The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1905-01-12
OLD STORY A MYTH.
MRS. BLAKE SAYS IT WAS A
OUNCE
League Meets in New York and Re-
solves That Women Must Not Hang
Unless They vote-lmportant An
nouncement Made

If there is fact of history or Scrip
ture that seemed to be authentic and
remained unquestioned for many cen
turtles. it is the contretemps of Eve and
the apple which brought about so much
unpleasantness and misery for hui
mainly. We have doubted many things,
questioned almost every statement
made by historians, but the Garden of
Eden episode we have rather taken as
foregone conclusion. Alas, that Moth
ing of history or tradition remains I'M
assaulted in this skeptical age. The
blow has fell, and it almost killed IA
Their Adam. The New York legislative
league met the other day and while
there may be those who think the
league is nothing but dry affair COM
posed of masculine beings who are at
tending to legal points of no interest
to anybody, they will be surprised to
learn that the league is much more
than that, is in fact made up of women
and the president is Mrs. Lille Dew
ereux Blake. Now the mere mention Of
that name will be enough for those who
know aught of Mrs. Lille, for she is the
lady who occasionally puts man where
he belongs. on the last seat in the back
row. Mrs. Lille has thought cut al
most everything, and one thing about
which she is by no means uncertain is
woman suffrage. Women should be
given the ballot, and until they are,
Lille will continue to raise her voice
and make herself heard. At this par
ticular meeting of which / speak the
subject of discussion was the hanging
of a woman in Vermont, which is i'm
minent, owing to some irregularity in
the conduct Of the woman in question,
resulting In a charge of murder being
made against her. So the league met
and resoluted against the horrible in
Justice of hanging a woman, and Mrs.
Lille said: IF we could only vote we'd
be hanged. There isn't one among you
who wouldn't gladly be hanged IL all
the other women could vote"
The response to this could not have
been called exactly enthusiastic. So
the speaker continued: Ladies', no
matter what terrible crime woman
commits, she should not be punished
like men If vote is not given to her.
She is claSSed with idiots and criminals
in every state in the Union. =
But we shouldn't be punished by the
same laws as men If we have not in
telligence enough to vote, and hope
this league will go on record as OPP
posed to the hanging of women"
Whereupon the league obedientIy went
hoping the subject would not be press
ed further. because if it came to a d.
vision OF the house some of the sisters
thought they would perhaps rather go
without vote for awhile longer, il
hanging was the alternative. All Of
this discussion had grown out of rad
fcal paper read by one of the members,
in which she said that ever since Eve
ate the apple the position of men and
women had been plainly defined--
mans outside fighting the world, and
woman's at home keeping the house.
But Mrs. Lille took exception to this
and 1T was in reference to the statement
of the apple incident that she struck
the blow no one was prepared for and
which VIII unseat scientists and bring
the world tumbling about the ears of
historians. She said: There is good
authority that Eve never ate an apple
In the garden of Eden" but seeing the
look of horror on some of the sisters
faces she hurried on: mo, Eve never
ate an apple. She might have eaten a
ounce, but never an apple, for they
didn't grow in the garden of Eden"
Well. what do you think of that? Mrs.
Lille saw she had made an impression
and continued: THE Bible says that
Eve ate of the frnit-it might have
been any old kind, but 1t certainly
wasn't an apple"
1t Is hard to give up that apple
story, but suppose we must For the
president of the league would never
speak save by the card. She knows
so much that her authority for the
ounce would never be questioned.
The woman tempted me and 1 did
eat'-the ounce. We must try ana
readjuSt the scriptures in our mind to
mt In with ounce instead of an apple.
and with the overthrow of that basic
story the entire superstrueture seems
to be in danger of lettering. What can
we believe If not that apple story ?
Some one will rise and say that Jonah
never swallowed the-oh, no, that isn't
it-that the whale never swallowed
Jonah. and that Noah did not go in
out of the rain. The league establish
ed dangerous precedent and should
be suppressed.
There once was a rumor that it was
peach which Eve ate with such dis
astrous consequences and which stuck
In Adams throat, but ounce has the
element of novelty and entails an en-
tire readjustment of our ideas. 1t has
also been suggested that it was his
appendix-and not his rib-which made
him all the trouble-but this has not
been authenticated by Lille.
N