Los Angeles herald., 1892-01-01
EDUCATION FOR WOMEN.
Members of Sorosis Discuss Question
That Interests Womankind.

Members of Sorosis Discuss Question
That Interests Womankind.
Sorosis sat down to her December ban
quet in the new white and gold ballroom
at Sherry's, with Lady Henry Somerset
as her honored guest. All the Sorosians
were present, from Jenny June and her
contemporary veterans down to pretty
little Miss Demorest and her coterie of
intellectual buds. Besides the regular
members there were present many guests
of note, including the wife of Max
O'Rell, the wife of Bishop Simpson, the
wife of Colonel Roebling, of Brooklyn
bridge fame, and Mrs. Davis.
The chairman of the day, Mrs. Mar
garet 7. Jardley, presented for discus
sion the question: "What kind of educa-
tion will best fit women for the duties of
life" She pointed out and classified the
duties of woman's life as religious, per-
sonal and social, adding:
"Our personal duty that we owe our
selves, that we may make the best of
ourselves, is to be chaste, temperate,
truthful, brave and free in the condition
God intends for men and women. Our
social duty is simply the broadening out
of our personal duty to our families, our
neighbors, society, the state and the
country. Social duty is the fulfilling of
the law, to do unto our neighbors what
we would have our neighbors do unto us
with love in our hearts,"
Jenny June presented the advantages
of literary education as a preparation
for woman's duties, not as a professional
means by which to make a livelihood in
writing or teaching, but for its discipline
and development Of all faculties.
Mrs. Jennie Lozier, the president of
Sorosis, advocated the Importance of
medical or physiological study as a prepa-
ration for women's duties, because ''the
peculiar duty of woman, one she can
not relegate to any one else, is the care of
her children, and the indispensable prepa-
ration for this duty is health for herself
and health to transmit to her offspring,
and such knowledge as shall enable her
to retain it for both"
Mrs. Terhune (Marion Harland) argued
the domestic education as pre-eminent in
importance to women, and that while
the morals of the community and the in
tegrity of the nation depend upon the
manner in which the home is kept, a
practical knowledge of what underlies
home comfort is absolutely essential to q
well equipped woman. Mrs. Ella Dietz
Clymer said that she would answer the
question in single sentence, for the kind
of education that best fitted a woman
for her duties was the education of the
heart.
Then Lady Somerset spoke in her rich,
melodious English voice, and said: "The
world is waking up to the great differ
ence between woman's position now
from the position she formerly held. Nc
one would dare utter now in public the
prayer Of the old Scotch minister, 1--WE
thank thee, Lord, that thou hast given
us women to make us comfortable The
old order changes, and woman's educa-
ton embraces wider outlook than ever
before. In considering the question OF
woman's sphere and the kind Of educa-
ton which shall best prepare her for its
duties we must look upon her as a life
giver and law giver, of which the first
is paramount. Many of the ills flesh is
heir to might be overcome and obliter-
ated if this idea could be kept before
women. The most sacred duties of life
are presented to people when they are
poorly prepared to find the solution ol
it's problems. The mothers education i:
sort of moral tobogganing. The chill
dren are sent out into the world to lani
where they will. But we have passed
beyond the old idea that ignorance is in
nocence and knowledge necessarily vice
1t is the duty of every mother to gather
her girls around her and tell them al
they should know ,all God meant for them
'The moral tone Of the world hangs
upon the moral tone of its women. Wher
all women realize their power they will
not tolerate the evils of the present-wil
not allow the public work of the states
men to give the lie to their private lives
They will demand that men shall b.
good and pure even as women are bray'
and true. Until women take an intelli
gent interest in politics the best men will
stand aloof from political work. "-Nev
York Sun.