Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1884-11-01
Education Of Girls.

which to start in her selfsustaining
career; who is armed with the able
weapon of a trade or profession
with which she is familiar, and
whose conduct is governed by exact
ing principles of natural integrity.
Such girl possesses fortune In
her own right which no fluctuations
Of business circles can depreciate
and who can never become a drag
upon opulent aud unwilling relatives.
With health and strength and a fair
start in the race for life she will
reach every milestone ofsuccess, nor
wear out nor grow discouraged by
the way; and not infrequently she
will outrun her Wanting brother,
and even stop to lend him helping
hand.
The properly balanced, well-edu-
Gated girl is aware that she eau do
one thing well, and she bends all her
energies toward It's accomplishment.
She concentrates her forces, instead
Of scattering them, and has some
thing to show for it. She is the
best accountant, or the cleyerest
writer, or the most successful sales
woman. or the hardest worker in the
sciences-music, physic, law-what-
ever her talent destines for her.
She studies with an aim, and under
stands what she learns. Her mind
is storehouse, not sieve, and she
endeavors to absorb quality rather
than quantity, aud comprehend to
her own enlightment what she
studies. The wretched system Of
forced culture, in which girl learn.
ed little French and Latin, smat-
tering of mathematics, little of
polite literature, and great deal OF
poor piano playing, has been aban-
doned in favor of a more sensible
curriculum commensurate with her
value as a co-worker with her broth
ers.
Sensible German parents have
always brought up their daughters
to be producers as we'll as consul
mers in the domestic economy. Ii
is only the American parent who
made the kitchen unattractive to
his daughter, and gave her no posi-
bility for employing her talent ex-
cept in the few lady-like departments
sanctioned by conservative custom.
The time is coming, nay, has already
come, when sign reading "Smith
& Daughters" will merely indicate
that all Mr.. Smiths boys were girls,
and he had educated them as he
would have done if they had been
boys. And that Smith girls, instead
Of dawdling 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
discontinued with themselves.
When Edison, genius and inven-
tor as he is, had given two weeks of
his valuable time to going up and
down on the New York Elevated
Railroad trying to discover what
caused its noise and cure for it, he
gave up the job. Then little wo-
man took it. She rode on the cars
three days, was denied place to
stand on the rear platform, laughed
at for her curiosity and politely snub-
bed by conductors and passengers.
But she discovered what caused the
noise, invented a remedy, which
was patented and she was paid &c.
900 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 be.
lieved 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
much money on your girls 2 To
which my father replied; My boys
all turned out to be girls, and am
going to give them as good an edu.
cation that they may turn out to be
as good as boys"
AS good as boys is here used in a
general sense; as good as some boys
would be very poor recommends
ton. Any girl who understands her
own capabilities will do her work as
well as 1T is possible to be done. No
boy can do better than that. Work
Is without sex. Certain departments
OF labor are claimed exclusively for
boys and men because they have a
legendary right in them. No COM
petition has entered the lists against
them. Ii a woman can make good
horse shoe she can open a
forge and make shoes. No one
has the right to say she
shall not. There are men who
are mllllners, dressmakecs, and who
sell dry goods, and they do these
things so well no one disputes their
right to them.
The girl who has educated her
self to till some niche IN the mercan-
tile world may marry. nnd na,,or IN n,r