The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-04-15
THE NEW WOMAN.
VIII Men LET" Her Ride In Bicycle
Century Runs?

VIII Men LET" Her Ride In Bicycle
Century Runs?
curious matter has come I'M, The
Century Bicycle club, an association Of
good looking and we'll uniformed wheel.
men of New York city, have passed
resolutions asking the federated clubs
OF that vicinity to enact rule that
women be not allowed to take part
In club trips Of 100 miles in a day. The
reasons given are equally curious. One
is tender solicitude for the health Of
women. Another is that woman is
not an inspiring sight at the end Of
century run" Men who seek to deprive
women Of their Just rights are never
honest, but always sneaking and COW
ardly. So far as the health of women
bicycle century riders is concerned, it is
shown by figures that of the few ladies
who attempt the Century club runs
larger proportion finish the ride than of
the men who attempt it. IA woman is
not an inspiring sight at the end of a
days run" Great heavensi Is it any
Of the Century clubs business what
kind of sight woman is at the end
Of run or at any other time? Here
again the cold fact is that at the end of
a days run woman who has done her
century is just as good looking as q
member Of the Century club who has
accomplished the feat She could not
be as tough looking if she tried. Let
the members of the New York Century
club contemplate their own sweet APP
pearance in the looking glass after a
100 mile ride and then keep their
mouths shut. This action is particular
ly mean Of the New York Centuries
from the fact that many of the federated
clubs are mixed associations, having
both men and women members, and the
women have as much right as the Gen.
fury men themselves to go anywhere
their club goes. Now let us come to the
real reason for the Century clubs reso-
luton. They know, none better, the
hoggish ways Of Century club riders in
taking advantage of those around them
so as to get near the pacemaker and up
head. They fear that some remaining
sense of courtesy learned from their
own fathers would prevent them taking
the hoggish advantage in critical mo-
ment and possibly lose them the coveted
place close to the pacemaker. In brief.
they fear the presence OF women IN
run would on general principles and in
various ways have q restraining infiu-
ence on the unwhipped brute in them.
They do not want the unwhipped brute
held in check. They want him to have
full play. Therefore they say, mo
skirts along"
The spirit that actuates the Century
Wheelmen Of New York in their effort
to keep women from going along on
club runs is only the outcropping Of the
old intolerance and bigotry that tried to
keep us from studying medicine or law
or becoming ministers or entering bust
ness or having the ballot. tits the same
spirit that kept the southern negro in
slavery, the white serf OF Europe in
thrall. Inch by inch we must meet 1t
and overcome il, as we will do and are
doing. But this is to be said to those
who would drive women out OF coop
erative colleges, out Of professional 30
cieties and athletic associations: Let
them look we'll what they are about. 1t
NAV be that woman will take them at
their word, accept the solitary role to
which they would condemn her, form
associations of her own sex alone and In
them put forth all the powers to which
so many men are trying to deny devel-
opment through channels already form.
ed. We tell these men that when wom-
ems intellectual and physical powers
fully trained and developed, are put to
the test, it will not be our sex who will
suffer. This we know beyond doubling.
So sure as God reigns, woman's day Is
coming.
Miss Elizabeth G. Jordan, one OF the
New York Worlds editorial staff, has
written q little book called "Tales OF
the City Room" It is series OF
sketches of events that happened or
might have happened within the expe.
rience of q woman reporter ON great
newspaper. Ruth Herrick is the name
of the heroine, the young newspaper
woman. and she is all that a newspaper
woman ought to be, but many are not.
Il IL a charming book and one is glad
the moral to it all is this: "The woman
reporter carries her fate in her own
hands. She is accepted by her masou-
line ooworkers ON whatever plane she
decides to OCCUPY.
ELIZA ARcHARD CONNER.