The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-12-12
BILL ARP ON |
The OLD SOUTH

notifies that our fathers had, ou' -
H. So az tI.e civilized world, Wa nave
advanced in education ana general ="
4elligence and in the enjoyment ~ u'c
comforts Of life.
We'll | am no pessimlst nut aln
grieved to say that in many Ja'"%> Wy
have advanced backward. We aaNs
more books and more newspapers ana
more schools but that crime is on tle M
crease is known and admitted 10y AZ VINO
studv the records of the courts. AReFe
are more idle young men than there Reed
TO be-yes, five times as many. acCotaius
TO population, and Ben Franklin Sa'a
that idleness is the parent or VICE =
can pick out a score of young nle' III
every town who are doing nothlhS~-
young men of good famiies-and they
are living on the old man or the old we-
man and seem to be content. 1hey
haven't been reared TO work and they
won't hunt for it now. Fifty years
ago we had no vagahonds: every young
man worked at something, and 1t was
considered disreputable to lie around IN
sdleness. In fact. we had q vagrsant law
that compelled the lazy, tritiing fellows
to earn a living. / reckon that law is
still in the code, but it is dead letter
Whena young man married girl it was
expected by both sides that he could and
and would support her, but nowadays
about half of them are supported by
their wives or by the old folks.
Then we got TO talking about the new
woman-the female doctors and lawyers
and editors and preachers and teachers
and hook-keepers and SaleSwomen, and
how woman was forging ahead and tax
ing the places and Occupations of8 the
men, and my friends, Mr.. Williams. of
California, surprised us by saying CHAT
there was a tribe of Indians in the
northwest who were already far in al
vance on this line; that he had kn0wn
of them ever since he moved 10 Gall
f0rnia, in 1S49. In this tribe the WOMEN
dominate the men in the family and the
field and forest. They rule them Also
lutely, make them cook and wash Of
nurse. and actually hire them out Ind
collect the pay. Their principal blsi-
ness is trapping for furs. The woHnen
do this and sell the furs and pocket 1.-THE
money, and many Of them have Il gIod
bank account in San Francisco. The
men are not known in any busii less
transactions. So it seems that our New
woman has a savage precedent Have
we got to come to thiS% VIII | liyel to
see the day when my wife will hire lne
out as nurse or a cook and pocket
the money? She knows that / can lido
both, and | never lodged it at home lon
an emergency, but | reckon she viii Ilet
me stay at home and work in the gard len
and cultivate her flowers the remainder
of my terrestrial days. She knows hat
i never hid my money from her; when
got any | kept it for her, that's Ill.,
1t is hers just as much as mine. bWj /
kept it-sorter like the old fellow Who
had thousand dollars in gold and WIDEN
the Confederate government passed a
law taxing gold - per cent he sw 6e
he wouldn't pay It, and 50 he got out lie
bag one night end put It on TIE mid L.
of the table and called up his wife q bd
four children ana divided it into Re
piles and gave them $500 each and said:
NOW the gold iS an yours and jn
swear / haven't got dollar in HE
world; but | reckon / had better ktep
it for you, and he raked it ali into Ihe
bag again and locked it up in his frultk.
There is no greater contrast betwtEn
the old south and the new south THANH .
shown in the advancement and 1he
humiliation of woman. They are nbw
on the two extremes. Before the War
there were no female doctors or lawyers
or lecturers or editors-not one-ahd
there were no book-keepers or type
writes or shop girls or clerks. The aver
age woman officiated as a wife and the
motha-, or a daughter cherished by her
parents and her brother. The wife was
the lady of the house, be it ever so hum
Bile, anu she was content with her lot.
1t was even considered beneath her
pride and dignity to teach school, and
hence there was an annual importation
of New England spinsters to teach the
children. l and my sisters went to four
of them in quick succession, for our
widowers married them about as fast as
they came, and they made good wives
and good stepmothers, and were the
most economical house keepers in the
world. They were raised that way AID
neither the dog nor the little niggers
got any more scraps than they could
eat.
But now the new woman is either
smart and aggressive, or she is pmr
and pitiful. She comes to the front with
her brains and her ambition and wresths
boldly with the men as editor, writer.
lecturer, professor in schools and ell
leges, and even as office seeker, AID
generally succeeds in what she under
takes; or else she takes an humber
place behind the counter or in the press
rooms, or perhaps in the factories, for
pittance, just enough to keep soul aid
body together, and every year grows
paler and sadder from her work. Most
or them are working to maintain some
body who is near and dear to them, but
their wages are rarely raised, for then
are women.
can almost weep for some I know
They keep their sorrows to themselves
and "let concealment like worm III
the bud feed on their damask cheeks.I
All, woman! how great is thy PERIL How
hard is thy lot! Not long ago | rd-
ceived fearful, pitiful letter from ovef
the border. 1T was from wife ami
mother who was an exile from her statb
and country, and 3iad not heard froIh
her parents in three long years; nor did
they know where she was. She did MOI
dare to let them know, for fear a letetE
might betray her and the sleuth-6oundE
would get on the track of her husband
for the reward that was offered. and
so she ventured to write to me and to
inclose letter to her father, which
must address in my own handwriting
and mail from Gainesville. 81 saw
you once,' she wrote, "when | was d
happy child and you took tea at my
fathers house, and / know that ear
trust you. ] have kept my secret from
them as long as / can bear, and Il
seems to. nae that | will die IL do moi