The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-10-27
MAKES A GOOD SPEECH
AVERAGE WOMAN OF THE PRES
EMIT DAY DOES.
EIoquence in Women Just as Valuable
as in Men-Modern Clubs Have
Awakened Women From Their Sleep
of Centuries

A great many men make fun of wom-
ems clubs and laugh at their wives
when they are secretary or treasurer,
but way down deep in his heart the
man who takes pride in his wife's
achievements, must be rather proud of
the fact that she is able to hold her
own with other women in clubs or
anywhere else. For, say what you will,
women have certainly improved since
they "came out" If that is what you
can call the breaking away from old
tradition which made an unwritten law
that women, like children, should be
seen but not heard. They were ex-
pected to sit quietly at home, darning
my lords socks, looking after the chill
cen, working, working all day-and
not an eight-hour day either-and-
when he-the great became home at
night greet him with smile and listen
open nouthed to what he had to tell.
In those days women knew only what
their husbands told them. No wonder
the old-fashioned woman was more
noted for her domesticity than erudi-
ton. (No hard, hard feeling.)
That old fashioned woman was very
nice; let me hasten to say that to save
some stern man from taking the trou-
bic OIL writing me very severe letter
to put me right. She was very nice
and did a great deal of good, brought
up her family well, but was just trifs
narrow if you will and lacked intel1ec-
tuality. She was too busy to know 1t,
and would not have cared very much
If she had. probably, because she had E.
deep-rooted conviction that intellec-
tuality was the business of her husband
e. she only wanted to know what he
wanted her to know, which is rather
involved, but hope you catch it. And
he did not care to have her know very
much, and never by any chance, as
much as and as for knowing more
than he-that was the business of
women whose faces made it necessary
for them to be intellectual.
The womans club movement came
just ut a time when women began to
discover that study and some activity
outside of the home was not incom-
patible with good housekeeping. They
a fortnight at a club where they met
other women whose problems were the
same, the mental friction of differing
thoughts and varying points of view,
was conducive to the development of
their minds, and that they returned
home refreshed. For sag what you
will, women need some recreation out
side the home, assmuchsas man needs
relaxation from business. So the move
ment grew and fiourished, land the
world woke UP to the fact that women
had great executive ability and genius
for organization. Men took it very
hard at first. For centuries they had
believed they possessed a monopoly of
the things ofsthe mindS and it was diff
cult for them to acknowledge that
woman could be able, eloquent in de-
bate, and at the same time leyel-head-
ed, an attribute very important in or
CARNATIONS. But they had to come to
it. Now it is no uncommon thing for a
woman to rise in some gathering and
make an excellent, offhand, impromptu
speech, which the average man either
would have to read or learn by heart
The writer has heard several eloquent
women. One is Mrs. Fairbanks who
was in st. Paul this week; one is Mrs.
]. Ellen Foster, of washington, wom-
an lawyer of distinction, who has APP
peared before the supreme court, and
is making speeches in the present cam
paign, and a third is Mrs. Williams, of
Minneapolis, well known to the club
women of this state. This is only few
of many. The first thought man will
have is to deprecate eloquence in wom-
en-, and ask why in the world a woman
should make speeches at ALL But why
should she not. and what is there in
the ability to make good speech that
is more disgra ceful to a woman than to
a man? Answer me that, my brothers
The man who attended meeting where
women were to speak and was not
proud of his wife. if she could make a
good address, without hesitation or en-
barrassment, would be a very queer
somebody. What peculiar charm is
there about a woman.s not. being able
| to make a speech? And yet you will
hear some men say that they would be
ashamed Of their wives if they could
make speeches. That is nonsense. The
woman who can make graceful speech
is just as likely to be a good house
keeper, wife and mother as the one
who never leaves her own dooryard.
And men are beginning to find it out.
Women nowadays are doing and say
ing things which make them sit up and
1t does not hurt them in the least. The
| most charming woman in the world
might have never been to club
or meeting of any kind. but yet again
she might go once week, be president,
make a good speech, and still be charm-
| ing.