The morning call., 1893-05-25
WOMEN AS AN ANNEX.

Thursday, May is, was woman'S day at
the Worlds Fair, ana ladies whose names
are household words enlivened the scene
with sparks of wit and wisdom. Most OF
the speakers handled the questions Of the
rights and wrongs of woman from sex
less standpoint. The most striking speech
was made by a lady named Helen FL.
Gardener. On the theme of woman as
an Annex" This gifted lady argued
that though there is 40 distinction arising
out of sex among the lower orders of crea-
tion, sex in the human race is "made a
reason for fixed inequality of liberty, OF
subjugatiOn, of subordination and of de-
termined superiority of opportunity in
education, in requirement, in position-in
a word, of freedom" She illustrates her
position by pointing out that Gladstone
advocates home rule in Ireland to give
power to men, that the Belgians have won
the suffrage for men only. and that when
ever "the people" or 1.-The human race"
are spoken of men are meant. not men
and women. And she points out that
justice will not be done until woman
ceases to be a mere annex and the per-
Quisire of man.
There is great deal of truth in this, and
ladies like Mrs. or Miss Gardener will do
good by giving expression to their views.
1t is utterly unreasonable to debar woman
from the pursuit of any calling by reason
of her sex. She may be blacksmith or a
captain of a ship if she can perform the
duties appertaining to those employments.
But candor should have impelled Miss
Gardener TO confess that women are now
actively com mpeting with men in almost all
bread winning employments. They do
not vote, and, as we understand the elo-
quent advocate of their rights. she does not
claim the suffrage al a necessary cOndi-
lion of happiness. But it is settled point
in law that in all other respects a woman
may be a citizen. To make her argument
complete Miss Gardener should have
specified some certain lucrative callings
from which women are excluded because
of their sex. She might have found it
difficult to enumerate half dozen.
Injustice is done to women by remuner-
ating their services less literally than
those of men. To that point the attention
of Miss Gardener might be usefully di-
rected. Shopgirls are worse paid than
shopboys who perform the same work.
That is unfair and ought to be remedied.
II will remedy itself in time. Wages are
governed by supply and demand. If COM
petent, steady, bright girls can be got to
DO as good work as is done by boys who are
not always steady, competent and bright,
they will command the same or better
pay. But ladies who seek to promote the
well-being OF their sex will do good if they
keep hammerlng away at the mean pay
which women workers receive.
For the rest. if woman is an annex, she
is a very delightful annex.
Miss Gardener does the bearded sex an
injustice when she says that men look up-
on women as a perquisite. Most mems
lives are divided into two parts, part
which is devoted to the stern duties and
labOrs of life. and part which is devoted
to enjoyment and relaxation. In the latter
all joy and radiance come from the society
of women. From them springs the ean o.
bling influence which enables men TO
see that there is something better than
cash, higher than dollars, superior to
smartness. Where woman Is not, man de-
generates into q coarse, sordid being,
whose perceptions are narrow, whose aims
are mean. and whose favorite resort is a
barro0m or club. She who has it in her
power to rescue men from such a fate can
never be regarded as an annex or pei
ouislte