The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-12-03
Frederic Haskin's Lett
A Blow 10 chivalry.

: Washington, D. c.. DEC. LA the
system Of formal courtesy with
which men treat women = sign Of
respect or Of scorn! Does It put
women on = pedestal, or brand her
an inferior?
These questions are just now the
subject of q good deal Of debate
among advanced feminists, and it IL
even possible that some pronounce
ment on the subject may be made
BY leading woman's organization.
No longer is It safe for . man in
discriminatory to lift his hat to .
woman. That Is, not II she happens
to be q feminist ,of the most adj
fvanced school.
The radicals say that hat tip
ping. far from signifyinE respect,
mean1 simply that the man regards
womao as q. weak and helpless
creature. They dig back into the
romantic days Of chivalry and pro-
duce data showing that the bold,
brave knights used tderemove their
weighty helmets in the presence Of
anyone who was to be trusted or
harmless. Women came in this sec
ond group. There may have been
other reasons why the knights made
lady's presence = regular excuse
to dispense with their head cages.
Probably the weight made their
heads ache. Probably. too, they
liked their feminine friends to see
their noble. features. But the big
idea, whether they were conscious
Of 1t at all times or not, was that
Woman was a thing apart and not
to be taken seriously.
The same principle, according to
the feminists, has come down to US
in other bits Of gallantrY which in
their true meaning proclaim wom-
ans inferiority. This is true of a
man walking on the outside of the
pavement to guard q woman COM
panion against any danger from
the street, and also Of man rising
to give woman a seat in a street
car.
The first is obviously an act of
protection, based on the idea
of woman's fragility. Regarding
street car conduct there is some
controversy. The advance guard
of feminism finds that when q man
rises in a public place to resign his
seat to a woman he is making a
special concession to her sex, espe-
cially her frailty. II the woman is
able bodied the insinuation is not
exactly a compliment. Therefore,
they say, the pantomime Of ex-
changing positions on a. street Car
can be eliminated and social inter-
course will be one step nearer an
honest, sensible basis.
Formally Versus Consideration.
4 Most of the women, howAver.
even those who, prefer not to Vac
cept fayors from men when Of
fered on basis Of special consider
alton for their sex, agree that very
often a man is to be applauded for
! giving up his seat to someone else.
Common politeness-not. offensive
chivalry-demands that an old per-
son OF either sex, woman with a
baby, cripple or a sick person,
should be seated in a street car or
waiting room. Some concede that
a man can even surrender his seat
to a tired-looking woman Of any
age without implying that she is a
mere doll to be handled with care
And, of course, some women say
that they like to see a man show
consideration for them, whatever II
implies.
Ancient ideas of woman's place
in society still guide us when Il
comes to many social formalities
In some places it is still held thu
correct thing for a man to precedt
a woman upstairs and descend aft
er her. The origin of this is OBJ
scure, but we have been told tina
it could probably be traced to tn,
time when women wore hoop skirts
This fashion, combined with the po
lite idea of the time that woman
had no legs, would make it propel
for a man to conduct himself 81
that the illusion might remain un
, shattered. II he descended first
and stood awaiting his fair com
: panion below, either the style II
clothing or in decorum would hav
had to change. Nowadays. whel
l women's skirts are knee length ant
street car steps two feet high, tn
; precaution of man preceding
! woman up a flight of steps is OBJ
viously out Of date. Recently con
vention has changed somewhat t,
; allow q man to follow the womal
: both up and downstairs.
i Another threadbare convention i
for the women at dinner party t
. adjourn to the parlors, leaving tn
men to smoke and talk in the din
, ing room. This procedure starts
: at medieval banquets when every
! body. men and women alike
crammed to the neck on as man
, kinds Of food as the host could pill
. on an overladen board. After din
ner the damsels retired and the;
q lords proceeded to drink themselve
to sleep under the table. This din
:. ner party etiquet, which was st.I
q justified until recently by the fac