Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-03-30
MRS. J. 7. s.

She DtscOurses of Gentlemen in a wav
Which Indicates She Has Been There
Dora Forde Discourses of the Sphere of
Woman.
To the Editor of the Globes
In the haste and confusion of life manv
absurdities are apparently countenanced and
unobserved that when scrutinized in mo-
ment of calm are recognized as enormous.
Acts and manners are overlooked and UNI
rebuked that we may push on to our indi-
vidual goals of hoped-for success or pleas
ure.
1t comes about thus that many transactions
are called by the wrong names and many
people digni6ed by the wrong titles. In this
democratic country of ours the proudest title
a man can bear should be GENTLEMAN.
| But alas alas what mockery we have
of it How vast the number of men of all
sorts of characters that claim its eegis, but
| how few are those who support the claim
with honor. St. Paul is no doubt far
sample of an American city of it's size We
are no longer on the frontier. We are as civ
ilized as any other community in the nation.
We have made our full share of attainments
in the arts and sciences, in grace of manner
and all the decorums of life, and yet we have
in our midst full complement of abom-
Unable men who are devoid of all
the characteristics of real gentlemen, and yet
loaf about calling themselves such and de-
| handing to be so considered by others. We
have class who seem to think that the cir
cumstance which accords to them large
amount of leisure, also confers on them the
honors of a gentleman. There are those
who think that to lift their hats respectfully
to us ladies as we pass, or to hand one of us
into carriage is of itself so great al
achievement as to stamp genteel character
all over man. These same men do not
think that the bleared eye, red, puffed-up,
swollen face and foul whiskied breath are
elements at all to be considered as deterio-
| rating from their characters. It is amusing
| to hear these men talk when assembled
occasions in little (select p sqads. Could
they hear themselves as we women some
times overhear land have greater facilities
than they think for knowledge) they would
blush very deep blush. Gentlemen are
you? Ha! ha! ha! Yes, and so che is no
gentleman and such an one is no gentle
man. Ha! ha! hal Several of you are mar
ried men. Why not at home with your
wives? Is the boarding house table
good enough for your wife but not good
enough for you?
Shame on you, you have not been home
all day, but you are a gentleman, you have
taken in three brandy cocktails and two
| whiskies for appetizers, that is to Appetite
gentleman, and now bottle of wine for
dinner, (not at home with your family
| Why, bottle of wine for q gentleman with
his dinner is necessity, of course. Then
that cocktail language-those choice express
| slons. Oaths, of course, for you are gen.
tleman. All gentlemen must damn their fell
lows and familiarly invoke God, glibly poo
pls hell and gibe at heaven and angels. Yes,
yes, you are gentleman. I see you on the
streets, tidily dressed, far better for man
than your wife can afford to dress as wo-
man. (Can afford, say, you know what
that means and why she cannot afford more.)
| You carry cane, perhaps, and you loiter
along lelsurely with an air of superiority and
| satisfaction. Then inside at those bars.
How lordly you are. How freely you pass your
| money over the counter perfectly Indifferent
as to change, never look at it to see if it is
correct. For shame, for shame. How do you
| treat the money question at home? How
| does your wife save and spare money? But
you are gentleman, and she-why she is
| only woman-a sort of necessity. A toler-
ated sort of body to whom you 60 when
tired of all others, and there are no drinking
places open. You are an occasional fire.
quenter of those dens of iniqu;ty which are
located contiguous to these drinking haunts,
and from them you 90 home to your virtu-
Gus families with the vile odors of each upon
your gentlemanly person. Now my lord
gentleman, what do you really amount to in
this world? What are you good for? What
do you produce? Towhom are you q COM
fort? If your dear old mother is living she
is never free from anxiety about you. Your
! wife is never really at rest in her mind about
you. She will never know for certain where
you are, or who your companions are until
she buries you and commits you to the
worms. You may have little
properly-you may have business that yet
seems to sustain itself. You may be in the
public service. Some sign down town may
proclaim you lawyer; but, alas! alas! what
do you amount to? Why, you are simply
loQfer, a guszler, a feeder. Now, pigs and
hogs are all this. They drink to excess and
eat to excess, when they can get the stuff to
take, and you are no better. You are reazly
| no gentleman. You do not deserve freedom
| or political rights, and it is shame that any
woman must call you husband. You are the
worst sort of tramp, for you are hypocrite
in the matter-an acknowledged tramp that
we can shoot or send to the stone pile. You
| are pretentious tramp, and circumstances
happen to enable you to escape punishment.
You are disgusting creature, and it is re-
pulslve to woman's pen even to write about
you. Would that our city could be free
from you. With all your other faults
you are railer-a scoffer. You spit
at churches between your cocktails.
You tip lying ISLANDERS at pure
women, at the same time and with the same
elbow you tip brandy-punches down your
stench-full Threats. Gentleman! Oh what
farce to call you such. You ought to
ornament Col. Aliens stone pile, or saw wood.
You ought to be handed over at once,
and forever to him to whom you belong, and
to whom you are surely, though provokingly
slowly traveling-the DEVIL. Did he have
you to-day, Saint Paul would be better city.
There are many young unmarried men In
this city who aspire to the title of gentle
men whose nightly associates are not such as
to entitle them to the appellation.
class more infinitely. Mrs. J. T. S.
WOmGn's Sphere.
To the Editor of the Globe:
Having read the communications of Mrs.
j. L. S. to the readers of the GLOBE, they
suggested new train of thought in my
mind that should like to see more widely
discussed than it is. shall, therefore, start
the ball rolling, and will anxiously wait to
see who will give it the next impulse.
The all-absorbing topic in the minds of
young ladies of the present age is, "What is
to be their vocation in life, what will be most
profitable and what will lead to the most
satisfactory result?" The highest ambition