The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-02-25
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
: HER POINT OF VIEW =:
90
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There was a suffrage meeting last
week in Harrisburg, which was re-
markahle in its way. One can no longer
wonder that Rudolph Blanlienburg is
2 reformer, when it is realized that his
wife is such an ardent womans suf-
fragist. No doubt she keeps Rudie
hustling to try TO put in practice some
of her numerous theories on what is
good for the world. That view of tie
matter probably doesn't hold true in
all cases, however, for one would dis
like to blame the wives of John Wanna
maker, David Martin. William Fiinn
and the Van Valkenburgs for all the
performances for which these gentle
ment are responsible in the name Of
reform.
But this suffrare meeting was unique,
it was held in the house of rcprcsen-
tatiNes and was attended by about a
dozen women. The audience consisted
chiefly of country members of the
legislature, who had no other place
to so and who had scarcely grown So
familiar with their desks as to be tired
of sitting at them when they could
proudly look at their own names en-
graved on nickel plates before their
gaze
Mrs. Blankenburg, who, by the way,
is poor speaker and seems at a loss
about what to say next, had planned,
she said, to have there representatives
of all the classes declared by the United
States to be the peers OF women, but
it was too cold to bring the idiots and
insane from the asylums. The crimi.
nails found it inconvenicnt To leave their
! present environment for some reason
| or other few aliens were available and
really all the representatives of these
various nOn-Voting classes. but who
( could be present with the women, were
a squad of Indians from Carlisle.
|
| Then they came in-siXty Indian BOYS
| composing band with their instru-
ments. not of warfare but Of din. Now.
| if you'll believe me, they were about
the finest looking lot of youngsters to
! be imagined. They had foot ball hair.
/ and some Of them had high cheek
( bones the odd, meditative half-sullen
| look about the hroWs that gives the
| typical American Indians head a touch
! Of grandeur. Many of them We're quite
| light in color, with the rich blood show
| ing through their cheeks. They say an
! Indian has no music i'm his soul. al
! though music hath charms to soothe
! his savage breast. To he sure. their
war-crles and their gutteral gruntings,
in their native state. are not particu-
| larly enchanting, and when these boys
| interlarded their programme with a
snatch Of college song il cannot be de-
MED that an eisteddfod adjudicator
would have found 1t a trifle difficult to
'adjust many points" in their favor.
However. they could play, not like
! Bauer's band, perhaps, bur still they
could play very creditably and they
used the tuba, the oboe and other
weird-looking instruments, not always
/ beheld in n street parade.
one handsome, straight, brown-faced
little fellow told me he had been al
Carlisle but four months. At this
marveled, for he was DELIGHTFULLY."-
polite and spoke beautiful English. But
IL transpired that he had come from
Colorado, where he had been at school
! | asked him what he would do when
he had finished here. He shook his
head doubtfully. Then I said: "Shal
| you go back TO your tribe--shail you
live on the reservation" Then ii was
| that his brow grew troubled and q
shade came over the face which never
seemed TO have been boyish. always
mature and care-burdend, and he an.
swered swiftly, with a hint of anxiety
in the tone: "Oh. hope not; how car
/ tell?" Then / remembered what
had heard. that these young men, and
the Indian girls, when they are through
school, are forced to go back 10 theii
own people with the theory that thell
knowledge of civilized life will worl
reforms in the tribes and that after
struggling year or two against tn,
Inertia of that traditional existence
they relapse into the hopeless half
aavagery from which all the rcanemen