Ellsworth American., 1917-05-02

Mary Fairfax Was obliged to teach herself
Euclid and Greek by stealth. DR.. John
son taught Fanny Burney Latin, but dared
not face the oppsobrium sure to follow
such heresy, and exacted her promise to
keep the secret.
| But nearer home and nearer now. Our
Plymouth forefathers wisely established
schools shortly after their landing at Ply
mouth, but left girls out, even OF the
common schools, and for $50 years it
meant one-half the children outside. In
schools to all children-iess than 15O years
since girls were admitted to public schools
in America. And it was 24O years after
Harvard was established before it was
considered safe to trust girls with col
lege course in America.
A strange and interesting fact in history
Is how ike the present effort, how like
vote, was the earlier struggle in Massa-
chusetts for female education. The same
arguments, the same wordy memorials,
the same crushing sorrow, heartrending
and awful, az to what girls education
would do. You can quote the same sem
tence OF death to woman's glory that
goes marching on now as to the loss Of her
special sphere and sweet ascendency into
the regard and respect that must be lost
forever il she should come to know some
thing that rises now at the prospect of her
voting. What strange repetitions Of
history assail MS!
But at last, in the town Of Newbury-
port, it was graciously voted, 120 years
ago last March, that during the summer
months when the boys in the school had
diminished, 1.-THE master shall receive
girls, instructing them in grammar and
reading, after the dismissal Of the boys,
for one and one half hours"-the old cave
man and his club.
We have not time at this moment to
trace the establishment of academies and
schools for girls and women, met by
ridicule, indifference and something
called argument.
1t was in 1869 that the first college for
| girls was opened in Massachusetts-the
Greece, the Athens of America. Twelve
time in her virile vigor, her mighty force
OF insight that broke the chains OF con-
vention, snapped the cords that to-day,
| in other fields, are being broken by the
same force, the same law, and through
| seas Of blood are emptying thrones Of
caste and convention, Of the old cave man
and his club. And, with Gods help,
| AnS1 -
shall end, shall tear out of every throne
its accursed relic OF the past, as it has now
leveled China, Russia and-I almost said
Germany. Blessed be this awful war il
| it lifts out OF the british forms and liv-
ing OF the past world redeemed, clean,
sane, healthy band Of nations-the cancer
OF despotism slain, the Son Of God as
cendant.
The wonder ia, and l must not stop
name them, that so many women at this
time and little later, became famous in
| different walks OF life. There are about
three hundred colleges now to which
women are admitted. need not add that
this old, sour prejudice has fallen away.
1t was one OF the steps in the evolution Of
events nov going rapidly forward.
| Passing on from the consideration of
the gradual giving way OF the prejudice
| against woman's education to her legal
| standing, OF the laws governing her so
| different from man, we have strange
parcel of facts. The changes in the law
relating to women In the last fifty years
have been marked and many, but so slow
| in coming. These changes have been
mostly due to the efforts Of women, with
| out doubt.
| Even in Massachusetts,, fifty years ago,
the personal property OF woman held
by her before marriage the law picked
up and put into the pocket OF the man who
married her, and the old law that did not
allow the widow to remain in the house
OF her deceased husband but forty days
without paying rent remains to-day, or
die few years ago.
| III woman earned a dollar scrubbing,
her husband had legal right to it. II she
wrote book, the copyright belonged to
him. II she broke her arm, her husband
could sue, and if he recovered, the money
belonged to him. 1t took ten-year
battle to get law that made her own her
own clothes.
In what have said already have in
dicated the strong reason why believe
the ballot will be given to women in its
| full sense. In word, it is that, in the
social evolution OF women, however my
words have stumbled in saying it, have
tried to illustrate that in that path so
slowly trod by woman, no man and now
no power can blockade nor long hinder-in
that path, little way on, is the ballot.
1 believe it also because it Is right; be-
cause it is needed in the great questions
in the coming time.
"Right forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever
on the throne,
Yet that scaffold sways the future, and be-
hind the dim unknown,
standeth God within the shadow, keeping
watch above his own."
A little more than a half century ago
Right asked II chattel slavery was just ol