The sun., 1919-09-28
Reconstruction and the
Education of Women
Women Have Acquired World Vision and Have
Learned to Cooperate-War Has Taught Education
Of Mind Without Education of Spirit Is Menace.

history has been making rap

and conditions which in early
1914 seemed possibility Of the re-
mote future are to-day a common
place. Among the changes must be
Included the subject Of the public SER
vice of women. DR.. Shaw in her last
address, ON what the War Meant to
Women" an appeal for their support
Of the League OF Nations Covenant,
calls attention to the fact that women
never had such an opportunity before
as. during the war just
closed" an opportunity so great and
30 fully met that 1t is declared by
every nation which has been at war
that the war could never have been
won II 1t had not been Tor the work of
the women"
The importance Of the service Of
women during the war is recognized:
that Is history now. and our duty Is
tho forward. not the backward. look.
10 dwell upon what women have done
accomplishes little except as an in
centive to what they may do Some
facts have been made clear as never
before. It has been demonstrated
that given opportunity. women will
improve 1t. They have acquired
'world vision even after centuries.
as DIR. Shaw reminds us, of emphasis
upon personal relationships" They
have shown that they can cooperate.
What Is the task which our day sets
before us, women as we'll as men?
1t does not need a prophet to tell us
that this is destined to be a century
Of reconstruction; the FIVE years Of
tearing down in which the civilized
world has been engaged has brought
Into startling clearness the fact that
much of our community and national
and world life, as it existed before the
war. needs rebuilding and rebuilding
IN a new and more permanent way.
The distinctive work Of the present
century Is "a work of preventing, not
alone OF remedyins evils, building
UP. not a patching up. This does not
mean. after us. the millennium; prob
sbly the succeeding centuries will
have something to do, but 1t does mean
= more definite work Of construction.
lf civilization is to endure, than any
other century has experienced. The
way Is open in every department of
life.
Labor unrest becomes ominous wher
II acquires the Bolshevistic spirit and
the need of wisdom and cooperation
in the conduct Of indicidual life is APP
parent as never before. 1t is not by
the ascendency of any class that evils
will be remedied: 1t Is rather by the
development of a new spirit in all
classes that they can be prevented.
as far as human fundamentally is
able to prevent.
There Is the same need in political
life. Never, In the present generation
at least. has the prevalence of mob
spirit been so general The country
which went into the war to make the
+ world safe for democracy is face to
face with the equally critical and diff
fcult task of making democracy safe
for the world. Anarchy is not de-
mocracy, and a land In which bomb
trruwIng. lynchihg. race war and
hooolum riots are becoming ap-
pallingly frequent has a problem of
It's own to challenge the best thought
of its altruistic thinkers.
There Is but a thin line of division
between the industrial and political
worlds and the social world. All are
In fiux: In each one the problems are
staggering. Social evils in their hide
Gus forms. race antagonisms, class
prejudices. the low percentage OF
health and high percentage of
nliteracy revealed by the draft, these
and many other questions combine to
form a social problem not easy of
solution.
The task before this country is not
a simple one, let no one labor under
that delusion. 1t is a task which
cannot be performed by any one indi-
vidual. however great a statesman. or
8 by any one group. It is rather a task
: for the people. In the most inclusive
definition of that word. men and
women Of all classes. We are con-
fronted as we have not been since the
time OF the civil war. but the question
Of preserving a Government "of the
people. the people. for the people, "
Demo. ra.:y is on trial before ths
world, and the verdict will depend up
on the character of the men and
women Of the United States.
That fact alone gives to education
q new significance. 1t has become not
luxury, II II ever was that, but q
stern necessity one OF the most i'm
portant questions before the nation
applying quite as truly to the daugh-
ter as TO the son. There Is urgent need
Tor the education OF grown men and
women, including such widely diverse
groups as the foreign born, those who
come within the scope Of efforts for
characterization" in the commonly
accepted meaning OF that word, and
the men and women who Ave years
ago would have been surprised to be
included In the list of the "unedu-
Gated" The five years have not only
Introduced an entirely new set OF
problems. but have also intensified the
old ones. and there are thousands OF
citizens In the so-called educated
classes unframed and unready tc
meet them. Especially is this true
Of woman. as never before a factor
In the social and Industrial and polit.
Seal world.
But II Is with the women of to-
morrow rather than with the women OF
to-day. that we are concerned, human
beings with whom we have greater
chance OF success. Many statement.
may be made regarding the education
-.