Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1891-03-20
FRIDAY MORNING. MARCH 20. 1891

TO give women The same freedom III earning q
livelihood which is now afforded to men, il
undoubtedly has the support OF all whose
opinions are not governed by bigotry and fear
of competition. The welfare OF society, the
moral health of every community, the happi-
ness of every individual demands that no OBJ
struction whatever shall be placed in the way
Of women who are compelled to become
breadwinners to avoid the evil of dependence
upon the labors of others.
In no respect has the advance of modern
civilization been more distinctly marked than
in the growth Of liberal views in considering
this question. Its consummation has not yet
been fully reached. The day must come
when the only limit to the eOmpetitorslip of
women with men in certain walks of life in
which subsistence is to be won, Will be the
degree of their intellectual and physical
strength This conclusion Will be reached in
spite OF the injury which a certain class Of
the advocates of woman's rights are doing to
the cause 1t will be reached because the
number of women who will have to look to
their own energy and intelligence for sup
port will go on rapidly Increasing every year
until they will constrain the public sentiment
of men to yield to their Just opportunities.
11c GENERAL duinISSlOH OIL NOubH lHlO lllc
different pursuits now followed exclusively
by men must make the fierce competition al
ready existing still more stringent Then
will come the real test of the female mind
and character, for both will be brought into
contact with an opposition that is not likely
to yield anything on the score of mere sex.
The chief fear of woman under these circum
stances would be as to how far she can rely
upon her physical strength. In the profession
OF medicine for instance, to which she is for
many reasons well adapted her progress is
apt to be obstructedby her physical weakness.
In surgery this weakness is almost certain to
be a bar to her advance. Power of endurance
is one of the principal elements of success in
practical life, ..and in this quality, men by
nature enjoy a marked pre-eminence over
women, a fact which may exclude the latter
from the great majority of the many lucrative
pursuits in which physical capacity plays
nearly as prominent part as intellectual
Richmond Times.
The above is the conclusion of strong
and broad minded editorial in that inhuen-
tial metropolitan paper the Richmond
Times We are glad to peruse it for more
fully sets forth the views of the VINDICA-
TOR Oh this growing subject, but because
it Shows that in the capital Of Virginia all
proper advance movements OH this line will
have an able supporter backed by q strong
and Intelligent public sentiment. Even IN
surgery, in which our contemporary has
doubts of woman attaining eminence, She
won 1t hundreds Of years ago, and, to-day
in the Oldest Italian University, Bologna.
there may be seen hanging on it's walls the
WAX anatomical models made by the pro-
fessor of anatomy there, Anna Manzolina.
1t has been but few days, SO to speak.
Since DR.. Susan Dimock an accomplished
surgeon and physician Of Boston. Mass
was lost by the wreck of the steamship
Schiller, and of her, though she had only
attained her twenty-eigllth year, DIR. Samuel
Cabot one of the leading surgeons of Bos-
ton, used this language: SIN her short
life she acquired, in the face Of many Oh
stacles, al amount Of medical knowledge
and OF surgical Skill, such as but few
possess. Her skill and SELF command in
operating no one can appreciate who has
not witnessed it, The number of distin-
guished female surgeons will be increased
just in proportion to tie increased number
OF women who make that Il speciality
III brIef. the same proportion as there are
of distinguished male surgeons among the
men who adopt that specially. 1t may be
said to be no longer a question Of whether
women Shall practice medicine and surge
~. Medical schools at Paris. Zmion and
Basic and tlirty-eig;lt in this county,
which announce their course Of eluclton
as open to both sexes, attest the Fact tina
the imperative demands of an enlioh!ene
public opinion lave removed all barriers to
her fitting herself for that practice. OuI
contemporary describes the situation with
precision When it says that affording wo
men the same freedom in earning their
livelihood that is accorded to meI has s'tI.e
support of all whose opinions are not gov
erned by bigGtry OF fear of competition. n
Though 1t might have added in fuller Justice
that tile number OF except ions is compara-
lively few. The medical profession at
large possessing both common sense and
chlvalry has iii its ranks few men of any
prominence who are among those excep-
tons. An educated physician of promi-
nence in general practice who approves
closing the medical profession to women is
rarely to lie found. The physicians who
do oppose it-and not all Of them by any
means-;ire place holders in government
ment of Il woman physician as one of their
number with a holy terror.
A striking example Of this is just now
prominent i'll three of the Hospitals for the
Insane in Pennsylvania. The law in Penn
sylNanla it seems differs from that in Viz
glnla, III that it gives to the experimenting
physicians OF some Of its insane hospitals the
power to appoint their assistants. In
three of these hospitals -Dixmont, Warren
and Danviile, though there are insane
lem lie patients in each, all of the physicians
are men and several Of them young men
with little experience in general practice. |
Notwithstanding the fact that the march of
public and enlightened professional Opinion;
has employed women physicians for
the female insane i'll twelve States. |
including three Southern States, Texas,
West Virginia and Virginia, and that
there are now twenty-five women
physicians in fifteen hospitals where there
are female insane. Notwithstanding tbs
further fact that SO imperative has that de-
mand become that the States Of Indiana. |
New York, Massachusetts and Minnesota
have passed laws requiring that where there
are female insane in a hospital there Shall
be at least one woman physician. Net |
Wlthstanding the fact that in one Of tie i