The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, February 11, 1918, Page 15

? | Mrs. WISC Comments on Men s View of Women @ R TR e ik 1 Also Men’s View of Themselves, and Concludes She Would Rather Be An “Angel” Than the “Animal” BY MRS. MARY B. WISE - BOUT two hundred years ago g A an Englishman laid down a *.program for the women to follow. He said: “All a woman has to do in this world is contained within the duties of daughter, sister, wife and mother.” That’s all. I suppose if women could also take on some other “duties,” Mr. Steele wouldn't have objected, but he laid out enough here to keep most women busy. That’s all they have to worry about. Just start gathering the eggs, wash- ‘ing dishes, helping with the sewing, etc., for a starter as a daughter. Then as a sister, do a little more of it, and stay at home the first time your broth- ' er plucks up courage enough to ask another girl to go with him to a bas- ket social; and when you get to be a wife, step out of a home where you have been doing all these things into another one, where it is your duty to: do them all without the help of the “daughter,” etc., etc. Duties—but nothing about rights or opportunities. The only trouble with Mr. Steele’s idea is that so many men still believe in it. " MRS. WISE TAKES CHEERFUL VIEW How would the men like it for women to say and believe: “All a man has to do in this world is contained within the duties of a son, brother, husband and father,” and then flip- pantly pass it up as though that was easy. Of course, that might include doing the chores, getting up at 4 o’clock and working until 9 at night; it might include working to pay off the mortgage, or scheming what kind of a “stall” you could make to get it ex- tended the next time it fell due, and a lot of little things like that, but I don’t suppose the men would appreciate our attitude very much if we just said in an off-hand manner, “all a man has to do in- this world is contained within the duties of son, brother, husband and father.” Still that is the way the men seem to feel - about women—even _the duties of-daughter, though they flatter them. I suppose all women go through a stage where they get some flattery—even we farm women. In the novels that we do in- sist upon reading once in a while, the heroes are always saying some- thing to tickle our van- ity, and then’ the men— the wise men—get to- gether -and conclude that women accept that at its face value, as though by a few cun- ning words, they could make them forget that all they have to do in the world is to perform sister, wife and mother. If I were inclined to give myself up to think- ing on one side of a question, I might get sour, but I haven't reached that stage’ yet. They used to tell me at home that what will kill will cure, and so when I find myself beginning to think too seriously about what some old fogy of a man laid out for women to do, and thought it a mere noth- ing, I hunt up some of the things the men have said about themselves. I find a gootl deal there I can agree to. The best thing I ever read of that kind is a remark of Adam Smith, You know who he was, of course. Adam Smith was the first writer on econom- ics who really got right ; down to business and [ studied out the sources of wealth, and his book tells about property and wealth and how they came to exist and how they came to be divided companying Had to Mortgage the Little Pigs League Means Relief From Farm Burdens and Better I-Iomes, Says Writer of Contest Letter VERY dollar taken 'from the farmer by the grain gambler, . ; high taxes or any -other injus- tice, means so much less for the home. I am a farmer's daughter and know how we had to first mortgage the farm; the horses, the cattle, and even-the little pigs. The high interest, taxes, cost of groceries, doctor bills and the cost to dress, kept us in the same tracks each year. Mother worked early and late trying to make both ends meet and keep all of us children in school, but it was impossible. - Each child needs and should have the right kind of an education, so they can understand right .from wrong and be better fitted to make ‘laws for the good of all instead of the few. Any- “thing that robs the child of what right- ~fully belongs to it pulls the strlngs attached to the mother heart. . The League pmposea to give each;,,; farmer, as much as is possible, all that he earns, and that is all we ask. The home with plenty means less worry, shorter hours, more recreation, time to read and study, a vacation: for the ..mother once in a while, the rest that she needs but seldom gets. It means that she will have a voice in the mak- ing of the laws. for the boys and girls. We are proud of our congressman at large, Jeanette Rankin of Montana. The League means there will be more of such women, trained and fearless, ready to help any cause that is for the betterment of all humanity. = There are “so many paths that wind - and wind,” but the League has made a straight way and the 140,000 farmers’ wives will be glad to follow, even though the way is a little stony ‘at first. We have ‘watched for the. silver lining and now we can see it so near, our hearts are. glad A IRENE THOM’PSON letter, among hundreds in the recent Leader coritest. writers answered the question, “What does the Non- partisan league mean to you?” up as they are. I don’t suppose I shall ever read all he wrote on the subject, because we have so litile wealth and are trying so hard to keep it from all 'OUR HEARTS ARE GLAD Irene Thompson, of Vergas, Minn., writer of the ac- which won honorable mention The being divided up—in other words, I am so busy fulfilling the duties of sister, daughter, wife and mother—but if I never get any more this sounds to rne like a pretty keen analysis: 7 MAN ONLY ANIMAL THAT MAKES BARGAINS “Man is an animal that makes bar- gains; no other animal does this.” That quotation came very forcibly to my mind the other day when one of the neighbor women came in for a little while. She and her 13-year-old boy came over to get a load of straw and her “old man;” as she called him, was at home puttering around. She thought her “man” had made a pretty good bargain when he got her, but said she wasn’t so sure about her side of it. She needn’t have troubled herself. Mr. Smith makes it perfectly plain in his statement that it is only MAN who gets the bargain, He didn’t .say the women get any bargain at’all.: Some men, of course, make a bad bargain, and if a farmer does that, he deserves - pity. The farmer who doesn’t get a partner in his tarming when he bar- ; gains for a w,ite. has ma.de a wrong start, and we women are perfectly willing to take our share of the farm- ing too, let me say. But the point in Mr. Smith’s remark that struck me as the most appro- priate, was his reference to man as an animal. When I think of the men as animals, I don’t blame them so much, I don’t even blame Mr. Steele. Women who are so busy supplying the wants of men can’t help but realize how right Mr. Smith was in his analysis. This same idea gets the backing of Horace Walpole—O, I just went and looked up a lot of things that had been said and written about men and I got more satisfaction out of it than doing any- thing else I have done outside of my “duties” for a long time. Mr. Walpole says his say in such a cheerful way: “0, we ridiculous animals; and if the angels have any fun in them, how we must divert them.” That seems pretty good for a man to say about men. ' I mean, it seems very unprejudiced to me. Do you sup- pose he meant by angel, his wife? There was a time when my husband used to call me an ‘“angel” and if Mr. Walpole meant wives, his saying is still better. Let’s see: “0O, we redicu- lous animals; and if our wives have any fun in them, how we must amuse them.” That is the saving grace of life. Another man, more modern than these, said: “It always struck me that there is a far greatér distinction be- tween man and man, than between many men and MOST OTHER ANI- MALS.” When you contrast these plain remarks about themselves, with some of the dreamy, softy things men have said about women, you might almost imagine yourself a queen with Sir Walter Raleigh spreading velvet cloaks for you to walk on from the henhouse to the barn. But they don’t do any- thing of the kind. They just think of us as performing the “duties” of daughter, sister, wife and mother, and if we do that they are satisfied—and I think they ought to be. Don’t you? But don’t misunderstand me. I'm not “kicking.” I am only one of those “angels” having fun with the “animals,” and if it wasn’t for the chance of hav- ing a little fun once in a while the “duties” might grow tiresome. As it is I would far rather be an “angel” than an “animal” and I believe most of the rest of us farm women would too. MOCK ORANGE MARMALADE In making marmalades from: fresh vegetables, cook the vegetables until tender before the sugar is added. Te the canned vegetable already cooked down thick before canning, add- the sugar, cook slowly in a covered vessel until the sugar is dissolved. Then re- ! move -the cover and cook until the mixture is thick. Do not stir. Ginger root, spices or any desired seasoning may be added. Tie the sea- soning in a cheese-cloth bag and cook with the vegetable: Two cups ground carrot, cook until tender. Add two lemons (juice only); one orange (juice and grated rind) and one cup of sugar. Cook slowly until thick. Do not stir. Pack in hot jars and sterilize. i) THE PURCHASE OF = THRIFT STAMPS PUTS THE STAMP. OF THRIFT UPON THE PURCHASER.