The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-05-07
4 MornI objection.

| The plan of having several hundred Gu
ban schoolteachers come to this country to
attend the Harvard Summer School at the
| expense of the university is a wise and
| good one. but it appears that complications
have arisen. The Cuban papers are much
! exercised over the moral aspects OF the
| situation. They deprecate the unrestrict-
| ed social intercourse of men and women
! on this expedition, and enquire what the
young lady teachers are going to do for
! chaperons. Does the Government under
| take to pay the expenses of the duennas
necessary for all these scores Of Cuban
maidens?
| This matter probably did not suggest it
self to the originators of the scheme but 1t
| is safe to say that the Government does not
contemplate paying the expenses OF any
chaperons. The Cuban public will have to
make up it's mind to let the young women
! come by themselves, or bring their mothers,
aunts, or other matror.y relatives at their
/ own expense. Except to a limited extent
in some localities the chaperon is not an
American institution. and perhaps this is
as good time as any other to impress
that fact upon the colonial population.
However, by a little investigation the Gu
ban newspapers which are wrought up over
the matter at present may easily ascer-
tain that young ladies' from Havana. San
tiago. or the most retired country village
in the island can walk through the streets
of Boston and Cambridge without the
slightest fear of being annoyed by the
American man. In that part of the coun-
try the young woman who teaches school.
and goes about by herself whenever bust
ness demands it. is too common a sight to
arouse either curiosity or comment
1t would be a valuable experience to
some of these West Indian damsels to visit
Wellesley College, if they could go there
before the summer holidays begin. They
would find there several hundreds of hap
Ply, intelligent, wide-awake girls, who not
only take long walks in the surrounding
country unattended by escort or chap
eron, but go to Boston to do their shop
ping, and travel to and from their homes,
entirely self-protected, though some of
them live On the ether Size OF tie continent
Such state of things might be a reyela-
tion to a resident of France, Spain, or
Italy but it is feature of American life
which. let us hope, will never cease to
exist. If it ever happens a self-respecting
girl cannot go about in America without
annoyance from unpleasant fellow travel
ers, the >ehaperon will have to become an
institution, but it is to be devoutly hoped
that that time will never come.
Women who went to study art in Paris
thirty years ago say that the American
girl has done much to change the atmos-
phere of the Latin Quarter. They say
that years ago it was impossible for any
modest woman to venture into the streets
of Paris alone without being annoyed al
most beyond endurance by the persecu-
tions of well-dressed rowdies and the
comments of others who were not we'll
dressed. 1t was simply beyond the COM
prehension of the Gallo mind that any
young girl should live a self-respecting.
though unconventional, life such as these
young art students lived 1t home They
have discovered nowadays that this is
possible. The sooner the discovery is
made by other European nations the bet !
ter it will be. If the Cuban public needs
educating on this point let the lessons be-
gin at once.