The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-09

relationship between some OF the ad-
ministrative policies of our public
schools and the progress of the woman
suffrage cause in this country. The
relationship exists, regardless of the
views of our educators upon the suf-
frage question. and regardless of the
opinions of the suffragists with refer
ence to the administrative policies of
the schools.
The story of the enfranchisement of
woman runs parallel with the history
Of the American public school. In the
colonial era, the education of girls was
entrusted to governesses, and 1t was
only at late period that private
schools and colleges were established
for the education of young women. It
is true that the coeducation of the
sexes in primary classes was permitted
during colonial times. but the custom
was discountenanced among the
Weather classes. The segregation cf
the sexes, during the period of their
collegiate education. 80 years ago, was
regarded as an absolute necessity, and
coedncation was pronounced barbar-
Gus abandonment of the traditions of
cultured society.
Gradually as the population pushed
westward, We find the traditions in
nerited from the fathers of the repub-
lie rudely shattered, and, in every
western state and territory the coedu-
cation of the sexes became the ap-
proved educational policy not only in
the-eiementary schools, but in the high
schoois and colleges as we'll. Whether
'ne adoption of this policy is to be at
,riputed to economic reasons. or to the
leveiing influence of western democ-
raccy, Is immaterial. Even If the pov-
er'y OF the west in the early days may
oe sho"h TO have been the occasion
lor the introduction of coeducation. IL
10y 49,, also De shown that the people in.
49, ar,,s,p, opuiehce have set their seal of
approval upon this policy, by its exten-
sioi not only into all their high
senoois and normal schools. but into all
| 'hef state universities as we'll
Equai suffrage has found in the west,
HE'D we'll prepared by the extensions
equai educational opportunity, and
ol the coeducation of the sexes In
s soiie OF these western states. the sexes
nave been educated together in high
school and college for more than hair
a century. In such states the transit
eion TO equal suffrage came easily and
naturally. The sexes understand each
other' they respect each others rights
IN the economic field as thew were
trained to regard them at close range
III the educational arena. 1t is a sig
iiiiieant 1act that no state In the south
or on the Atlantic seaboard has vet
adopted the equal suffrage policy. 1t
is equally significant that in the most
pfr>ulous centers of these states from
New orleans to Boston. we find the
sexes segregated in high schools and
colleges. In the larger cities, such as
mobile, Atlanta, Charleston, Baltimore.
Philadelphia, New York and Boston, the
cities that have established the admin
lstrative ideals of the smaller towns
and village communities of their re-
spectiye states, girls high schools and
boys high schools were established as
separate institutions. In the majority
of these cities. the segregation of the
sexes in the high schools still prevails,
because of the difficulty of changing
the institutional ideals of people
when once firmly established. In some
of these states we find in recent years
an effort at readjustment by opening
the doors of the colleges and state uni
versities for women. In most cases.
however, in the south, as well az in
the east, progress in this direction has
been slow. Instead of genuine coedu-
cation, we find a sort of approxima-
tion In the form of "annexes' sur
rounded usually by insurmountable
academic barriers, Between the con-
servative concessions of our eastern
and southern colleges. and the condi-
ton of intellectual comradeship found
in our western universities, we fiSd
the barrier of tradition. This barrier
can not be crossed without doing vio-
lence to tlfe traditional sentiment be-
hind it, Likewise. any effort in these
conservative states to permit woman TO
WELD the ballot on equal terms with
man. encounters this barrier, estab-
lished by tradition and maintained by
education. All efforts in this line are
usually accompanied by manifestations
of the spirit of violence and paroxysms
of militant temper. unless the way has
been prepared by the processes of edu-
cation and training.
In no country in the world perhaps,
do we find the segregation of the sexes
in the schools and universities more
thoroughly crystal1ized by tradition
than in Great Britain: nowhere is the
demand for separation more insistent
1t is not surprising, therefore, that we
should find in Great Britain the most
violent and spectacular type of the
militant "suffragette." The sexes have
not been prepared for equality in the
functions of government because they
have neglected the natural and logical
processes of training through institu-
tional equality. Such scenes have never
been. and never could have been enact
ed in our western cities. because they
had adopted coeducation as an insti-
tutional method which peacefully and
naturally led both men and women to
the realization of equal suffrage as the
logical and inevitable result.