The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1873-03-07
SCANDAL.

1e~iSf a. AAOLEu vi
voting bipeds, in various stages of in
toxicatiOn-though "passably" sober
were casting ngtheirlecherous eyes abroad,
in hope TO feast their prurient desires
upon some equally degraded specimen
OF the Opposite sex. Not finding any
answer to their obscene ogles, one of them
turned to another and said, alluding to
ourself, 'Bill, I'll bet my bottom dollar
that she's" we can't repeat the foul
inuendo. "Of course" said another,
''all women want TO vote for is to get
opportunity" another expression too
horrible for repetition, and we hurried
on, inwardly praying to be delivered
from this voting patronage and care of
the protecting SEX"
Now, let no good, grand, noble man,
who in his heart reverenees woman as
the counterpart of himself, imagine that
we for one moment allude 10 such as he
in these cogitations; but we are sorry
to say that the lowest and meanest of
scandal is not confined TO doggery bum
mers, by any means. There are men i'm
high social, political and religious posi-
tiOns, who do not scruple to believe that
all women are just as bad in practice as
themselves are in theory. We can cite
a case in point. \ lady, well-known in
a large circle of friends, who has lived
for nearly quarter Of century i'm one
locality-not thousand miles from
Portland-a place once denominated by
a disgusted individual, as the "Devirs
half-aere," though that is not its geo
graphical name-went one day, as was
her wont, whenever mercy or duty
called her, to visit a very particular
friend, who for the tenth or eleventh
time, was suffering the unwelcOme visi-
tations Of maternity, but who nobly
does her duty as 4 mother, despite her
unequal and consequently uncongenial
position as wife.
We're treating on facts now, gentle
men, and you must endure them.
The lady in question, having per-
formed her errand Of mercy, started for
her home, about mile distant, and be-
ing herself quite unwell, obeyed n call
Of nature and retired for IA few moments
to the friendly shade of neighboring
grove. 1t makes our cheeks tingle with
bushes and our heart beat high with
indignation to be compelled to write
thus plainly, but as men do not protect
women they must protect each other,
and we shall strive to be just, though
the heavens fall.
Now comes the dark scandal to which
we have thus reluctantly led the reader
4 man, whom everybody would have
supposed, from his position in the
church as an humble follower of the
weak and lowly Jesus, would have never
thought to stoop to such prurient deed,
processes to have stopped his work,
tracked that lady to her retreat, and
there discovered suspicious circunl-
stances, which led him TO believe that
this lady, whose 'chiIdren arise and call
her blessed, her husband, also, and he
/ praiseth her''-a woman whose character
has always been in every way beyond re-
proach-was guilty Of a nameless crime.
She at once became the object OF that vii
lainous slanderer's obscene accusations,
and he, coupling her name with that of
a brother church member, but q rival in
business interests, without other proof
than his own worse than beastly imagi-
nation, circulated the most damaging
and scandalous reports about the lady's
eharacter-reports which have so deeply
wrought upon her pure and sensitive
organization that we are seriously
alarmed for her reason.
Now, what is TO be done with such q
lecherous wretch? To sue him for SLAM
deP only subjects the outraged lady to
further modification, i'm the way of
trial before prurient men and black
guarding boys. Women have no power
or jurisdiction i'm the courts; her hus-
band cannot physically vindicate her
honor without violating a law Of the
landi and if one woman submits TO
Wholesale slander in such a manner,
what woman is safe? We advise the
injured lady's friends TO form a COM
pany, surround the leaders in the scan
dal, and stand by the outraged innocent
until she whips their eyes out with a
raw-hide. This would serve them right
ana teach other scandal-mongers a salu-
tary lesson that they would not soon for
get.
1t was not our intention, when this
horrible story first came TO our ears, TO
treat it with anything but silent con-
tempt, but the following letter, which
we print rcrJdtim, with the exception
OF the names Of the parties implied land
a sentence or which are too indecent
Tor transmission through the United
states nails, has caused us TO ventilate
the matter, that the dirty demons who
are dabbling in such dark diabolism
may see that we are not afraid to stand
up for justice:
Miss Duuiway wee would like to
know why you let Miss - Shoe her
lace in that Convention thay was plainly
ot man And woman two that new all
about the circumstances as thay are it rs
struck \ death Blow to the woman suf
fridge question In - there is no way
to get out of it is proved Beyond Con-
trydiXtion she did And ever
step you take to justefy her will make