The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-01-30
AMERICAN VIEWS ON THE FOREIGN WOMEN

American, she was not familiar with
court etiquette. Her neighbor re-
piled, smiling. that she also was of
American origin, married recently to
Ian Austrian Of rank. The Others
drew near. took part in the converse
ton, and were astonislled tn find that
the entire six were from New Eng
land N h western states"
Commenting upon this coincidence.
which. he says. only illustrates the
frequency Of the marriage uf Anncri-
can women to Frenchmen. Germans.
Austrians. Russians. Italians and
Englishmen. he gives as explanation
what will certainty surprise most
rnad"rs-that this is hocnus" the
American girl. Will" she has %
freedom and adultati"n than amy 9TH
or young woman ~ tho world. loses
this freedom ON her marriage day.
Then Sh" abdiratnS. not without r"-
sret. h resigns herself with diff
Guilty. after having been queen of the
drawing-ronm To Il role of cffarcment
in comparison. S" the American
Woman-~d does she secretly envy her
whom sh" collapsed. hut whom mar
ring" has set free. while it cnchains
her" Compared with tn" advantages
of the life of a young Alnsric. II girl,
those of the married European wo-
man form Il seducing ideal. 1t is
sufficient tn explain tn" frequent UNI
ions which Americans make III the
continent"
His Sympathics and admiration
seem to be entirely for the American
woman. He closes his volume with
til" following tribute:
"lf the American union is today one
of the first countries of the world,
she owes it in large part tn the Amer
lean woman who was, and is yet, an
important factor in her astonishing
prosperity. The United States owes
to her its having conserved its reltg-
ions faith, that principle of vitality
carried by the Pilgrim Fathers to the
shores of America. She has bee the
etiicacious artisan of the highest
work; She has kept. extended. enlarg-
ed it by church and school. In diff
cult hours. in the war of independ-
ence. II later in the Wal of the Sc
cession. the pa%trfotisn of olma sls-
tanned h courage of man. In all
circumstances she WIS his companion
and his equal. AS such he has re-
spected her, and tina respect which
she has inspired in him by her ahnr-
CATION and courage i'll the beginning.
by her intelligence and her culture.
has been strengthened by her charms
and her confidence in his protection.
She has followed the American GUS
toms: has strongly impresnatcd them
with the idea hat respect for his
companion was for man one of tho
first conditions of moral life. That
moral life is his work through, her;
sh" has created it and h has sus-
tanned it. In the worship, of which
she is the object. in the homage
which man pays t" her, there is more
and better than the attraction which
sex inspires; there is the instructive
l rpr0cnjfian 6f "a rrnot and Sc0IltarN-
influence nobly exercised.
Being given the point of depar-
ture of tho woman of the United
States. equality with man. then intel
%lectual and social preponderance. the
charms of her sex refined and devel-
oped by natural selection, by the IN
ion between young girls free in their
choice and a race Of colonists cner-
getic, vigorous. profoundly imbued
With religious convictions and re-
spectful of the conjugal yoke. woman
ought necessarily to appear at a Civ
Ell moment as the detinitive express
sion. the superior type. Of her race
and her environment. She is that to-
day. n 1t is with legitimate pride
that the American shows her to Eu-
rope as the most finished product Of
his Notwithstanding civilization.
We are not surprised that the opin-
ion of the Frenchman is so flattering
to American women. 1t is character
istic of the race that homage should
be considered the wo,nan's due. The
same writer ~characterizes in an in.
tercsting way the conception of wo-
man which each nation has formed
itself:
IF for the French woman person.
ifies our ideal. i~ncarnating in herself
all the exquisite details of civiliZa-
ton. for the Spaniard she still is a
madonna in the church. for the Ital-
ian a flower in q garden. for tho Irish
"a piece of furniture TOR his comfort
one knows the naive lament of the
young Arabian woman: Before he
became my husband nc kissed my
footsteps: now no harnesses me with
his ass to a cart and makes me labor
The Englisllman. pecursor "f the
American. sees chiefly in woman tho
mother of his children and the mis-
trcss of his homo.
An English Viewpoint.
Nearest Of all the n~ationali'i"s IN
us are tho English; nearest gcoera-
phically. historically and in their
views of life. With II common ances-
try. literature. %and-until the last
: century, common history. there
! surely should not be a wide scpara-
they see much upon which to COM
ment-sometimcs favorably. fro
quently severely.
The best type Of Englishman is
represented by Ian Maclaren the
late Or. John Watson). who paid two
visits to our shores, and wrote a ser
les of papers on his impressions con
corning us. which were published
some years since in The Outlook. lie
wrote this courteous and. on the
whole. complimentary opinion though
he did not entirely approve of the at
titude which the American woman
has assumed and the position which
she is given.
From end to end of America. a
woman is respected, protected. served,
honored. If she enters an elevator.
every man in a street car
she is never allowed to stand If a
man an give her Il seat (did he al
ways ride in cabs or automohiles?l:
on therailways conductors. porters.
and every other kind. OF official has
ten to wait on her; any man daring
to n A woman would come to
grief. The poorest oma can travel
with security and comfort IN tbs