The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1893-12-08


DR.. S. Weir Mitchell one 0 the highest
authorities in the world on nervous dis
eases and Il profound studeta OF life, re-
gards women us the physicl trustees Of
the race, and says that cultivation OF the
brain at the expense Of the body Is IN ines
tmable evil to future generations. Ma
ture has her seasons Of rest and her seasons
of productiveness, the famous physician
once said. "'1he soil after harvest lies fal-
low for year or two or 1t loses its rich
ness. You never knew great MANA
man of powerful brain and masterful
energy, ! mean-born of a weak woman.
Superiority and strength of mind in men
come almost invariably from the mother.
The father may transmit traits as he often
transmits weaknesses, but the mind of the
male child almost always derives its real
force from the mother Ifshe havea IA strong
character, sterling virtues and has lived
simple, healthy life her son will reap the
richer harvest of vital and mental strength,
because neither has been exhausted by the
mother. The fathers character is apt to
reappear in the daughters"
The view is one Of such interest and i'm
portance that every one will find something
in his or her own experience and observa-
tion that will bear upon it. The thought
back of it is that women should be edu-
cated and their minds cultivated, but
neither overeducnted, as Mt some female
colleges nor overcultivated or overstrained
by work or society; that their lives should
be 80 ordered that Il surplus OF mental and
physical strength should be stored as the
ground derives fruitfulness and stores fu-
ture wealth by lying fallow and producing
nothing for time.-New York Press.
Working Women and Their Place Today.
The proportion of women whose daily lot
is hard labor Of some kind or other is not
greater now than it has been in other pc
riods On the contrary, 1t is probably
smaller. But at no former time has the
wage earning woman been so distinct 80
cal and economic factor. Woman's work
was formerly hedged in very closely by do
mestic conditions. Her life was part OF
| the life of some family, and rs an unat
tached industrial unit she was practically
nonexistent.
| Newer conditions have obviously changed
all this, and every city has its army Of
young working women seeking IN indie
pendent livelihood, just as it has its larger
army of young men. The army Of young
workingmen In great towns-young men
wholly unattached and fighting the battle
of life upon their individual resources
has not been very long recognized as dis.
tinct social element, and one for which pc
culiar povision should be made. But Its
recognition has been more general, and
there has been better provision made foi
it than for the other army of young work
ing women.
Yet the position Of the young woman is
much the more difficult. The kinds Of
work open to women are not half 80 nu'
merous as those that young men can enter.
And women's wages average little more
than half as much as their brothers. The
practical difficulties in the way Of procur
ing employment are especially great fol
young women, and conventional obstacles
lie everywhere The rights, the needs the
wants Of working girls call for agitation
and for organized action. And in many
ways the movement has begun.-Alberi
Shaw in Seribner's.