New-York tribune., 1908-11-01
a Canadian Doctor Dares to
Point Out a Few Alleged
Flaws in Her.

Canadian medical man, DR. Andrew MacPhai.
of Montreal has written long letter to The
London Spectator. in which he comments IN
decidedly caustic manner upon that almost dlVlhe
creature the typical american woman and mas
the temerity TO say that revulsion Of feeling
is setting in against her, not only among the more
highly educated members OF her own SEX Ou'
even in the mind of her adoring slave, the AfI'el-
fcsn man himself Poor MacPhail! II the American
1-or7an degus to notice him at all, what q puLVer-
tzfnr- ba is in for! The Spectator prints his
weird letter in full but in an editorial foetnote
declares that it does not wholly agree Win MS
sentiments. Here is part of what the doctor says;
To the Editor Of The Spectator
Sir. The old-fashioned American noVellS' WIZ
1es rressed for an explanation of.the waywardness
~ bt baroine found It in the fact that she was born
- q French mother. The English writer OF early
romance attributed the vagares OF his helolhes 70
the circumstance that they grew up Wlllout HULL
erg at all. The novelist OF to-day hnds quite an
ether expIanation not Of the vrtues-iof HoNeilsts
no longer find virtuous women interesuns-put OF
+I caTrice of his heroine the fact that she Is,
or IS descended from, American woman All
novels are written FOR women except Iio Ie"
which are worth writing. Time was "heh INC
characters achieved distinction by reason OF the
tennptatons which they resisted rather than py inc
concessions which they made, The English nero
inc rs.sisrs or Yields her desire for place; her
French sister is impeled by love; II IS luNurlouS
idlepess alone which appeals to the American "oi-
an of fiction In literature ana NE 'i-is '0 'tl7 "
10 her actions.
rrbts ,rodiey which looms so portentous will bear
sor,a Investigation The term American woman.
whilst it has q certain deinitVe value Is capaoIe
of wide extension in time and place. We suspect
ber nresence at Ephesus and IN Cornth, and the
Proyerbialist had her in his mind when he declared
&, t,is great eu!ogy that favor is decetful. and
tDautv is vain" The manifestation is not confined
IN the American continent, nor even to the United
states. Indeed it is entirely Inaccurate as a de-
,crin+ion Of the mothers. wives and daughters OF
the average American This anomaly in clas-
eiAcation is not confined TO any one department Of
,,at,,raI history. We speak Of that anatoid, web
footed bird which IS larger than a duck and small
ar than q swan, the Canada goose, whilst IN
-ea1,tv the animal IS the Branta Canadensis- It Is
not \ goose and Is not especially indigenous to
Canada. ,,, -,..-
The early inhabitants Of New England Puritan
though they were found that the American wom-
on" yas also present with them and, having no
nelghbors from whom they could acquire the m
fe.tfon they boldly ascribed the phenomenon TO
- ,,,+s;aa source and laid II to the charge OF the
devil one has q certain hesltancy IN cohuaoct
ing the divincs OF New England rpon questioi IN
which they were so much at home; yet tnlhk that
-, a 1aee egoteric exegesis We may arrive at an
understanding OF this phenomenon. ldieness alone
which they described as the mother oI haushu-
nees" VIII account for all those characteristics
v,,icr are EXPRESSED by the term American wom-
an ,,
II IS an eternal law-at least II laS De0h " '''
since the beginning of created things-that an or
gan an animal a species cannot exist I-oe
,endeDtiv Of its function. Life and growth arc
bound up with work, and we have not yet grown
SO mighty that we have eIaancipated ourselves from
the dominion Of this law. The primitive functions
Of the woman were TO prepare food and clothlnS
10 care for her mate and the offspring "hch siio
had assisted in producing In course of time and
for reasons largely beyond her control these obil-
cations have become less incumbent upon her Wlth
s,f4 exception they been usurPed by the male
or placed in the hiTelings. In the progress
of civilization and by the division of labor the food
Is purchased partly or wholly prepared, as the