Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-12-03
THE HASKIN LETTER
A BLOW TO CHIvALRY.
Rx Frederic J.. Haskln.

W q
Is the system of formal courtesy with
which men treat women a sign OF
respect or of scorn? Does IL put
woman on a pedestal, or brand her
an inferior?
These questions are just now the
subject of a good deal of debate
among advanced feminists, and 1t Is
even possible hat some pronounce
ment on the subject may be made
by a leading woman's organization.
No longer is it safe for a man in
discriminatingly to lift his hat to a
woman. That is. not IL she happens
to be a feminist of the most ad-
vanced school
These radicals say that hat tip
ping. far from signifying respect,
means simply that the man regards
woman as a weak and helpless crea-
ture. They dig back into the roman
+. tic DAYS OF chivalry and produce data
| showing tina the bold, brave knights
used 10 remove their weighty shel-
NETS in the presence of anyone who
was to be trusted or harmless. Wom-
en- came in this second group. There
may have been other reasons why
the knights made a lady's presence a
regular excuse to dispense with their
head cages. Probably the weight
mdu0 IntlF ntduS dCilts iAppdbaSt
too. they liked their feminine friends
TO see their noble features. But the
big idea, whether they were con-
scious of it at all times or not was
that woman was a thing apart and
not to be taken seriously.
The same principle, according 10
the feminists, has come dow to us
in other bits of gailantry. which in
their true meaning proclaim wom-
ans inferiority. This is true of a
man walking on the outside of the
pavement TO guard a oma COM
panion against any danger from the
street, and also Of a man rising to
give a 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 controver-
sy. The advance guard of feminism
finds tina when a man rises in a pub
lie place to resign his seat to a wom-
an he is making a special concession
to her sex, especially her frailty. If
the woman Is able-bodied, the insin-
uation is not exactly a compliment.
Therefore, they say, the pantomime
OF exchanging positions on a street
car can be eliminated, and social in
%fercourse will be one step nearer an
honest. sensible basis.
Formally Versus Consideration.
Most of the women, however, even
those who prefer not to accept fav-
ors from men when offered on "a ba-
sis of special consideration for their
sex. agree that very often a man is
to be applauded for giving up his
seat TO someone else. Common po-
liteness-not offensive chivalry-de-
mands that an old person of either
sex, a woman with a baby. a cripple.
or a sick person, should be seated in
a street Car or waiting room. Some
concede that a man can ever surren-
der his sea to a tired-looking wom-
an of any age without implying hat
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 it implies.
Ancient ideas of woman's place in
society still guide us when it comes
to many social formalities. In some
places it is still held the correct thing
for a man to precede a woman up
stairs and descend after her. The
origin of this is obscure, but we have
been told that it could probably be
traced 10 the time when women wore
hoop skirts. This fashion, combined
with the polite idea of the time that
a woman had no legs, would make IL
proper for a man to conduct him
self so that the illusion might re-
main unshattered. If he descended
first. and stood waiting his fair COM
panion below, either the styles in
clothing or in decorum would nave
had to change. Nowadays, when
women's skirts are knee length and
street a steps two feet high, the
precaution of a man preceding a
woman up a flight of steps is obvi-
ously out of date. Recently
ton has changed somewhat to allow
the man 10 follow the woman both
up and downstairs.
Another threadbare convention Is
for the women at a dinner party to
adjourn to the parlors, leaving the
men to smoke and talk in the dining
room. This procedure started at
medieval banquets when everybody,
men and women alike, crammed to
the neck on as many kinds of food
as the host could pile on an over
laden board. After dinner, the dam
sells retired and their lords proceeded
to drink themselves to sleep under
the table. This dinner party ETH
quette, which was still justified until
recently by the fact that women were
supposed to object to cigar smoke.
is now a mere hollow form. err
tainly few modern women object to
the scene of tobacco smoke. and
many feel sighted IL not invited to
help make it.
Some Individual VIEWS.
The women do not intend to keep
their theories in the conversation
stage. There is talk here pro and
con of a public declaration to settle
these matters of what is desirable
i'm the way of courtesy from men.
1t is in this connection that the
Woman's Party is considering a bill
of rights to be drafted by the ma
tional convention of women voters
when it meets at the capital next
February. This would certainly
simplify the situation for perplexed
man. Before such a declaration
could be made, however, there would
have to be a c~oncensus of opinion
~