The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1871-11-03
A FEW WORDS FOR THE MEN.
BY II. u. MILLER.

do not know what will. refer to the
men. How they will settle themselves
in their chairs and give their feet an ex-
ira hoist over the mantle-piece in antie-
ipation of solemn and elaborate dis
cussion of the popular text, "Wives,
submit yourselves unto your husbands. ~
The affable Capt. Wragge will see it and
chuckle, and likely break into his wife's
reverie with: "The NEW NORTHWEST
is not so bad after all. l think if you
can manage to save up the money We'll
take it next year" The gentle lady's
nerves are thrown into a state of confu-
sion, and she suddenly remembers that
she is ''down at the heel" Some broth
er will be kind enough to open the Bible
and find the verse preceding the text
quoted above and read in voice like
the balm of a thousand flowers: "Breth-
ren submit yourselves one to another in
the Lord."1
In the new social and political revolu-
tion man must not be entirely lost sight
Of l do not speak for the rest of women,
but as for me cannot but feel some of
the old sentiments of regard and admir-
alton for the sex.
When L behold man i'll the pride of
his strength and the glory of his free
dom my heart lCiU pulsate in sympathy
with the pride and glory. And one of
the sentiments which | feel towards
man, and first among all, is gratitude. I
cannot but confess that man has done
much in the world that is commendable
and deserves our just appreciation and
thanks. To them we owe the great in
ventions and improvements of the age
and the discoveries in science and in art
To him we owe the gradual leniency of
our laws, the growth Of charity and be-
nevolence in our religion, and that de-
lightful chivalry and ostentatious regard
which men have always shown and still
show towards pretty women.
While man has been making laws,
fighting battles, writing books-histO-
ries, poems and precepts winning
glory and progressing in the arts and
sciences, woman has stood erect and mo-
tionless in the middle of home, branch
ing out neither to the right nor left.
But in all this I hold that man has
not been to blame. 1t is the nature of
things and of people that inherent
worth and excellence will develop itself.
The fault is not in our stars translated
mem, but in ourselves. In the olden
time men We're as much held down and
trampled over by men as women have
ever been by men. But there is a time
i'm the existence of every people and ma
ton when the spirit of an individual or
a class rises up and asserts itself. That
time has come with womanhOod.
But as / said before we do not wish to
make of ourselves a sombre cloud, over
spreading and obscuring the refulgent
glory of manhood, but rather a new
flood of sunshine Frightening and re-
vealing all that is noblest and best in
his nature.
Believing or imagining ourselves that
sunlight, we would like to shine upon a
certain element of man whom we now
behold in a most trying dilemma.
/ Reading "NOtes Taken at the State
Fair in the Farmer came to a para
graph headed "rhe Badge Rule" and
read as follows: considerable hard feel
ing was caused by the absurd rule re-
quiring all who attended to wear theil
badges or season tickets pinned on theil
coats. There would be NOR,
reason in the rule if the badge were ;
thing of beauty If the
badge be a neat one no one will object t
wearing it in sight"
Now, if / were one called upon, whicl
I am not, TO decide this question betweel
man and man / should feel timidit!
and hesitation which / think would b.
eminently proper under the circum
stances. Having looked upon man al
along as the arbiter of his own destin,
and the judge of his fellow man, l shoul
not dare venture an opinion as regard
the practicability of this, that or tn
other plan or rule in regard to the maH
agement of the State Fair or any othel
1 am not prepared to say whether it
law or justice to compel men TO wea
badges upon the lappels of their eOat
under any circumstances. am utterl
unable TO say how / should feel il wei
: a man with one of them pinned upo
my coat. / am not a man, and hay
, never worn a coat of any descriptio
( whatever; but l do believe that If Il
l men showed the moral heroism that W,
men have shown in wearing, pinned /
6 conspicuous places, knots, bands, cusl
e ions, exerescences, and indirect adve
tisements, they would fasten those In
: fling little badges to the lappels of the
. coats without finch or a murmur.
: In the last sentence quoted above
e involved a principle which ought to
!. discussed. ''If the badge be neat OF
a no one will object to wearing it in sight
G 1t seems to me, weak and obscured as
: my intellect, that the justice and pr
. priety of wearing badge is here ADM
ted, but the quality and style are all tn
is Objectionable. Man, proud ma
IS dressed in little brief authority. wan
y that "brief authority" to be as pretty
q its brevity will admit-a "thing
i beauty" and joy through all the Fa
Here then is only matter of tas
~ -.:o.