The morning call., 1890-12-12
SHALL DAUGHTERS HAVE powRIEss
Opinions of Well-Known Women on

Opinions of Wen-Known Women on
That Important Matter.
In the December number of 1.-The North
American Review" there is published a
paper, in the nature of a symposium, on
"Shall Our Daughters Have Dowries ?" and
from this the following extracts from the
opinions of well-known women are taken:
Mrs. Harriet Prescott Spofford: But
where the family Income is already narrow,
it is not easy to conjecture a surer method
OF establishing system of social caste than
by the acceptance of this necessity of saw
ing from the income the SUN sufficient for
dowry. 1t would exact a rigid economy, of
a sort to which no one in this country has
been accustomed; soupe maigre would take
the place Of the generous roast and steak,
and low and spare diet would
create in time an undersized and
i'll deyeloped race. The children
Of the family would be forced to forego the
luxurieS and pleasures enjoyed by the Chill
dreu of families where the economy was not
obligatory their clothing would have to be
SO different that they would be mortified II
associated with the children dressed in pur-
Pile and fine linen; their experiences, their
habits, would be dssimilar. and
would naturally separate them; they would
have to resort to schools where cheaper
teachers were employed; they would
have to so without the costly accom-
plishments; many delicate uSages would be
unknown to them; they would become
middle class as entirely apart from those
of ampler means aud less economies as If
living in land where there was an aristoc-
racy of birth. There would be. then, an
impregnabe barrier Of habits, manners and
views formed between classes-a barrier
which in the wide interchangeability Of to-
day does not exist Surely this would be a
poor outcome Of our commonwealth.
Mrs. Mary A. Livermore: To inaugnrate
an economical fashion is well; only let it
be one of prevention, not Of cure. To rear
a girl in absolute dependence, good for
nothing, selfish in her aims and eXacting in
her demands, Is sin against the daughter,
and against society. To begin at her birth
to &c, nomize and retrench in every depart
ment Tor the accumulation OF money. that
this monstrous perversion Of her life may
be accomplished and maintained, Is gro
teSque and heatheniSh Girls thus trained will
fail of attaining high order Of woman
hood. Their aims viii be petty, their ideals
low, and nothing very excellent can be ex-
pected of them liz wifehood or motherhood.
Let the reform already inaugurated be made
fashionable and be carried on. Let us be-
gin system OF economy that will prevent
the evil which our author only proposes
to cure, and by an utterly inadequate
remedy. Willie we carefully guard what
ever is womanly in our daughters, let them
be trained to more of hbt and firm
ness Educate them to self-denial, II pecu-
mary circumstances demand it, and not to
self-indulgence. Accustom them to be of
service in the household, 10 regard economy
as praisewoethy and even heroic, and to add
to all their other accomplishments practi-
cal knowledge Ut work and the possession
OF some lucrative vocation or industry by
Which they can support themselves. Such
girls. when portiopless, will carry to their
husbands d0wries in themselves.
Mrs. Alice Wellington Rollins: Assum-
ing a dowrJ waiting TO be given, and that
the question concerns merely the propriety
of giving IL, by ali means let it be given; as
Stunning, too, That the meaning Of ''dowry"
Is literally an MISUNDERSTANDING given,
irrespective of the time of giving. At 20,
whether married or unmarried, let sum be
settled upon Dorothy, into possession of
which she shall enter at once, that, ing
her own expenses, practicing her own pet
economies and favorite extravagances she
may learn the care OF property, the value of
money, the cost OF living. the satisfaction of
Independence. Unhappily the question, like
the daughter, is very dependent one. 1t
really is: shall our daughters have dow
res at the expense Of everything or any
thing else?" Here there are lines to be
drawn. If to save money for Dorothy's
future means limiting her advantages at
picSciI ict tHt uONIy su. Ills uOL LOT Ills
trlte excuse that money can take the place
of education. culture, travel or society, but
because opportunity neglected in the critical
years OF her youth can never be supplied
later with equal success. If you have 5000
for Dorothy put $1,000 in the bank and limit
her expenditure in Europe to the other
thousand. But if you have only $1,000 send
her to Europe. 1t is giving her expensive
tastes? Better that than leave her with no
tastes at all.
Mrs. Henry Ward Beecher: We are told
that 1.-THE marriage rate is decreasing be-
Cause there is so large a proportion of men
who wish to marry but cannot, because the
intended father-ln-law has not the means
to give his daughter a dowry." If such a
settlement for the bride is the only sure pre-
yenliye against the husbands failure by
overwork, then 1t may be that the marriage
rate is decreasing. But we believe there are
quite as MANY happy marriages and true
homes among those who take wife Withouta
d9Wry as among those whose wives have large
dowries-if, indeed, there are not more.
Wives having none can aid their husbands
by keeping house themselves-not having 1t
kept for tbem-and they have less cause to
fear failure for their husbands, either from
overexertlon or pecuniary loss. than the
more richly endowed wives who are gov
erned by fashion or Mrs. Grundy.
Mrs. Amelia f. Barr: Dowry is an anti
quated provision for daughters. behind The
genius Of the age. Incompatible with the
dignity of American men and the intelli-
gence and freedom of American women.
BESIDES, there are very likely to be TWO,
three, four or more daughters in the house.
How could man Of moderate means save
for all Of them? And what would be-
come of the sons? The father
who gives his children loving
sensible mother, who provides them with a
comfortable home, and who edueates fully
all their special faculties, and teaches them
the cunning in their ten fingers, bowers his
daughters arbetter than II he gave them
money. He has funded for them provi-
sion that neither bad husband nor an evil
tate can squander. He has done his full
duty, and every good girl will thankfully SO
accept 1t.
State Woman's Suffrage Society.
Mrs. Laura de Force Gordon, ihaving re-
turned to this city, has called meeting OF
the State Woman's Suffrage Society for this
afternoon in Washington Hall, Eddy street,
when the reform for which the society was
organized will be discussed and action taken