New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-02-22

AND If THEY DO, WHY

Exchange would be for women to Judge men. Even
the qualities Of mercy and loving-kindness with
which She has long been invested are no longer
granted her. She is ruthless she is a beautiful
liar she has no manners; she goes shopping with
a ffy-dollar bill, spends forty-nine dollars and
half fncry. and the rest on carfare and an
apology for luncheon As for her claim to brains,
the doctors have dissectcd a number of women
from the morgue, compared their brains with
the brains of every noted man that ever died. and
proved to the satisfaction of the world that her
cerebral gray matter is too infinitesimal to be
mentioned.
But the favorite, the ever-new, the perennial
fling. that which is oitencSt rolled under the
tongue as n sweet morscl. is the alleged fact that
women hate and dcspiSc each other Woman's
inhumanity 10 woman-why. it has passed INTO a
tradition With the stove-pipe and the mother.
in-law joke it seems 10 defy the ravagcs Of time
and comes up fresh and smiling, season after
season. 1t may be u bold and audacious ques.
ton, but, is the charge true? Is it not n case
Of the blind men and the elephant? Has thc
subject been fairly investigated? II So then |
have remarkable experience to relate
have in the last week talked with score
of bright women. putting to each the same qucs-
ton and getting substantially the same answer
.
well known in literature and business. as well as
in society. well, some women hate some women
for cause For instance, the quiet wel-brcd
woman, who listens to a shalow-pated, cold
hearted woman amuse a lot of masculine idiots
with splicful harangucS against her own sex. is
apt to dcspsc that particular woman. The
society woman who sees her sole attraction.
beauty, disappearing, loathes with an unspcak-
able loathing all womanknd, collectively and in
dlvidually. But clever women, women whose
horizon is wide whose minds are alert, who have
ambitions beyond the german and dressing for
dinner, do not hate their sex. Some Of the best
friends | ever had were women
" Do women hate one anothcr?T repeated the
head of Chapcrone Bureau; then she paused
Not when they have a chance 10
learn better. Ny relations with women have
been in the main pleasant | meet them in
a business way, and | can say with perfect
assurance that among women who have had any.
thing like the opportunities of broad education
that men have, there exists equal good feeling
toward each other Women are quick To faV
into business habits OF course, one still meets
with women who cannot keep an appointment 10
save their lives. women whose conception Of truth
is eccentric, and women who think it dsgraceful
TO work. They are relics of a pinched and mar
row social theory. rapidly going out of existence.
Individually. ! admire my own sex; | believe in
women and believe they believe In each other
Is that emphatic enough for you?'
Il have had considerable experience with
women said the head nurse at the Bellevue
Training School, but only with busy women.
Here we learn. first Of all. sclf-control We are
obliged to take no notice Of the little worries that
drive most people frantic We have no time to
eXpend and no nervous energy 10 waste on small
Jc1lousieS and petty heNationS. In the wards tine
nurses are, almost without exception. respectful
Of authority. and that is saying great deal where
superior position is n mere matter Of appointment
In the Home they are perfectly friendly and cor
dial in their intercourse. Dslgrerablc things
bappcn-I suppose men have rows among them
selves on occasions. and our nurses don't pretend
10 be angels. They are. however. intelligent.
they are brave, they have noble object in view.
and naturally they respect and admire other
women who are equally in earnest. Whether
women who have no high motives are enemies of
their own sen. should DE- afraid to say. But
know about the other kind
At Bellevue there is none Of the theory Of in
quistor and martyr in the relations between the
head nurse and her little army of whte-cappcd
aids. She is universally respected and liked. and
some especial act OF consideration ard Kindness
from her. Actresses declare that they find their
best friends in women; that their matinee audi
cuccs are their Geliyht; that they dress and play.
rot for men, but for mems wives and daughters
and swccthcarts. All actresses do not, Of course.
There are actresses and actresses just as there are
Iaelions and Carmenctas. one danced 10 de
light women the other to delight men But We
dou't rucutiou Ta0lioui and ('armcucita tho
same breath.
Let us take broader testimony still. Whatever
formed and kept alive Soroais and thc hundreds
Of womcGs clubs throughout the country? Was
it the contempt and scorn for one another Of the
women who belong 10 them? Take the names OF
a few working-girs' societies: The Endrayor."
" The Help Each Otlcr,7 THE Mutual Ecncl'.
" The United" how much antagonism, what spite
and jealousy, is implied. Women must look to
men for help! May they not be disappointed
But in these various organizations of women
workers seems to me to lie the solution Of many
otherwise hopeless problems; problems concerning
political, moral. Women have
been hammcring away for years for the right 10
vote As far as any can see. men have not
offered them very much encouragement. 1t is not
men who advocate equitable divorce and property
laws There has been considerable talk about
undergrad women laborers. Let them form unions
among themselves, where the strong may infusc
spirit into tie weak, and see how quickly that
matter will right itself.
Women don't want to get along without men.
That is they don't want to- he obliged TO. and
avery effort they make 10 prove their perfect ail
ty t. do so lessons the probability No one pre-
ends that il is more finn to dance with another
,irl than with a man, but that an enjoyable socal
composed only of women is within the
range of the possibilities was demonstrated by
800 working girls in the Madison Square Garden
moi long AGO not 500 sour old maids nor yet
n, many "adyanccd females with short hair ana
pectaces: but 100 sweet, bright, lovaDc
women. not one of whom, perhaps, in her secret
.nnl linrs ROT homo some day ~ possess happN,