The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1916-09-17

ficient reason for letting this classic
90 unrevised. There should be no
offense to the gentle sex, for an in
telligent Interpretation would apply
the word only in reasonable way.
From the narrative in the book of
Esther it would appear that Queen
Vashti was right when she refused
to obey King Ahasuerus in his COM
mand to come before him and his noble
jewellers to display her beauty. The
King was making merry, and, as the
good book tells us, was after very
much drinking, well warmed with
wine" His Queen thought it was a
time to disobey, even if she angered
her royal lord and caused him in his
wrath and humiliation to "set her
side"-which he did.
Any wife of today would be justi-
fled in refusing to obey if the hus-
band were under the influence of liquor
or were acting like tyrant.
Occasionally an advanced suffragist
has protested against the use of the
word obey. To her militant mind the
idea of a woman being made to say
at the altar that she would obey her
spouse-what, mere man ?-is detest-
able. In her way of thinking the
Episcopal marriage form should be
changed so as to make the man vow
to obey the wife, and thus be in line
with social progress. But it is only
the radical reformer who takes that
view. The average equal suffragist
is sane and well poised and as human
in her sympathies as in other days,
before the world had heard much of
organized uplift. 1t is not suf-
fragist of this type who objects to
the word obey.
The Episcopal general convention is
usually conservative in it's action and
it will be surprising if the house of
deputies does not vote down the COM
missions report by a decisive ma
jority.
6HHE Servian government is $50
u journing" in Paris, and while it
has no country to govern, it still takes
itself seriously, as shown by the nego-
tiations with the American govern
ment for sending a Servian minister
to Washington. 1t is probable that the
state department will
Serbs to Have approve the name
a Minister presented by the Ser
Wan government and
the minister will endeavor to keep
himself busy representing a country
that is nothing but a name, until after
the war is over.
Still, there is much to admire in the
hopeful attitude of the Serbs. Their
King and their government are in ex-
lie, both to all intents and purposes
objects of charity, yet with supreme
confidence the expatriates are keeping
up form of government and are
waiting for the time when Servia
shall be free again and they can re-
turn to their own country.
The Serbs and the Belgians, both
gallant peoples, have won the sympa-
thy and admiration of the whole world
by the courage and fortitude they
have shown, and lovers of fair play
will rejoice when they are once more
able to direct their national affairs
from their respective capitals, now
held by the enemy.
q OMEBODY started the report
nv that short skirts were going out
of style and men who do not keep
we'll up with Dame Fashion accepted
! it as true. But if such as change is
made in the Of
Fancy Hose and flee OF a promi
Short Skirts Barred nent life insur
| ance company
at Newark it will be the result of a lit
tie talk the vice president had with one
of the company's most stylish stenog
raphers. He called her aside and spoke
thus: "We do not pretend to dictate
to our young women how they shall