Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-03-26

): WASHINGTON, ID. G.
are strangers and foreigners, foe the womsn OF all
have . universal sense Of injustice, thai forms s
common bond OF union between tnes.
TIE BONDAGE or woARN.
Whether our feet are compressed In iron shoea
our faces hidden with wells and maska whether
yoked with cows to draw the plow throuxn its
inals In the laws and constitutions OF the state
the principle Is the same FOR the humiliation OF
spirit are as real as the Visible oacgss o. ssrvtnde
ciai customs makes but little change in the rela-
tive status Of woman TO the self constituted gov.
aSs Ct Ssns ~
we have learned the open sesame TO
the hearts OF each other. There Is q language
that used in the busy marts OF trade, that should
be called the motner-t0ngue, by which with a
sigh o. glance q The
forms Of slavery. With the spirit forever In bond
age, It u the same whether housed in golden
the dfeary deserts OF lie friendess and forsafen.
steamships and electric wires, every pulsation OF
the deep warnings OF your souls for freedom re-
sponsive to ourOwn. Mary W0lstencraft, Madames
Bremen, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and George
Elliot have pictured alike the wrongs OF woman
In poetry and prose.
less oceans and plains, yet the psalms OF our lives
have been in the same strain, too long, alas in the
minor key; for hope deferred has made the bravest
hearts sometimes despairtng But the same great
oversOul has been our hope and Inspiration. Tho
steps OF progress already achieved in many coun-
tries should encourage US TO tune our harps
anew songs OF victory. IL Is with great satsfac-
ton we also welcome here to-day represent atiyes
OF our own countrywomen, from thirty different
associations OF moral and phllanthropic reforms
nNrf he ~
the demands made, and the basic principles laid
down by those who first claimed equal, civil and
political rights for women yet this is the first time
we have met on the same platform TO advocate the
same measures In carrying on the varied reforms
In which We are mutually interested. think most
Indispensable TO achieve success that these great
moral struggles for higher education, temperance,
peace, the rights of labor religious freedom, In
ternational arbitration, are all questions to be
finally adjusted by the action OF government, and
withOuUa direct voice In legislation woman's In
fiuence will be eventually lost.
Experience has fully proved that sympathy as a
civil agent is vague and pOwerles until caught and
chained In logical propositions and coined into law.
the mothers OF the race Will no longer weep In vain
over the miseres OF their children.
The active interest women are taking in allSthe
with the apathy and indifference IN which we
found them half q century ago, and the contrast
In their condition between now and then is equally
marked
Those who inaugurated the movement for
womans enfranchisement, who for long years en-.
dured the merciless storm Of ridlcue and persecu-
ton, incurred over by friends Ostracised In social
life, scanddlized by enemies, denounced by the
pulpit scarified and caricatured by the press may
well congratulate themselves on the marked
change IN public sentiment, that this magnificent
gathering Of educated women from both hemis-
phereS triumphantly illustrates.
In the great national and state conventions for
education temperance, and religion. even thirty
years ago, WOnal's voice was never heard. The
battles fought by the pioneers In the suffrage
movement 10 secure fo0thOld for woman on these
platforms have been eloQuently described many
times by susan b. Anthony, Lucy stone, and An
Will be rehearsed once more for the benefit OF those
who, while holding the vantage ground they Sc
cured are afraid or the principles Dy which 1t was
gained. The pr0tracted struggle through which
we have passed, and our labOfs not yet crowned
with victory, seems to me in review like painful
dream, In which one strives to run and yet stands
still, incapable alike OF escaping or meeting the
impending danger The civil and political position
OF woman, when first understood its real siyniTi-
canoe, was enough to destroy all faith In the vital
ty OF republican principles. Hall century ago the
women OF America were bond slaves under Ine Old
common law OF England. Their rights or person
and property were under the absolute control OF
fathers and husbands They were shut out OF The
schools and colleges, the trades and professions,
and all Offices under Government; paid the most
meager wages in the ordinary Industries of life,
and denied everywhere the necessary Opportunl-
ties for their best development. Worse still,
women had no proper appreciation OF themselves
as factors in civilization. Believing self-denial a
higher virtue than self-development, they ignO-
rantly made ladders OF themselves by which IaUh-
ers, husbands, brothers, ana sons reached their
highest ambitions, Creating an impassable gulf
between them and those they loved, that no mag
netic chords OF affection or gratitude could span.
Nothing more common forty years ago than To see
the sons OF family educated, while the daughters
remained In ignorance; husbands at ease Ia the
higher circles, IN which their wives We're UMPIRE
able: Women everywhere in serving Others roig got
10 keep their own lamps trimmed anu burning, and
when the great easts OF life were spread, TO them
the doors were shut.
Even married women enjoy, In a measure their
rights OF person and property They can make
justice, and with honor dissolve the marriage
relation when 1t becomes intolerable. Now most
or the colleges are open TO girls, and they are
rapidly taking their places In all the pi oltable
industries, In many or the offices under Govern
ment. They are in the professions, tOo as lawyers,
doctors editors, professors in colleges, and min
listers In the puipits.
woMAN's POLITICAL STATUS.
Their political status Is so far advanced that
they enjoy all the rights Of citizens In two terri
tories. municipal suffrage in one state and
school suffrage In half the states of the Union.
Here Is a great record Of the work achieved
In the past half century, but we do not
intend TO rest our case until all our rights are Sc
cured, and noting the steps or progress In other
countries, On which their various representatives
are here TO report, We behold with satisfaction
everywhere general uprising OF women demand
ing higher education and an equal place ia the
industries OF the world Our gathering here to-day
Is highly significant, In Its promises OF future COM
bined action. When In the history OF the world,
was there ever before such an asSeInDlage OF able
educatedwOmen,c celebrated In so many varied walks
OF lie, and feeling their right and ability discuss
the vital questions OF social life, religion and gov
ernment When we think OF the vantage ground
woman holds to-day, in spite OF all the artificial
obstacles she has surmOunted, we are nlled with
wonder as to what the future mother or the race
will be when free to seek her complete develop
ment Thus far women have been the mere echoes
OF men. Our laws and constitutions, our creeds
and codes and the customs OF social lie are all
OF masculine origin. The true woman Is as yet u
dream OF the future: just government; a hu-
coming. Then, and not till then. will the golden
age OF peace and prosperity be ours,
This gathering Is significant tOO In being held In
the greatest republic on which the sun ever shone,
q nation superior TO every other on the globe, In
all that goes TO make up free and mighty people,
bOundless territory, magnificent scenery, mighty
forests, lakes, and rivers, and wealth
In agriculture, manufactures and mines, q coun-
try where the children OF the masses In our pubic
schools have all the appliances OF complete edu-
only IN the rudimenLai, but In many OF the higher
branches, alike free at their disposal. In the old
world the palace ON the hill Is the home OF
nobility; here 1t Is the public school or university
for the people, where the rich and poor, side by
sde take the prizes for good manners and scholar
fica distinctions, the great lesson OF democracy,
iSearly learned by our children. The number and CIR
cuiation OF our daily papers and magazines Is rabu-
lOus and so cheap to be available for the Labor
ing classes There is no excuse for ignorance here.
This Is the country too, where every man has right
to self-government, to exercise his individual
conscience and judgment on ali matters OF pub
lie interest Here we have no entangling alliances