Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1889-03-20
UNJUST DISCRIMINATION.
Deliberate Cruelty of Which Many Fas
theirs Are Guilty.


is woman the equal of manP The
question has been asked many thou
sands of times and answered with
fierce negatives, which, however, have
been growing fainter and fainter as
civilization has progressed. Generally
speaking, tho greater the degree of
civilization of the individual man the
more willingly does he concede that
woman was created the equal of the
other sex, though with different quail
ties. But there are few believers in the
equality of the sexes who carry
their opinions into practice even in
their own families. Theoretically the
girls of family are entitled to have
as much spent on their education as is
spent on that of the boys; to have the
same care bestowed upon fitting them
to fight this worlds battle as is be-
slowed upon the boys; to have bust
ness or profession chosen for them and
TO be fitted for it; to be furnished with
capital to the same extent with the
boys, and, finally, to share alike with
the boys in the partition of the family
property on the death of the parents.
In how many Canadian homes is this
equitable treatment of the daughters
carried outP In few, we opine, and
the better off the parents are in this
world goods the worse are the girls
likely to fare.
1t is too much the habit of fathers
to spend all their means in pushing
along their sons, leaving the daughters
to take the chances in the matrimonial
lottery Hence we often see a son
launched into the world with abundant
capital, the benefit OF his fathers finan-
cial backing, and what is better
still. the incalculable advantage of the
experience of men and affairs gained
by the father in a long and successful
business career. What does the father
do for the sister of this young man?
If the father is lucky enough to possess
a managing wife, he marries her off
early to some young fellow with APP
parently good prospects. He gives
her dowry not at all proportional to
he is gathered to his fathers. Twenty
years afterward the son has made his
mark in the world. He is a well-off
man with a growing and expensive
family around him. Ee can see ways
for all the money he has, and more,
in setting up his own sons, and he has
nothing to spare-or, which comes to
the same thing, thinks he has nothing
to spare--for his sister. She, poor
woman, has not been so lucky. Her
husband has not been successful, or
perhaps he has died after providing
her with nothing but family of chill
dren. She finds herself at forty al
ready old and looked upon as failure,
though perhaps she has more of her
father business tact than fell to the
lot of her brother But there she is,
as poor as a church mouse, while her
brother, having taken the major part
of the possessions of the family, has
plenty. Ii the brother does as much
for her as to take her boys into his of
ice the world will applaud his gen.
crosby.
Discrimination like this is being
practiced every day in thousands of
homes If there is to be discrimina-
ton among children, should itnoG be
in favor Of the girls instead of against
them2 What IS the good of admitting
the equality of the sexes if the people
who admit it act towards their own Off
spring as though they did not believe
ftp And where do those people stand
who, maintaining that women are the
weaker vessels, rob their daughters in
order to better equip their sons? IF
the sons, in consideration of having
the major part of the family money
spent upon them, undertook to care
for their sisters in the event Of the lat
ter requiring help, there would be
some element Of fairness in the ar
rangement. But sons do not UNDER
take any such thing Even if they did
undertake it they might fail to carry
out their engagements. It would be
better all around if all the children of
a family were treated alike rather
'tudU O1ld6 ING S0Ou Vi 1uGuT0 DlCk0rlnOS
should be sown by Unfair preference of
one before another.
This is side of the woman question
which can not be reached by law. It
is the outgrowth and survival of the
time when women were chattels, and
were bought and sold like so many
sheep. Custom sanctions the DELHI
crate cruelty of which the father is
guilty who sacrifices his daughters
earthly future in order that his son
may carry on the business and the
home in the old style. Every one of
the political disabilities of women can
and will be soon removed. But the
removal of this social wrong will be a
work OF many years. The sexes will
be equal in the eyes of the law for a
long time before public opinion can
make them equal in the eyes of ia
~s.-Toronto Globe.
The Dog Was innocent.