The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1876-09-22
MRS. Duniway's Speech.

The Woman's Exponent, published at
Salt Lake City, contains the following
communication, headed as above, and
signed ga Farmers Daughter" which
is illustrative of the blind "ungodliness
of zeal" which causes mothers in polyg-
amy to train daughters to belive that to
sacrifice and cruelty every holy instinct
of woman's nature is in accordance with
Divine decree. 1t seems, indeed, that
it were not necessary to know anything
practically of polygamy in order to de-
test it, for inherent in the soul of every
true woman is the adherence of living
in state of concubinage, and this alb
horrence-if we may believe the evil
dence of Mormon wives who have at
length broken from the terrible bondage
of soul and body and published their
sufferings to the world-it is impossible
for even religious fanaticism to eradi
cate, albeit it may for time silence au-
dible complaint. There is point in
the letter which we wish all girls to OBJ
serve as worthy of all praise and COM
mendation, and of course, when they
have read the concluding paragraph,
they will know what it is. We appre-
ciate the kindly tone of the letter, and
while we cannot repress a smile at the
argument for polygamy, we admire the
unsophisticated frankness with which
the writer avows her belief in every
woman's right to a good husband, and
the simplicity with which she expects
"a good woman" to be content with the
half, third, or twentieth interest in one
as the "good mans" means, inclina-
tions, or lusts may prompt:
1 suppose, dear girls, you will all
think, "Well, if were going to write
about anything, 1 would write it in the
season thereof, and not wait till the cir
cumstance was month old, and had
been fotgotten by every one except my
self ~ But I'll tell you how it is with
me. When l am washing, ironing,
sweeping, cooking, sewing, or running
after a mischievOus baby, | cannot be
writing; and these former things occupy
so much of my time that l only find
now and then spare moment for any
thing else.
1 went to hear Mrs. DIS Sunday even
ing lecture, because-my mother said
might. 1 liked it very much, too, ex-
cept one or two small insinuations,
which I considered uncalled for, and
which served to weaken, rather than to
give vim, to the otherwise excellent
speech. She told her audience that she
had milked cows and made butter in
abundance, in earlier days; she had
washed, cooked, plucked geese, taught
school, kept a millinery shop, and raised
q family of boys; she advised the girls
whenever they considered themselves
old enough and strong enough and wise
enough to take upon themselves the re.
sponsibilities of wifehood, to get mar.
ried, as she did. 1 liked all that
"But," she added, "dO not imagine thai
1 would have you take fractional hus
bands, as many of the women of Utah
seem perfectly willing to do" This
was one Of the weak points which she
presented, and did not like it.
What right, let me ask, has such s
woman to advise the girls of Utah upOI
a subject of which she knows, practi
cally, nothing, in cOntradistiDction tt
! the teachings of their own noble'moth
|. ers, many of whom have lived in pOlyg
amy for ten, twenty, and thirty years
Mrs. Duniway appears to be a thor
OUghly practical woman. l think sh
should let polygamy entirely alone un
til she actually knows something abou
it.
The speaker gave highly interesting
account of her own personal experience
She spoke with energy and earnestnes
= in favor of equality of the sexes, in tn
; right to control property and make law
, concerning it. She truthfully illus
q. trated the littleness and insipidity c
t the souls of women who are perfectl
E content to let the world move on in it
8 old way, with no thought for others be
e cause all is we'll with themselves. Thi
= was only in reference to property an
woman's right to vote.
She did not say, as would if I were
r lecturer, that every good woman has
d right to be married to q good man; fn
= that, as there are so many more worth
women than men, it is noble and goo
d for more than one woman to accept th
e same man as husband. OF course,
O did not expect her to say anything {
II the kind, but l felt l should like to sa
II it for her.
l. I did not 60 to hear her railroad LEI
+ ture, though 1 wanted to very much.
z, had been washing that day and wi
: tired; then I must have taken Ion
d walk in order to attend the lectur
d Still I would have gone, but my mOtht
e said, 'I think you had better not, m
= dear. 1 should like to have you go an
Y learn all you might, but you hay
e worked hard, and it is not best to owe
is tax nature"
e have learned, girls, that to listen
= the counsel of good mother pays be
d ter than anything else.
n