New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-05-21
reputation ought to be the most thoroughly
gratifed
pIEI FOR UOMAN.


II is possible that some who most heartily
svmnath;ze with the progress OF woman anu
have hailed with pleasure her growing prom
;nonco in many lines of thought ana activity
ora inst n little troubled at recent evidences
,ho+ women do not always work together har-
,non;ousIv. There have been reports, appar-
or.Iv we'll founded, that disagl eements have
hro,@on ont among the good women who are
oor,octod with the Worlds Fair. There was
q recrettablc episode at the opening OF the
Fair arising out of the belief on the part OF
certain women that certain other women had
monopolized the society OF the Duchess OF
ycragua. 1t is easy to picture such an incl
don't in n ludicrous light. But to those most
concerned we may be sure it was serious
ovcnt This last week, also, the Congress, OF
Women that ha; been meeting in Washing
ton. and the wc-known womans club in this
city. Sorls sis, have furnished additional evidence
Of the fact that women do not always ana
necessarily agree together without jar. they
honestly differ on questions OF principle or cX-
nodicucy. lust as do men. They are not always
preserved from the possibility OF taking a par
tisan or prcjudiccd attitude on matters that they
discuss any more than are men, And perhaps
even more than men they are acutcy alive to
the social aspect of their relationship with each
other. The skill of women in drawing lines
Of social dcmarcaton comes from intuition
and it is perfectly safe to say that no amount
Of devotion to any reform will ever cause them
to forego the exercise OF the gift.
What shall We say then? Arc women prov
inc the infcriority that used to be confidently
asserted of them? Shall we ak them to go
back t, the doll-lillc existence that was once
deemed to be their true vocation, because they
have shown themselves to be only human after
ALL like the other half of creation? Must they
disband the clubs and associations in which they
are learning to take trler and noblcr view
Of their life and lis possibilities, because, for
sooih. they sometimes fail to agree, and occa-
sionaIIy indulge in unSccmly squabbcs? sure
" not The fact that all women do not think
alike and that they are able to give vigorous
expression to their views is proof, not OF
their infcrioriiy or incapacity, but OF their
mental growth 4 lump of putty will stay
put not so a scnticnt human being. To en-
meet that educated and intelligent women shall
always act in we-dcined ruts and do their
thinking in intellectual mouldS which somebody
has made for them, is. in fact, to assume that
they are really the mindless dolls that the
world oncc conceived them to be, and not
rational human beings. No one utters jercml-
ads because the human equation largely affects
all the relations and activities OF men with
men Why, then should we pretend to be I'M
happy because the same equation must be taken
into account in the relations and activities of
women with women?
In the days Of the troubadours men thought
10 eyalt woman by singing of her Is an anger
but they treated her little better than slave.
That age of foolish fustian is passing away
We do not to-day sing so many lovely lyrics
about woman's divinity: nor are we, perhaps
as punctilious rs we should be in showing her
that outward Difference which was carried TO
such an extravagant length IN the days OF
chiyalry. But woman may well be willing 10
commute these superficial honors for the grow
ing recognition Of her real place and mission
in the world, which the democratic movement
Of this age has brought about The trueSt
friends Of woman are not those who would
teach her to stop thinking and acting because
she NAV sometimes think or act wrongly, but
those who believe that she may learn some
thing even from her limitations and mistakes.
After making all attachments it still remains
true that woman to-day * proving that she
deserves - be taken seriously that she is an
integral and necessary part Of the progressive
movement Of the age and that she is gaining
4 larger and truer comprehension OF her rela-
ton TO life, labor and destiny.