Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1897-09-02
Woman in Fraternal Societies.

Woman I'm Fraternat
A fraternity in the past has been sup
posed to be a synonym for Brotherly,
and has been applied to men, or one
half of humanity. BY some it could
not be made to embrace the whole
human family in the same manner as Is
now annlied to the term mankind. A
brotherhood or Sisterhood. 1T has
been necessary in the past to coin
words i'm order to reach and define new
ideas or developments. From the fact
that we could not stretch the deilnl-
ton formerly given in order to express
the case. the term "fraternity" has
fortunately been one OF those words
that would admit of the stretching pro-
cess. or. i'm other words, its meaning Is
almost boundless. The wheels OF civil
ization have ground slowly but surely,
and will continue to grind as long as
time lasts, and we have learned a wise
lesson when we make up our minds to
let them 90 on grinding and not try to
turn them backward.
Women have not been sought until
recently Us life members OF fraternal
orders, both for the reason that she
was not considered as good risk as a
man, and the further fact that she was
enormously considered disturbing
element in the conduct and manage
ment of an orders affairs, and when
admitted at all, has been so, only as an
auxiliary to the main body. But times
have changed and recent statistics show
that American women are much freer
from many of the common forms of dis
ease than the men. That she takes bet
ter care of herself, is less dissipated, and
is better risk than man, and it is uni
versally conceded, that no other one
element will lend greater interest, at
traction or elevate the tone of an order,
than will the admission of women to
the order and lodge room on an equality
with men. She also has demonstrated
her ability to manage, and the main
barrier now i'm the pathway of woman's
advancement in the fraternal order is
women.
Some women have somehow enter
tanned the thought that if she cham
pioned an advanced idea she would be-
come feminine freak, but the feminine
freaks of the future will be the women
that are left behind, and have not kept
pace with advancing civilization, and
there are no good reasons today why
woman should not have a business. &C.
clesiastical and political education as
we'll as an ethical knowledge of bust
ness; and even knowledge of the
financial or civic problems of the day
will make no woman less feminine.
Woman today is prime factor in
the educational work of the home, and
the influence of the mother far exceeds
that of the father. And if the home is
the educational force that develops fu-
ture citizenship and is really the corner
stone of this great commonwealth any
effort or means that tends to place the
home on higher plane, or advance the
interest of its members, will be felt as
an influence for the advancement of the
interest of the great commonwealth.
Fraternal societies are educational
forces, and are doing for woman what
really i'm the past has never been done,
and her present environment and adj
| =, 4, 1,r
gained efforts among woman, especially
to woman's work i'm fraternal societies,
where instead of women living for
women, as they have done in the past,
they are now living with men and
women, meeting side 10y side with them,
associating with all classes in social
life, absorbing and giving out new
ideas and thoughts as a sort of recipro-
city act where woman gives and re-
ceives mutual help and support. And
when we consider women's privilege as
members of fraternal societies, we can
not overestimate this, nor measure the
effect of this education on her life and
future, when she understands that
great fraternal principle of the bro
therhood of man and the fatherhood of
God around which the infinite has cen
tered humanity which can be obtained
through higher spiritual life, which
is so well exemplifed in its highest
sense i'm a good fraternal order.-Ex.
"They talk about woman's sphere
As though II had limit;
There's not a place in earth or heaven