New-York tribune., 1906-11-19
THE TNOCTET SEY.

The hand that rocks the cradle Is bent on rock
Ing the world. II is busy about a seismic dis
turbance. II is uplifted upon another historic
errand of manual training, and descends in the
condlgn chastisement of the social order. Prac-
tcally every notable contribution we receive
nowadays TO our knowledge of the discomfort
of human life comes from the fair sex. Do men
organize clubs to discuss the dsappointments
of marriage and the failure of the other sex as
mates: No. sooth TO say, the sociological con
tributions of mems clubs are extremely frivo-
lous For all that men tell us in the way of
public and serious discussion. the world might
never know that marriage is not all that the
romantic writers depict and the fond unwed
dream. II is Ia woman and her clubs organ
lZed TO help truth crushed TO earth upon its
pins again. that we owe the general knowledge
of the shortcomings of that animal. Man.
Woman has not throughout the ages enjoyed
the best reputation for candor She has been
Thought capable of petty evasions compromises
between fact and fiction, little feminine tricks
with the truth which improved its complexion
and made it thoroughly adorable. But If she
be "clubabe.' club" her and she becomes the
soul of candor. Her first hand knowledge of
men. gained from the intimate observation OF
her husband is the worlds ITO marry Is TO
domestcate the Recording Angel" according to
Stevenson; but even recording angel has good
points. recording angel is the soul of reti-
cence. Our life Is one long ALWAYS honored
draft upon the future; the accounts are kent
privately, and il will be none of this worlds
business when we settle them. But for the
recording angel to throw open the books. to he
come the angel of publicity is a modern change
from which the world profits In the knowledge
of its woes. The marriage of a woman turns
man from a concrete TO an abstract problem
1T enfranchses her mind as has been 50 we'll
said by some puffy masculine person. II gives
her freedom TO generaZe. The two sexes have
associated since man came down out of the tree
tops. leaving his prehistoric. probably Ar
boreal." ancestor up in the branches, and they
have not yet, it seems, learned how to do il
comfortably. This may be because until the
advent of women's clubs the problem had never
been seriously attacked by persons having an
intense interest in solving it. We shall hone
for some improvement from the countless sue
gestions for amelioraton of marriage coming
from woman
But the rebellion Of woman Is not smnIv
against marriage. She aspires according TO her
spokeswOmen. 10 "independence," political eco
nomic and all other kinds especially indenen-
dence Of the nursery and the kitchen She
wants 10 turn this modern democracy, which is
democracy of men. into democracy of both
sexes. The precious fragilities" as they were
'"' pi''ul' '"li"u hoNe been demonstrating
on the shins Of London 'bobbieS" that in the
hands of the law. AT least if not in its ewes
they are their brothers equals Colorado women
are wroth because In that land of eauaI suf-
frage the men decline to nominate women TO
ONCE Offering forsooth. as an excuse deter
mlnation 10 save the looks OF their mates Po-
litical equality. the tyrannous creatures assert
produces the political face!
1t is recognized by all the woman's club au-
thorities that the kitchen and the nursery are
the great impediments TO womans independence
Let the married woman be wage earner"
they say-and then the awful Thought of the
kitchen and the nursery arises The Servant
Problem assumes capital importance But now
scientist assures us that the incompetent i'm
pertinent, expensive servant girl" is belping by
her maddening recalcitrancy the upward way
OF her revolutionary sex-lor evolution taking