The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1884-10-16
Education Of Girls.

is the most thoroughly qualified TO take
care of herself in hand to hand fight
with the world; who has basis of good
Judgment, practical knowledge and
common sense, in which to start in her
self-sustaining career; who is armed
with the able weapon of a trade or pro-
fession with which she is familiar, and
whose conduct is governed by exaeting
principles of natural integrity. Such q
girl possesses a fortune in her own
right which no fluctuations of business
circles can depreciste and who can
never become drag upon opulent and
unwilling relatives. With health and
strength and fair start in the race for
life she will reach every milestone of
success, nor wear out nor grow dis
couraged by the way; and not infre-
quently she will outrun her Wanting
brother, and even stop to lend him a
helping hand.
The properly balanced, well ll-educated
girl is aware that she can do one thing
we'll, and she bends all her energies to-
ward its accomplishment. She concen-
trates her forces, instead of scattering
them, and has something to show for it.
crest writer, or the most successful
saleswoman, or the hardest worker in
the sciences music, physic, law--what-
ever her talent destines for her. She
studies with an aim, and understands
what she learns. Her mind is a store
house, not sieve, and she endeavors to
absorb quality rather than quantity, and
comprehend to her own enlightenment
what she studies. The wretched sys-
tenn of forced culture, in which girl
learned q little French ard Latin,
smattering of mathematics, little of
polite literature, and great deal of
poor piano playing, has been abandoned
in favor of more sensible curriculum
commensurate with her value as CO
worker with her brothers.
Sensible German parents have always
brought up their daughters to be pro-
ducers as well as consumers in the
domestic economy. 1t is only the
American parent who made the kitchen
unattractive to his daughter, and gave
her no possibility for employing her
talent except in the few lady-like de-
partments sanctioned by conservative
custom. The time is coming. nay, has
already come, when a sign reading
.'Smith & Daughters will merely in
dicate that all Mr.. Smiths bows were
girls, and he had educated them as he
would have done if they had been
boys. And that Smith girls, instead of
dawdiing around the paternal mansion
until some young men could be found
for husbands, have wisely gone into
business with their father, and have
never found time to be diseontented
with themselves.
When Edison, genius and inventor as
he is, had given two weeks of his val
liable time to going up and down on
the New York Elevated Railroad trying
to discover what caused its noise and a
cure for it. he gave up the job. Then
a little woman took it. She rode on
the cars three days. was denied place
to stand on the rear platform, laugaed
at for her curiosity and politely snubbed
| by conductors and passengers. But
she discovered what caused the noise,
| invented a remedy. which was patented
and she was paid sum of $4,000 and
| royalty forever. Her name is Mrs.
Mary Walton and she lives in New
York City. This is what she says of her
education:
my father had no sons and believed
in educating his daughters. He spared
no pains or expense to this end. My
fathers brother once said to him: why
| do you waste so mnch money on your
girlsp' To which my father replied:
| MY boys all turned out to be girls, and
I am going to give them as good an ed
ucation that they may turn out to be as
good as boys.'n
AS good as boys is here used in 9
general sense; as good as some boys
would be very poor recommendation.
| ANY girl who understands her own ca
pabilities will do her work rs well as il
is possible to be done. No boy can dc
better than that. Work is without sex
| Certain departments of labor are
! claimed exclusively for boys and mer
because they have legendary right II
them. No competition has entered the
lists against them Ii a woman car
make good horse shoe she can oper
forge and make shoes. No one has
the right to say she shall not. There
are men who are milliners, dress
makers, and who sell dry goods, anc
they do these things so well no one dis
putes their right to them.
/ The girl who has educated herself Il
fill some niche in the mercantile worlt
may marry and never carry her knowl
edge any further than her own nursery
What then? She is well fitted to teacl
her own sons and daughters the rudi
ments of commercial knowledge, +
counsel and advise with her husband
and, if left a widow, to take the care Q
her own estate. There is no waste
heritage of ignorance and uselessnes
than the array of thread-and-needl
accomplishments which for generation
has been considered the correct dove
for o lady-like young person. Cor
slider your girls as responsible fellow
citizens. and educate them accordingly
Detroit Free Press.
Morf~nalo~ ~ 4ba Ta1ndav4$