Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-05
BY RUTH l.. FR4NKEL.

lin o you think it possible 70.
u" women to bring about world
peace?" I asked Helen Taft
Manning we sat beside her
desk in her big, sunny office in
Taylor Hall, on the Bryn Mawr
campus Across the lawn gay red tulips
nodded! Somewhere outside the open window
a thrush caroled. pleasant hum of young
voices, the sight Of occasional bare-legged
slim youngster hurrying by. made all thoughts
OF war seem rather silly.
cut the young dean Of the college, her blue
eyes very serious despite the quiet, clustered
charm of her small domain. replied scDerly: IF
they stood together. they could. undoubtedly;
but it Is not easy to persuade women to unite
in working for any cause. It is natural that
many women should prefer to depend on their
husbands and fathers and brothers for leader
ship rather than on other women Yet they
have a special interest in some causes and I
believe that peace is one Of them. All gen.
civilizations about the sexes are open to dis
pute, but think that there are biological and
historical grounds for believing that women are
the con"ervative sex. They really care about
savirs things, and war. after all, means de-
StructiCn.'
uNR. BEATRICE HINCKLE said at the first
Conference on the Cause and Cure CT
War that when women value themselves and
their impulses toward creation and the preser-
walton Of life as highly as those of men toward
self assertion and power. they will be able to
enforce their will and command peace" /
suggested.
that is true" replied Mrs. Manning. I'm
FACT, 1 believe that in America we've carried
the organization Of womenS clubs to such
remarkable degree that if world peace be-
came as much an object Of desire on the part
Of the women of the country as, for example,
women suffrage was, there is no question at
all that such pressure could be put on Con-
and fba Eoda uOsRld
change the whole course of legislation and
trea y-making.
What women have to fight" she continued
"are the reactionary groups of their own sex
who have not yet been able to free themselves
from the traditional and narrow-mnded ideas
of patriotism which f1ouriShed all the
world during the nineteenth century I think
the difficulty in working for peace, as con-
trasted with suffrage or prohibition. is that
the problem CT world peace is so infinitely
more complicated than either of the others
appeared when under discussion. For instance,
one either believed in prohibition Il take pro-
hbiticn merely historical example of
cause which women wanted and got) suf-
frage, disagreed In either case taking
sides simple.
But when world peace is brought up the
question of methods instantly complexities it
One group feels that only by total disarmament
peace be maintained. Another believes
solely in conferences and the education of
public opinion. third feels that gradual
disarmament is the best method fourth
seeks more powerful means of international
legislation. Meanwhile those who disagree
with all pacifsm feel that the country is actu-
ally endangered by such ideals.
Il think that if the whole matter can be
presented to the women of the country with
out the clouding of issues and with the right
amount Of historical perspective. it must be
clear that the only hope of world peace lies.
on the one hand, in the growth Of the prac
tice of arbitration of international disputes
between countries; and, on the other, through
such policy with regard to ornaments on the
part Of the most powerful nations in the world
..e.t., sSa ~ ,stss''.~>T,