Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1886-05-31
But women and the home-what

the front with splendid assurance Of
power because away back in their
childhood some woman threw away
every fibre of her being into the task
of ingraining her own truth and in
tegrity within them. Men come to
the front welding keen weapons of
satire, dazzling with brilliant oratory,
convincing with unanswerable logic,
uplifting with the most persuasive ell
oquence the world applauds, but it
does not know that, through their
sons, the mothers come to the front
also.
The HOUSEHOLD in its financial inter-
ests is oftener helped than hindered
by the foresight of women. How
many heads of families who have at
tanned competency have only them
selves to thank for it? Nearly always
a woman's faculty for economy has
| helped to bring about such result.
This is notably result with farm
ers' wives, whose industry as we'll as
economy increase the income and also
the comforts of home. Woman has
been thought to lack capacity for
business, but when left to her own
resources she has been found to be
fertile in inventing ways and means
for helping herself. Certainly there
are women who are extravagant and
wasteful, but the majority are not so,
and these qualities do not belong to
the sex, but to the individual.
Leaving the question of the finan-
cial value of woman in the house
hold, we feel we are treading on holy
ground when we speak of that other
place she occupies in the home. In
the hush of our hearts who cannot re-
call some sanity face, some smile of
sorrowful patience, some words OF
tenderness, so essentially womanly
that we could believe that, if she
lacked in other ways, this spirit had
been given her to round the measure
of equality between the sexes! Who
has her faith, as we'll as her fears!
What power in all the realm of con-
seriousness holds such possibilities as
her prayers? There are countless
households in which the only saving
influence is that of Godfearing
wife and mother. There are also
many women who have no home ties
of their own, who lead strong and
, beautiful lives in unselfish work for
others. And then to think of these
women who suffer without redress,
through the intemperance or immor
rality of their natural protectors Be-
4 ing shut up with all that makes life a
l curse, they can still stretch their man
| acled hands toward God. There
have been enough despairing cries
sent up to rend the heavens!
And yet we do not believe that in
the divine plan of things woman was
S elected from the beginning to suffer ;
t that the best in store for her is the
D development of a sublime patience.
t We believe new element is to come
d into her life, that, while it will not
: detract one iota from her womanli-
t ness, will yet take away the bitter
S ness of being woman. She has
r been so used to brooding over wrong,
: wounded and bleeding by it, she will
: forget it's intensity in the effort OF
: helping to right it. She will not be
d. less heroic, and self-denying and
r faithful she will only turn their tide
e into broader channels, so that they
: cannot flow back upon herself, ru-
: inous flood to desroy her. She will
). not feel herself shut out from the
), places she longs to sweep and gar
t nish in true housewifely fashion. She
I will not feel that in a nations crisis
: she is to sit dumb. with listless hands,
: to await disaster; but by the ballot
she is to help thwart the possibility
: In a word, this new element in hel
d life will make her free as patriots
: count freedom.
). On the other side, since it is prov.
d en- beyond doubt that women are
Z; helpful-nay, are vital necessity
/ in the education of the country, in
IL the religious life of the churches, in
1 the prosperity of the home, who tha
e acknowledges this can for moment
'l deny the wisdom of incorporating
: that same power into the body po'
It litic? America as a nation may well
a boast her greatness and hope for hel
It perpetuity when her watchword
q .sFreedom for ALL" includes withir
S its broad provisions political justict
: to women -BrattleborO Ptopir.