The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1877-05-25
"STRAINING AT GNATs AND SWAL-
LOWING OAMELS."

under which they groan is perfectly ap-
palling to a woman who is so far free
from superstitious religious thralldom
as to believe in and dare to assert what
she knows to be the truth, regardless of
the persecution of the priest-ridden or
the fanatacism of the purblind votaries
of any and every species of hypocritical
training and tyrannical humbug.
We know that a woman who is in
matrimonial bondage with a boiled
down bigot, whom her own GOd-given
intellect has long ago outgrown, but
whom she is in subsection to under hu-
man law, despite her own souls long
ings for liberty, is at best occupying a
very equivoeal position. Her orthodox
fears of eternal punishment compel her
to endure self-stultification, and the
mighty Mr.. Grundy constantly applies
his whip to aggravate her diseased the
ology till she really believes it right to
lie, as Eve did, to screen the husband
who has the same power to compel her
to lie that the owner of a negro once ex-
erted who compelled her slave to go to
the house of her friend and declare him
self the author of a breach of etiquette
that she had committed the night be-
fore. When she and her husband have
their quarrels understood in private,
their public statements generally agree;
but when the pigmy husband writes
NTCr xyif hnu
his wife's knowledge or consent, order
ing the paper stopped, and declaring the
wife opposed to its teachings, and the
wife, who is a known worker in the
woman movement, writes a letter for
publication fully endorsing the paper
and its course, the husband gets caught
in his trickery. Then the woman, like
the former slave, must step to the front
and shoulder the blame, though by so
doing she only the more plainly exposes
all that she would lie to conceal.
Some time last winter, during our alb
sence in the East, Mrs. Coburn received
letter from a man in Jacksonville,
r Oregon, ordering his wife's paper dis
: continued, because, as he alleged, she
was much displeased with its teachings.
Mrs. G. addressed the lady privately,
T using her husbands initials because not
. knowing her own, saying, in substance,
S that if she was displeased with any
I thing the paper contained, far better
: way than stopping it would be to COM
bat its errors by writing articles for its
U columns stating her own views. This
s letter the husband took from the office
{ and read, and, as the sequel proves, did
not deliver to his wife till after the pub
d licatiOn of her letter signed "Fiat Justi-
q tia," which our readers will remember
IS as a very complete and thorough in
e dorsement of ourself in particular and
Mrs. Coburn in general.
Our readers will excuse the following
" quotation from our issue of April 9th
:, as it is true enough to bear repeating
frequently:
! Allow an earnest cO-worker in the cause o
human rights, who has followed you in you
-e peregrinatlOns across the continent, and rathe
y impatiently awaited your return, TO extend
ar you a most cordial welcome to your home anC
! to the fields that are ripening for the harves
~ that was planted mainly by your own hands
le with the seeds of truth that are already yield
l. ing such golden fruits for our common cause
cannot forbear to assure you of my gratinca
ton at the excellent conduct of our paper dur
ing your prolonged absence. 1t never failed il
interest and your friends in this section in
=, dulge the hope that "ye associate" will be al
-al %,
It, turn your attention to the lecture field, as sue
ID work is much needed in this section. 50 "
or Please notify me of the date that my subscriI
ton expires, as do not wish TO miss one nun
y ber of your valuable paper. With my mos
n earnest wishes that both Mrs. G. and yourse
D. may long continue to hold the lamp of trut
in that VIII safely guide benighted humanity i
the ways of wisdom and happiness, renal
u yours for the right.
y The letters from the husband and VIII
did not tally, as the reader sees, but tn
= editors took in the situation with
= quiet chuckle and "let things work"
90 Here follows how they worked: Th
: husband was caught in working eros
>. purposes, and the wife, being in subjeC
In tion, according to her Interpretation
on Orthodoxy" sends the following lettt
=. to Eye associate" which she turns owe
- to US to answer:
t Mrs. C. A. COBURN-DEAR MADAM :-YoI
favor of recent date has just been receives
ys also, your first in reply to one written you
my husband. At the time of that writing d
"a take issue with Mrs. D. in the general tone
,ut the paper, and more especially in her define
NJ tion of character in her serials, which l. beiI
a pioneer Oregonian, regard as of too low a tyl
'hI to be just to our whole-souled and lfbers
lp- minded people. Also, at that date 1 was n
* favorably impressed with her criticism of Il
w. Moody and Sankey revival meetings in CI
eago during her sojourn in that city. am {
ul- thodox, very, and would gladly aid eve
movement that would tend to Ghristianize al
far evangelize our too surely degenerate peopl
bis and, per consequence, was watching with gre
,ot interest their labOrs East, and 1 regretted e
nc ceedingly that she should take the position 81
roe did, for there are many excellent qualities /
ire. longing to the NEW NORTHWEST which deser
the the encouragement of women everywhere.
fe read your article on the trying position of eC
nth tors and how hard it was to please everybod
,rtv and thought it most applicable TO myse
aen Without any desire to overrate you, or undi
Nv rate Mrs. D., must say that your writings a
vife TO my taste the more pleasing, and have
ver- doubt that Mrs. D. is especially gifted as a /,