not appeal
very strongly to a healthy woman--and, besides, if a woman has been on
a pedestal for any length of time, it must be very hard to have to come
down and cut the wood.

These tender-hearted and chivalrous gentlemen who tell you of their
adoration for women, cannot bear to think of women occupying public
positions. Their tender hearts shrink from the idea of women lawyers
or women policemen, or even women preachers; these positions would "rub
the bloom off the peach," to use their own eloquent words. They cannot
bear, they say, to see women leaving the sacred precincts of home--and
yet their offices are scrubbed by women who do their work while other
people sleep--poor women who leave the sacred precincts of home to earn
enough to keep the breath of life in them, who carry their scrub-pails
home, through the deserted streets, long after the cars have stopped
running. They are exposed to cold, to hunger, to insult--poor
souls--is there any pity felt for them? Not that we have heard of.
The tender-hearted ones can bear this with equanimity. It is the
thought of women getting into comfortable and well-paid positions which
wrings their manly hearts.

Another aspect of the case is that women can do more with their
indirect influence than by the ballot; though just why they cannot do
better still with both does not appear to be very plain. The ballot is
a straight-forward dignified way of making your desire or choice felt.
There are some things which are not pleasant to talk about, but would
be delightful to vote against. Instead of having to beg, and coax, and
entreat, and beseech, and denounce as women have had to do all down the
centuries, in regard to the evil things which threaten to destroy their
homes and those whom they love, what a glorious thing it would be if
women could go out and vote against these things. It seems like a
straightforward and easy way of expressing one's opinion.

But, of course, popular opinion says it is not "womanly." The "womanly
way" is to nag and tease. Women have often been told that if they go
about it right they can get anything. They are encouraged to plot and
scheme, and deceive, and wheedle, and coax for things. This is womanly
and sweet. Of course, if this fails, they still have tears--they can
always cry and have hysterics, and raise hob generally, but they must
do it in a womanly way. Will the time ever come when the word
"feminine" will have in it no trace