The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-06-07
GRIGGs AND THE NEW WOMAN.

Judge Griggs, representative in Con-
gress from the Second district, delivered
the commencement address before the
students of Shorter College at Rome the
other day Shorter as is well known. is
a college for young women. Ordinarily it
might have been expected that when the
orator of the day faced the galaxy Of
beauty assembled for the closing exer-
cises, his remarks would be Of the
NEST fervid and fowery type. and that he
would have scattered bouquets every
where. Judge Griggs, however, left the
beaten path of commencement oratory.
and gave his hearers something to think
and talk about Indeed some Of those
who heard or read the speech are dis
posed 10 criticise the orator rather point
eddy.
The kernel Of the Judges speech was
warning to the young women against the
new woman" and woman suffrage. He
paid the highest and most affectionate
tribute to womanhood: to the wives.
mothers and daughters who pursue the
womanly tenor of their ways, and to the
woman who must, by force of circum-
stances, be the breadwinner. He was
proud and happy to know that the time
had come when the doors of the schools
were open alike to the boys and the girls,
ard when the trades and professions well
coined women as well as men, But it was
with regret that he noted the advent of
the new woman" the woman who affect
ed all CT the rights and privileges of man,
even 20 the cut of his clothes. He declar-
ed himself unalterably opposed to the
growth in this country OF a race of man
uish women, which would be inevitably
accompanied by womanish men. Towards
the women who want to vote, and who
are agitating in favor of the ballot for
their sex, the Judge was severe. He lik
ened them to the tempter of The Garden
of Eden, endeayoring to persuade the wo-
man from happiness to misery. when
the visions of these mad-brained, moon
blind dreamers become accomplished
facts, which God forbid, then will the
great sun of love, the god OF woman's
kingdom, and whose effulgence now lights
her universe, refuse to shine longer for
her. Ashes of bitterness will fill her life
from blooming maidenhood to withered
age Home, where now the heart can
bloom will then be only roof and room.
This speech, according to the Washing
ton correspondence of the Baltimore Sun.
has greatly stirred up the woman suf-
fragists They think Judge Griggs is
horrid, horrid man, to- talk about their
pet hobby in such a manner, and they
are spending a great deal of their time
now in writing letters to him and telling
him 'just what they think of him." Mean
time Judge Griggs has the satisfaction of
knowing that a great many of the most
prominent and charming women in Geor-
gia are heartily in accord with his views.
They deplore the new woman who
wants to vote quite as much as he does,
believing that IL women once left the
womanly sphere of the home for politics,
office holding and the like, they would
lose far more than 1t would be possible
for them TO gain. A number of communi-
cations to this effect have been received
by the Judge Meanwhile, the suffragists
promise to do what they can to make IL
warm for him whenever the occasion