The Washington herald., 1912-10-02
Topics of Interest to Every Woman
EDITED BY JULIA CHANDLER MANI
Economical Conditions Force
Women Away from the Home
BY FRANCES sHAFFER.


When you read few days ago thar
little dispatch from London, briefly stat
ing that the Law Society at Cardiff.
Wales, by a large majority had turned
down the proposal to admit women to
! the profession OF solicitor, how did IL i'm
press you?
As for me, then as always, the up
permost wonderment was
Just how does the masculine mind
operate in such instances?
One objection.
Perhaps you recall how 1t operated in
the case OF one OF those exclusive and
dwarfish-minded Welshmen. In an ex-
cess of self-compiacency and conceit he
announced his objection-"Women had
not yet learned to be honest"
And as one read the sweeping declar-
alton and thought Of the probable type
of man. the impulse was to smile. But
then one remembered that It merited
! something rather stronger than smile,
since it left women standing. helpless,
outside the gates, women who had the
brains to deal with law from the law
yers viewpoint and who sought the
simple right to follow the profession Of
their choice, leaving it to time and their
records to prove their fitness to serve as
solicitors.
One wonders. too. If that self-satisfied
opponent quite understands the meaning
of honesty. that one must learn to be
just before he can afford to prate of
honesty?
II Is not the verdict of the world that
women are dishonest, but so long as the
opinion and the action of that one man
and others OF his kind are potent TO
keep women In the background of law
or any other profession they would fol-
low, one must be granted the privilege
of saying that as a class such men are
not an ornament to modern civilization.
For in the modern notion of things, fair
play and equality of rights are granted
high and honored place.
Don't Help Progress.
And these men. when they get to-
gether and work out woman's destiny
in the great field of human eneeavor-
do they honestly believe they are help
ing the world grow bigger and better
when they peremptorily set aside any
portion OF its citizens, men or women?
What do they say to themselves to
Justify their course? That women cam
hot succeed. because of natures decree?
They know better when they look about.
and at best one cannot believe they have
the moral right to make such decisions
for themselves and for women, too. The
human thing is to give all a chance.
We are quite prone to say that in these
free days all have an equal chance to
rise or fall. and because ii is rather far
from the truth in some respects, II Is
well to lift the curtain once in a while
and look behind the scenes. Who knows
among those rejected. would-be solici-
tors there might arise the most brillia Mt
lawyer of all, once she had a chance.
Or do they refuse to admit women on
the simple ground that the profession
is already crowded. and they. poor souls
cannot find enough to keep them busy
it is? That ugly query is bound TO
slip through ones mind as she honest
ly'' tries to follow the probable reason
ing, but it savors very strongly of selfish
ness.
Womnn's Real Place.
Doubtless many of them say. with par
Tot-like persistence, that ''woman's place
is in the home And those of us who
believe that womans place is wherever
her particular nature and qualifications
lead her, reply. in effect: II that he
true, then il should be mans place to
see that every woman Is granted the
privilege of remaining in the home, SUP
ported by some mysterious power that
now is sadly lacking. AS it is, economic
conditions force women away from the
home. if they would live.
And these men in conference assem-
hled, as they ponder the issue, do they
stop TO thing what a pleasant. gracious
right It is to be granted the freedom of
choice without any one to say them nay?
Do they remember that some work is
very appealing, dgnified and honor-con-
ferring, with a song all through 1t be-
cause t fits in with personal capabilities.
while other lines of labor are eXacting,
hard and unsatsfying? And do they
think it altogether big, manly and Chiv-
aIric to take their choice, and leave
v omen to fall in line at heir bidding?
1t is not just pleasant, but these and
similar queries always come to mind
when an artificial barrier is erected
straight across woman's path when am
bition bids her go ahead and win II she
can. And just in the name of bigness
it is hard TO comprehend just why any
law society or other society composed of
men is willing to put itself on record
for narrowness or something worse.