The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-03-19
Women SmatteTeFS and
Women SCattererS

TT is quite true that the more things
one can do well the more perfect as
human being one viii be. That is
one side of the truth. The other is
that the more things one half learns the
more this person scatters her mind and
brain power, injuring her mental fac
ulties in proportion. A child Is inter
ested in everything it sees. Pin it down
to one kind of play an hour. and it
grows weary and says Let Us put it
away now" The grown person who
possesses a powerful, trained intellect
will sit hour after hour, knowing no
weariness fatigue or tagging Of enthu-
siasm in his occupation. 1t is said Ed
ison has remained in his laboratory FIR
teen hours al a stretch, studying and
working. forgetting the outside world
Now, in proportion as a woman viii
stick to one or two things she can
achieve success to the extent of her
abilities. Half the American women of
today. however. seem to be mere smat.
terers and scatterers. There are so
many splendid things to do in our noble
country that they dabble in dozen
different ones. achieving success in
none and getting their minds added by
and by 50 they cannot hold fast even to
one thought five minutes
Most girls think they would like to
learn music They begin piano prac-
tice keep att a short time. learn
enough TO rattle the keys in an infan-
tile way, then tire of the mental effort
OF pinning themselves down steadily
and quit imperfect thrumsters. What
is the verdict This: There are no
great women pianists. Woman lacks
the power to be a great pianist" An
other girl thinks it would be nice to
be an artist. She learns little feeble
drawing; the drudgery of it is irksome,
she viii go into PAINTING at once. She
makes a few pretty roses copied from
picture not from the real flowers;
she paints a glass of water and an or
ange upon a plate. perhaps even an old
shoe and pipe. and she calls that art
Her work is in nearly all cases out OF
drawing. her motif trivial and mean
inglass. What is the verdict2 There
has never been but one great woman
artist. Women are not capable Of be-
ing artists
Then may be the woman flies to mod
cling next to poker bu Mt work, then to
china painting and firing After that
she dabhles in so called art embroidery.
Possibly then the college settlement
fad strikes her and she devotes her
self to that for six whole months. The
woman's club is left for her TO expert
ment with. She goes in for that. May
! be she belongs to a dozen clubs at once.
If there are constant excitement, fash
ionable dressing and gossip in these
/ clubs they hold the woman sTnatterer
and seatterer longer than any other one
interest is able to do
At length this woman who has fritz
tered away her intellectual powers in
smattering and scattering becomes in
capable of pursuing steadily any aim
at ALI Men say women, are shallow
superficial and childish and that their
Light brains cannot think deeply or
/ reason. and this is why. They have
wantoniy wasted splendid brain power
scattering it as the sower upon the
stony places of the Bible parable.
Gladstone. Bismarck and Napoleon
could not have achieved any object if
! they had strewn their powers all along
/ the bypaths leading of the straight
road. Shakespeare himself was never
anything but an actor play wright He
cid rot even take time from his dra-
matte pursuits 10 be a very good do
nestle man, SO far as we are informed
Ny sisters it's no use. Even an
! American woman cannot pursue twenty
aims and achieve them. The only way
! to reach excellence is to carefully Sc
! lect what you desire to do. Take the
thing you like best or can do best. then
! pursue II through ire and hail After
/ YOU have reached the top notch in that
/ try something else if you wish. but
whatever you take UP. make yourself
+ excellent in it. seeing it through TO the
end. Then men viii cease to say wo-
mems brains are childish. superficial
and silly. JANE MOSES.