Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1889-06-06
COMPETENCY OF WOMEN.
Their Fitness For Public ServIce-The True
Standard OF Strength.

Their Fitness For Public service-The True
Standard OF Strength.
A New York lady, of Quaker origin,
well known for her large philan-
thropies, received some years ago this
note from city officials "a. ii. C.,
ESQ.,: Dear Sir-Can you give any
just reason why you are not competent
to serve upon the jury? Answer
promptly, and oblige - -" She
answered, with uncommon promptness;
"Mr. - -: Dear Sir. i see no
reason why | am not fully competent to
serve upon the jury, and shall be happy
to do so at any time. | shall be eighty
three next week, and am, yours, Abb
gail H. c." There has been no
more terSe and vigorous specimen of u
woman's letter, suppose, since that
celebrated one by Anne. Duchess of
Dorset, to the man who demanded
somewhat imperiously her support for
member OF Parliament: "Sir. i have
been bullied by an usurper; have been
neglected by court; but | won't be
dictated to by a subject; your man
sha'n't stand"
Meantime the steady recognition pro-
cecds of women's competency to serve
in variety of public and private sta
lions. Young scientific men, with the
German tradition fresh upon them, still
give us occasional magazine papers on
the smaller dimensions OF woman's
brain; yet the practical world keeps
on judging that brain. not by
the compass which measure, it
but by the efficient thoughts
which proceeded from it. Out OF the
small head of Byron came "Childe
Harold" and the small head of Cuvier
began an era in natural history There
is much to be said for the vigor Of the
physical, and that is fine saying OF
George Meredith's, that strength is
brute TRUTH" but the scholars OF
nation are rarely as muscular as
coal-heavcrs, and we must not make
physical strength too much the stan
dard, whether for men or women. The
main argument for women was former
ly that they could do this and that If
they only had the training and the
chance, but now the argument is that,
having had the chance. they are doing
the work A year or two ago. when a
large part OF the lines of dicipline in
Harvard University passed through the
hands of an exceedingly resolute wo-
man, in the capacity of clerk, it used to
delight me on occasional visits to her
office to see some big athlete standing
meekly. hat in hand, before her, en-
deavoring to persuade Miss - that
her memorable pencil was wrong, and
that he had really missed few recita-
tions less than it recorded. | am not
aware that the oldest living graduate
ever knew an instance Of her yielding
tho point. 1t was as if she stood as
Nemesis to restore tho balance OF the
sexes, and to avenge all wrongs implied
in the exclusion of her sisters from the
college books she kept.
1t is very common assumption that
the present preponderance of women
over men as teachers in our American
| public schools is based on economy
alone; and that If our towns and cities
could only afford it they would employ
men. But while this consideration has
its influence, the change was really
based upon the principle. first formu-
lated by Horace Mann half a century
ago, to the effect that the educational
/ instinct IS akin to parental, and that
women, more than men, are fitted to
manage children. Certainly the pres
ent writer had striking illustration of
this in the first country school of which
he ever had charge as committeeman,
where two successive male teachers
had been thrown out of the window into
q snow-bank by the big boys of the
winter school, and 1t was decided to
substitute woman, who within few
weeks had those very boys enlisted in
decorating the walls with Christmas
evergreens. In general it may be said
that the more extended employment Of
women even in public office has come,
not from any outburst of theoretical
legislation, lut by the gradual discov-
cry that they are competent. Where
they have been elected on school COM
mittees or public charitable boards
they have usually been chosen first and
the election made valid by law after
ward. II was not legislative theory,
but the common sense Of the commun-
ity which brought it about Because
women were the natural custodians of
children it seemed fitting that they
should be employed first to teach
schools, and then to superintend them.
Because they were naturally the house.
keepers of the community, it seemed
very fitting that they should have some
thing to do with the joint housekeeping
OF the poor-house or poor-farm. So
their experiences in dealing with the
sick fitted them TO superintend hos
pitfalls, and their frequent necessity Of
reforming the sinful led to their being
put very properly on prison commits
sions To all these things they have
proved themselves competent. on the
whole; and how far it will continue nc
one will predict.
So In all secular employments. 1t i.
not through agitation alone that wo.
men have advanced to greater variety
of occupations. but by verifying their
credentials and showing what theJ
could do. A hundred years ago it wa
hard to name in this country any en-
ployment pursued By woman which ais