The Tupelo journal., 1914-01-02
Women Of Mis-

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sissippi, we can't do away with sin by
shutting u eyes to it. We women
have tried that for hundreds and hum
dreds of years; is there less or more
of sin now? W. have left men to take
care of sin exclusively, because under
some idea we believed that
we should not come in contact with it
even with our thoughts. Can't you
remember how terribly ignorant you
were as to your own purpose OF being
until long years after you were an in
telligent woman on every subject with
which the every day woman has to
deal? Think of a little child, a girl
twelve years old, being by the law ad-
Judged capable of giving away that
which is more priceless than life itself!
Think of the fact that a "whited sep
ulchre," or an attractive william, may
come along, and because of this child's
very ignorance pilch from her this
priceless gift, pnd then have tho law
held him guiltless because she has
reached the great age of IL years!
Fold your little ones to you, and teach
them of these pitfalls, that they may
not stumble and God help you to do it!
But what of those little ones who
haven't this help? How are they to be
protected? Shall they be abandoned
because they haven't this care at home?
And how about the influence on your
boys minds when they see how low an
estimate is put upon virtue? Can they
have a horror of sin when their own
State sets so little value on virtue that
if the victim be only IL years old and
has not fought against her ruin, the
man who has accomplished it may be
held sinless by a great State? Does
your blood keep it's normal temperature
when you think of this? Men are not
made for solving these problems. AS
proof of this, if a girl under 81 attempts
to give away any piece of property
save only her OWL body, she owned,
the law would step in and say "you
cannot do it." And if any man or
woman tried to persuade her to do it in
an unlawful way he or she would be
accountable to the law for it. How
about this tor consistency? Won't you
help us to right this wrong?
4th. Physical Examination of all
Public School Children. / wish l had
time to tell you how many children
have been manned body and mind,
through life. because of the ignorance
on the part of their parents OF some
physical defect, which if it had been
taken in time might have been cured.
How many epidemics of diphtheria and
other contagious diseases among the
children might have been prevented if
to begin with the school authorities
had known that one of the children had
the disease. You can see how easily
all this can be true. When DR.. Sims,
a fine eye specialist, took charge of the
Blind Institute in Jackson he found it
possible to cure, to restore the sight,
of a large per cent. of those who came
when they were still young. Won't
you help us with this?
5th. Making Women Eligible as
State and County superintendent of
Education, on the School Boards. and
on the Boards of Trustees of the Ele-
mosynary Institutions of the State.
What is more in and of a woman's
place than in looking after children in
every way? That is what we are made
for. | would not have the school board
entirely of women any more than l
would have it entirely of men. We
need both. We need the care of both
mothers and fathers to have the best
possible homes. And we need intelli-
gent women on our school boards as
well as intelligent men.
And in the Elemosynary Institutions
there are women inmates, a men
know their needs as well as women
would? If we had women on those
boards, do you think that when a poor
woman loses her mind she would be
seut to the insane hospital solely IN the
care of the sheriff or his deputy, and
not have some woman along to r
for her as she should be cared for?
Men don't think of those things, they
can't, they are absorbed in the big
thrigs.
Who can make ST. 90 go as far as So. 90
best, a man or woman? Who has been
trained in ~economizing in little things
in order to do this, men or women? 1t
would save the State many a dollar if
there were a few women on the boards
of trustees. Won't you help up with
this?
9th. Compulsory Education. To my