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THE CONGRESS OF WOMEN.
The first danger is of woman’s organization. The second danger is of women’s organization.
The first, then, of woman’s organization.
The time has come in the development of individual power and associated effort when a large minority of women can work not only as women, with women, for women, and undeveloped men, but as human beings, with women and men, for every sort of human interest; a minority, I say, yet a large minority. Men have widened and sweetened and grown more just, until they now welcome a great woman almost everywhere. And all elect women, having the requisite balance of powers, can find numberless openings for co-operation with men on broad grounds for highest ■ends. And there is no question but such co-operation has in it greater promise of self-development for both men and women, as well as of full-orbed usefulness to the world than associations under sex limits can be at their very best. Today, however, we witness a curious phenomena in social life. In religion, philanthropy, intellectual culture and social enjoyment, women, the minority of the best and strongest women, are doubly organized, with men and without men.
In intellectual lines, many colleges are open to both sexes, many associations of mature thinkers give women equal rights and privileges with men. Yet women’s colleges, from which male youths are excluded, are growing in numbers, and the graduates of these colleges work by themselves for women’s higher education instead of throwing their weight of influence with men for co-educational effort.
In social science and natural science, the two National associations in America, founded by men, offer membership on equal terms to women, and give official platform representation to women almost commensurate with the proportion of feminine membership. Yet the “A. A. W.” seeks to do a similar work for women by women only, and many scientific women limit their appeals and efforts to sex lines.
Women’s clubs also, and associations for mutual improvement, are increasing very fast, and do not move in the least in the direction of seeking vital union with existing men’s clubs for the same object, or in the line of greater hospitality to harassed and busy men, who are not progressive enough to have clubs of their own! Now the expression of any misgiving lest this tendency create an extreme sex feeling on the part of women is met with one invariable answer, viz.: that only a few women have the courage and ability to command equal recognition for their word and work among men, and that the great majority, even of progressive, cultivated, earnest women need the separate drill by themselves for many years before they can take a balanced part in the associated effort of men and women. All very true. Yet it is not the whole truth. Women in clubs and associations, when they compare themselves with men, select for comparison only the best drilled men, professional men, master specialists. But take men and women in America as a whole, and the women are better educated and more drilled in* the understanding and discussion of everything but technical, political and financial questions than are men. The average girl stays in school longer than the average boy. In many circles in society, where the brother is almost sure to be dedicated to mercantile or manufacturing business, the sister is trained for a teacher. And the wife and mother, although overburdened and often overmastered by cares, has still in America, as a rule, in the great middle class, which sets the common standard of thought and conduct, a better chance for intellectual and moral development than the husband and father. The proof of this is in the fact that her old age is generally richer than his in all that makes life happy and helpful—in the fact that she, oftener than he, finds elevating work for intellectual and moral ends when the drudgery of personal cares is lifted. In how many families the men live only for business; the women do all the higher spiritual work! How many husbands let their wives represent the entire family interest in education, in philanthropy and in religion, and perhaps cannot help it, so voraciously do business demands devour the whole man.
But if this tendency of the average husband and father to be absorbed in financial specialties until taste for general culture becomes obsolete; and for the average wife