The Washington herald., 1909-03-01

to-day means the deiiverance Of woman
from the int0lerable burdens lunder. which
she has been borne down and crushed in
the past" declared Rev. Dr. John Seid
Shannon. in his sermon last night OF
Woman: What is her throne and what
her highest sphere at the Metropolitan
Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church
Frances E Willard was accustomed to
say IN her address that the greatest dis
covery of the nineteenth century was
woman. because woman was coming forth
from the bondage in which she had been
held for ages. said DR.. shannon.
Held the ScePter.
Woman IS to-day a conspicuous par
tlcipaut in all great reforms and move
meuts. In the past this world has been
almost exclusively a mans world Man
has kept himself 70 the front. has held
the scepter Of Dictatorship has Gecreed
in his own interests that woman should
do according 70 his commands.
IN the past the idea has largely dom
mated that man is a great central sun
and that woman is a planet revolving
around the sun. That idea has been
shattered. and now this Is a mans and
a woman's world.
a woman's throne IS her power Of
influence. This belongs 20 woman as
woman. The moral nature Of the man
is always. as rule. on the level Of
the moral nature Of the woman with
whom he associates
The influence Of bad woman Is ire
mendous- Under the influence Of Deli
roh
the influence Of Jezebel. Ahab became a
monster Of iniQuity
Influence Tremendous.
The influence Of a good woman IS
tremendous. History shows that when
man as done something for the uplifting
OF the world a good woman has been the
motive force behind him.
Woman owes 20 Christianity the fact
that she IS no longer the mental drudge
or the mere toy OF the man. The teach
ings Of Jesus Christ have broken the
chains that have bound her for ages.
The religion OF COnfucius dominates
more than 400.o00.0oo Of the human fam
ny. and COnfuciUs teaches that w0-
man has no soul. n Oriental scriptures
not q passage can be found worthy 70
=
they belittle and make a mockery OF wo-
manhood
Woman should be free 10 enter any
occupation for which she is fitted by IA
ture and capacity. There Is no danger
that such liberty vii make her IN
womanly Sex Is dyed in the wool. and II
does not wash out. A mans nature Is
not changed by cooking and rocking the
cradle: so a womans nature IS not
changed by doing mans work
Higher Education.
zone Of the greatest facts OF our cen
tury is the higher education Of woman
There are people yet living who can re-
member when there was not 2 college
in all the world that gave women an
equal chance Of education with men.
To-day the doors Of our colleges are
thrown wide open. and more young
women are entering than young men The
young women graduates Of the high
schools are more than three times the
number OF young men graduates. and vet
II is less than q century since the first
high school was opened 20 girls.
There are more than $4,000 women
breadwinners in our country. OF the
go 600 teachers in the United States more
IMAM three-fOuTths are women.
Sphere Is Home.
-'WOman's highest sphere 10 the hoEle-
She IS the home-maker. Home makers
are back Of character-makers, and char
acter-makers are back OF nation-makers.
Dr.. Shannon said in conclusion let
kings cast their royal crowns at the feet
Of the woman who. as mother. Is true
10 her mission in the home That de-
velops the highest glory Of womanhood.
even as the sun brings out the highest
glory Of the cloud.
The sermon was the first Of series
on the general subject OF "Womanbood- -