New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1891-07-22
WOMANS REAL KINGDOM.
CAN NOT THE UNITED STATES
BOAST 1T AFTER ALL?
A Story That 1t Has Been Discovered liz
the Middle of Sumatra The
Women have All the Wealth
and Their Own WAY.

If Mr.. W. j. Shaw tells the whole
truth and nothing but the truth, then
the United States does not deserve the
title of 'Woman's Kingdom" or
'Woman's Paradise" or any of the
other similar names which have been
bestowed upon it, says the Philadel-
phla Times. Mr.. Shaw has discovered
place where women hold a position
in comparison with which their status
in the United States is one of shame
and servitude. Mr.. Shaw was one of
the forty-niners in San Francisco. He
came here from New York, and was a.
lawyer, State Senator and man of
Importance and public worth in the
early days, until he left the country to
spend years and years in travel in out
o1-the-way places. This woman's most
paradisical paradise is in Sumatra. in
the interior of the island
''Ihe women there own all the
wealth, " he says, "and it is the con-
slant aim of the men to enrich their
wives. They have a law by which
mans property cannot be inherited by
MS children, but must go to his par
ents, while that belonging to his wife
desends to the offspring; and, of course,
they get around that law by putting
all their wealth into the hands of the
women.
Zach man has but one wife and
each wife one husband, and they live
perfectly moral lives. They are Mo-
hammedans although they are monog-
amous, both in theory and in fact. A
man may divorce his wife if he
chooses, but he must allow her to re-
tain the property in her possession.
Divorces are not frequent, not nearly
as frequent in proportion to population
as they are in California.
"A man does not live in the same
house as his wife. He has his home
apart and visits her only in the even
ing, like a lover calling on his mis-
tress. When the children grow up
the boys are taken away from their
mothers home as soon as they are old
enough but the girls stay with her
until they marry. When that event
takes place an addition is built on to
the mothers establishment and the
newly married daughter makes that
her home. Where there are MANY
daughters the original house grows
ana grows, as they are married off,
until 1t becomes almost a village.
When Woman's husband dies she
plants post in front Of her particular
door in the family mansion and hangs
a flag on it. AS long as that flag
waves she may not marry again. But
when the winds have torn it into shreds
and scattered the bits on the ground,
her term of mourning is considered to
be over and she may accept a second
lovers advances. What is wanted in
Sumatra more than anything else is a
material for flags that will be more
susceptible to the action of the ele-
ments than anything they have now.
line women are very beautiful,
having good figures exceedingly fine
compilations, and bright eyes. And
they dress most elegantly and extrava-
gantly. They have both silver and
gold mines in the island, and these
people have sufficient knowledge of
the arts to smeEt and draw the ingots
into fine wire, which they then weave
into cloth for dresses.
While I was there 1 saw two pretty,
bright-eyed maidens dressed Just as
they would be on their wedding DAYS,
which were to come off soon. One
wore dress OF this cloth of gold and
the other Of silver, and they were just
the most resplendent damsels you ever
saw. Their arms were covered with
bracelets from the hand to far above
the elbow, and their necks with neck,
laces Of gems and gold
''Oh, American women, are supposed
to be treated better than women any,
where else, and to have a sort of