The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-10-15
THE CAUSE OF WOMAN.
,oyE NOTEWORTHY UTTERANCES BIZ
MEN ON WOMEH'S EDUCATION

president Eliots speech at the Inaugu-
,ation of the New President of welles-
leJ ColieEe-Tho Question of Divorce.
There have been three noteworthy utterances
=, romens education during the past few days
~ President Eliot and Prof Barrett Wendell
Il Harvard and President Faunco Of Brown
r,nyersity OF these, Prof Wendell's remarks
h,,, aura ted the most attention, because they
ar, the most reactonary.
Prof endcll points out that 81 I ty-three grad
nate courses at Harvard are now open 70 the Rad
,pse College girls, and he lanents that Harvard
IA driung toward ooeducation- But the uni
,,rsitios Of the whole civilized world drifting
IN the same direction The current Of modern
IDEAS sets that way. Lccky In Democracy
AID liberty mentions that eight Of the ten uni
,.,si,ies In Great Britain now admit women.
g. does the University OF Ireland, and even the
universities uf conservative Germany and despotic
Russia are making new concessions TO women
,r,ry year N the 372 colleges, universities
and biological schools in the United States,
9.s ARE now coeducational Prof. Wendell says
pIAnuvey Men arc Justly on the defensive.
Shall we do our best TO preserve spot where
man II they choose. may be educated by them
,elyes Jus, women may at Bryn Mawr. or
Wellesley, or Smith, or Nassar2" But there are
still in this country los separate colleges for men.
nd
rood many more institutions must yet open their
doors 70 women before the balance is even.
Prof Wendell says that Radcliffe has damaged
u2y,,rd In several ways first. because Hayward
,rstrnctors have TO exc out their scanty salaries
.p,t,ic,ary during their early years Of service"
bv some outside work; and. instead Of doing this
nv making and publishing original researches,
,hsv are tempted to do IL by teaching at Radcliffe.
B,t the amount of money that young instructor
ran Earn by original research is not likely to be
l,rvr Report says II has often been eked out
hr tutoring May not teaching class Of bright
girls At Radcliffe give an instructor mental
stmulus not to be found in tutoring a few I'M
licked cubs Of his own "a stimulus valuable
,rnut,s very d ference Whatever present danger
NAV lurk In Radcliffe a pecunary temptation
10 Harvard instructors II is clear that coeduca-
ton will put an end to IT, Just as far and as fast
As cooturation between Harvard and Radcliffe
comes to prevail For instance, some years ago,
when Radcliffe WAS still called The Annex" II
Is said that tho class In Sanscrit at Harvard con-
sisted Of young man and al the Annex OF
on. young woman. The Sanscrit professor had 70
rive every lecture twice over OF course, at double
sJpense because Harvard etiquette did not admit
o, those two students listening TO lecture to-
ge,her Under coeducation. the professor would
have given each lecture only once, would not
have received double pay and would not have
ben deprived Of the incentive 10 exc out his salary
BY original researches.
Prof Wendell claims that Radcliffe has also
injured Harvard. because every professor. in order
70 d, his hes, work needs TO meet with mental
ressaare" and classes Of girls and women do not
finnish it, No doubt It Is true at present that
women In general ar" more ready than men to
accept without criticism what s told them by
thoSe In authority Itisceran that many women
sclli-Sce unqurstoninEly in arguments against
suffrage which mon would not accept in their own
tasn without mental resistance and probably
physical resistance as we'll This popularity
NJ women may b. expected to grow less as women
acquire education and independence, though II
Islixcy that young women q class will always
b" nor. dor- pupils thar young men. But here,
again co"lucation would prevent the Slowly en-
f''binr inta,unton" which Prof Wendell thinks
is apt to result from teaching "a class composed
wholly or chiefly" oi girls fthe present separate
classes Of r. irfr wore simply added to the pres
en- rI1s$" of Harvard. the professor would have
aS many young men to kick against his instruc-
tons as he has now. and the addition Of n few
qii", girl students could not seriously damage
hN BESIDES this plea is ovrrstraned
~ don't understand what Prot Barrett Wendell
m"nns ny his argument about mental resistance"
h'iHrrArd man said to me the other dny. Most OF
H." classes at Harvard so large that IL il i'm
F,Sih" Tor the students 10 ask questions or offer
CrCtsms and objections There would not he
time The men simply listen to the lecture and
g. away. On the rare occasions when ANYTHING
occur" lp hrchh thlS quiet routine in Prof Wendel'S
CANNh"m. he gets very mad He is a positive
Rud lrlSClh" man. and he is personally 81 rnnpIv
,iPS"d to any approach toward CosIlucation.
HrhlSa r1Shi Ia ms npinion; but his protest comes
rather late 1t reminds me- Of a cassnae Of mine,
SItSAnN foil tho Igs. liz I,l 49,
hardy ever got In n lecture on time One morn
in;, Tor wonder ne came early. As he and I
wrrrrr"SsnE he yard we saw some young women
mANnE their way toward one Of the lectures that
are open I" Radcliffe students What business
nAye ihos" girls here" he asked explained
WITH mingled surprise and disgust he cacu-
lated This thing il getting too d d coeduca-
nonaI' Women had been admitted to those
courses for years before he entered the uniycr
Sly, in fact hut he had never found il out Prof
Wendell seems to have just awakened to the fact
ihat the thin end Of the cocducational wedge has
oeen inserted az Harvard and he does not like it,"
Prof Wendell SAYS the object of Harvard Is to
be "a school Of manly character" but it remains
70 be proved that the manifest character is pro-
mnrl 9y sesteSatng young men almost abSo-
!4;r toar years Of S'idy Proi wendell O says?
There has never before been deviation from the
pnhc!pr mat the Influences amid which educa ton
ehgul b" obtained here must remain purely vire"
ana he lHmrnis the menace to the one unbroken
tradition Of Harvard" the exclusion Of women
hu harvard has no more cause to be proud OF this
unoFoNGn tradition than oxford had a few years
excluded H!Ascn tcrs and Jews, as well as women
4 WaNuon II illlberatv is more honorel in the
Wthch than IN the observance Oxford has wined
oul Us r"Pr.hch with regard to women, and Ifar-
,I,H IS gtl iuhlly dong the same. II will prob
Guy Ne luig time before full cOecuca ion pre-
nnauS Mere II may be doubted whether either
talclne ~ Harvard wishes il at present but
,A~ VINO believe in cnrduCatiun are glad to note
y" approach toward it. Prof Wendell says that
harvard Is to adopt coeducatiun it should do
!" WIN Us eyes open, and not drift into it. I{ut
Wnh happens that the kingdom of heaven
SS,HiriN not with observation" Many Of the most
cent departures from old tradition have
",Re hy lhls very process Of unconscious drifting
soma Of Prof Wcndell's structures are rathCl
amlslng he says. "A man who liics to teach
,st,A"hiein real danger Of infatuntion." He seem.
uuA mat women ought to be educated, but tn Al
IL ~ one can safely teach them who does not dis
w. " ." II Yet can any professor do his bcS
- W stat" NJ lmpntcnce and dislike Of his
tsS riot Wendell frankly express - his regre
No. hH'clli" was ever founded. After this il i.
GSSMmt mat he may meet with enough amour
Wrh'a resistance from the Radcliffe girls
in n W' legislative hearing on woman sutTrag,
a.. ~ MA"shchuSrtts this year Mrs Barrett Wendell
,RF .M 10Y tho "antiS" She expressed the mos
th na uishrh"i In democracy, declaring not only
~" sulraS" iOr men was too widely extended II
to,d L"lhTy, but that II far too widely OK
bbHIer even in England where ii is still limited
In H. property qualification The trend Of tn
"Hfh Is dlStin toward canal SiInreue nd Ell