Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-12-06
Chapter XII.

Cnapter XII.
The woman who sits on a platform at
public meeting for the first time under
goes q peculiar eXhilaration. The rows
upon rows of faces, a curious sense of
isolation, with the consciousness of being
in the public eye, combine to produce a
psychological change in the woman. lift
ing her out of herself into rarer atmos-
phere of calm or throwing her into the
terrible alternative of stage fright. I
cannot remember that 1 ever was afraid
of anything, and SO l fell under the spell
Of the first condition. I forgot my per-
plexfties, forgot my home and my babies,
forgot my irate husband and his tele-
gram; / saw only a packed auditorium
Hutterfng with fans and flowers and
dainty gowns and bonnets; / saw only
the stimulating sea of sweet faces and
heard only the hum of a thousand wom-
ems voices. My senses were never more
keen than when the chairman of the af-
ternoon raped for order and 1 saw the
nuttering garden before me settle into
silence as with the subsistence of a WOO
ing wind.
1t was with the utmost complacence
that l responded to the chairman's intro
auction or me- half way down the pro-
gram. had been well advertised thanks
to Minnie Morrisons friendship and
knowledge of what she termed the ropes"
l was becomingly gowned too and knew
need not fear the batteries of critical
eyes before me, and, what was more
knew 1 had a brilliant paper. 1 recalled
what bright writer has said: Somebody
else may write a paper and you may read
1t; you may write a paper and somebody
else may read it; but if you both write and
read paper. then you give paper" No
one in all that great audience knew that L
was not to give my paper; and it was a
brilliant one
1.-The club woman of the future, the ideal
club woman" l began, will have nothing
to do with her house except to let herself
out in the morning and into 1t again at
night with her own latch key''-I could feel
my audience gasp and tighten and brace it.
self. 1.-THE idea that home is sacred be-
cause the dinner is cooked there should be
exploded, and will be some day. Home Is
sacred only because love and congenfality
and real companionship are there. The
club woman's ideal home will be one where
the head of it. Her food will be prepared
by specialists, and her household drudgery
will be done by trained assistants. A whole
street will be cared for by one set of SER
wants who know their business; and the
consequence will be that the cost of living
will be reduced two thirds. time will be
econimized, and self-reliance and invidid-
uaIism will be truly developed Man ideal
ICES his home under present conditions, put
put him into 1t and make him stay there a
whole week, as many women must under
present conditions, and he viii be the mad
dest and most unreasonable creature that
his medieval soul that home is the only
place forwomen."
From this went on to prater of the
time when woman should be wholly enamel
pated: when she should stand side by side
with man in the Industrial and financial
world, still retaining her womanly qualities
and feminine charm.
Miss Morrison he'd given utterance to
her most ultra views on the woman Ques-
ton, and 1 could feel my audience chafe
and rustic under them. But read calmly
on to the end, frequently interrupted by ap-
plause. When 1 sat down there was vigor-
Gus NORTHUMBERLAND far away in the
gallery a faint, sibilant hiss. l had drop
ped bomb into peaceful camp, and an
explosion was imminent.
But the chairman was wise and knew
how to keep her audience we'll in hand. A
discussion of my paper was down on the
program, but the woman who was to lead II
was absent. To my surprise and discom,
fiture Mrs. Henry of Chicago was called
upon to fill the place Of the absent one.
After the very clever paper we have just
listened to- she began. with its sug-
begin to differ with the last speaker. But
it seems to me that as a body We must go
more into probabilities and less into gilt
tering generalities. What We want at this
American woman to have more cour-
age, to live according to her means
and up to her own convictions; to
be honest with herself. and to do only
while. This is an age when there are so
many beautiful ideas. SO many lovely
things to do and to see. that we must
make sure we know which are the right
ones This Is not the time for the Ameri-
can club woman to be untrue to herself or
to the demands upon her. If she has only
her own life to consider. apart from all
other outside interests; If she is no longer
to play the role Of the wife and mother; II
she has evolved some way to run this
world that is a general improvement upon
the plan of the Creator who destined her
primarily for the position Of mother of
races Of men; why, then, the last paper
opens to us some very important and peril
nent suggestions. But so long as we are
women who have other lives dependent
upon us for happiness, for courage, for
comfort. for help. why. it seems to me
that this is the time to give ourselves
pause; to ask seriously If this can be the
highest ideal for club women that can be
evolved"
She said much more In the same strain,
and she too, was heartily cheered, for au-
diences, no matter what their sex, can be
depended to cheer at all well-rounded SEN
fences. But /, needless creature that !
had been, felt my house of cards tumbling
around me. I had not then learned how to
argue and to take argument in return,
which last is as great an accomplishment
as women may hope to learn.
When the session was over was accost-
ed by half the women in the hall. Some
disagreed with me and wanted to argue
the matter out with me privately-a thing
I had no idea of doing; but the majority
complimented me, and began to feel my
self on pedestal l was asked to dinner
in the finest home in the city. and luncheon
engagements were made, before 1 went
back to the hotel, for every remaining day
of the Biennial. 1 walked air all the
rest of the day, and drank deep of the
wine of popularity. 1 dined out, so that /
did not see the evening paper until after
the evening session Minnie Morrison put
1t in my hands when entered the hotel.
There" she whispered ''see what 1t
means to have a friend at court-one who
knows the ropes. What will Chicago
think of that?' She passed on, and 1 took
the paper to my room where could gloat
over it In private
IA Brilliant Paper by a Brainy Woman
was the headline across two columns Then
followed fulsome resume of the paper.
with flattering account of "the brilliant
wife of one of Chicago's leading finan-
Gers" which closed with the prediction
that Mrs. Henning would Eventually be
recognized all over the country as the
great exponent Of the advanced woman
movement"
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