The Washington herald., 1913-03-07
BY FRANCES sHAFFER.

BY the way, in the suffrage pageant
at Washington, what was it that the
hooting. jeering elements demonstrate
ed? They were part of the watching
throngs, part of the big body of voters
who some day will be called upon to
determine whether the mighty power
of the ballot shall pass into woman's
hands. They were rough, they were
coarse, they were something worse
but one by one. they will cast their
vote. for or against.
In their brutality, their lawlessness,
their utter disregard for woman, did
they display their own fitness to be
intrusted with the least fraction of
power?
And among the order-loving men
and women who viewed the cowardly
exhibitions at close range or from afar
off, were there long. deep thoughts
| on the adequacy of chivalry in every
| time of wonan's need?
OF course, everybody knows that
! they were rowdies, nothing more. But
the marchers. themselves outside the
gates of government, had pleaded for
protection from the insults and the
roughnesS of the rowdy minority.
Women of force, women of gentle
breeding, and women of quality, If
you like, had importuned at the very
throne of power for the strong arms
and the stronger authority that alone
would prevail against a pushing crowd
intent upon abuse, and held back by
no promptings OF chivalry, or even OF
dccency.
Whole World Conerncdc.
And if the unfortunate exhibition
demonstrated any one thing more than
another, it was the undoubted fact
that while the flower of chivalry to-
ward woman beautifully blossoms in
the heart of the average man. 1t is not
safe, not fair at all, to trust TO that
delicate growth when the whole world
of mankind and the whole world of
womankind are concerned.
Because when the rowdy element Ell
tiers the story, "woman's protection" 10
a sorry myth. And the rowdy element
is not always confined to monster pa
rades; it is not always limited to the
lower strata. Indeed. one must search
the heart before one knows whether
the chivalry flowers are growing or
not And the unfairness comes in as
Stunning that they thrive in every heart
and beautifully reach out their sweet
protection for every woman and for
every class OF woman.
And since the whole world knows
that these tender flowers very much
depend upon the quality of soil they
find it seems. sort OF fair and true
and very chivalric to place in wom-
ans hands the power to protect her
self
For women, it must be remembered.
had nothing to say as to the measure
OF protection that should be vouch-
safcd their suffrage parade-all they
could do was to ask as earnestly as
they could. and leave it 10 the authori-
ties to do the rest How well it was
done. is matter of record now.
Who Makes Stanards Anyhow.
There are folk, quite a few of them,
who say that the paraders richly !
enough deserved all they got; that If
their wives or mothers, their sisters, |
or even their friends had yer .ured |
among the marchers they would have
felt deeply disgraced, and would not
have turned over har . help them !
For the notoriety OF e.. thing, the up
heaval OF all traits womanly and the |
strange assumpti"h of masculine rights !
were enough 10 arouse the ire of a
saint, to ; nothing OF the patience OF
an orr Iry man.
But, deary me. one wishes and !
wishes that these very same folk
would once make it known what they
think and what they say of their
wives and their daughters. their moth
ers and their friends when they see
them publicly photographed in such
strange. strange ways While some of
lis were reading about the suffrage
marchers and their stormy experiences,
we turned the newspaper page, and