The Washington herald., 1912-04-24
By FRANCES sHAFFER.

From the time the first news OF the
Titanic tragedy pulsated over the wires,
IL sorry story written all over with the
chIhvalric words, Women and children
frst.'' there has been scarcely a woman
who has not been stunned by the ap-
paIling sacrifice OF the very flower OF
manhood
And wherever there has been one wo-
man to speak or the many, the reply has
Ialteringiy. tsarmlIy gune forth-the aw-
ful pity Of IT
As the days 80 by and the heroic
stories come floating in. It is harder and
harder to think OF those lifeboats stead
ily drifting away from men, many OF
whom might have been on the roll of
the rescued had not their manhood
risen to its sublimest heights. And I am
sure there is not one true-minded
woman who is not awed as she thinks
OF a single man or the many VINO
stepped aside in dererence 10 woman
hood nj a tirne when grim death was al
the helm
Because, when IT is q question OF one
life or another, 1t is difficult to drive
home the conviction that a man should
forfeit his chance to q woman and face
death as "ehe gentleman unafraid.
verdict of Chivalry.N
Chiyalry SAYS It is beautiful tradition
adds. IT is inevitable. And It is beau
tiful. so sublime that one might almost
reverence a man, a stranger-for it Is
that that counts the most heavily-who
at his own initiative, with never a com
mand. never a hant Of ship discipline,
unfalterfngIy carried out the letter and
Tor ,f fl,,
sea. More than that, one fancies that
Rmong all those rescued women there
are many to-day upon whom the life
price viii rest heavily, for they will.
think that at the last. life looked just as
dear TO one as to another. and they viii
feel the enormtty of the sacrifice.
But in those words, women first
who knows how many years ago they
were first spoken?-there is one. just
one, excuse for the acceptance Of the
supreme sacrifice
woman's protection is entirely in the
hands OF man.
Had women possessed the power to say
what measure of safeguarding passen-
ger vessels should be required to fur
nish. how many Hfeboats. how many
Fafts, what the number OF safety belts,
the speed. the zone OF IraNel, they might
or they might not have changed the sit
ration BY so much as a hairs breadth.
Women are supposedly more timid, far
less, venturesame than men; they might
have taken fewer chances with speed,
and with icsberEs and might have
recKoned longer with some OF the exac-
tons that nov viii be demanded in the
name OF safety It Is not at all certain
that they would have, for while men
blunder, so do women, while they fail
short OF their obligations, SO do we.
Question of Protection.
But in all this cruel wreekage and in
all the great flood Of thoughts that in
evitably steal over US as we sorrowfuIly,,
gratefully remember. the sacrifices, we
cannot. in justice. lose sight OF the fact
that women are not given an oppor-
tunity to deal with these big human
questions involving US ALL our daily
rights, even our lives, and have no chance
to say how much or how little protection
shall be vouchsafed.
In a way, It seems untimely to say
that IN the wonderful call women first"
there is an element of justice that no
thinking person can escape, because just
now Il is the chivalry Of It that almost
stills all other thoughts. But since that
Is the only adequate reason why man
should step aside for woman when life