La Junta tribune., 1898-12-24
WOMAN AND TACT.
THE CHIEF PUBLIC VIRTUE IS
KINDNESS.
Nay Re President Tsssvsr-Is She Hs,
These Qualities In Raaeisae Degree
and IL carefai Nos to Mako Psrson.i
Enemiea.

One OF the women delegates at the
state convention OF women's clubs.
which met in New York last week.
talked about the need of tact In any
woman who was permanently to hold
an ofice in the federation. says the
New York CoTmercial Advertiser.
Mrs. Helmuth." she said, is very re-
markable in that respect, and she will
be reelected Indefinitely to the presi-
dency. or course she Is a good person
for the ONCE in all respects. but the
great thing that keeps her there is her
tact She never steps on anyDody's
corns and has no private enemies. and
woman never has public enemies
never has opposition merely on ac-
count Of her principles or methods of
doing her work. II In general society
she knows how to meet each particular
woman and shows her that she thinkl
II worth while to be tactful. her p0sf
tion as oficehoider is assured. But r.
she frequently makes social breaks
says the wrong word at the wrong
time. smiles when she should be seri-
GUS. or vice versa, there will be plots
and counterplots against her as an Of
iceholder. Two or three women will
get together and talk about how tact
less she Is, and this will extend until
it is the opinion OF enough women to
dislodge the disagreeable person. Each
woman trembles at the thought that
her feelings may be injured at any
moment by a thick-skinned and tact
less person, SO they want to put these
persons In obscurity. OF course youA
may laugh. being man, at the im
portance which women attach to mere
tact as requisite to officeholding. It
may be rather absurd. to be sure. in
some instances. but 1t Is not 80 bad
as what men do with their dreadful
politics. The men don't care whether
their oficeholders have tact or not:
they don't much care about their man
ners. What they do insist upon is that
they shall get something substantial.
The mayor. the president, the COVER
nor may treat Cervera. or even the
men who have elected him. with sar-
casm and ill-bred witticism. or even
ignore their advice and opinions. and
yet they will vote for him IL he will
give them what they want in the way
Of the substantial. We women are not
so mercenary. The gifts We demand
from our officeholders are of a more
ethereal and delicate kind. We want
tact merely in a persons treatment of
us, and the woman who can give us
that In an eminent degree can com
mand any office at our disposal. Ana
this demand on our part is not so
vyo,
for to have eminent tact implies the
possession of many remarkable quail
tiles 1t indicates kindness to begih
with, for II Is impossible to be tactful
without the desire to please Many
woman who knows what to do in or
der to make other women feel COM
Portable won't do II. They don't de-
sire to be considerate; they are not
kind. So when a woman is constantly
tactful she Is constantly kind. OF
course, there are many women who are
kind without being tactful, and then
1t is the fault Of their intelligence.
They want to be considerate but don't
know how. So that intelligence is an
other quality implied in tact. And why
shouldn't woman who Is intelligent
and kind occupy an once? And tact
implies still another quality which is
of great use to an ofiiceholder. and that
is moderation. A woman OF tact can't
be too kind to anybody for fear OF neg
lecting somebody else. She must dis
tribute her affections and her fayors.
She must be broadly and coolly rather
than warmly kind. And in the same
way she must also distribute her IN
telligence. She must understand all
the divergent whims. crotchets and
ideas Of many different women and un-
derstand them all sympathetically. She
must have no antipathies. She must
be gentle, cool. percipient and kind
moderate, in a word. SO we come back
to the great Greek virtue, measure and
moderation. It is this virtue which
fits q woman to be an ofiiceholder."
shsli We Have Hired BridssmaSds7