The Portland daily press., 1883-08-09
Women and Their Interests

Paul Vandervoort, commander-in-chiefo of
the Grand Army of the Republic, In his adj
dress at the national encampment in Denver
made the following reference to the work of
women for the organization.
The love of women for the soldier was the
GROWING glory of the war for the Union.
Since the war their affection for and appre-
citation of the men who wore the blue has
not wavered nor been extinguished by time
The watches by day and vigils by night dur
ing the dark days of the war, their work in
the hospital, on the battlefield, in the sani-
tary and christian commission field of duty
form the brightest page in the history of the
war. have called the representatives of all
these societies together to establish nation
al organization, and to encourage the spread,
growth and scope of their work. am sat
isfed that no post is thoroughly equipped
and armed in behalf of our noble order I'M
less they have working hand in hand with
them band of the noble women of the
land. desire to express my grateful thanks
for active aid and earnest work in behalf of
these societies to Mrs. Kate B. Sherwood,
Toledo, Ohio; Mrs. E. T. Charles, Washing
ton, D. c.; Mrs. A. M. Sawyer, Portland,
Me Mrs. Hogg, Camden, N. j.; Mrs. E.
Florence Barker, Maiden, Mass; Mrs. E.
K. Stimson, Denver, Colorado; Mrs. G. r.
Clark, Columbus, Ohio; Mrs. G. L. Young,
Toledo, Ohio, and host of others who have
been pioneers in the effort to bring to the
assistance of the Grand Army the helpful
hand of women.
Mrs. Florence NJ. Atkinson, in the Indi-
annapolis Sentinel, deals with the men who
fear women are endangering the home, in
the following terse fashion:
There are few facts which, If daily con-
sidered, would serve to allay the fears Of
those who imagine that the woman move
ment" threatens the home. First, the
home, with all that the word implies. its
rest, its comfort, its beauty, its shell er. its
b-ooding spirit, all that renders it pleasant
to body, brain and soul, has been chiefly
evolved through the thought, affection and
labor of women. AS a rule. men have
shirked their share in the building of the
home, especially is the finer part of the
work, as they have shirked their moral re-
sponsibility in the development and train
ing of the race.
Second, the strongest instinct in woman
is the home instinct. She may of her own
free choice elect to be childless, to be hus-
bandlesss but not to be homeless. Men live
in camps and clubs, more or less content,
but the fondest dream of every wandering
WoHldn, ulSH OF low, Tlcn OF poor Is OF a
home, all her own, her castle, which If she
chooses she may bar and bolt against the
world. These warnings from men to women
regarding the preservation of the home are
supremacy ridiculous In the face of the facts
that men are far more gregarious than wom-
en-, and much less disposed to rigidly pre-
serve the privacy and exclusiveness of home.
Woman's plan of home does not necessari-
ly include man; she is able to make
home beautiful, restful and satisfying, with
out his aid but to mems idea of home
woman is an essential quantity. The high
er woman's plans of development, the
more intense her hoPe instinct. The wider
her range of activity, the greater her need
for some place in which to find rest and Sc
elusion. The stronger her powers, the
greater her gifts, the more desirable seems
place where at times she can use them solely
in accordance with her wishes and will.
The greatest difficulty in putting the theory
of cooperative housekeeping into practical
operation is this home instinct of women,
their unwayering determination to have
place to themselves, and it was long ago
recognized that no such system would be
accepted by women which will not allow to
them and their families the privacysand
freedom of home life.