The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1876-03-11
"sUPERFLUOUs WOMEN, >


the other sex greatly, if such wisdom
could only be impaired to the stubborn
men," The phrase "superAuous wo-
men" has created great indignation
among the persons thus ibeled. And it
is no wonder, for if the truth is fairly
stated it will be found that there are
more "superfuities" among men than
women, when dull times are the rule and
labor or employment is hard to obtain.
Men congregate in the streets, on corners
or in public-houses, or at best have to
lounge at their business places, and-to
come down to colloquial phrase made
famous by the lamented and lamenting
though sanguine Mr.. Macawber- for
something to turn up" But thingsoften-
er turn down than up to those who fancy
they can wait, while ceaseless revolution
goes on all round them. When people
talk of "stagnation" it is often them
selves who stagnate, and think, like the
inebriate Joe Miller, of merry fame, that
all the rest of the world is tipsy and they
alone are sober.
Meanwhile what are the "superfuous
women" doing? They are eking out the
half-loaf, to make it serve, on the princi-
pie that a half-loaf is better than no
bread. They are taxing their capacity
for frugality to the utmost, and convert
ing discarded bits to useful ends; utiliz-
ing shreds, piecing patches into whole
cloth. The conservative industry of wo-
men during the days and months when
their husbands and brothers are in linn
tied employment, or without any occu-
patton, is something to be admired. This
native prudence, thing of intuition,
is one of the characteristics which happi-
ly distinguish the weaker" sex from
the stronger" and tempts one to say
that the application of the terms should
be reversed. For the proof of the better
managing" power of woman, we need
only to refer to the contrast between
cases of families of half-orphans, when the
father or mother is removed by death.
The widow will somehow" rear her
brood to take fair positions in life. The
widower often gives up the contest with
adversely at the beginning. In what
the somehow" consist it might take
many words to describe. But anyhow
it does exist, as everybody knows, and as
men prominent in every walk of life
could testify, simply by relating their
own experience.
This capacity of women for getting on
under difficulties, made public rather
than developed by widowhood, really
Exists, and is in its exercise all the time.
Business difficulties or improvidence or
sickness or bad habits in husbands cause
many wives to be in worse condition
than widows. They have all the diff
culties of widowhood, with the encum-
bance of "superfiuous" man super
added; and, being wives with living
husbands, have not the advantages Of
sympathy which help the widow. The
purpose of this article is not to make use
less complaints of things as they are, but
to set here and there "superfuous''
man to thinking. II times change, men
must change with them or, in other
words, if circumstances alter, they must
adapt themselves to circumstances. If a
dollar cannot be earned, earn half, or
even quarter; and, above all, spend
nothing for superfluities above your
earnings. Adopt woman's prudence and
practice her diligence, and the problem
of meeting hard times is more than half
solved