Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1886-11-17
nartrn 4 Wenenss Nsanes,

i cannot escape tho observation d
the most careless that the names Of
women, standing for distinct entities 10
the world, are daily becoming Of more
importance. Woman, IN the mass, has
always been regarded with favor, and
her position in the economy Of life has
been cheerfully acknowledged, Int her
distinctive individuality in q public way
has not been much insisted ON. Since
women write our books, and teach our
schools, and practice our laws, and ride
in gigs, and send our messages by tele-
graph, and "hellO" from one end OF the
country to the ether through the tele-
phone, and write after their names
M. d., and "A. b." and "a. NJ, and
nearly all the letters of the alphabet,
and even ILL. D."--thanks to the
Smith College appreciation Of Miss
Amelia A. Edwards--it is necessary
that woman should have q name tina.
will be inalienable and her own through
life. OF course the time may come
when the relations Of the sexes before
the public will be reversed, and man
will have to fight for his name. Revo-
lutions arc said not to revolve back
ward, and witty Fighter Of wrongs
has already declared that she will never
be satisfied with the position Of her sex
until she can 20 into q graveyard and
read on o head stone some such senti-
ment as this, Here lies Samuel John
son, relict OF Mary johnson"
Now, however good woman's flame
may be, she is in danger--except, they
say, in Massachusetts, losing it. and
commonly in the change she blots out
all traces Of her former existence and
even identity. In noble and royal
families the attempt has been made to
pile on 80 many names upon the female
infant that some of them should stick
through life, and we have to some ex-
tent initiated this in our republic by
giving girls two and three names, some
times string Of very pretty appella-
tions taken out Of novels; and especially
If the child is poor, she will be rich in
names. This is all very we'll so long as
the girl remains Clarissa Elvira Euphe
mia Hoskins; but when it would be-
come Clarissa Elvira Euphemia Hos
kins Pond, it is too much, and either
the surname or some Of the baptismal
names have to be thrown overheard.
All these and many other inconven-
fences can be avoided, and the personal
identity of o woman be secured through
all changes, by very simple device.
In the first place, give the girl in bap-
tism only one name. She will be per-
sectly content with it. Her lover never
requires, never uses, but one of her
names, If she has half dozen. In the
height OF his tenderness he never says,
"Amelia Jane, come to my arms" He
simply extends his arms and cries,
"Jane!" In the second place, when
the girl marries let her always
keep her surname. Then when
ever we see woman's name, we
shall know whether she is married or
single; and il she is married, we shall
know what her family name is. If she
has earned reputation as writer or
. doctor or an LID. as Mary Brown,
she will carry that with her rs Mary
Brown johnson and in all cases there
will be spared an infinite amount of
talk and inquiry as to who she was be-
fore she was married. This system is
essential to the "cause" of woman. It
may be said that it lacks perfection in
two respects. We could not tell from
the three names whether the bearer Of
them might not be a widow; and it
makes no provision for second mar
riage. These are delicate questions
In regard to the first, it is nobody's
business to know whether the woman is
or is not widow, unless she chooses to
make that fa.s prominent, and then she
has ways enough to emphasize it. And
in the second place Tin case the woman
does not marry her deceased husbands
brother, by permission of Congress), it
does not at al matter what becomes Of
the name of the first husband. 1t is
the woman's identity that is to be pre-
served. And she cannot be required to
set up mile-stones all along her life
Charles Dudley Farmer, in Hayper's
Magazine.