The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1893-01-06
IN WOMAN'S BEHALF.
The AMERICAN GIRL.
A Woman Lecturer Describes the Your
Ee-nin unity nf 4 his Cnunfrr-

IeEninintty OF This Country.
''The All-Around American Girl"
proved most attractive subject for dis
cussion at the womeu's Headquarters in
Mechanics building the tier morning
A large audience had gathered in the
coy section of the great gallery, when
Mrs Ellen A. Richardson introduced
Mrs Kate Tannatt Woods. after briefly
outlining the previous talks given dur
ing the fair, showing the advancement
of women. mot only is there a call for
skilled laborers in every direction"
said she, but earnest work is tails
man which has power to convert the
thoughtless, foolish triher into the
serious, reliable woman"
Mrs. Woods paper was in part as fol-
lows: THE average girl of to-day is
fountain of ideas; she sees for herself,
thinks her own thoughts and expresses
herself in concise and terse English.
never for a moment believed in the pos
sibility of Daisy Miller until met her
in a foreign land, and even then the
type was so scarce and the style so un-
usual that her own country women were
quite as much surprised by her as were
her foreign cousins Ever since such
weakling types and abnormal girls were
first made conspicuous in fashionable
novels, l have looked for them up and
down the land. AS yet | have never
been abe to discover these namby-
PANTY, sentimental, weakminded girls,
who utter society nothings and talk
nonsense with all the glibness of we'll
trained parrots am convinced that
this type of girl in America is in the
minority, and very small minority at
that
Our departments at Washington are
filed with noble women whose social
records have been the delight of the
fashionable world; and it is tribute
not only to America, but to all woman
hood, that these sharp reverses are
borne without a murmur. Financial
failure frequently shipwrecks a man,
but the American woman seizes the
oars and beats on against wind and
tide. In all the wide world our woman
has no peer. She may be frivolous at
sixteen. but later years finds her a
faithful wife and mother, with queen
" soul, who sees on heights beyond
more work to do
The all-around American girl is re-
spectful and obedient She never pre-
tends to dictate to her elders, to criti-
CHE her mothers dress, speech or ac-
quirements. 1t is enough that she is !
her mother and therefore sacred. She |
believes devoutly in the gospel of good |
health, and knows it can never be found |
1, - -, Lot ]
in dress or by irregular diet She never |
talks of her nerves She is cheerful by |
nature; thoughtful because it is her !
duty to think of others before herself; |
unselfish on principle. and Industrious |
because work is divine law and the |
entire creation resounds with the an |
them of labor. She conquers great |
things by being attentive to little ones. !
She does not boast of her ignorance |
concerning domestic science, because it |
is not only a duty but a pleasure to |
keep the human machine in order, if |
we would use it perfectly and harmo-
niously. She 'lOoketh well to the ways |
of her household or her mothers until |
she has one of her own. She is truth
full because it is right to be so. She is
modest; neither too shy nor overbold. |
1t is her place to hold the standard of |
womanly dignity high, otherwise men
would never do so for her. All her
studies, works, amusements and aims
.end to develop the womanly power
which is daily becoming greater force
n the world. She recognizes even in
Ter youth that character building must
he I:viJ,,oI ND 1uo,-I-
ward and upward through the family
relation into national strength.
THE all-around girl is always a |
1nother-girl.' for even when bereft and |
feeling what Mrs. Browning describes |
IS tine nother-want about the world,
she generally creeps into some good |
Homan's heart and profits through her |
experience and loving counsel She is |
affectionate, for love in one form or
another moves the world, and there |
never was a woman so strong and so |
;elf-poised as to do without the loving |
tenderness of some loyal heart. She is
never a flirt or coquette who makes /
oretense of love. She is genial, kind, |
witty and vivacious, but she draws the |
line sharply between spOrtive jest |
and hooking of things sacred Wom- |
anly honor is safe in her hands; she is |
perfectly happy in her home, useful, |
Joyous and helpful, without the COM !
partnership, if need be, OF the other sex. |
She never longs to be a man, for she !
knows it is the grandest thing in the |
world to be a good woman. She never |
iepreciates or denounces men. for she |
r i 81, &, hot r OLE
headed and noble-hearted they are her |
best helpers. Louise Alcott once said |
to me: 1t takes three women to carry !
one man from the cradle TO the grave |
his mother the mother who raised 4 |
wife for him and the wife / replied |
that it needed four in most cases, since |
daughters so often do loyal service for |
fathers.
THE all-a-ound girl is repealed by |
untrue men; her instincts OF self-pro-
lection are Il great safeguard, and she /
does not permit sentiment to outstrip |
reason. The woman's temple at Chica- |!
go is a monument to her skill, tact, !
business ability and perseverance. The |
men who scoffed at the plan now ad- |
mire the result, and mourn because /
they are not stockholders. The world
is before the American women; the pro-
fessions are hers to choose from, and
college doors stand wide" In closing
Mrs. Woods spoke earnestly OF college
girls who go down 10 the wretchedness
of crowed cities to labor for others
Boston Transcript
a WOMAN PUBLISHER.