The Washington times., 1935-04-25
NOW
FeMiniSnl Found
Going Strong
LEADERS CITED
By HELEN ESSARY

CeCIor OF Cne W0menS bureau
OF the Department of Labor.
We had been talking about the
magazine article of Mrs. Gene
We've Parkhurst that said the
drive to defeat women in this
country is no longer a menace
it is a condition and a fact.
Miss Anderson sat back COM
fortab1y in her office chair.
Her wise, understanding eyes
smiled. She said:
"What is feminiSm? Is it
waving banners and shouting
for rights? What kind Of
rights? Women should stop
being feminists and mingle
with the crowd. Equip them
selves better than men do for
the same job If they want the
job.
"Women ought to know they
are the minority party, with
uphill work always ahead.
We've always been on the
fringe of a mans world. In
dustrially we've had to take
the jobs available. This is not
a condition to overcome slowly,
nor one to be improved by bit.
ter feelings. Think, however,
how much better off women
are now than so years ago.
1--WE no patience with the
ultra-feminists. They ignore
facts. They theorize. If wOm-
en- continue to show that they
are smart and dependable in
factories and offices, that they
want to be good doctors and
lawyers, their working world
will improve.
"The dilettante, the insincere
worker, complains thai she has
been Disseminated against be-
cause Of her sex. Most often
she has lost out because she
was inefficient or a trouble
maker"
MISS Anderson Is one OF Cne
great women of her generation.
With her immigrant parents
she came to this country from
Norway at 16. And went into a
garment factory.
At 18 she was working to help
women in industry, with facts,
not theories. For Is years she
has been head Of the Women's
Bureau. She is kind and toler.
ant. She understands women.
Life has made her a. philoSo-
pher.
I asked her if she thought the
business slump had been an ex-
cuse for throwing women out Of
jobs. She said:
''In the very bad days it has
been a question of not which
jOb-but any job to keep from
starving. Many times the prefer
ence has been given to men.
This is unfortunate but natural.
Home is still W m ms tradi-
tiOnal place. Nevertheless, AZ
per cent of the workers in in
dustry at present are women"
Miss Anderson thinks the
statement of Mrs. ParkhurSt
that there are no women leaders
today is not true. Mrs. Carrie
Chapman Gait, Elizabeth Cady
Stanton, Anna Howard Shaw
were leaders in an age when
women were n OF common in
public life. Today there are
women leaders in specific fields.
She said:
"AIthOugh the number Of
women holding public office is
not large, it is larger than it
ever has been. That is some
thing. The number will continue
to increase unless we should
have q Fascist government. The
first act of a Fascist dictator is
to put women back into a do
mestic world"
! Doris Stevens, the brilliant
feminist, chairman Of the Inter.
American Commission of Won.
en-, and one of the most etfec-
tive advocates of women's rights,
made a witty and devastating
reply to Mrs. Parkhurst's theory
that women have fallen down on
their jobs of being their sisters
keepers. She said:
"a piece similar to this telling
how badly American women are
getting on appears at least once
. year in Harper's. l regard it
as the hardy Harper's annual.
Il can only conclude that some
despairing gentleman on the
editorial staff prints such visit
full pieces from time to time to
make himself feel better. He
seems to have woman trouble.
"Mrs. Parkhurst'S admirable
desire to have all wOmen's Or
CARNATIONS unite to protect
women is no more possible of
realization in the world we live
in than to have all mems Organi-
cations unite to protect men.
"The human race never shown
q universal desire to preserve
itself. On the contrary, it has
shown q devastating capacity to
act against its interests. It has
gone forth gladly to MAIN, sup
press, Starve, brutaliZe, and
slaughter its members.
''WOmen are not angels and do
not behave according to a spe.
ciaI code of conduct. Even as
good a friend of feminism as Mrs.
| Parkhurst seems to have Iapsed