That even the weariest river
Leads somehow safe to sea!

But when all is over, the battle fought and won, and women are regarded
everywhere as human beings and citizens, many women will remember with
bitterness that in the day of our struggle, the church stood off, aloof
and dignified, and let us fight alone.

One of the arguments advanced by the men who oppose women's entry into
the full fellowship of the church is that women would ultimately seek
to preach, and the standard of preaching would be lowered. There is a
gentle compelling note of modesty about this that is not lost on
us--and we frankly admit that we would not like to see the standard of
preaching lowered; and we assure the timorous brethren that women are
not clamoring to preach; but if a woman should feel that she is
divinely called of God to deliver a message, I wonder how the church
can be so sure that she isn't. Wouldn't it be perfectly safe to let
her have her fling? There was a rule given long ago which might be
used yet to solve such a problem:

"And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone,
for if this council, or this work, be of men, it will come to naught,
but if it be of God you cannot overthrow it, lest haply ye be found
even to fight against God."

That seems to be a pretty fair way of looking at the matter of
preaching; but the churches have decreed otherwise, and in order to
save trouble they have decided themselves and not left it to God. It
must be great to feel that you are on the private wire from heaven and
qualified to settle a matter which concerns the spiritual destiny of
other people.

Many theories have been propounded as to the decadence of the church,
which has become painfully apparent when great moral issues have been
at stake. That the church could stamp out the liquor traffic has often
been said, and yet although general conferences and assemblies have met
year after year, and passed resolutions declaring that "the sale of
liquor could not be licensed without sin," the liquor traffic goes
blithely on its way and gets itself licensed all right, "with sin,"
perhaps, but licensed anyway. Where are all these stalwart sons of the
church who love their mothers so ostentatiously and reverence womanhood
so deeply?

There is one of Aesop's fables which tells about a man who purchased
for himself a beautiful dog, but being a timid man, he was beset with
the fear that some day the dog might tu