The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-03-05
: Old Codger Says
THE GIRLS ARE
! Wearing the Breaches.

fast moving days, ''said the Old Codger as
he cut off some plug Tobacco and put it
| in his corn-cob pipe and struck a match
on his pantaloons, pants or breeches,
head of the family wears.
What is troubling you now?" 1 asked
as the Old Codger began to watch the
smoke curling up from his pipe, seeming
| lost in contemplation.
| well, it is this way he slowly began.
/ II am all turned upside down and do not
know where l am at. Last night l went
to the Baptist Female University to hear
| a debate on the query, Resolved, That
| the pension system of the United States
| ought not to be abolished Think of
| half a dozen sweet girls bothering their
/ heads about such a political subject when
| in my day their heads would have been
| filled with some such question as would
you wear this white or that blue dresS?'
| or DO you think Jim is as handsome as
| John?' 1t seemed like men ought to be
| doing the talking about pensions, appro-
priations, burdensome taxation and the
| like, leaving music and drawing and
butte making and the like to the girls.
| At least that is the way | felt as / took
| my seat and looked at the eight beauti-
| full girls who were sitting on the stage.
| They were just too pretty for me to as
sociate them with pensions. But pretty
| soon the president, a stunning girl look
| ing ever so wise over her glasses, rose
I'D and made neat speech, just as good
as any man could make. And then the
| beautiful secretary read out the query
and the debate began My stars! I
never heard anything like it in all my
| life MY honorable opponent will do
| this and my honorable opponent will
do that" rolled from these sweet lips as
pat as ! have heard it on the hastings
And those girls rolled off statistics just
as lively as Col. Carroll Wright and
they gave each others argument hail
Columbia" in diplomatic language until if
| had shut my eyes I would have thought
myself in the gallery of the Legisla-
, ture-only the voices were too sweet and
the courtesy too marked to expect in q
body of men,"
Gould they speak logically?" | asked
the Old Codger as he stopped to puff his
pipe THAI was utdliy ltsiuy " 81 pul'
young man." he said. Il see that
you ought to have been born fifty years
ago. Speak logically Why bless your
soul them girls could outlogic old
Daniel Webster himself, not to speak of
Noah and the other Websters who in
vented logic They took you along step
by step, logically. until they reached the
climax, and you were ready to swear
that there wasn't a solitary thing to say
on the other side
Il am all mixed up" went on the Old
Codger, after he had stopped to smoke
few minutes. What is the world
coming to if the women get SO they can
speak ten times as good as the men?
They will soon vote then they will get
all the offices, and what will become of
Charley Aycock Furnifold Simmons,
Jeter Pritchard and Bill Russ? Will
they give up gallantly or run against
those pretty girls?"
| told the Old Codger that I expected
there was time enough to answer these
questions after women got the ballot.
But he was engrossed in his pipe and his
thoughts and didn't notice what l said.
After awhile he spoke again and he said:
Yesterday morning | got up early and
went out to the Agricultural and Me-
chanical College, and l saw a sight there
that helped to add to the mixtry of my
feelings. l had heard that the Governor
Ben Lacy, Farmer Grimes and Farmer
Patterson was going out to take les
son in Butter Making, and | thought |
would go out and see for myself what the
farmer boys were adding. And what do
you think? There they were in their
white coats hard at work in the dairy
a-making butter. They were a testing
of the milk to see how much butter a
pint of milk would make, a separating of
the milk and the cream, churning, a
pattng of the yellow butter, and making
butter Just as nice as you ever saw any
where in all your life. | tell you them
farmer boys are getting so scientific that
they know all about germs, and bacilli,
and the like. They are great butter
makers, too, I can tell you.
But" and here the Old Codger paused
and said II couldn't help thinking
after all the old way was the best
What do you mean by the Old Way?"
| asked, and the Old Codger said: "In
the Old Times the men made the speeches
and the women made the butter. In the
/ New Times the women make the speeches
| and the men make the butter. And the
| girls speak as we'll as their mothers made
/ butter and the boys make butter better
! than their fathers made speeches. but /
| believe | like the Old Way better. I may
| be a eetle bit old fashioned but il so
+, you young fellows will have to excuse ME,
! but I'd rather see the girls tripping to
| the spring house early in the morning,
milking the COWS and making butter than
making stump speeches. Somehow or
| other pretty woman and pretty churn-
| ing of butter are associated in my mind
! together Besides" continued the Old
! Codger. What will become of all our
romance and poetry about the milk
maids if they go to making speeches and
/ the boys go to making butter.
These two experiences have sorter up
/ set me-" went on the Old Codger 'Dr.
Winston and DR.. Vann are powerful
smart men. They may be able to make
the river run IN stream and put women
| in the place of men and men in the place
of women without busting up the plan of
i the universe. They may do it, but 1
think they're experimenting in a danger
Gus way" concluded the Old Codger. as
he knocked the ashes from his pine and