The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-01-12
Women's Achievements
in Past Century Make
Remarkable Showing

Deborah Knox Livingstone, writing
for The Union Signal. calls attention to
the fact that while through all the
centuries OF the past women have been
Identified with every effort OF religious
century that they have been allowed to
organize themselves into separate or
Limitations, such, for example, as our
societies. "We OF this generation can
hardly appreciate what 1t meant for
our grandmothers to demand the privl-
lege of having societies OF their own,
fairs they conducted It meant much
10 these women to break the chains OF
prejudice that bound them. They had
never been taught, as had men, the
for team work They haa never been
trained to understand the spirit OF to-
setherness, that quality which so hap
PLY chafacterizes the woman move
ments of these women in century
Only the records of the home and for
etgn missionary boards can adequately
Tse MS sSa II sses. A early
societies did not appreciate that they
were laying the foundation OF what
was &fterward to be the mighty struc-
tire Of the modern woman movement,
but so 1t has proved, for out of these
small ORGANIZATIONS have grown the
great philanthropic organizations and
educational movements OF TO-DAY; WITH
ss'It is dificult for the young women
OF this generation to appreciate the
heroic pioneer service OF such women
as Mary Lyon, Emma Willard and many
others, who made possible for US the
educational opportunity we enjoy on
equal terms with men. We can hardly
appreciate that less than 100 years
yes, seventy-hve years ~ covers the
whole period OF time in which women
have been granted equal educational
privileges with. their brothers. In the
early days Of the colonies. the primary
and elementary schools were only for
boys--girls were not considered at all.
We haven't > single woman's college
in the country whose history extends
S Sycther ssV point With PRIDE to the fact
that they have had their colleges and
universities for over 200 years.
What has been accomplished by the
women in this century OF higher eou-
cation? seventy-five years ago, more
than so per cent of all the teachers in
the United States were men. Today 80
per cent of all the teachers in the Unit
we are graduating from our grammar
schools, high schools and normal
schools, more girls than we are boys.
iieve that woman was endowed with
intelligence equal to that of man.
women have proved the equal of
men in the educational world and in
these recent years have made some OF
the greatest contributions to science
by their investigations. They occupy
the presidencies OF colleges equally
with their brothers. and It Is every
where recognized that sex is no barrier
to intellectual attainment.
The development of women in the
industrial world is thing accomplish
ed within the past century. One hun
dred years ago you could count upon
your hand the trades that were open
to wonaen--sewing. teaching. house
keeping were their principal occupa-
tons. With the great industrial revo-
luton, when manufacturing was
changed from the domestic to the fac
tory system, woman became in a new
sense an economic factor. Today we.