The Labor enquirer., 1883-08-18
An Address to the Women.

From Maine to Florida, from the Car
olinas to the Pacific, q voice is calling to
woman to come to the rescue of her own
sex. A degradation worse than that of
ancient Rome in the evil days of its de-
cline and corruption awaits them if they
fsll in this their duty to themselves. In
the decline of manhood women are al
ways the greatest sufferers; all history
shows that when the few have made
slaves of, and usurped the privileges of
the many, all chivalrous and generous
devotion to woman dies with the event.
But in all great revolts against despotism
we see on the other hand what woman
can do to support the courage Of man.
To the point at issue: 1t is only a
couple of months ago, since the Rev.
Morgan Dix, of Trinity church, New
York, made public address to the wo-
men of this country he spoke ex cathe-
dra, in fact he was very particular to let
it be known that he spoke "as priest"
and what he said was couched inno am
biguous words. He made charge against
the females of the present day in this
country, and a heavy and most severe
charge it was. Many a good woman's
heart must have turned within her as
the flash of 2unmerited shame mantled to
her brow on reading Dix's discourse. It
was condemnation alone; moreover
without apology or excuse. He accuses
them of all but universal practice of
defeating the laws of nature by the pro-
duction of abortion. 1t is very true, Mr.
Dix, that the habit is too common. On
very competent authority it is estimated
that fully six thousand American women
annually fall victims to and lose their
lives in such attempts, and these victims
too are mostly the young and beautiful.
A darker and more sorrowful story than
perhaps you are aware of Mr.. Dix. But
you have not told us word as to what
is to be done. You are priest, you say,
and you are fat priest, the priest of one
of the richest ecclesiastical corporations
on the earth, and have you no word of
advice to the poor women you so utterly
and unfeelingly condemn? Oh let
every pure and good development ofwo
manhood listen to us! Let the high
min ded women of the southern states,
who have shown what they could do in
days of trial. hear us. Let women born
in "holier odor, the odor of pansies,
the beautiful Puritan pansies, hear us !
We want to rekindle for you the dying
embers of manhood, and chivalrous re-
spect. Help us, and by the mothers who
have borne us, by the sisters we have
loved, and dearer by far by those who
first revealed to us the tender nature of
that other love, all will help you. We
will assist you to escape the fate which
awaits you if no better social state shall
prevail than that to which we are
tending.
We have no message, however, to the
frivolous title-hunting women, with their
thirty odd changes of dresses their
diamonds and heavy bank accounts, who
flock annually to the continent of Eu-
rope, at once the horror of the carefully
guarded families OF the better classes
there, and the amusement and contempt
of those who pray upon them-the vul-
gar, ignorant daughters of shoddy who
are bringing shame upon American wo-
manhood by their loud attire in the pub
| lie streets, and still louder voices, No,
it is precisely the begettors of those mis-
guided creatures with whom we have &C
counts to settle against whom we lay
the charge Of being the authors of most
if not all of the evils Of our day. Now
hear what we have to say-we ask, we
entreat of you all for your own sake, to
support US, the workingmen of the re-
public, who live by honest industry, and
who desire to live by no other way, in
our efiots to secure our rights. A great
battle IS about to be fought, a day of trial
is coming upon us which shall determine
whether the liberty and manhood of the
nation shall be trodden under foot or
not; whether gold or human life is the
most valuable, and whether the claims
of wealth or the rights of the citizen
| shall prevail. In this struggle we ask of
YOU to refuse to countenance all who are
Haunting unrighteously the possession of
mere money by scorning the pretense of