Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1864-12-01
From the Charlottesville Chronicle.
The III Utilization OF our Women.

The discuss about the extension of the Conscript
Act Editors and Preachers and other almost ndis
pensabe classes in the community, will be productive Of
good We observe that meeting of Ladies in Colum-
bia s. c., has thrown out the idea OF restricting each
town q single daily newspaper. From the same de-
sire to render vceabe all the agencies within our
limits to the advancement of the great in which
we engaged, the President, presume, indu-
ced to touch ia his message the mooted ard delicate
point of employing forty thousand slaves aborers
in the army. The editors and clergy have been &C
tive in encouraging the most absolute efforts that it
possible tor the country to make that it is not matter
of surprise to that many worthy people should think
it but just that should illustrate principles, and
we feel assured that all of the members OF both the
Clergy aud the Press would do with alacrity were
they not convinced that the country would suffer nu-
itely by their absence from their professional du
ties than il will by their constrained dsjunction from
the army. The duties of the Christian Minister ought
not to be suspended In war aud the Press ia
absolute necessity not merely to give information of
the progress of event and to guide their COURSE but
awaken and encourage the highest Efforts of the whole
people, 1t strikes however, In looking around for
unexhauoted veins of the public force, and and
available subjects for the conscrptionary lasso that
large field has been entirely dsregarded and that i'm
portant results may yet be realized from a source
that to have attracted the attention of the
government. We refer TO So far as inter-
est in the goss the ardor of their patriotism has
been the theme OF comme0daton In and in orato
~ upon every OCCASION and their urgency in behalf OF
putting the last in the fed has been as conspicu
GUS as from Pulpit or Iii pod. They indeed-when
the whole country is camp, in one sense already 10
the army They minister in various irregular ways
the support of the cause-partcuary in singing pa
triotc songs and denouncipg the public enemy We
would GO iartherwe would take them from their can
tonments into active duty. We trust it will not-in
these days of extreme expedients-be thought extrava
gant-the suggestion of the Mobilization Of our Women.
1t would be noble testimony to the grandeur of hu-
manity and the supremacy of mind over matter these
frail and delicate beings could be impressed into the
powerful engnery of war, and made of s most in
dustrious and foceul agencies 1t is not by physical
strength that subdues and asserts his authority
over the denzens of the forest by which he is surround
ed. His intelligent mind, served by those wonderful
ministers of bis mental determinations, the human arms
seat him 10 the throne of the animal kingdom and es
tabish him, of the weakest among animals, The
terror of the land and the seas With the reasoning
faculty to direct bis efforts he employs the stoues the
itks the knife the sword the axe, the bow, the fire.
lock, the cannon, to execute bis purposes of attack
With the helmet the cuirass the greaves the gauntlet
the shield the castle, the FORT the eathwork constructed
by bis hands, be defends himself from the lion, the BEAR
the wolf, the elephant, and from his fellows. We
can imagine community composed entirely of women,
exerlng with nearly equal success these potential in
struments against the beasts of the field who would
otherwise easily devour them. They possess in this
respect the main attributes of man-the reason and
those brachial dependencies which have effected the
wonderful ACKNOWLEDGEMENT which man has achieved
1t in5 xplcabe solecsm, ii the female hand
OF the race in all the departments Of peaceful industry
were poweress in war. The ancients whose fine my
biology is full of the deepest philosophical sgnfcancy,
did not 80 think Minerva represented with the
helmet and spear-and was the Goddess of War. Ho |
mer introduces Venus the stormy of the
Iiad-as does Virgil in the spirited combat of bis
closing chapter. The Amazons too are another illus
tration OF the popular sentiment on this subject.
But it is not thus that would make of this |
class among US. We imagine that the noble poets to
whom we have referred merely designed to teach that
woven too bad their places in war-and could contrib
ute to further its objects.
Our plan is this bring for the coming year forty
thousand women, within the ages of Is and 45-snge
women-within the operation OF the Conscript Act
They should be organized by Gen. Cooper and the
head of the Bureau of Conscrpton into Corps of /
Industry and employed to sew to knit, to cook, to
wash to for the army, weaving, spinning, card
ing, preserving, pickIing-and numoer of other Off
ces TOO numerous to specify in what is merely Offered
A skeeton-would be embraced in views OF their
iuties This force should be thoroughly systemized,
md subjected to complete military rule with it's general
ulcers, its staff, field officers, company officers and