The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1912-07-12
A GREAT WOMAN GONE.


greatest women. A native Of Yer.
mont and q westerner by choice, q
woman who has been doing big
things in the interest Of up-lift fol-
humanity on q big scale, her death
10 great loss because she had reach.
ed that stage Of usefulness where
each week of her life was worth
more to the country and to the world
than is the average individuals life
time. ..e@
When an American thinks Of a
great woman he thinks of Francis
willard. But Miss Willard was a
pioneer in doing things affecting the
public, and since she blazed the way,
many have been taking up the work
in the thirty-odd branches that she
and her associates began. and great
company Of able women have been
developing into a world-power-not
in the sense in which leading nat
ions measure world-power but In an
Intellectual and moral sense. In the
sense that enables them to 60 to the
root of trouble and name the remedy
and then supply It.
Notable among these examples of
great Observation-Disclosures Of
peace-was their text book war. It
was conducted in your presence and
you hardly knew who was doing 1t or
what import attached to 1t. In COM
batting the liquor question they
looked into the future and took ad-
vanced ground, working on the the
DRY that the way to relieve the world
of the disadvantages of intemperance
was to educate the rising generation
in regard to it, and they proceeded
to revise the text books used in the
public schools of eighty million peo-
pie. When they had prepared suit
able books they had as much trouble
getting them introduced and adopted
as Elias Howe had with his sewing
machine when he got 1t perfected.
The enemy was quick to see their
purpose and they combined forces
to defeat their bills in every legis-
lature and to repeal them after their
passage where possible. But state by
state the women won, and now a
new generation is sharply divided on
the use of stimulants because they
are informed as to their affects.
Such women as Mrs. Decker have
been working on these things that
cover a l'fe time of effort and still |
leave open fields before them. What
has been done to educate the race on
intemperance in taking food and
drink, is yet to be accomplished in
matters pertaining to the perpetual
ion of mankind, and while they are
fighting the white slave trade, we
see signs Of their taking advanced
ground to work out twenty-year
problem with youth, by teaching
them what has generally been left
in mystery. At the biennial con-
vention at San Francisco there was ,
the discussion of the subject of teach .
ing sex-hygiene at home or in the ;
schools, a subject that is occupying
the attention of many millions and
may bring on another revision of !.
The text books of the nation.
These are only two of the great
questions in which Mrs. Decker and :
her associates spent years of work,
and she was called to give up her :
life when she seemed at the height =
If usefulness. She was the only .
women invited to sit in the congress q
II governors when they were sum- n
noned to Washington. She was the b
,nly woman who was talked of in II
his campaign for a seat in the Uni
ed States senate. And it was con-
eded that If she accepted the nomi-
alton the voters of Colorado know I,
ng her sterling worth would rise in
er support in such force that the
representatives Of vice and corrupt i
On even in Denver would have a G.
nightly battle to fight to beat her.
But she has been called beyond. te
he walked out of the great bien- a,
ial convention of women's clubs at ell
an Francisco where she held a CEN II,
al position on the stage. She was of
and asked to be excused until to- nc
lorrow. On the morrow the word
as passed that she was critically We
/ Next came the message of her wi
cath, and the world is just awaken ar
g to the sense of Its great loss. su
do
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