St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-07-29
woMEN,s pEVELopMENr.

PiOiSClSu ou tilS pluiOulu utllel tndI lie
can fool all the people all the time.
WOMEN'S DEVELOPMENT.
Some mawkiSh sentimentalisis of both
sexes are constantly bemoaning the
passage of ''tlie age of chivalry"-an
age when, they fondIy believe. woman
kind occupied the highest pinnacle in
the temple of humanity, and was hon
ored and worshiped for her manifold
graceS aud virtues. Do these mOurners
at the Shrine of the past ever stop to
| think of woman's condition then and
now? And if they do. is the comparison
so very odi0uS 10 the present as they
would have us believe?
''In days OF old, when knights were
bold" women of a certain station GER
tainly occupied an enviable position.
Ladies OF rank had privileges to which
their sisters of today are strangers
They might command obeisanca, and at
their command their male admirers did
not hesitate to buckle on their armor
and engage In mortal combat, the only
reward of the victor-which was consld-
cred ample. however-beng smile of
approval or the privilege OF kissing the
fair ones hand. But what of the great
body OF women-the wives and daugh-
tiers of the age? Romance does not
speak of them, for their lot was far
from romantic. They were but the
slaves of man, "a little dearer than his
dog. somewhat loS-er than his horse"
The drudgery OF The household and O;
"a pArfn nod lAu UhpD hox
were reared in ignorance. 1t was not
their sphere to read, OF write, or tain
/ but their duty to obey their lords and
EmaSterS-to regard their every wis rs
I a command, and to debaSe themselves
! in the dust if it suited the within OF ii g
superior sex.
Two or three centuries ago the bir h
of female child was regarded as a sore
saaffiicti0n to a family. Fortunately for
therace, it had been educated TO look
+ upon infanticide as murder, except in
| India, China and few other beings ted
| lands, else the race would now be well
| nigh extinct on account Of the general
/ slaughter of female babes. Fortunately,
| it is now rare sight to see woman
| and a cow or dog yoked together to a
| ploW or dragging a load of garden
| products to the market town. Happily.
| we seldom now see women bearing
| heavy burdens on their backs, gather
| Ing the firewoOd for the family, Lille
| the lords OF creation look StOlidly Oil
| they smoke their pipes. But OCCASION
| ally we witness such sights, which
| serve to remind us that there are IL
! r. .,f Al IL
chivalry."
1nveigh against present-day lack of
| politeness as we may, it cannot be de-
| MED that in no age of the world have
women been so universally honored and
| respected as now; and never before
have they enjoyed so many privileges
or been so nearly on an equality with
man. They are the supreme mistresseS
in society. They set the fashion no.
only for their own, but for the opposite
sex. and their edcts are as immutable
and binding as the laws of the Medes
and PersianS. They open and close the
| doors Of the drawing room upon whom
they choose, and there is none to Ques-
ton their authority. Id literature they
have recognized standing equal 10
that of men i'll many departments, ST.
perlOr in some. In art and the scienc5 s
they have place. and in politics and
| government their rights are fast being
recognized.
But, even If the days of chivalry
are over. women have no cause
for regrets. There is something
better than the devotion of some
/ knight errant: something uobler to
strive for than the adulation of weak
Drained and strong-muscled cavaliers.
In the domain of philanthropy there is
much to engage the attention and effort
| of women who find the home circle too
/ contr acted There is the cause of tenn.
4 perance. which the women of the nation
1 are so noblv battling tor. There is the
welfare of the working classes, which is
being greatly promoted by the Woman's
4. alliance. There is the cause of morality,
1 that has been espouSed with such be.
1Vnefcent results by the Society of Chris
/ tian Endeavor, and there are many other
Iiavenues in which earnest women can
3E make their influence felt for good. Such
seffOrts are appreciated, too, in this age.
,B The esteem and reverence in which
Iiythpse women are held by those whom
1gthey have saved from sin and ruin is
I certainly as dear prize as the worship
E.ofa daring knight who may have braved
death to win smile.
f. Women enjoy respect today-a re-
b'spect that Is far greater honor than all
the worship that might be lavished upon
them. Their sphere is wider than ever
before They can work if they choose,
or engage in any of the learned profess
/ sions. The law. the pulpit and the uni
versity find o place for them, while the
i broad field of philanthropy is open to
them. To return to the days OF chivalry
would be long step In the direction of
the barbarism that enslaved women and
made them mere ts-instruments
through which men might pander to
their OVID pleasures ant passions.
WHILE Senators Morgan aud Pugh
are insisting that imports of iron ore
aud coal be taxed because "pauper
labor" abroad can produce these arti-
Giles so much more cheaply than our
dignified American labor can that. were
imports free, we c0ult not compete, and
so-torth. Southern trade journals are
printing reports shaving that Alabama
mines can produce ply iron at $3.50 q Ion