Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-07-12
NO ROOM FOR WOMEN.
The Stronger Sex Takes Up All the
Glory There Is on July A.
NO CREDIT FOR THE F0REMOTHERs,
But q Great Hullabaloo About the Fore
fathers and Their Deeds.
TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION
WRITTEN FOR TIE p1sPArcH.1


have glorified over their grand Fourth of
July celebration at Schenley Park is well
known to all But in popular parlance,
the women were not in it. What Brother
Gourley exactly meant by "Fellow Ameri-
cans is somewhat of a puzzler. Did he in
clude the beloved sisters or not7 Webster
gives several definitions for "fellow." The
f,st is: zone who follows; an adherent;
companion, an associate" This would in
clude the girls, of course. The second defni-
ton: ga man without good breeding or
worth" would with equal certainty leave
them out The third meaning, can
equal In power, rank, character, or the
like" he perhaps implied, but il so the
women citizens got the go-by, and were for
gotten, save Mrs. Schenley, who was spoken
of as "a good woman" because she pre-
sented the park to the people Of Pittsburg.
But does it ever occur to Brother Gourley
and the other public people who discourse
SO largely and so glibly on the "benign In
fuence of freedom" Of the glory Of our
democratic institutions, and of the surpass-
ing grandeur of our free government that
if Mrs Schenley-who is SO large tax
payer and contributes as full and fair
share to the interests of the community as
the richest man among US, lived In this
city she would be shut out from the
"benign influence of freedom" and de-
prived of that right Of citizenship which
men hold so pricelessly precious2
A Fault of Our Government
If Mrs. Schenley lived in Pittsburg now
she would discover that the rabid anarchists
and the paupers and rough scuff of Europe
who knew nothing of the language or the
Constitution were made welcome to the
rights and freedom of citizenship which to
her with all her intelligence and her prop
erty interests were denied. If she had been
in the park on the Fourth of July she might
have been called q "fellow American" by
Brother Gourley, but she would not have
been free American citizen all the same.
Knowing that she was deprived of the polit-
ical freedom the speakers were all boast
ing over in such wealth of eloquence and
oratory, she would have known that as far
as she and all the other citizens who wore
petticoats were concerned, that it was all
bosh.
If she had been seated upon the platform
as guest of highest honor in the park she
has so generously donated to Pittsburg, she
would doubtless have received some very
fine compliments She would have been
treated to high praise and fulsome fattery,
but she would, nevertheless, be held as an
incompetent voter, because she is woman.
Though she possessed all the political wis.,
dom Of an Elizabeth, the virtues of a Vic
toria, the attributes of an angel, the men of
Pennsylvania could not trust her with the
ballot-not even in municipal affairs in
which she is so largely interested, while
male paupers are hunted out Of the poor
houses to exercise this privilege and some of
the lowest vagabonds are even paid to per-
form the sacred duty of free citizenship.
No Talk About Foremothers.
If Mrs. Schenley had been there on the
Fourth of July, and with full knowledge
of the history of her country, she would
have been astonished and perhaps amused at
how the men unblushingly, it would seem,
claimed all the honors for the foretathers
and left out the foremothers. The men Of
'76 receive the glory, while the women in
the main are ignored Taking part in poll
tics, which is held to be sacred and patri-
otic duty for men, will, it is said, degrade
women. But this bald assertion is merely
what our British cousins would call "ridicu-
lous rot"
The women of the Revolution were pos
sessed with the same spirit of liberty as the
men; resistance to tyranny was as strongly
implanted in their souls and they were as
earnest and as self-sacrifcing as the soldiers
in the field. Mercy Warren inspired the
Declaration of Independence. She was the
first, we are told, to urge separation upon
John Adams and the other revolutionary
leaders, and found the arguments in its
favor Mrs Adams urged independence, not
| only for the men of the colonies, but for
women as well, and told her husband that
all arbitrary power was dangerous. While
John Adams was attending political con-
ventions and the Continental Congress his
wife was taking care of the family at home,
exposed to all manner of priyations and
| dangers
Patriotic Through and Through.
She was a red-hot patriot, for she wrote to
| her husband: sT could not join in the
| prayers at church to-day for q reconcilia-
ton between England and the colonies.
Let us separate. They are unworthy to be
our brethren. Let us renounce them, and
instead of supplications as formerly for
their prosperity and happiness, let us
| beseech the Almighty to blast their counsels
and bring to naught all their devices"
Patrick Henry was hardly more fiery than
that. Moreover, in urging equal rights for
women she was bold enough to tell john
that he and the other members of Congress
should do better by women than did their
nical," she added, ''is a truth so thoroughly
established as to admit of no dispute; but
such of you as wish to be happy, willingly
| give up the title of master for the more
| tender and endearing one of friend. Why,
then, not put it out of the power of the
| vicious and the lawless to treat women with
cruelty and indignity and impunity?"
But the men who framed the declaration
and managed the politics of the colonies
while they so ardently desired liberty for
| themselves and their fellow men, were not
ready to concede that women were born free
and equal with themselves and were pos
sessed of ssinalienable rights" so they
ignored their claims. Mrs. Adams was one
and when the wag of gossips' tongues could
find nothing else against her, she was ac-
cused of exerting more influence over her
husband than was proper in the discharge of
his official duties.
Martha Washington's Patriotism.
Martha Washington is hardly known and
seldom mentioned as hero Of the Reyolu-
tion, and yet while George was in the field
fighting for freedom, she was in the fields at
home attending to raising food and clothing
for the soldiers She abjured everything
in the line of luxury in dress, and kept al
most a score of spinners constantly en-
ployed making homespun. When not at
home, she was with Washington at his head
quarters, taking care of the sick and wound
ed soldiers. Was this not heroic and patri-
otto work? She lost her only son in the
war.
The courage, endurance, self sacrifice of
the women of the Revolution was not sur
passed by that of the men, yet, in the Fourth
of July orations, the spread eagle speeches,