Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1873-11-04
LETTER FRoM NEW YORK.
z.so Nights Nth our .strong, Minded sss,ers.

Dear ispirit i-It is very probable that
your readers have heard of the meetings held
by the Woman's Rights advocates in New
York and Brook Ign. The Lyceum platform
finB Cooper Institute was decorated with about
sixteen busfies-the regular hustle Of the
period; to each hustle was prefxed woman
of masculine sentiments. IA representatiye of
the American Woman Suffrage Association.
There Were on the platform a few men with
gray. side>w hiskers and eye-g asses, and these
lew were perusing copies OF the Iyomdn's s.
Journal :-spec imen sheets of this paper were
scattered through bout the hall Col. Higgin-
son, man whose legs bore . strong resem>
sblance TO the rockers of an old fashioned
cradle, scratched his head, Strengthened his
legs as much as he could, stepped forth and
delivered the preliminary address. He had
good How of language, but, not a flow of good
Language; it was too strongly tempered with
the Yankee pronunciation, to be enjoyed byl
acritical audience. Furthermore, be had .
nasal solemn tone more adapted to the funeral
Grafton of Marcus Antonius, than to the fierv
'eioquence necessary in such an i'm portant cues.
ton as woman's suffrage. All could learn
from his swords, is that woman has right TO
exercise calling in any sphere of life. 60, &c.
He said that woman in Vermont shaved
his tace-s'very nicely, !" and he would prefer
to have woman shave him any day, to
sturdy. broad>shouldered man. Ifaman sells
ihoop>skirts, corsets, 1aces, ETC., women are
Justified in selling ploughs, pigs, etc. During
this harangue aswoman continued to move to
and fro on the platform as ifshe had nartaken
of picked lightning for breakfast. Mr.. Hie.
ginson introduced a lady from Massach usetts.
who appeared rather stylish with her cream-
coiored kids, and the beautiful cnrve she nut
in her little ioger,-that graceful curve all
the ladies use when they drink tea or eat
candy; it is MISUNDERSTANDING This
lady's language was elegant, argumentative,
and impressive.
Lucy Stone. The spouse of Henry B. Black,
we'll, and editor Of the Woman's Journal. de.
livered apowerful, extemporaneous speech.
The last part of her Grafton, / am sure, was
premeditated, for she called upon her sisters
to take up collection this suggestion did
more to dispense the audience, than the ex-
ploson of bomb in their midst "Home,
sweet home /" everybody seemed, Just at that
moment, to remember s'there's no place like
home" So they all went home except few
of the strong minded. The collection didn't
amount to fabulous sum-. One Dutchman,
to whom the hat was handed, took it, tried it
on his head. and said ''Dos ash Elm gut Hat;
how much him cost Z" They gave him to un
derstand money was needed. ooh! Geld,
veil, gives you two cent; give me one cent
back" They, passed on.
Mr. Blackwell, an excellent speaker. held
the audience in sway, while the sisters bored
them with the inevitable hat.
Col. Higgiuson's legs were seen to twist;
we turned around and perceived the cause -
about two hundred working-girls. whose wages
had been reduced in the umbrella factories
where they had worked, came into the hall.
They wanted to speak, so the colonel think
ing, doubtless, that these were recruits to his
Amazon regiment, readily acquesced to their
proposal: A girl stepped upon the platform,
and made a few sensible remarks: eve are
out OF work, our employers have reduced our
wages to such sum, that we cannot support
ourselves, We are not Womap's Rights ad,
vocates. We never sympathised with them
We want bread We do not seek the ballot"
Higginson was disappointed, his legs carried
him behind the screen, as the BOYS shouted
"Oh ! them legsH'
The announcement was made that the
'tSorosis" would assemble in Plymouth church
- Brother Beecher's, in order to discuss a,
greater length, the rights of that poor, op-
pressed creature, woman. I don't know how
they discussed the topic in Plymouth church.
but they thoroughly disguised their audience
in Cooper Institute. As was going out Of
the Institute man gave me several tickets
which stated that Victoria G. Woodruff and
her sister (Mss) Colonel. Claflin (she's COL
one of a negro regiment,) would speak in
Cooper Institute, on the following Friday
evening, at o'clock.
like fun. Did go? Allow me to use
an expression more emphatic than elegant
"you bet ~
At seven O'Clock, the large hall was filled
with an intelligent audience; in fact the au
dience @as so large that l must resort to an
oft-repeated newspaper phrase THE hall
was crowded to its utmost capacity" That's
redundancy, however, i, suits The corridors
and organ gallery had their share of specta.
tors. The platform was packed with old>
''maidish" looking women, who "wore" short
hair, which fell in ringets on their brows.
thereby giving their faces the appearance of
our hair signs in Broadway window.
BY way of parenthesis, let me admonish -
1t you see woman with short gray hair fall;
ing in beautiful ringlets on her brow; and if
she seems to takes pride in those cnrls, regard
her as one of the strong minded? Ifyou have
sister, niece, cousin, wife, mother aunt or
even a grandmother with those bewitchiup
ringlets. cut them off, and feel no remorse for
having done SO. | know woman who wa.
earning three dollars n week. knitting stock
lnes, her hair began to turn gray and fall il
ringlets. Does she not knit stockings vet?
Bless you no. That woman is now earning
$500 week lccturing in the Woman's Rights
business. She took to man at first, man
wouldn't have her. now she has taken to
woman!
One swarthy looking female, whose body
was jot smaller than pillar of the old Court
House in Charlestown, cast malicious look
upon all the men present Iftbat woman had
spoken, l think her words would have been
90, thou beast man this evening we'll give
thee thunderv'
~ young man with younger mdstache,