The morning call., 1894-05-06
THE WOMEN'S CONGRESS.

The Women's Congress which was in
session all last week may perhaps be re-
garded as furnish ing foretaste Of what
we might expect if women secured abso-
lutte political equality with men. The
ladies would undoubtedly hold political
meetings of their own, and would listen to
addresses by members of their own sex.
At such meetings the proceedings would
be like those which have attracted such
large crowds to Golden Gate Hall.
1t is thus pleasant to be able to say that
the congress compared favorably with
the average meetings of male politicians
1t was an orderly. intelligent body. des-
perately in earnest. and bent on doing
something, even though the members did
not quite agree as to what it should be.
The standard of eloqueDce was not quite
as high as that which prevails at many
meetings Of male politicians; the ladies
have lacked apprenticeship in oratory
They sometimes exhibit tendency to
triviality as to which men have no bust.
ness to complain for it has always been
one of their articles of faith that women
should devote their minds 20 trivial things.
To a keen observer it seems that the
women who had the best and the newest
things to say were not always the women
who got chance to speak; the floor was
perhaps too often monopoliZed by ladies
whose views have been no secret for
many year. But among the takers and
readers were some to whom any man could
listen with profit.
One of the speakers argued that as the
public safety requires the maintenance of
free schools due regard for civilization
requires the establishment of free board
lighthouses and free clotbiDg-stores. Did
not the lecturer let her love for humanity
beguiIe her into confusion of thought !?
Some one would have TO pay for the free
boarding houses and free clothing-stores,
and in the end would not that some one
turn out to be the very same class which
enjoyed the free vctuals and the free coats
What would be gained by taking the duty
of self-suppor, from the individual as a
unit and comforting it upon the individual
as a member of an aggregate? The
speaker denied the adage that those who
will not work should not eat. and declared
that no one should be expected to work
till he had eaten but she did not explain
who was to furnish the meal.
1t is a hopeful sign OF the times that
ladies should crowd large halls to discuss
such grave themes as these. They may
drift off into wrong roads at first but they
will find their way back into the path of
truth. What women want to fit themselves
for the higher plane t. which they seem
likely to climb is first, information, cor
rect, sound information, and secondly an
Improvement of their reasoning faculty.
1t is rare to find a lady who can apply the
principles of logic to current questions.
They Jump at conclusions from an imper-
feet grasp Of premises; their arguments
are too often a string of disconnected as
sertions instead of being a chain of links,
each camped into the other. These de-
fects. which are the fruit of generations of
imperfect education, will disappear as
women give play to their intellectual
wings; meetings like this Women's Con-
gress are just the methods by which they
will be connected.