New Britain herald., 1921-09-15
MAN NO LONGER ISr-
 THE ONLY PREACHER
Male AutoCraCy in Modern Pulpit
 Is on the Wane

Chicago, Sept. 15.-Male autocracy
 that once ruled in every part of life is
 making its last stand in the ministry, Miss M Madeline Southard, presi- dent of the International Association of Women Preachers. told its annual convention here last night.
 Miss Southard led the struggle in the Methodist Episcopal general con- ference last year that obtained license /, for women to preach. Her home is in Winfield Kan. Women preachers of number of churches, for the associ- ation is non-denominational heard her address
 -."Our good friends in this land who oppose woman's admission to the min iStry seem to be serenely unconscious
 that they are the spiritual descendants
 of those who once held women as
 chattels, who later shut the schools
 in their faces. denied them the ballot,
 and refused them equal wages for
 eqnaI work despite the fact that thous ..
 ands of them were the family bread
 winners" Miss Southard said. She then reviewed arguments against wom-
 en preaching.
 t The time was when an appeal to
 scripture settled the whole thing, men
 of course doing the interpretating,%
 she said. We have gone far from that now, for every woman's voice
 heard in Christian Endeavor, Epworth League or Sunday school is a direct violation of the keeping silence in the church. while if women did no teach ing both public schools and Sunday schools would suffer considerable loss.
 Another. once overwhelming argu- me mt was that woman was not men tally capable of presenting the weighty th,.mes that must be dealt with in the pulpit. But since we have had a single generation of educated women we. hear little more of that.
 Again it was once seriously claimed that woman was unequal physically to the strain of pastoral work-and that in the day when women had from 12 to Is children and did all the work for themi-. We know of one woman who in the Rocky Mountains covered a circuit of 50 miles and developed several charges, which I heard her district superintendent declare, were now able to support a man as pastor"
 One still hears occasionally that the ordination of women will feminize the | But that is impossible, for a of the pulpit has al- | ready accomplished if.
 "iMany of the Arguments once used | against women's preaching have had | to be abandoned. But the opponents | J+Ill cling to one,the pet argument of Nyoman's sphere Of necessity many | are not mothers and must seek other vacations, while many thousands lf mothers are forced into the indus rlal world to support themselves and .heir children. Indeed many or those who remain at home give about nine enths of their time to industry and of their time to children. A preacher would have much nore time for children than many | housewives.
 Tt has not been proved that preach ng is in any way inimical to mother hood. I know a number of preaching mothers and I will put their children ID, against any of the same number hat any group of families desire to ,ring forward. II
 Woman will bring no new Gospel ust the woman's vision of the old yet ven new Gospel. And there will be 70 rivalry between her and her broth ach will reinforce and strengthen the 'ther. For the mans mind and the mind are ever complementary nd only the blended wisdom of the wo can give wholeness and symmetry whether in home or state or church"