The times., 1899-08-07
TEE CONGRESS OF WOMEN
The international Affair Ignored
by British Newspapers.
Only Titled Participants Given
Nofice-The Americans Mentioned
Briefly or Not at Ali-Advisnbiifty
of the Convention Doubted - At
tftude of the British Delegates.

lines, American Women Snubbed at the
International Congress" There could not
be a greater Misrepresentation, and, in
view of the unparalleled courtesy received
since we have been in London, we cannot
but regret statement which seems to
show SO little appreciation on our part
The American women have not been
"snubbed" II the English women tried
to get the lions share of the offices. that
was only fair fight, and not at all in the
nature of a "snub." My last letter related
the contest for the presidency, which they
wanted in addition to the Office OF corre-
spending secretary, freely conceded to
them. They also insisted upon having the
international headquarters here and the
chairmanship of the three standing COM
mittees. They did not carry one of these
points, for the presidency, the interna-
tional headquarters and one Craftsmanship
go to America and one to Germany. This
does not look very much as If our Ameri-
can women have been snubbed.'
The only "snub" really administered to
the Americans has been by the English
newspapers, and this has included all the
foreign delegates and speakers as well.
Their space and their praise have been
reserved for the English women. Nothing
can succeed in Great Britain unless 1t has
the nobility for patrons. The success
of the International Congress has been due
principally to the fact that it has been
so largely chaperoned by duchesses,
countesses, ''lydies'' and "honorables."
Whenever one OF these has presided over
a meeting, most of the valuable space in
the next days papers has been occupied
in reproducing the words which fell from
the noble lips, and the rest in reporting
the other speeches of the various English
women. Ali others from all countries
have been dismissed with mere mention
or omitted altogether, when the unani-
/ nous verdict was that they had by far
/ the best papers of the session.
No impartial critic can have read the
newspapers of the last two weeks without
admitting that there has been especial dis
elimination against the American speakers,
the more noticeable because their addresses
have been so particularly acceptable 10 the
audiences. When Mrs. Sewall was elected
President of the Council, the most infiu-
ential position which can be held by any
woman, most of the papers did not SO
much as mention the fact Those which
aid refer to il gave but one line in an OBJ
scure part of the days proceedings. Had
Lady Aberdeen been reelected. the fact
would have been announced in headlines.
/ The management of the congress, how
ever, is in no way responsible for this ac-
tion on the part Of the newspapers. For
! its courtesy and consideration the Ameri-
can women have only words of praise. 1t
| is a pleasure TO say that the arrange
ments throughout have been superb, every
comfort and convenience provided and the
great body managed with an order and sys-
TEN which hardly could be surpassed.
Putting aside all national feeling, we can
say that the general treatment Of the con-
gress by the press of Great Britain has
been somewhat remarkable. 1t must be
remembered that this is the height of the
London season, that the Prince and Princess
Of Wales and all of the distinguished FAM
/ lilies are in town and the social functions
are at their best; that Parliament is in
session and many important and interest
/ ing questions are being considered; that
this is the time of the races, regattas, and
other exciting events, and that never is the
| pressure upon their columns SO great as at
this very period. Yet / have upon my table
over 500 clippings regarding the Woman S
/ Congress, comprising at least one-third that
many columns A careful examination
shows that the vast majority are respectful
and favorable. In style they are Inferior
10 what we would get in American news
papers, merely dry. duh routine reports.
utterly without snap, sparkle, and inter-
esting personal features, but this is char
acteristic of the English press, which takes
itself and the world very seriously.
/ In tone these newspaper comments are
very similar to what We get on the other
/ side OF the water. There are some hne
editorials declaring for absolute equality
OF rights for women, legal, industrial, and
political, the strongest OF these belng
| found in the leading papers OF Scotland.
| The Irish Times also must be placed
/ in this list, although most Of the papers OF
| Ireland have treated the congress sneer-
4 ingly; but this may be because il has been
| so largely in the hands of the English
| nobility. The London papers refused TO
give the congress much in the way of ad-
vance notices, having not the slightest
realization of its magnitude. but when they
| woke up TO IL they were liberal with space,
and it has not been an uncommon sight
to see twenty-five or thirty reporters at
| one meeting. The space given by the
conservative Times is especially surpris-
| ing, although il said in a column editorial:
we are unable TO believe that the general
attitude OF the congress is either wise or
representative, or that it is likely to
further the real interests of womankind -
but women viii have to continue cropping
along in the dark until the '"Thunderer''
tells them what these real interests are
and how they can best be furthered.
There has been a general wall on the part
of the editors that women should band
themselves together in organizations, to
the exclusion Of men," They forget, ap-
parently, that men have been setting
women this example for good many thou
sand years. There is great deal of thai
advice which men feel conscientiously
bound 10 offer women on all occasions
There is the usual gush about the place o.
woman being at the fireside, the hand tha
rocks the cradle, etc, and yet one editor
deplores the senseless drivel of the con.
gress about childhood and the home
Some of the editors criticise the emodona
character of the subjects TO be discussed
others regret the very practical nature o
the questions under consideration, because
when woman eliminates sentiment from
her life she loses her womanly charm;
while another severely condemns Mis-!
Jennie Miller" Mrs. JenneSs Miller) fol
advocating physical culture for girls, de
elaring that "we do not want a race o
amazons." One editorial mourned tina
woman was not satisfied to remain the
female working animal
They keep harping on mere man.
man the tyrant," man the brute" but
as none OF these epithets were applied b.
any OF the women speakers, We canno
imagine why the men persist in calling
each other ugly names. Previous TO thi
congress certain papers had taken pleasure
in pieturing the horde of aggressive spin
sters who were about to descend upol
London" When they arrived these paper,
noted with surprise that most OF thes'
ladies seem TO be able to tack Mrs Il
their names" yet one OF them closes ;
long editorial by saying: THE average
Britisher will not look for a wife among
the International Council of Women.
How could he when all OF them are mar
ried2 These are mere little pleasantriel
OF the press.