The Washington times., 1895-05-19
New Woman'S Voice
Defends Her Sex
She Demands One Standard of
Virtue for Husband and wife.
She Uses Recent Tragedies to
to Illustrate Her Idea.


abundant subject of comment and some de
gree Of condemnation.
This condemnation though has been
most decidedly of the half-hearted kind
that is calculated more than anything else
30 do harm in the future. 1t seems time
that woman should come forward aud
have her say on the subject.
The world over, 1T is an accepted theory
among the generality of men that when such
fearful deeds are committed, the topic is
one that must be handled with gloves
that it is one upon which a woman must
| not open her mouth.
| That it is, in fact, one OF which no pure
and rightmiuded woman should even have
| cogniZance.
That sort Of hypoericy may have done for
a past generation-it will not do for the
women Of the land today. Call her the
| the New Woman If that phrase suits the
| public taste better than any more obsolete
one. What is the New Woman after
all?
Has there arisen any male wlseacre who
| can truthfully define her as being differ
| ing essentially from that progressive crea-
! ture OF long ago-that creature who walked
| In the Garden OF Eden with Adam and
| finding the Tree of Life palatable to her
| taste, ventured to take the first Dibbe
! at forbidden fruit?
IN ADAMS FOOTSTEPS.
VIII any sensible, thinking, truthful
man of the present day arise to say that
the world has not since the very begin
ming, when man was created in tie image
of his Maker, trodden in the footsteps of
|
when discovered in the enjoyment of for
hidden fruit, that old cry echoed out
through the ages from Eden, The woman
tempted me and | did eat"
In all the torrent of talk and multi
plicity of editorials that have been writ
ten on the subject there has not been, SO
far, any direct stating of the case from
the woman's standpoint.
In each of the three tragedies the cause
OF the murders has been identical Lest
there should be any misunderstanding let
/ it be stated squarely In each case the
husband has shot and killed the man who,
according to his statement, has betrayed
the honor of his home. Is il the odd or
the ne W woman who requires and d,riuinds
to-day an equal standard OF virtue in
the home? Whichever it is il Is the
universal woman.
From every quarter of the globe woman
has arisen TO condemn that dual 81 taIldard
J
cause of all such foul murders as the
two of recent date that have reyolted
Kentucky, as Well as the one in Louisiana.
The woman of to-day, tue New Woman, IL
you will, the Universal Woman, whether
you viii or not, is woman of virtue.
She does not uphold those of her sisters
who have followed the dual standard OF
manhood. She simply demands that an
equal law shall be measured out TO the
sexes. IN time it W Ill be So Why not to-day?
WRONG IN THE HUSBAND.
When such circumstances as those in
Kentucky and Louisiana take place, nine
cases out of ten there is something radically
wrong in the husband himself, who, when
discovery is the oIder OF the day, throws
about him the cloak ofhypocrisy and shoots
down like so many dogs, his wife and her
lover.
It'is the Universal Woman who cries out
in all such cases for ali investigation. In
each OF the cases now before tire public let
there be an investigation. IL, upons such IN
vestigation, il is found that never has the
''wrongcd husband" departed in smallest
degree from the path or virtue, that never
by deed of his has that much Wanted home
honor" been snircned and trailed Though
the dirt, then let the jury acquit him.
If such clean bill of health can not be
found, then in the name or the Universal
Woman of all lands and natioHalitics, let
those "wrongcd husbands swing from the
highest gallows in the land
Let the land be rid of such manly caIrion.
Let us wipe the slate clean of all such pol
troons and assassins and begin over again
by teaching the present generation Of boys
that they must conform with he girls to
that unit OF virtue that alone Will eIt ble
them to prate of ''wronged husbands" and
''home honor.
1t is no longer a question of settling such
deeds by the law of the South or the law of
the North. It is a question or justice wholly
irrespective OF locality. How in the name of
that justicecan any jury in the land reconcile
the fact that man was defending his
home honor, when he follows out the
brute instinct of murder?
ERRED AS HE HAS ERRED.
Wherein does he defend that honor? Does
he consider it d defense to take upon himself
the prerogatives of the Almighty in an
nihilating at will human life and by so
doing spreading broadcast through the
! land knowledge OF two who have erred-in
nine cases out of ten in the identical man
uer he himself has erred.
Would it not be more in accordance with
defending the home honor" if lie sought
redress in the proper manner, through the
divorce court and so kept from his children
! and those innocent children of the other
man in the case the overwhelming burden
| of shame that must follow them through
| life?
| Wherein is ''the honor of the home' de-
! Tended in such cases. The brute instinct of
blood is satisfied-that is literally the whole
! truth of the matter.
| To the woman of Yesterday, to the wo-
man of To-day, to the Universal Woman Of
! all time and nationality. the good, honest
| upright, high-thinking woman who dares
! to speak out the things that are in her
! heart, the law and order for that cry of
the pusillanimous, coward man who shoots
| in defense of the honor of the home,' ~ she
| gives the law of Christianity
The law of Christ himself, who, when
before Him was brought the woman taken
! in the act, rebuked her Pharasaical self
! constituted judges by that avalanche of
! uuanswerable law: He that is without
sin adnong you, let him first cast the stone"
KATE E. THOMAS.
How 1t Works.