Evening star., 1896-01-27
What Women Say Of the Woman's
Bible.
SHUTTING OFF THEDISCUSSION
Views Of Leading shhagists on the
Subject Of the Book.
ENDANGERING TIE CAUSE

lhefe was stormy session of the ex-
ecutive committee of the National Ameri-
can Woman's Suffrage Association Satur-
DAY, and wounds made that will not be
easily healed. The "dreadfur' Woman's
Bible, so called, is the disturbing element
The book is really not so very bad" said
Miss Margherita Hamm: "its name is the
worst thing about it. The book is really
quite clever"
MISS Anthony, who deprecates anything
that looks like a row that may injure the
advancement of the cause of suffrage is
determined that the offending clause in
the corresponding secretary's report shall
ole the death, on the table or under it, 1t
makes no difference to her, SO that the re-
port Is freed Of it, and the convention
doesn't get chance to discuss it.
The younger members, and the organ
izers who have been In the field and have
had to face the charge of 'heresy' that is
brought against the association in the pub
ication of a "Bibls' for women only, see
the matter in a different light. Miss An
thony thinks that the charge that we are
at the head of the publication of this book
VIII not hurt u.s., said one of the youngest
women, but know that it does. I know
OF places where all arrangements were
made for organizing the work, and we were
informed after the Bible came out that we
were not wanted In the community. This
Is particularly true of the south, where
ofthodoxy Is SO prevalent. Women, as
general thing, cling to the faith of their
mothers. and will not permit their religion
~ 70 ne maze Hght OF, no matter how lax
they may be personally. The thought that
We nave gone to work and carved g. Bible
TO suit ourselves out of the remains Of the
old one Is most repugnant. 1t matters not
now much you tell them that this is not
true, they do not believe it. A public that
does not want to be convinced will not be
convinced by individuals. 1t takes whole
corporations to produce evidence, and then
II must be documentary. l want the docu
mentary evidence, in the shape of a dec
laration from this convention, to carry
around with me, to show as convincing
proof that We are not responsible for
very lnoHensive book, with very obnoX-
ious title"
The Title Deprecated.
Even the women most prominently con-
nected with the work of getting out the
book, deprecate the title, and wish that it
might have been different. However, they
had nothing to do with the naming of the
book, as that was all in the hands of Mrs.
Stanton. In view Of the widespread dis
satisfaction expressed by the delegates
with the title of the book, and with the
charge that the organization is responsible
for its publication, a number of interviews
were obtained by a Star reporter from
those who have been in suffrage harness
during the last year. and could speak "by
the book
Mrs. Clara Colby, editor of the Woman's
Tribune, who. has been most earnestly en-
gagged upon this Bible" preparing many
of the commentaries. and who has printed
each chapter of the Bible as fast it was
ready in the paper which she edits, said:
THE title 'Womans Bible was selected by
Mrs Stanton as being short and catchy
The real purport Of the book, to publish
m n N fa rice hyrr
our Bible as refer to women, could not be
expressed in a title, and this was a matter
to be decided by the. publisher who would
have the expense to meet.
PERSONALLY, / do not believe in a Bible
or or for or by women, any more than 1 do
a government of or for and by men: The
interests of the sexes are identical and in
separable, and the rights of both are equal
In the home the church and the state, just
in proportion as these institutions reflect
the Divine purpose. L believe that
Bible, properly translated and interpreted,
While 1t records the history Of woman s
degradation under primitive semi rbar-
Gus conditions, stands wholly on the side of
the fullest liberty for women. / reverence
the Bibles of all faiths, as giving the story
of Gods search after man, and mans
search after God. But 1 utterly repudiate
the dogma of woman's divinity and in
tended subjection wherever and by whom
SoeVer enunciated.
my contributions to Mrs. Stanton's book
were selected by her from editorials in the
Womans Tribune, where the book was first
published in weekly chapters. They were
different from Mrs Stanton's view, but,
nevertheless, welcomed by her, as it was
her thought and desire to include the ideas
Of women Of all denominations and all
thought in her book"
Other WOmen's Views.
Mrs. Ora Langhorne of Virginia, that
that Of conservative ideas about woman
and her work, thinks that the book ought
to have been called commentary. That
is all it is,'' she said. "If 1t had been prop
eriy named there would never have been
any trouble about It, 1t is interesting and
clever. Everything that Mrs. Stanton does
Is clever but the association should not be
held responsible for the action Of indvid-
uals.'
Mrs Harriet Taylor Upton thinks that
Mrs. Stanton had right to say in print or
otherwise anything she desired to, but"
she added, Il really feel as though the as
ISOLATION ought to take some action, so that
the public may know that as an association
the N. A. w. S. A. does not indorse the
book. Since organization is the key to all
our success, and since certain suffragists in
the last month Cancelled engagements made
for our organizers because the public gen.
orally believes that this book was ndorsed
by the N. A. w. S. A, believe that decis-
i've action is absolutely necessary to our
welfare. All the young women, as we'll as
the old, revere Mrs Stanton, and realize
that she stood for our principles at time
when they were most unpopular, and, unde
such circumstances, few of our young wo-
men can hold out against her. But we have
this to remember. Her age was the age of
agitation; ours is the age of Cancellation
and expediency.'
Mrs. Bessie Boone Cheshire, fraternal del
egate from the w. r. c. of the District,
said: II am so much of an equality woman
that I detest 'woman's' anything l more
than all deplore that the; question of adop-
ton or not should have been mentioned in
this convention at all
DR.. BlackweI1's Comments.
DR.. Blackwell, whose late wife, Lucy
Stone Blackwell, was theeardent co-laborer
of Mrs. Stanton, is as greatly interested in
the suffrage cause as ever, and always at
tends the conventions. He expressed him
self very frankly on the subject. The Wo-
mans Bible is misnomer,' he said ut
is no more a Bible than ithe Koran. It is.
SO far as published, series Of criticisms
:.ss.:. :. !.
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! ROY !