Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1871-04-14

the past few weeks more than any
other, but after the garblipg we have
had of Mrs. Stanton's noble plea in
behalf of unborn generations, ask
you to insert it in your paper that
all may see in what manner it has
been mis-applicd. Twill just give
YOU the comments Of the Chicago
Tribune on her lecture, which call
ed out this reply. I copy from THE
Revolution:
The Chicago Tribune says: he
Mrs. Stanton quite sure that freedom Of divorce,
for no other cause than the mere desire to OK
change an old husband or wife for new one, IL
among the coveted Blooms that women cravey does
she consider In how many instances the chief prob
lem Of life that Of support. binds the wife to the
husband, and IN how few instances 1t binds the
husband to the wife? Indeed in point Of law. q
husband can never be dependent on his wife for
support eince, whatever her income or resources
may be, she can never become liable for his main
tanance; while, in nine cases out Of ten the wife.
il turned adrift by the husband, could earn but n
very inferior support to that to which she IL ac-
custOmed. aisiie }tss ~. -Nlfssst
between the children and the mother in most fam
lilies than they towards the father, the system
of "easy divorce" which Mrs. Stanton extols as
a boon to woman, simply gives every vaeabond
husband a change Of wives us often as he likes,
and leaves the wife In every case to support the
children resulting from the sO-called marriage.
II Mrs. Stanton will reverse the fundamental con-
ditiOns of life SO that the husband shall bear the
children; we cain then perceive how free divorce
might be held up as boon to suffering woman.
Otherwise it il only premium to male vaga-
bonds"
In reply, Mrs. Stanton says:
II do not recommend divorce for q love
of novelty merely; but insurm"nnta-
able differences of organizatior43Thc
chief problem of life is to be settled
by educating every girl for selfsupport,
making wives as independent in this re-
spect as husbands. Plenty of husbands
are dependent in point Of fact, whether
in point Of law or not, and might be
set adrift' to advantage.
Gas to the children of 'vagabond hus
bands the fewer the better. I see no
advantage to any woman in being fast
bound to this type of manhood.
Il do not propose to reverse the fun
damental conditions of life but to purify
and cxalt them base them on science and
philosophy, by educating women into
the idea that to bear noble children to
noble men, with sound bodies and sound
minds, is u worthy work, and one that
brings it's own happiness and reward;
but to fill the world with idiots, lunatics,
criminals, the blind, the deaf, the dumb,
in order to maintain an indissolable tic
with vagabOnds, drunkards, tobacco
chewers, libertines, consumptivcs, dys-
pcptics; to spend ones days nursing mu
ling, pulling, limp-backed, hydrocephalic
abortions Of humanity, is not work
worthy a Christian woman, but sin
against herself, the State. and gross
violation of the immutablc laws of God.
True, we must do the hest with present
misery, but, for the love Of justice, mercy,
purity, '~lct wOmanhOod now take her
stand against this wholesale propagation
of discord, disease, and death. Truly
yours, L. G. STANTON"
Can such plain statements need
any explanation? Yet story was
printed in the Dubuque Times, and
copied into your paper, with only a
partof Mrs. Stanton's words as a
caption, showing that the position
of Mrs. S. is mt understood. Why
did not the author quote the entire
paragraph of which that was the
closing clause, with only coma
between it and the preceding part,
indicating that it could not be sepa-
rated from the first part and used
as statement by itself?
In the above letter mark what
follows the sentence quoted. Does
not Mrs. S. tell us eve must do the
best with the present misery" but
cnjoining as certainly against any
further sin in that direction? Does
Mrs. H., in her story, mean that no
home can be what God intended it
to be without a dcformed child? Is
God better pleased with deformity
than perfection? Could she have
her choice, would she give her
boy. or. girl 4 hunch-backcd form in
place of the beautiful one they now
possess? Is it only through de-
formed humanity that we can have
the principles Of Christianity in
stilled into our souls? Do we find
only the dcformcd or invalid chill
drcn with sweet, loving natures:
If so, then had VIC not better pray
that all our little ones may be de-
prived of strong, healthy bodies
that they may thereby become en-
lowed with Christian graces? If
God does bestow this sweet and
patient love and trust upon these
little, sufferers, may it not be as a
compensation for the loss they sus-
tain through other ways? If God
created man in his own image,
which man was it, the hunch-back,
or the upright man?
When we see one Of these de-
formed specimens of humanity
hunch- backed, and limbs SO twisted
that we can hardly tell what use they
were made to serve, do we think he
was created in the image Of God?
Do we not rather likcn that man
who has the most perfect physical
form to the good Father Of us all?
The more perfect the physical form
the more noble we think the soul
which it covers. Alas, that We are
so often deceived. Who ever
saw deformcd child who did
not have a sad, wistful OK
expression on its face, telling of
spiritual suffering as well as physi-
cal, because their great trial shuts
them off from all the life they see
around them. Question them, and
do they not always express an earn
est wish to be like other children.
able to share all their joys or sor-
rows? And oh, the still greater
of their faces when they.
ask sou if you think they will, be
deformcd in heaven. Believe me
the more perfect we. can make our
form the more VIC arc cna-
blcd to do for the inner life, for if
we have no evil in. the outer man to
correct, shall we not have more
time and greater posce'' to devote to
the growth of the spirit?
Mr.. Mills also, ina letter to the
BULLETIN few weeks since, quoted
a part of that same sentence with as
great a misapplication. Is it .fair,
or what We would call justice, to SO
quote .te'o seords of any persons
wrifinu nc IN conway nnfiroIv differ