The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1922-05-19
The Rights Of Women

Now that woman has been given
the right of suffrage, it will be readi-
! " seen that it is the elimination of
an effort that has always been pres
ent in the minds Of the opposite sex
who have always felt that woman is
at least the equal Of man.
Among the most celebrated ma
tons of antiquity woman held very
subordinate place. The most splen-
did and durable monument Of The
Roman empire, and the noblest gift
Rome has beuueathed to posterlty, IS
her Jurisprudence vast and har-
monious system worked out with con-
summate skill, and from which we
derive our purest and largest notions
of civil law. Yet this has taught to
our most enlightened lawyers, their
best lesson; and which enabled Brac-
ton among the earliest jurlsts, SOM
ers, Hardwicke, Mansfield and Sto-
well, among the later, to soften by It's
refinement the rude maXin1s Of our
Saxon ancestors and adjust the
coarser principles of the old COM
mon law to the actual eXigencles OF
life; this imperishab!e specimen OF
! human sagacity is, stange to say, so
grossly unjust towards women, that
great writer upon that code has
we'll observed, that in it women are
regarded not as persons, but as
; things; so completely were they strip
ped of all their rights, and held IN
subiection by their proud and imperl-
Gus masters.
! AS 20 the ovner great nation Oh
iantlqu!Jy, we nave only 10 open TIE
literature or the ancient GreehS "
See Will WnaC dlrS OIL Superiority,
w.,n WHAT serene ana lofty conteMpv
J anu sometimes VIA Wuaj mOcAlng
auu,u.I.aS orUrn women were LreaLeu
; uy t0aa i4vely ana ingenious peUp4e.
Instead CT vaIuing l4elu as cumpan-
.ous, Lney IooKeu OIL tnem as toys.
HOW utlIe paiL women really LOOK III
,Ae deveIopmenJ or GreeK clvit-Za t4on
may ue Illustrated Dy the singular
1acr tnat tneir influence, scanty as II
was, Qld not reacn ITS ne.SnC IN the
ulUsC civllzed tlmes or II the most
c!vIl.Zeu regions. IN lnoaern Europe,
lne influence or women ana tne
,preau Oh civilization nave Deen near
~ commensurate, botn advancing
VITA almost equal speed. DuC II You
compare the pIcCure o. Greek LIE n
nomar with tnaC 10 .e IGund IN ia
TO ana MS contemporaries, you WA!
oe sruch Uy a 100 opposite crcum-
stance. 6e.Ween rIato and homer
Cnere lnterveneu according TO lne
common reckoning, period or aI
.east Iour centuries, during wnlcn the
creeks made many noCaole improve
ments in the arts Of HE, and IN va
rIous branches Of speculative and
pracrlcal knowledge. 80 1ar, how
ever, from women participating IN
this movement, we IND her n the
state OF society exhibited by Plato
ana his contemporaries, they mad ev-;
identity lost ground; their influence
beng less than II was IN the earlier
ana more parbarous days depicted
oy Homer. in Sparta woman poss-
! esseu more influence than they dld
IN Athens; although the Spartans
were rude and ignorant, the Atheni-
ans polite and accomplished. l call
your attention to this because It:
forms d curious suojecJ for lnvestI-
CATION, and is proof Of the fact that
the boasted civilization Of antiquity
was eminently one-sided and that
they fell because society did not an
vance IN all its parts but sacrificed
some of its constituents in order 10
secure the progress Of others.
In modern Europe such had not
been the case, and woman took her
rightful place as the companion, the
help-mate mate, the advisor OF her
chosen man. No great amount OF
difficulty has been met with by those
who have brought ABOUT the emancl-
patton of women IL OUR own country.
For a long time the women them
selves gave very little encouragement
and absolutely no cooperation to-
those wao were endeavoring to bring
about a situation which would give
them the rigt to cast their ballots or
to allow them TO hold office. The MIN
ute the women themselves as whole
became interested, the matter was
brought about and the future only
can disclose whether or not the move