Wichita eagle., 1886-11-16
THE BIBLE AND wOMAN'S RIGHTS.

To the Editor of the Eagle.
Your correspondent on Woman
Rights in the EAGLE of the 9th meant l
think to be just Yet, in the language OF
our inimitable Lowell, he is ga critic whose
homeopathic loquacity, with an ocean OF
zeal mixed his drop of capacity, He don't
mean to be precisely unkind, 1.-The defect
of his brain is just absence of mind. In
presence of this defect we will remind him
of the fundamental principle of arithmetic
found in the first Book of Genesis. One
woman and one man make one. line
twain shall be one flesh" Life with all its
deep meaning, types and events must be
sustained by the union of two halves OF
one. God never made a mistake. lie
meant If when He made man male and
female.
..The fact chat Adam was created first
and that woman was taken 'out Of man,
gives him the precedence" Well, then
according to this logic the old cumbersome
uncouth printing press, with tedious hand
lever is better than the improved steam
power cylindrical press of today, so with
all other machinery, and inventions There
fore we may as logically infer that
man was Gods experiment, His crude idea;
woman because last, his masterpiece OF
workmanship. ''Man is the head. we
accept the typical analogy. Man is the
head. woman the heart, of creation. The
most causual observer will note how en-
inently, consciously appropriate isthis an
alogy. Webster defines heart as the seat
of moral life and character itself, as well
as the seat of affections and senslbllltles.
It is the inmost and most essential part OF
apy body, system or organization; the CHIEF
or vital portion; the center of gravity, OF
energetic or efficient action. we often
hear and know of the head becoming weak
ened useless or maddened, but the heart
keeps on its pulsations long days, weeks,
wears when the head has lost all power, all
control of its functions The record OF the
head is not always pleasing one to pc
ruse or remember. Too often it despoils
the home by lust for power, greed and IN
temperance. The facts made public are a
sad commentary on marriage, and the sub
iect state" of womanhood and motherhood
which. my Jealous friend advocates. Ii the
heart is restricted in its functions, limited
in its space, it eventually produces paraly-
ses and death. Impeded circulation causes
development of bad humor, languor and
general arrangement of the entire system.
So heart being woman if she is limited,
impeded in her moral, physical
and spiritual circulating powers;
the social religious and political
head suffers stagnation, and every form OF
corruption and bad blood comes to the sur
face. The heart regulates and controls the
head by its sentiments and life-giving sus-
tenance. 1t is character. 1t is destiny:
woman's suffrage, woman's rights, pollti-
cal equality. Freedom to women is but
to grant free circulation to heart, and let
the benign influence of womanhoOd, OF
motherhood be felt in this half-orphaned
motherless nation.
Woman suffrage is but to grant free cir
culation to woman's thought expressed in
votes for the upbuilding Of home, church,
and state, and thus bind with reciprocal
tenderness the head and heart into like
ness of the supreme Head of the gospel of
love Again my friend seeks to prove
from the Old Testament that Deborah
did not occupy Il national office. open
your bible and read with me the fourth
and fifth chapters of Judges. We find
that Deborah was the most prominent In
dividual in the nation. She performed all
the duties of a president, was a propht tess
and foretold future events. She occupied
just the same position that did Moses,
Joshua, Samuel, David, Solomon; had all
their virtues with some of their vices. She
was ruler and judge.
The people came up to Deborah for
Judgment The most prominent man in
the nation would not go to war unless she
went with him, and no general ever waged
war with greater bravery. wisdom and
success, than she did. She is called "a
mother in Israel" thus Illustrating what
has before been said, that good mother Of
a family may be good mother over a ma
ton.
Now my friend proceeds to quote Paul.
Let the women keep silence in churches,
and if she will learn anything, let her ask
her husband at home Inasmuch as the
greater part of the males are outside OF
church parish and fold, nearly all of them
skeptical about creeds covering the whole
plan of salvation, as few of the married wo-
men have religious husbands, and many
more have no husbands to confer with,
Pauls advice is clearly not for the woman
of today. If women were TO keep silence
| in the churches" there would be little need
/ those who were drawn to the Catholic
church to listen to the magnificent voice of
Mrs Hunt, to the Episcopal church to lis
ten to Miss Bell, the Methodist church &c
listen to Mrs Abbott, will testify. More
than one church prima donna has said
justly, Il know lis my voice more than The
ministers, that fills the pews" Again
Paul says. Il suffer not q woman tC
teach. =" Nine-tenths of the teacher.
! in al our schools and leading