The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-08-17

10 the girl was denied collegiate train
ing and against her were closed the
doors Of the universities. Under the
influence of the great Queen, however,
the girls of England forced an improve
ment in the standards of the schools.
The girl who had idle time for reading
and for literary endeavor persuaded the
schools to give her what she needed;
the girl who had to make a living
insisted that her training be made more
practical. But it was not until they
enlisted the support Of Frederick Deni-
son Maurice that women won the
privilege Of knowing the things that lay
beyond the Finishing" school Himself
firm believer in woman's right to
know, Maurice urged that England
make appropriation for girls college,
and he pressed the issue on the
strength Of what he had observed
among young women until he gained a
hearing. Queens College was opened
for girls, and to it thronged hundreds
of the brightest young minds of Eng
land
Winning University Training.
The next step was the one which
most accurately gives the spirit of the
movement Girls who were trained at
Queens College, or at one of the
numerous schools which were soon
established, were not satisfied with the
tuition they received. They showed
themselves worthy of it, and worthy
of even more, and they demanded
admission to Cambridge and Oxford
The educational war which followed
was one of the most memorable in
England. Everything Tory and every
thing traditional was arrayed against
the women who demanded to know all
that the colleges could give. To the
captious objections which were raised
and to the arguments which were
advanced, the applicants made but one
reply-give them the opportunities
they sought and they would show
whether they merited them To this
demand England was forced at length
to accede, and colleges for women were
soon established in connection with
Oxford and Cambridge The conserva-
tive educators shrugged their shoulders
and waited for what they regarded as
the inevitable; the girls said they would
merit the educational advantages
given them-let them show it. The
result was the absolute vindication of
the girls right to know Within a
single decade after they were allowed
to take the university examination,
young women had been named as senior
wrangler and senior classic of Cam
bridge-two Of the most coveted honors
Of the university. Needing what the
universities offered, they made the
most of them.
In the history of the educational
movement in England, to repeat, one
may read the story of the movement
everywhere. The girls who had moth
ing else to do except to know and the
girls who must know to earn a living
demanded educational advantages
which they gained. Their success is
the only answer that need be given to
the questions which we have fancied an
eighteenth-century educator to ask.
The girls ability to learn is the proof
of her right to know.
What Parents Fear.
But while the girls right to know
may be said to have been established,
some Of its advocates are lukewarm
Some parents, for instance, will not ask
why the girl should know, but, admit
ting her right to know, they still have
a vague fear that the fulness of knowl-
edge may not be beneficial to her. Il
would like for my girl to have a good
education" one often hears father
say, butt am little afraid it may not
be good for her."
Before we state the case in behalf
of the education of girls, let us briefly
analyze this fear Why are some
parents afraid that education may not
"be good" for the girl? What i'll effects
do thew antioinoto2