The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1870-02-08
Petroleum v. Nasby on the Woman cues.
fiOn.


Rev. Petroleum V. Nasby (Mr. D. r. Locke)
lately delivered his lecture entitled "The
Lords of Creation, or the Struggles of Con-
servative ON the Woman Question:" in Phila-
dephia. We extract part of the report ofit,
with its sarcasm and common sense, from a
report in one of the dailies.
He adored woman, and recognizes the i'm
portance of the sex but for woman where
should we have been, who washed our faces,
to whom did we give red apples, for whom
did we part our hair be bind, and wear No.
boots 3ben No. 10 would have been more
fitting, and whom did we ultimately marry?
Woman. But for woman Washington would
never have been the father OF his country,
and but for woman Andrew johnson would
never have been born.
FROM the beginning woman had been de-
pendant, and has been what men have seen fit
to make her. In this country, in tue higher
walks, she is still toy to be bought and sold,
and in the lower walks slave. Mother Eve,
he said, was faithful wife, and never went
out OF her sphere. She never made public
speech, never ran for legislature, or did any OF
those things, but stayed at home and washed
the dishes and darned the fig leaves, and
swept the rooms, and cooked the meals, for
they had no help. He protested against wo-
graceful rather than strong; she delights in
millinery goods, and she can't raise whskers.
Women, too, would lose all respect, if they
dabbled in politics. Her mixing would lower
her character, without elevating mans. Im-
aoine her drinkir with the lower classes Tor
votes, and doing all the other dirty work as
men do. All these evils, indeed, seem to
come from the acts OF voting. Again we
want peace in our families. Now man and
a,,I fJ,a g baf
| present arrangement is bad for woman, but
| then we, the men, have their own way and
| reace. Think OF Brigham Young going to
| the polls with his hundred and seyenty-three
wives.
There was labor enough in the country to
| supply many more OF the Kitchens of the
| country with intelligent labor, and nothing
but foolish pride kept the daughters of in
| solvent wealth from getting three dollars a
week and working six hours a day more than
the laborer. and from making a holocaust OF
all their music books, and their beautiful
things. Young men acted differently. They
would descend to the lowest gIades Of honest
labor rather than be sponees upon society;
Mr.. Locke then left the sarcastic yein ana
finished as follows: m
There are in the United States some lll'!l-
ions OF women who yearn Tor soue'nIhS 70
| develop their minds and souls, 10 strengthen
| their moral natures. There are hundreds OF
thousands who have suffered in silence, but
have no power to redress the evils which sur
round thein. III the parlor, Irivolity in the
cottage servitude, upceasirg toll aud darken-
ed lives. This is the condition OF woman in
the world to-day. They ale starving for the
want vi s0metnirg to do, with word calling
for labor. One-half of humanity is drag
upon the other half.
Daughters OF luxury who 60 not desire a
change, yonr silks could not be more cost,y
your jewels could not flash mole orlShtly,
your lives are pleasant; but appeal 10 you
to think and to act. l would make rational
beings of YOU, make you useiul to humanity
and Yourselves. would give the daughters
of the DC or the power to right their own ways
There is nothing unreasonable in this de
mand. The change is not so great as tna
the world has endured, and it can again with
out damage. To give the ballot to the Amer
icap woman to-day is not so dangerous as i
would have been ten years ago to give it Il
the negro, The rule in republics is that th
governing power must rest in the hands o
the governed. Ii the woman is governed sh
has right 10 have i voice in the making o
the laws which govern her. 1t would enlarg
the boundaries OF her mind; it would maxi
her more useful 20 humanity by making he