Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1916-01-19
EXTRACTS FROM THE AUTO
BIOGRAPHY OF
IANE GREY SWISSHELM
First Newspaper Woman Of
Minnesota.
A Remarkable Woman Of Ante.
beIIum Days-1815-1o65
CHI A P T E R x l.

ncUc11lOu-kA6c, q.
During the late spring and early
summer, my letters from home spoke
often of mothers failing health. and
in July one came from her saying her
disease had been pronounced cancer,
and bidding me come to her. The
same mail brought letter from DR..
Joseph Gazzam, telling me she was
certainly on her death-bed, and add
ing: Let nothing prevent your COM
ing to your mother at once"
was hurt by this call Was such
a monster that this old family friend
thought it necessary to urge me to go
to my dying mother? Stunned and
supplied with grief, l packed my
trunk.
My husband came in at noon, and
| handed him the letters. He read
them and expressed surprise and sor-
row, and I told him to hurry to the
wharf and see when the first boat
started. He thought I should not go
until l heard again. 1t might not be
so bad. Then, after rejecting, said,
why go at all, if there was no hope?
OF what use could be? If there was
hope, he would agree to my going, but
as there was none, he must object.
In fact, he did not see how I could
think of leaving him with those goods
on his hands. How could l be so
ready to drop all and not think Of the
consequences, for what could he do
with that stock of dry goods. My
mother pretended to be a Christian,
but would take me away from my
duty. l, too, read the Bible, but paid
little heed to it's teachings. He
brought that book and read all of
Pauls directions to wives, but rested
his case on Ephesians, v, %: "Wives
submit yourselves unto your own hus-
bands as unto the Lord. For the hus-
band is head of the wife even as
Christ is head of the church; there
fore, as the church is subject unto
Christ, so let the wives be to their
own husbands in everything"
While he continued his comments,
buried my head in pillows, saying,
Lord what wilt thou have me to do"
Milton epitomized Paul when he
made Eve say to Adam, BE God thy
law, thou mine;;" but was that the
mind and will of God? Had he trans
ferred his claim to the obedience Of
half the human family? Was every
husband God to his wife? Would wives
appear in the general judgment at all,
or if they did, would they hand in a
schedule of marital commands?
If the passage meant anything it
meant this: One might as we'll try to
be, and not to be, at the same time, rs
own allegiance to God and the same
allegiance to man. l was either Gods
subject or l was not. If was not,
! owed him no obedience. Christ as
head of the church was her absolute
lawgiver, and thus saith the Lord, was
all she dare demand. Was l to obey
my husband in that way? If so, had
no business with the moral law or any
| other law, save his commands. Chris
tian England had taken this view, and
| enacted that wife should not be pun
| ished for any crime committed by
! command, or in presence Of her hus
band, because, being altogether sub
| ject to him, she had no will of hel
own;" but this position was soon
abandoned, and this passage stamped
as spurious. Every Christian church
had so stamped it, for all encouraged
wives to join their communion with
or without the consent of their hus
bands. Thousands of female martyrs
had sealed their testimony with theil
blood, opposing the authority of thei1
husbands, and had been hOnored by
the church. AS for me, must take
that passage alone for my Bible, OF
expunge it.
Then and there l cast it from me
forever, as being no part of divine
law, and thus unconsciously took the
first step in breaking through a faith
in plenary inspiration.
next turned to the book in gener
al for guidance: "Wives, obey you1
husbands" children obey your par
ents;" Honor thy father and tn,
mother" What labyrinth of irrec
oncilable contradictions! God, in nat
ure, spoke with no uncertain sound
"Go home to your mother" and my
choice was made while my husband
talked.
l said that if he did not see about
a boat would. When he told me thai
he had legal right to detain me, ant
would exercise it, l assured him the
attempt would be as dangerous az
useless, for was going to Pittsburg.
He went out, promising to engage
my passage, but staid so long that
went to the wharf, where respectable
women were not seen alone, saw :
boat with a flag out for Pittsburg, en-
gagged a berth, and so left Louisville.