Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1908-03-20
Why Not Give The Women Some CredIt1

! 'O" oiN NuCu
papers an article :.in which atten-
tion is called to John Smith, Tom
Brown or some one else who
braved all the storms, trials and
tribulations of the early day and
after all how he has Drosperel,
but nevera a word shout the Kansas
women who have shared the bur-
dens. suffered a great deal more
and in many cases done more
work and did the best part of the
management. Imagine. if you
please leaving your home in the
east, say Illinois perhaps, a good
home and striking oct to Kansas
in a covered wagon. you reach the
new country with little or no
money. the claim is taken, the dug
out, sod house or box house made
or built. The sod house perhaps
with a dirt floor. you have no
money to plaster and you keep
house in that place. You cook,
eat and sleep in that kind of a
home, perhaps two years. Not
mUcn work no. not much work,
you can keep the place clean of
dust. You burn Buffalo cbips
the first two years because there is
no hing else to burn. They will
make fire and burn clean. one
basket of chips will make two
baskets of ashes. If you are max.
ing biscuits or rolling out your
bread you can not feed the fire
and attend to the bread at the same
time If you are unlucky enough
to drop the bread dough it is all
over with the bread. If you are
well enough of to build the l2x14
box house like a great many did. |
without ceiling or lining, you get
up in the morning to a chip or
corn stalk FIRE. the husband too
gets up and goes out to attend your
stock and says. hurry up Mary be |
fore the fire goes out" You gcs
up perhaps after putting on all
the clothes you have yo1 are thin !
clad The baby cries, if you have
one, you take it uD in the cold and |
manage to dress it. by the time
John comes in takes the baby and
you get the breakfast, bacon.
water gravy, coffee and bread, |
and you have the regulation meal
for days aud days maybe less
the bacon and coffee, possibly add
beans to the menu as the years
90 by, more children arrive per-
haps in few years, John has dis
covered it pays to make butter and
have chickens and a garden. You
have added to your property and
have ten times as much work.
YOU have more chickens to look
after and much more work to do.
John in the mean time has new
teams. he has riding plows. bar
rows, culivators and drills, he
can't stand to walk, at the same
time you are still getting up in the
morning, work all day. you work
till bed time. John smokes and
reads the paper after supper Your
work goes on. Sunday if you have
anv time. that day you are too
tired to visit or 90 to church. IfI
you live near a church. perhaps
one fourth of the congregation
comes home with some member
of the family for dinner and for a
visit with you. in the meantime
more land is bought and you are in
a position financially to enjoy life.
You have got out of the habit of
going. you have raised a big family
that causes you more uneasiness
when they are grown than they
did when they we're little. Why
continue. Tis not our intention to
grumble but we do want to MAKE
plain that in our opinion the Kan
sas women have done as much or
more to create the wealth. prospe-
rity and moral condition of this
great state of Kansas than the men
and are entitled Tn fuIlv nc mnch