New-York tribune., 1906-03-27
CLUB CRITICS SCORED.
T;e-rs Of Drs. Parkhurst and Peters
FrozrHed on by Clubuomen.

.T contend that we modern women are quite
-. mod wives and mothers as our ancestors and
sFrsr from them IN degree only. not In kind The
,-,7,su's clubs Of this country and city con-
.s,- as fine housekeepers as ever managed a
,,usshoId-hoUsekeeper whose cooking would
-rn oscar green with envy"
nus spiritedly did Mrs. Frank Cronise de-
4s,s the modern clubwoman from the unkind
,e,s-s.ons of critics. notably OF such as Dr
-sa-les H Parkhurst and Dr. Madison c. Peters.
,,ssterday az the Minerva Club. She didn't call
~ uaper The New Woman or "Tr. Peters vs.
.ss Clubworan" her subject was nominallv
.slev Ides-sr-but she more than once referred
tc the men by name. and II was plain that in
ra-ticulsr Or. Peters's lucubrations had stirred
hs- 70 wrath or amusement.
There have always been croakers." she said
n substance. from jeremiah UP. Pepys was
he only man 20 tell all the truth OF his genera
re1- auL he shows Us that Charles Stuart had
, ss- a pace at his court that makes the carry
t1g-o1' ot our smart set look like q Sunday
schsd convention. To-day we have Dr.. Park
hurst and ur- Peters sending up to high heaven
he sme old lameuts and predicting the same
ol6 disasters"
Thsn turning 10 the simple life" with it's
simple ideals. Of which the speaker remarked.
we generally hear most from those who know
6ss about ir' she continued. We are warned
thzt unless We return 10 IL are lost But I
Ofe1 wonder II Il would be desirable even IL il
were possible. 10 reverse the order Of things
u6 g back.
ideals are anyway largely the result Of the
zgs and the environment in which we live. Small
wonder -laL marriage used 10 be the aim OF a
woman s Lte-theTe was nothing else for her 10
do thar was worth while. Marriage might mean
lots C. -l-seTy, but II she didn't marry and have
Children c- her own she must spend Ter days
working -. her married sister and her children
her head she was considered lucky.
4 ara inclined 10 think said Mrs Cr0nise.
that The simple life was not quite so simple as
q soll-s and she drew a picture Of early
aIl.tE morning toilet by candle light I'm the
good ola days. when the ice had 10 be broken
-r The morning abluUOn. with ten children 70
gs- ready Tor school and all the cooking and
Washing and ironing 10 De done by one pair Of
hands
~And The dish washing, No poetizing. no ro-
male-lE can make dish washing anything but
Thzt 7 ls-a dull, ceaseless grind that has worn
the --e and broken the spirit of more good
Ho1-- man any other duty on earth
-N hen hear exclaimed Mrs. CrOniSe 'Of a
Icc-. weak woman who has taken to drink or
thrown herself into the river. I know Il is only
a1e-ler tragedy of the dishTanr'
hU- then. our toremO-hers had not our
t1l..as with science OF religion" Mrs. CrOnise
We-t "-- They never knew thar the jam was
---- ~ ne ctlslp coal tar dye or the butter
o-1-i gar-le- And they never had 10 decide
whether The human race is decended from a
monkey or a protoplas1u- IF some times they
srs5-r ped about each otner-v-eu women have all
how we have improved. We never talk
about each other And here a sly little twinkle
H5I- INTO Mrs. CrCnise's eyes. in recollection
perhaps of the i--erueciue warfare which rent
Minerva not so long ago. When we have any
i1--E 20 say, We say il 70 a persons face in the
Ea4eSl way II we feel one Of our number Is
-"' wrong. We 20 ra her take her By the
hand. tell her ~ her sins and beg her TO try to
be as good as we are. And she tries"
AFTER paying her compliments to President
Roosevelt gU The subject OF race suicide-''his
-1l-le y la.le"e- ~ me women Of this country
E1-ld make Do fun and uncOrlforta BILE 70
le in as China she Said-Mrs. CrOnise re-
tuned 20 a consideration Of Dr. Peters
-r. Peters, she said. has hvsteria every
time De speaks OF cIubwomen. and the things he
rr-s rn tell ~ us pass belief He told a club
ne other day that there would never he another
Elizabeth or Victoria The same God who raised
ur Victoria and Elizabeth can raise up other
women 70 I'll their places.
You see a few Of us idle and frivolous You
see few who gamble and drink. But YOU for
Eet The millions Of women who do neither. and
me hundreds OF millions Of men who do both"