of working people is neglected.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>When in Europe with the increase of industries the
-number of accidents and “professional diseases” swelled in
-proportion, some philanthropists and economists, interested in
-the welfare of their fellow-citizens and convinced that every
-life saved is a national asset, became alarmed and searched
-for means to prevent such calamities. When in 1855 the first
-World’s Exposition was held at Paris, it had a special department
-in which were exhibited inventions for the safety of
-working people. Later on a permanent “Musée social” was
-established.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Since then similar institutions have been opened in Berlin,
-Munich, Vienna, Amsterdam, Brussels, Zurich, Copenhagen,
-Stockholm, Budapest, Milan, Moscow, and several other
-places. These museums contain the latest and most select
-inventions for the restriction of accidents and in the interest
-of industrial hygiene. And as all exhibits are arranged in
-separate groups according to the various professions, every
-manufacturer and every working man and woman can inform
-himself without loss of time about all new inventions relating
-to his special trade.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Perhaps the most comprehensive and most scientific of
-these museums is that of Charlottenburg, a suburb of Berlin.
-Its wonderfully interesting character is evident from the
-moment one enters the magnificent building, which occupies
-a whole city block. There are long rows of figures equipped
-with the various types of masks and helmets used by miners,
-divers, fire-fighters, and laborers, working in rooms filled with
-poisonous gases, dust, or irrespirable smoke. There are all
-the implements and attachments for the protection of persons
-working on men-killing machines.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>There are casts in plaster and reproductions in wax
-illustrating all the dreadful skin diseases and deformities of
-the limbs, by which the laborers engaged in certain industries
-become afflicted. Other exhibits illustrate what measures
-should be taken for the improvement of the conditions of
-the working classes; how to furnish the best nourishment at
-the lowest cost; how to settle laborers in pleasant colonies,
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_182'>182</span>and how to treat those, who have become sick or afflicted
-with industrial diseases.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among the most important exhibits are the statistics of
-three institutions provided for all persons employed in workshops
-and factories.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Germany was first among the nations to recognize the
-need of reforms in the social conditions of the working classes.
-Before 1870 wages had been low, and many of the evils that
-developed in other industrial countries had spread to Germany.
-Believing that the working classes have a right to be considered
-by the State the Government in 1881 initiated the era of
-“State social politics,” which brought about an enormous
-change in the condition of the working classes. Besides many
-reforms in regard to the length of the working hours and to
-women’s and children’s labor, this State socialism provided
-for three important institutions: first, a compulsory insurance
-against sickness; second, a compulsory insurance against accidents;
-third, a compulsory insurance against invalidity and
-old age.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>To the funds of the first class all laborers earning less
-than 2000 marks a year must pay two-thirds, and the employer
-one-third of the weekly premiums. In case of sickness, the
-insured person receives half the amount for twenty-six weeks.
-Doctors, hospitals and medicines are free. In 1913 14,555,609
-laborers, men and women, were protected in this way. Many
-poor mothers were supported for several weeks before and
-after confinement. To prevent sickness, especially tuberculosis,
-the institution supported numbers of sanitariums and recreation
-homes, where thousands of people, who would otherwise have
-perished, regained their health.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The insurance fees against accidents had to be paid
-entirely by the employer. In case of an accident, it was not
-the employer in whose factory it had happened who was held
-responsible, but the whole group of employers in the same
-branch of industry. Every group was compelled to establish
-an insurance company. In 1913 there were 25,800,000 men
-and women thus protected. An injured laborer received, during
-the time of his disability, two-thirds of his wages, also
-free medical treatment. In case of his death the family received
-at once fifteen per cent. of his annual wages and an annual
-support of sixty per cent. As the employers naturally wish
-to keep the amount of expenses as low as possible, this kind
-of compulsory insurance greatly stimulated the invention and
-institution of measures by which accidents may be prevented.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The premiums for the insurance against invalidity and
-old age were paid half by the employees and half by the
-employer. Support was given to invalids without regard to
-age, and to persons above seventy years. To every lawful
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_183'>183</span>pension the Government contributed 50 marks. In 1914
-16,551,500 people were protected by this insurance. In the
-one year of 1913, the amount distributed among needy people
-by these three branches of insurance was 775,000,000 marks.
-The miners of Germany were protected by similar institutions.
-The splendid results of such compulsory insurance induced
-the Government to prepare a special insurance for widows
-and orphans. It may be mentioned that the management of
-these insurance companies was entirely in the hands of the
-working classes and the employers.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>All in all, the “Permanent Expositions for the Welfare
-of the Working Classes,” as they exist in Berlin and in other
-European capitals, demonstrate what intelligent nations can
-do for the protection and the welfare of their laborers. How
-many millions of useful lives have been saved by the inventions
-brought here to the knowledge of the public, and what
-vast amounts of suffering, sorrow and tears have been averted,
-we can only guess.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In view of these facts it must be stated that our United
-States, which of all countries is the greatest in industry and
-suffers most heavily through industrial accidents and diseases,
-is among the most backward in regard to social legislation
-as well as in the effort to interest employers and employees
-in these welfare institutions which are of such vital value for
-both parties.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Yes, there was in 1910 a “Museum of Safety” established
-in New York, but so far it has remained the only one in the
-entire western hemisphere. And, as it is housed in the lower
-floors of an insignificant building in 24th Street, it has failed
-to attract the attention and the support of the masses.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In my opinion, every state should have a permanent
-museum which brings to public knowledge all inventions relating
-to the special industries and trades followed by its population.
-The agricultural states may confine themselves to
-exhibits by which accidents connected with the pursuit of
-agriculture can be prevented. The mining states may give
-preference to everything that increases safety in the mines.
-The states bordering our oceans and great lakes should collect
-all devices that make navigation safer; our industrial states
-must direct their efforts to collect such inventions as may
-restrict accidents in workshops and factories. If this should
-be done, and if our governments, legislators and factory
-inspectors would demand the installation of such inventions,
-the terrific number of victims that perish every year upon
-our industrial battlefields would most assuredly be greatly
-diminished. It is to these aims that our statesmen as well as
-our male and female workers should direct their utmost
-endeavors.</p>
-
-<div>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_184'>184</span>
-  <h3 class='c010'>WOMEN AS MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL.</h3>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c011'>Perhaps in no other field of human activity has the disinclination
-of Christian men to make any concessions to women
-been so strong as in all matters regarding the church. While
-women were permitted to sit on thrones and rule vast empires,
-theological prejudice would not allow them to officiate at the
-altar or to occupy the pulpit. This vehement opposition was
-due to mediæval traditions and customs. The saying of the
-Apostle Paul: “I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp
-authority over the man, but to be in silence,” had been an
-inviolable law to all Catholic and Protestant dignitaries of
-the church. And so during the whole Middle Ages the idea
-was prevalent that a masculine priesthood alone was acceptable
-to God.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The first attempt to overthrow these views was made in
-1634 by <b>Anne Hutchinson</b>, who came from Lincolnshire to
-Boston. Joining a church there she found that the male
-members used to meet every week to discuss the sermon
-they had heard the preceding Sunday. Believing that the
-power of the Holy Ghost dwells in every believer, and that
-the inward revelations of the spirit, the conscious judgment
-of the mind, are a paramount authority. Mrs. Hutchinson
-established similar meetings for the women. Soon she had
-large audiences, in which she set forth sentiments of her own.
-But disputes arose among her followers and their opponents,
-which grew so hot, that the continued existence of the two
-opposing parties was considered inconsistent with public peace.
-A convention of ministers, the first synod in America, was
-called in 1637, which condemned the opinions of Mrs.
-Hutchinson, and caused her to be summoned before the
-General Court. After a trial of two days, she was convicted
-of censuring the ministers and advancing errors, and sentenced
-to banishment from Massachusetts. She found refuge in Rhode
-Island, but moved later on to the Dutch settlements, where
-she as well as her children were killed by Indians.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In 1774 another English woman, <b>Anne Lee</b>, immigrated to
-New York. Professing to have received a special persuasion,
-she organized at Watervliet, N. Y., the first community of
-Shakers, to which she promulgated a doctrine of celibacy.
-Their previous training had led members of this sect to expect
-that the second coming of Christ would be in the form of a
-woman; as Eve was the mother of all living, so in their new
-leader the Shakers recognized “the first mother or spiritual
-parent in the line of the female.” These Shakers gave their
-women an equal share with men in the service and government
-of their society.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>With the history of the “Salvation Army” likewise the
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_185'>185</span>names of several women are closely connected. This religious
-body was organized in 1865 on military lines by Rev. William
-Booth. In his revival and mission work among the lower
-classes of England he found in his wife Catherine a perfect
-helpmate. Together they conquered with their revivals first
-London, then the province, then the United Kingdom, and
-afterwards country after country in every part of the world.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<img src='images/i_185.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>CATHERINE BOOTH, THE “MOTHER OF THE SALVATION ARMY.”</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>In England <b>Mrs. Booth</b> was the first woman preacher,
-and if she had done nothing else but vindicate the right of
-woman to speak in public and preach the Gospel, she would
-have done great work. But she did far more than this. By
-making her whole life, and every thought and action subservient
-to the cause of the Salvation Army, she brought
-comfort and happiness to many thousands of poor souls.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The work of this “Mother of the Army” was continued
-by her daughter, <b>Evangeline Booth</b>, known in the history of
-the organization as “The Commander”; by <b>Emma Booth-Tucker</b>,
-known as “The Consul”; by <b>Mrs. W. Branwell Booth</b>,
-“The General,” and by <b>Elizabeth Swift Brengle</b>, known as
-“The Colonel.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The first woman in the Christian world to be ecclesiastically
-ordained was <b>Antoinette Brown Blackwell</b>, an American
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_186'>186</span>woman who had graduated from Oberlin, Ohio. She was
-ordained in 1852 in South Butler, N. Y., by a council called
-by the First Congregational Church. <b>Rev. Olympia Brown</b>
-was the next woman ordained ten years later. In December,
-1863, the <b>Rev. Augusta J. Chapin</b> was the first woman to
-receive the title of Doctor of Divinity.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Since the ordination of these women the number of
-female “clergymen” in the various denominations has increased
-rapidly. According to the Census of 1910 their
-number within the United States was 7395 in that year. The
-success of woman in the pulpit is no longer a question but an
-affirmation. This is what Rev. Phebe A. Hanford said on
-the subject:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Other things being equal, why may not a woman preach
-and pray and perform pastoral duty as well as a man? Why
-should she not preside at the Lord’s table, consecrate in
-baptism the child whose parents would dedicate their choicest
-possessions to God, or the adult who would thus express his
-faith in Christ and his determination that “whatever others
-may do he will serve the Lord”? When two loving hearts
-desire to join hands and walk the earthly pathway side by
-side, why should not a woman minister pronounce the sacred
-formula and convey the sanction of the Law and the Gospel
-to their matrimonial purpose? And when the voice of consolation
-is sorely needed, and the solemn words are to be
-spoken which consign the silent dust to its last resting-place,
-why should not a womanly woman officiate as well as any
-tender-hearted and eloquent man? Surely woman is proverbially
-compassionate; and that she is often eloquent with voice
-and pen, and with poetic expression and the fervor of truth
-which can reach the heart, who can deny?”</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_186.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_187'>187</span>
-  <h3 class='c010'>WOMAN IN THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.</h3>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c011'>It is hard to realize in these days of professional equality
-between the sexes that only half a century ago a woman who
-desired to study medicine was considered such a phenomenon
-that her morality and the purity of her motives were questioned.
-And yet this desire is only natural, as the life of
-every woman has moments when she has to call for medical
-help. There are especially the transition to womanhood, all
-the experiences of motherhood, and the many ailments peculiar
-to women. To be compelled to consult in these cases a male
-physician, is for many bashful girls and women such a repellant
-thought, that they quite often postpone it from week to week,
-until too late.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>No doubt such were the reasons and experiences which
-caused <b>Agnodice</b>, an Athenian girl, born about 300 B. C., to
-disguise her sex in order that she might study medicine. Like
-Dr. Mary Walker in the 19th Century, she donned male attire
-and became a disciple of Herophilus, an eminent physician
-and anatomist of the Alexandrian School. Her specialty was
-midwifery and women’s diseases, and when she started to
-practice herself, she met with such great success that her male
-colleagues became jealous and tried to prevent her from practicing
-by accusing her of corruption before the Areopagus.
-But the result of the proceedings was quite contrary to their
-expectations, as a law was immediately passed allowing all
-freeborn women to learn midwifery.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Since then female physicians practiced in Hellas as well
-as in Alexandria and in Rome. And when in the 9th Century
-after Christ the famous Schola Salernitana was established at
-Salerno, a department for women’s diseases was included,
-with a number of female professors as teachers. The names of
-several of these professors are still known; the most noted was
-the celebrated <b>Tortula</b>, who lived in the 11th Century. <b>Abella</b>,
-<b>Constanza</b>, <b>Calendas</b>, and <b>Hildegarde</b> too have been praised
-for their great ability.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>This eminent position held by women in the medical
-profession declined slowly after the 12th Century, and practically
-disappeared after the 16th Century. The cause for this
-relapse was undoubtedly the increasing hostility of the
-Christian Church toward any occupation of women with
-sciences. This prejudice remained alive up to modern times.
-It was dominant in 1845 when a young American woman,
-<b>Elizabeth Blackwell</b>, decided to study medicine. The same
-motives as had moved the Athenian Agnodice and the loss
-of a dear woman friend caused the young American to write
-to various physicians asking as to the wisdom and possibility
-of a woman becoming a doctor. The answers she received
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_188'>188</span>were unanimously to the effect that while the idea was a
-valuable one it was impossible of accomplishment for many
-reasons. This verdict only served to intensify her determination
-to accomplish her purpose. After two years of private
-study she went to Philadelphia, which in those days, 1847,
-was considered the seat of medical learning in this country,
-and made application to the four medical colleges for admission
-as a regular student. But such a revolutionary idea was
-not to be entertained, and all the doors remained closed to
-her. One kindly Quaker adviser said to her: “Elizabeth, it
-is of no use trying. Thee cannot gain admission to these
-schools. Thee must go to Paris and don masculine attire to
-gain the necessary knowledge.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>It had now become a moral crusade with Miss Blackwell,
-and the justice and common sense of her undertaking seemed
-so supreme that she determined to push the warfare to the
-farthest limit. After similarly unsuccessful attempts in New
-York, she obtained a complete list of all the smaller institutions
-of the Northern States, examined their prospectuses, and sent
-applications for admission to twelve of the most promising.
-After long delay an answer came from the medical department
-of the small university at Geneva, in the western part of New
-York State. It seems that the faculty had submitted Miss
-Blackwell’s letter to the medical class, who adopted the
-following resolutions:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Resolved—That one of the radical principles of a
-republican government is the universal education of both
-sexes; that to every branch of scientific education the door
-should be open equally to all; that the application of Elizabeth
-Blackwell to become a member of our class meets our entire
-approbation; and in extending our unanimous invitation we
-pledge ourselves that no conduct of ours shall cause her to
-regret her attendance at this institution.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Their gallantry won the day, the faculty cordially opened
-the doors of the institution, and she began her studies there
-at once.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Being the first female student in the small place her
-appearance of course gave rise to many comments. Many
-people looked at this new woman in wonder; some even
-inclined to regard her as a lunatic, or a disorderly person.
-But her behavior and seriousness compelled respect, and when
-in 1849 she received her degree, the public press very generally
-commented upon the event in favorable terms and even
-in Europe some notice of it was taken. She found fewer
-obstacles in her path in her studies abroad, especially in Paris.
-After her return to America she began practice in New York
-City, and here again she had to do pioneer work. The medical
-fraternity stood aloof, refusing to consult with her, and society
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_189'>189</span>in general somewhat distrusted the innovation. But in time
-her work received just recognition and the status of women
-in the profession became fully established. In 1868 Dr.
-Blackwell founded the “Woman’s Medical College of New
-York.” The later years of her life were spent in England,
-where she also did much in moulding public opinion along
-the lines of philanthropy, especially in opening hospitals and
-dispensaries for women and children.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>A few years after Miss Blackwell had received her diploma,
-another remarkable woman, <b>Florence Nightingale</b>, aroused
-world-wide admiration by her noble service during the Crimean
-war of 1853–56. Intensely devoted to the alleviation of suffering,
-she had since 1849 paid great attention to the sanitary
-conditions of civilian as well as military hospitals, which in
-many cases she found rather poor. In 1851 she went into
-training as a nurse, and when in 1853 war was declared with
-Russia, and the hospitals on the Bosphorus were soon crowded
-with the sick and wounded, she offered the English Government
-to go out and organize a nursing department at Scutari.
-Starting with a unit of thirty-seven nurses, she arrived at Constantinople
-when the mortality in the hospitals had become
-appalling. Seeing clearly the cause for this frightful state in
-the bad sanitary arrangements of the hospitals, Miss Nightingale
-devoted incessant labor to the removal of these causes,
-as well as to the mitigation of their effects, with such success,
-that in the English army the death-rate fell from 22¼% to
-only 2¼%.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>After her return to England, in 1856, the Government
-as well as Queen Victoria and the public were not slow to
-acknowledge her splendid services. While the Queen presented
-her with a cross set with diamonds, the people subscribed a
-fund of several hundred thousand dollars for the purpose of
-enabling her to found an institution for the training of a
-superior order of nurses in connection with the St. Thomas’s
-and King’s College Hospitals. Miss Nightingale also enriched
-the medical literature by two valuable books, “Notes on
-Nursing” and “Notes on Hospitals,” in which she gave the
-results of her lifelong observations.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The example of Miss Nightingale had much to do with
-calling forth the exertions of American women during the Civil
-War. As soon as there were wounded soldiers to heal, and
-military hospitals to serve, the patriotic and benevolent women
-of America remembered the great work of Florence Nightingale,
-and hastened to the front. As A. W. Calhoun states in his
-“Social History of the American Family,” by 1864 there were
-busy in the North 250 women physicians. Women planned
-and organized also the “U. S. Sanitary Commission,” for the
-alleviation of the sufferings of the battlefield. Its pre-eminent
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_190'>190</span>utility was universally recognized. It caused likewise several
-great charity fairs, the last two of which were held in New
-York and Philadelphia and yielded $1,000,000 and $1,200,000
-respectively.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among the female physicians, who did service during
-the Civil War, the most noteworthy was <b>Dr. Mary E. Walker</b>.
-Having studied medicine at the Medical College in Syracuse,
-N. Y., she was the first woman commissioned to serve on
-the surgical staff of any army in time of war. On assuming
-her duties as surgeon in the war, she found hospital efficiency
-and hoopskirts incompatible; so she sacrificed the skirt and
-donned a man’s coat and trousers. In recognition of her able
-services Congress not only awarded her a Medal of Honor,
-but also allowed her—the only instance in history—by a
-special act to continue to wear male attire. Dr. Walker
-declared many times that her sole reason for advocating dress
-reform for women were hygienic ones. A real pioneer in
-her profession, she also maintained for many years a farm
-for sufferers from tuberculosis and carried on a school for
-prevention of that disease modelled after a plan of her own.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among the women, whose names appear in the history
-of the Civil War, one of the most brilliant was <b>Miss Clara
-Barton</b>. Devoting herself to the care of the wounded soldiers,
-she won for herself as superintendent of the hospitals in the
-army of the James the surname “the Florence Nightingale of
-America.” During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71 she
-joined the German branch of the Red Cross Society, that
-noble institution, which in 1859 had been founded by Henry
-Durant, a citizen of Geneva, Switzerland.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Inspired by the example of Miss Nightingale, and horrified
-by the ghastly scenes of the Italian battlefields, he resolved
-to work for the proper treatment and nursing of wounded
-soldiers, while still on the ground. At his strong appeal the
-Swiss Federal Council invited all European nations to a convention
-in order to discuss proper steps to be taken in this
-direction. Attended by delegates from Baden, Belgium, Denmark,
-France, the Netherlands, Prussia, Switzerland and
-Wurtemberg, the convention met on August 22, 1864, in
-Geneva, and decided, that henceforth not only all places where
-wounded soldiers are treated, but also all persons, engaged
-in this samaritan service, should be regarded as neutrals and
-distinguished by white flags or white bands showing a red
-cross. Such places must not be attacked, but protected by
-the soldiers of all combating armies.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the further history and evolution of this international
-<b>Society of the Red Cross</b> women have played a most prominent
-part. Miss Barton established during the Franco-Prussian
-War several military hospitals and, by conducting them,
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_191'>191</span>distinguished herself so that she was decorated with the Iron
-Cross. After her return to the United States she organized
-in 1882 the “American Red Cross Society,” of which she
-became the first president. The work of Miss Barton and the
-Red Cross in the Spanish-American War and the great help
-given to the sufferers after the great tidal wave in Galveston,
-Texas, caused the United States Senate and the Texas Legislature
-to adopt resolutions of thanks.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>All these great efforts of women could not fail to create
-a most favorable impression toward woman’s activity in
-medicine. In England an act of 1868 for the first time opened
-the study of pharmacy to women; and after a long struggle
-they obtained their footing as physicians. In 1874 a special
-medical school was opened for women in London. In 1876
-an act authorized every recognized medical body to open
-its doors to women. In 1878 a supplemental charter enabled
-the University of London to grant degrees to women in all
-its faculties, including medicine. As a result up to the close
-of 1895 264 women had been placed on the British register
-as duly qualified medical practitioners.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the United States similar progress was made.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>According to the census of 1910, there were 7399
-women physicians and surgeons in the United States.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Whereas fifty years ago there was great objection to
-admitting women to the medical societies, now the men of
-the profession welcome women physicians to the societies and
-to their discussions, and are more than willing to consult with
-them. The advantage of employing women physicians has
-been recognized likewise by many hospitals, sanitariums and
-insane asylums; the courts too recognize the justice of women’s
-preferring women in the physical examination required by law.
-There can be no doubt, that the 20th Century opens to
-women physicians undreamed-of possibilities in science and
-in the art of healing.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_191.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_192'>192</span>
-  <h3 class='c010'>WOMAN IN THE PROFESSION OF THE LAW.</h3>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c011'>When in the year of our Lord 1869 American papers
-reported that in Iowa a woman had been admitted to the
-bar, most readers were inclined to regard this “bit of news”
-as one of the many jokes, sprung occasionally upon credulous
-people in order to warn them what the “new woman” might
-be able to do. But in this case the “joke” turned out to be
-a fact. And if people had been somewhat better acquainted
-with their Bibles, they would have known that the woman
-lawyer of Iowa was only another confirmation of Rabbi Ben
-Akiba’s famous saying: “There is nothing new under the sun!”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Open your Bible and read in Chapter 4 of the Judges IV
-about <b>Deborah</b>, the Joan of Arc of the Hebrews. Of this
-most extraordinary woman recorded in Jewish history it is
-stated that she was a prophetess as well as a judge, “to whom
-the children of Israel came for judgment.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The Greeks and Romans too had female lawyers. From
-writers of the classic past we know that <b>Aspasia</b> pleaded causes
-in the Athenian forum, and <b>Amenia Sentia</b> and <b>Hortensia</b> in
-the Roman forum. And Valerius Maximus (Hist. lib. VIII,
-Chapter 3) states that the right of Roman women to follow
-the profession of advocate was taken away in consequence of
-the obnoxious conduct of <b>Caliphurnia</b>, who, from “excess of
-boldness” and “by reason of making the tribunals resound
-with howlings uncommon in the forum,” was forbidden to
-plead. The law, made to meet the especial case of Caliphurnia,
-ultimately “under the influence of the anti-feministic tendencies”
-of the period, was converted into a general one. In its
-wording the law sets forth that the original reason for woman’s
-exclusion “rested solely on the doings of said person.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The “howlings of Caliphurnia” furnished the legislators
-of all later periods with a welcome pretext to exclude women
-from practice of the law, and it was not till 1869 that a
-woman again obtained admission to the bar. This pioneer
-was <b>Miss Arabella A. Mansfield</b> of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, who
-was admitted to the Iowa bar in 1869, under the statute providing
-only for admission of “white male citizens.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The next female lawyer was <b>Mrs. Belva Ann Lockwood</b>,
-a graduate of the Law School of the National University at
-Washington, D. C. Having been admitted in 1873 to practice
-before the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, she
-applied in October, 1876, for admission as practitioner of
-the Supreme Court of the United States, but was rejected
-under the following decision: “By the uniform practice of
-the Court from its organization to the present time, and by
-the fair construction of its rules, none but men are admitted
-to practice before it as attorneys and counselors. This is in
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_193'>193</span>accordance with immemorial usage in England, and the law
-and practice in all the States, until within a recent period;
-and the Court does not feel called upon to make a change
-until such a change is required by statute or a more extended
-practice in the highest courts of the States.”</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<img src='images/i_193.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>BELVA A. LOCKWOOD.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>But if the members of the Supreme Court had entertained
-the hope of scaring away women once and for all,
-they soon enough found that they were mistaken. Mrs. Lockwood
-drafted a bill and secured its passage in Congress,
-providing “that any woman who shall have been a member
-of the bar of the highest court of any State or Territory, or
-of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, for the
-space of three years, and shall have maintained a good
-standing before such court, and who shall be a person of
-good moral character, shall, on motion, and the production
-of such record, be admitted to practice before the Supreme
-Court of the United States.” This bill was approved on February
-15th, 1879. Since then Mrs. Lockwood as well as a
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_194'>194</span>number of other female lawyers have been admitted under
-this law to practice before the highest court of the United
-States.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>A “Woman’s International Bar Association” was organized
-in 1888, for the purpose of establishing law schools for women
-and of promoting the interests of female lawyers as well as
-of securing better legal conditions for women.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>According to the Census of 1910 there were 1010 woman
-lawyers in the United States.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Having taken up the law,” so said Miss Edith J. Griswold,
-herself a counsellor-at-law, “woman will not rest until
-she stands on a level with man, and the end of the Twentieth
-Century will probably find an equilibrium in the United States
-Government that can only be obtained (as in the home government)
-by the equal balancing of the different propensities
-of male and female mind in the making and enforcing of
-laws. The prophecy that the time is coming when woman
-will govern seems ludicrous, and yet it is no more ludicrous
-than the present lopsided arrangement whereby man has the
-exclusive power of government. With the rapid advance of
-woman conditions are being manifested that require woman’s
-judgment, and to obtain true justice in matters relating to
-both sexes an equal number of men and women should compose
-both the court and the jury. By the end of the Twentieth
-Century, I believe, a woman’s judgment will carry as much
-weight as a man’s, and the opinions handed down from our
-higher courts will have to be concurred in by an equal number
-of male and female judges.”</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_194.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_195'>195</span>
-  <h3 class='c010'>WOMEN AS INVENTORS.</h3>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c011'>Sometimes, when the merits of the woman movement
-were discussed, its opponents made it their trump that the
-female sex is without any inventive spirit and that this want
-should be regarded as a convincing evidence for the inferiority
-of woman s mind. That this assertion was never true at all,
-but made in absolute ignorance of the real facts, becomes
-evident, when we recall, that primeval and aboriginal women
-have been the inventors of our most important industries, of
-agriculture, weaving, basketry, pottery, tannery, brewing, and
-many other peaceful arts. And there is not the slightest doubt,
-that during the times of Antiquity and the Middle Ages women
-have been the greatest factor in the evolution of these industries,
-in which they remained constantly busy.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among the few instances of which records have been
-preserved, is that of <b>Barbara Uttmann</b>, a German woman of
-Annaberg, Saxony, who in 1561 invented the Cluny-lace.
-Herewith she opened, for the extremely poor people of the
-Erzgebirge, at the most critical time, a new and well paying
-industry, in which in 1800 about 35,000 girls and women
-were busy.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Another important invention was made in 1792 in America
-by the widow of General Nathaniel Green. It was the
-so-called cotton gin by which the difficult work to separate
-the seed from the lint was greatly simplified. To pick the
-seed from one pound of cotton had been formerly considered
-a good day’s work. With the aid of the cotton gin, which
-consists of a series of saws revolving between the interstices
-of an iron bed upon which the cotton is placed so as to be
-drawn through whilst the seeds are left behind, several
-hundred pounds of cotton can be cleaned in the same time.
-This invention stimulated enormously the cultivation of cotton
-and the manufacture of cotton goods in America. In the
-South, where so far cotton had been produced only in small
-quantities, it now became the main product. While in 1792
-the quantity exported from the United States was 138,324
-pounds, it increased by the year 1800 to nearly 18,000,000
-pounds. In the North it led to the establishment of cotton
-mills and factories on a large scale.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As only few countries have taken the trouble to prepare
-statistics about inventions made by women it is impossible to
-give reliable facts about what women have contributed to
-human culture in this line.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Their most intensive activity has been observed in the
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_196'>196</span>United States, especially since with the founding of woman’s
-colleges and the opening of the universities, the education of
-the female sex became a more careful and broader one.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The U. S. Patent Office at Washington, D. C., has published
-“Lists of Women Inventors,” in three volumes, covering
-the period from 1790 to March 1, 1895. From these lists
-it appears that till 1849 only 32 inventions by women have
-been registered at the Patent Office. This number increased
-to 290 during the period from 1850 to 1870; during 1870–1890
-to 2568, and up to 1910 to 7942. These numbers
-prove that with the increase of woman’s knowledge and with
-the closer contact with modern industrial life her inventive
-spirit has likewise developed. Also the inventions became
-more manifold. While prior to 1850 they were almost
-exclusively confined to dress and household, they now cover
-all fields of human activity.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>This fact became most evident during the terrible years
-of the World War. Some time ago the “Women Lawyer
-Journal” reported that of all the many inventions registered
-since 1914, fifty per cent. have been entered by women.
-Among these inventions have been such for the better protection
-of soldiers and aeronauts as well as for the greater
-comfort of the wounded and crippled. Other inventions meant
-improvement in wireless telegraphy, gas masks, submarine
-boats and hundreds of other objects.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_196.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_197'>197</span>
-  <h3 class='c010'>EMINENT FEMALE SCIENTISTS.</h3>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c011'>Just as hostile as had been the clergy to the admission of
-women to ecclesiastical office, so unwilling were many prejudiced
-scholars to admit women into the sacred realms of
-science. By hundreds of arguments they tried to prove the
-inability of women to do any deeply scientific work. They
-explained that the hard study would impair their health, their
-chances of marriage, and their true destination as mothers.
-Higher education would make women unfit for domestic life,
-and, besides, they would hardly produce anything of real
-scientific value.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>If these learned gentlemen would have taken the trouble
-to make themselves somewhat more acquainted with the
-history of science they would have found the names of
-numerous women on record, who, at their time, were among
-the leaders in the most abstruse sciences. Several centuries
-before Christ Hellas as well as Rome had a number of brilliant
-female philosophers, among them <b>Damo</b>, the daughter of
-Pythagoras, who lived about 580–500 B. C. She was one of
-his favorite disciples, and to her the great savant entrusted
-all his writings, enjoining her not to make public all the
-secrets of his philosophy. This command she strictly obeyed,
-though tempted by large offers while she was struggling with
-poverty.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Socrates, the great philosopher, declares that he learned
-of a woman, <b>Diotima</b>, the “divine philosophy,” how to find
-from corporeal beauty the beauty of the soul, the angelical
-mind. Diotima lived in Greece, about 468 B. C.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Arete</b> is known as the daughter of Aristippus of Cyrene,
-the founder of the Cyrenaic system of philosophy, who
-flourished about 380 B. C. She was carefully instructed by
-her father, and after his death taught his system with great
-success. <b>Leontium</b>, living about 350 B. C., was a disciple of
-Epicure, and wrote in defense of his philosophy. <b>Tymicha</b>,
-a Lacedaemonian, was the most celebrated female philosopher
-of the Pythagorean school. When she, in 330 B. C., was
-brought before Dionysius, the tyrant of Syracuse, as a prisoner,
-he made her very advantageous offers, if she would reveal
-the mysteries of Pythagorean science; but she rejected them
-all with scorn and contempt. And when he threatened her
-with torture, she instantly bit off her tongue, and spat it in
-the tyrant’s face, to show him that no pain could make her
-violate the pledge of secrecy.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of <b>Hipparchia</b>, a lady of Thrace, who lived about 328
-B. C., it is known that her attachment to learning was so great,
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_198'>198</span>that having attended several lectures of Crates, the cynic, she
-resolved to marry him though he was old, ugly, and deformed.
-She accompanied him everywhere to public entertainments
-and other places, which was not customary with Greecian
-women. She also wrote several philosophical theses, and
-reasonings and questions proposed to Theodorus, the atheist;
-but none of her writings are extant.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Ancient Rome too had a number of female philosophers,
-among them <b>Cornelia</b>, “the mother of the Gracchi.” She
-frequently gave public lectures and was more fortunate with
-her disciples than with her sons. It was Cicero, who said of
-her that, had she not been a woman, she would have deserved
-the first place among philosophers. In what esteem she was
-held is shown by the fact that a statue was erected to her
-with the inscription, “Cornelia, Mater Gracchorum.” She died
-about 230 B. C.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The most renowned female philosopher of the classic
-times was <b>Hypatia</b>, the lovely daughter of Theon, the head
-of the famous Alexandrian School in Alexandria, Egypt.
-Born in 370 A. D., Hypatia was taught by her father and
-acquired such extensive knowledge and learning, that the
-Bycantine Church historian Socrates, as well as Nicephorus
-placed her far above all the philosophers of her time. Several
-other learned contemporaries praise her in similar terms.
-Sinesius, bishop of Ptolemais, never mentions her without the
-profoundest respect, and in terms of affection little short of
-adoration. In a letter to his brother Euoptius he writes: “Salute
-the most honored and the most beloved of God, the Philosopher
-Hypatia, and that happy society, which enjoys the
-blessing of her divine voice.” And in a long epistle he sends
-her with the manuscript of a book, he asks her opinion and
-states his resolution not to publish the book without her
-approbation.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Hypatia succeeded her father in the government of the
-Alexandrian School, teaching from the chair where Ammonius,
-Hieracles, and other celebrated philosophers had taught; and
-this at a time, when men of immense learning abounded in
-Alexandria and in other parts of the Roman empire. In fact
-her renown was so universally acknowledged, that she had
-always a crowded auditorium. What a subject for an able
-artist, to present this beautiful woman in her chair, with the
-flower of all the youth of Africa, Asia and Europe sitting at
-her feet, eagerly imbibing knowledge from this oracle of
-wisdom.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Socrates states that she was consulted by the magistrates
-of Alexandria in all important cases. This frequently brought
-her among the greatest assemblages of men without causing
-the least censure of her manners. “Considering the confidence
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_199'>199</span>and authority which she had acquired by her learning,” says
-Socrates, “she sometimes came to the judges with singular
-modesty. Nor was she anything abashed to appear thus
-among a crowd of men; for all persons, by reason of her
-extraordinary discretion, did at the same time both reverence
-and admire her.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Unfortunately this wonderful woman was to become a
-martyr of science. The population of Alexandria was split
-into three hostile groups—the Pagans, the Jews, and the
-Christians. The latter, under the leadership of the patriarch
-Cyril, assailed in violent zeal Jews as well as pagans, and
-heretics or supposed heretics alike, driving them by thousands
-from the city, destroying their synagogues and temples, and
-pillaging their houses. It was during one of these riots, that
-the illustrious Hypatia was attacked by a mob of vicious
-monks, torn from her carriage, dragged into a church, stripped
-naked and clubbed to death. Then the murderers in fanatic
-frenzy tore the body to pieces, carried the limbs to a public
-square and burnt them to ashes. This happened in Lent 415.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>All the writings of Hypatia, among them her treatise “On
-the Astronomical Canon of Diophantus” and another “On the
-Conics of Apollonius” are lost. Most probably they too were
-destroyed by the fanatic Christian mobs, who, after the murder
-of Hypatia, extinguished the Greek School of philosophers
-and scientists at Alexandria.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Astronomy, probably the most ancient of the sciences,
-has since early days exerted a singular attraction on women.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Herman Davis, in his essay “Women Astronomers,”
-published in the reports of Columbia University, New York,
-gives the names of a large number of women astronomers,
-beginning with several of classic times. Of the Egyptians he
-mentions <b>Aganice</b>, <b>Athyrta</b>, <b>Berenice</b>, <b>Hipparchia</b> and <b>Occelo</b>,
-who were connected with the Alexandrian School. Of the
-Greeks he names <b>Aristocle</b> and <b>Athenais</b>, and of Thessaly
-<b>Aglaonice</b>. But nothing definite is known about their achievement.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Davis likewise gives an account of <b>Hildegarde</b>, abbess
-of the monastery on Mount St. Rupert near Bingen on the
-Rhine. This learned woman, who lived from 1099 to 1180,
-wrote a book in Latin, in which some marvelous statements
-are claimed to have been made: 1. that the Sun is in the
-midst of the firmament retaining by its force the stars which
-move around it; 2. that when it is cold in the Northern
-hemisphere it is warm in the Southern, that the celestial
-temperature may thus be in equilibrium; 3. that the stars not
-only shine with unequal brilliancy but are themselves really
-unequal in magnitude; 4. that as blood moves in the veins and
-makes them pulsate, so do the stars move and send forth
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_200'>200</span>pulsations of light. “If even one-half of these marvelous statements
-are found in Hildegarde’s writings as early as the 12th
-Century,” says Davis, “then this woman may well be classed
-with the great forerunners of modern astronomy, with Copernicus,
-Galileo and Newton, for she was three centuries earlier
-than the first of them.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The first female astronomer of whom we have more
-intimate information, was <b>Marie Cunitz</b>, born in 1610 as the
-eldest daughter of a physician in Silesia. Commanding an
-extraordinary general culture, her principal study was mathematics
-and astronomy. Her tables, published under the title
-“<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Urania Propitia, sive Tabulæ Astronomicæ</span>,” gained for her
-a great reputation, and the by-name “the Silesian Pallas.”
-Dedicated to the Emperor Ferdinand III. the book was published
-in Latin and in German in 1650 and 1651.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Another noted astronomer was <b>Caroline Lucretia Herschel</b>,
-born in 1750 at Hanover, Germany. In 1772 she accompanied
-her brother William to England, and when he accepted the
-office of astronomer-royal, she became his constant assistant
-in his observations. In this capacity she succeeded in discovering
-independently eight comets, five of which had not
-been observed before. Also she discovered many of the
-small stellar nebulæ which were included in her brother’s
-catalogue. For her many contributions to astronomy in 1835
-she was presented by the Astronomical Society with their
-gold medal, and was also elected an honorary member.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>When the memoirs of Miss Herschel were published, the
-editor, in describing her character, said: “Great men and
-great causes have always some helper of whom the outside
-world knows but little. These helpers and sustainers have
-the same quality in common—absolute devotion and unwavering
-faith in the individual or the cause. Seeking nothing
-for themselves, thinking nothing of themselves, they have all
-the intense power of sympathy, a noble love of giving themselves
-for the service of others. Of this noble company of
-unknown helpers Caroline Herschel was one.”—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>This capacity of self-denial distinguished likewise a number
-of other women, whose names are known in the history
-of astronomy, as for instance <b>Theresa</b> and <b>Madeline Manfredi</b>,
-the daughters of Eustachio Manfredi, from 1674 to 1739
-director of the observatory of Bologna. Further, <b>Marie Margarethe
-Kirch</b>, who assisted her husband, the astronomer Kirch,
-in the upper Lausatia; Madame <b>Lepante</b>, the wife of the famous
-clock-maker Jean Andre Lepante; and nearer our own time,
-there is <b>Maria Mitchell</b>, born 1818 at Nantucket, Mass., who
-at an early age became the assistant of her father. Carrying
-on a series of independent observations, she was in 1865
-appointed professor of astronomy in Vassar College.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_201'>201</span><b>Emilie de Bréteuil</b>, <b>Antonie C. Asher</b>, <b>Elizabeth von Matt</b>,
-<b>Wilhelmine Witte</b> and <b>Agnes Mary Clerke</b> likewise distinguished
-themselves in astronomy. The last named lady published in
-1885 a “History of Astronomy” and in 1890 “The System of
-the Stars.” These writings, conspicuous for a careful sifting and
-due assimilation of facts, with a happy diction that is at the
-same time both popular and scientific, place the author in
-the foremost rank of writers on astronomy.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As an eminent mathematician, linguist and philosopher
-<b>Maria Gaetana Agnesi</b> is known to every student of science.
-Born 1718 at Milan, she gave early indication of extraordinary
-ability and devoted herself to the abstract sciences. In mathematics
-she attained such consummate skill, that, when her
-father, professor of mathematics at Bologna, died, the Pope
-allowed her to succeed him. In this capacity she wrote her
-famous work: “<span lang="it" xml:lang="it">Instituzions Analitiche ad Uso Gioventu
-Italiana</span>,” which was published at Milan in 1748. Its first
-volume treats of the analysis of finite quantities, and the
-second of the analysis of infinitesimals. The able mathematician
-John Colson, professor at the University of Cambridge,
-considered this work so excellent, that he studied Italian in
-order to translate it into English. Under the title “Analytical
-Institutions” this translation was published in 1801, to do
-honor to Maria Agnesi, and also to prove that women have
-minds capable of comprehending the most abstruse studies.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Another female mathematician, <b>Sophie Germain</b>, born
-in 1776 in Paris, won the grand prize, offered by the Institute
-of France for the best memoir giving the mathematical theory
-of elastic surfaces and comparing it with experience. This
-question had come up in 1808. Great mathematicians were
-not wanting in Paris at that time—Lagrange, Laplace, Poisson,
-Fourier, and others, but none of them were inclined to tackle
-the question. Lagrange, in fact, had said that it could not be
-solved by any of the then known mathematical methods.
-The offer was twice renewed by the Institute, and in 1816 the
-prize was conferred upon Sophie Germain, who in 1808 as
-well as in 1810 had made two unsuccessful attempts to solve
-the difficult question. The same woman distinguished herself
-by a number of other valuable papers and philosophical
-writings.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In more recent years <b>Sonja Kowalewska</b>, a Russian, who
-had studied mathematics at the universities of Berlin and
-Goettingen, became famous as the winner of the Prix Bordin,
-offered by the Academy of Paris. Later on, as a professor
-of mathematics in Stockholm, she wrote a number of excellent
-professional works, but died there in her fortieth year.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among the British scientific writers of the 19th Century
-the most famous was <b>Mary Somerville</b>, whom Laplace called
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_202'>202</span>the most learned woman of her age and the only woman
-who understood his works. In translating his brilliant work
-“Mécanique Celeste,” she greatly popularized its form. Its
-publication in 1831 under the title of “The Mechanism of
-the Heavens” at once made her famous. Her own works:
-“Connections of Physical Science,” “Physical Geography”
-and “Molecular and Microscopic Science” have been declared
-masterworks, distinguished by a clear and crisp style, and the
-underlying enthusiasm for the subject.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the history of chemistry the name of <b>Marie Curie</b> will
-be forever connected with the wonderful discovery of Radium
-and Radio-activity. Born on November 7, 1867, at Warsaw
-as Marja Sklodowska she came to Paris in 1888 and studied
-at the Faculté des Sciences. In 1895 she married Professor
-Pierre Curie and joined him in his chemical investigations.
-It was in 1898 that she published a most valuable work on
-metals in solution. Her investigations in collaboration with
-her husband led to the discovery of two new bodies: Polonium
-and Radium, which are found in certain minerals, especially
-in pitch blende in a state of extreme solution; as a matter of
-fact, to the extent only of a few decigrammes to the ton of
-mineral for Radium, and much less in the case of Polonium.
-The separation of these elements presented extreme difficulties.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Further investigations led to the observation of most
-interesting phenomena in connection with these bodies—chemical
-effects, luminous effects, effects of heating, etc. New
-realms of science were disclosed—the science of Radio-active
-phenomena. In recognition of these discoveries in 1903 the
-Nobel Prize was awarded to Professor Curie and his wife.
-And when Mrs. Curie, after the tragic death of her husband,
-accomplished the “isolation” of Radium and also determined
-its atomic weight, she was awarded the Nobel Prize for a
-second time in 1911. At present Mrs. Curie is Director of
-the Physico-Chemical Department of the University of Paris.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>For valuable research work in bacteriology <b>Dr. Rhoda
-Erdmann</b>, a former assistant of the famous professor Robert
-Koch in Berlin, became most favorably known. Having published
-several excellent treatises on the amoeba and protozoa,
-she followed in 1913 a call to the Sheffield-Institute of Yale
-University.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the wide fields of archæology and ethnology likewise
-several women have achieved remarkable results. Among
-those scientists who devoted themselves to the study of
-archæology and the ancient history of America the name of
-<b>Zelia Nuttall</b> is well known. She is the author of many interesting
-essays on the relics left by the Aztecs, Toltecs, and
-Mayas. Science is also indebted to her for the so-called
-“Codex Nuttall,” now preserved in the Peabody-Museum at
-Cambridge, Mass.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_203'>203</span>Another noteworthy ethnologist was <b>Erminnie Adele
-Smith</b>, who, as compiler of the famous Iroquois-English Dictionary,
-was distinguished by being elected the first woman
-member of the New York Academy of Science.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Alice Cunningham Fletcher</b> made most valuable investigations
-about the religious and social conditions of several
-Indian tribes of the Far West, especially of the Sioux, Omaha,
-and Pawnee Indians. Her very exhaustive studies have been
-published in the Annual Reports of the Bureau of American
-Ethnology.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The same reports contain highly interesting papers by
-<b>Matilda Cox Stevenson</b> and <b>Tilly E. Stevenson</b> about the mythology,
-esoteric societies and sociology of the Zuni Indians.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Miss Elsie Clews Parsons</b> in New York has published
-valuable monographs about the folk-lore of the Pueblo
-Indians and the Negroes of the Bahama Islands. <b>A. M. Czaplicka</b>,
-<b>Mary Kingsley</b>, <b>Barbara Freire-Marreco</b>, <b>Adele Breton</b>,
-<b>Mrs. Jochelson-Brodsky</b>, and <b>Maria Tubino</b> are likewise most
-favorably known as writers on archæology and ethnology.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>For a number of years <b>Johanna Mestorf</b> has held the
-position of director of the Museum of Antiquities of Schleswig-Holstein.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Cornelia Horsford</b>, the learned daughter of the late
-Professor Eben Horsford of Cambridge, Mass., made great
-efforts to settle many questions in regard to the early voyages
-of discovery by the Norsemen to Greenland and Vinland. In
-the pursuit of these studies she sent several scientific expeditions
-to Iceland as well as to Greenland and published a number
-of valuable essays, among them “Graves of the Northmen”;
-“Dwellings of the Saga Time in Iceland, Greenland and Vinland”;
-“Vinland and its Ruins”; and “Ruins of the Saga-Times.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Anne Pratt</b> is known as an able botanist. And <b>Eleanor
-Anne Ormerod</b> has been hailed in England as “the Protector
-of Agriculture,” as she organized the valuable “Annual Series
-of Reports on Injurious Insects and Pests,” distributed by the
-Government.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among the explorers of the Dark Continent a Dutch
-lady, <b>Miss Alexandrine Tinné</b>, created a sensation by her
-daring journeys in the upper Nile regions. During her first
-expedition, which lasted from 1861 to 1864, she penetrated
-great stretches of unknown territory, and was the first to enter
-the land of the Niam Niam. Several members of her expedition
-died from the terrible hardships that had to be overcome.
-After her return to Cairo Miss Tinné started in January, 1869,
-on a still more hazardous expedition, which was to proceed
-from Tripoli to Lake Tchad, and from there by way of Wadai,
-Darfur, and Kordofan to the Upper Nile. But while her
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_204'>204</span>caravan was on the route from Murzuk to Rhat, the daring
-explorer was murdered by her own escort.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>An English lady, <b>Florence Caroline Dixie</b>, explored the
-wilderness of Central Patagonia. <b>Isabelle Bishop</b> became
-known for her extensive travels through Asia, and the masterful
-descriptions of those countries she had traversed. Her
-best work is “Korea and Her Neighbors.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Therese, Princess of Bavaria</b>, wrote several highly interesting
-works about her extensive travels in Colombia, Ecuador,
-Bolivia, Chile, and the tropical regions of Brazil. <b>Cecilie
-Seler</b>, the wife of the famous archæologist Eduard Seler, is
-the author of the valuable book “On Ancient Roads in Mexico
-and Guatemala.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>While these examples—which might be increased by
-many others—give ample proof of woman’s ability in regard
-to scientific work, it must be stated, that, up to the middle of
-the 19th Century, men did very little to encourage their
-struggling sisters in this line of activity. Indeed, there are not
-a few instances of strong disinclination on the part of statesmen
-as well as of scientists, to smooth woman’s road to
-higher education. Centuries passed before women succeeded
-in gaining the right to follow their studies in colleges and
-universities, a right they had enjoyed in Italy during the 10th
-and 11th Centuries as well as during the Renaissance.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The first institution of modern times, that admitted
-women on the same footing with men, was Oberlin College
-in Ohio, founded in 1833 and open to all irrespective of sex
-and color. The first woman who graduated here was Miss
-Zerniah Porter, who in 1838 received her diploma in the
-so-called literary course. The State universities of the West
-that were founded later on all followed the example set by
-Oberlin College and gradually the older ones adopted the
-same policy, so that all over the West and South, where the
-State university is a strong influence, these institutions are open
-to women. Throughout these regions women’s education is
-for this reason almost synonymous with co-education. In the
-Eastern part of the United States, however, the private college
-predominates, and there is a greater degree of separation.
-But even here the restrictions are gradually being removed,
-and most of the men’s colleges and universities admit women
-to some departments with some restrictions, or have an affiliated
-woman’s college.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>America has also a number of independent colleges
-exclusively for women. The best known among them are
-Vassar College, at Poughkeepsie, New York, organized in
-1861, with 1124 students and 144 teachers in 1918; Wellesley
-College in Massachusetts, organized in 1875, and with 1612
-students and 138 teachers in 1918; Bryn Mawr in Pennsylvania
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_205'>205</span>organized in 1880, and with 489 students and 63
-teachers in 1918; Smith College at Northampton, Mass.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>France began to open its universities to women in 1858;
-England followed in 1864; Switzerland in 1866; Sweden in
-1870; Denmark, Holland, Finland and India in 1875; Italy
-and Belgium in 1876; Australia in 1878; Norway in 1884;
-Iceland in 1886; Hungary in 1895; Austria in 1897; Prussia
-in 1899, and Germany in 1900.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>To-day no one clings any longer to the old prejudices
-against the abilities of women. College education among
-women has become so common as to attract little or no attention.
-It is regarded as the essential training for intellectual,
-professional and business life, and it is no longer an effort
-to secure it, but rather to make it of the greatest possible
-value to the students and to the community. As women do a
-large proportion of the teaching in public schools as well as
-in colleges for both sexes, the education of the citizens of
-the 20th Century depends largely upon the opportunities
-available to women in the past, present and future.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As educators as well as founders of learned institutions
-large numbers of women became most favorably known.
-There was for instance <b>Jeanne Louise Henriette Campan</b>.
-When the tempests of the French Revolution began to rage,
-she held a position at the royal court as reader to the young
-princesses. Thrown on her own resources after the dethronement
-and execution of the King and the Queen she established
-a school at Saint-Germain. The institution prospered, and
-was patronized by Mme. Beauharnais, whose influence led
-to the appointment of Mme. Campan as superintendent of
-the Academy founded by Napoleon at Ecouen, for the education
-of the daughters and sisters of members of the Legion
-of Honor. While in this position Mme. Campan wrote a
-treatise “De l’Education des Femmes.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Emmy Hart Willard</b> in 1823 founded Troy Female
-Seminary at Troy, N. Y., over which she presided until 1838.
-<b>Mary Mason Lyon</b> established in 1836 Mount Holyoke Female
-Seminary, of which she was president until her death in 1849.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Elizabeth Palmer Peabody</b> in Boston was largely instrumental
-in introducing Froebel’s kindergarten system in the
-United States. She likewise wrote a number of educational
-works. In England <b>Emily Anne Shireff</b> was active as President
-of the Froebel Society of England. <b>Barbara Leigh Smith
-Bodichon</b>, who worked for the extension of university education
-to women, aided in 1868 in establishing Girton College,
-at Cambridge, England. <b>Anne Jemima Clough</b> founded in
-1867 the North of England Council for Promoting the Higher
-Education of Women, and in 1875 the Newnham College for
-Women.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_206'>206</span>The name of <b>Sophie Smith</b> is remembered as the founder
-of Smith College at Northampton, Mass., the first woman’s
-college in New England; the name of <b>Annie N. Meyer</b> as the
-founder of Barnard College, the woman’s department of Columbia
-University in New York.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Marie Montessori</b> was the inventor of a new system of
-teaching.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_206.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_207'>207</span>
-  <h3 class='c010'>NOTEWORTHY WOMEN IN WORLD LITERATURE.</h3>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c011'>Reviewing the countless contributions women have made
-to literature is a task that can be mastered only by devoting
-to this subject several ponderous volumes. Whether such an
-attempt has even been made we are unable to say. But the
-theme is so attractive that I hope that some competent woman
-author may be inspired to undertake this task. What more
-beautiful mission could she have than to study and analyze
-all the scattered evidences of brilliant intellect, rich in imagination,
-deep emotion, power of expression, soaring enthusiasm,
-scintillating wit, and profound sorrow, to be found in many
-of the books written by women since the days of <b>Sappho</b> and
-<b>Erinna</b>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Only fragments remain of the beautiful odes, hymns and
-love-songs produced by the poetesses of the classic past. But
-that they inspired all Hellas and Rome we know from the
-testimony of the foremost authors and critics of their time.
-When Meleager of Gadara, the famous sophist and poet,
-selected the choicest poems of his predecessors and wove
-them into that delicious “Garland,” to be hung outside the
-gate of the Gardens of the Hesperides, he did not forget
-Sappho, because “though her flowers were few, they were
-all roses.” And a critic, writing five hundred years after
-Erinna’s death, speaks of still hearing her swan-note clear
-above the jangling chatter of the jays, and of still thinking
-those three hundred hexameter verses sung by this girl of
-nineteen in “The Distaff” as lovely as the loveliest of Homer.
-There is also a report, that <b>Corinna</b>, a native of Tanagra, in
-Bœotia, won five times in poetical contests the prize in competition
-with Pindar, the greatest lyric poet of Greece.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>With greater kindness fate treated the works of <b>Alphaizuli</b>,
-a Moorish poetess, who lived in Seville during the 8th
-Century A. D. Of her, who was called “the Arabian Sappho,”
-two volumes of excellent verses are preserved in the library
-of the Escurial. Likewise <b>Labana</b> and <b>Leela</b>, two Moorish
-poetesses, were famous throughout beautiful Andalusia during
-the 10th and the 13th Century. Of <b>Valada</b>, the daughter of
-the Moorish King Almostakeph, of Corduba, her contemporaries
-report that she several times contended with scholars
-noted for their eloquence and knowledge, and quite often
-bore away the palm.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>That such contests were held in great favor by learned
-ladies, appears from the institution of those famous poetical
-festivals known as “Jeux Floraux” or Floral Games. They
-are said to have been established in the 11th or the 12th
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_208'>208</span>Century by a gay company of French minstrels, called “the
-seven troubadours.” But in time they had become forgotten.
-It is due to <b>Clemence Isaure</b>, a poetess born in 1464 at
-Toulouse, that these festivals were renewed. Fixing the first
-of May as the day of these Floral Games, she invited all poets
-and poetesses to participate in peaceful contest, assigning as
-prizes for the victors five different flowers, wrought in gold
-and silver. There was an amaranth of gold for the best ode;
-a silver violet for a poem of from sixty to one hundred
-Alexandrine lines; a silver eglantine for the best prose composition;
-a silver marigold for an elegy, and a silver lily for
-a hymn.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>These contests have been held in Toulouse through all
-the centuries. They were recognized by the French Government
-in 1694, and confirmed by letters-patent from the king.
-Some twenty-five years ago they were likewise introduced
-into Germany, and held first in Cologne.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The brilliant age of the Renaissance produced several
-women writers and poets, whose works are still read. The
-literary annals of Italy shine with such illustrious names as
-<b>Cassandra Fidelis</b>, the Venetian; <b>Veronica Gambara</b>, of
-Brescia; <b>Lucia Bertana</b>, of Bologna; <b>Tarquenia Molza</b>, of
-Modena; <b>Gaspara Stampa</b>, of Padua; and the great <b>Vittoria
-Colonna</b>, of Marino, whose sonnets as well as her beauty and
-virtues were extolled by all contemporaries.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In Spain <b>Marianne de Carbajal</b> and <b>Maria de Zayas</b>,
-during the 17th Century, the classic period of Spanish literature,
-became the pride of their country.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In France <b>Marguerite d’Angouleme</b> wrote a delightful
-book, “the Heptameron,” similar in plan to the famous
-“Decamerone” by Boccaccio. In the middle of the 16th
-Century <b>Louise Labbé</b>, known in French literature as “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">La belle
-cordière</span>,” produced her “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Debat de Folie et d’Amour</span>,” a work
-full of wit, originality and beauty. Erasmus and La Fontaine
-were both indebted to it; the former for the idea of “The
-Praise of Folly,” and the latter for “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">L’Amour et la Folie</span>.”
-In truth, La Fontaine’s poem is only a versification of the
-prose story of Louise Labbé.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of the illustrious French women, who during the 16th,
-17th and 18th Centuries made their “salons” the gathering-places
-for men and women of letters, several became widely
-known for their own poems and works of fiction. As for
-instance <b>Madeline de Scudéry</b>, <b>Anne de Seguier</b>, <b>Claudine de
-Tencin</b>, <b>Madame de la Sabliére</b>, <b>Madeline de Souvré</b>, and
-<b>Anne Dacier</b>, of whom Voltaire said, that no woman ever
-rendered greater services to literature.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_209'>209</span>
-<img src='images/i_209.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>A FLORAL GAME DURING THE 14TH CENTURY.<br /><br /><span class='right'>After a painting by F. Padilla.</span></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_210'>210</span>In the literature of the 19th Century <b>Anne Louise Germaine
-Necker, Baroness de Stael-Holstein</b>, held a singular
-position. Many of her contemporaries exalted her as “the
-founder of the romantic movement” who gave “ideas” to the
-world. To-day she is almost forgotten, and her novels and
-plays, among them “Corinne” and “Sophie and Jane Grey”
-lie undisturbed and dusty on the library shelves.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Perhaps her most remarkable contribution to literature
-was her book “L’Allemagne,” which was announced in 1810.
-It gave a most intelligent exposition of the science, literature,
-arts, philosophy, and other characteristics of the Germans,
-gathered from the author’s own observations. The work,
-written with a spirited independence, quite at variance with
-the deadening political influence of Napoleon, irritated the
-emperor to such a degree that he ordered the minister of police
-to seize and destroy the whole edition of 10,000 copies.
-Besides this he exiled the author from France. When, after
-the overthrow of Napoleon, she returned to Paris, she had
-her book printed again, and had the satisfaction of seeing it
-eagerly read by millions of Frenchmen.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of all French authoresses of the 19th Century <b>Armantine
-Lucile Aurore Dudevant</b>, or “<b>George Sand</b>,” holds the
-supreme rank. In the long line of her thoughtful, concentrated
-and meditative novels “Valentine,” “Indiana,” “Lelia,” “Mauprat,”
-and “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Le Meunier d’ Angibault</span>” are real gems of fiction,
-whose influence can be traced in many later works by writers
-of France and other nations.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of her contemporaries <b>Louise Révoil Colet</b>, <b>Eugenie de
-Guérin</b>, <b>Pauline de la Ferronay Craven</b>, and, above all, <b>Delphine
-de Girardin</b> must be mentioned, whose “Letters Parisiennes”
-as well as her poems, novels, dramas and comedies
-belong to the most excellent productions of the 19th Century.
-By her dramatic pieces “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">L’Ecole des Journalistes</span>,” “Judith,”
-“Cleopatra,” “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">C’est la faute du mari</span>,” “Lady Tartufe,” and
-others she reaped a wide popularity. In the literary society
-of her time she exercised no small personal influence. Balzac,
-Alfred de Musset, Gautier, and Victor Hugo were among the
-frequenters of her salon.</p>
-
-<hr class='c012' />
-
-<p class='c008'>Among the British woman writers of the latter part of
-the 18th Century <b>Jane Austen</b> was the most distinguished.
-Her novels “Sense and Sensibility,” “Pride and Prejudice,”
-“Emma,” “Northanger Abbey” and “Persuasion” have been
-likened to the carefully-executed paintings of the Dutch
-masters for their charming pictures of quiet, natural life.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Ann Ward Radcliffe</b> wrote three novels unsurpassed of
-their kind in English literature: “The Romance of the Forest,”
-“The Mysteries of Udolpho,” and “The Italian.” They are
-distinguished for originality, ingenuity of plot, fertility of incident,
-and skill in devising apparently supernatural occurrences
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_211'>211</span>capable of explanation by human agency and natural
-coincidence.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Mary Russell Mitford</b> edited several volumes of sketches
-of rural character and scenery, delightful and finished in style,
-and unrivalled in her manner of description. It is by these
-sketches of English life that she obtained the greatest share
-of her popularity. She wrote also an opera called “Sadak
-and Kalasrade,” and four tragedies, “Julian,” “Foscari,”
-“Rienzi,” and “Charles the First.” All were successful;
-“Rienzi,” in particular, long continued a favorite.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Elizabeth Inchbald’s</b> two novels “The Simple Story” and
-“Nature and Art,” have long ranked among standard works.
-Besides novels she wrote a number of dramas, some of which
-were very successful.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Maria Edgeworth</b> published a new work almost every
-year from the beginning of the 19th Century to 1825. The
-novels “Castle Rackrent,” “Belinda,” “Vivian.” “Harrington
-and Ormond,” and many others followed each other rapidly,
-and all were welcomed and approved by the public. Her best
-and last work of fiction, “Helen,” appeared in 1834.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Mary Shelley</b>, the wife of the famous poet Percy Shelley,
-is renowned as the author of the romances “Frankenstein,”
-“Valperga, or the Life and Adventures of Castruccio, Prince
-of Lucca”; “Falkner”; “Lodore,” and “The Fortunes of Perkin
-Warbeck.” A most peculiar work is “The Last Men,” a fiction
-of the final agonies of human society owing to the universal
-spread of pestilence.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among the dramatists of the 19th Century <b>Joanna Baillie</b>
-was the foremost. In her “Plays of Passion” she illustrates
-each of the deepest and strongest passions of the human mind,
-such as Hate, Love, Jealousy, Fear, by a tragedy and a
-comedy. Other dramas were “The Family Legend”; “Henriquez”;
-“The Separation,” and other plays, which show remarkable
-power of analysis, and observation. They are all written
-in vigorous style.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of the numerous novelists of the 19th Century <b>Charlotte
-Bronté</b> was received with universal delight. Her novels “Jane
-Eyre,” “Shirley” and “Villette” have all the vigor and individuality
-of poetic genius. She was “a star-like soul, whose
-genius followed no tradition and left no successors.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell</b> will be remembered for her
-intensely interesting books “Mary Barton,” “North and South,”
-the exquisitely humorous “Cranford,” and “Cousin Phyllis,”
-which has been fitly called an idyll in prose.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The prolific <b>Catherine Grace Gore</b> gives in the novels
-“The Banker’s Wife,” “Cecil, or the Adventures of a Coxcomb,”
-“Greville,” and “Ormington,” masterful pictures of
-the life and pursuits of the English upper classes.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_212'>212</span><b>Caroline Elizabeth Norton</b>, after having given in her novel
-“The Undying One” a version of the legend of the Wandering
-Jew, became in her book “A voice from the Factories” a
-most eloquent priestess of reforms. She condemned especially
-child labor, the darkest blot on the social conditions of England.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the middle of the 19th Century <b>Mary A. Evans</b> became
-famous under her nom de plume “<b>George Eliot</b>.” Having
-translated in 1844 David Strauss’ brilliant work “Das Leben
-Jesu,” and Spinoza’s “Ethics,” she published in 1858 her novel
-“Adam Bede,” which placed her at once in the front rank
-of modern authors. Her later novels “The Mill on the Floss,”
-“Silas Marner,” “Romola” and “Felix Holt” proved so many
-contributions to her fame.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In recent times the works of <b>Mary Edgeworth</b>, <b>Charlotte
-R. Lenox</b>, <b>Anne M. Fielding Hall</b>, <b>Mary Braddon</b>, <b>Elizabeth
-Sheppard</b>, <b>Louise de la Ramée</b> (Ouida), <b>Matilde Blind</b>, <b>Anna
-Seward</b> and <b>Charlotte M. Younge</b> have won much appreciation.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of the woman-authors born in Scotland, <b>Margaret Oliphant</b>
-wrote “Chronicles of Carlingford” and the charming novels
-“Merkland”; “The Quiet Heart”; “Zaidee,” all of which are
-exquisite delineations of Scottish life and character. Another
-Scottish woman-author deserving of mention is <b>Mary Ferrier</b>,
-whose novels “Marriage,” “The Inheritance,” and “Destiny”
-breathe much originality and humor.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of the Irish novelists <b>Julia Kavanagh</b> and <b>Margaret Hamilton
-Hungerford</b> must be mentioned, the former for her
-volumes “French Women of Letters”; and “English Women
-of Letters,” as well as for her novels “Adele”; “The Pearl
-Fountain”; “Sibyl’s Second Love”; and “Daisy Burns.” Marg.
-Hungerford’s novel “Molly Brown” has been much admired.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Mary Augusta Ward</b>, born in Tasmania, became favorably
-known through her principal novel “Robert Elsmere,” which
-delineates effectively the modern spiritual unrest and attempts
-to proclaim an ideal religion.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Another noteworthy author of Tasmania is <b>Louisa Anne
-Meredith</b>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>England has of course also a long roll of able poetesses,
-among them <b>Sarah Flower Adams</b>, who wrote the beautiful
-hymn “Nearer, My God, to Thee.” <b>Alison Cockburn</b>, <b>Anne
-Barnard</b> and <b>Caroline Oliphant</b> are the authors of many fine
-Scotch songs and ballads, among them the famous poems
-“Flowers of the Forest” and “Auld Robin Gray.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In recognition of the grace and delicacy of her lyrics
-<b>Elizabeth Barrett Browning</b> has been called “the most distinguished
-poet of her sex that England ever produced,” but
-at the same time “the most unreadable.” Her fame rests
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_213'>213</span>chiefly on her “Drama of Exile,” the “Casa Guidi Windows,”
-and “Aurora Leigh.” The latter is a social epic, which contains
-many noble passages that give evidence of great originality
-and power.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Sarah Coleridge</b> has been much admired for the gracefulness
-and the beautiful language of her poems “Phantasmion,
-a Fairy Tale”; “Sylvan Stay,” and “One Face Alone.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The poems of <b>Felicia Hemans</b> have been the result of a
-fine imagination and temperament, and of a life spent in
-romantic seclusion. Many of them, as for instance “Homes of
-England,” “The Treasures of the Deep,” “The Better Land,”
-and “The Wreck” rank among the best ever produced.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Adelaide Ann Proctor</b>, <b>Catherine Fowler Philips</b>, <b>Christina
-Rosetti</b>, <b>Mary Blackford Tighe</b>, and <b>Caroline Oliphant</b> have
-been the authoresses of many poems, still cherished for their
-beauty and nobility of thought.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The United Kingdom has also several woman historians,
-among them <b>Catharine Macaulay</b>, whose “History of England,”
-in six volumes, appeared in 1763.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The love and reverence she was taught from childhood
-to cherish for the queens of her country induced <b>Miss Agnes
-Strickland</b>, of Roydon Hall, Suffolk, to write her great work
-“The Lives of the Queens of England.” Its twelve volumes
-appeared at intervals from 1840 till 1848. In 1850 she began
-to publish a similar series about the “Lives of the Queens of
-Scotland,” completing it in eight volumes in 1859. Unresting
-in her industry, she wrote likewise “The Lives of the Last
-Four Stuart Princesses,” published in 1872.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Harriet Martineau</b> too deserves an honorable place among
-English women of letters. Her series of tales designed as
-“Illustrations of Political Economy” and “Illustrations of
-Taxation” brought her at once into great prominence. Later
-on she produced an amazing quantity of works, relating to
-the laws of man’s nature and development, mesmerism,
-travel, and other subjects.</p>
-
-<hr class='c012' />
-
-<p class='c008'>In American literature woman’s activity began with
-<b>Anne Bradstreet</b>, the daughter of Governor Bradstreet of
-Massachusetts. To him she dedicated the first volume of poetry
-published on the Western hemisphere. Printed in 1642, it
-had the somewhat verbose title: “Several Poems, compiled
-with great variety of wit and learning, full of delight; wherein
-especially is contained a complete discourse and description
-of the four elements, constitutions, ages of man, seasons of
-the year, together with an exact epitome of the three first
-monarchies, viz.: the Assyrian, Persian, Greecian, and Roman
-Commonwealth, from the beginning to the end of their last
-king, with divers other pleasant and serious poems. By a
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_214'>214</span>Gentlewoman of New England.” Three editions of this collection
-appeared.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of several poems, directed to her husband, we give the
-following lines:</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c014'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“If ever two were one, then surely we;</div>
-      <div class='line'>If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;</div>
-      <div class='line'>If ever wife were happy in a man,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Compare with me, ye women, if ye can!”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Hannah Adams</b>, born in 1755, was the first American
-woman who made literature her profession. Interested in
-religious controversy she compiled a “View of Religions,” in
-three parts. After that she wrote “Evidences of Christianity,”
-a “History of the Jews,” and a “History of New England.”
-As far as pecuniary matters went, she was, however, singularly
-unsuccessful, probably from her want of knowledge of business,
-and ignorance in worldly matters. At the time when she was
-engaged in compiling her books, so rare were woman-writers
-in America, that she was looked upon as one of the wonders
-of her age.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In 1790 appeared a novel, “Charlotte Temple,” a story
-of love, betrayal, and desertion, by <b>Mrs. Susanna Haswell
-Rowson</b>, a book of which more than a hundred editions are
-known.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>With the beginning of the 19th Century the number of
-American authoresses increased rapidly. <b>Catharine</b> and <b>Susan
-Sedgwick</b> wrote their “New England Tales,” which were
-received with such favor, that Catharine in 1824 published
-a novel in two volumes, entitled “Redwood,” a work which
-met with great success, was republished in England, and translated
-into French and Italian. It was followed by a large
-number of other novels, which were greatly appreciated for
-their purity of language and grace of style.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Somewhat later <b>Lydia Maria Child</b> developed as one of
-the first and foremost progressive writers. Having commenced
-her literary life with “Hobomok, a Story of the Pilgrims,”
-she later on devoted herself to the cause of woman and the
-abolition of slavery. She wrote a “History of Woman,” which
-was followed in 1833 by a strong “Appeal for that Class of
-Americans Called Africans,” the first anti-slavery work ever
-printed in book form in America. In 1841 she moved to New
-York and assisted her husband in editing “The National Anti-Slavery
-Standard.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As is very generally known, her contemporary, <b>Harriet
-Beecher Stowe</b>, too, was interested in the question of abolition.
-In 1850 she wrote for the “National Era,” an anti-slavery
-paper, a serial entitled “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” When this
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_215'>215</span>novel was republished in book form it met with tremendous
-success. In the United States between 300,000 and 400,000
-copies were sold within three years, and the printing press
-had to run day in and out to meet the demand. In Europe
-the book was devoured with the same deep interest. There
-are thirty-five different editions in English, and translations
-in at least twenty different languages. As the novel was also
-dramatized in various forms, it became a great factor in the
-abolishment of slavery.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of the later stories by Mrs. Stowe “The Minister’s
-Wooing,” a tale of New England life in the latter part of the
-18th Century, has been pronounced to be her best. But her
-reputation, while it lasts, will rest chiefly upon “Uncle Tom’s
-Cabin.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Sarah Margaret Fuller</b> too belongs to those authors who
-espoused the cause of woman’s rights. In “The Dial,” a little
-quarterly journal, the organ of the transcendentalists and of
-the famous community at Brook Farm, she first published
-“The Great Lawsuit.” It formed the nucleus of a larger
-volume entitled “Woman in the Nineteenth Century.” Far
-in advance of the ideas of her times, it is with its noble
-sentiments and valuable hints a spirited plea for the rights of
-the female sex.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Elizabeth Ellet</b> is favorably known for her valuable work
-“The Women of the American Revolution,” published in 1848
-in three volumes. It was followed in 1850 by the “Domestic
-History of the American Revolution,” designed to give an
-inside view into the spirit of that period, and to describe the
-social and domestic conditions of the colonists and their feelings
-during the war.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Ann Sophia Stephens</b>, and <b>Emma D. Southworth</b> were
-likewise immensely popular fiction writers during the first
-half of the 19th Century. So was <b>Maria S. Cummins</b>, who
-in “The Lamplighter” achieved a success comparable to that
-of Mrs. Stowe’s “Uncle Tom.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The many short stories and novels of <b>Mary Virginia
-Terhune</b>, who wrote under the pseudonym of Marion Harland;
-the romances of <b>Harriet Prescott Spofford</b>, <b>Miriam Coles
-Harris</b>, <b>Elizabeth Barstow Stoddard</b>, and <b>Adeline Whitney</b>,
-are now almost forgotten. Also the novels of <b>Lydia Sigourney</b>
-of Norwich, Connecticut, who holds the record of being one
-of the most prolific female writers in America. She produced
-not less than fifty-seven volumes, among them “Letters to
-Mothers”; “Water-Drops,” a contribution to the temperance-cause;
-“Pleasant Memories in Pleasant Lands”; “Pocahontas”;
-and “Traits of the Aborigines of America,” a descriptive poem
-in five cantos.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Elizabeth Stuart Phelps</b> enjoyed with her “Sunny Side”
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_216'>216</span>and other tales a phenomenal success. Her daughter, <b>Elizabeth
-Stuart Phelps Ward</b>, was in her time regarded as the greatest
-American woman novelist, who has most influenced the
-women of the United States. “The Silent Partner”; “Hedged
-In”; “Dr. Zay”; “The Story of Avis” as almost all other stories
-of the Phelps are laid in New England and exquisitely describe
-its nature, past, and present conditions.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Jane Goodwin Austin</b>, <b>Rose Terry Cooke</b>, <b>Annie Trumbull
-Slosson</b>, <b>Clara Louise Burnham</b>, <b>Alice Brown</b> and <b>Mary
-E. Wilkins Freeman</b> belong also to the woman-authors whose
-works deal with colonial and present-day life in the New
-England States.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of the woman-authors, who realized the possibilities of
-the romantic life and history of the early settlers and pioneers,
-<b>Mary Johnston</b> and <b>Mary Hartwell Catherwood</b> were the most
-successful. To the former we are indebted for the romances
-“Prisoners of Hope,” and “To Have and to Hold”; to the
-latter for the novels “The Lady of Fort St. John,” “The White
-Islander,” “Old Kaskaskia,” “Lazarre” and others.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Under the pen name of Charles Egbert Craddock <b>Mary
-Noailles Murfree</b> published a series of highly interesting short
-stories “In the Tennessee Mountains.” Displaying an intimate
-knowledge of the mountaineers of Eastern Tennessee, and
-full of life, these stories attracted at once wide attention.
-They were followed later on by a large number of other
-novels, of which “The Prophet of the Great Smoky Mountains,”
-“In the Clouds,” “The Frontiersmen” and “The Storm
-Centre” have secured to Miss Murfree a place of honor among
-present-day writers.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Alice French</b> under her well-known pen name Octave
-Thanet sketched in her short stories life in Iowa and Arkansas;
-<b>Ruth McEnery Stuart</b> wrote amusing stories of negro life in
-Louisiana.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Gertrude Franklin Atherton</b> achieved a wide reputation
-with her charming romances of early Californian life, among
-which “The Doomswoman” and “The Californians” are the
-most remarkable. Of her later novels “The Conqueror” and
-“A Whirl Asunder” need to be mentioned.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Mary Hallock Foote</b>, having likewise studied the conditions
-of the Far West, in her admirable stories “The Led-Horse
-Claim,” “Cœur d’Alene,” and “The Chosen Valley”
-carries the reader into the romance of Western mining camps
-and of the virgin wilderness.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Helen Hunt Jackson</b>, whose literary productions, over
-the signature “H. H.,” began to attract attention about 1870,
-offered a truly native flower to American literature in her
-poetic book “Ramona.” Intensely alive and involving the
-reader in its movement, it yet contains an idyl of singular
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_217'>217</span>loveliness. “Ramona,” says Helen J. Cone in an essay about
-American literature, “stands as the most finished, though not
-the most striking, example that what American women have
-done notably in literature they have done nobly.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The various works of <b>Constance Fenimore Woolson</b>,
-a grand-niece of Fenimore Cooper, also enjoyed general
-approval. In her best known novels: “East Angels,” “Jupiter
-Lights,” and “Horace Chase” she attained a high standard
-of excellence.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Frances Hodgson Burnett</b> created in her book “Through
-One Administration” a pathetic story of the intricate political
-life in Washington. Furthermore she gave in “Louisiana” and
-in “The Pretty Sister of José” charming pictures of Southern
-conditions.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Mrs. Burton N. Harrison</b> and <b>Edith Wharton</b> delighted
-their many readers with highly interesting novels and short
-stories of New York City Life, full of local color. Of the
-former author’s works “The Anglomaniacs,” “Golden Rod,”
-and “The Circle of a Century” show her great skill in the
-dialogue. Of the many novels and short stories of Miss
-Wharton “The House of Mirth,”, “The Greater Inclination,”
-“Sanctuary,” and “Crucial Instances” are perhaps the best.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among the American novelists of our present days
-<b>Margaret Deland</b> is without question one of the most popular.
-Her novels “John Ward,” “Sidney,” “Tommy Dove,” “Philip
-and His Wife,” “The Wisdom of Fools,” “Dr. Lavendar’s
-People,” and “The Awakening of Helen Richie” rank among
-the best in American fiction.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The literary work of <b>Anna Katherine Green</b>, <b>Kate Douglas
-Wiggins</b>, <b>Molly Elliot Seawell</b>, <b>Ellen Glasgow</b>, <b>Mary Shipman
-Andrews</b>, <b>Leona Dalrymple</b>, <b>Margaret Sherwood</b>, and many
-other woman authors, excellent as much as it is, can only be
-referred to summarily.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>To enrol the names of those American women who since
-the days of Anne Bradstreet have expressed their thoughts
-and emotions in poetry, would be a task far exceeding the
-limits of this volume. Confining ourselves to the most noteworthy,
-we mention first the sisters <b>Alice</b> and <b>Phœbe Cary</b>.
-Among their many splendid poems and novels “Hualco, a
-Romance of the Golden Age of Tezcuco,” is founded upon
-adventures of a young Mexican chief, as related by several
-Spanish historians of the time of the conquest. Of Alice
-Cary exist several hymns, one of which is almost a classic
-in the purity of its sentiment.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The poetic spirit of <b>Julia Ward Howe</b> found expression
-in “Passion Flowers” (1854) and “Lyrics” (1866). Her
-most memorable poem is the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,”
-which breathes fervent patriotism and gives expression to the
-deep moral purpose of the Civil War.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_218'>218</span>The poetry of <b>Helen Jackson</b> unquestionably takes rank
-above that of any American woman. Emerson rated it above
-that of almost all American men. Her works include simple
-poetry of domestic life as well as love-poems of extraordinary
-intensity and imaginative fullness, furthermore, verses showing
-most intimate sympathy with external nature; and lastly, a
-few poems of the highest dignity and melody in the nature
-of odes, such as “A Christmas Symphony” and “A Funeral
-March.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The numerous lyrics of <b>Elizabeth Oakes Smith</b>, <b>E. O.
-Kinney</b>, <b>Frances S. Osgood</b>, <b>Anne L. Botta</b>, <b>Sarah Helen
-Whitman</b>, <b>Maria Lowell</b>, <b>Harriet W. Sewall</b>, <b>Emily Judson</b>
-and many other women poets of the last half century show
-a development corresponding to that traceable in the field
-of American fiction.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In recent times a large number of gifted women have
-contributed to the general chorus new notes of unusual
-strength and beauty. Many names deserve a place upon the
-honor roll; among them <b>Margaret J. Preston</b>, <b>Elizabeth Allen</b>,
-<b>Julia Dorr</b>, <b>Mary E. Bradley</b>, <b>Nora Perry</b>, <b>Mary C. Hudson</b>,
-<b>Margaret Sangster</b>, <b>Charlotte Bates</b>, <b>May Riley Smith</b>, <b>Edna
-Dean Proctor</b>, <b>Elizabeth Stuart Phelps</b>, <b>Alice Wellington Rollins</b>,
-<b>Edith Thomas</b>, <b>Emma Lazarus</b>, <b>Kate Osgood</b>, and <b>Ella
-Wheeler Wilcox</b>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In other branches of literature, to which comparatively
-few women have chosen to devote themselves, as for instance
-in history, several American women have shown remarkable
-talent and thoroughness.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>First among these historians stands <b>Mrs. Mercy Otis
-Warren</b>, the same who with Mrs. Abigail Smith Adams, the
-wife of President John Adams, shared the belief that the
-Declaration of Independence should consider not the freedom
-of man alone, but that of woman also. Having warmly
-entered the contest between England and America, Mrs.
-Warren had corresponded with many of the leading men of
-the time; these often consulted her, and acknowledged the
-soundness of her judgment on many of the important events
-before and after the war. The most valuable of her writings
-appeared in 1805, under the title “The History of the Rise,
-Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution, interspersed
-with Biographical, Political, and Moral Observations.”
-The three volumes of this work, dedicated to George Washington,
-are valuable as a true record of the events and feelings
-of those great times.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>To <b>Martha Lamb</b> the citizens of the metropolis on the
-Hudson River are indebted for a comprehensive “History
-of New York City.” <b>Agnes Laut</b> penned a series of articles
-about the discovery of the farthest Northwest. <b>Ellen Mackay
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_219'>219</span>Hutchinson</b> compiled with Edmund Clarence Stedman “A
-Library of American Literature,” which in 1888 appeared in
-ten volumes; it shows excellent judgment, knowledge and
-care. <b>Ida Tarbell</b> produced among many other works a “Life
-of Abraham Lincoln” and an exceedingly interesting “History
-of the Standard Oil Company.” <b>Katherine Coman</b> published
-the “Industrial History of the United States.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“A Century of Dishonor” is the title of a sensational
-book, written by <b>Helen Hunt Jackson</b>, and published in 1881.
-During her extensive travels in the Far West the author became
-deeply interested in the much maltreated Indians. Disgusted
-by the shameless robberies and lawless acts committed by
-many Indian Agents on the reservations, Mrs. Jackson wrote
-her book, which is one of the strongest indictments ever
-directed against the Government. Through this volume she
-succeeded in doing much to ameliorate the unfortunate conditions
-of the Red Race.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Mrs. John A. Logan</b> compiled a valuable volume, entitled
-“The Part taken by Women in American History.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Woman’s status in the laws of the forty-eight states
-belonging to the United States of America has been treated
-by <b>Rose Falls Bres</b> in the valuable book “The Law and the
-Woman,” published in 1917 at New York.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The great movement for Women Suffrage found of
-course likewise its historians. Four of the most prominent
-leaders and best authorities: <b>Elizabeth Cady Stanton</b>, <b>Susan
-B. Anthony</b>, <b>Matilda Joslyn Gage</b>, and <b>Ida Husted Harper</b>
-combined for the difficult task of collecting, sifting, and putting
-together the immense mass of material. Their “History
-of Woman Suffrage,” published in five huge volumes, is not
-only a noble record, but at the same time a magnificent monument
-to women’s courage, indefatigability and perseverance.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>A considerable number of women have also contributed
-to the literature about suffrage, social culture, labor questions,
-and kindred subjects. <b>Anna G. Spencer</b> produced the book
-“Woman’s Share in Social Culture”; <b>Charlotte P. Gilman</b>
-devoted a volume to “Home” and a second volume to “Woman
-and Economics”; <b>Alice M. Earle</b> described “Childlife in
-Colonial Times”; <b>Ellen Key</b> gave a study of “Love and Marriage”;
-<b>Mary Eastman</b> published “Woman’s Work in America”;
-<b>Olive Schreiner</b> wrote “Woman and Labor,” and <b>Elisabeth
-Butler</b> “Woman in the Trades.” To <b>Jane Addams</b> the
-world is indebted for several well written works, among them:
-“Democracy and Social Ethics”; “The Spirit of Youth”; “An
-Ancient Evil and a New Conscience,” and “New Ideals of
-Peace.” She gave a record of her great settlement work in
-Chicago in her delightful book “Twenty Years at Hull House.”</p>
-
-<hr class='c012' />
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_220'>220</span>For many centuries the Germans have been known as
-great writers, poets and philosophers. Perhaps no other nation
-has contributed so much to the world’s literature. Before the
-unfortunate year of 1914 the annual output of Germany in
-works of science, art, philosophy, technics and fiction far
-surpassed that of any other country, even that of France,
-Great Britain and America combined.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In these contributions German women have a conspicuous
-share. Their great interest in this line of activity can be
-traced back to the early days of the Middle Ages, when nuns
-like <b>Hroswitha</b> glorified the deeds of great emperors, or, like
-the <b>Abbess of Hohenburg</b>, undertook the bold enterprise of
-compiling a cyclopædia of general knowledge.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Germany had also the first periodicals for women, the
-earliest dating back to 1644, much read and patronized by
-the members of the gentle sex. Its title “Frauenzimmer-Gesprächspiele”
-(“Playful discussion for ladies”) indicates
-that it was devoted exclusively to matters of the “eternal
-feminine.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>A similar periodical was “Die vernünftigen Tadlerinnen”
-(“The reasonable fault-finders”), edited by Johann Christoph
-Gottsched, professor of philosophy and poetry at the University
-at Leipzig. The most faithful of his assistants and
-collaborators was his wife, known in German literature as
-<b>Louise Adelgunde Gottschedin</b>. To the “Deutsche Schaubühne,”
-likewise published by her husband, she contributed
-several translations of French Dramas and five comedies of
-her own, which are still of interest as they illustrate the manners
-of the time, the middle of the 18th Century.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Meta Moller</b>, the wife of the famous poet Klopstock,
-<b>Friedericke C. Neuber</b>, and <b>Rahel Levin</b>, the wife of the
-historian Varnhagen von Ense, made similar use of their great
-literary abilities. The salon of Mrs. Varnhagen in Berlin from
-1814 to 1830 was the meeting place for the most celebrated
-intellects of Germany, among them Humboldt, Fichte, Schleiermacher,
-von Kleist, and Heinrich Heine.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The great poetess <b>Annette von Droste-Hülshoff</b> (1797–1848)
-wrote a most powerful novel, “<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Die Judenbuche</span>”,
-which is based on the belief that murderers are forced by a
-mysterious power to return to the scene of their crimes.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The prolific but now almost forgotten writers <b>Karoline
-Pichler</b>, <b>Henriette Paalzow</b>, <b>Otilie Wildermut</b>, Countess <b>Ida
-Hahn-Hahn</b>, <b>Fanny Lewald</b> and <b>Louise Mühlbach</b> were followed
-in the second part of the 19th Century by <b>Eugenie
-John</b>, better known under her nom de plume <b>Marlitt</b>. Her
-novels “<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Das Geheimniss der alten Mamsell</span>” (“Old Mamselle’s
-Secret”), “Heideprinzesschen” (“The Princess of the Moor”),
-“Gold Else” (“Gold Elsie”) and others met with tremendous
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_221'>221</span>success and have been in translations also enjoyed by many
-English and American readers.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>With like enthusiasm the women of Germany read the
-novels of <b>Wilhelmine Heimburg</b>, <b>Louise von Francois</b> (“<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Die
-letzte Reckenburgerin</span>”) and <b>Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach</b>.
-The latter is regarded as the greatest of all modern novelists
-of Germany, Paul Heyse not excepted. When the University
-in Vienna bestowed upon her the degree of Doctor phil.
-<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">honoris causa</span>, the enormous body of her readers heartily
-rejoiced. Her most famous novel is “<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Das Gemeindekind</span>”
-(“The child of the Parish”). She also published a volume
-of “Aphorisms.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Wilhelmine von Hillern’s</b> once much read novel “Die
-Geierwally” has been surpassed by far more valuable works
-of <b>Ilse Frapan</b>, <b>Ida Boy-Ed</b>, <b>Helene Pichler</b>, <b>Margarete von
-Bülow</b>, <b>Bianca Bobertag</b>, <b>Ossip Schubin</b>, <b>Helene Böhlau</b>,
-<b>Emma Vely</b>, <b>Emmy von Dinklage</b>, <b>Dora Dunker</b>, <b>Marie von
-Bunsen</b>, <b>Sophie Junghans</b>, <b>Louise Westkirch</b>, <b>Clara Blüthgen</b>,
-<b>Olga Wohlbrück</b>, <b>Carry Brachvogel</b> and a number of other
-modern writers.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among them <b>Enrica von Handel-Mazetti</b> and <b>Ricarda
-Huch</b> are distinguished by their great ability in drawing strong
-characters as well as deeply affecting situations. The first
-of the two authors transports her readers in the two novels
-“<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Meinrad Helmpergers denkwürdiges Jahr</span>” and “Jesse und
-Maria” to the turbulent times of the 17th and 18th Centuries,
-when a superstitious world was upset by cruel warfare between
-Catholics and Protestants. Ricarda Huch created works of
-equal value in the novels “<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Erinnerungen von Ludolf Urslen
-dem Jüngeren</span>” (“Reminiscences of Ludolf Urslen, Junior”),
-“<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Aus der Triumphgasse</span>” (“From the Alley of Triumph”)
-and “<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">The Verteidigung Roms</span>” (“The Defense of Rome”).</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Elizabeth von Heyking</b> carried the reader to the more
-recent times of the Chinese Boxer War with her admirable
-novel “<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Briefe die ihn nicht erreichten</span>” (“Letters he did not
-get”).</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Clara Viebig</b> belongs likewise to the great novelists of
-modern times. Having manifested in her first collection of
-short stories, “<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Kinder der Eifel</span>” (“Children of the Eifel
-Plateau”), a most extraordinary gift of observation and
-description, she brought this talent to full development in
-her splendid novels “Rheinlandstoechter” (“Daughters of the
-Rhein”), “<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Das schlafende Heer</span>” (“The sleeping army”) and
-“Absolve te.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Gabriele Reuter</b> treated in her novels “<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Aus guter Familie</span>”
-(“Of good family”), “<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Frau Bürgelin und ihre Söhne</span>,” “<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Ellen
-von der Weiden</span>,” and “Liselotte von Reckling” various phases
-of the woman’s question. In the first book she protests against
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_222'>222</span>the injustice created by custom and tradition, which allows
-men to propose, while women are condemned to remain silent.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Finally we must mention the noble woman who, most
-intensely realizing the deep longing of mankind for peace,
-with her famous book “<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Die Waffen nieder!</span>” (“Lay down your
-arms!”) exerted probably the greatest influence any author
-ever had through a single volume: the Austrian <b>Bertha von
-Suttner</b>. The powerful appeal of this great book, which was
-translated into more than twenty different languages, led
-Alfred B. Nobel, a rich Swedish scientist and the inventor
-of dynamite, to bequeath the annual interest of his great
-fortune to whoever has contributed most to the peaceful
-progress of mankind during the year immediately preceding.
-It was not more than just that the great merit of Madame
-von Suttner was acknowledged by awarding to her in 1905
-the Nobel Prize for peace.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Having devoted her whole life to the cause of peace,
-Bertha von Suttner died in June, 1914, while engaged in
-preparations for an International Peace Congress to be held
-in September of that same year in Vienna. Fate spared her
-the bitter disappointment to see the outbreak of the most cruel
-and destructive war in history. But her call “Lay down your
-arms!” will live. It will remain the watchword and summons
-of all who with this high-priestess of peace believe that war
-is the most unreasonable and most criminal act men can
-commit.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of course, German women have also contributed to the
-literature about the woman’s question. Perhaps the most valuable
-work in this line is <b>Dr. Kaethe Schirmacher’s</b> book “<span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Die
-moderne Frauenbewegung</span>,” giving a history of the woman’s
-rights movement in all countries of the world. As there has
-been no English book covering this broad subject, it was translated
-by <b>C. C. Eckhardt</b> and in 1912 published at New York
-under the title “The Modern Woman’s Rights Movement.”</p>
-
-<hr class='c012' />
-
-<p class='c008'>Rich as German literature is in prose works of women
-writers, its poems and lyrics written by women are no less
-noteworthy. There can be no doubt that many of the beautiful
-folk songs of the Middle Ages were created by women. For
-instance the following was discovered in a collection of songs
-of the 13th Century, compiled by the nuns of a convent at
-Blaubeuren, Bavaria:</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c014'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Kume, kum, geselle min,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">ih enbite harte din,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">ih enbite harte din,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">kume, kum, geselle min!</span></div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_223'>223</span><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Süsser rosen-varmer munt,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">kum und mache mich gesunt,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">kum und mache mich gesunt,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">süsser rosen-varmer munt!</span></div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>That women took deep interest in folk-songs we know
-from the fact that several of the most valuable collections of
-mediæval songs came down to us through women like Clara
-Haetzler, a nun in Augsburg, and Katharine Zell. The latter
-states that these lovely poems were sung by workmen and
-vintages as well as by the mothers at the cradle, and by the
-servants while they were washing the dishes.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>It is not before the 17th Century that women authors of
-poems begin to write under their names. Among them we
-find the countesses <b>Anna Sophie von Hesse-Darmstadt</b> (1638–1683)
-and <b>Amalia Juliane von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt</b>. The
-latter was the author of about six hundred songs, of which
-the funeral-hymn “Wer weiss wie nahe mir mein Ende” is
-sung in all Protestant churches of Germany to-day.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The 18th Century produced a number of other women
-poets, among them <b>Louise Adelgunde Gottsched</b>, <b>Dorothea,
-Countess von Zinzendorf</b>, <b>Anna Louise Karsch</b>, <b>Sidonie
-Zäunemann</b>, and <b>Christine Marianne von Ziegler</b>. The last
-two enjoyed the special patronage of the Emperor, who
-bestowed upon them the title “Kayserlich gekrönte Poetinnen.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>With the beginning of the 19th Century appeared new
-groups of women poets, among them <b>Bettina von Arnim</b>,
-<b>Karoline von Günderode</b>, <b>Elisabeth Kulmann</b>, <b>Louise Brachmann</b>,
-<b>Betty Paoli</b>, <b>Louise von Ploennies</b> and <b>Adelheid von
-Stolterfoth</b>, the “Philomele of the Rhine,” so called for her
-lovely songs and tales in praise of that noble river. In 1797
-one of the greatest female poets of all times was born: <b>Annette
-von Droste-Hülshoff</b>, a native of Westphalia. Compelled to
-lead a quiet, secluded life by the delicate state of her health,
-she devoted herself to study and literature, and wrote a number
-of masterful ballads of which “The Battle in Loenerbruch”
-has few equals in powerful and realistic description. Her
-poem “Die beschränkte Frau” is one of the gems of German
-poetry.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among the large numbers of German poets of the latter
-part of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th Century <b>Isolde
-Kurz</b>, <b>Lulu von Strauss</b>, <b>Margarete Beutler</b>, <b>Agnes Miegel</b>,
-<b>Tekla Lingen</b>, <b>Ricarda Huch</b>, <b>Frieda Schanz</b>, <b>Anna Ritter</b>,
-<b>Hedwig Dransfeld</b>, <b>Wilhelmine Wickenburg-Almasy</b>, <b>Hermione
-von Preuschen</b>, <b>Klara Müller-Jahnke</b>, <b>Hedda Sauer</b>, <b>Maria
-Eugenie delle Grazie</b>, <b>Angelika von Hörmann</b>, <b>Marie Janitschek</b>,
-<b>Ada Christen</b>, <b>Mia Holm</b>, <b>Alberta von Puttkammer</b>,
-<b>Anna Klie</b>, are the names of a few of the many distinguished
-poets of our present days.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_224'>224</span>Among American women of German descent we find
-likewise a number of gifted poets. The two anthologies
-“Deutsch in Amerika” (Chicago, 1892) and “Vom Lande des
-Sternenbanners” (Ellenville, N. Y., 1905) contain many contributions
-of <b>Dorothea Boettcher</b>, <b>Elizabeth Mesch</b>, <b>Edna Fern</b>,
-<b>Amalie von Ende</b>, <b>Marianne Kuenhold</b>, <b>Maria Raible</b>, <b>Minna
-Kleeberg</b>, <b>Bella Fiebing</b>, <b>Henni Hubel</b>, <b>Martha Toeplitz</b>, and
-others, distinguished in form as well as rich in imagination
-and powerful in expression. Several German-American women
-also became favorably known by valuable works in prose,
-as for instance <b>Therese Albertine Louise Jacob</b>, the wife of
-Professor Robinson, of New York. Under the name of Talvj,
-she wrote historical works about Captain John Smith and the
-colonization of New England, and a “Historical Review of
-the Language and Literature of the Slavic Nations, with a
-Sketch of their Popular Poetry.” Of her many poems and
-translations Goethe spoke with great admiration. Her novels
-are far superior to the average in style and interest.</p>
-
-<hr class='c012' />
-
-<p class='c008'>In the Netherlands the novels of <b>Elizabeth Bekker</b> were
-extremely popular at the end of the 18th Century. She ranks
-high among Dutch authors. Her “Historie van William Levend,”
-the “Historie van Sara Burgerhart,” “Abraham Blankaart”
-and “Cornelia Wildshut” are her greatest works. The
-poems of <b>Agathe Dekken</b> are to this day esteemed masterpieces
-of Dutch poetry. During the 19th Century <b>Mrs. Bosboom-Toussaint’s</b>
-novels, and <b>Helen Swarth’s</b> poems “Passiebloemen”
-have been widely read.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The most eminent woman writer of Denmark was
-<b>Thomasine Kristine Baroness Gyllembourg-Ehrensvärd</b>, who
-introduced into Danish literature a novel vein of realism and
-domestic humor. Although she has had many imitators, she
-is still without a rival. <b>Hadda Raonkilde</b> has exerted a powerful
-influence upon Scandinavian literature.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The two most successful women-novelists of Norway are
-<b>Anna Magdalene Thoresen</b> and <b>Jacobine Camilla Collet</b>,
-author of the excellent novel “Amtmandens Döttre” (“The
-Governor’s Daughters”). In 1894 all Norway celebrated her
-eightieth birthday as a national holiday.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The most eminent Swedish novelist of the 19th Century
-was <b>Frederika Bremer</b>. Her “Sketches of Every Day Life”
-attracted immediate attention. But this success was far surpassed
-by the novels “The H—— Family” and “The Neighbors.”
-Both manifest the author’s purity, simplicity, and love
-of domestic life. These books as well as almost all of the
-author’s later works have been translated into English, German
-and French.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Another Swedish author of note was <b>Anne Charlotte
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_225'>225</span>Edgren</b>. Of <b>Emily Carlen’s</b> novels “The Rose of Thistle
-Island” and “The Magic Goblet” are most appreciated.
-<b>Anna Maria Lenngren</b> belongs likewise to the most popular
-Swedish writers. The Swedish Academy ordered a medal
-cast in her honor. And of the Swedish authors of the 20th
-Century <b>Selma Lagerloef</b> was in 1909 awarded the Nobel Prize
-for her beautiful modern saga “Goesta Berling.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Finland and Poland too have noteworthy women-writers.
-Finland, “Country of the thousand lakes,” was the birth-place
-of <b>Sarah Wacklin</b>, <b>Wilhelmina Nordström</b> and <b>Helen Westermark</b>.
-The literature of Poland was enriched by the poems
-and novels of <b>Elizabeth Jaraczewska</b>, <b>Lucya Rautenstrauss</b>,
-<b>Narcyza Zwichowska</b> and <b>Comtesse Mostowska</b>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Spain has produced in modern times several remarkable
-woman authors: <b>Gertrudis de Avellaneda</b>, <b>Maria de Pinar-Sinues</b>,
-and <b>Angela Grassi</b>. Italy has the excellent novelists
-<b>Rosa Taddei</b>, <b>Francesca Lutti</b>, <b>Matilda Serao</b>, <b>Grazia Pierantoni-Mancini</b>,
-<b>Fanny Zampini-Salazar</b>, and the Marchesa
-<b>Vincenza de Felice-Lancellotti</b>. Furthermore <b>Ada Negri</b>, one
-of the most powerful poets of all times.</p>
-
-<hr class='c012' />
-
-<p class='c008'>Having glanced at woman’s part in world’s literature,
-a few words should be said about women journalists. During
-the middle of the last century the publishers of several leading
-newspapers of England and America, desiring to infuse new
-life into their papers, added a number of women to their staffs.
-The complete success of this experiment was confirmed by
-the rapid increase in the number of such women journalists.
-Whereas in 1845 England had only 15 of them, this number
-grew to more than 800 in 1891. In the United States the
-number increased from 350 in 1889 to 2193 in 1910. Many
-of these women journalists received careful training in the
-special schools of journalism at the universities of New York,
-Philadelphia, and elsewhere.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Jeannette Gilder, herself a journalist, writes about her
-profession: “Woman as a mere fashion writer is a thing of
-the past. To-day she expects to rank with the man writer.
-In the future she will expect to be his superior, for a woman
-is not stationary in her ambitions, she likes variety. A man
-is wedded to his old clothes. He sighs when he has to throw
-aside the old and comfortably fitting coat for a new one not
-so comfortably fitting. A woman sighs when she has to wear
-an old dress. She would like fashions to change every week
-instead of every three months, as they do now. This love for
-variety in personal matters is carried into her professional life.
-If she reports a Salvation Army meeting to-day she hails with
-glee an opportunity to report an automobile race to-morrow.
-With boundless ambition, with adaptability, energy and a
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_226'>226</span>pleasing style, there is nothing to keep women from monopolizing
-the journalistic profession if they put their minds to it.
-The only trouble is they are apt to marry and leave the ranks.
-But, then there are others standing ready to fill the vacant
-places. In the next hundred years why may we not see all
-newspapers owned by women, edited by women, written by
-women, with women compositors and women pressmen.
-Already there is one such in France.”</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_226.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_227'>227</span>
-  <h3 class='c010'>WOMEN IN MUSIC AND DRAMA.</h3>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c011'>The prejudice which excluded women for centuries from
-the realms of science, interfered likewise with their participation
-in music and art. Up to the midst of the 19th Century
-almost all European conservatories and art academies were
-closed to female students. Previous to 1876 no women students
-of the violin were allowed at the High School in London, and
-for a long time they could not compete for prizes or receive
-diplomas. When <b>Elizabeth Sterling</b> presented her beautiful
-CXXX Psalm for five voices and orchestra to the university
-at Oxford for the degree of Mus. Bac., the degree, although
-the work was accepted and its merits acknowledged, could
-not be given for want of power to confer this degree upon
-a woman!</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As the views of publishers of music and of conductors
-of orchestras were influenced by similar prejudices, nobody
-should wonder that women’s work in music has shown comparatively
-unsatisfactory results.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Yet, in spite of all these obstacles, there have been a
-number of women composers, whose works were appreciated
-by all their contemporaries. During the glorious time of the
-Renaissance <b>Francesca Caccini</b>, born in 1581 at Florence, was
-the pride of her city because of her magnificent church music
-and madrigals. Compositions of <b>Vittoria Aleotti</b>, a native of
-Argenta, were likewise much admired, especially her great
-opus, which was published at Venice, in 1593, under the
-flowery title “<span lang="it" xml:lang="it">Ghirlanda dei Madrigali a 4 voci</span>.” <b>Maddalena
-Casulana</b> of Brescia, produced also a number of fine madrigals,
-which were issued in two volumes in 1568 and 1583. <b>Cornelia
-Calegari</b>, of Bergamo, <b>Barbara Strozzi</b>, of Venice, belong also
-to the Italian composers of the Renaissance. <b>Maria Teresa
-Agnesi</b>, born during the 18th Century, produced a number
-of cantatas, and three operas, “Sophonisbe,” “Ciro in
-Armenia,” and “Nitocri,” which were the delight of all Italy.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In Austria at the same time appeared <b>Maria Teresa
-Paradies</b>, born at Vienna in 1759. Notwithstanding her
-blindness, dating from her fourth year, she had become a
-most remarkable pianist and composer, dictating her cantatas
-and several operettas. In 1784 she set out on a concert tour
-through Germany and England, everywhere exciting admiration
-by her rare endowments. She often moved her audiences
-to tears by a cantata, the words of which were written by
-the blind poet Pfeffel, in which her own fate was depicted.
-During the later part of her life she presided over an excellent
-musical institute in Vienna.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_228'>228</span>In another native of Vienna, <b>Marianne Martinez</b>, the
-qualities of many distinguished artists were combined.
-Not only did she sing beautifully, but she was likewise an excellent
-pianist; her compositions showed a vigor of conception together
-with extensive learning. She composed several cantatas, and
-a miserere, with orchestral accompaniment. Her oratorio
-“Isacca” was in 1788 produced by the Tonkuenstler Gesellschaft.
-Her salons, in which she gave weekly concerts, were
-the rendezvous of many musical celebrities.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Foremost among the women-composers of Germany was
-<b>Clara Josephine Wieck-Schumann</b>, the accomplished pianist
-and unexcelled interpreter of her husband’s, Robert Schumann’s,
-splendid works. She also produced a large number
-of songs of great merit, many of which have been published.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Francesca Lebrun</b>, born 1756 at Mannheim, wrote several
-sonatas for piano, and trios for piano, violin and cello. <b>Louise
-Reichard</b>, of Berlin, <b>Corona Schroeter</b>, the famous artist of
-the 18th Century, <b>Fanny Cecilia Hensel</b>, born 1805 in Hamburg,
-and <b>Josephine Lang</b>, born 1815 in Munich, composed
-very beautiful songs. A “Suite for Pianoforte” (Op. 2) by
-<b>Adele aus der Ohe</b> has likewise received highest praise.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among the women composers of France <b>Elizabeth Claude
-Guerre</b>, born at Paris in 1669; <b>Edme Sophie Gail Garré</b>, born
-in 1775, and <b>Louise Bertin</b> were the pioneers. Elizabeth
-Guerre’s opera “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Cephale et Pœris</span>” was performed at the
-Royal Academie. She also composed a Te Deum, and a
-number of cantatas.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The most successful composer of recent years was <b>Cécile
-Louise Stephanie Chaminade</b>, born at Paris in 1861. Her
-most ambitious compositions are “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Les Amazones</span>,” a lyric
-symphony with choruses; “<span lang="es" xml:lang="es">La Sevillane</span>”; “<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Callirhœ</span>”; “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Etude
-Symphonique</span>,” and a large number of compositions for piano,
-many of which became very popular.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of <b>Augusta Mary Ann Holmes</b>, likewise a native of Paris,
-the opera “<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Hero et Leandre</span>” had great success.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of the women composers of England <b>M. Virginia Gabriel</b>
-was very popular. She wrote the cantatas “Evangeline” and
-“Dreamland,” and the operettas “Grass Widows,” “Widows
-Bewitched” and “Who’s the Heir?” <b>Leza Lehman</b> was the
-author of the song cycle “In a Persian Garden,” and of “Nonsense
-Songs.” <b>Clara Angela Macirone’s</b> anthem “By the Waters
-of Babylon” has been sung in all the cathedrals of Great
-Britain.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Lady Helen Dufferin</b> is known principally for her songs
-and ballads, which, both for comic humor and pathos, rank
-among the best in the English language. “The Irish Emigrant’s
-Lament” compares favorably with any English lyric. <b>Charlotte
-Sainton Dolby</b>, <b>Elizabeth Mounsey</b> and <b>Harriet Abrams</b> composed
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_229'>229</span>likewise numerous songs, and <b>Kate Fanny Loder</b> the
-operette “Fleur d’Epine.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>There exist also many splendid compositions by American
-women. When in 1893 the Woman’s Building at the
-World’s Columbian Exposition at Chicago was dedicated,
-<b>Mrs. H. A. Beach’s</b> “Jubilate” was received with greatest
-enthusiasm. Also her “Gaelic Symphony” was played by
-many famous orchestras.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The “Dramatic Overture” (Op. 12) of <b>Miss Margaret
-Ruthven Lang</b> has been frequently performed by the famous
-Boston Symphony Orchestra.</p>
-
-<hr class='c012' />
-
-<p class='c008'>Of the innumerable virtuosos, who interpreted works of
-the above-named composers and others, the American violinists
-<b>Arma Senkrah</b> and <b>Maud Powell</b>, the Italian <b>Teresina Tua</b>,
-the German <b>Maria Soldat</b>, and the South-American pianists
-<b>Terese Careno</b> and <b>Giomar Novaez</b>, not to forget the Hungarian
-<b>Sophie Menter</b> and the Russian <b>Annette Essipoff</b> have
-been the most eminent.</p>
-
-<hr class='c012' />
-
-<p class='c008'>“Dem Mimen flicht die Nachwelt keine Kränze,” the great
-German poet Schiller has said in one of his poems, pointing
-out that, while the painter, sculptor, composer and writer
-transmit their works to remote generations, the glory won by
-the actor and singer exhales with their disappearance from
-the stage as quickly as does the fragrance of a delicate flower.
-The record of the performer’s and singer’s gift remains only
-as a tradition, as a legend.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>So it is. The majority of those actors and singers, who
-in bygone times held large audiences spellbound, are forgotten.
-There are only few exceptions which in the history of
-dramatic art and music will remain. So for instance with the
-history of the English stage of the latter part of the 17th
-Century the names of two great actresses are inseparably
-connected: <b>Gwynn</b> and <b>Elizabeth Barry</b>. The former especially
-was the darling of the people, and much favored by King
-Charles II. During the following century <b>Anne Oldfield</b>, <b>Mary
-Porter</b>, <b>Elizabeth Billington</b>, <b>Anne Spranger Barry</b>, <b>Hannah
-Pritchard</b>, <b>Mary Robinson</b>, <b>Jane Pope</b>, <b>Susanne Cibber</b>, <b>Frances
-Abington</b> and <b>Margaret Woffington</b> were celebrated for their
-talent, charm, and elegance. Of <b>Sarah Siddons</b>, called “the
-Incomparable,” it has been reported that by means of her
-excellent art as well as by her beauty, dignity and personal
-distinction she reduced her audiences to an awe-struck reverence.
-Edmund Gosse, in an article devoted to the memory
-of Sarah Siddons says: “Under the effect she produced, women
-as well as men lost all command over themselves, and sobbed,
-moaned, and even howled with emotion. Young ladies used
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_230'>230</span>suddenly to shriek; men were carried out, gibbering, in
-hysterics.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of the many excellent English actresses of the 19th
-Century and of our present days <b>Louise Nisbett</b>, <b>Mary Stirling</b>,
-<b>Elizabeth O’Neill</b>, <b>Helen Faucit</b>, <b>Lillian Neilson</b>, <b>Deborah Lacy</b>,
-<b>Frances Kemble</b>, <b>Adelaide Kemble-Sartoris</b>, <b>Charlotte Dolby</b>,
-<b>Ellen Terry</b>, <b>Gertrude</b> and <b>Rose Coghlan</b> have to be mentioned.
-Also we must remember the great triumphs of <b>Nellie
-Melba</b>, a native of Australia, but at home on the stages and
-in the concert halls of Europe as well as of America.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The United States produced likewise a number of
-brilliant actresses and opera stars. Among the former were
-<b>Clara Fisher</b>, <b>Mary Vincent</b>, <b>Laura Keene</b>, <b>Anna Gilbert</b>,
-<b>Anna</b> and <b>Cora Ritshie</b>, not to forget <b>Mary Ann Dyke-Duff</b>,
-whom the elder Booth declared to be “the greatest actress
-in the world.” Furthermore, there was the classic <b>Mary Anderson</b>,
-who was followed later on by such eminent performers
-as <b>Ida Conquest</b>, <b>Adelaide Phillips</b>, <b>Julia Marlowe</b>, <b>Leslie
-Carter</b>, <b>Maud Adams</b>, and <b>Ethel Barrymore</b>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Our United States have been also the native land of
-the famous opera stars <b>Minni Hauck</b>, <b>Lillian Nordica</b>, <b>Emma
-Eames</b>, <b>Olive Fremstadt</b>, <b>Florence Macbeth</b>, <b>Mary Garden</b>,
-<b>Anna Case</b> and <b>Geraldine Farrar</b>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Germany and Austria too have produced numbers of
-accomplished actresses and singers who stood high in public
-esteem and thrilled vast audiences by splendid revelations of
-their art. The name of <b>Charlotte Wolter</b> is forever connected
-with the famous Burgtheater in Vienna as the greatest tragedienne
-in the history of that famous institution. To the many
-actresses, whose fame is not limited to their native countries
-but has extended to America as well, belong the following
-stars of the 19th Century: <b>Marie Seebach</b>, <b>Ottilie Genee</b>,
-<b>Kathie Schratt</b>, <b>Hedwig Niemann-Rabe</b>, <b>Fanny Janauschek</b>,
-<b>Magda Irschik</b>, <b>Anna Haverland</b>, <b>Marie Geistinger</b>, <b>Agnes
-Sorma</b>, <b>Helene Odilon</b>, <b>Francisca Ellmenreich</b>, <b>Fanny Eysolt</b>,
-<b>Irene Triebsch</b> and <b>Else Lehmann</b>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As stars in grand opera and concert singers the most
-famous of the former century have been <b>Henriette Sontag</b>,
-<b>Pauline Lucca</b>, <b>Marie Schroeder-Hanfstängl</b>, <b>Teresa Tietiens</b>,
-<b>Etelka Gerster</b>, <b>Lilli Lehmann</b>, <b>Fanny Moran-Olden</b>, <b>Rosa
-Sucher</b>, <b>Amalie Materna</b>, <b>Marie Brema</b>, <b>Katharine Klaffsky</b>
-and <b>Marianne Brand</b>. Our present generation has paid tribute
-to <b>Milka Ternina</b>, <b>Marie Rappold</b>, <b>Alma Gluck</b>, <b>Elene Gerhard</b>,
-<b>Johanna Gadski</b>, <b>Julia Culp</b>, <b>Ernestine Schumann-Heink</b>,
-<b>Melanie Kurt</b>, <b>Margarete Ober</b>, and <b>Frida Hempel</b>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>With the history of the French drama the names of the
-great tragediennes <b>Elizabeth Rachel</b> and <b>Sarah Bernhardt</b> are
-inseparably connected, while in opera <b>Madeline Arnould</b>,
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_231'>231</span><b>Magdalene Marie Desgarcins</b>, <b>Louise Françoise Contat</b>, <b>Marie
-Felicite Malibran</b>, <b>Louise Angelique Bertin</b>, <b>Sophie Cruvelli</b>,
-<b>Emma Calvé</b>, <b>Lucienne Breval</b>, <b>Felia Litvinne</b> and <b>Desiré
-Artot</b> have been stars of the first order.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Italy gave birth to the famous actresses and singers <b>Guilia
-Grisi</b>, <b>Marietta Alboni</b>, <b>Angelica Catalani</b>, <b>Adelaide Ristori</b>,
-<b>Eleonora Duse</b>, <b>L. Scalchi</b>, <b>Louisa Tetrazzina</b>, and <b>Amelia
-Galli-Curci</b>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Poland had her superb <b>Helena Modjeska</b> and <b>Marcella
-Sembrich</b>; Bohemia the marvelous <b>Emmy Destinn</b>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Sweden treasures the memory of <b>Jenny Lind</b> and <b>Christine
-Nilsson</b> as superlative artists. Jenny Lind was called “the
-Swedish Nightingale,” and was famous for her great charm as
-well as for her musical gifts. Her splendid tour in America
-under the management of P. T. Barnum in 1849 was one
-of the greatest artistic and financial triumphs ever achieved
-by one single artist.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>A somewhat international position has been held by the
-famous <b>Adelina Patti</b>, born in 1843 at Madrid, as the daughter
-of a Sicilian tenor and the Spanish Signora Barilli. Taught
-singing by the Moravian Maurice Strakosch, she commanded
-an unusually high soprano of rich bell-like tone and remarkable
-evenness, and was equally at home in the tenderness of
-deep passion and the sprightly vivacity of comedy, and in
-oratorio. For these reasons she has been regarded as one of
-the greatest singers of all times. That her reputation was
-founded on her rare qualities, is best shown by the testimony
-of two of her fellow-artists, Marcella Sembrich and Lilli Lehmann.
-The former expressed her admiration in the words:
-“When one speaks of Patti one speaks of something that
-occurred only once in the history of the world.” The latter,
-famous in a totally different school of her art, wrote the following
-lines: “In Adelaine Patti everything was united—the
-splendid voice, paired with great talent for singing. All was
-absolutely good, correct and flawless, the voice like a bell that
-you seemed to hear long after the singing had ceased.”</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_231.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_232'>232</span>
-  <h3 class='c010'>WHAT WOMEN HAVE ACCOMPLISHED IN ART.</h3>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c011'>As is familiar to every student of the classic past the
-Greeks and Romans hailed a female deity, Pallas Athene,
-or Minerva, as the protectress of their arts and industries. She
-was believed to have invented spinning, weaving, embroidering,
-painting, and every other handicraft that has brought
-mankind comfort and happiness.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of course this goddess had many eager women disciples.
-There was hardly any Greek or Roman woman without a
-thorough command of the above named crafts. Since the
-days of Homer, who praised Penelope, the beautiful wife of
-Ulysses, for her skill in tapestry-weaving, all women devoted
-themselves to useful arts. In Ephesus Pliny admired a picture
-of Diana, painted by <b>Timarata</b>, the gifted daughter of an
-able artist. He also praises <b>Laya</b> for her excellent miniature
-portraits on ivory, which were held in great favor by the rich
-ladies of Rome. The names of several other female artists
-are known, but unfortunately none of their works have come
-down to us.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Enthusiastic authors of the Middle Ages glorify <b>Agnes,
-Abbess of Quedlinburg</b>, for her great skill in illuminating
-manuscripts with figures, beautiful initial letters and elaborate
-border ornaments, which she enriched with all the splendor
-of color and gilding.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>It was only natural, that the magnificent works of art,
-produced by Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Correggio,
-Tintoretto and other great masters of the Italian Renaissance,
-inspired the women who came in daily contact with these
-men; especially their daughters, many of whom inherited their
-fathers’ enthusiasm for beauty and art. Constantly witnessing
-the origin and progress of the products of their fathers’ genius,
-it could not fail that such women likewise devoted themselves
-to art. As did <b>Lavinia Fontana</b>, the daughter of Prospero
-Fontana of Bologna, whom Michael Angelo recommended to
-Pope Julius III., in whose service he remained for many years.
-Lavinia was born in Rome in 1552. Inspired by her father’s
-art, she too won great fame. The old patrician palaces of
-Rome, Bologna, and other Italian cities still contain many
-portraits of beautiful women and illustrious men, who once
-were among her sitters. She likewise painted various other
-works which show great care and delicacy.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among her most admired works are a Venus, now in
-the Museum at Berlin; the Virgin lifting a veil from the
-sleeping infant Christ, now in the Escurial; and the Queen
-of Sheba visiting Solomon. Her masterpiece, however, is her
-own portrait, which shows her in all her radiant beauty.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_233'>233</span><b>Sofonisba Anguisciola</b>, born in 1533 at Cremona, likewise
-ranks high among the foremost portrait painters of the
-16th Century. On recommendation of the Duke of Alba,
-Philippe II., King of Spain, invited her to his court in Madrid,
-where she was received with extraordinary honors. Here
-she painted numerous portraits of the king as well as of the
-queen, the infantas and the members of the court. A few
-specimens of her art are still to be seen in the Escurial at
-Madrid and at Florence. Van Dyck acknowledged himself
-more benefited by her than by his study of all other masters.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Marietta Tintoretto</b>, born in 1560, a daughter of the great
-Venetian artist Jacopo Robusti, commonly called Tintoretto,
-was one of the most appreciated portrait painters in the “Queen
-City of the Adriatic.” She was so favorably known for the
-beauty of her work and the exactness of resemblance that
-she was solicited by Emperor Maximilian as well as by Philippe
-II., King of Spain, to visit their courts. But her affectionate
-attachment to her father was so great that she declined these
-honors, and remained in Venice, where she died in 1590.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The 17th Century likewise produced a number of excellent
-women artists. Bologna, the birth-place of so many famous
-men and women, was also the native town of <b>Elizabeth Sirani</b>,
-who, born in 1638 to Gian Andrea Sirani, a painter of some
-reputation, attracted attention to her attempts at drawing
-when scarcely more than an infant. Her rare talents developed
-as she grew older. Before she had attained her eighteenth
-year, she had finished several paintings, which were greatly
-admired and given places of honor in various churches. Her
-most admired work, a Lord’s Supper, grand in conception, is
-in the church of the Certosini, and is considered one of the
-best examples of the Bolognesian School of art. Unfortunately
-this promising woman died suddenly when only twenty-seven
-years of age.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Rosalba Carriera</b>, a Venetian, born in 1675, became
-famous over all Europe for her admirable miniature- and
-crayon- or pastel-portraits, which, through her, became the
-fashion of the 18th Century.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among the Dutch artists of the 17th Century <b>Maria van
-Osterwyck</b> and <b>Rachel Ruisch</b> excelled in painting flowers and
-fruits. <b>Elisabeth Cheron</b>, a French woman, born in Paris in
-1648, was famous for her miniatures and historical subjects.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>England too had some fine women artists: <b>Mary Beale</b>,
-born 1632 in Suffolk, and <b>Anne Killigrew</b>, born in London.
-Both are known for excellent portraits of notable persons.
-The National Portrait Gallery in London contains for instance
-Mary Beale’s portraits of King Charles II., of the Duke of
-Norfolk, and of Cowley.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_234'>234</span>
-<img src='images/i_234.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>MARIE S. <span class='sc'>Le</span>BRUN WITH HER DAUGHTER.<br /><br /><span class='right'>After her own painting.</span></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_235'>235</span>The 18th Century produced two women artists, who
-were among the leaders of their time: <b>Angelica Kauffmann</b>
-and <b>Marie LeBrun</b>. Angelica Kauffmann, the daughter of an
-artist, was born in 1740 at Coire in Switzerland, from where
-she went later on to Italy, to study the great masters. In 1765
-she came to London. Here she painted many excellent
-portraits as well as numerous classic and allegorical subjects.
-In 1781 she returned to Italy. Here she was always much feted
-and admired for her talents as well as for her personal charm.
-Goethe, who met Angelica Kauffmann in Rome, admired
-her works very much. “No living painter,” so he wrote in
-a letter, “excels her in dignity or in the delicate taste with
-which she handles the pencil.” And Raphael Mengs, one of
-the most brilliant artists of the Rococo, praised her in the
-following words: “As an artist Angelica Kauffmann is the
-pride of the female sex in all times and all nations. Nothing
-is wanting; composition, coloring, fancy, all are here.”
-When she died in November, 1807, she was honored by
-a splendid funeral under the direction of Canova. The entire
-Academy of St. Luke at Rome with numerous ecclesiastics
-and virtuosi followed her funeral train and, as at the burial
-of Raphael, two of her latest paintings were carried behind
-her coffin in the procession.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of <b>Madame LeBrun</b>, who was born in 1755 in France,
-it has been said that “a more ideal artist never lived.” The
-well-known portrait of herself and her daughter has been
-termed “the tenderest of all pictures.” She also painted several
-portraits of the unfortunate Queen Marie Antoinette. The
-Louvre has one of her best paintings: “Peace bringing back
-Abundance.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Madame LeBrun was one of the most prolific artists of
-all times. In her autobiography, entitled “Souvenirs,” she
-states that she finished six hundred and sixty-two portraits,
-fifteen large compositions, and two hundred landscapes, the
-latter sketched during her travels in Switzerland and England.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>During the 18th Century Germany was the scene of the
-greatest activity of women artists. France held the second
-place and Italy the third, thus reversing the conditions of
-preceding centuries. Flanders and Antwerp too were famous
-for women artists, some of whom went to other countries
-where they were recognized for their talent and attainments.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The most famous woman artist of the 19th Century was
-<b>Rosa Bonheur</b>, born in 1832 at Bordeaux, the daughter of
-Raymond Bonheur, an artist of merit. From him she received
-her first instructions. In 1841 she began exhibiting in the
-Paris Salon, with several small animal paintings, indicating
-the direction in which she was to attain her future eminence.
-Her great success in painting animals was due to her conscientious
-study of living subjects. One of her masterpieces, “Plowing
-with Oxen,” ranks among the gems of the Luxembourg.
-Another excellent painting, “The Horse Fair,” was the chief
-attraction of the Paris Salon in 1853, and later on became
-the property of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
-Of all animal paintings ever executed, this one is perhaps the
-most animated, and the best in composition as well as in color.
-Another canvass, “Horses Threshing Corn,” shows the same
-merits. Containing ten horses in full life size, it is the largest
-animal picture ever produced.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_236'>236</span>
-<img src='images/i_236.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>THE HORSE FAIR.<br /><br />After the painting by Rosa Bonheur in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_237'>237</span>Another painting, “The Monarch of the Glen,” received
-much praise at the World’s Columbian Exposition.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In just appreciation of her genius Rosa Bonheur was
-proposed in 1853 for the Cross of the Legion of Honor, but
-because of her sex the decoration was withheld until 1865.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>One of the four daughters of an early German pioneer
-of California, who distinguished themselves in different lines
-of activity, <b>Anne Elizabeth Klumpke</b> followed in the footsteps
-of Rosa Bonheur, of whom she became a close friend, and
-who, in appreciation of her great talent, bequeathed to her
-her beautiful chateau as well as her entire fortune.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The second half of the 19th and the beginning of the
-20th Century produced a surprising abundance of women
-artists, some of whom gained the most coveted prizes and
-medals offered by the great annual exhibitions in Paris, London,
-Berlin, Munich and other centers of art. Clara Erskine
-Clemens in her book “Women in the Fine Arts” has compiled
-notes about several hundred of them, without enumerating
-them all. To mention a few of the most excellent, we name
-of the German artists <b>Louise Parmentier Begas</b>, <b>Tina Blau</b>,
-<b>Dora Hitz</b>, <b>Lucia von Gelder</b>, <b>Herminie von Janda</b>, <b>Countess
-Marie Kalckreuth</b>, <b>Minna Stock</b>, <b>Toni Stadler</b>, <b>Frieda Ritter</b>,
-<b>Margarethe von Schack</b>, <b>Vilma Parlaghy</b>, and <b>Margarethe
-Waldau</b>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Italy names among its best modern painters <b>Alceste
-Campriani</b>, <b>Ada Negri</b>, <b>Juana Romani</b>, <b>Erminia de Sanctis</b>, and
-<b>Clelia Bompiani</b>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The French extol the genius of <b>Louise Labé</b>, <b>Marceline
-Desbordes-Valmore</b> and <b>Louise Ackermann</b>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Belgium and Holland number among their women artists
-<b>Therese Schwartze</b>, <b>Adele Kindt</b> and <b>Henriette Ronner</b>; Spain
-points with pride to the works of <b>Fernanda Frances y Arribas</b>,
-<b>Adele Gines</b> and <b>Antonia de Banuelos</b>. Denmark’s famous
-artist, <b>Elizabet Jerichau Baumann</b>, is remembered especially
-for her magnificent painting “Christian Martyrs in the Catacombs”;
-Switzerland has two portraitists of the first order,
-<b>Louise Catherine Breslau</b> and <b>Aimée Rapin</b>, while Russia
-produced in <b>Marie Bashkirttseff</b> an artist of rare ability.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Perhaps in no other country is the number of female
-artists so large as in England. We will name only a few of
-them. <b>Laura Alma Tadema</b> was the gifted daughter of the
-famous artist Laurenz Alma Tadema. <b>Margaret Sarah Carpenter</b>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_238'>238</span>won wide reputation as a gifted portrait painter. <b>Ethel
-Wright’s</b> beautiful painting “The Song of the Ages” belongs
-to the best examples of English art. <b>Clara Montalba</b> is favorably
-known for her splendid scenes of Venice, and landscapes
-of the Adriatic coasts. <b>Elizabeth Thompson</b> demonstrated by
-many excellent sketches and pictures that women are not
-afraid to make a specialty of battle scenes.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Ambitious American women are likewise hard at work
-gaining honor and laurels in the various fields of art. The
-morning promises fair, as there are already many shining
-names upon the scroll. To begin with one of the middle of
-the last century, we mention <b>Cornelia Adele Facett</b>, whose
-chief work, “The Election Commission in Open Session,” contains
-258 portraits of men and women, prominent in the
-political, literary, scientific and social circles of their time.
-It adorns the Senate Chamber in the Capitol at Washington.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The most brilliant woman artist of the United States is
-without question <b>Cecilia Beaux</b>, a Philadelphian, who, as a
-portrait painter, compares with the very best of any nation.
-Her portrait of a “Girl in White,” owned by the Metropolitan
-Museum of Art in New York, verifies what a critic said about
-her: “Miss Beaux has approached the task of painting the
-society woman of to-day, not as one to whom this type is
-known only by exterior, but with a sympathy as complete as
-a similar tradition and artistic temperament will allow. Thus
-she starts with an advantage denied to all but a very few
-American portrait painters, and this explains the instinctive
-way in which she gives to her pictured subjects an air of
-natural ease and good breeding.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Sadie Waters</b>, born in St. Louis, produced a number of
-religious paintings, her best and largest showing the Madonna
-in a bower of roses.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Violet Oakley</b> of New Jersey had a prominent part in
-decorating the new Capitol at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, one
-of the most elaborate and costly public buildings in America.
-The mural painting “The Romance of the Founding of the
-State” in the Governor’s room is her work.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Anna Mary Richards</b> excelled as a marine painter. Her
-large canvass “The Wild Horses of the Sea” has been especially
-admired.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Anny Shaw</b>, <b>Grace Hudson</b>, <b>Lucie Fairchild Fuller</b>, <b>Mary
-Cassatt</b>, and <b>Matilde Lotz</b> are among the latest women artists
-of America, favorably known for many creditable works.</p>
-
-<hr class='c012' />
-
-<p class='c008'>Although comparatively few women have devoted themselves
-to sculpture, there are several among them well worth
-mentioning.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The first female sculptor of whom anything is known,
-was <b>Sabina von Steinbach</b>, a daughter of Erwin von Steinbach,
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_239'>239</span>the famous architect of the magnificent cathedral at Strassburg,
-in Alsace. After the southern portal of this minster had been
-erected, Sabina adorned it with the statues of the apostles,
-one of which, that of John, held in his hands a scroll with
-the following inscription:</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c014'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Gratia divinæ pietatis adesto Savinæ,</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">De petra dura per quam sum facta figura.</span>”</div>
-      <div class='line'>“The grace of God be with thee, O Sabina,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Whose hands from this hard stone have formed my image.”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>Nothing further is known about this artist of the end of the
-13th Century.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Properzia de Rossi</b> was an Italian woman sculptor, born
-near the end of the 15th Century at Bologna or Modena.
-The first-named city cherishes still a number of her works,
-among them a fine marble statue of Count Guido de Pepoli,
-and several figures that adorn the three gates of the facade
-of St. Petroneus. Vasari in his biographies of celebrated
-artists calls her “a virtuous maiden, possessing every merit
-of her sex, together with science and learning all men may
-envy.” And when she died in 1530, the following epitaph
-was written in her praise:</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c014'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="it" xml:lang="it">Fero splendor di due begit occhi accrebbe</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="it" xml:lang="it">Gia marmi a marmi; e stupor nuovo e strano</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="it" xml:lang="it">Ruvidi marmi delicta mano</span></div>
-      <div class='line'><span lang="it" xml:lang="it">Fea dianzi vivi, ahi! morte invidia n’ebbe.</span></div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>In modern Germany <b>Anna von Kahle</b>, <b>Marie Schlafhorst</b>,
-<b>Dora Beer</b>, <b>Helene Quitmann</b>, <b>Henny Geyer Spiegel</b> and <b>Lilly
-Finzelberg</b> have done much excellent work.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In France several statues by <b>Jeanne Hasse</b>, a Parisian,
-have been purchased by the government and presented to
-various provincial museums.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In England <b>Mary Thornycroft</b>, daughter and pupil of John
-Francis, the sculptor, has won the praise of the severest critics.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In America <b>Annie Whitney’s</b> statue of “Lady Godiva”
-as well as her “Africa” and “Roma” have been much praised.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Helen Farnworth Mears</b> is well known for her “Fountain
-of Life.” <b>Vinnie Ream Hoxie</b> modelled a life-size statue of
-Lincoln, which stands in the rotunda of the Capitol at Washington.
-A statue of Farragut in Farragut Square is by the same
-artist.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Another American woman sculptor of renown was <b>Harriet
-Hosmer</b>, born in 1830 in Watertown, Mass. Having received
-her first instruction in Boston and St. Louis, she went to Rome
-in 1852 where she became a pupil of Gibson. Of her various
-works, the best known are “Beatrice Cenci in Her Cell”; “Willo’-the-Wisp”;
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_240'>240</span>“The Sleeping and the Waking Faun”; and a
-colossal statue of “Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, in Chains.”
-She exhibited a statue of Queen Isabella of Spain at the
-World’s Columbian Exposition. A statue of “Puck” was so
-spirited and original, that it was ordered more than thirty
-times, is also her work.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Emma Stebbins</b> (1815–1882) produced a statue of
-Horace Mann for Boston, and a large fountain for Central
-Park, New York, the subject being “The Angel of the Waters.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has in
-its collections several works by <b>Frances Grimes</b>, <b>Laura Gardin</b>,
-<b>Malvina Hoffman</b>, and <b>Evelyn Longman</b>. Miss Hoffman’s best
-known work, “The Russian Bachanale,” showing two almost
-nude dancing figures in bronze, was in 1919 presented by an
-American connoisseur to the famous Gardens of the Luxembourg
-in Paris.</p>
-
-<hr class='c012' />
-
-<p class='c008'>The United States of America produced also the first
-women architects. In 1881 <b>Louise Bethune</b> took the lead.
-Somewhat later the New York firm <b>Hands &amp; Gannon</b>, both
-members of which were women, designed the plans for
-numerous schools, hospitals, and model homes for the working
-people. <b>Elizabeth Holman</b> in Philadelphia became favorably
-known for her excellent designs for theatres, hotels, and
-cottages. <b>Mrs. Wagner</b> in Pittsburgh made a specialty of
-university buildings, churches and chapels.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Miss Sophie G. Hayden</b> of Boston, a graduate of the
-architectural school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
-was the architect of the beautiful Women’s Pavilion
-at the World’s Columbian Exposition. The task of adorning
-this building with sculptures, emblematic of woman’s great
-work in the world, was after an extremely vigorous contest
-awarded to <b>Miss Alice Rideout</b>, of San Francisco. Women
-architects likewise designed the imposing woman’s palaces at
-the expositions in St. Louis, Atlanta, and San Francisco. Since
-then the number of women in this line of activity has steadily
-increased. According to the Census of 1910 the United
-States had in that year 1037 women architects, designers and
-draftsmen.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Thus we find woman hard at work in all the various
-realms of art. And since her joy in beauty is supreme, we
-may well expect that her expression of the highest beauty,
-the spiritual, will in time favorably compare with that of her
-brother-artists.</p>
-
-<div>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_241'>241</span>
-  <h3 class='c010'>GREAT MONUMENTS OF WOMAN’S PHILANTHROPY.</h3>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c011'>Woman and philanthropy have always been inseparably
-connected, for charity has been regarded in all ages as one
-of the noblest virtues of the gentle sex.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>There is scarcely any country which does not cherish
-the memory of some women for great works of charity.
-Germany, for instance, has the lovely story of Elizabeth, the
-wife of Ludwig IV., landgrave of Thuringia, who reigned
-during the first half of the 13th Century. Feeling an aversion
-to worldly pleasures, and making the early Christians her
-example, Elizabeth devoted herself to works of benevolence.
-In these she was so liberal, that her husband became uneasy,
-fearing she might impoverish his estate by her alms-giving.
-He accordingly bade her to give less to the poor. But secretly
-she spent just as much. One day, while she was carrying a
-heavy load of bread in her basket, she was stopped by her
-husband, who inquired what she was hiding. “Roses, my Lord,
-roses!” she said, hoping that he would not investigate. But
-when he insisted on seeing them, she was forced to open her
-basket and, oh wonder! all the loaves of bread had turned
-into the most beautiful roses.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>America remembers <b>Dorothea Dix</b> as one of the most
-distinguished women it ever has produced. Compelled by
-declining health to go to Europe from 1834 to 1837, she had
-ample opportunity to study in Liverpool and other cities of
-England the terrible conditions of the poor, especially of the
-inmates of poor-houses and insane-asylums. As at that time
-similar institutions in America were just as bad, she gave
-after her return to the United States all her time, strength
-and influence to ameliorate suffering, and to persuade the
-public to furnish suitable asylums, also to improve the moral
-discipline of prisons and penitentiaries. For this purpose she
-visited every State east of the Rocky Mountains, seeking out
-intelligent and benevolent people, and trying to kindle in their
-hearts the same enthusiasm that filled her own.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Fearless in lifting her voice against abuses, she was so
-persistent in reiterating her protests and in pleading needed
-reforms, that attention had to be given her. The founding
-of many state hospitals and insane-asylums in the United States
-as well as in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland is due to her
-indefatigable work.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>A similar case is that of <b>Margaret Fuller</b>, the famous
-author. Warmly espousing the cause of reform in many
-directions and making herself the champion of truth and
-human rights at any cost, she visited prisons and charitable
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_242'>242</span>institutions and talked freely with the female inmates. It was
-on the common ground of womanhood that she approached
-these degraded of her own sex, true to her unalterable faith
-in awakening whatever divine spark might be there. She was
-surprised herself at the results—the touching traits and the
-possibilities that still survived in beings so forlorn and
-degraded. Many of them expressed a wish to see her alone,
-in order to confide to her the secrets of their ruined lives,
-and their ardent desire to enter a new course whereby they
-might regain respectability. Thus making herself the friend
-of the friendless, Margaret Fuller began what we call to-day
-“settlement work.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the matter of prison reform the name of <b>Elizabeth
-Guerney Fry</b> (1780–1845) will likewise be remembered as
-one of the first women promoters in this line of charity.
-An accidental visit to Newgate Prison in London disclosed
-to her the horrible conditions prevailing in this ill-reputed
-dungeon. Like most prisons at the time it was dark, damp,
-and cold in winter. The prisoners were usually half-starved,
-and clad in rags; often loaded with chains, and oftener yet
-pestered by vermin and rats. The ward, into which Miss Fry
-penetrated, although strongly dissuaded by the officials, was
-like a den of wild beasts. It was filled with a hundred and
-sixty women and children, gambling, fighting, swearing,
-yelling, dancing. It justly deserved its name of “hell above
-ground.” The general disorder and abject misery of the
-women confined there so impressed Miss Fry, that she took
-immediate and effectual means to relieve them. The first
-step in the great public work of her life was the forming of
-“The Association for the Improvement of the Female Prisoners
-in Newgate,” in April, 1817. Its aim was the establishment
-of what is now regarded as “prison discipline,” such as entire
-separation of the sexes, classification of criminals, female
-supervision for the women, and adequate provision for their
-religious and secular instruction, as also for their useful
-employment. Disregarding sarcastic critics, who protested
-against the “ultra-humanitarianism which sought to make jails
-too comfortable and tended to pamper criminals,” Miss Fry
-pursued her way and finally brought about the passing of
-Acts (1823–24), in which it was laid down that over and
-above safe custody it was essential to preserve health, improve
-morals, and enforce useful labor in all prisons. Not content
-with these results, Miss Fry likewise inspected during the time
-from 1818 to 1841 the principal prisons of Scotland, Ireland,
-France, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Southern Germany,
-and Denmark, everywhere conferring personally with the leading
-prison officials. By keeping up a constant correspondence
-with them she had the satisfaction of hearing from almost
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_243'>243</span>every quarter of Europe that the authorities were giving an
-ever increasing consideration to her suggestions.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Following the example set by Miss Fry, women in many
-countries aided in forming societies for the improvement of
-prison-discipline. They also established reformatories for
-women and juvenile delinquents. For instance <b>Mrs. Abbey
-Hopper Gibbons</b> assisted in founding the “Women’s Prison
-Association of New York” in 1844 and the “Isaac T. Hopper
-Home.” Its objects were: “First, the improvement of the
-condition of the prisoners, whether detained on trial or finally
-convicted, or as witnesses; secondly, the support and encouragement
-of reformed convicts after their discharge, by affording
-them an opportunity of obtaining an honest livelihood,
-and sustaining them in their efforts to reform.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The association employs an executive secretary who visits
-all the places where women are detained in the State or City
-of New York, keeps track of the housing conditions and
-studies the treatment of the prisoners. On the basis of this
-exact knowledge, the Association has proposed various
-reforms; for example the establishment of Bedford Reformatory
-was largely due to the efforts of this society, and the
-appointment of police matrons in the city station houses.
-Through the instrumentality of Mrs. Hopper Gibbons the
-“New York State Reformatory for Women and Girls” was
-established by the Legislature.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Through the efforts of <b>Linda Gilbert</b> various prisons
-throughout the country were provided with libraries. She
-also secured the incorporation of the “Gilbert Library and
-Prisoners’ Aid Society” under the laws of the State of New
-York. Furthermore she procured employment for thousands
-of ex-convicts, and aided others in establishing in business in
-a small way.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>To enumerate what women have contributed to culture
-as founders and patronesses of infant homes, foundling
-and orphan asylums, industrial schools and homes for boys
-and girls, of refuges for unfortunate women, invalids and
-the aged, of hospitals for destitute children and for people
-afflicted with tuberculosis, cancer, and incurable diseases, is
-a task impossible for the limited space of this book. Besides,
-all information is fragmentary and far too insufficient to give
-a true idea of the vast sums and immense amount of time,
-labor, and effort, devoted by women to these works of charity.
-Constantly on the lookout to alleviate sorrow and provide
-comfort, they have not forgotten even those lonely men, who
-do duty in remote light houses and life-saving stations. It was
-through the efforts of women that these involuntary hermits,
-who often do not come in touch with other human beings
-for several months, are regularly provided with interesting
-books and entertaining games.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_244'>244</span><b>Mrs. Matilde Ziegler</b> of New York has taken a special
-interest in the blind. Mrs. Ziegler, at an expense of $20,000
-a year, founded a monthly magazine for the blind, which has
-a printing press of double the capacity of any printing plant
-for the blind in any other country. Blind girls do all the work
-connected with this magazine.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Georgia Trader</b> in Cincinnati established school classes
-for the blind and a library with over 25,000 volumes, from
-which books in raised type are sent to the blind all over the
-country, free of any charge. She also founded a working-home
-for blind girls, where they are profitably employed in weaving
-rugs, and in various artistic work and handicraft.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Jane Addams</b> in 1889 opened in Chicago a social settlement,
-known as “Hull House.” Wonderful work in sociology
-is done there. Many thousands of men, women and children
-are instructed in all kinds of handicraft, and directed to places,
-where they can make an honest and profitable living. They
-have also access to an excellent library, comfortable club
-rooms, lecture-halls, kindergarten, play-grounds and other
-institutions.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Miss Addams is to-day recognized as one of the foremost
-women in her line of work, and by her example as well as
-through her public lectures and able books, has probably done
-more than anybody else for the extension of practical sociology.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Women have also taken charge of thousands of tired
-working-girls and sent them to the country for a short rest
-during the summer, thus enabling them to take up their lives
-of toil with renewed vigor and courage.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Similar organizations have established vacation schools
-to save children from the demoralization of the long summer
-idleness, and to secure for them fresh air vacations.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Moved by a sincere desire to improve the conditions of
-the despised and maltreated American Indians, <b>Helen Hunt
-Jackson</b>, <b>Alice Fletcher</b>, and <b>Mary L. Bonney</b> succeeded after
-indefatigable efforts in awakening interest among the legislators
-in their work. Miss Fletcher, in her valuable book
-“Indian Civilization and Education,” gave such ample proof
-of her special qualifications that she was appointed by President
-Cleveland in 1887 as a special agent of the Government,
-to allot lands to various Indian tribes. Mary L. Bonney devoted
-herself principally to educational work and, in 1881, was
-foremost in the task of organizing the “Indian Treaty-Keeping
-and Protective Association” by which the many unlawful encroachments
-of white settlers, and the oppression of the Red
-Men by government agents were stopped.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In their efforts to alleviate the hard lot of negro slaves,
-<b>Lucretia Mott</b>, <b>Sarah</b> and <b>Angelica Grimke</b>, <b>Harriet Beecher
-Stowe</b>, and many others, braved criticism, insults and social
-ostracism.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_245'>245</span>By organizing societies for the prevention of cruelty to
-children and animals, women have taken care of those who
-cannot speak for themselves. In many cities they have likewise
-provided drinking fountains for men and for animals.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>All women members of the “National Association of the
-Audubon Societies,” that protect bird-life in America, bind
-themselves never to decorate their hats with plumes and
-feathers. They have also secured laws that forbid hunters to
-kill useful birds, and prevent milliners from buying or exhibiting
-feathers and stuffed skins of such birds.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As generous patronesses of education, science and art
-many women have set themselves lasting monuments.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Catherine L. Wolfe</b> donated to the Metropolitan Museum
-of Art in New York not only her magnificent collection of
-paintings, but likewise a fund of $200,000 for its preservation
-and increase. A million dollars was also bequeathed by her
-to several educational institutions founded by her father and
-herself. She is also known as the founder of the New York
-Home for Incurables.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Mary Tileston Hemenway</b> supported the so-called Hemenway
-Expeditions for the archæological exploration of certain
-regions of Arizona and New Mexico.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Jane Lathrop Stanford</b>, wife of Leland Stanford, railway
-constructor, and U. S. Senator from California, founded in
-memory of her son the “Leland Stanford Jr. University”
-at Palo Alto, near San Francisco. At her own expense Mrs.
-Stanford established a museum, connected with the university,
-containing objects of art, and many things she had collected
-during her extensive travels. At her death the entire estate
-of the Stanfords, amounting to about $50,000,000, was left
-to endow this great university. Her San Francisco home, on
-Nob Hill, became an art gallery and museum.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Phœbe Hearst</b>, wife of George Hearst, and mother of
-William Randolph Hearst, made large donations to the University
-of California. These included $800,000 for the erection
-and equipment of the Hearst Memorial Mining Building. She
-also made provision for twenty scholarships for women, and
-founded a number of free libraries in mining towns with which
-her husband had been associated. Mrs. Hearst was also
-actively interested in every kind of organization for the welfare
-of women. Furthermore she established and maintained
-two kindergarten schools in San Francisco, and three in Washington,
-one of which is for colored children. Her most important
-gift to the District of Columbia was the National
-Cathedral School for Girls, erected on a beautiful site on the
-outskirts of the city.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Margaret Olivia Sage</b>, the widow of Russell Sage, donated
-between seventy-five and eighty million dollars for charitable
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_246'>246</span>and educational purposes. With ten millions she established
-in 1907 the “Sage Foundation for Social Betterment.” Its
-purpose is the improvement of social and living conditions
-in the United States. It does not attempt to relieve individual
-or family need, but tries to seek out and eliminate causes of
-this evil. It furthers education that more directly affects social
-and living conditions, such as industrial education, education
-in household arts, and the training of social workers. In the
-pursuit of these aims the Sage Foundation subsidized worthy
-activities and organizations; it has established investigational
-and propagandist departments of its own; invested its funds
-in activities with a social purpose; and published extensively
-books and pamphlets on social subjects. Since the work of
-the Russell Sage Foundation aids social advance for people
-of every nation, Mrs. Sage became one of the benefactors not
-only of this country, but of the world.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among the many donations Mrs. Sage made to other
-institutions, were $600,000 to the Troy Female Seminary,
-which was one of the first schools in America for the higher
-education of girls; $1,600,000 to the Woman’s Hospital of
-New York; $1,600,000 to the Children’s Aid Society;
-$1,600,000 to the Metropolitan Museum of Art; $1,600,000
-to the American Museum of Natural History; and $1,600,000
-to Syracuse University.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The list here given mentions only a few of the innumerable
-philanthropic works of American women. Similar lists
-could be made for all other countries, but the material has
-never been properly collected. Besides, by far the greatest
-number of such benevolent acts have been performed without
-public knowledge. But wherever we go, we find women
-active, helpful, and persevering, always rejoicing in the
-accomplishment of good.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_246.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_247'>247</span>
-  <h3 class='c010'>THE HUNDRED YEARS’ BATTLE FOR WOMAN SUFFRAGE.</h3>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c011'>“If particular care and attention are not paid to the
-ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not
-hold ourselves bound to obey any laws in which we have no
-voice or representation.”—This was the warning directed by
-<b>Mrs. John Adams</b> in March, 1776, to her husband while he
-was attending the Continental Congress, assembled in Philadelphia
-to consider the Declaration of Independence.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>When this document was framed and adopted without
-recognizing the rights of women, Mrs. Adams and a number
-of other women, deeply indignant, made good the threat of
-Mrs. Adams and opened that most remarkable warfare, which
-has lasted for more than a hundred years and may be called
-“<b>Woman’s Battle for Suffrage</b>.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>That they were deeply disappointed by the inattention
-of Congress, may be inferred from a letter by <b>Hannah Lee</b>,
-the sister of General Lee, in which she asks her brother to
-demand from Congress suffrage for women, as otherwise
-they would not pay any taxes. The same request was made
-by various other prominent women, who pointed to the fact
-that, while their husbands and sons had fought for the inherent
-rights of men, they had likewise fought for the rights
-of women. But as at that time American women were not
-organized their demands failed to make the necessary impression
-and remained unheeded. Besides, the majority of
-American women receiving only a very limited education,
-took little interest in the question, because of their ignorance
-of its importance. Thus, the subject of woman’s rights and
-suffrage dragged on until women had discovered, that there
-is strength in numbers, in federation, and that federation is
-the preliminary requirement to make victory possible.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The evolution of women’s clubs during the 19th Century
-is one of the most striking and most important phenomena
-in woman’s history. The movement began with the sewing
-or spinning circles of long ago, and made a great stride when
-the custom was initiated of some members reading while the
-others sewed. Later on these circles evolved into reading-clubs,
-which again developed into literary societies and
-associations for public improvement, aiming at the establishment
-of public schools and libraries, the erection of hospitals,
-orphan asylums, the sanitation of the streets, and other public
-works.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Such women’s clubs were not even afraid to tackle such
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_248'>248</span>most difficult problems as the abolition of slavery, which, at
-the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th Century,
-became the burning question of the time. The hot discussion
-of this problem split the population of the United States into
-two hostile factions, of which the South with its partisans in
-the North made desperate efforts to prevent the free expression
-of opinion respecting the institution of slavery. In the slave
-States even the Christian churches used their influence in
-favor of the maintenance of slavery.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among the first and strongest advocates of abolition were
-<b>Sarah</b> and <b>Angelina Grimke</b>, the daughters of a family of
-Salzburgers, who during the 18th Century had immigrated
-into South Carolina and Georgia. Shocked by the inhuman
-treatment and cruelties inflicted upon the slaves all round,
-and suffering intensely from the stand taken by their own
-relatives, the sisters resolved to fight these abuses.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>While visiting Philadelphia, Sarah came under the influence
-of the Quakers, and read the strong protest against
-slavery, which Pastorius and the settlers of Germantown in
-1688 had directed to the Quaker meeting. Returning to her
-home, Sarah besought her relatives to free their slaves. Failing
-in this effort, she left her home, joined the Quaker society
-of the “Friends” in Philadelphia, and in 1835 directed an
-“Appeal to the Christian Women of the South,” imploring
-them to become active on behalf of the slaves. This pamphlet
-aroused such a profound sensation wherever it was read, that
-when some time afterward Miss Grimke expressed a desire
-to visit her former home, the mayor of Charleston called upon
-her mother and informed her that the police had been instructed
-to prevent her daughter’s landing when the steamer
-should come into port. He also would see to it that she
-might not communicate with any person, by letter or otherwise,
-and that, if she should elude the vigilance of the police and
-go ashore, she was to be arrested and imprisoned until the
-return of the vessel. As threats of personal violence were
-also made, Miss Grimke abandoned her visit, but published
-soon afterward “An Epistle to the Clergy of the Southern
-States,” and, at the same time, began to address meetings
-in Pennsylvania as well as in the New England States, in
-order to rouse the dormant moral sense of the hearers to protest
-against the colossal sin of the nation. She was assisted
-by her sister Angelina and such eloquent speakers as <b>Lucretia
-Mott</b>, <b>Elizabeth Stanton</b>, <b>William Lloyd Garrison</b> and others.
-These agitators finally created such a stir, that the conservatives
-and opponents of abolition decided that they must be silenced.
-Quite often their meetings were disturbed by mobs; halls were
-refused them, and violence was threatened. The General
-Association of Congregational Ministers of Massachusetts
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_249'>249</span>passed a resolution censuring the Grimke sisters, and issued
-a pastoral letter containing a tirade against “female preachers.”
-But in spite of all efforts, public sentiment in the North in
-favor of abolition steadily grew, until it became evident that
-the question could not be settled without an armed conflict.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>At a gathering of abolitionists, held on July 19th, 1848,
-at the home of <b>Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton</b> in Seneca, N.Y.,
-the question of women’s rights was eagerly discussed. Mrs.
-Stanton, the daughter of a lawyer, had found by frequent
-visits to her father’s office that according to the then existing
-laws, which had been adopted from England, married women
-had no right of disposal over their own inherited property,
-their own income, or their own children, no matter how unfit,
-degraded, and cruel their husbands might be. There was even
-no redress for corporal punishment which the husbands might
-inflict on their wives.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<img src='images/i_249.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>ELIZABETH CADY STANTON.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>Another woman, present at the gathering, was <b>Lucretia
-Mott</b>, a Quaker teacher. It had been her experience, that
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_250'>250</span>female teachers, having paid for their education just as much
-as the males, obtained, when teaching, only half of the compensation
-granted to male teachers.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>But the indignation of the two women over the inferior
-position of woman had been especially excited while attending
-the World’s Anti-Slavery Convention, held in 1840 at London.
-Both women, together with Mrs. Wendell Phillips, had been
-appointed delegates by the abolitionists of America, and as
-they were able speakers, much had been expected from their
-eloquence. But when the women submitted their credentials,
-they discovered that the English abolitionists had not reformed
-their antiquated views of male predominance and would not
-admit any woman as delegate nor on the platform. When
-the question was submitted to vote, the women were excluded
-by a large majority. This flat refusal to recognize woman’s
-right to an equal participation in all social, political, and
-religious affairs brought what is termed “the Woman Question”
-into greater prominence than ever before. The gathering in
-the Wesleyan chapel, at Seneca Falls, N.Y., Mrs. Stanton’s
-home, is known as the <b>First Woman’s Rights Convention</b>.
-Held on the 19th and 20th of July, 1848, it was attended
-by 68 women and 38 men. The simultaneous discussion of
-the subject of slavery and the natural rights of man had as
-their logical consequence, on the part of women, the demand
-of a privilege exercised in many cases by persons far below
-them in intelligence and education. They asserted that many
-of their number were taxpayers, that all were interested in
-good government, and that it would be unjust for women
-of intelligence to be deprived of a vote while ignorant negroes
-could have a voice in the government. Furthermore they
-asserted that the participation of women would have a purifying
-effect on politics.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>At the close of the second day the convention adopted
-the following:</p>
-
-<div class='nf-center-c0'>
-<div class='nf-center c002'>
-    <div>Declaration of Sentiments.</div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>“The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries
-and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in
-direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over
-her. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable
-right to the elective franchise.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“He has compelled her to submit to laws in the formation
-of which she had no voice.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“He has withheld from her rights which are given to
-the most ignorant and degraded men—both natives and
-foreigners.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Having deprived her of this first right of a citizen, the
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_251'>251</span>elective franchise, thereby leaving her without representation
-in the halls of legislation, he has oppressed her on all sides.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“He has made her, if married, in the eye of the law,
-civilly dead.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“He has taken from her all right in property, even to
-the wages she earns.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“He has so framed the laws of divorce as to what shall
-be the proper causes, and, in case of separation, to whom
-the guardianship of the children shall be given, as to be
-wholly regardless of the happiness of women—the law in
-all cases going upon a false supposition of the supremacy of
-man, and giving all power into his hands.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“After depriving her of all rights as a married woman,
-if single and the owner of property, he has taxed her to
-support a government which recognizes her only when her
-property can be made profitable to it.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“He has monopolized nearly all the profitable employments,
-and from those she is permitted to follow she receives
-but a scanty remuneration. He closes against her all the
-avenues of wealth and distinction which he considers most
-honorable to himself. As a teacher of theology, medicine, or
-law, she is not known.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“He allows her in church, as well as state, but a subordinate
-position, claiming Apostolic authority for her exclusion
-from the ministry and, with some exceptions, from any
-public participation in the affairs of the church.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“He has created a false public sentiment by giving to
-the world a different code of morals for men and women, by
-which moral delinquencies which exclude women from society
-are not only tolerated but deemed of little account in man.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“He has usurped the prerogative of Jehovah himself,
-claiming it as his right to assign for her a sphere of action,
-when that belongs to her conscience and God.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“He has endeavored, in every way that he could, to
-destroy her confidence in her own powers, to lessen her self-respect,
-and to make her willing to lead a dependent and
-abject life.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Now, in view of this disfranchisement of one-half the
-people of this country, their social and religious degradation;
-in view of the unjust laws mentioned, and because women
-do feel themselves aggrieved, oppressed and fraudulently
-deprived of their most sacred rights, we insist that they have
-immediate admission to all the rights and privileges which
-belong to them as citizens of the United States.”</p>
-
-<p class='c007'>Of course, this declaration, modeled after the immortal
-Declaration of 1776, did not fail to create a sensation everywhere.
-Other conventions were held in Rochester and Syracuse,
-N.Y., and in Salem, Ohio. They brought to the front
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_252'>252</span>a number of wonderful women, whose names were henceforth
-connected with this movement, first among them <b>Susan B.
-Anthony</b>, <b>Lucy Stone</b>, <b>Paulina Wright Davis</b> and <b>Anna Howard
-Shaw</b>. In October, 1850, the <b>First National Woman’s Rights
-Convention</b> was held at Worcester, Mass. Attended by delegates
-from nine states it was distinguished by addresses and
-papers of the highest character, which filled the audiences
-with enthusiasm. A National Committee was formed, under
-whose management conventions were held annually in various
-cities. An account of the convention, written by <b>Mrs. John
-Stuart Mill</b>, in the “Westminster Review,” London, marked
-the beginning of the movement for woman suffrage in Great
-Britain. But in spite of all efforts and agitation, progress was
-but slow. The first result was not gained before 1861, when
-Kansas granted school suffrage to women, a step that was
-not followed by other states for many years afterwards.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>How averse the stronger sex was to grant women suffrage
-became evident, when in 1868 the 14th and 15th amendments
-to the Constitution of the United States were adopted. These
-amendments abolished slavery and gave the freed negroes of
-the South all privileges of citizenship, including the right to
-vote. Section 1 of the 15th amendment reads:</p>
-
-<p class='c009'>“The right of citizens to vote shall not be
-denied or abridged by the United States, or by any
-State, on account of race, color, or previous condition
-of servitude.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As the advocates of woman suffrage were American
-citizens, they held themselves entitled to the same rights as
-granted to the negroes. But their demands to be registered
-as legal voters were denied by the registrars of elections.
-Now the women appealed to the courts, to see if their claim
-would be sustained by invoking the aid of those constitutional
-amendments above cited. But the uniform decision in each
-court was that these amendments had in no way changed or
-abridged the right of each State to restrict suffrage to <b>males</b>,
-and that they applied only to the men of color and to existing
-rights and privileges. An appeal to the Supreme Court
-resulted in the decision that this body was in accordance with
-the decisions of the State courts.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>To test the application of the 14th and 15th amendments
-to the Constitution <b>Susan B. Anthony</b>,—who in 1860 with
-others had been successful in securing the passage of an Act
-of the New York Legislation, giving to married women the
-possession of their earnings, as well as the guardianship of
-their children,—cast in 1872 ballots at the State and Congressional
-elections in New York. Miss Anthony was indicted
-and in 1873 found guilty of criminal offense against the
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_253'>253</span>United States for knowingly voting for congressmen without
-having a lawful right to vote, which offense was punishable,
-under Act of Congress, by a heavy fine or imprisonment.
-Fined $100 for illegal voting, Miss Anthony declared that
-she would never pay the penalty, and in fact it has never been
-collected.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<img src='images/i_253.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>SUSAN B. ANTHONY.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>Undaunted by the decision of the Court, Miss Anthony
-in 1875 proposed the following amendment to Article 1 of
-the Constitution:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to
-vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States
-or by any State on <b>account of sex</b>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Section 2. Congress shall have power by appropriate
-legislation to enforce the provisions of this article.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>This resolution was introduced by Senator Sargent of
-California in 1878, but was rejected several times. In 1887
-it secured in the Senate only 14 affirmative to 34 negative
-votes.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>But several years before the indictment of Miss Anthony
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_254'>254</span>woman suffrage had already won its first victory, in the Territory
-of Wyoming. The Organic Act for the regulation of the
-Territorial governments provides that at the first election in
-any Territory male citizens of the age of twenty-one years
-shall vote, but</p>
-
-<p class='c009'>“at all subsequent elections the qualifications of voters
-and for holding office shall be such as may be prescribed
-by the legislative assembly of each Territory.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Under this act the first legislative assembly of Wyoming,
-in 1869, granted women the right to vote and to hold office
-upon the same terms as men. An effort made in 1871, to
-repeal this statute, failed, and to the men of Wyoming belongs
-the honor, of having been first to recognize the rights of
-women.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>A further gain was made when the Republican National
-Convention of 1872 and 1876 resolved that “the honest
-demands” of women for additional rights should be treated
-with respectful consideration.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of still greater importance was the organization of two
-national Woman Suffrage Associations, the one with headquarters
-in New York, the other in Boston. A union of these
-two bodies was effected in 1890 under the title of “<b>The
-National American Woman Suffrage Association</b>.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Mrs. Stanton was elected president of the new organization.
-When in 1892 she resigned from her office because of
-advancing age, she was followed by Miss Anthony, who in
-1900 resigned at the age of 80. Her successors were <b>Miss
-Anna Howard Shaw</b> and <b>Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt</b>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Under the able leadership of these brilliant women victory
-was now followed by victory. Up to 1914 Colorado, Idaho,
-Washington, California, Arizona, Kansas, Oregon, Nevada,
-Utah and Montana had joined the ranks of Woman Suffrage
-States; also the Territory of Alaska.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>To these Western regions the Eastern and Southern States
-formed a strange contrast, as so far the suffragists had been
-unable to conquer one of them. For this surprising fact I fail
-to find any other explanation but that the Western men are
-much more conscious of a great historical truth, which the
-men in the East and South seem to have almost forgotten,
-namely: <b>that to the women the founding of real culture in
-America is due. Having heroically shared with their husbands
-all hardships and dangers, having gone with them on their
-hazardous journeys into the wilderness, even on their long
-voyages across the prairies and Rocky Mountains to far
-Oregon and California, the women provided the first permanent
-homes and filled them with comfort, sunshine and
-happiness. In recognition of these facts the Western men
-granted their partners only a well deserved tribute of gratitude.</b></p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_255'>255</span>In many places the men expressed their respect for the
-gentler sex by electing women to important public offices, and
-in almost all cases these positions have been filled to the
-fullest satisfaction.</p>
-
-<hr class='c012' />
-
-<p class='c008'>The steady progress of woman suffrage in the United
-States was followed by the women of other countries with
-intense interest, especially by those of Great Britain and
-Australia. Encouraged to like activity, they demonstrated with
-convincing clearness the injustice of the legislatures toward
-women and thus prepared the way for a similar movement
-in favor of woman suffrage. The result was that the English
-government in 1869 adopted the Municipal Reform Act,
-which permits women to vote in all municipal elections. An
-Act of 1870 gave them the school vote. The Act of 1888
-made them voters for the county councils. An Act of 1894
-abolished in all departments of local government the qualification
-of sex.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<img src='images/i_255.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>DR. ANNA HOWARD SHAW.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>New Zealand, one of the most progressive of all countries,
-went even farther. The women there were granted suffrage
-in 1893 on the same basis with men. A similar step was
-taken in the following year by South Australia. And when
-in 1901 the Commonwealth of Australia was formed by the
-federation of the six provinces, or states, of New South Wales,
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_256'>256</span>Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and
-Tasmania, one of the first steps was to give all women full
-national suffrage.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the countries of continental Europe the evolution of
-local women’s organizations to State- and National Unions had
-been the same as in the United States and in England. But
-the majority of these societies remained conservative in regard
-to woman suffrage. Germany since 1813 has had the “<b><span lang="de" xml:lang="de">Vaterlaendische
-Frauenverein</span></b>” (Patriotic Women’s League), a
-union of wonderful helpers for suffering humanity, both in
-peace and in war. Since 1865 a “General Association of
-German Women” tried to secure new rights for women, both
-along political and economic lines. A “<b>Society for Woman
-Suffrage</b>” was not formed before 1902. But only two years
-later the “<b>International Suffrage Alliance</b>” was formed in
-Berlin, with <b>Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt</b>, of New York, as president.
-The progressive movement in Germany took largely
-the form of educational and industrial training. And the
-women shared the national belief that education precedes
-every good, and that for their legal and political protection
-from injustice they might rely upon their male relatives.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<img src='images/i_256.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>CARRIE CHAPMAN CATT.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>In certain districts of Germany, Austria, Denmark,
-Hungary and Russia women who owned property, were permitted
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_257'>257</span>to cast their votes on various communal matters, either
-by proxy or in person. In Belgium, the Netherlands, France,
-Italy, Switzerland, Roumania and Bulgaria women had no
-political rights whatever, but were permitted to vote for certain
-state boards—educational, philanthropic, correctional
-and industrial. In France, women as a rule showed little
-sympathy with suffrage, retaining their racial instinct that
-they might accomplish more through social influence, personal
-suasion and the special charms of their sex than by working
-openly through the ballot.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In Switzerland few women had the courage to seek
-emancipation, as those who favored the movement were
-looked upon as disreputable persons without regard for social
-laws. In Portugal and Spain women remained absolutely
-indifferent. Sweden had given women the right to vote in
-all elections, except for representatives, while Finland and
-Norway in 1906 and 1907 granted full suffrage rights and
-eligibility to women upon exceedingly generous terms.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Since the beginning of the 20th Century the Modern
-Woman’s Rights Movement has also caused significant changes
-in the status of the women of the Balkan States, and of the
-countries of the Orient and the Far East. Restrictions and
-obstacles, placed on woman by tradition and religious rules,
-have been abolished. Many Mohammedan women for instance
-appear to-day on the streets without veils, a thing that no
-prominent woman could do formerly. The establishment of
-girls’ schools, woman’s colleges, universities, woman clubs
-and journals mark likewise the progress of the movement.
-And in Servia, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Egypt and Japan
-exist federations of women’s clubs, which can be regarded as
-political organizations.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Thus, at the beginning of the memorable year of 1914
-woman throughout the civilized world had gained various
-degrees of freedom in the exercise of her political rights.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_257.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_258'>258</span>
-  <h3 class='c010'>WHY WOMEN WANT AND NEED THE VOTE.</h3>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c011'>Few questions have been so universally and intensely
-discussed as the right and expediency of Woman Suffrage.
-Its opponents assert that the true woman needs no governing
-authority conferred upon her by law. While discussing this
-question one “gentleman” said “that the highest evidence of
-respect that man could exhibit toward woman, and the noblest
-service he could perform for her, were to vote <b>Nay</b> to the
-proposition that would take from her the diadem of pearls,
-the talisman of faith, hope and love, by which all other requests
-are won from men, and substitute for it the iron crown of
-authority.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The chief arguments brought forward against woman
-suffrage are: that the majority of the women never desired
-it, because they were already represented by their husbands,
-fathers and brothers; that there were already too many voters,
-and that by admitting women to suffrage the whole machinery
-and cost of voting would be doubled without changing the
-result; that women would not have time to perform their
-political duties without neglecting their higher duties at home;
-that women were too emotional and sentimental to be
-entrusted with the ballot; that women would cease to vote
-after the novelty had worn off; that the introduction of women
-into political life would increase its bitterness, and would
-abolish chivalry with its refining influence on men; that the
-franchise, in a large majority of instances, would be exercised
-under the influence of priests, parsons, and ministers, under
-the power of religious prejudice, and that religious feuds
-would affect political life much more than under present
-circumstances. And finally it has been asserted that woman
-suffrage would place a new and terrible strain upon family
-relations as the introduction of political disputes into domestic
-life would lead to quarrels and divorce.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>These arguments were answered in an editorial of the
-“New York American” of October 6, 1912, as follows:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“The ballot is the weapon that men use in defending
-their rights. It is the voice with which men express their
-opinions, their wishes, as to law, in the more settled civilization
-where the ballot is the recognized power. Little by little
-the mass of the people—that is to say, of the men—have
-got the ballot. Originally there was no ballot. Savage tribes
-held disorganized meetings, and shouted their opinions. The
-loudest shouters won, and the man who could hit the hardest
-led the others. Little by little the big man formed his own
-opinions, alone reached his own decisions, and the others had
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_259'>259</span>nothing to say. The expression of opinion was confined to one,
-or to a few leaders, gathered under a chief, or, where religion
-ruled, opinion was controlled by the priests in the old temples
-making up their minds what would be good <b>for them</b>, and
-forcing their will on ignorant people. For many centuries
-the kings, the nobles and the priests ruled—and the people
-had nothing to say. <b>Men and women alike were without the
-vote.</b></p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Little by little, the men got the vote, and now, in
-civilized countries, universal suffrage became the rule, <b>as
-regards men</b>. The women were shut out because men always
-have had the idea that voting was in some way connected
-with fighting. Their thoughts went back to the old savage mob
-shouting its determination to attack and kill—leaving the
-women at home. And the ignoring of women persists, although
-little by little the voting power has been used, not to make
-war, <b>but to prevent war</b>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Now, in every country calling itself civilized, the chief
-use of the ballot is to express ideas of peace—justice. The
-ballot that was once the expression of man’s fighting quality
-is now the expression of his <b>better nature</b>, and for that reason
-it is time to give that ballot to the better half of the human
-race, to the women that have civilized it.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Supporters of women suffrage are, and for many years
-have been, the best men in the country. Men that are unselfish,
-just, scorning ridicule, and proud to vindicate the rights of
-their own mothers and sisters, have long demanded votes for
-women. The women that have worked and fought for the
-suffrage have been, beyond all comparison, the best women
-of this and other countries. Humorists used to talk of “short-haired
-women and long-haired men” as the advocates of
-woman suffrage. That is a foolish and false division. The
-women with good foreheads, earnest, gentle and dignified
-faces have been the advocates of votes for women. The
-women with low foreheads, plastered with hair, the women
-with their faces painted, the women with a hundred thoughts
-for dress and no thought for anything else, have been the
-opponents of women suffrage. And the men, brutal, conceited,
-looking upon woman as a piece of property, created for man’s
-pleasure or for his service, have been the men that opposed
-suffrage. Another class opposed to woman suffrage is the
-most dangerous class of all. That is the class that would keep
-in ignorance women, and men, too, if it could. Those that
-prey upon the ignorance and superstition of women are anxious
-that women shall know as little as possible. They do not
-want the women to vote, <b>for voting means thinking, and thinking
-means freedom</b>. Wherever women have voted they have
-bettered conditions.”—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_260'>260</span>Lecky in his valuable book “Democracy and Liberty”
-writes on page 547: “It has been gravely alleged that the
-whole character of the female sex would be revolutionized,
-or at least seriously impaired, if they were brought by the
-suffrage into public life. There is perhaps no subject in
-which exaggerations so enormous and so grotesque may be
-found in the writings of considerable men. Considered in
-itself, the process of voting is now merely that of marking
-once in several years a ballot-paper in a quiet room, and it
-may be easily accomplished in five minutes. And can it
-reasonably be said that the time or thought which an average
-male elector bestows on the formation of his political opinions
-is such as to interfere in any appreciable degree with the
-currents of his thoughts, with the tendencies of his character
-or life? Men wrote on this subject as if public life and interests
-formed the main occupation of an ordinary voter. It is said
-that domestic life should be the one sphere of woman. Very
-many women—especially those to whom the vote would be
-conceded—have no domestic, or but few domestic duties
-to attend to, and are compelled, if they are not wholly
-frivolous or wholly apathic, to seek spheres of useful activity
-beyond their homes. Even a full domestic life is scarcely more
-absorbing to a woman than professional life to a man. Scarcely
-any woman is so engrossed in it that she cannot bestow on
-public affairs an amount of time and intelligence equal to
-that which is bestowed on it by thousands of masculine voters.
-Nothing can be more fantastic than to argue as if electors were
-a select body, mainly occupied with political studies and
-public interests.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Women form a great section of the community, and
-they have many special interests. The opening to them of
-employments, professions and endowments; the regulation of
-their labor; questions of women’s property and succession;
-the punishment of crimes against women; female education;
-laws relating to marriage, guardianship, and divorce, may all
-be cited; and in the great drink question they are even more
-interested than men, for though they are the more sober sex,
-they are also the sex which suffers most from the consequences
-of intemperance. With such a catalogue of special interests
-it is impossible to say that they have not a claim to representation.”—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among the arguments in favor of woman suffrage the
-most important are the following: As women are citizens of a
-Government <b>of</b> the people, <b>by</b> the people, and <b>for</b> the people,
-and <b>as women are people</b>, who wish to do their civic duty, it
-is unfair that they should be governed by laws in the making
-of which they have no voice. As women are equally concerned
-with men in good and bad government, and equally
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_261'>261</span>responsible for civic righteousness, and as they must obey the
-laws just as men do, they should vote equally with men.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>If it is true that “taxation without representation is
-tyranny” then tax-paying women who support the government
-by paying taxes, should have the right to vote to elect such
-representatives, who protect them against unjust taxation.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Working women need the ballot to regulate the conditions
-under which they work. Millions of women are wage-earners
-and their health is often endangered by bad working
-conditions and sweat-shop methods that can only be remedied
-by legislation.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Business women need the ballot to secure for themselves
-a fair opportunity in their business, and to protect themselves
-against adverse legislation.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Mothers and housekeepers need the vote to regulate the
-moral and sanitary conditions under which their families must
-live. Women are forever told that their place is in the home.
-But what do men expect of them in the home? Merely to
-stay there is not enough. They are a failure unless they do
-certain things for the home. They must minister, as far as
-their means allow, to the health and welfare, moral as well
-as physical, of their family, and especially of the children.
-They, more than anybody else, are held responsible for what
-becomes of the children. Women are responsible for the cleanliness
-of the house, for the wholesomeness of the food, for
-their children’s health and morals. But mothers cannot control
-these things, if the neighbors are allowed to live in filth, if
-dealers are permitted to sell poor or adulterated food, if the
-plumbing in the house is unsanitary, if garbage accumulates
-and the halls and stairs are left dirty. They can take every
-care to avoid fire, but if the house has been badly built, if
-the fire-escapes are insufficient or not fire-proof, they cannot
-guard their children from the horrors of being maimed or
-killed by fire. They can open the windows to give the children
-the air that we are told is so necessary. But if the air is laden
-with infection and contagious diseases, they cannot protect
-the children from this danger. They can send the children
-out for air and exercise, but if the conditions that surround
-them in the streets are immoral and degrading, they cannot
-protect them from these influences. Women alone cannot
-make these things right. But the City administration can do it.
-The administration is elected by the people, to protect the
-interests of the people. As men hold women responsible for
-the conditions under which the children live, the women should
-have something to say about the city’s housekeeping, even if
-they must introduce an occasional house-cleaning.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>What enormous influence women are able to exert in vital
-questions has been demonstrated in the <b>Temperance Movement</b>;
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_262'>262</span>which originated in the United States. Since the beginning
-of the colonization of the Western Hemisphere Americans
-have been heavy consumers of rum, whiskey, and other intoxicating
-liquors. “Everybody drank, and on all occasions,”
-says a writer who has left us a pen picture of these bibulous
-days. Drunkenness and all the evils resulting from it increased
-with the gradual development of the “saloon” and the habit
-of “treating,” two institutions peculiar to America and almost
-unknown in Europe.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>For generations the women were the greatest sufferers
-from the intemperance of the men, because many husbands
-came home besotted, their faculties benumbed to an unconsciousness
-of their own degradation, with wages gone, and
-employment forfeited. The purer and gentler the wife in such
-case, the more intense her suffering. So it was but natural,
-that when the first “<b>Anti-Spirits Association</b>” was formed in
-1808 in Greenfield, Saratoga County, New York, several
-women should join it. The movement made rapid progress,
-and in 1826 the “<b>American Temperance Society</b>” was founded.
-In 1829 and 1830 similar associations were started in Ireland
-and England; and in 1846 the first “<b>World’s Temperance
-Convention</b>” was held at London. In 1873 women became
-a real force in the field when the women inhabitants of Hillsborough,
-a small town in Ohio, started what became known
-as “The Women’s Crusade.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Frances E. Willard, one of its principal leaders, described
-the proceedings in the following graphic manner: “Usually
-the women came in a long procession from their rendezvous
-at some church, where they had held a morning prayer meeting.
-Marching two and two in a column, they entered the
-saloon with kind faces, and the sweet songs of church and
-home upon their lips, while some Madonna-like leader with
-the Gospel in her looks, took her stand beside the bar and
-gently asked if she might read God’s word and offer prayer.
-After that the ladies seated themselves, took their knitting
-or embroidery, and watched the men who patronized the
-saloons. While some of them cursed the women openly, and
-some quietly slunk out of sight, others began to sign the
-pledge these women brought with them. In the meantime
-one of the ladies pleaded with the proprietor to give up his
-business. Many of these liquor dealers surrendered and then
-followed stirring scenes, and amid songs and the ringing of
-the church bells the contents of barrels and bottles were
-gurgling into the gutter, while the whole town assembled to
-rejoice in this new fashion of exorcising the evil spirits.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Not everywhere the ladies met with success. In Cincinnati
-such a procession of women, including the wives of
-leading pastors, were arrested and locked up in jail; at other
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_263'>263</span>places dogs were set on the crusaders, or they were smoked
-out, or had the hose turned on them.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The movement, wholly emotional, and in many cases
-hysterical, spread throughout the country like a prairie fire.
-In 1874 it led to the organization of “<b>The Woman’s Christian
-Temperance Union</b>,” and, in 1883, to the founding of “<b>The
-World’s Women’s Temperance Union</b>,” the members of
-which wear a white ribbon and have the motto: “Woman
-will bless and brighten every place she enters, and she will
-enter every place.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Since the founding of this world’s union the movement
-has extended over many countries and has branched out into
-a multitude of organizations. Their influence has been widely
-felt in legislatures, and in all elections in which laws have been
-voted upon for the regulation of the production and sale of
-liquors.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Another question in which women are deeply concerned
-is that of <b>Child-labor</b>, the reckless exploitation of children in
-the interest of industry. Evidences that in England the dreadful
-abuses, committed by unscrupulous mine- and factory-owners,
-as described in a former chapter, have continued to
-the present times, were submitted to the International Women’s
-Congress, held in 1899 in London. It was reported that
-at that time 144,026 children below the age of 12 years were
-employed in workshops, mines, factories and warehouses. Of
-these children 131 had not yet reached the age of 7 years;
-1120 were under 8; 4211 under 9; 11,027 under 10, and
-122,131 under 11 years of age. Miss Montessori, the Italian
-delegate to the Congress, described the hard work of the
-children employed in the sulphur mines of Sicily. As they
-have to carry heavy loads on their shoulders through low
-gangways and over steep ladders and stairways, they are
-compelled to walk in a stooped position, and therefore in
-time become deformed and crippled.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the United States the question of child-labor is likewise
-a matter of deep concern to men as well as to women.
-As every State has its own Legislature, there exists a varied
-assortment of child-labor laws. Ten or fifteen years ago
-several states had none whatever. Others prohibited the
-employment of children under ten years, while still others
-had an age limit of twelve or fourteen years. The same diversity
-prevailed in regard to the hours of labor. Some states had
-no legislation in this direction, while others forbade any child
-to work longer than ten hours daily.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>During the year 1890 there was a total of 860,786
-children between the ages of ten and fifteen years at work in
-various occupations in the United States. A report of the
-Bureau of Mines of Pennsylvania for 1901 stated 24,023 of
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_264'>264</span>the employees of the anthracite coal mines in Pennsylvania
-were children.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In 1918 investigators of the children’s bureau of the
-Department of Labor reported that the number of minors
-employed in factories, mines and quarries has increased at a
-rapid rate since the U. S. Supreme Court, on June 5th, 1918,
-nullified the child-labor act of 1916 as unconstitutional. Not
-only are a greatly increased number of children employed,
-but they are kept at work longer hours than before. Since
-the future of such children as well as the future of the country
-depend to a very great extent upon what legislators do in
-regard to children, it is obvious that women are deeply concerned
-in this question.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The need of women’s participation in government and
-of an “occasional house-cleaning” in the Legislatures as well
-as in the Municipal Administrations becomes evident, when
-we realize that one of the most revolting crimes is committed
-daily in our communities, quite often with the silent protection
-of corrupt officials and politicians. We refer to the <b>White
-Slave Trade</b>. As few people have any definite idea of its
-extent and terrors, some authentic facts are here given, which,
-at the same time, demonstrate men’s indifference as well as
-the urgent need of woman’s interference for its suppression.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As everybody knows, the traffic in young girls for purposes
-of prostitution is as old as humanity. It has flourished
-in all ages and in all countries. But it was during the 19th
-Century that it found its systematic organization and its most
-extensive development.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>With alarming frequency, the papers report that some
-young woman or girl is “missing,” having stepped out of her
-home on some household errand, and from this moment
-having vanished as though swallowed by the earth. Such
-was the case of Dorothy Arnold, who some years ago left
-her cosy home in New York, to do some shopping in a department
-store. She never returned and no trace of her was ever
-discovered. This particular case attracted wide attention all
-over the United States, as Miss Arnold, a beautiful girl of
-eighteen, was the daughter of wealthy parents, who spent a
-fortune in desperate but futile attempts to recover their child.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Every year hundreds of similar cases occur in our country,
-some in San Francisco, some in New York, Baltimore, St.
-Louis, Chicago and elsewhere. If the exact number of such
-missing girls could be known, the public might well be shocked;
-and horrified if it would know the sad lot that befalls the
-majority of these unfortunate girls. Where efforts to ascertain
-their fate have met with success, it was found that in ninety
-out of a hundred cases such girls became victims of the most
-detestable fiends on earth, human ghouls, who make fortunes
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_265'>265</span>by luring innocent and inexperienced women into the most
-degrading slavery.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>There were many events that favored the development
-of the white slave trade. The discovery of gold in California
-and the construction of many transcontinental railroads were
-followed by the opening of the rich mining- and lumber-districts
-in the northwestern and western parts of the United
-States, and in Canada. In more recent years came the opening
-of the gold and diamond fields in South Africa, of the gold
-grounds in Alaska, the construction of the Panama Canal
-and the great transcontinental railroads through Siberia and
-Africa. All these great undertakings attracted many thousands
-of men, who were ready to squander their earnings in gambling,
-drinking and any other kind of dissipation. Women, of course,
-stood at the head of things in demand. And as there are
-always people eager to profit by catering to such passions,
-the white slave trade assumed most threatening proportions.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>To ensnare victims, the slave dealers insert enticing
-advertisements offering profitable positions to waitresses,
-chambermaids, servants, governesses, and other female help
-in hotels, boarding houses and private families. They send
-their “procurers” or agents to the dance-halls and cheap
-pleasure resorts, and to those industrial towns, where large
-numbers of poorly paid young girls toil in mills and factories.
-Here they approach their prey under all kinds of disguises
-and pretenses. One especially ingenious procurer of New York
-has been credited with gaining the acquaintance of young
-girls in the garb of a priest. And George Kibbe Turner in
-an article “The Daughters of the Poor” (published in 1910
-in McClure’s Magazine) made the statement that a gang of
-such fiends worked under the name “The New York Independent
-Benevolent Association”!</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>However, the chief recruiting-grounds for the white slave
-trade are the miserable Jewish Ghettos of Poland, Russia,
-Galicia, Hungary, Austria and Roumania, where always numbers
-of degraded men can be found, ready to sell their own
-kindred for any price offered. With the help of such procurers
-four principal centers of the white slave trade were
-created: Lemberg, London, Paris and New York, with branches
-in all parts of America, Africa and Asia.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Of course such a villainous trade would not be possible
-without the silent protection of corrupt officials and political
-machines, who share in its enormous profits. Inside information
-on this subject was received through the disclosures, made
-during the latter parts of the last century about conditions in
-the mining and lumber regions of Michigan and Wisconsin.
-In January, 1887, Representative Breen appeared before the
-House Judiciary Committee of the legislature of Michigan
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_266'>266</span>and stated the existence of a regular trade in young and
-innocent girls for purposes of prostitution between Chicago,
-Duluth and other cities with the mining and lumber districts
-south of Lake Superior. As he said that the horrors of the
-camps into which these girls were lured beggared description,
-several newspapers, among them the “Chicago Herald” and
-“The New York World,” dispatched representatives, disguised
-as woodmen, to those regions to investigate the truth of these
-statements. They found that almost without exception the
-girls, kept in these camps, had been secured under promise
-of respectable employment. The houses, in which they were
-imprisoned, were surrounded by stockades twenty or thirty
-feet in height, the one door guarded night and day by a man
-with a rifle, while within were a number of bulldogs to prevent
-the girls from escaping. In the largest of such lumber camps
-dens from twenty to seventy-five girls were found.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>On January 24, 1887, the “New York World” published
-the story of an unfortunate girl, who had been lured by an
-advertisement to work in a lumberman’s hotel in the North.
-Believing the position to be respectable, she went there, but
-after her arrival at the place she was taken to a rough two-story
-building surrounded by a slab fence twenty feet high,
-within which was a cordon of bulldogs, thirteen in number,
-chained to iron stakes driven into the ground. In this place
-she was compelled, like all the other girls, of which there were
-always from eleven to thirty, to drink and dance with the
-men of the mining and lumber camps. They were not permitted
-to refuse any request of those visitors. A complaint
-of any kind, even of sickness, meant a whipping, frequently
-with a rawhide upon the naked body, sometimes with the
-butt of a revolver. When the log drives were going on, there
-would be hundreds of men there night and day, not human
-beings, but fiends.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Oh, it was awful, awful!” cried the girl after her release.
-“I would rather stay in prison until I die than go back there
-for one day. I tried to escape three times and was caught.
-They unchained the dogs and let them get so near me that I
-cried out in terror and begged them to take the dogs away
-and I would go back. Then, of course, I was beaten. I tried,
-too, to smuggle out notes to the Sheriff through visitors, but
-they would take them to the proprietor instead, and he would
-pay for them. Once I did get a note to the Deputy Sheriff
-at Florence, Wisconsin, and he came and inquired. But the
-proprietor gave him $50, and he went away. I was awfully
-beaten then. While I lived this life, from March until September,
-two inmates died, both from brutal treatment. They
-were as good as murdered. Nearly all the girls came without
-knowing the character of the house, and first implored to get
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_267'>267</span>away. The county officers came to the places to drink and
-dance with the girls. They are controlled by a rich man in
-Iron Mountain, who owns these houses and rents them for
-$100 a month.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>That the den keepers were always on good terms with
-the officials, appears also from the following report of the
-“Chicago Herald” of April 17, 1892, in which attention is
-called to the continuance of the horrible conditions in the
-mining- and lumber-camps. “Four years ago, when “The
-Herald” exposed the pinery dens, Marinette was known as
-the wickedest city in the country. It was the rendezvous of
-every species of bad men. Thugs, thieves and gamblers
-practically held possession of the town. Their influence was
-felt in all municipal affairs. Certain officers of the law seemed
-in active sympathy with them, and it was almost impossible
-to secure the arrest and conviction of men guilty of infamous
-crimes. Dives of the vilest character ran open on the outskirts
-of the town. Their inmates, recruited from all parts of the
-country by the subtle arts of well known procurers, were kept
-in a state of abject slavery. Iron balls and chains, suffocating
-cords and the whistling lash were used on refractory girls
-and women. Bodies of ill-starred victims were sometimes
-found in the woods, but the discovery was rarely followed
-by investigation. The dive keepers were wealthy and knew
-how to ease the conscience of any over-zealous officer.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Another report states: “Many den-keepers wield a powerful
-influence in the local elections; one of the worst of such,
-after paying the constable $12 for the return of a girl who had
-tried to escape, beat her with a revolver until tired and was
-then only prevented by a woodman from turning loose a bulldog
-upon her; but such was his political influence that he was
-elected justice of the peace the following spring!”—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>About the same time, at a session of the National Social
-Purity Congress held in Baltimore, the following statement
-was made: “Of the 230,000 erring girls in this country, over
-half have been snared or sold into their lives of shame. Their
-average life is five years. Forty-six thousand are carted out to
-Potters Field every year. Over one hundred American homes
-have to be desolated every day to recruit the ranks of shame.
-Isn’t it time for somebody to try to save these girls from falling
-into those dens of iniquity? Twenty million Christians can
-rescue 230,000 erring girls, or surely the religion of Jesus
-Christ is a failure.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Terrible happenings, as for instance the murder of Ruth
-Cruger of New York in 1917, and similar cases in February
-and March, 1919, have disclosed that gangs of white slave
-traders still exist in America and do a flourishing business.
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_268'>268</span>The prices paid to agents depend upon the girl’s youth and
-beauty, ranging from $20 to $1000, and even more.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The enormous and thoroughly organized traffic in girl-children
-in England was exposed by the revelations of the
-“Pall Mall Gazette,” which roused the people to earnest efforts
-against this commerce and secured the formation of the
-“Society for the Prevention of Traffic in English Girls.” In
-giving details of this traffic the paper said:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“London, the great metropolis of Christian England, the
-largest city of ancient and modern times, is acknowledged
-by statisticians and sociologists to be the point where crime,
-vice, despair, and misery are found in their deepest depth
-and greatest diversity. Not Babylon of old, whose name is
-the synonym of all that is vile; not Rome, “Mother of Harlots,”
-not Corinth, in whose temple a thousand girls were kept for
-prostitution in service of God, not the most savage lands in
-all their barbarity have ever shown a thousandth part of the
-human woe to be found in the city of London, that culmination
-of modern Christian civilization. The nameless crimes of
-Sodom and Gomorrah, the vileness of ancient Greece, which
-garnered its most heroic men, its most profound philosophers,
-are but amusements among young men of the highest rank in
-England; West End, the home of rank and wealth, of university
-education, being the central hell of this extended radius
-of vice.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>As in many countries priests and police departments
-have failed to stop this heinous traffic in young girls, women
-must step in, and, by their votes, must place such legislators
-and police commissioners in office, that proper laws and their
-strict enforcement can be expected.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In Germany the “white slave trade” is practically
-unknown. For many years two women associations have
-existed,—a Protestant and a Catholic,—whose representatives,
-recognizable by distinct arm bands, patrol all important
-railway stations, in order to furnish correct information to
-incoming girls who are looking for positions, and to escort
-them to the homes of the associations, where they may stay
-till respectable places have been found for them.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>It is obvious, that the problems connected with the
-temperance question, child-labor and the white slave trade are
-of vital importance to every woman and mother. Salvation
-must come through the woman’s ballot. They must defend
-themselves and their children as men have done: by co-operating
-in the elections, by controlling those that make the laws,
-and by controlling those who are appointed to enforce them.</p>
-
-<hr class='c012' />
-
-<p class='c008'>A few words may be said in regard to the claim that
-woman would cease to vote “after the novelty of her new
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_269'>269</span>toy had worn off.” Statistics as well as the testimony of competent
-observers confute this claim. In all states where women
-enjoy full suffrage, they have shown themselves eager to
-vote. In Idaho the Chief Justice and all the justices of the
-State Supreme Court signed a statement that “the large vote
-cast by the women establishes the fact that they take a lively
-interest.” In Wyoming, Colorado and other full suffrage states
-it has been observed that 90 per cent. of the women vote.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In Australia, in 1903, at the first national election in
-which women took part, 359,315 women voted; in 1906,
-431,033; in 1910, 601,946.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In New Zealand the number has increased at each triennial
-parliamentary election. In 1893 90,290 women voted;
-in 1896, 108,793; in 1899, 119,550; in 1902, 138,565; in
-1905, 175,046; in 1908, 190,114; in 1911, 221,858.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The following is a testimonial from Sir Joseph Ward,
-Prime Minister of New Zealand, in regard to Woman Suffrage
-in practice:</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-r c002'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>Prime Minister’s Office,</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>Wellington, Oct. 17th, 1907.</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>Woman Suffrage exists in New Zealand because it dawned
-upon the minds of thinking men that they were daily wasting
-an almost unlimited supply of mental and moral force. From
-the time their baby hands had found support and safety by
-holding the folds of their mother’s gowns, they had trusted
-the happiness of their lives hourly to the common sense, the
-purity and the sympathy of women. Strange to say, in one
-department of life alone, and that perhaps the most important,
-viz.: the political, had they denied the right of speech and of
-direct influence to women. Men of different countries had for
-centuries preached and written of evils which deformed their
-systems of Government and even tainted the aspirations of
-statesmen for just laws within the state, and equitable relations
-abroad. Nevertheless these men neglected, or refused to avail
-themselves of the support and counsel of women’s hearts and
-women’s brains, which they accepted on other matters. Indeed,
-they were ready to listen to foolish arguments against the idea
-of women entering political life; such as: women would lose
-their grace, modesty, and love of home if they voted; since
-they could not be soldiers, they had no right to control questions
-of peace and war.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In New Zealand we have not found that making a “pencil
-mark on a voting paper” once in three years has resulted in
-any loss of grace or beauty among our women, or even in
-neglect of home duties. On the contrary the women’s vote
-has had a distinctly clarifying effect on the process of elections.
-The old evil memories of election day, the ribaldry, the
-fighting, have been succeeded by a decorous gravity befitting
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_270'>270</span>people exercising their highest national privilege. When the
-contention, that women should not be entitled to vote because
-they cannot bear arms, is used by one whose mother could
-only make his life and citizenship possible by passing through
-pain and danger greater than the average soldier has to face,
-it becomes inconsistently ridiculous. Besides, many men
-(clergymen, government officials, etc., etc.), are exempt from
-actual military service, and that fact has never been used to
-deprive them of a vote. The main argument, however, which
-weighed with us, was that of right, of abstract right. If the
-foundation of government is the consent of the governed, it
-appears monstrously unfair that one half of the population
-should not be represented or have any share in it. Therefore,
-after long and grave consideration, we gave our women an
-equal right with men in deciding on the qualifications of candidates
-to represent them in Parliament.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>We have no reason to regret the decision. I feel confident
-that if any great crisis in national morals should arise, the
-women’s vote would press with irresistable weight in the
-direction of clean, honest and efficient legislation. New Zealand
-has not repented having abolished set disqualifications
-among those men and women who have unitedly helped to
-build the foundations of a nation. I write as one who advocated
-the extension of the franchise to women before my entry into
-Parliament twenty years ago. I have always supported it in
-Parliament, and, while closely watching its effect, have never
-seen any genuine cause for believing that it has not worked
-for the good of the Dominion.</p>
-
-<p class='c007'>Similar testimonials have been given by the governors of
-all Western States of the Union.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Governor Bryant B. Brooks of Wyoming said: “Nothing
-can be so far from the truth as the idea that Woman Suffrage
-has the slightest tendency to disrupt the home. Indeed it has
-the very opposite effect. As a result of it politics is talked
-freely in the family circle, and political questions are settled
-by intelligent discussion. This has a great and good influence
-on the growing generation. The children grow up in an
-atmosphere that encourages intelligent consideration and
-debate of public problems, and are thus better equipped to
-deal with public questions when they reach voting age.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Governor Shafroth of Colorado said: “Our State has
-Woman Suffrage for many years, and has found it of inestimable
-benefit to her people,” and Governor James H. Brady
-of Idaho said: “Woman Suffrage has been an unqualified
-success, not only in Idaho, but in all Western States adopting
-the principle.”</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_271'>271</span>
-<img src='images/i_271.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>PREPARING BANDAGES.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<h3 class='c010'>WOMAN’S ACTIVITY DURING THE WORLD WAR.</h3>
-
-<p class='c011'>When in August, 1914, the most dreadful disaster that
-ever befell humanity burst upon the European nations, women
-at first stood paralyzed with fear and terror, foreseeing the
-tremendous burden and sacrifices they would have to bear.
-But after every hope for a peaceful solution had vanished and
-nothing remained but to face the inevitable, they rallied and
-prepared to weather the coming hurricane.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The manner in which they met it during the long and
-terrible years of 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917 and 1918 was
-perhaps the greatest revelation the world has ever experienced.
-Never before have members of the “weaker sex” braved such
-a catastrophe more heroically and made such supreme sacrifices.
-In fact, woman’s activity during the World War has
-been a grand manifestation, which stands out in glorious colors
-from a black background of man’s hatred, revengefulness,
-slander, calumniation, treason, avarice, atrocities, and murder.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>When the vast armies were mobilized it became necessary
-to close the innumerable gaps caused by the sudden drafting
-and departure of so many million men. To refill the positions
-they had occupied, was the most urgent necessity, as otherwise
-the whole machinery of national life would become disorganized,
-and that at the most critical time.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_272'>272</span>At once immense numbers of women and girls responded
-to the call. They went into the tramway and railway service
-to act as ticket sellers and punchers, as conductors, brakemen
-and motormen. They replaced the letter carriers and chauffeurs;
-they climbed the lofty seats formerly occupied by cab-drivers
-and postilions. Mounting motor-cycles they delivered
-telegrams and performed other urgent errands. They formed
-street-cleaning and fire-brigades and took care of the sanitation
-and protection of the cities. In the offices and stores they
-assumed the duties of the bookkeeper and floor-walker; in
-the schools they substituted for male teachers who had followed
-the call of the war trumpet. They repaired telegraph-wires
-and installed telephones; they became blacksmiths and
-repaired the roofs of houses. They cleaned windows and
-chimneys, delivered newspapers and carried the coal from the
-wagon into the bins and bunkers. They acted as “ice-men”
-and collected the garbage and ashes. They tilled the fields
-and vegetable gardens, and brought in the crops and the
-harvests. They thrashed the wheat and served in the mills as
-well as in the bakeries. They furnished clothes, and made and
-mended shoes. They finished the public roads and other
-works that had been left uncompleted. They built houses and
-tore down others. In Berlin the excavation for a new underground
-railway, badly needed, was done by women, and
-half of the gangs that worked on the railroad tracks were
-made up of girls.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<img src='images/i_272.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>WOMEN FILLING SHELLS IN A BRITISH AMMUNITION FACTORY.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_273'>273</span>In England as well as in France and Germany thousands
-of women could be seen in the ship-yards working side by
-side with men on the scaffolds, at bolting and riveting, forging
-and casting, as if they had always done this work. In fact,
-women did everything that heretofore had been regarded as
-“man’s work.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>But they did much more. Hundreds of thousands of
-women entered the gun- and ammunition factories in order
-that the armies might not lack ample means for the defense
-of the country.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<img src='images/i_273.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>WOMEN IN A SHELL FACTORY.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>Donning overalls, oil-cloth caps and gas masks they
-became engaged in the hazardous manufacture of high explosives,
-of filling and packing the deadly gas-shells and other
-projectiles. At the same time millions of busy hands prepared
-the bandages and other necessities for the treatment of the
-wounded. Whole brigades of Red Cross nurses were formed
-and went to the battlefields and hospitals, to attend those who
-in the grim conflict might lose their limbs, their eye-sight, or
-become sufferers from the effect of poisonous gases.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>All too soon long trains and hospital-ships brought in
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_274'>274</span>such unfortunates, at first a few hundred, then in ever increasing
-numbers, by the thousands and by tens of thousands.
-Within a few months most of the countries engaged in the
-dreadful struggle were turned into immense hospitals, filled
-with moaning and suffering. What noble and indefatigable
-women did here to alleviate this misery and distress, can
-never be fully told and will never be forgotten. Whoever was
-witness of the self-control and perseverance shown year after
-year by many Red Cross nurses will always think of them
-with reverence.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>There is not a single Army Medical Corps of the many
-nations engaged in the World War, which does not freely
-admit, that the immense amount of work could not have been
-done without the help of women. In a tribute to the Red Cross
-Major-General Merritte W. Ireland, Surgeon-General U. S.
-Army, said:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Probably the greatest single service rendered by the
-Red Cross home forces was the supply of trained nurses it
-furnished our hospitals. The Army Medical Corps trains a
-few nurses, but could never hope to turn out the large number
-provided through Miss Delano’s department. If we needed
-a thousand nurses for a given work, we telegraphed the War
-Department. The War Department notified Miss Delano. And
-the nurses arrived on schedule.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“An especially notable service rendered by Red Cross
-nurses occurred during the early American campaign when our
-men were brigaded with French divisions. When wounded,
-they were, of course, taken to French hospitals. Unable to
-answer questions or tell their needs, they were in a very
-unhappy plight. Scores of Red Cross nurses speaking both
-French and English were immediately sent to these hospitals—and
-the problem was solved.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“The work of the Red Cross was often the theme of
-discussions at American General Headquarters at Chaumont.
-I remember that it was enlarged upon there in a conversation
-between General Pershing, Mr. H. P. Davison, the Chairman
-of the War Council of the American Red Cross, and myself.
-We were speaking of the value of the service rendered by the
-millions of our women and how they helped keep the influence
-of home about the boys at the front. And General Pershing
-said: “The women of the United States deserve a large share
-of the credit for the success of the American forces.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Our Army officers have often admired not only the
-spirit but the efficiency of the American Red Cross organization.
-It provided an inexhaustible store of supplies; it possessed
-a remarkable facility for adapting itself to any emergency,
-however unexpected; and its personnel always evinced the
-finest readiness for co-operation. The millions of surgical
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_275'>275</span>dressings, knitted articles, refugee garments, and other supplies
-it contributed—for these things alone it would have deserved
-the Army’s unstinted praise. All the splints used in all our
-hospitals in France, both of the Army and of the Red Cross,
-came from the Red Cross. It furnished more than a quarter
-of a billion surgical dressings. It sent over enough sweaters
-for every man in our overseas forces to possess one.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Similar tributes have been freely extended to the nurses
-of all other Red Cross branches, which co-operated with the
-Medical Corps of the various powers engaged in the terrible
-war.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<img src='images/i_275.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>A GOOD SAMARITAN.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>While performing their merciful work, many women had
-to bear the depressing anxiety caused by husbands, sons, or
-brothers, fighting in the trenches or on the ocean; or for those
-unfortunates who as prisoners had fallen into the hands of
-the enemy.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The women of the Central powers had to face many
-additional problems of the most perplexing nature. As the
-soil of Germany and Austria does not yield enough to support
-the whole population, and as all imports of foodstuffs were
-cut off by hostile fleets, provisions became more scarce and
-more expensive from day to day. There was not sufficient
-milk to keep the millions of babies alive; and not enough
-food to save adults from slow starvation. To stretch the scant
-supplies the most careful and rigid methods of administration
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_276'>276</span>had to be invented and applied. Public kitchens were established
-to reduce the cost of living to the lowest point possible.
-In Berlin twenty-three committees of the National Women’s
-Service with several thousand voluntary workers were running
-such charitable kitchens, from which tens of thousands regularly
-received their daily meals. The same organizations
-later on supervised the system of bread-, milk-, grocery- and
-butter-cards, when the increasing shortage of food forced the
-governments to the severest restrictions.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Among the many German relief organizations those of
-the Red Cross took the leading place. Originally divided into
-five main sections under the general control of a central committee
-and designed to combat of sickness and destitution in
-the civil population, it now was increased to twenty-three
-divisions. Their welfare work assumed such importance during
-the progress of the war that it had to be subdivided into three
-groups, the first of which became engaged in fighting tuberculosis
-and contagious diseases, the second in the protection
-of infancy and motherhood, the third in family welfare work
-in the narrower meaning of the term. In all these branches
-the organization of the Red Cross provided the framework
-within which the numerous national, state and local social
-activities of the country grouped themselves naturally in
-accordance with their separate functions.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The activity of the organizations during the years 1917,
-1918, and 1919, the dreadful years of general distress and
-starvation, forms one of the most pathetic chapters in woman’s
-history. Not only the food, but the cotton, wool, leather,
-rubber, fat, oil, soap, and hundreds of other necessities gave
-out completely. People were compelled to live on substitutes.
-And as these became too scarce or too expensive, they lived
-on substitutes for these substitutes. Imagine the heartrending
-pain mothers were bearing when at the end of 1918 and
-in 1919 large numbers of mayors of German cities and
-numerous professors of medicine were compelled to send
-urgent appeals for help to all medical faculties of the world,
-stating that since the signing of the truce 800,000 people in
-Germany had died from starvation. “Many millions of human
-beings,” one of the appeals reads, “are living on only half or
-even less than half the quantity of food necessary to sustain
-life. Utterly exhausted they have lost all power of resistance
-and succumb to any kind of sickness that may befall them.
-The worst sufferers are the children and those mothers, who
-fast for the sake of their children. There are too the neurasthenics
-of all kinds, the numbers of which have, for four
-years, increased immensely. Furthermore, there are the overworked,
-and those who have become sick through the unheard-of
-monotony of food and from the absolute absence of every
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_277'>277</span>stimulant. Their existence becomes more unbearable from
-day to day. While the physicians of Germany are profoundly
-impressed with the terrible ravages caused by hunger, they
-have absolutely no means of combating them.”</p>
-
-<hr class='c012' />
-
-<p class='c008'>While during these dreadful times millions of women
-devoted themselves to the noble work of healing the terrible
-wounds and sufferings, other groups eagerly tried to bring
-about a cessation of hostilities. Immediately after the first
-declaration of war, the “International Woman Suffrage Alliance”
-directed an urgent appeal to the British Foreign Office
-as well as to all Foreign Embassies in London, to leave untried
-no method of conciliation or arbitration to avert the threatening
-disaster. Numerous women’s societies in Holland, Sweden,
-Germany and Switzerland arose simultaneously and joined
-the good cause. Soon a great movement for peace began to
-sweep through the women of the entire world.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>But women’s efforts to bring the conflict to a standstill
-lacked as yet the necessary strength. They were overpowered
-by the influence and machinations of those statesmen, financiers,
-publishers of newspapers and countless others, who wanted
-war. And so nothing remained for women but to repeat ever
-and again their protests against the madness of men.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>When in December, 1914, suffering Christianity prepared
-to celebrate the natal day of the Messiah, the Prince of Peace,
-a noble-minded woman of London, <b>Miss Emily Hobhouse</b>,
-wrote the following letter:</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-l c002'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“To American Women, Friends of Humanity and Peace!</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Friends:—May I appeal to you in the name of Humanity,
-on behalf of the children of Europe, before whom suffering
-or death has already taken place, and whose future is fraught
-with pain? In you lies our hope of help for them, for you
-are free to speak and act.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Will you not come to our troubled world, unite with
-the women of other neutral lands and initiate a crusade—a
-real ‘holy’ war, fought with the swords of the Spirit?</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Appalling as is this massacre of the manhood of Europe,
-that is not the worst. As long as men adopt barbaric methods
-of settling disputes they must abide by the consequences; but
-for those innocent victims, the non-combatants—women,
-babes, old and sick—I crave your help. Their names and
-numbers will never be known. They are multiplying in Poland
-and Galicia, in Belgium and France, in East Prussia and Holland,
-and elsewhere. Ponder this vast host, voiceless, suffering,
-dying, crouching beside their blackened ruins or fleeing from
-the devastated areas both east and west. Think of disease
-let loose, of the horrors of cold and famine!</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“I know it is not easy to visualize details of conditions
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_278'>278</span>so foreign to average experience. It needs a mental effort
-few can make. It is because I was daily witness of such things
-in the South African War that I dare not be silent. Disease,
-devastation, starvation and death were words I then learned
-as war interprets them. I saw a country burnt and devastated
-as large parts of Europe are to-day; I saw old and sick, women
-and children turned out of house and home; I saw them, half
-clad, starving, lying sick to death upon the bare earth; I saw
-babies that were born in open, crowded trucks; I saw haggard,
-endless sick, gaunt skeletons, hourly deaths. There in the
-Boer States death swept away non-combatants in the proportion
-of five to one of those who fell in the field.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“It is because I know the brunt of this war, too, is falling
-and must fall, heaviest upon the weak and young, that I appeal
-now on their behalf, not merely to those who love peace, but
-to the great body of women who love children. Little children,
-more sensitive to exposure, to extremes of heat and cold,
-to tainted food, to starvation, and to the stench, the poisonous
-stench of war, quickly fade, quickly die.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Will you not arise and work for peace?—For peace
-alone can save the children. It would be, I well know, a
-struggle against powers of darkness and will need the whole
-armor of God. Yet every sentiment of pity and of civilization,
-leave alone Christianity, demands the effort. The victims
-cannot help themselves; succor must come from without.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Relief, we know, you pour most generously, but relief
-cannot meet a want so colossal, neither can it touch the worst
-ills. Cut at the root of the evil—the war itself. A strong
-lead is needed. Myriads want peace; they never wanted war.
-In each country this is true; constant proofs reach us from
-Germany and France, as well as various parts of England.
-The press of each nation asserts that the people are unanimous
-for war. It is not so, but those who have the means of speaking,
-and who swim with their governmental streams, can speak
-the loudest and alone are heard. Many dare not, many cannot
-speak. Others make a truce and save thousands of human
-lives and receive the blessings of thousands of wives and
-mothers.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“A union of neutral women could investigate the facts
-of the sufferings amongst non-combatants, and founded upon
-acquired personal knowledge they could in the name of
-Humanity formulate demands persistent, cogent, irresistible,
-not in favor of any one party or nation, but simply for Peace.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“It seems futile to turn to statesmen, governments or
-prelates for aid. They are tied and bound by position, custom
-and mutual fear. They await propitious movements. Famine,
-disease and death do not wait.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“<b>Women have this advantage: they are still unfettered
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_279'>279</span>by custom and expediency; they need consult only the dictates
-of humanity. If ever the world needed their intervention
-on a vast scale, it needs it now!</b></p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Failure in such a task would have no fears for them;
-failure in a noble effort is often a measure to success! The
-greatest have seemed to fail. Judged by human standards,
-Christ’s life on earth was a failure. <b>The effort in any case
-would leave its mark upon the thought and history of the
-world. Womanhood will have arisen in vindication of a higher
-humanity—to avenge desolated motherhood and protect
-martyred children; it will have asserted its right to shield the
-weak and young from the fatal results of the organized murder
-called war.</b>”</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<img src='images/i_279.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic003'>
-<p>MISS JANE ADDAMS.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c007'>The appeal was not made in vain. The day after its
-receipt a number of prominent American women called a convention
-in Washington, D. C., on January 10th, 1915. <b>Miss
-Jane Addams</b> of Chicago acted as chairman. The result of
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_280'>280</span>this meeting was the organization of the “<b>Woman’s Peace
-Party</b>,” which adopted the following</p>
-
-<div class='nf-center-c0'>
-<div class='nf-center c002'>
-    <div>Preamble and Platform.</div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>“We women of the United States, assembled in behalf
-of World Peace, grateful for the security of our own country,
-but sorrowing for the misery of all involved in the present
-struggle among warring nations, do hereby band ourselves
-together to demand that war be abolished.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Equally with men pacifists, we understand that planned-for,
-legalized, wholesale, human slaughter is to-day the sum
-of all villainies.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“<b>As women, we feel a peculiar moral passion of revolt
-against both the cruelty and the waste of war. As women, we
-are especially the custodians of the life of the ages.</b> We will
-not longer consent to its reckless destruction.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“<b>As women, we are particularly charged with the future
-of childhood and with the care of the helpless and the
-unfortunate.</b> We will not longer endure without protest that
-added burden of maimed and invalid men and poverty-stricken
-widows and orphans which war places upon us.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“<b>As women, we have builded by the patient drudgery
-of the past the basic foundation of the home and of peaceful
-industry.</b> We will not longer accept without a protest, that
-must be heard and heeded by men, that hoary evil which in
-an hour destroys the social structure that centuries of toil
-have reared.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“<b>As women, we are called upon to start each generation
-onward toward a better humanity.</b> We will not longer tolerate
-without determined opposition that denial of the sovereignty
-of reason and justice by which war and all that makes war
-to-day render impotent the idealism of the race.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Therefore, as human beings and the mother half of
-humanity, we demand that our right to be consulted in the
-settlement of questions concerning not alone the life of individuals
-but of nations be recognized and respected.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“We demand that women be given a share in deciding
-between war and peace in all the courts of high debate—within
-the home, the school, the church, the industrial order,
-and the state.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“So protesting, and so demanding, we hereby form
-ourselves into a national organization to be called the <b>Woman’s
-Peace Party</b>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“We hereby adopt the following as our platform of
-principles, some of the items of which have been accepted
-by a majority vote, and more of which have been the unanimous
-choice of those attending the conference that initiated
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_281'>281</span>the formation of this organization. We have sunk all differences
-of opinion on minor matters and given freedom of
-expression to a wide divergence of opinion in the details of
-our platform and in our statement of explanation and information,
-in a common desire to make our woman’s protest against
-war and all that makes for war, vocal, commanding and
-effective. We welcome to our membership all who are in
-substantial sympathy with that fundamental purpose of our
-organization, whether or not they can accept in full our detailed
-statement of principles.</p>
-
-<div class='nf-center-c0'>
-<div class='nf-center c002'>
-    <div>Platform.</div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>“The Purpose of this Organization is to enlist all American
-women in arousing the nations to respect the sacredness of
-human life and to abolish war. The following is adopted as
-our platform:</p>
-
-  <dl class='dl_2'>
-    <dt>1.</dt>
-    <dd>The immediate calling of a convention of neutral nations in the interest of early peace.
-    </dd>
-    <dt>2.</dt>
-    <dd>Limitation of armaments and the nationalization of their manufacture.
-    </dd>
-    <dt>3.</dt>
-    <dd>Organized opposition to militarism in our own country.
-    </dd>
-    <dt>4.</dt>
-    <dd>Education of youth in the ideals of peace.
-    </dd>
-    <dt>5.</dt>
-    <dd>Democratic control of foreign policies.
-    </dd>
-    <dt>6.</dt>
-    <dd>The further humanizing of governments by the extension of the franchise to women.
-    </dd>
-    <dt>7.</dt>
-    <dd>“Concert of Nations” to supersede “Balance of Power.”
-    </dd>
-    <dt>8.</dt>
-    <dd>Action toward the gradual organization of the world to substitute Law for War.
-    </dd>
-    <dt>9.</dt>
-    <dd>The substitution of an international police for rival armies and navies.
-    </dd>
-    <dt>10.</dt>
-    <dd>Removal of the economic causes of war.
-    </dd>
-    <dt>11.</dt>
-    <dd>The appointment by our Government of a commission of men and women, with an adequate
-    appropriation, to promote international peace.”
-    </dd>
-    </dl>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the meantime women of other countries had not
-remained idle. <b>Dr. Aletta H. Jacobs</b>, President of the Dutch
-National Society for Woman Suffrage, directed a letter to
-the most prominent women societies of various nations, saying
-that it was of the greatest importance to bring those women,
-representing the women societies of the world, together in an
-<b>international meeting in a neutral country</b>, to show “that in
-<b>these dreadful times, in which so much hate has been spread
-among the different nations, the women at least retained their
-solidarity and that they were able to maintain mutual friendship</b>.”
-At the same time she suggested to hold this International
-Congress in Holland, and offered to make the necessary
-arrangements.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_282'>282</span>While many women welcomed this first effort to renew
-international relations it was only natural that, especially in
-belligerent countries, a fierce criticism should be directed
-against this daring move. This criticism came even from some
-of the women’s organizations. “It was to be impossible to hold
-the Congress! No one would attend! Even if the Congress
-were held the nationalities would quarrel amongst themselves!”
-But those who had undertaken the work were not deterred by
-this criticism, but encouraged by many enthusiastic responses.
-The announcement that Miss Jane Addams had accepted the
-invitation to preside at the Congress gave courage to all who
-were working for it. And so the memorable “<b>International
-Congress of Women for Permanent Peace</b>” came to pass. It
-was held at the Hague from April 28 to May 1, 1915, and
-attended by 1136 delegates and a large number of visitors.
-The countries represented were Austria, Belgium, Canada,
-Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands,
-Norway, Sweden, and the United States of America.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In her address of Welcome, Dr. Aletta H. Jacobs, the
-President of the Executive Committee, said: “In arranging this
-International Congress we have naturally had to put aside all
-thoughts of a festive reception, we have simply endeavored
-to receive you in such a way that you may feel assured of
-our sympathy, our mutual sisterly feelings, our goodwill to
-link the nations together again in the bonds of fellowship and
-trustful co-operation.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“With mourning in our hearts we stand united here. We
-grieve for the many brave young men, who have lost their lives
-in barbaric fratricide before even attaining their full manhood;
-we mourn with the poor mothers bereft of their sons; with
-thousands and thousands of young widows and fatherless
-children; we will not endure in this Twentieth Century civilization,
-that governments shall longer tolerate brute force as the
-only method of solving their international disputes. The
-culture of centuries standing and the progress of science must
-no longer be recklessly employed to perfect the implements
-of modern warfare. The accumulated knowledge, handed
-down to us through the ages, must no longer be used to kill
-and to destroy and to annihilate the products of centuries
-of toil.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Our cry of protest must be heard at last. Too long
-already has the mother-heart of woman suffered in silence.
-O, I know and feel most strongly, that it is impossible that
-a world-fire, such as has been blazing forth for the last nine
-months, can be extinguished, until the last bit of inflamable
-material has been reduced to ashes, but I also feel most strongly
-that we must raise our voices now, if the new era of civilization
-that will arise from these ashes is to rest upon a more substantial
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_283'>283</span>basis, a basis on which the women with their inherent
-conserving and pacific qualities shall have the opportunity to
-assist men in conducting the world’s affairs.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“We women judge war differently from men. Men
-consider in the first place its economic results. What it costs
-in money, its loss or its gain to national commerce and industries,
-the extension of power and so forth. But what is
-material loss to us women, in comparison to the number of
-fathers, brothers, husbands and sons who march out to war
-never to return. We women consider above all the damage
-to the race resulting from war, and the grief, the pain and
-misery it entails. We know only too well that whatever may
-be gained by a war, it is not worth the bloodshed and the
-tears, the cruel sufferings, the wasted lives, the agony and
-despair it has caused.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Important as are the economic interests of a country,
-the interests of the race are more vital. And, since by virtue
-of our womanhood, these interests are to us of greater sanctity
-and value, women must have a voice in the governments of
-all countries.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Not until women can bring direct influence to bear
-upon Governments, not until in the parliaments the voice of
-the women is heard mingling with that of the men, shall
-we have the power to prevent recurrence of such catastrophes.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“The Governments of the world, based on the insight
-of the half of humanity, have failed to find a right solution
-of how to settle international disputes. We therefore feel it
-more and more strongly, that it is the duty, the sacred duty
-of every woman, to stand up now and claim her share with
-men in the government of the world. Only when women are
-in the parliaments of all nations, only when women have a
-political voice and vote, will they have the power effectively
-to demand that international disputes shall be solved as they
-ought to be, by a court of arbitration or conciliation. Therefore
-on a programme of the conditions whereby wars in future may
-be avoided, the question of woman suffrage should not be
-lacking, on the contrary, it should have the foremost place.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“May this Congress be the dawn of a better world, a
-world in which each realizes that it is good to serve one’s
-own country, but that above the interests of one’s Country
-stand the interests of humanity, by serving which a still higher
-duty is fulfilled.”—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The business sessions, presided over by Miss Jane Addams,
-led to the adoption of the following resolutions:</p>
-
-<div>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_284'>284</span>
-  <h4 class='c020'>I. WOMEN AND WAR.</h4>
-</div>
-
-<h5 class='c021'>1. Protest.</h5>
-
-<p class='c011'>We women, in International Congress assembled, protest
-against the madness and the horror of war, involving as it
-does a reckless sacrifice of human life and the destruction of
-so much that humanity has labored through centuries to
-build up.</p>
-
-<h5 class='c021'>2. Women’s Sufferings in War.</h5>
-
-<p class='c011'>This International Congress of Women opposes the
-assumption that women can be protected under the conditions
-of modern warfare. It protests vehemently against the odious
-wrongs of which women are the victims in time of war, and
-especially against the horrible violation of women which
-attends all war.</p>
-
-<h4 class='c020'>II. ACTION TOWARDS PEACE.</h4>
-
-<h5 class='c021'>3. The Peace Settlement.</h5>
-
-<p class='c011'>This International Congress of Women of different nations,
-classes, creeds and parties is united in expressing sympathy
-with the suffering of all, whatever their nationality, who are
-fighting for their country or laboring under the burden of war.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Since the mass of the people in each of the countries
-now at war believe themselves to be fighting, not as aggressors
-but in self-defence and for their national existence, there can
-be no irreconcilable differences between them, and their common
-ideals afford a basis upon which a magnanimous and
-honorable peace might be established. The Congress therefore
-urges the Governments of the world to put an end to
-this bloodshed, and to begin peace negotiations. It demands
-that the peace which follows shall be permanent and therefore
-based on principles of justice, including those laid down in
-the resolutions 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 adopted by this Congress.</p>
-
-<h5 class='c021'>4. Continuous Mediation.</h5>
-
-<p class='c011'>This International Congress of Women resolves to ask
-the neutral countries to take immediate steps to create a conference
-of neutral nations which shall without delay offer
-continuous mediation. The Conference shall invite suggestions
-for settlement from each of the belligerent nations and in
-any case shall submit to all of them simultaneously, reasonable
-proposals as a basis of peace.</p>
-
-<h4 class='c020'>III. PRINCIPLES OF A PERMANENT PEACE.</h4>
-
-<h5 class='c021'>5. Respect for Nationality.</h5>
-
-<p class='c011'>This International Congress of Women, recognizing the
-right of the people to self-government, affirms that there
-should be no transference of territory without the consent of
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_285'>285</span>the men and women residing therein, and urges that autonomy
-and a democratic parliament should not be refused to any
-people.</p>
-
-<h5 class='c021'>6. Arbitration and Conciliation.</h5>
-
-<p class='c011'>This International Congress of Women, believing that
-war is the negation of progress and civilization, urges the
-governments of all nations to come to an agreement to refer
-future international disputes to arbitration and conciliation.</p>
-
-<h5 class='c021'>7. International Pressure.</h5>
-
-<p class='c011'>This International Congress of Women urges the governments
-of all nations to come to an agreement to unite in bringing
-social, moral and economic pressure to bear upon any
-country, which resorts to arms instead of referring its case to
-arbitration or conciliation.</p>
-
-<h5 class='c021'>8. Democratic Control of Foreign Policy.</h5>
-
-<p class='c011'>Since War is commonly brought about not by the mass
-of the people, who do not desire it, but by groups representing
-particular interests, this International Congress of Women
-urges that Foreign Politics shall be subject to Democratic
-Control; and declares that it can only recognize as democratic
-a system which includes the equal representation of men and
-women.</p>
-
-<h5 class='c021'>9. The Enfranchisement of Women.</h5>
-
-<p class='c011'>Since the combined influence of the women of all countries
-is one of the strongest forces for the prevention of war,
-and since women can only have full responsibility and effective
-influence when they have equal political rights with men, this
-International Congress of Women demands their political
-enfranchisement.</p>
-
-<h4 class='c020'>IV. INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION.</h4>
-
-<h5 class='c021'>10. Third Hague Conference.</h5>
-
-<p class='c011'>This International Congress of Women urges that a third
-Hague Conference be convened immediately after the war.</p>
-
-<h5 class='c021'>11. International Organization.</h5>
-
-<p class='c011'>This International Congress of Women urges that the
-organization of the Society of Nations should be further developed
-on the basis of a constructive peace, and that it should
-include:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><i>a.</i> As a development of the Hague Court of Arbitration,
-a permanent International Court of Justice to settle questions
-or differences of a justifyable character, such as arise on the
-interpretation of treaty rights or of the law of nations.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><i>b.</i> As a development of the constructive work of the
-Hague Conference, a permanent International Conference
-holding regular meetings in which women should take part,
-to deal not with the rules of warfare but with practical proposals
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_286'>286</span>for further International Co-operation among the States.
-This Conference should be so constituted that it could formulate
-and enforce those principles of justice, equity and goodwill
-in accordance with which the struggles of subject communities
-could be more fully recognized and the interests
-and rights not only of the great Powers and small Nations
-but also those of weaker countries and primitive peoples
-gradually adjusted under an enlightened international public
-opinion.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>This International Conference shall appoint:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>A permanent Council of Conciliation and Investigation
-for the settlement of international differences arising from
-economic competition, expanding commerce, increasing population
-and changes in social and political standards.</p>
-
-<h5 class='c021'>12. General Disarmament.</h5>
-
-<p class='c011'>The International Congress of Women, advocating universal
-disarmament and realizing that it can only be secured
-by international agreement, urges, as a step to this end, that
-all countries should, by such an international agreement, take
-over the manufacture of arms and munitions of war and should
-control all international traffic in the same. It sees in the
-private profits accruing from the great armament factories a
-powerful hindrance to the abolition of war.</p>
-
-<h5 class='c021'>13. Commerce and Investments.</h5>
-
-<p class='c011'><i>a.</i> The International Congress of Women urges that in
-all countries there shall be liberty of commerce, that the seas
-shall be free and the trade routes open on equal terms to the
-shipping of all nations.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><i>b.</i> Inasmuch as the investment by capitalists of one
-country in the resources of another and the claims arising
-therefrom are a fertile source of international complications,
-this International Congress of Women urges the widest possible
-acceptance of the principle that such investments shall be made
-at the risk of the investor, without claim to the official protection
-of his government.</p>
-
-<h5 class='c021'>14. National Foreign Policy.</h5>
-
-<p class='c011'><i>a.</i> This International Congress of Women demands that
-all secret treaties shall be void and that for the ratification of
-future treaties, the participation of at least the legislature of
-every government shall be necessary.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><i>b.</i> This International Congress of Women recommends
-that National Commissions be created, and International Conferences
-convened for the scientific study and elaboration of
-the principles and conditions of permanent peace, which might
-contribute to the development of an International Federation.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>These Commissions and Conferences should be recognized
-by the Governments and should include women in their
-deliberations.</p>
-
-<div>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_287'>287</span>
-  <h5 class='c021'>15. Women in National and International Politics.</h5>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c011'>This International Congress of Women declares it to be
-essential, both nationally and internationally, to put into practice
-the principle that women should share all civil and political
-rights and responsibilities on the same terms as men.</p>
-
-<h4 class='c020'>V. THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN.</h4>
-
-<p class='c007'><b>16.</b> This International Congress of Women urges the
-necessity of so directing the education of children that their
-thoughts and desires may be directed towards the ideal of
-constructive peace.</p>
-
-<h4 class='c020'>VI. WOMEN AND THE PEACE SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE.</h4>
-
-<p class='c007'><b>17.</b> This International Congress of Women urges, that
-in the interests of lasting peace and civilization the Conference
-which shall frame the Peace settlement after the war should
-pass a resolution affirming the need in all countries of extending
-the parliamentary franchise to women.</p>
-
-<p class='c007'><b>18.</b> This International Congress of Women urges that
-representatives of the people should take part in the conference
-that shall frame the peace settlement after the war, and
-claims that amongst them women should be included.</p>
-
-<h4 class='c020'>VII. ACTION TO BE TAKEN.</h4>
-
-<h5 class='c021'>19. Women’s Voice in the Peace Settlement.</h5>
-
-<p class='c011'>This International Congress of Women resolves that an
-international meeting of women shall be held in the same
-place and at the same time as the Conference of the Powers
-which shall frame the terms of the peace settlement after the
-war for the purpose of presenting practical proposals to that
-Conference.</p>
-
-<h5 class='c021'>20. Envoys to the Governments.</h5>
-
-<p class='c011'>In order to urge the Governments of the world to put
-an end to this bloodshed and to establish a just and lasting
-peace, this International Congress of Women delegates envoys
-to carry the message expressed in the Congress Resolutions
-to the rulers of the belligerent and neutral nations of Europe
-and to the President of the United States.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>These Envoys shall be women of both neutral and belligerent
-nations, appointed by the International Committee of
-this Congress. They shall report the result of their missions
-to the International Women’s Committee for Constructive
-Peace as a basis for further action.</p>
-
-<hr class='c012' />
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_288'>288</span>The memorable Congress adjourned on May 1. In closing
-the sessions Miss Addams said: “This is the first International
-Congress of Women met in the cause of peace in the necessity
-brought about by the greatest war the world has ever seen.
-For three days we have met together, so conscious of the
-bloodshed and desolation surrounding us, that all irrelevant
-and temporary matters fell away and we spoke solemnly to
-each other of the great and eternal issues as to those who
-meet around the bedside of the dying. We have been able
-to preserve good will and good fellowship, we have considered
-in perfect harmony and straightforwardness the most difficult
-propositions, and we part better friends than we met. It seems
-to me most significant that women have been able to do this
-at this moment and that they have done it, in my opinion,
-extremely well.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“We have formulated our message and given it to the
-world to heed when it will, confident that at last the great
-Court of International Opinion will pass righteous judgment
-upon all human affairs.”—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In accordance with Paragraph 20 of the resolutions the
-members of the different delegations appointed to present
-the resolutions to the rulers of the belligerent and neutral
-nations of Europe and to the President of the United States
-of America began their work on May 7th. Various delegations
-with Miss Addams and Dr. Jacobs as speakers, were
-received on that day in the Hague by Prime Minister Cort
-van der Linden; on May 13th and 14th in London by Foreign
-Minister Sir Edward Grey and Prime Minister Asquith; on
-May 21st and 22d in Berlin by Foreign Minister von Jagow
-and Chancellor von Bethmann Hollweg; on May 26th in
-Vienna by Foreign Minister von Burian; on May 30th in
-Buda Pest by Prime Minister von Tisza; on June 2d in Berne
-by Foreign Minister Hoffmann and President Motta; on June
-4th and 5th in Rome by Foreign Minister Sonnino, and Prime
-Minister Salandra; on June 8th by the Pope; on June 12th
-and 14th in Paris by Foreign Minister Delcassé and Prime
-Minister Viviani; and on June 16th in Havre by the Foreign
-Minister of Belgium, M. d’Avignon. Other delegations submitted
-the resolutions to the Prime Ministers of Norway,
-Sweden, Denmark, and Russia. The resolutions were likewise
-sent to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of all countries
-not visited by the delegates, and to President Woodrow Wilson.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>That all these efforts by noble-minded women, to secure
-the cessation of hostilities, failed, is a grave reproach to those
-men who directed the war. Blinded by hate and revenge
-they insisted that the murderous struggle be carried on to the
-bitter end. And to do this unhindered and unmolested, they
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_289'>289</span>decried all “pacifists” as despicable creatures to whom no
-attention should be paid. To speak of peace was made a
-crime, equal to illoyalty and sedition, and so the resolutions
-of the Woman’s Peace Conference were drowned under waves
-of detraction and calumny.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>One of the most glaring examples of this sort of warfare
-was that of <b>Miss Jeanette Rankin</b>, who in 1917 had been sent
-by the State of Montana as the first woman member to the
-House of Representatives. Her first act in this body was very
-dramatic. When on the memorable April 6th, 1917, the
-House voted on the question, if the United States should enter
-the World War, she answered the call with the words: “I love
-my country and I want to stand by it. But I cannot vote for
-war! No!” After these words she sank, tears in her eyes,
-into her chair. Although Miss Rankin had without doubt
-expressed the feeling of the overwhelming majority of American
-women, she nevertheless excited the wrath of the
-notorious “National Security League,” who in 1918 defeated
-the re-election of Miss Rankin by sending broadcast to Montana
-tons of literature in which her vote against the declaration
-of war was stigmatized as an “infamous and damning act.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Undaunted by such persecutions the gallant women
-once more raised their voices when it became evident that
-the so-called Peace Congress of the allied delegates at Versailles,
-instead of giving quick relief to the starving millions,
-and instead of promoting good will and better understanding
-among the different nations, was degenerating into an orgy
-of autocracy, merciless extortion and land-grabbing, repudiating
-all the high-sounding phrases of humanity, democracy,
-self-government, political and economic liberty, with which
-the war had been carried on.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>On May 12th, 1919, delegates of the “International
-Women’s Party for Permanent Peace” assembled at Zurich,
-Switzerland, to discuss the work of the Peace Congress in
-Versailles and the movement for a League of Nations. Sixteen
-countries were represented, the neutral with thirty-five, the
-countries of the Entente with forty-nine, and the Central
-Powers with thirty-six delegates. Among the twenty-three
-delegates of the United States were Jane Addams, and
-Jeanette Rankin, ex-member of Congress for Montana. Again
-Miss Addams acted as president.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The noble spirit, that had brought these women together,
-found expression first in the following address of the French
-delegates to the German women:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“To-day for the first time our hands which have sought
-each other in the night can be joined. We are a single
-humanity, we women. Our work, our joys, our children, are
-the same. French and Germans! The soldiers which have
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_290'>290</span>been killed between are for both of us alike victims. It is
-our brothers and our sisters who have suffered. We do not
-want vengeance. We hate all war. We push from us both the
-pride of victory and the rancor of defeat. United by the
-same faith, by the same sense of service, we agree to consecrate
-ourselves to the fight against war and to the struggle
-for everlasting peace.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“All women against all wars!</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Come, to work! Publicly, in the face of those who have
-vowed eternal hate, let us unite, let us love each other!”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>To this address the German women made the following
-reply:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“We German women have heard the greetings of our
-French sisters with the deepest joy, and we respond to them
-from the depths of our souls. We too protest against the
-perpetuation of a hate which was always foreign to women’s
-hearts. Our French sisters! It is with joy that we grasp your
-extended hand. We will stand and march together, in common
-effort for the good of mankind. On the ruins of a materialist
-world, founded by force and violence, on misunderstanding
-and hate, we women will, through death and sorrow, clear
-the road to the new humanity. As mothers of the coming
-generations, we, women of all nations, want love and understanding
-and peace. Despite the dark gloom of the present
-we stumble, comforted, toward the sunshine of the future.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>On May the 14th the delegates passed the following
-resolution, which was sent to the Congress at Versailles:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“This International Congress of Women expresses its
-deep regret that the terms of peace proposed at Versailles
-should so seriously violate the principles upon which alone
-a just and lasting peace can be secured, and which the
-Democracies of the world had come to accept. By guaranteeing
-the fruits of the secret treaties to the conquerors the
-terms tacitly sanction secret diplomacy. They deny the principle
-of self-determination, recognize the right of the victors
-to the spoils of war, and create all over Europe discords and
-animosities, which can lead only to future wars. By the
-demand for the disarmament of one set of belligerents only,
-the principle of justice is violated and the rule of force is
-continued. By the financial and economic proposals a hundred
-million people of this generation in the heart of Europe are
-condemned to poverty, disease and despair, which must result
-in the spread of hatred and anarchy within each nation. With
-a deep sense of responsibility this Congress strongly urges
-the Allied Governments to accept such amendments of the
-terms as may be proposed to bring the peace into harmony
-with those principles first enunciated by President Wilson
-upon the faithful carrying out of which the honor of the
-Allied peoples depends.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_291'>291</span>This communication was proposed by Mrs. Philip Snowden
-of England and seconded by Miss Jeanette Rankin of
-the United States.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Another resolution protested against the prolongation of
-the blockade as bringing starvation and death to innumerable
-innocent women and children of the Central Powers. It also
-urged that all resources of the world, food, raw materials,
-finance, transport should be organized immediately for the
-relief of the peoples, in order to serve humanity and bring
-about the reconciliation and union of the peoples. A third
-resolution demanded representation in the League of Nations
-for women, and that Miss Addams be the first woman representative.
-At its concluding session the Congress voted
-unanimously to call a world-wide strike of women in the
-event another war be declared, even if such a war should be
-sanctioned by the League of Nations.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_291.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_292'>292</span>
-  <h3 class='c010'>WOMAN TRIUMPHANT.</h3>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c011'>The wonderful spirit displayed by many millions of
-women during the World War gave foundation to the hope
-that universal suffrage would be an inevitable result of the
-war, and that the law-makers of all the belligerent countries
-would no longer deny this crowning privilege to those mothers,
-wives, and sisters, who had worked so nobly, suffered so
-keenly, and endured so patiently through the long years of
-this cruel catastrophe. In a large number of countries this
-expectation has been verified. To name them in chronological
-order, we begin with neutral <b>Denmark</b>, which in 1915 granted
-to her women full parliamentary suffrage and eligibility. Nine
-women were elected to Parliament. <b>Iceland</b> extended to her
-women the same rights, and one woman was sent to Parliament.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The next country was <b>England</b>, for many years the storm
-center of the suffrage movement. While in all other lands
-had been steps in evolution, England was the scene of a
-revolution. Not one with guns, and powder and bloodshed,
-but nevertheless with all other evidences of war. As Mrs.
-Carrie Chapman Catt, President of the International Woman
-Suffrage Alliance, graphically described, “there were brave
-generals and well trained armies, and many a well-fought
-battle; there have been tactics and strategies, sorties, sieges,
-and even prisoners of war, many of whom had to be released
-as they went on a hunger-strike. But in time, by the restless
-activity of the leaders, every class, including women of the
-nobility, working girls, housewives and professional women,
-became engaged in the campaign, and not a man, woman or
-child in England was permitted to plead ignorance concerning
-the meaning of woman suffrage. Together, men and women
-suffragists carried their appeal into the byways and most
-hidden corners of the kingdom. They employed more original
-methods, enlisted a larger number of women workers, and
-grasped the situation in a bolder fashion than had been done
-elsewhere. In other countries persuasion had been the chief,
-if not the only, weapon relied upon; in England it was
-persuasion plus political methods.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“First, the world expressed disgust at the alleged unfeminine
-conduct of English suffragists. Editorial writers in many
-lands scourged the suffrage workers of their respective countries
-over the shoulders of these lively English militants. But
-time passed; comment ceased; and the world, which had
-ridiculed, watched the contest in silence, but with never an
-eye closed. It assumed the attitude of the referee who realizes
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_293'>293</span>he is watching a cleverly played game, with the chances
-hanging in the balance. Then came a laugh. The dispatches
-flashed the news to the remotest corners of the globe that
-English Cabinet Ministers were “protected” in the street by
-bodyguards; the houses of Cabinet Ministers were “protected”
-by relays of police, and even the great Houses of Parliament
-were “protected” by a powerful cordon of police. Protected!
-and from what? The embarrassing attack of unarmed women!
-In other lands police have protected emperors, czars, kings
-and presidents from the assaults of hidden foes, whose aim
-has been to kill. That there has been such need is tragic; and
-when, in contrast, the vision was presented of the Premier
-of England hiding behind locked doors, skulking along side
-streets, and guarded everywhere by officers, lest an encounter
-with a feminine interrogation point should put him to rout,
-it proved too much for the ordinary sense of humor.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Again, the dispatches presented another view. Behold,
-they said, the magnificent and world-renowned House of
-Parliament surrounded by police, and every woman approaching
-that sacred precinct, halted, examined, and perhaps
-arrested! Behold all this elaborate precaution to save members
-of Parliament from inopportune tidings that women
-would have votes; yet, despite it all, the forbidden message
-is delivered, for over the Houses floats conspicuously and
-defiantly a huge “Votes for Women” kite. Perhaps England
-did not know the big world laughed then; but the world did
-laugh, and more, from that moment it conceded the victory
-to the suffragists. The only question remaining unanswered,
-was: ‘How will the Government surrender, and at the same
-time preserve its dignity and consistency?’”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Surrender came when in January, 1917, the Lower House
-of Commons adopted a resolution favoring a bill making
-women eligible as members of Parliament.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The bill was discussed again in October, 1918, and a
-vote of 274 to 25 on October 24th gave women the right to
-sit as members of Parliament.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Voting in the general elections on December 14th, 1918,
-for the first time, the British women enjoyed at last the victory
-for which they bravely fought. While they did not succeed
-to elect one of their women candidates for a seat in the
-Parliament, the election was nevertheless one of the most
-notable in years. Nearly in all districts the women voters
-made a satisfactory showing as compared to that of men.
-In <b>Ireland</b> one woman, Countess <b>Georgina Markievicz</b>, an
-Irish by birth and the leading female figure in the Sinn Fein
-movement, was elected to the House of Commons, the first
-woman ever sent to this body.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Canada</b> likewise granted full suffrage to women. A bill
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_294'>294</span>passed the third reading on May 3d and received Royal Assent
-May 23d, 1918.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In <b>Nova Scotia</b> a bill was passed April 26th, 1919.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In <b>South Africa</b> Parliament accepted a Woman Suffrage
-Bill on April 1st, 1919, by 44 votes to 42.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>When the revolution came in <b>Russia</b>, equal suffrage for
-women was accepted by the men of all parties without opposition.
-It has had, as Catherine Breshkovsky, the “Grandmother
-of the Russian Revolution,” explained, “a profound effect
-upon the minds of the peasant women. They used to be
-often beaten by their husbands. Now the idea of freedom and
-equal rights has taken firmer root among them. Instead of
-submitting to beatings from her husband the sturdy peasant
-woman defends herself, and sometimes she even beats him,
-especially if he is drunk. The fact that during the war the
-women have had to do every kind of work has also contributed
-to this sense of independence.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>When in November, 1918, the <b>German Republic</b> was
-declared, paragraph 31 of the Constitution provided that the
-representatives of the people be elected by all men as well
-as women over twenty years, and that women are eligible for
-all Federal and State Legislatures and municipal bodies.
-Under this regulation on January 19th, 1919, 36 women
-were elected to the Federal Parliament, and 22 to State Legislatures.
-Among the women elected to the Parliament were
-several of the most prominent leaders of the suffrage movement
-in Germany: <b>Dr. Gertrud Bäumer</b>, <b>Dr. Käthe Schirmacher</b>,
-and <b>Dr. Alice Salomon</b>.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In <b>Austria</b> the downfall of the monarchy nullified the
-law which forbade women to take part in political societies.
-The 12th of November, 1918, brought to the women universal,
-equal, direct, and secret suffrage and eligibility with
-the announcement of the republic. Seven women were elected,
-among them the well-known suffragist <b>Adelheid Popp</b>, who
-was also elected to the Vienna Municipal Council.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The Government of the <b>Hungarian Republic</b> likewise
-adopted a suffrage law which gives the vote to all men of
-21 and to women of 24 if they can read and write. While
-this is not equality of the sexes yet, the government gave at
-the same time evidence of its profound respect for the abilities
-of women by taking one of the most important steps in the
-history of woman’s progress. It appointed <b>Miss Rose Bédy
-Schwimmer</b>, highly respected for her activity and literary
-works on suffrage and peace, as ambassador extraordinary
-and minister plenipotentiary to Switzerland. But the conservative
-members of the Federal Council of that country refused
-to accept a woman ambassador, and so Miss Bédy Schwimmer
-found it advisable to tender her resignation, a month after
-having accepted her difficult task.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_295'>295</span>The new republic <b>Czecho-Slovakia</b> as well as the newly
-reconstituted state of <b>Poland</b> at once conceded full political
-citizenship to their women. In Czecho-Slovakia eight, and in
-Poland five women were elected to the Parliaments.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In <b>Sweden</b> full suffrage was accorded to women May
-28th, 1919, when a bill was passed by large majorities in
-both houses of the National Parliament, according to which
-every subject, man or woman, who has attained his or her
-twenty-third year, is qualified to vote.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In <b>France</b> the “<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Union Française pour le Suffrage des
-Femmes</span>” sent on January 24th, 1919, a proclamation to the
-Parliament demanding that French women be given the
-franchise. The proclamation pointed to the fact that the right
-to vote had been recognized in enemy and allied countries
-and that therefore France should not be backward. But in
-spite of this on April 4th two women suffrage amendments
-to the Electoral Reform Bill were killed in the Chamber of
-Deputies. The provision making women eligible for election
-to the Chamber was defeated, 302 votes to 187. The vote
-against transmission of the right to vote to the next of kin
-of heads of families, without distinction of sex, was defeated
-335 to 134. But on May 20th the Chamber of Deputies
-adopted a bill granting women the right to vote in all elections
-for members of the Communal and Departmental Assemblies.
-The vote was 377 to 97. The measure then went to the Senate.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><b>Switzerland</b>, with the European spread of woman suffrage
-all around, may be expected to soon respond to the wave
-of democratic sentiment. On January 22, 1919, the delegates
-of the Swiss Union of Women’s Clubs adopted a resolution
-to request the Federal Council to order a radical revision of
-the Constitution, and grant to women equal political rights
-with men. On March 17th, the Grand Council of the Canton
-of Neuchâtel declared for the principle of Woman Suffrage,
-and likewise instructed the Government to prepare a suffrage
-bill. If passed this bill will probably be decided by referendum.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The <b>Belgian</b> Chamber of Deputies, by unanimous vote,
-adopted on April 11th, 1919, an Electoral Reform Bill,
-under the terms of which the right to vote is limited to widows
-who have not remarried, to the mothers of soldiers killed in
-battle and to the mothers of civilians shot by the enemy.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In <b>Holland</b> the first Chamber of the Dutch Parliament
-adopted on July 12th, 1919, a motion to introduce woman
-suffrage by a vote of 34 to 5.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In the United States of America the Western States have,
-as pointed out in a former chapter, never hesitated to acknowledge
-the rights of women to vote. But the Southern and
-Eastern States had remained reluctant in granting this privilege.
-And so the suffragists were compelled to conquer these regions
-step by step. The women of New York won full suffrage in
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_296'>296</span>1917, those of South Dakota, Michigan and Oklahoma in
-1918. Presidential suffrage was secured in 1917 in North
-Dakota, Nebraska, and Rhode Island, and in 1919 in Indiana,
-Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri and Maine.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>For many years efforts had also been made by the
-friends of Woman Suffrage to induce Congress to act on the
-so-called “Susan Anthony Amendments to the Constitution,”
-reading as follows:</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States
-to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States
-or by any State on account of sex.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Section 2. The Congress shall have power by appropriate
-legislation to enforce the provisions of this article.”</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>In 1914 the Senate again voted these amendments down
-by 11 votes. Again, in September, 1918, it was rejected by
-two votes, and again in February, 1919, by one vote. The
-House voted upon the resolution three times, rejecting it in
-1915 by 78 votes, passing it in 1918 by a margin of one vote,
-and again, on May 21st, 1919, by a vote of 304 to 89. The
-fight ended on June 4, 1919, when the Senate adopted the
-resolution by a vote of 56 to 25.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“The credit of having won this victory,” so the “New
-York American” said in an editorial, “belongs chiefly to the
-resourceful women of the land who have, for generations,
-been pushing this issue to the front in spite of stupid opposition
-and almost as stupid indifference.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Liberal-minded men, a few in the early days, many
-more recently, have helped. But, primarily, it is a woman’s
-victory, and no man will begrudge the acknowledment.
-Equal partners in the economic and social life of the nation,
-American women will now be equal sharers in its political life
-and in the responsibilities which this will involve.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“The joy of triumph will be of brief duration. The
-period of responsibility will be long and trying. But the
-women of America will certainly meet it equally with the
-men, and if they do that the men will have no just basis of
-complaint. Political rule by men has been full of blunders.
-Women, too, will blunder, but they will not be likely to make
-the same kind of blunders that men make. The blunders that
-men make will tend to be corrected by the superior insight
-and intuition of women; and probably in time the blunders
-to which women will be prone will have counteraction by
-the men. So instead of the blundering being increased by
-the widened circle of electoral responsibility it is more likely
-to be lessened, for the cure for the ills of democracy is always
-more democracy.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>“Anyhow, the change is here. It is world-wide. It
-comes as a resultant of increased freedom and it presages more
-freedom.”</p>
-
-<div>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_297'>297</span>
-  <h3 class='c010'>WOMAN’S MISSION IN THE FUTURE.</h3>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c011'>As woman now is man’s equal partner, she must share
-in the difficult task of solving the many problems connected
-with the economic, social and political life of that nation to
-which she belongs. That she will assume this obligation,
-fully aware of its significance, cannot be doubted; we need
-only recall the noble spirit, enthusiasm, intelligence and perseverance
-which have distinguished all the leaders in the great
-movement for woman’s emancipation.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Woman’s mission in the future will be many-sided.
-Paramount among all questions, that demand her utmost
-consideration, is the prevention of future wars. And it may
-be said right here that mankind, through the efforts of women,
-will most probably find the final realization of hopes cherished
-for centuries by all right-minded people. We hardly need
-point to the glaring contrasts between the Peace Congresses
-called together by women at the Hague and in Zurich, and
-the conferences held by men at Versailles to secure a League
-of Nations. While the former meetings were distinguished
-by the perfect harmony and cordiality among the delegates
-of all belligerent and neutral nations, and while their resolutions
-expressed the good will and lofty disinterestedness of
-all members, the wearisome discussions at Versailles were
-characterized by suspicion, avarice and merciless extortion.
-The “Allies” no longer spoke for a common cause, but were
-rivals over the spoils of war. Each clamored for an individual
-gain. And instead of extending brotherly hands to the conquered
-enemy, instead of instilling hope in the hearts of the
-desperate, and instead of feeding the starving, they increased
-the bitterness and sufferings by an unwarranted and cruel
-blockade, through which more than a million innocent children
-and women were condemned to agony and death.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Many far-seeing men have expressed grave doubts that
-the “Covenant of Peace” and the “League of Nations” can
-prevent future wars. So we hope that women, who would
-again become the greatest sufferers through such a catastrophe,
-will continue in their efforts to re-establish international good
-will and solidarity. Deep abysses of antagonism must be
-bridged; hate and the thirst for revenge must be quenched,
-and thousands of smarting wounds must be healed before
-humanity can hope for a better future. But women can perform
-these wonders. Since the organization of the “International
-Woman’s Peace Party” the voice of women will be
-heard in the council of nations, and their influence will be
-mighty, for the women outnumber the men.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'><span class='pageno' id='Page_298'>298</span>Most naturally the demands of women will also be
-directed to an international regulation of women’s relations
-to men, which in most countries are far from satisfactory.
-The World War has emphasized the fact that in almost all
-countries women, on marrying foreigners, forfeit their own
-nationality and are compelled to adopt that of their husbands.
-Thus it happened in 1914 that many French and English
-women, having married Germans or Austrians, residents or
-citizens in France or England, were deported from their native
-countries, at the same time losing all personal property that
-they were unable to take with them.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Under the laws of the United States a loyal American
-woman, who marries an alien enemy, becomes herself an alien
-enemy, while a woman enemy alien who marries an American
-becomes herself a loyal American. By allowing the woman
-no choice of allegiance this law works injustice both to her
-and to the country.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>An international agreement has been proposed that
-women shall not be deprived of their own nationality against
-their will, irrespective of marriage, and, when deported into
-enemy territory, shall be restored to their own country.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Full equality between husband and wife, father and
-mother is also desired in regard to property and responsibilities,
-especially parental. In some countries, as for instance
-in Great Britain, under the existing laws only the father is
-recognized as the guardian of the children. He is the sole
-judge of what shall be their maintenance and education; and
-he has, <span lang="la" xml:lang="la">prima facie</span>, the sole right to their custody.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Another important question which demands regulation
-through international agreement, is the suppression of the
-White Slave Trade, that horrible evil, which under the imperfect
-conditions of civilization has assumed such amazing
-proportions. To abolish it, women have presented to the
-League of Nations Commission resolutions saying, that States
-who enter into the League shall undertake to suppress the
-sale of women and children and to punish severely the traffic
-in women, whether under or over age, and of children of
-both sexes, for the purposes of prostitution.—</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The suppression of tuberculosis, of syphilis and other
-venereal diseases is likewise a serious problem calling for
-international regulation. The energetic co-operation of women
-is of utmost importance, as far too often innocent women
-become sufferers from these horrible diseases through infection
-from their unscrupulous husbands, who have concealed from
-their wives the fact that they were afflicted with such maladies.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>The supervision of such diseases by health officers, and
-the provision of clinics for all infected persons will be
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_299'>299</span>demanded by woman legislators; likewise penalizing for infecting
-with venereal diseases.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>While in most countries no questions are asked in regard
-to the health of the candidates for marriage, it has been
-through the activity of women, that the new marriage law
-that came into force in Norway on January 1st, 1919,
-demands that both candidates must declare in writing that
-they are not suffering from epilepsy, leprosy, syphilis, tuberculosis,
-or other diseases in an infectious form. Written
-declarations must also be given as to previous marriages and
-to children born to them out of wedlock. As this new marriage
-law contains not less than eighty-one sections, it is evident
-that henceforth in Norway it will be difficult to marry in haste.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Such laws for the protection of women are nowhere
-more needed than in the forty-eight States which together
-form the American Union. As everyone of these States makes
-its own laws, there exists a variety of laws in regard to the
-“age of consent,” to marriage and divorce, far too intricate
-for any woman or lawyer to be thoroughly informed about
-them all. For instance the legislators of Florida have fixed
-the “age of consent” at 10 years (!), documenting herewith
-their utter ignorance in such a serious question. In other States
-it is 12 or 14 years, in Wyoming it is 18. How competent
-women think about this subject, may be judged by a resolution
-of the “Woman’s Political Association of Australia,”
-asking the Government to raise the age of consent to 21 years,
-and to extend this provision to cover girls as well as boys.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Very heterogeneous are also the marriage laws of the
-United States. In Tennessee girls may marry without their
-parents’ consent when only twelve years old, while in other
-states they must not do so before eighteen, or even twenty-one.
-Missouri is one of the few states which still recognize common
-law marriages. As this state sets no minimum legal age for
-marriage, a boy or girl of twelve may without their parents’
-consent live together as man and wife.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Still more perplexing is the diversity in regard to the
-causes for absolute divorce. While South Carolina grants no
-divorce, other states are very liberal and acknowledge eight
-or ten different reasons as sufficient reasons for divorce.
-Marriages between Whites and Indians, or between Whites
-and Negroes or persons of negro descent, or between Whites
-and Chinese are prohibited and punishable in a number of
-states, while they are allowed in others.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>Improvement in the status of the illegitimate child;
-child-labor and welfare; woman’s status in industries; mothers’
-insurance during maternity; proper insurance for the invalid
-and aged; combating of alcoholism; the suppression of the
-traffic in opium and other injurious narcotics; the traffic in
-<span class='pageno' id='Page_300'>300</span>arms, especially with uncivilized or semi-civilized tribes and
-nations, and many other questions call for international
-regulation and the co-operation of women. To compare the
-laws of the various countries and to select the best and
-clearest laws to be used as a standard to which other states
-should be urged to raise their legislation, will be one of the
-great missions for the women lawyers connected with the
-various national leagues of women voters.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>That women have the ability as well as the hearty desire
-to contribute in this way to the progress and welfare of the
-human race, needs no further explanation. It is for the men
-to accept and encourage their help and to utilize it to the
-fullest extent. The beneficial result of such co-operation can
-not be doubted. Women with their intuitive judgment,
-spiritual insight and knowledge of the needs of women,
-children, public education, sanitation, philanthropy, etc., will
-become a most important factor in the vast task of human
-betterment. And man, working with woman side by side in
-these noble endeavors, will not only profit, but learn that
-nature has given him nothing more sublime than woman.</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i_300.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div class='chapter'>
-  <span class='pageno' id='Page_301'>301</span>
-  <h2 class='c006'>CONTENTS.</h2>
-</div>
-
-<table class='table1' summary='CONTENTS'>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015' colspan='2'>Women During the Remote Past.</td>
-    <td class='c022'>&nbsp;</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Primeval Man, His Origin and Severe Struggle for Existence</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_7'>7</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>The Division of Labor and Responsibilities</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_14'>14</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Women as Objects or Rape, Barter and Religious Sacrifice</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_22'>22</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015' colspan='2'>Women During the Ages of Antiquity.</td>
-    <td class='c022'>&nbsp;</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Women in Babylonia</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_29'>29</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Woman’s Status Among the Hebrews</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_36'>36</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Woman’s Status Among the Parsee and Hindoo</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_39'>39</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Woman in China and Japan</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_43'>43</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Woman Among the Egyptians</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_46'>46</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Woman Among the Greeks</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_50'>50</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Woman Among the Romans</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_56'>56</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Woman’s Position Among the Germanic Nations</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_65'>65</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Woman Among the Early Christians</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_70'>70</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Woman Among the Mohammedans</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_74'>74</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015' colspan='2'>Women During the Middle Ages.</td>
-    <td class='c022'>&nbsp;</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Women During the Middle Ages</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_81'>81</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>The Glorious Time of the Renaissance</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_93'>93</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>The Darkest Chapter in Woman’s History</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_98'>98</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015' colspan='2'>Women in Modern Times.</td>
-    <td class='c022'>&nbsp;</td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Women in Slavery</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_113'>113</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>The Dawning of Brighter Days</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_130'>130</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Pioneer Women in the New World</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_140'>140</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Women of the French Revolution</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_152'>152</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Woman’s Entry Into Industry</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_159'>159</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Women as Ministers of the Gospel</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_184'>184</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Women in the Medical Profession</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_187'>187</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Woman in the Profession of the Law</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_192'>192</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Women as Inventors</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_195'>195</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Eminent Female Scientists</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_197'>197</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Noteworthy Women in World Literature</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_207'>207</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Women in Music and Drama</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_227'>227</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>What Women Have Accomplished in Art</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_232'>232</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Great Monuments of Woman’s Philanthropy</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_241'>241</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>The Hundred Years’ Battle for Woman Suffrage</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_247'>247</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Why Women Want and Need the Vote</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_258'>258</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Woman’s Activity During the World War</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_271'>271</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Woman Triumphant</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_292'>292</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c023'>Woman’s Mission in the Future</td>
-    <td class='c022'><a href='#Page_297'>297</a></td>
-  </tr>
-</table>
-
-<div class='section ph2'>
-
-<div class='nf-center-c0'>
-<div class='nf-center c003'>
-    <div>OUR WASTEFUL NATION</div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-</div>
-
-<p class='c024'>The Story of American Prodigality and
-the Abuse of our National Resources.</p>
-
-<div class='nf-center-c0'>
-  <div class='nf-center'>
-    <div>By RUDOLF CRONAU.</div>
-    <div class='c002'>CONTENTS.</div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c005'>The Land of Inexhaustible Resources—The Destruction of
-Our Forests—The Waste of Water—The Waste of Soil—The
-Waste of Our Mineral Resources—The Extermination
-of Our Game, Fur, and Great Marine Animals—Our
-Vanishing Birds—Our Decreasing Fish Supplies—The
-Waste of Public Lands and Privileges—The Waste of
-Public Money and of Property—The Waste of Human
-Lives—Conclusion.</p>
-
-<p class='c008'>One of the weightiest problems before the American
-nation is here treated in a most impressive manner. Based
-upon cold facts, the book shows conclusively that our nation
-suffers, by sheer carelessness and wasteful methods, losses
-amounting to many hundred millions of dollars annually.</p>
-
-<p class='c007'>“The book tells a story that is astounding. Some of the
-descriptions of the past are told in figures so great as to be
-beyond our comprehension.”</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-r'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>—<cite>Word To-Day</cite>, Chicago.</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>“This volume should be read, pondered and re-read by
-every individual in America who has reached the age of
-reasoning.”</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-r'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>—<cite>Union</cite>, New Haven.</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>“The book is a practical little sermon, much needed in
-this period.”</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-r'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>—<cite>San Francisco Chronicle.</cite></div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>“There are but 134 pages in this book, but within the
-limited compass there is set forth the most terrific impeachment
-that was ever laid to the charge of a nation. This little
-volume should be scattered over the country in tens of
-thousands.”</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-r'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>—<cite>Boston Herald.</cite></div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c008'>“It is a book, that every person should be compelled
-to learn by heart.”</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-r'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>—<cite>Chicago Daily News.</cite></div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<div class='nf-center-c0'>
-<div class='nf-center c002'>
-    <div>At all Booksellers, or from Author, 340 E. 198 St., New York, sent postpaid on receipt of price.</div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<table class='table0' summary=''>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS</td>
-    <td class='c019'>BOARDS. $1.00 NET</td>
-  </tr>
-</table>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<img src='images/i_303.jpg' alt='OUR WASTEFUL NATION _by Rudolf Cronau_' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div class='pbb'>
- <hr class='pb c025' />
-</div>
-<div class='tnotes'>
-
-<div class='chapter'>
-  <h2 class='c006'>TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES</h2>
-</div>
- <ol class='ol_1 c002'>
-    <li>Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling.
-
-    </li>
-    <li>Anachronistic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed.
-
-    </li>
-    <li>Footnotes have been re-indexed using numbers.
-    </li>
-  </ol>
-
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-<pre>
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Woman Triumphant, by R. Cronau
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