The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1896-02-19
LADY COOK
scts Forth the Existing Condition OF
Women

SlaN had hcrn reduced TO scrvltude by
tho Germans. their namo became aynnny-
nous with their state, and our Tcutonc
ancestors beaueathcd the wort to va TO
Indicate those In bondage, Thus Glhhoh
In his Decline and Fall OF tho Roman
Empire" says OF the SlaVS; From the
Euxlnc to the Adratie In the state OF
captlvvs or subjects. or allies or cncmlcp
OF the Greek cmplrc. they ovcrsprcad the
land. and the national appcllatlon OF tho
slaves has boon degraded by chance or
malice fr,m the Specification OF glory to
that OF seryltudc"
Few uf the lower animals have had the
art or the inclination to make slaves OF
others. but mans ingenuity was cxer~
clscd In this manner agcs before tho
dawn OF history. The sacrincial stones
and the contents OF sepulchral tumuli tell
their own tale as cogcntly as II writ
ten Hts presumption claimed all ami
mails Tor his use and this was speedily
followed by the suhiugatlon ot the weaker
of his species, The classic rhapSodlrs on
Freedom. by Greeks aud Romans, re-
fertcd only to n privileged class rhuSN
who were always rva,ly to pour out their
blood for their own liberty felt no i'm.
prOprlcty or rcmorsc In visiting the Vrnlai
onrpscs OF their slaves with cruel stripes
or a morr cruel death, Even our own
Magma Charta was cNtortcd by frrcmcn
Tor frcemcn, and contained no provisions
for the numerous ScrVilc From tho
time man first appeared on this earth
slavery has been the lot of the grra, bulk
OF humanity. The masses have lived and
suffered, have toilcd and served, as chat
tells and beasts OF burden. to enhance tho
~ "a NssN
All religions. with their supcrstitious In
nucncos 80 potent over the Ignorant. have
been the auxillarlcS " the cbsavcrs,
And. from Genesis to Revelations, even
our own sacred book contains no dis.
appreciation OF the practice, ON the con-
trary. Il implicitly upholds slavery, as II
does the cognatc custom OF polyEamy,
and demands unqualified obedience from
servants and wives
John Stuart MIN. writing In lN9 said
Less than forty years ago Ensllshmcu
might still hold human beings IN bondage
as salc1ble property, Within the present
century they might kidnap and carry
them on. and work them literally to
death" We have had abundance In
stances OF men OF honor and sincerity
who kidnapped and smngEled with pious
sentiments and devout aspirations, They
relied on scriptures the revealed viii
OF God"-just az the opponents of Ill
Vurcc OF the deceased wife'H sisters
bill" and OF woman's emancipation gem
orally. rely stlll, Was not Canaan cursed
by Noah for Hams transgTcssionsf ~
servant OF servants shall ne De unto his
brethren" And so the Rev John New
ton like Sir John Hawkins and ~ many
other English WORTHLESS, preached on deck
from the text. Love one another" while
the hold below was crowded TO suifoca-
tiOn with stolen negroes. by whose cap
turr and sale ne was enriched, The
consclences OF such men were clear: they
were carrying out the Will OF Providence.
like their imitators today Was not the
woman made Tor tn man. and not man
for the woman Was not her creation
"A divine afterthougnt. cnused 10y pity for
his loneliness and want OF suitable hclpf
And was not she also cursed. by a higher
than Noah. Thy desire shall be- to thy
husband, and he shall rule over thec?"
And so our bishops. good men some Of
them, and most OF them "liberally edu-
Gated" have no compunction In hinder
Ing the freedom OF women. being assured
that they are thus fulfilling the viii Of
God But II a sparrow cannot fall to
the ground without the win OF our
Heavenly Father would II not have been
equally Ills will had the bishops the
other day voted for the marriage with
deceased wife's sister. Instead Of defeat
Ing It?
IL would be a profound mistake to
imagine that the bnrbarisms which sur
vlve longest are less barbarisms than
those which die early An unnecessary
Interference with Individual liberty II
either a survival OF barbarism or re-
version to II. Every adult should be
free to eat. drink. work and think In any
manner that he desires and Is able To
curtail or modify any OF those by law or
force Is to render him more or less
slave, and to do so for the supposed benc-
III OF others or for the good OF some spe-
cial portion OF the community II the very
essence OF slavery In the struggle for
existence and supremacy. or even for u
tad, We may see many reyersons today
TO obsolete forms OF bondage: all holding
to retard progress by crippling lndividupl
enc rg!fs' and abilities. or by producing n
spirit Of subServiency. hut the oldest
and worst survival is the subOrdnation
OF women. Comparing the past with the
present, Mil says. Human society OF
old was constituted on very different
principle. All were born TO a fixed social
position, and were mostly kept In Il by
law, or interdlcted from any means by
which they could emerge from IT,
Manufacturers hayt stood In the plllory
Tor presumlng to carry on their business
by new and improved methods
At present. In the more improved coun-
tries. the disabilities OF women are the
only case, save one. In which laws and
Institutions take persons at their birth
and ordain that they shall never. In all
their lives, be allowed TO compete for cer-
tain things. The only exception Ii roy
atty" And yet there are some people
who urge that women have no wrongs
and no just cause OF complaint! Thoy
point to the majority OF women atd say:
See how satisfied they are. They are
not clamoring for a change"
Even II this be true. II proves nothing
except that slavery pnralyses Its victims
Rarely In the worlds history have the
oppressed risen unless stimulated by out
side sympathlzcrs. And II slavery "a not
good per Sc. 1t II not good for women
whatever many OF them may think or
feel
TO those who dream that nothing can
be more beautiful or more successful
commend the following passage on Eng
llsh wives by the author already quoted:
II am far from pretending that wives
are In general no better treated tnan
slaves: but no slave IL slave to the
same lengths and In so full n sense of the
word as a. wife is. Hardly any slave,
except one Immediately attached to the
Masters person, II n slave at all hours
and all minutes; In general, he has, like
a soldier. his fixed task, and when It is
done. or when he is off duty, he dsposes,
within certain limits. OF his own time,
and has family life into which the
master rarely intrudes. .. But Il
cannot be so with the wife. Above all,
4 female slave has dn Christian coun-
rie) an admitted right. and is consId-
cred under a moral obligation to refuse
% her master the least familiarity. Not |
10 the wife: however brutal tyrant |
she may unfortunately be chained to-
though she may know that he hates her. |
hopgh ~ may be his daily pleasure to |
orture. ref, .And though she may feel II |
impossible not to loathe hlm-he can
lain from her and enforce the lowest |