North Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1867-current, 1869-07-07
A Choice Of No,h,ngs.


In lecture on women, delivered in this
city on Tuesday night, by the champion
heavyweight female suffragist, she stated
that girls have before them the choice OF a
husband or nothing and this frequently
is choice between two nothings."'
As people usually speak from the
promptings of their own experience, it is
probable that the lecturess did so when she
made the above assertion. But it is quite
as often the case that the deductions from
some one persons experience are not ap-
plicable to any other person. Hence, the
assertion of the speakeress in regard to
the value Of hus bands must be logically
limited to her own case. .r
That she was justified in thus sneering
Mt husbands will not be dOubted-always
limiting her assertion to its real, personal
meaning. 1t applies. however, to some
few other cases. We think that the
growth of female suHragists. generally,
can be traced to what may be termed,
poor husband-ry. # 81
A man and his wife are one but where
he is man, and not "nothing," he is
the one. When he is weak, and lacking
in virility and force, she is very apt to be-
come the one. A man who is failure, Ms
such, either drags his wife down to his
scend with him, and becomes the represen-
tative of what she would be,--that is, the
head, the governing power.
Two bodies cannot occupy the same
space at the same time. Matrimony is a
space in which there cannot he, at once,
two vigorous, dominant, aggressive char>
acters. Hence, if the space be occupied
by manly husband, the woman is cling
ing, loving, dependents. Again, nature
ahhors vacuum. The existence of an
imbccile husband has tie tendency to cree
ate vacuum in the matrimonial space.
Nature, to avoid this vacuum, strengthens
the woman. She becomes virile, mascu-
line, executive, governing.
We thus see that the origin of women
who advocate and demand woman's rights,
and who demand the ballot, and the poses
sion Of other masculine attributes and
| qualities, is liable to q very fine phil
lasophical explanation. We understand it
as being result of the natural law of
compensation. Lop off anything any
where, in the world Of vegetation, and
nature. at once, goes to work to supply the
loss. Strike down the natural head of the
family nature makes provis-
ion tosupply the place. To this end, it
stimulates the woman until she becomes a
senbance Of what her husband should
be.
Men, therefore, should not grumble
over the birth and growth Of women who
| advocate womens rights. If they do
grumble, it Should not be at women, but
at their own sex. Men, and not women,
are responsible for the existence of these
so called Amazons who berate their hus-
bands in public, and who openly advo-
cate new processes in the mysteries Of cre-
alton from which the element Of the hus-
| band shall be eliminated.
Not all men are blamable. We assure
the speakeress of Tuesday night that,
whatever may be her personal experience,
all husbands are not .'nothings." Ii
there be here and there one who is an
incapable, it is not tie fault Of his sex,
nor is it right to hold the entire mason
line sex responsible. To overthrow the
rule of all men because few men are
feeble, would be manifest wrong. To
the extent that the SHINING ones may he
punished, do we sympathize with women's
rights. But let the movement confne
itself to giving the ballot to women who
have married ''nothing." or, rather. let it
be directed to the extinction Of these mas.
culine ''nothings.' In this direction will
be found complete remedy Tor the evils
complained of by female suffragists.