Woman's enterprise., 1922-06-01
How Women Have Progressed

What will be the twentieth century
woman's declaration of rights?"
Ever since the English barons cor.
nered King John and made him sign
On the dotted line, oppressed groups
have been presenting "bills of wrongs
and charters of rights to the powers
that be.
For long time men monopolized
the business Of writing out their griev.
ances. 1t was not until 1848 that
women, meeting in Seneca Falls
New York, discovered and formulated
their own Declaration of Indepen.
dence.
Now comes the announcement thai
women from all parts Of the country
who met at Washington on May 21st
to dedicate the new national headquar.
ters of the Woman's party revived
this 184S declaration and brought it ur
to date issuing a 1922 woman's "char.
ter Of rights"
For, according to the Woman's par.
ty leaders, while great advances have
been made in the campaign to abolish
the determinations against women
listed by these early pioneers many in.
justices still remain. Only one part
OF that campaign-the struggle fol
the vote has been successfully com.
pleted. The Woman's party is dedi.
Gated to the purpose of working for
the victorious conclusion of the entire
campaign for "women's rights" as
they called it in those early days.
How that 1S4S declaration of SEN
tlments" was written forms an anus
ing and pathetic story in itself. After
issuing the call for the 1S4S conven-
ton Lucretia Mott, Martha C. Wright.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Mary Ann
McClintock met to write their declara.
tion and resolutions and to consider
subjects for speeches. The "History
Of Woman Suffrage" describes their
difficulties:
"As the convention was to assem-
bic in three days the time was short
Tor such productions; but having no
experience in the modus operandi of
getting up conventions, nor in that
kind of literature, they were quite in
nicent of the herculean labors they
proposed. On the first attempt to
frame resolution; to crowd a CON-
plete thought, clearly and concisely,
into three lines; they felt as helpless
and hopeless as if they had been sud-
denly asked to construct a steam en-
CINE. And the humiliating fact may
as we'll now be recorded that before
taking the initiative step, those ladies
resigned themselves to faithful pe-
rusal of various masculine produc-
tions.
"After much delay, one of the circle
took up the Declaration of 1776, and
read it aloud with much spirit and
emphasis, and it was at once decided
to adopt the historic document, with
some slight changes such as substi-
tute all mem for King George
The women of that early convention
owed more than the form of their
declaration to men. An amusing
story tells Of the arrival of the ladies
at the church selected for their meet
ing only to find the door was locked
so an "embryo Professor of Yale COL
lege" was lifted through an open win
dow to unbar the door.
The story goes on to say that it
had been decided to have no men pres
ent but as they were already on the
spot, it was decided that they might
make themselves useful by acting as
chairman, speakers and general par
1iamentary assistants!
his first women's declaration began
with the familiar "When in the course
Of human events" and went on "We
hold these truths to be self evident;