The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1907-10-11
Entered at Richmond, Ind, Postofhct
AS Second Glass Mali Matter.
SELF RELIANCE IN WOMEN.

In the current Saturday Evening
Post is an article by F'renchman
dealing with his impressions of Amer
lean women The Frenchman has
very high opinion Of the beauty of our
American women, but criticises them
severely for the self reliance they show.
This Frenchman believes all women
should be shy and retiring and allow
the men to show the masterful quail
ties. He says that IN the old days
the men stood on the firing line and
the women stood behind the ramparts
and were a source Of silent encourage
ment to those at the front. Accord
ing to him this is still the case in
France and other European countries
and the women there occupy about the
same relations in life that they did
during the stormy times Of the medic
val ages. In America, however, our
Frenchman says the women have come
right down to the firing line with the
men and, in some cases, have even
crowded the men out of the way. He
accounts for this strange reliance on
the part of our women by saying that
it is due to the great chivalry the
American men show in their relations
with their women.
Chivalry may have something to do
with it, but we are inclined to think
the early history of the country will
do more to clear UP the mystery as
far as Mr.. Frenchman Is concerned.
America has always been the pioneer
country of the world In the sense that
her new lands are always being
settled and placed under cultivation.
Two centuries ago when the first
American pioneer broke ground in this
part of the country he brought his wife
with him and If they were attacked by
Indians, depended upon her to do her
share in defending the homestead. So
we see that the American women start
ed being self reliant several centuries
ago, and they have handed the quality
down through many generations to the
present day nor confined it altogether
to their women descendants. On the
contrary our self-reliant mothers have
made our men self reliant, a fact that
stands unchallenged in view of the
progress America has made compared
to the progress of other nations.
The European idea of women as even
this Frenchman expressed it is that the
wife should be the slave Of the hus
band. He declared that no European
woman would ever dare try to advise
her husband in regard to business mat
tiers, because she didn't know anythins
about business ordinarily. And ther
he criticised the American woman be
cause she did deign to offer bushes:
advice to her husband and because sht
took an interest in his business. Thi.
stand on his part leads us to believ,
that Europe, after centuries of expert
ence, still only lives for the presen
and is forgetful of the future. II
America we live for the present, but w,
also have an eye out for the future ant
that is why we want our wives to know
something about our business, realiz
ing that knowledge will be of inestima
BILE value should we be taken from
earth. For in America, despite GU
chivalry, there are always men VIII,
will try to get hold Of the savings O
widows and orphans If they can.
Is self-protection that makes us max
our women so self-reliant Two head
are often better than one and that /
one reason why we value their advice
And when we are gone we want on
womankind to be able to protect them
selves and children from the scayer
gers that are always willing to pre-
on the undefended. And from tn
way some Of our American girls ar
married off to European "noblemen
we do not believe all the scavenger
are of American origin.