Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1892-08-18

She organized schools Ior peasant w0m-
en-. She worked with energy and final
y overcame the hostility and opposition
that arose AT her efforts. and though
She died in 1882 she had the pleasure o.:
seeing good results from her work.
Great service to the cause of women IL
Bohemia was rendered by a noble
hearted and philanthropic man. Volta
Naprstek. who was well known in
England thirty years ago. He spent
much time in studying the various
schemes put forth in England and
America for the benefit Of women, and
after spending some years in England
he returned TO his own country in 1868
and organized the American club for
women in Prague, where he delivered
lectures on such subjects as seemed
best calculated to interest average
women and induce them to think Also
Mr.. Naprstek freely opened the whole
of his valuable collection of books to
the frequenters of the club
The meetings OF the club were at first
held in a private house, but soon out
grew such restricted quarters. Not all
their time was given to their own men
tai improvement. They raised money
to found an orphanage, and during the
war of 1866 between Austria and Prus-
STA the members of the club organized
themselves into a sanitary commission
and did valuable work for the wounded
and for the families of those who fell.
As direct result of the club started in
1865 about one hundred and sixty differ
ent clubs and societies have been found
ed, all for women only. Besides these
there has also been clubs where both
men and women are memb ers In some
of the clubs the Czech language only
may be spoken, but in others the Ger
man as well. One of the societies,
numbering six hundred women, is for
the purpose of protecting and educat-
ing girls morally neglected. A home is
provided for then where they are under
the good influence of family life, but
for their school work study they are
sent to the public general schools. At
the proper age they are found places
for service.
The latest society formed is called
che Minerva" Nine. Elisa Krasno-
hOrsl1a, the Bohemian poetess and ed
itor of Czech organ of women's affairs,
is the president of the club. The OBJ
iect of the Minerva is the raising of the
standard of women's education, and to
this end founding schools for girls equal
in range of subjects to the gyInnasiums
for boys A college also has been
started to give women a chance for uni
versity courses. This first year of its
existence shows fifty-three students of
ages from sixteen to twenty-one. Even
higher attempts are on foot petition
bearing five hundred signatures of
women was presented last year to the
Czech parliament, requesting admission
to the university courses of medicine
and philosophy. There was at first
much opposition from the least ad-
vanced section, and many excuses made
for delay, but the measure was at last
carried, with this result, that in four
years time the courses of the university
of Prague will be open to women.
The year 1891 has been fruitful in
petitions from the Bohemian women to
their diet. Besides the one already no.
ticed asking for admission to the uni
versity, another has been presented ask
ing for an increase of pay to the women
post Office clerks who at present receive
much less than half, often less than a
third of the same salary as the men for
doing the same work, and during the
same number of hours. Last year
petition was sent up by the society of
women's industries asking for woman's
suffrage. presumably for the first time.