The age-herald., 1898-08-14
THE NEW WOMAN
 AND HER AIMS

The man who has observed the new wo- man from the club window or got his idea of her from the comic papers, has not real ly seen the new woman, nor has he any adequate notion of who or what she is. The woman whom he has been observing is the same whom his father observed from the club window before him. Her clothes and conduct differ little from the one of -an earlier date, but essentially she is the same. She is only availing herself of mod erD methods to obtain her ends, whatever her ends may be; and these ends are not in anywise different from those her prs- decessor sought to obtain when<mr fath- CTS watched her from club windows. and discnssedhsr her before we had comic f8pers to exaggerate her shortcomings and sbelittle her potential good. She knows now his foibles and weaknesses, as she knew his fathers before him. This parsonage wohm we call the new woman has imitators F-it is to her credit that she is worthy of imitation-but the imitator unmistaka- bly, leaves the counterfeit stamp that one should be able to detect her-by her self seriousness, if by nothing else The new woman Is not self-serious and she Is the exclusive product of American civilization.
 Now let us determine what the new woman is, where she may be found and what purpose she has in mind to accom- plish. To find the genuine new woman of the highest type, and, selectively in the largest numbers, one must leave the larger cities-Boston excepted-where the clever est and most influential women, from the necessity of their environments, give their talents either to society or to the demands of charity and religion; one must leave the agricultural community and the villages where the drudgery of woman's life leaves little time for anything besides the petty .neighborhood gossip-a pitiable but physi- cally helpful vent for an over-tired body and over-wrought nerves The highest type of the new woman, who is really in fuencing American civilization permanent ly, is to be found in the smaller cities. She Is neither mannish nor masculine; nor are her male friends of the long haired kind. She is of varying age, usually from P to 60 years. Her gowns and millinery are of correct date, and outwardly she is not dfStfnguishable from other women in the same station in life. But when you talk with her if you happen to be a man of good sense, you discover at once that she is thoroughly American-in the right sense-though not infrequently she has seen as much of Europe as she has of her own country. You learn, too, that she has not been abroad seeking a husband or a son-in-law; that she has not been stu dent of the guide-book only, but an ob- server of everything that appears to an intelligent traveller.
 She belongs to a club, but she often calls 1t class for her purpose Is to learn. She is little occupied with getting her political rights. She is patient, and knows that her rights will come only with a right under standing of what ones rights are. She is as anxious for her brother or son as she is for her sister her dauphter and no believes that common good will come only with common argument as to what is best for both. She recognizes mans su- perior strength in all governing respects. Evolution teaches 1t unmstakably in mans domination over woman. But she believes the world is coming nearer at intelligence and justice in final adaptation. As man slowly overcomes the instincts and prac- ticeS of the barbarian, he will come to realize that 1t is rather to his discredit that what should have shown improvement first in development has been longest de- layed.
 The new woman is laying the founda- ton for the broadest culture and, with ell the Encouragement she has encounter ed, she Is making deep impress upon civilization. She Is inspiring a higher re- gard for literature and art and a sincere love for truth and justice. She looks for ward hopefully to future generations of men who shall recognize woman as an ioquoi III oi tniues that pertaln 70 00meS- tic and social life. She does not demand 1t, she simply wishes 1t accorded her as an acknowledgement of her part in the system of human intelligence and jus tice.
 "The new woman who numbers many in the state of Alabama, has long since achieved in her clubs the discussion of millinery and dQmestics. Nor does she write no long criticisms on the problem novel or the genius of Ibsen or Browning Che has taksp Vp the live issues of the day and is handling them with such in- teiiigsnce as to win over on her side heretofore her most bitter antagonists She believes with Toletoi, that to uplift humanity you must do something for them Help them to help themselves. She knows this Is an intensely acquisitive age, bent upon the conquest and possession of things material and physical that the question Is