The Van Buren press., 1893-07-22
IN WOMAN'S BEHALF.
WOMEN AS EXHIBITORS.
Their WOnderful Showing at the Grea
- Columbian ExnOsltion.l


Their wondsrful showing at the Great
ltsiltrl Columbian Exposition.
No undertaking of more magnitude
has ever sprung from an infinitesimal
begiNNing than that which has grown
out o. the unobtrusive and apparently
innocuous clause of section of the
Worlds fair act of congress which pro-
vided for board of lady managers. 1t
consists of three lines, as follows:
"And said commission is authorized
md required to appoint a board Of lady
managers of such number and to per-
form such duties as may be prescribed
by the said commission;' and upon this
slender bridge the women of the coun-
try, with Mrs. Palmer at their head,
have crossed the rubicon and demanded
. distinctive exhibit which must, in
the very act of separating from the
general exhibit, become competitive,
challenging comparison with the fruits
of the ages in every department of activ-
ity, mental and physical. They hnve
taken this step in defiance of the fact
that it is impossible to separate effect
men, save in minority Of cases. and
that in thus cutting themselves off from
what is best in the record of the sex,
they at the same time secure the show
ing by which they will be judged by
the world. 1850 z=fzz
The first surprise was sprung when
the women demanded ground for a
hvytl hnf nd
followed hard upon it, when a woman
came forward with an architecture. de-
sign, which was of q practical character
and capable of being adapted to the
necessities of the case. Upon the heels
of this came young women competing
for awards in sculpture and painting,
which have been duly executed and
form part of the solid argument which
women offer to the world in their own
behalf. So far they have been handled
with touching tenderness by the
press, and treated with genial indulg-
ence by the community at large. Those
who visit the exposition from afar will
see with their own eyes and estimate
with unbiased Judgment, and some of
them may not be endowed with the
American tolerance from what might
be called the pretensions of the sex.
They may even affirm that those who
are not fully equipped for the race
should stay out of it; but this ia tri-
fling matter; only small proportion
of the world will see the exposition,
and history will divest of all but glory,
the individuals who have been connect
ed with the achievements of the Column
bian year. What we have done will
look much grander in print than it does
in material realization, and it is worth
something to have obtained, in SO sub
stantial manner, the countenance of
the national commission; to have been
met half way by this generous assist
ance in showing what women are do
lug, what they may do in the future;
also what they did in times past, before
we began to sound our trumpets in the
streets-when it really required some
courage to come out from the mass and
do something that would draw the at
tention of the world.
If at the same time we shall be able
20 show what women have not done; to
demonstrate the fact that in proportion
to the population, and the number of
women engaged in various occupations,
we are not really doing anything that
has not been done before, and could
not be done just as well without our
assistance, the lesson will be whole
some, though it may not tickle our van
ity to the extent we could wish. And
If we shall succeed in demonstrating
the truth of that broader proposition
that there is no sex in mind and there
fore its highest manifestations must be
sexless, we shall at least have gained a
starting point from which we may ad-
vance in future with less uncertainty
and fewer blunders. s.--Belford'sM Monthly.
WOMEM wAGEEA ARNERC