The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1889-11-14
pIsCoURrEsY OF WOMEN.

Every fair-minded woman must ad-
NIT the justice of the charge made against
her sex, in the Sunday School Times, TO
the effect that the average woman is
not so courteous as the average man."
One reason given for this is because men
are trained from bOyhoOd to pay defer
ence to woman. who thus become accus-
toned to receiving constant attention.
and habit of overlooking the rights of
others is developed. One count in the
general indictment, however, is loo Sc
we're. So far as our own observation
goes, women rarely fail to express
thanks when a seat is proffered them in
public conveyance. The article closes
as follows
lftw men, walking abreast on a street
crossing, meet man walking in the OPP
posite direction, one of them will instinc
lively drop behind the other in order to
allow the third TO pass them on the cross
ing. If two women be walking thus,
they will move right along together
when they meet man, even though he
must step of the crossing into the mud
on either side oft, because oftheir walk
ing abreast. There are exceptions to
this rule ; but this is the rule. Men
walking together on sidewalk gener-
ally have it in mind to give fair share
OF the walk to p9ssers, of either sex, in
the opposite direction. Women are not
likely to be so thoughtful on this point.
In crowded market-house, or other
business establishment, many woman
Will push in before customer at coun-
ter or stall, and make known her
wants as pressing whether the customer
whose rights have precedence of hers is
a man or woman when a man would
have no thought of crowding himself
forward, and ano her out. in that way.
The woman's habit of having the first
place influences her, as the man habit
OF conceding it influences him.
Any street-car conductor, in any city,
would testify that women are less
prompt and considerate in seeing to il
that room is made for as many sitters as
can be accommodated in the car than
men are that is, that women are not so
ready to aid in providing seats for men.
And that same conductor will tell you
that he has far less troubled with car
full of men than with a car full of wom-
en-, at a time when all the cars are
crowded.
In any scramble for seats in a public
car, courteous man is bound to give
precedence to a woman. But when a
man has paid for, and is occupying, a
seat in car-whether it be a parlor car,
an ordinary passenger car, or street
car he is not bound to vacate that seat
in favor of a woman who afterwards
enters the car. The duty of providing a
seat for other passengers rests on the
railroad company rather than on the
InnGgnnnprG hn ha a 1roo Axr FOL bon 20
AS matter of special courtesy, howev-
er, many man is always ready TO rise
and protfer his seat to any woman who
may enter a car where the seats are all
occupied. A woman who accepts such
a courtesy has a duty to acknowledge it
as courtesy, and to return her thanks
Tor 1t Yet, as matter of fact, many a
woman never thinks of saying word of
thanks in recognition of such a courtesy
as this. If a man were to be given a
seat by a younger man, il would be a
rare hing if ne did not give hearty
thanks for it.
Ifa woman attempts to get on or off a
crowded street car Il man standing On
h platform Of the ca is quite lik ly to
sep OIL and stand in the slreet-some-
times in the rain in order to make
room for her. For this act of courtesy,
as for every other, specific thanks re
due from the woman to the man. Yet
such things are rarely given by wo-
man, although it would be strange
thing if man were to fail of thanking
another man who showed this courtesy
to ard him.
Similar illustrations of this truth
might be multiplied. But enough has
been said to call the attention of par
ents to the duty OF training their daugh-
ters, as daughters, to courtesy for the
hope Of the correction of such an evil is
in the bringing up of new generation
in better way than that of the present
one. Girls ought to be trained 70 cour-
tesy in every direction to be watchful-
ly considerate of one another, and defer
ential toward their seniors to be
prompt to rise and give their seats
when occasion calls for it, to women OF
to elderly or intirm men and to be ex.
plicit in their thanks for every courtesy
of any sort which is proffered to them
by any person whatsoever. There are
girls who are thus trained, and who give
evidence of it continually. When sucE
training is more general, there will bt
less reason than now for complaining oi
any lack of courtesy among women.