The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-07-15
WOMAN'S EMANCIPATION.
Masculine RascaIitses and Femf14ne
Woes.
Something About Men who BAAe 1t
q Business 80 Marry for a Living
Ringing Report OF RtOusing WO-
mans Rights Meeting I'm
Hickman.

sealed and addressed to me:
"Radau.s: II you are interested in The eaus
Of Romans Emancipation, your presence /
requested az No. -, street, at g 80 p. ~.
Tuesday, Juky y, 1881"
Only that and nothing more. | rubbed
my eyes and re-read the innocent lookine
little oiroular-loOked in vain for The
authors name, aud finally wondered what
induced anybody TO send me such an in
yitation. At last concluded that as
had acknowledged a wild wish for the
/ liberty of loshng as independently as
men do, somebody had penetrated the thin
| disguise of initials not my own, and sent
me the precious document. At fret
/ though the place was familiar to me,
was positively certain | should not 20. |
/ thought it most probably a hoax and |
would not be caught, but rs the hour drew
near my feelings began TO change 20 be
sure | could walk by that particular spot
at any time of the day without attracting
( attention even If should not go in. So
/ adjusting my veil a little more carefully
| than usual, and with an undefnsble SEN
! sation that I was going against the pro-
| prieties, l set out. As walked l thong ht
I Of the only Woman's Rights speech had
ever heard a woman deliver. Shs was
/ not unpleasiug in appearance, and was
accompanied by an inefficient looking
man whom she introduced ss her husband.
I lie sat upon the platform from which his
better-half spoke-gave her glass of
water, picked up her handk erchief ad-
justed and re-adj usied the light and made
himself useful as occasion required.
She began by giving an account Of the
I fall of Adam;
Adam and Eve were slking gailJ in
/ their delicious domain. AS they drew
near the Tree of knowledge, he said.
These are the most beautiful apples in all
creation. l wish had one. | don't think
just one would be missedr She being
weak and timid said, The others are good
enough, besides we cannot reach these
But he showed her that if he held her up
she could pluck one; TO which, after a
little persuasion, she agreed. He lifted
her up; she grasped the fatal fruit aud
took just one little bite, when Ada N
claimed it as his own. lie ate il up, and
to fill the measure of his iniqaity, when
called on to give an account of the trans
action, he said: The woman whom thou
gavest TO be with me, she gave me Of the
Tree and did eat. Yes, exclaimed the
fair lecturer, "he persuaded her 10 the
sin, he made it possible for her TO accom-
piish II; he enjoyed the fruits Of it, and
then he told on her! and" she added, "he
has been at it ever since"
From that beginning she rushed on
on through long catalogue of mems ras-
calities and women's woes. She asserted
the mental aud moral superiority of wo-
man. She Landed the frmness and shrewd
ness Of Katherine Of Russia, Of Elizabeth
of England, the indomitable spirit of
Marie Theresa, and the heroic qualities
of many women less trumpeted By the
common tongue: At last she came down
10 the rank and file as we see them every
day. AT the time Of the fall the Great
Creator pronounced three curses-oae
agains, the serpent, one against the wo-
man and one against the man. The woman
and the serpent had theirs TO bear literal
iy until this day and all alone, but man
bad help to bear his. How did he get
that heip2 BY requiring the labor of
breaiwinning from the woman. She had
never travelled outside The United States
she declared. and was naturally suspicious
of books as they were generally written
countries, hut in the United States men
married for a living. Some married rich
women upon whose money they live, and
some married capable women whose earn
ings would feed the family. While men
loafed around and ATTENDED to business
the women stuck close at hard work The
whole thing was wrong-busiRess was
3
tend to business and the men 20 TO work.
She proposed to hire out every man who
did not support his family and pay the
money 70 his wife. She declared for uni |
versal suffrage, for equal pay for equal
service and for several other reforms, and
pointing to her husband she closed with /
the remark:
~ have maintained these principles I
for a number Of years, and Il shiftless
husband besides"
BY this time | found myself near the I
appointed place. | entered n dry goods /
store on the opposite side of the street, /
and sent the poor clerk trampinx after 1
things which he could not find exactly to
my taste, while | gazed through the glass (
door at the passers BY on the other side
walk. By ones and twos | saw ladies, (
quite a number of them disappear within 4
the door of the designated number. After |
a little hesitation, need | say that my I
berege hidden hat followed other berege I,
hidden hats, for although the sun was /
shining every woman was yelled sank 4
quietly into back seat, tried to still my /
huttering pulses and began to look |
around. There were about fifty persons |
in The room, all in manners, bearing and 1
dress, Enthusiastically ladies of assured /
position. Between two stoves, were a
chair and table which [ had often seen
occupied by men whose words have made I
the circuit of the globe, but chair and
table were vacant now-no speaker, no
books of reference, not even a pitcher of
water. l looked at my watch, % minutes /
past 3. | wished had not been so mod /
est and had gone closer to the crowd. | !
was nervously thinking of moving when
a lady, one of Hickman's best known and
most honored, arose and walked to the
table, laid her hat and veil upon it and
thus began:
Ladies: 1t was l who summoned you
10 this meeting. The spirit of co-opera-
tion is abroad in the land; all classes of
society are banding together for the
spreading abroad their peculiar ideas or
for aEeliorating their conditions of life
in some way; only women seem slow to
appreciate the truth OF the proverb, lin
union there is strength wit has said
that women are natural enemies. There
may be some malice in the saying, but
our own conduot proves too often that
there is some truth in it as well. Now
wish to bring about closer union among
women, for their own aud the world s
benefit.
40 move any part of the body subtle
command emanates from the brain, to in
huence society it's head must send forth
the edict which is all powerful. You.
lhuleSi are the acknowledged lenders OF
that wonderful force we call society. In
your han.ls. to great degree, are the
destinies of thousands whom you never
saviour acts, your wor Is, your
thoughts, your anexpPessed wishes mould
laws which are as viewless as the winds
aud as rigid as death. Public opinionl
What is it? Who can stand before it? In
this domain, so measureless, so incom-
prehensible, women rulei How necessary
that potentates so awful should know
something of their might and should
realize their dread possibilities
This is our first meeting, ladies', and it
may be our last, as it depends upon you to
say whether we shall assemble again and |
upon what terms. l scarcely think il
worth while TO model our conferences up
on any pattern set us by our superiors;
al least, they are our superiors legally |