Newspaper Page Text
10
WOMAN'S POWER BEHIND THE THRONE.
Ten Splendid Essays Read at Yesterday's
Session of the Pacific Coast
Woman's Congress.
"THE CALL" IS PRAISED.
Miss Severance Applauds the
Stand of the Great
Daily.
"AUNT SUSAN'S" FIRST LOVE.
Professor Griggs' Strong Paper on
" The Modern Change in Ideals
of Womanhood."
Pale golden fleurs de lis, deep orange
poppies, yellow marguerites with doth of
gold and Marechal Niel roses gave to the
stage in Native Sous' Hall a warm, cheer
ful coloring during yesterday's sitting of
the Woman's Congress of the Pacific Coast.
The president stated that she had re
ceived a very large number of letters from
different parts or the State commending
the very full accounts of the sessions of
the congress given by the City pavers and
particularly by The Cam., which, she said,
it should not be forgotten bad been the
first to come out for the cause — to lead off
and be followed by the others.
The first paper of the da', "America's
Great- Queens,"' by Miss Ilarryett R.
Strong, was read by Miss Dorothea Koth.
The following extract will give a fair idea
of this interesting essay :
When we use the word "greatness" as applied to !
a sovereign what do we ir.e.in? t>o we menu a
might* monarch or an >r '•• character? In loosing
down the short roll of history* woman rulers is
there one worthy of that epithet which ha; been
applied to Frederics aixi Peter. Alfred xind Alex- I
ander? If so. upon w:int is thai title ti.-.st-il? lias
a queen been great us tighter? Has she left a ■
glorious record of bat. es and a tax-groaning peo- j
pie behind her? li no;, and sue still deserves
honor, : hen there tuns: be tome other way of win- !
ning fame than through \va\
bo careiully has the ro»a privilege been guarded
thai during- the whole period of 4000 years, his
toric and mythological, when 640 kings reigne.l
on the uptimes River alone, only about thirty
times in round numovrs Has a woman held regal
or imperial power by vi.\ue of her own rich: as
queen or empress regnant. There have been
myriads of queens-mother or queens-resent,
queens-consort ana queens-dowager, but seldom
have they had allowance paid to them as supreme.
At lt-a*t nine of these thirty ics.ince* are
mythological or narrowed down ".o a me re rlsnt,
and of the twenty-one remaining, one, Galla
J'Ucidia. though Kmperor's daughter, ruled more
as regent than as regnant; one, the Empress .
Maud, hud little chance to rule, and one, the little '
Wilbelmina of Holland, has nor yet begun her
independent queensusp. This leaves eighteen
queers and empresses whose lives we may
examine.
Of these eighteen royal women six represent best
the different f amis of sovereignty and the different '
methods of attaining power, mid of the six five
belong to monarchies union from time to time
held possessions on the western comment, an.l j
this circumstance gives us the right to claim them i
as America's qu« n-.
The tin: in point of lime Is Margaret of Den
mark, 1353. She was elected to three :luo:u s,
and belongs to the western world ihrouzh Scand.
navian discoveries and settlements on the west of
oret-nlanJ.
The second, Isabella of Castile (1474), succeeded
to her brother's kingdom in preference to his
daughter: her claim to America comes through
the discoveries of Columbus, undertaken under
the Spanish crown.
Elizabeth of England, 1533, who inherited her
throne throueh will and act of Parliament, ranks
as third of America's great Queens because of h?r
Waiter Kaleich's explorations on the Eastern
coast, even now called Virginia, and of Sir Francis ;
Drake's discovery of this" our own San Francisco
Bay.
The fourth in point of time we cannot claim m
our own. but she ranks with the world's great
Queens and there deserves a word of men-
Maria Theresa of Austria, 1717, inherited
from her father, but was obliged to defend her
heritage.
The fifth, Catherine the Great of Russia. 1729,
usurper, can with truth be reckoned as America's
fourth great female sovereign, by virtue of Alaska '
when it oelonged to Russia.
Victoria, the last of ', the list and our fifth and :
latest Queen, relcns now over the largest part of
.North America, and has had the longest and most
peaceful reign In all history.
Of Isabella of Castile it may be said that her
praise has been extravagantly sounded throughout •
he centuries, and only of late has prejudice
striven to create a reaction. Her public acts m*y :
sometimes justly have deserved censure — her per- ;
sonality never, -he was -verything as to sweet- ;
i ess. gentleness, wisdom, magnanimity, that j
could be desired, a careiui mother and affectionate '
lie. and these excellent personal qualities were
combined with those mental traits of sagacity and ;
farsightedness that make the sovereign great.
Catherine of Russia, the only woman called j
"The Great." possessed great genius and greater
faults. Historians place her ait only second to !
Peter in her achievements toward Russia's devel
opment. Good she certainly was not. but her ad
ministrative ability showed her mental traits to be
transcendent. Her ambitions were also im
mense, and she undertook vast schemes -merely
for show-*' the historians tell vs — of improving her
country, reforming education, drawing up the '■
plans fox a Hassan dictionary, founding an acad- ,
emy, etc She, of all the others fought and con- !
quered, but when she set about to make her name i
renowned it was through the arts of peace and not
of war that she attempted it.
Victoria is no absolute monarch as Catherine,
nor despotic as Elizabeth; she is what U called a
constitutional sovereign: she reigns, while her !
Parliament and Ministers govern. Victoria pos- j
■esses the royal prerogative, but she contents her
■elf with merely perfunctory duties of making doc- !
amenta legal by affixing the royal signature to ;
every paper placed before her. This action re- i
sembles a lion with its teeth drawn, for royalt> '
■«.: bout power ceases to be dangerous. That "such !
a government is for the welfare of the nation the
prosperity and greatness of Victoria's realm a;- '■
tests.
Now that we have quickly glanced at the his
lories of these royal women, written down in men's
annals and compared with the kings of their re- i
spective times. *, hat do we discover? Are their !
kingdoms the laughing stock of the nations? Do j
their realms suffer confusion and anarchy under
the weak rule of woman? We have hardly found ;
it so? Have they been carried away by their
womanly emotions, or Influenced by unworthy
and unscrupulous favorites?
The one reason why their good deeds are often
not given credit due is Oecause somehow or other I
their excellent men advisers should also share the
praise. These same advisers, however, were
chosen by the Queens themselves. I>o we and
weakness of intellect? No. they were magnifi- '
cently educated, and often their chief desire nai
to promote learning throughout their territories.
\s ere they bloodthirsty and crnel? Not even the
worst of the Queens regnant. Blood was shed and
wars carried on. bat supreme power seemed to '
steady them and fill the m with a sense of reaponsi
bOlty for their subjects' lives. Not one ranks as' a '
monster with Ivan the Terrible, nor in worthless- ;
cess at the side of John of England. Thev-all dos- :
■eased either ability, kindness of heart, or virtue
our American queens possessed all three, exceDt- I
ing Catherine. " \
Miss Severance Knew of some native- :
born American Queens. Sne said :
"There was a great Indian Queen in
Congratulations From. Sisters Afar.
"DIRECT WIRES PROMPT SERVICE
Th» co«»*jiy TRANSMITS wo DELIVERS Huwa o«Lr ft ' < "-4^ReCTj2ir &\ »>M»o«c*o€uvtirvc#UNREPEATEDMESSAGES»rro» a -rMt
o« coMorr»>>«u«mNQrr*uAßiuTY, «iMCHHAVEBC£»*MENTi3 ff^r 7ttt£2<&L&± > ee\\ amocht of toui put tmfwo* : nc« m a»y cam »«ue thi "
TO THE ec»oC»O#T»EFOlU>*t»<> MESSAGE. - Cl'S XZ-f/. C *™* the] .^ it <XAI " m hot pm»£«teo Cl warrne with* aorrv DAT* «*TE»
EWK>MCANBECUASOE9ACJk|KSTO<aVBTRCKATI««AI>ESSACX M (3 m "^ I? if * Eltol ** THE HtMACC
»A:KTOTHESE.N?«'.atT*Tc«Fcncc«.»AR»o»,A«.3THECci»»A>r Vl^" J <srft"J4rJiafc^ y ' f!M Th« is«i« L'NREPEATED MESSAGE, *»a i* ocuvoko rr
»n.i. wot mou) rrtcLf u»e^ row cjmoa* os oeiati m twahs- V^Ss^\^^^fibV -" T °» the fs3E9T«E ca*stT»si auiED a*ove.
JOHX VT. MACKAY, President. N£j?4 Rl'i&sCW' CHAS. R. HOSMER, General Manager!
"W. C VAX HORXE, Vice-Presidect. L. W. STORROR, Superintendent.
Received at San Francisco. Gal,
22Vr. J. J. 11 Paid. 12 . 43 p^
OTTAWA ( ONT . ) \ May Bth., • 96 .
REV. ANNA SHAW, Pacific Coast Council,
San Francisco.
Please convey kindest greetings and best wishes to Pacific
Coa*t Council i LADY ABERDEEN.
i Massachusetts called the Great Sachem,
i and among the Iroquois there was a
woman ruler at one time. I have observed
that it was not an uncommon thing for tne
woman of early times to holu high places
among the aboriginal tribes of America,"
"The Queen Dowager," was the subject
of the second paper of the morning, and
was written by Mrs. Sturtevant-Peetof San
Jose, who, during her reading, expressed
the following thoughts:
Identical with individual and material char
acter governments have been derived and become
-at factors in solving the problems of civiliza
tion. In reviewing the laws instituted tor regulat
ting soi-'al. moral and civil relations it is interest
ing to note the mold of individual characters, re
gardless of sex, in formulating and enforcing pro
visions for the control and administration of public
affairs.
'1 he least conspicuous among royal women,
though by no means the least potent, have been
the mothers of icings and rulers, "queen dowa
reis. ' .Such mothers have in most instances man
ifested more than ordinary interest In the wel
fare of offspring and nation: they have exerted an
Influence, oft times determining their future destiny.
1 lie peculiar relation of dowager mothers to the
throne, their Interest and great inflence in public
affairs is the burden of my theme.
The benign influence of a mother cap scarcely be
estimated in the humbler positions of life: and to
: measure it when intimately associated with the
: throne to which is delegated such a decree of
supreme power is beyond the strength of mind to
i comprehend. Almost every nation In feu rope at
one time or another has been placed in the position
of being ruled by a woman.
Helena, the h-mpress mother of Constamine, was
one of the many uobleaua influential characters of
the period. She was placed at the head of the
exchequer and honor.d with a seal in all of the na-
I tional councils. she was granted the special privi
lege of suggesting new and untried methods, with
: the authority to force tue same. The city of
I london was enlarged and fortified incompliance
with her request. Other cities were founded In her
! name. She was with her son when he presided at
the council of Nice. A. D. 3-J5. In al affairs and
, interests of state Helena aided the Kmperor with
• her experience and temp-red his acts with her
wisdom.
Before passing to the suggestions and inferences
to be gathered irom our subject it wi.i be Interest
ing to make reference to one who has been promi
nent in the East tor forty years, one of the world's
greatest rulers, the Queen Dowager of China.
While she has had all to do witn the education of
the toy I'-uiperor. she has "governed as well as
reigned." A second writer says of her, that though
possessed of a kind heart, she is proud, strong and
ambitious as Queen Semiramis. In the days of a
grrat famine in the emu. re, she made a sacrifice
of tbe meat upon her own table, that she muht
RUi.-uiue:.t the relief fund provided be the state, a
! good example that might be followed by our
i officials in time of financial distress. Her patriot
| Ism ii.in stood many such a test. Upon o-casion
I of i-ejebrating her sixtieth birthday anniversary
j during the recent Japanese invasion, which was
| to cost VU.000.000 ounce* of silver, she abandoned
, the programme, contenting herself with a private
celebration, and paid the money into the war chest
for the defense of her country. "
The most Impressive fact suggested by onr sub
ject is the value of a cultured mother conscious of
her wisdom and responsibility. Mothers educated
and interested in the affairs of state will give
strength and breadth of character to the future
generations. in which alone rest the greatness and
perpetuity of a Government. The greatest trees of
the forest never grow upon weak and shallow
soil: he purest streams of water never flow from
turbid founts. Greatness never comes by chance.
i Then- was a Helena before a Constantine, aa Isa
; bella before the birth of ttiiu Republic, statesmen
before a Clay, Calhoun and a Webster. !*o woman's
sphere mini be expanded, so motherhood must be
endowed with equal sovereign rights an 1 crowned
with the honor of citizenship before the birth of
perfect freedom— before the drawing near of a bet
i ter, brighter era iv the realm of government.
"I am not intimately acquainted with
our dowager queens," remarked Miss
Severance. "But the first dowager queen I
erected a great mausoleum for her kind
Mansolns. The present Queen of Spain
i? a dowager queen, and she is rearing the
little child that shall be the future ruler.
There have been all kinds of dowager
queens, good and bad, just as there are
among us common people."
Mrs. E. G. Greene of Santa Cruz, follow
ing with a few remarks on Mrs. Peet's pa
per, eulogized the Dowager Queens as the
mothers of rulers, the mothers to whom all
honor should be accorded.
Miss A. M. Fulton, a teacher m Miss
West young ladies' seminary, read a very
scholarly paper on "The Power Behind the
Throne. 1 ' Her popularity among her !
present students and those formerly mem
bers of the seminary was attested "by the
presence of a large number of these vbnn«»
ladies, who permitted no good point to
escape their approving applause, and as a
result the whole audience repeatedly united
with them in commending the sentiments
expressed in the paper. In part her re
marks were as follows:
If we consider the different phases of that power
we shall tina that hey are mainly two, viz. : her
power to mold and her power to guide. The mold
ing power is embraced in the two offices, that of
mother and that of teacher: and theguidiajt do war
in that of sis:«. lover or wife.
he first of these carries with It an immense re
spoustbUUy, no matter by whom It is discbarred.
There is no more high and noble dnty in life- no
more Important taste that can be undertaken than
the training and development of the voting ana
growing life. .Nature nerself has clearly indicated
whose du;v this shall be; the finKer of Providence
points to the woman and says: -Behold, her have
1 selected for this holy function. She, and she
alone, is capable of the condition of motherhood ;
and to her naturally belongs toe care of the vounc
life which she has brought into the world."
The choice of the Creator In this respect Is ex- i
tremely significant In the division of labor In the
world between man and woman ; It has left man ■
free to act, to str.ve and to mix with the outer
world. It basiled her down to wba: I consider
the most important duty that can be Riven to man
or woman in this life. It has not only made this
duty hers, bat has given her the qualities that ena- ;
ble her to discharge tbe duty succes.ifallv. wo
man. developed woman, has patience, endless pa- !
tience, great power of ending annoyance and sor- '■
row, and a clear. y defined sense "of right and !
wrong. >o equipped »he li abie to shape tbe life
of the growing boy or girl, to train, to prune, to :
correct. No one so well as the mother can do this,
and sadly untrained and unformed Is often tbe i
young child who comes up to the teacher from the
hand of the nurse or the care of the servant. Lone I
years of patient effort on the part of Hie latter
do cot suffice sometimes to undo the mischief
that has been done.
This duty then of the training and development i
of the young and growing being devolves upon the
mother from th» moment of its birth, and should
be continued, with the help of the teacher, who
should also be a woman, up to the time of the ma- !
turlty of the individual. Almost everything that <
the child is to become in future years depends '■
upon the Influence of these two irnlde». '
The power behind tbe throne in this case rules !
the throne throughout life. We have the testl :
mony of many good men to she fact that the prin
ciples instilled then are never forgotten. Hear
Kuskin as he testifies on this point •
"I have yet with deeper gratitude to chronicle
what I owed to my mother for the resolutely con
sUtent lessons which so exercised me in the Scrip
ture. An i truly, though I have picked on the '
element* of a little further knowledge in mat
matics, meteorology and the like in after life, and
owe not a little to the teaching of caany people i
tbls maternal Installation of my mind I count •
very connoentlv the most precious, and, on the I
whole, the one essential part of all my education "
Coming next to woman's power" behind tne '
throne as wife or aister, and that phase of it which I
Is exerted through hercontinoa! forma- ion of en
vironment. We all know from experience what
environment means to the working man or '
woman: how it can strengthen and comfort, and '
fortify us on the one hand; or exhaust, and weary,
aod weaken ns on the other. And will not the >
Ti J (W( W K Opr0 dcs the armor for « husband in I
the fl«ht,aad who buckles it on when be goes j
THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SATURDAY, MAY 9, T896.
forth to do battle, will she not be able from her
point of vantage outside the field to observe how
the action progresses, and by her wise counsel to
help wlu the victory?
So far I have spoken only of women behind the
throne as a power for good. Le us see now what
she can do as a power for evil. Suppose we take
the historical and literary example of the wife of
▲ udreadel Sana Here we have the case of a
•a iiiuun who, through the charm of her personal at
tractions, really held the fate Of her husband In her
hands— he a man of the higbeut natural abilities,
but lacking in moral str ngth.
Yet such was his love for her that had she been
able to inspire him with a high and noble ambition
to excel in his art, had it been her aim to develop
to the full all his powers and faculties, he might,
as Browning puts it, have given Hapbael himself
enough to do to excel him. As It is, we Qnd him
caring for nothing but to make a little money with
which to buy her a lace ruffle, or help her to enter
tain her friend'— ambition and character alike
gone, all the high hopes of his youth dashed to the
ground and his splendid abilities wasted.
1 must cloie these remarks by emphasizing and
reiterating what I have already hinted at-that If
woman shall be able adequately to meet the needs
of the times and the demands which her new
position makes upon her, she must try to carry on
as best she can a process of self-development; her
intellectual range should be widened, her sym
pathies deepened and strengthened, her moral and
spiritual nature so fully deve'.oped and so largely
in the ascendant that they not only dominate her
own life, but also leave their lasting impress upon
the lives of every one with whom she comes in
contact. And blessed is tbe people when such a
woman holds the power behind the throne.
Mr. Bennett offered some remarks upon
the paper. He looked to socialism to
make woman a greater power behind the
throne.
The last paper of the morning was by
Mrs. Ada Van Pelt, the popular and re
spected lady president of the Woman's
Press Association and vice-president of
the congress. Her theme was "The
Mothers of (ireat Men." In one portion
of her brilliant essay Mrs. Van Pelt said :
The astute and speculative Greek recognized the
mother's influence in developing character, and in
altecttug social and iiatlt.nal life, for oue of their
old proverbs Is: -Mighty is the influence of moth
erhood."
In the study of lives of great men we find that
the mother's influence was the potent factor which
molded the character of these intellectual giants
who became worid movers.
Ureat men have had superior mothers. This
statement is verified by the fact that almost every
man whose name stands high on the historic page
us statesman 'or sage, philosopher or poet, warrior
or reformer, have had mothers of marked ability.
According to the law of heredity, parents live In
the lives of their children. Kspecially is this the
cnae with the mother, who gives to her offspring
not only the peculiarities of her physical but of her
intellectual and moral nature.
In all ages God has honored good mothers. He
could have sent an angel to Bethlehem, bearing in
Its arms the intact Savior, but for all time mother
hood was to be consecrated.
Elizabeth was in her declining years when her
life was biessed by a son. .*he represented the old
era about to pass away, a new era was now about
to be ushered In. for the time had come wllen the
son of Ciod was to appear veiled in human flesh.
So a virgin, type of fhe new dispensation, was
chosen to be the medium through which tbe ad
vent was to be made. While feeling that she waa
not worthy of such honor, yet Man- accepted the
position o: becoming tbe mother of the Messiah
with a heroism as gentle aa it was great, and she
has shown us vow div.ne it is to love, how divine
it is to bo maternally tender, how divine it is to be
womanly.
irom out the darkness of heathendom there
arises one surrounded by a halo of giory. and
Monica, the devout Christian moiher, is (be
fairest and noblest of her time. Her Increasing
prayer was for the salvation of her gifted son.
Augustine. The world owes muca to the faithful
mother of Su Augustine, for by her devotion her
son became the father of theology.
As a fit companion to Monica is Ajithusa, the
motfcerof Cbrysov.om. Left a widow at 20, she
refused all offers of marriage, that she rnUbt de
vote her life to the rearing of h> r son. So well did
she store bit mind with spiritual truths that his
teacher, the great philosopher, Libumius could
not lead him into heathenism.
Aft«r lunch an informal meeting, pre
sided over by Miss Anthony, Miss Shaw
and Mrs. Cooper, was held in the parlors
of the Ho. el Berkshire. There was a large
attendance.
Mrs. Ida Harper, chairman of the press
committee, reported that ail friends of the
woman suffrage movement were more
than delighted at the fearfess and brave
stand taken by The Call, which had
sounded the keynote of the campaign.
The other papers, she conceived, would
soon have to follow in The Calls foot
steps. The Monitor had offered the use of
its columns for articles on the movement,
and several other papers seemed more or
less friendly in tone.
Reports from interior suffrage clubs
stated that thousands of copies of last
Sunday's edition of Th« Call had been
scattered broadcast throughout the State.
There were reported to be forty-6ve active
woman suffrage clubs in various parts of
the State, all in flourishing condition.
The question of ways and means was
referred to a committee consis'ine of Mes
dames Mctomas, Andrews and Hay, with
instructions to prepare subscription-cards
for circa lation among friends of the cause.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
Woman Viewed In History, In the
Home and In Time of War.
Tbe informal «e«sion over, the officers
and members returned to the hall.
"The Heroines of History" gave Mrs.
Henry Krebs Jr. her theme at the opening
of the afternoon session. She said :
The women of the Scriptures have filled many
places of honor, trust and authority.
First among women of the old Testament stands
Deborah, the^prophetess. When thisfremarkable
woman was raised up to be their judge and de
liverer the Israelites were in a miserable, forlorn
and degraded condition, being under the subjec
tion and oppression of Jabin. Kingof the Cnnaan
ites. Deborah commissioned Barak to take 10,000
men and to against aisera and bis hosts.
Alarmed at the Idea of encountering so great an
army with so small a force, Barak refused to go
unless she accompanied him. >he repllrd to him
that she had offered him the command and with
It the honor: that she would go with him. but the
glory of the victory should be given to a woman.
Deborah so inspired her followers by fiery ap
peal and battle cry mat they rushed upon the
enemy and, with God on their side, the immense
army of Cnnaanitea was discomfited and over
thrown.
For wisdom, patriotism and valor '"she was un
surpassed by any ruler of Israel from Moses to
l>avld, a period of 400 years."
Her higher qualities as prophetess and priestess
are Indicated in "her glorious song of triumph
which for poetry, sublimity and historic Interest
has seldom been exceeded."
She arrogated to herself no other title than that
of "mother." showing that it was love for her
country and people that stirred her whole spirit to
assume the responsibilities of government when
the wisdom and sa«> city of man proved uneo.ua!
to the task.
The Scriptural commentators have remarked
"that Deborah alone of all tbe rulers of Israel went
ucreproved by the prophets and Inspired
historians." "The land bnder her rule had rest
for forty years," and the "hand of the children of
Israel prospered."
Uow brave tbe spirit that took Judith to the
camp of Holoferaes In performance of an act that
should save the besleeed city of Bethnlia.
What fidelity to kindred and friends was dis
played by Esther, the beantilul Jewisu maiden
who when raised to the proud position of the
Queen of Persia forgot not her people, and at the
risk of life itself saved them from annihilation.
We have in this new land many women whose
heroic acts and patriotic deeds rendertbeni worthy
of our highest reverence and administration. I
Of those distinguished for heroism and fortitude
In philanthropy we name as entitled to high re
nown such illustrious women as Dorothea L. nix
Klizabetii Fry. Mrs. Jndson, Margeret Fuller, Mary
Wollstonecraft, Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Mary a'
Livermor-, Dr. (.{race Klmbali and Susan B. An
thony, our champion and our chief, who has the
rare distinction of having given her life and labor
unremittingly for fifty years to the uplifting of
her sex.
Through th° dark night of discouragements, dis
appointments, scorn and derision, with dauntless
courage, strong in her conviction of right, this
grand woman has unceasingly toiled.
But the dawn has come and the full noontide
glory is not far distant when her labors shall have
their full fruition.
And a* she is the noblest of living matrons, so
may she yet wear the civic crown of American
citizenship in the land which shall have received
Its '-new birth of freedom."
Mr*. J. F. Swift opened the discussion
by referring to the many noble women of
all times whose names are not chronicled
on the pages of human history.
Mrs. Cooper referred to the biblical
character so well jrnown as the unknown
widow who contributed her mite to the
treasury, and she characterized her as one
of the unknown heroines of history.
At this juncture a lady's cnair slipped
from beneath her and she slid some dis
tance on the waxed floor, knocking down
other chairs in her wild career, to every
body's consternation.
"bince this congress opened," observed
Miss Shaw, "at least fifty women have
fallen, frontways, sideways and every way.
and yet not one of them has let out a
scream. It looks as though women were
learmne self-control."
"When the Native Daughters have a
hall," commented Mis. Swift, "we'll have
chain that women can sit on without dan
ger to life and limb."
Mrs. George T. Gaden read a charming
paper on the potent influence of woman in
the home. Her brilliant essay had for its
title, "The Slave as tiuler," but the woman
whom she painted seemed far from being
a servant. She traced the power of a good
woman on husband, brothers and sons,
showine how a woman of prudence and
fortitude could ruie her home as though
»he were a veritable queen. The essay was
frequently interrupted by applause.
Napthaiy Herz lmber, of whom it has
been said he ate onions and breathed de
fiance at the rabbis, was the first one to be
recognized by tbe ccair when the discus
sion was opened. He went into biblical
and medieval history with a rush, and
was somewhere in an" anecdote of Alfred
the Great w&en, the time-limit for such
speeches having expired and the warning
little bell having sounded several times
without his notice, the audience gracefully
applauded him to his original position.
Mrs. Orr offered a few pertinent remarks
on the paper, and then a lady far back in
the audience arose and spoke 6f women in
tne earliest patriarchal age, whom she
said were often the judges.
A brief bat very interesting paper on
'« oman in War Times" was read by
Mrs. E. 0. Smith and called forth a
lengthy discussion.
•• "? bere is a woman ." began Miss Yates,
who more than any other has done much
for the United States. Had it not been
for Anna Ellen Carroll the United States
muht not still have been the United
states of to-day. It was her intimate
knowledge of the South that, given to the
an lp°rities, made many of the victories
of Grant possible. And yet that woman
died in poverty and unrecognized for her
patriotic acts. Misa Anthony and I visited
her in Wa?hineton, where she was being
cared for by the charity of friends. We
tried in vain to get a pension for her.
Though thousands upon thousands of
men have been pensioned she could not be
rewarded.
"And we have poured out millions
granting pensions to men, many of whom
lo | st tbeir eyesight by viewing battles from
Mrs. Andrews of Los Aneeles said she
was a member of an association in that
city composed of Confederate and TJnioo
veterans and their women sympathizers.
she >-aid the organization once gave a
banquet and asked six of tbe lady mem
bers to prepare trie food and lay the tables.
Their work over, the ladies were expected
to leave; but they stayed, and since then
the precedent has been followed, women
having a share in ali the convivial meet
ings of the association.
Mrs. McCauiay said: "I want to men
tion the neroes of our own State, the
pioneer fighters of California. They not
only cleared the way for the immigrants;
tney located many of the valuable mines,
but because they were United States sol
diers they were not permitted to claim
them."
Miss Anna Shaw then advanced to the
front of the platform, and, greeted by the
applause her presence seems always to
call forth, said: "
"Who can say that the women did not
snffer S3 much in war times as the men?
The agony of silent, anxious waiting is as
severe an ordeal as the danger of battle.
The question with us to-day^ however, is
01173 May 7, 1896.
Charles M. Shortridge, Editor The Call:
Dear Sir--Horace Greeley once wrote: "If any person ever
supposed that any earthly consideration could induce me to write
and publish what people desire to read rather than what they ought
to know he has wholly mistaken the purpose for which the Tribune
is published, and he should stop his subscription at once."
When The Call took its position on the side of equal suffrage
I wondered whether the old days of journalism had come again, when
a great modern newspaper dare to have and publish opinions not
dictated by some convention of political highbinders or by the
money-drawer in the business office. Whether this is to be real
ized or not, the attitude of The Call kindles hope, while it re
vives memories of the old Tribune. The incident has also its
amusing features. The headlong haste all the other papers made to
vault over one another to "get in" on the side of The Call in
twenty-four hours after was a sight to behold. I am sure the ex
perience of The Call will demonstrate over again that right,
justice And expediency have not parted company. Yours truly,
JAMES S. REYNOLDS.
not the question of war; it is of peace.
And I wish that the women of this con
gress would by a set of resolutions put
themselves on record as favoring arbitra
tion.
"Though I have been asked many times
to associate myself with societies com
memorating war victories I have refused
to affiliate with them, as I am strongly
opposed to perpetuating fearful struggles
between man and man. i see a much
more commendable organization exist
right here in this State. I mean the Na
tive Sons of the Golden West. Such an
association binds together the founders of
the State. And have you Native Daugh
ters? All the better, but it should be all
one organization— Native Sons and
Daughters of California— for I never did
believe in setting up such distinctions of
sex.'
Then Miss Shaw went on to relate an in
cident in her childhood ; how she had held
the plow and ridden the horse in the corn
fiela during war times, when her father
and brothers were in the army.
Touching upon the heroine', Miss Anna
Ivlla Carroll, mentioned by Miss Gates,
she said that Miss Carroll would not have
died in poverty had there been any wo
men in Congress when her pension was
asked for.
Some one had written Miss Shaw com
plimenting herself, Miss Anthony and
Miss \ates for showing the good sense to
remove their hats in public indoor as
semblages, and hinting stron/ly that If
all women who want the ballot would fol
low «dit it would be a telling point gained
in the good graces of man, anu would ma
tei%lly aid their cause at the election
next November. Miss Shaw advised her
auditors not to let a high hat stand be
tween them and freedom in the coming
election.
Jost before adjournment the following
resolution was adopted:
Rao'.ved, That we in congrress assembled
place ourselves on record aa favoring the set
tlement of all differences and difficulties.
State and National, by arbitration.
The following letter was also read amid
much applause:
National Council of Woxeit of the >
United States, }
New York Citt. April 30. 1896. >
To ifn. Sarah B. Cooper, President, and to the
Woman's Congrex* AtvxiatUm of the Pacific
Coatt in conference assembled
In behalf oi the National Council of Women
of the United States I beg 10 present our most
cordial greetings, our congratulations upon
the past success of your noble organization,
our rcgreu that more of our members cannot
share the benefits of your unequaled pro
grammes, our most sincere sympathy with
your work and cordial good wishes for its
success.
We rejoice In your magnificent effort to dis
cover the right foundations and to rear there
on enduring structures of government for the
individual, the home and the Nation, all of
which ought to profit by your deliberations.
Four facts with relation to government are
true: First— ln time past government* have
rarely aroused themselves to restrain evils, to
restore rights, to correct wrongs, until forced
to do so by the demand of the people. Second—
The people rarely make an effective demand
until to the majorities the need of reform is
apparent. Third— The need of reform is rarely
apparent to majorities until after the investi
gation of fact* and the dissemination of
knowledge on the part of a few.
Fourth— few rarely make such investiga
tion until the evils haTe grown to the propor
tions of great wrongs.
The Woman's Congress Association of the
Pacific Coast seems to be disproving the fourtn
statement and to have aroused itself for the in
vestigation of trnth and the dissemination of
knowledge in time to prevent the destructive
growth of much that is evil and to strengthen
much that is eood.
To this effort the National Council of Women
of the United Slates — committed as it is to the
"highest good of the family and the State, to
the overthrow of all forms of ignorance and
injustice, and to the application of the golden
rule to society, custom and law"— desires to
tender its active sympathy and cordial co
operation. -
Begging to add thereto my own personal
regret at my Inability to share the pleasures
and profits of th« occasion. I am, sincerely
yours. Mast Low Dickussos.
President National Council of Women of the
United States.
EVENING SESSION.
Professor Edward H. Cr\ggs of Stan
ford University Makes a Very
B -in lant Address.
As regards a great audience the at
tendance at last evening's session of tbe
Woman's Congress was second only to the
packed and uncomfortably overcrowded
hall of Wednesday night, "when Miss An
thony and Mis? Shaw and their co-work
ers had returned triumphant from the Re
publican convention at the State Capital :
but as far as intense, prolonged applause
for any one speakers effort is considered,
last night's meeting was tne most notable
of tbe whole successful concress. The
name of Professor Griggs of Stanford Uni
versity several times referred to in paper*
read before the congress, is said to be sufb'
cent in itself to insure a large audience o?
"THE CALL" DARES TO BE JUST.
women. It certainly seemed last night
that the magnetism of his words produced
a wonderful effect upon his hearers.
A pale, intellectual, almost ethereal
looking young man still in his twenties,
he delivered a surprisingly forcible and
' charming extemporaneous speech on be
half of womanhood, an effort that even
Miss Shaw toofc occasion to declare was
, tne embodiment and perfect expression of
her own highest ideals on the subject.
When the wild applause following Pro
! fessor Griggs' introduction had subsided
j he began his address, during which and
I amid repeated applause he said:
Ideals change with all change in actual life. The
Ideal is the horizon, which is determined by the
point where we stand. At the same time the'ideal
i (8 ihe best standard for measuring the actual life.
The key to a man or an epoch is the ideal wor
shiped. What one is to-day is a changing shadow
on the sundial of time, while the ideal is the white
light which casts the shadow.
It is especially important to recognize this In
studying t c changes of ideals of womanhood. I
These changes tell us better almost than anything I
else the true progress of tbe higher human life.
It is extremely difficult to state the fundamental i
. differences between men and women. Sex differ
i entiation Is only one example of^he great principle !
, of division of labor — its aim Is economy and adup- i
| tatlon. In primitive conditions of life the func
tions of women are industrial and reproductive.
while those of men are protective and milltury.
In very early limes a greater equality between '
men and women prevailed than at intermediate :
stages of progress. This is in harmony with '
the general law of evolution. Primitive life
is non-moral, and progress means greater possibil
ity for advance or degeneration.
With the growth of early societies inequality in- '■
creasea in all political and social conditions. '
I State and class tyrannies arose out of loose family j
j and tribal conditions, the nii.i ary functions pre
! dominated over tbe industrial and hence came the '
. enslavement of women. The painful story of slow I
i emancipation is written in great suffering and is ;
j still going on. The freedom of women has fiim
step by step with the emancipation of indubtrial :
functions from the dominance of military ones.
The type of womanhood fostered by such con
ditionsof life was industrial aud domestic. Marriage
was developed by natural selection for tbe better j
protection of ofliprlng, and the woman who had no
opportunity to perpetuate herself was the one wil- j
ling to lose her personality absolutely In the famil v
life.
Yet the close association of two human beings !
reacts upon the development of each, and marriage i
came to be a relation founded to some extent on i
permanent qualities of character We have a '
good illustration of the struggle of the two prin- '•
ciples in the best period of Greek civilization
i where the higher class of courtesans received a '
respect incomprehensible to us, because they- alone ;
were suflicieutly educated to be intellectual com
panions to cultivated man, while tbe Greek wives j
and mothers were kept in ignorance and seclusion. ;
Christianity brought a reverence for womanhood ;
which the ancient world bad never known, ihe
worship of the Virifln placed womanhood in a new
light. Yet the gain was not unmixed witn cvii,
; for the type of woman reverenced was no: the
j human wife and mother. The medieval ideal was '
ascetic and negative. It worshiped the purity of
innocence and not the parity of virtue. It viewed ;
I marriage as a concession to the weakness of man- '
j kind; looked upon those women as noblest who
refused a 1 human ties and chose a life of isolation
from the world.
This ideal was opposed to natural selection ana
had inevitably to disappear The medieval woman
who perpetuated herself in offspring was the one ■
wi.lln« to sinK herself In the life of the famJv. :
Family life might be an adjunct in the lives of
men, but it had to fill the whole of the lives of
married women.
The dawn of modem ideals of womanhood oc
curs In the Renaissance as a part of that wonder- :
ful expansion of life. We and at times a new con- '
cep:ion of marriage and a recognition of higher ;
possibilities in the personal relations. But the '
women who realized this were few in number*,
i^ince that time the growth has been remarkable, '
increasing with immense rapidity in our own time, j
Tbe home is still far from ideal, but marr'.ag^ :
has come to be more and more a spiritual relation i
based on the more permanent qualities of cliarac- ,
ler. This means a change in the basis of natural
selection in its application to women and marri
age. Formerly the woman wbo was able to per
petuate herself was the on?- willing to lose her in
dependent :ife in the family relations. To-day, |
more and more. Intelligent men seek as their ni%-es
MM of independent and free development wbo |
are unwilling to sacrifice their separate life and j
activities entirely to the domestic rel nons. Hence i
educated, intelligent women have mor aud tuore
:be selective value placed upon i u -.-v. th>- strug- !
gle for existence. Marriage cea^e> - merely a i
reproductive and industrial insti.ii.ioii and be
comes spiritual and human.
Tbe failure to see this mars much of the current '
thought on human problems, yet the change in i
the selective principles here is the same as that !
which is seen everywhere. Brute strength was i
once dominant in the struggle for existence; tow -.
it has given place to intellectual and moral i
qualities. When a higher adaptation appears it '
has a greater selective value than those below v |
in the scale. When the family comes to Influence '
deeply the development of each member of it it i
attains a moral significance
Uur epoch Is transitional and hence it is a t me i
of misadjustments. But we c*n afford to bear the ;
i
534 Page Street, San Francisco.
To the Editor of The Call:
It was with feelings of the deepest gratitude and apprecia
tion that I read of the advance position taken by The Call re
garding woman suffrage. The women of California will "rise up
and call you blessed " for your brave efforts in their behalf ;
and when the victory is won next November they will not be
unmindful of the hand that extended the timely aid, of the pilot
that led the way into harbor. They will call mass-meetings in
every city, town and hamlet in the State, at which they will call
to mind the valuable assistance given them by the San Fran
cisco Call in their struggle for independence. The first exer
cise of their newly acquired political privileges will be to call
for the appropriation of a sufficient fund for the erection of a
grand monument in Golden Gate Park, which shall tower high
above all others, and prove a fitting testimonial from thousands
of grateful women of their high esteem and profound admira
tion for the San Francisco Call and its noble representatives.
Should there arise any objection to such use of the public
funds a draft can be made upon the accumulated taxes paid by
women during the pa3 t two hundred years, in the disbursement
of which they had no voice or vote, and with such a vast sum at
their disposal they can erect a monument that will reach the sky.
Meanwhile the women of the State should call for thou
sands of extra copies of .The Sunday Call, and when they call
upon their friends present them with a copy of The Call— the
first great daily that had sufficient backbone and courage to call
the attention of the voters of California to the fact that women
were knocking at the door and calling for admittance into the
duties and responsibilites of citizenship, and to unite its voice
with theirs in the cali for a halt in the present unjust adminis
tration of public affairs, and demanding that woman shall be
called upon to assist in making laws by which she is taxed m* r .
Ned, divorced, sent to jail, prison and hanged. Respectfully yours
Ma^ 3>3 > 1896 « Mrs. J. Schlesinger. '
suffering for the sake of the higher life which v to
come.
The differences net ween men and women are not
to be overcome. Mate will always cost more,
physically and mentally, than fatherhood. It Is
the greatest of all possible errors to attempt to
make women over Into cheap imitations of men.
The "eternal womanly" will always be with us to
lead us on.
Yet the law of evolution In the application to the
higher human life always involves these chases.
Vve pass from a homogeneous, Indlfferentiated
basis, through specialization and differentiation,
to a more organic unity on a higher plane.
Specialization of function Is only a waste of force
unless there is integration or the specialized func
tion in the whole of life. In government we pass
from an indifferent lated unity at the beginning,
through all possible types, good and bad, toward a
certain common tyjie which shall, with the great
est organic unity, give the largest possible freedom
to all. In religion we pass from a simple basis
through all possible beliefs and super
stitions toward a common faith In the ra
tionality of the universe and the one God and
father of us all. similarly, in sex devolopment we
pass from the monogamous family, through all
kinds of conditions, to a monogamous family
which involves, instead of excluding, the widest
specialization of function and life The ideals of
man and woman tend to approach each other and
are united in the Inclusive ideal of the human be
ing. The Ideal man must be Dot only strong and
brave and true, but tender and sympathetic: the
Ideal woman must be not alone loving and sensi
tive and tender, but strong and capable of Inde
pendent life. .Likeness between men and women
is the last thing to be desired, but there can be no
satisfying personal relation without equal freedom
and development.
- Anything which relieves women from the neces
sity of marrying tends to place marriage itself on a
nobler plane. The interests' of men are the in
terests of women. The notion that there is a
necessary struggle for supremacy between the
sexes, and that one conquers at the expense of the
other, is one of the most absurd and pernicious no
tions ever perpetrated upon a patient world.
No regeneration of humanity is to be expected
from giving the suffrage to women. It is only a
step toward freedom: nu". It is such a step, and as
such deserves our cordial support- Out of all the
long struggle of humanity emerges the ideal of
womanhood. It Is the "iCternal Womanly," but
the eternal womanly unhampered by artificial
limitation;. Woman — tender and sensi
tive, but woman strong and true is the modern
ideal; woma , capable of standing alone, and
hence worthy of the deepest human relations—
and Is the ideal of which v.-c catch a glimmer, the
new woman — bless and protect her."
A Mr. Howard opened the discussion by
indulging in what promised to develop
into an interminable dissertation upon the
merits and demerits of the "new woman"
considered in the light of sociology and
evolution, but was cut off by the" three
minute limit.
Another gentleman named Benham
spoke of Lady Aberdeen's lace industry in
Ireland as Rood in its way, but would pre
fer to see the land in that country in pos
session of the natives. He scored absentee
landlordism in the strongest terms.
Mrs. Andrews commented upon the new
woman and the new man in a set of orig
inal verses, which were warmly applauded.
Miss Sarah M. Severance read a most
interesting paper on "Woman's Stake in
the Country o—that0 — that is, it was called a. caper,
but was properly a magnificent extempo
raneous oration. She said :
A stake is something set— something fixed. Has
woman a stake In government? Government Is a
great joint s:oct company, Into which woman Is
born. She cannot sell out or throw up her stock -
sne cannot avoid assessments. Politics Is a method
of management, God's law for the correlation of
human beings; it Is a science, and there is no cor
rnption exrept in Its management; it Is that half
of toe Golden Rule which pertains to hnmamty
The ballot Is a choice, the only choice which is
counted. "Those who have no vo:e are enslaved
to those who have," said Dr. Franklin. lhe
prime object of government is to protect and it is
"5 '£".! "» d *P " verheunwonh and 'be Incapable
of the ballot as of the pistol. If the greatest good of
the greatest number so deman ett4eßl> Booa or
But there should be no impassable barriers. When
the incompetent, the minor, the lunati.-, the idiot
the ignoramus, become capable, when the criminal
becomes wortny, then should they be permitted to
vote their stock. The sex line for vo.erVuThe most
?,?"* E*"? 1 "^!? 1 " ■" marka and funr
w?3. ds t0 different development. Man deals
with the mass, woman with the individual, he
has power, she ethics and intuitions, a feeling of re-
BP^5^ WW i Ul7 i: M l ? Jtoffnnctions. Both are
needed In the nation as in the home. We are told
Ln?,?°, ni * I 1""I 1 ""? 1 voteb^n^ she can't tight
and that she .shan't vo:e because she will plnnjre os
into a religious war: that women will vote Juft v
their nusbands do and that they will vote jail at
their hu,bands don't, and said hnsband/wm £
uciv and make innarmony in the family that
women are too good 10 vote aud wosaea »>*•»££
men to lower levels "smpt
It. after investigating the free States, these
assertions prove true, disfranchise woman the°£
for, but don't disfranchise woman because shells
woman. I: is a stigma upon her non; i: blasts the
race. Star-eyed silence/ in the person of sip
James Cricnton Browne, tells us thiV -once edu^
BACKBONE AND COURAGE.
