Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-11-24

rAoro ore many important ques'iOhs
Anei .'~sidoratio of the people besldes
49, relating to the government ana IAe
noIicv tn be pursued by those VINO ats
1nDosed to be representatives aud
wants of the people, The ~" ,o,ion of
females from outrage robherv and mur.
der, in view Of tie many crimes that have
recently been committed against this
usually defenseless sex, is a subject which
may well employ the thoughts OF every
right-thinking person.
The peculiar defenselessness of girls
and women is owing to the manner In
which they are reared in this country,
Few girls In America are taught TO be
self.reliant and brave, and the
American idea of perfection IN
woman is that Of q beautiful,
but timid, shrinking and physically pows
er!ess being, who is not only too pure to
contact with the world in its
colne INT toe weak TO survive
in the rugged paths of adversary we
abhor holiness in woman, and from Vei.s
infancy teach her to rely wholly on
others not only for protection against the
brutal and the lawless, but for the very
means to sustain life itself. We can
hardly conceive of a being able to
defend and maintain herself without sac
rifcing some of the finer attributes o.
w~omanhoOd; yet, at the same tlme' sone
of the most admirable female characters'
in fiction as well as In actual lie, are
those who are forced to struggle fer very
| existence under the most adverse circum.
stances.
There is no doubt that the ideal woman,
according to common acceptation, is not
the woman most entitled to the admira-
ton and respect of mankind. IT was de-
signed that woman should be a heipmeet,
and not a mere plaything and burden to
man.. Her education from her earliest
wears ought to be such as to teach her
her true sphere in life, and to equip her
so that she may enter on it with courage
and hope. Physical training is most I'M
portant as enabling women the better to
protect and support themselves, and as
conducting to health, long life and happI-
ness. 1t would be well also if every
woman should be familiar to some extent
with the use of weapons Of defense. Pistol
practice would not only furnish women
with a means of amusement, but would
tend to overcome their natural nervous
ness. and would place them in a condition
to make an effectual defense, even against
great odds. in case of emergency. Prob
ably a familiarity with the use OF deadly
weapons might wean women from a tond.
ness for those ancient but dreaded (hy
husbands w~eapOns-the poker u broom
stick. Perhaps it would be better and
more agreeable for a recalcitrant nus
band to submit at the muzzle of the pistol
than to succumb under the force Of argu-
ments which leave him all broken up for
days or weeks.
Seriously, women ought to be able to
defend their property, their honor and
their lives. A plucky, determined, mus
cular young woman at Palmyra, N. j.,
the other night, bravely grappled a negro
burglar who was robbing her fathers
house, and while he escaped with his
booty, and gave her a terrible fall down a
fight of stairs, there is no doubt thai
had she been properly armed and skilled
in the use of weapons, the result would
nave been different.
While the boys are learning to box
fence and shoot, let the girls also be taught
some of the methods Of defense, which
may be useful to them in after life.